achery to which their young leader had
fallen a victim! Had they but guessed that the fleeing native was only
part of a clever plan, laboriously thought out by the half-caste robber
whose thefts had driven him to take to the forests, and who, like so
many of those who have wronged the man whose salt they have eaten, had
turned all his hate and vengeance upon that man or his representative!
But how could they guess? It had all been so real. The native boat
appearing at dawn, with a shouting mob in full pursuit, as if the light
had only then enabled them to discover the runaway. Their shots,
falling recklessly about the boat, and the desperate haste of the native
himself, his wound and his apparent exhaustion, had all aided in
misleading the crew of the launch. They never imagined that their
presence in the river had been instantly detected, and that when they
lay to for the night, their exact whereabouts had come to the ears of
James Langdon and his roving band of free-booters. But that was what
had happened.

The half-caste had learned that Dick Stapleton had formerly come up the
river, and had been taken back to the sea owing to an attack of fever.
His spies, of whom there were many on the coast, had told him how the
young fellow fared, and had sent news as soon as preparations for
another expedition with the launch had been commenced. Then he had
hatched his plot to trap his master's son, and with fiendish ingenuity
had relied upon the gallantry of his dupe to lead him into the net.
What was easier than for this man, accustomed to clerical duties, and,
as it chanced, acquainted with Meinheer, to scrawl a few letters on a
piece of linen, and sign the Dutchman's name? for he knew well that the
fraud in the signature would never be detected. It was a well-planned
plot, and had succeeded only too well, though the victim had made a hard
fight for his liberty and had given unexpected trouble.

And so while Dick lay there in the shade, fast asleep, the crew of the
launch dozed the hours away, knowing well that they could not look for
his return till late the following night.

Some few hours after Dick had fallen asleep he was kicked and ordered to
stand up.

"We start for Kumasi," said James Langdon, with a leer, "for the seat of
the great King Koffee. There is a prospect before you, young man, and
you will have time to think about it. Make sure of him," he went on,
turning to his followers, "for the captive is