petual slavery, and that many
more perish miserably, still that's not our fault."

"You're right," answered Tom; "I only wish that we had twenty times as
many cruisers out in these seas as we have at present, and that it was
lawful to hang up every skipper, if not the whole of the crews, of all
the dhows with slaves on board whom we could catch. If people in
England knew all the horrors the poor Africans endure, which seem to me
twice as bad as those of the West Coast traffic, I believe they would
rise to a man, and insist on its being put down at whatever cost."

The rest of the midshipmen responded to Tom's generous sentiments, and
the young ones, at all events, agreed that they should be ready to
devote their lives to the service.

A wind-sail brought sufficient air down below to enable the midshipmen
to sit with comparative comfort in their berth--comparative, for the
thermometer stood at not less than 85 degrees; but they were by this
time well accustomed to heat, and endured it with stoical indifference.
Archie and Desmond were especially eager to hear an account of Tom's
adventures since they parted, and he, having no objection to spin a long
yarn, was willing enough to recount them.

"I little thought, when Jack and I went out, that we should see so much
service in a short time," he began. "On our arrival in the Hooghly
river, we found that an expedition had been despatched to teach the King
of Ava better manners than he had lately been exhibiting towards the
British. You will understand that a large river, the Irrawaddy, flows
from north to south through the country. It has several mouths. On the
shores of one of them is situated the town of Rangoon, a biggish place,
with a good deal of trade. Higher up is Prome; while there is another
place, Martaban, on the shore of the gulf of that name. Ava, the
capital, where the king lives, is situated in the interior.

"The governor of Rangoon had been playing all sorts of tricks,
imprisoning several merchant skippers, and insulting and fining others.
They laid their complaints before the authorities at Calcutta, who
resolved to make the governor of Rangoon apologise and recompense the
sufferers. We were, therefore, immediately ordered off to the
Irrawaddy, as soon as we could get in a supply of fresh provisions and
stores. We found the squadron, with a considerable number of troops on
board, anchored off Rangoon. It is a pretty strong place, fortified by