was, reached our neighbour long before we
did, and as soon as she felt it she too bore up, squared her yards, and
headed direct for Boolambemba Point. She was about three miles ahead of
us when the breeze reached her, and I felt very curious to see where she
would finally come to an anchor. The only _safe_ anchorage is in Banana
Creek, and though slavers constantly resort to the numerous other creeks
and inlets higher up the river no captain of a man-of-war would think
for a moment of risking his ship in any of them unless the emergency
happened to be very pressing, nor even then unless his vessel happened
to be of exceedingly light draught. If therefore the brig anchored in
Banana Creek I should accept it as a point in favour of her honesty; if
not, my suspicions would be stronger than ever.

It so happened that she _did_ anchor in Banana Creek, but fully a
quarter of a mile higher up it than old Mildmay the master thought it
prudent for us to venture, though in obedience to a hint from Mr Austin
he took us much further in than where we had anchored on our previous
visit. The brig got in fully half an hour before us, her canvas was
consequently stowed, her yards squared, ropes hauled taut and coiled
down, and her boats in the water when our anchor at length plunged into
the muddy opaque-looking water of the creek.

We were barely brought up--and indeed the hands were still aloft stowing
the canvas--when a gig shoved off from the brig and pulled down the
creek. A few minutes later she dashed alongside and Monsieur Le Breton
once more presented himself upon our quarter-deck, cap in had, bowing,
smiling, and grimacing as only a Frenchman can. His visit, though such
a singularly precipitate one, was, it soon turned out, merely a visit of
ceremony, which he prolonged to such an extent that Captain Vernon was
perforce obliged to invite him down below to breakfast, Mr Austin and I
being also the skipper's guests on that particular morning. In the
course of the meal he made several very complimentary remarks as to the
appearance of the _Daphne_, and finally--when I suppose he saw that he
had thus completely won poor Austin's heart--he very politely expressed
his extreme desire to take a look through the ship, a desire which the
first luff with equal politeness assured him it would give him great
pleasure to gratify.

The fellow certainly had a wonderfully plausible and winning way with
him, there was no denying that,