fellow's rough
shell there was an earnest desire to serve him and help him to escape
from his terrible position.

The despondency to which he had given way seemed cowardly now, and as
the days rolled on he worked as one works who is determined to make the
best of his position. All the same, though, he joined heart and soul
with Pete in the plans made for getting away.

Drawn closer together as they were now, the subject was more and more
discussed, and in the long talks they had in whispers of a night, they
could not help dwelling on the difficulties they would have to encounter
even if they did manage to escape.

"But we will, Master Nic; you zee if we don't. They both talk about
shooting us, and that zets me up. I don't want to hurt anybody; but
when a man zays he's going to fire at me as if I was a wild beast, I
don't feel to mind what I do to him. Don't you be downhearted; we shall
do it yet."

"But," said Nic, "it is the getting taken in a ship if we manage to find
our way to the coast."

"If we find our way? We've on'y to get that boat. The river will show
us the way down to the zea; and as to getting away then, all we've got
to do is to try and find a ship that wants men."

"They will not take us, Pete; we shall be looked upon as criminals."

"Not if the skipper wants men," said Pete, laughing softly. "Long as a
man can work hard, and is strong, and behaves himself, he won't ask any
questions."

The time went on, and there seemed to be no likelihood of any captain
asking questions; for in spite of keeping a sharp watch, neither Nic nor
Pete could obtain the information they wanted. The boat seemed to
disappear in the most mysterious way after being used by the settler or
his overseer, and Nic grew more and more puzzled, and said so to his
companion.

"Yes, it gets over me zometimes, Master," said Pete; "but one has no
chance. You see, there's always people watching you. It aren't as if
it were on'y the masters and the dogs, and the niggers who are ready to
do anything to please old Zaunders; there's old Humpy Dee and the
others. Humpy's always on the lookout to do me a bad turn; and he hates
you just as much. He's always thinking we're going to get away, and he
means to stop it."

"And this all means," said Nic, with a sigh, "that we must be content to
stay as we are."

"Don't mean nothing o' the kind," said Pete shortly. "It's a nice
enough place, and there's nothing I should like bet