th, that I should avenge myself whenever the
opportunity comes!"

I knew now from experience that it was quite useless to argue with
Mendouca when he got upon the subject of his grievances; I therefore
gave the conversation a turn by asking--

"Where, then, are these wretched people now, if indeed they are still
alive?"

"I presume," answered he, "that, if still alive, as you say, they are
where I last heard of them; namely, at Matadi's village; a place on the
south bank of the Congo, about one hundred miles, or rather more, from
its mouth. But why do you take such a profound interest in them?" he
asked. "Possibly you are contemplating the formation of an expedition
for their rescue, as soon as you have effected your escape from me?" and
he laughed satirically.

My reply and his laugh were alike cut short by the sound of heavy
footsteps on the companion-ladder outside the cabin, and the next moment
the boatswain made his appearance in the doorway with the intimation
that a craft of some sort had just been made out, at a distance of about
three miles broad on the starboard bow; and he wished to know whether
the course of the brigantine was to be altered or not.

Mendouca sprang to his feet and hurried on deck, I following him.

On our first emergence from the brilliantly-lighted cabin the night
appeared to be dark; but as our eyes accommodated themselves to the
change of conditions, it became apparent that the cloudless sky was
thickly gemmed and powdered with stars of all magnitudes, from those of
the first order down to the star-dust constituting the broad belt of the
Milky Way, all gleaming with that soft, resplendent lustre that is only
to be witnessed within the zone of the tropics. Moreover, there was a
young moon, a delicate, crescent-shaped paring, about two days old,
hanging low in the western sky, yet capable, in that pure, translucent
atmosphere, of yielding quite an appreciable amount of light. The water
was still smooth as polished glass, even the swell having gone down so
completely that its undulations were not to be detected by even the
delicate test of watching the star reflections in the polished depths,
while the brigantine was as steady as though still on the stocks where
she took form and substance. The negroes were still toiling at the
sweeps, and the watch, armed to the teeth, were clustered fore and aft,
on the alert to guard against any attempt at an outbreak among them.
The canvas wa