o brigs that were going to ship the slaves; so that, should you
overhaul them--as I was told you did--nothing might be found on board to
justify their seizure. This job was successfully completed only a few
minutes before you entered the creek. But that would have availed Lobo
nothing had your captain happened to have thought of landing upon the
peninsula; the next thing, therefore, was to furnish him with a totally
different subject to think about; and this Lobo found in the opportune
presence of the four craft in Chango Creek. The captains of three out
of the four vessels happened to be down at Banana when you arrived; and
Lobo--who is gifted with quite an unusual measure of persuasiveness--had
very little difficulty in convincing them that you would be absolutely
certain to discover their hiding-place sooner or later, and that
consequently it would be a good plan to inveigle you into making an
immediate attack upon them; when, by concerting proper measures of
defence, they might succeed in practically annihilating you, and so
sweeping a formidable enemy out of their path. The three skippers fell
in readily with his plan, when he had propounded it, and also undertook
to secure the cooperation of the fourth; and as the creek offered
exceptional facilities for a successful defence, it was accepted that
you were all as good as done for, especially as Lobo had undertaken to
cut the brig adrift at the right moment, so that she might be driven
ashore and rendered useless for the time being, if not altogether. This
matter arranged, the slave-captains left Banana forthwith to carry out
their plans for the defence of the creek, taking a short cut by way of
the back of the creek, and taking with them also every available man
that Lobo could spare; the idea being to allow you to advance unmolested
as far as the boom--which, they never dreamed that you would succeed in
forcing--and then destroy you by a musketry fire from the banks, when,
weakened by your unavailing attack upon the boom, you should at length
be compelled to retire. Your astounding pluck and perseverance in
forcing the boom completely upset all their plans, and converted what
would have been for them an easy and bloodless victory into a disastrous
defeat, while it saved the lives of the survivors of the attacking
party. But though it turned out disastrously for Aravares, of the
_Mercedes_, and his friends, the plot served Lobo's purpose perfectly;
the shippin