, signifying that they had gone inland.

"And you wish to remain with us?" I asked, at once seeing that it would
be of importance to have a native with us who might act as our guide and
interpreter.

"Yes, massa; me like white man. Once serve board man-of-war; cappen
kind, sailors kind; but me went on shore to see me fadder, modder, me
brodder, me sister; but dey all get catchee, an' all de oder people run
'way, an' dey take me for slavee."

The beach, which was here of some height, prevented us at first from
seeing what had become of the people; but climbing up the bank of fine
sand to the summit, we caught sight of some of them making their way
towards the forest, about half a mile off.

"They have gone there, poor fellows, to look for food, or perhaps some
of them think that they are not far from home, and expect to get back
again," observed Tubbs.

This appeared very likely. Before, however, we set off to join our
companions in misfortune, we searched about for any of the white men who
might have been cast by the surf on the beach. We found several dead
bodies, but not a single living person could we discover. On looking
eastward, we observed numerous rocks, stretching out to a considerable
distance, which, now that the tide had fallen, appeared above water. It
was a mercy that the "Vulture" escaped striking on any of them, for, had
she done so, she must have been knocked to pieces at a distance from the
shore, and probably not one of us would have escaped alive.

We now sat down on the beach and consulted what to do. As it was not
likely that any ship, trader, or man-of-war, or even slaver, would
willingly come near that part of the coast, we resolved to travel either
to the north or the south, hoping to reach one of the French
settlements, which existed at the mouths of two or three of the rivers
running into the ocean in that region. On looking along the shore on
both hands, we saw a wide extent of sand.

"It will never do to attempt travelling over that, gentlemen," said
Tubbs. "We shall certainly find no shade, and probably not a drop of
water, without which we cannot get along. If you'll take my advice,
you'll follow the blacks to the forest. It's water, to a certainty,
they've gone to look after; they're thirsty beings, and their instinct
has told them where they can find it."

Aboh, who had been listening all the time, evidently understood what was
said, and nodded his head. We, that is,