eat importance, for it was their interest to get rid
of the deadly disease as fast as possible.

The first slave inspected, a youth of about fifteen, was in an advanced
stage of the disease, in fact, dying. A glance was sufficient and at a
nod from Moosa, the two powerful men seized him and hurled him into the
sea. The poor creature was too far gone even to struggle for life. He
sank like a stone. Several children followed. They were unquestionably
smitten with the disease, and were at once thrown overboard. Whether
the passengers felt pity or no we cannot say. They expressed none, but
looked on in silence.

So far the work was easy, but when men and women were brought up on whom
the disease had not certainly taken effect, Moosa was divided between
the desire to check the progress of the evil, and the desire to save
valuable property.

The property itself also caused some trouble in a few instances, for
when it became obvious to one or two of the stronger slave-girls and men
what was going to be done with them, they made a hard struggle for their
lives, and the two strong men were under the necessity of using a knife,
now and then, to facilitate the accomplishment of their purpose. But
such cases were rare. Most of the victims were callously submissive; it
might not be beyond the truth, in some cases, to say willingly
submissive.

Each day this scene was enacted, for Moosa was a very determined man,
and full forty human beings were thus murdered, but the disease was not
stayed. The effort to check it was therefore given up, and the slaves
were left to recover or die where they sat. See account of capture of
dhow by Captain Robert B. Cay, of H.M.S. "Vulture," in the _Times of
India_, 1872.

While this was going on in the vessel commanded by Moosa, the other two
dhows under Yoosoof and a man named Suliman had been lost sight of. But
this was a matter of little moment, as they were all bound for the same
Persian port, and were pretty sure, British cruisers permitting, to meet
there at last. Meanwhile the dhow ran short of water, and Moosa did not
like to venture at that time to make the land, lest he should be caught
by one of the hated cruisers or their boats. He preferred to let the
wretched slaves take their chance of dying of thirst--hoping, however,
to lose only a few of the weakest, as water could be procured a little
farther north with greater security.

Thus the horrible work of disease, death,