'em if 'ee can. The
slavers won't come back here in a hurry. Ha! I only wish they would,
an' let us have a brush with 'em. But there's no such luck. Cowards
never fight 'xcept w'en they're sure to win.--Now, piccaninny, here you
are," he said, stuffing some raw mapira meal into the open mouth of a
thin little girl of about six or seven, who was gazing at him in
open-eyed surprise; "don't put off time, you're half-starved already!"

The little black skeleton began to chew the dry meal with evident
satisfaction, but without taking her eyes off her deliverer.

"Who are _you_?" asked a somewhat older girl of Harold, whom she
regarded with looks of reverence and wonder.

Of course Harold did not understand her, but he immediately called
Antonio, who translated.

"Who are you?" she said; "the other people tied and starved us, but you
cut the ropes and tell us to eat; what sort of people are you? Where
did you come from?"

To this Harold replied briefly that he was an Englishman, who hated
slavers and slavery, but he said nothing more at that time, as he
intended to have a palaver and explanation with the freed captives after
their meal was over.

There was a great clapping of hands among the slaves, expressive of
gratitude, on hearing that they were free.

About a hundred sat down to that meal, most of whom were women and
children, and the manner in which they devoured the food set before
them, told eloquently of their previous sufferings. At first they
timidly held back, scarce venturing to believe that their new captors,
as they thought them, were in earnest. But when their doubts and fears
were removed, they attacked the mapira porridge like ravening wolves.
Gradually the human element began to reappear, in the shape of a comment
or a smile, and before long the women were chatting together, and a few
of the stronger among the young children were making feeble attempts to
play.

When the oldest man of the party, who appeared to be between twenty and
thirty, was brought forward and questioned, he gave some interesting and
startling information.

"Tell him," said Harold to Antonio, "that we are Englishmen; that we
belong to the same nation as the great white man Dr Livingstone, who
travelled through this land some years ago--the nation which hates
slavery because the Great God hates it, and would have all men to be
free, to serve each other in love, and to do to other people as they
would have other people