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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of By Sheer Pluck, by G. A. Henty
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: By Sheer Pluck
+       A Tale of the Ashanti War
+
+Author: G. A. Henty
+
+Release Date: July, 2005 [EBook #8576]
+Posting Date: July 24, 2009
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BY SHEER PLUCK ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Martin Robb
+
+
+
+
+
+BY SHEER PLUCK
+
+A TALE OF THE ASHANTI WAR
+
+
+By G. A. Henty
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I: A FISHING EXCURSION
+
+
+"Now, Hargate, what a fellow you are! I've been looking for you
+everywhere. Don't you know it's the House against the Town boys. It's
+lucky that the Town have got the first innings; they began a quarter of
+an hour ago."
+
+"How tiresome!" Frank Hargate said. "I was watching a most interesting
+thing here. Don't you see this little chaffinch nest in the bush, with a
+newly hatched brood. There was a small black snake threatening the nest,
+and the mother was defending it with quivering wings and open beak. I
+never saw a prettier thing. I sat quite still and neither of them seemed
+to notice me. Of course I should have interfered if I had seen the snake
+getting the best of it. When you came running up like a cart horse, the
+snake glided away in the grass, and the bird flew off. Oh, dear! I am
+sorry. I had forgotten all about the match."
+
+"I never saw such a fellow as you are, Hargate. Here's the opening match
+of the season, and you, who are one of our best bats, poking about after
+birds and snakes. Come along; Thompson sent me and two or three other
+fellows off in all directions to find you. We shall be half out before
+you're back. Wilson took James's wicket the first ball."
+
+Frank Hargate leaped to his feet, and, laying aside for the present all
+thoughts of his favorite pursuit, started off at a run to the playing
+field. His arrival there was greeted with a mingled chorus of welcome
+and indignation. Frank Hargate was, next to Thompson the captain of the
+Town eleven, the best bat among the home boarders. He played a steady
+rather than a brilliant game, and was noted as a good sturdy sticker.
+Had he been there, Thompson would have put him in at first, in order
+to break the bowling of the House team. As it was, misfortunes had come
+rapidly. Ruthven and Handcock were bowling splendidly, and none of the
+Town boys were making any stand against them. Thompson himself had gone
+in when the fourth wicket fell, and was still in, although two wickets
+had since fallen, for only four runs, and the seventh wicket fell just
+as Frank arrived, panting, on the ground.
+
+"Confound you, Hargate!" Thompson shouted, "where have you been? And not
+even in flannels yet."
+
+"I'm very sorry," Frank shouted back cheerfully, "and never mind the
+flannels, for once. Shall I come in now?"
+
+"No," Thompson said. "You'd better get your wind first. Let Fenner come
+in next."
+
+Fenner stayed in four overs, adding two singles as his share, while
+Thompson put on a three and a two. Then Fenner was caught. Thirty-one
+runs for eight wickets! Then Frank took the bat, and walked to the
+ground. Thompson came across to him.
+
+"Look here, Hargate, you have made a nice mess of it, and the game looks
+as bad as can be. Whatever you do, play carefully. Don't let out at
+anything that comes straight. The great thing is to bother their bowling
+a bit. They're so cocky now, that pretty near every ball is straight on
+the wickets. Be content with blocking for a bit, and Handcock will soon
+go off. He always gets savage if his bowling is collared."
+
+Frank obeyed orders. In the next twenty minutes he only scored six runs,
+all in singles, while Thompson, who was also playing very carefully, put
+on thirteen. The game looked more hopeful for the Town boys. Then there
+was a shout from the House, as Thompson's middle wicket was sent flying.
+Childers, who was the last of the team, walked out.
+
+"Now, Childers," Thompson said, "don't you hit at a ball. You're safe to
+be bowled or caught if you do. Just lift your bat, and block them each
+time. Now, Frank, it's your turn to score. Put them on as fast as you
+can. It's no use playing carefully any longer."
+
+Frank set to to hit in earnest. He had now got his eye well in, and the
+stand which he and Thompson had made together, had taken the sting out
+of the bowling. The ball which had taken Thompson's wicket was the last
+of the over. Consequently the next came to him. It was a little wide,
+and Frank, stepping out, drove it for four. A loud shout rose from
+the Town boys. There had only been one four scored before, during the
+innings. Off the next ball Frank scored a couple, blocked the next,
+and drove the last of the over past long leg for four. The next over
+Childers strictly obeyed orders, blocking each ball. Then it was Frank's
+turn again, and seven more went up on the board. They remained together
+for just fifteen minutes, but during that time thirty-one had been added
+to the score. Frank was caught at cover point, having added twenty-eight
+since Thompson left him, the other three being credited to Childers. The
+total was eighty-one--not a bad score in a school match.
+
+"Well, you've redeemed yourself," Thompson said, as Frank walked to the
+tent. "You played splendidly, old fellow, when you did come. If we do as
+well next innings we are safe. They're not likely to average eighty. Now
+get on your wicket-keeping gloves. Green and I will bowl."
+
+The House scored rapidly at first, and fifty runs were put on with the
+loss of four wickets. Then misfortune fell upon them, and the remaining
+six fell for nineteen. The next innings Frank went in first, but was
+caught when the score stood at fifteen. Thompson made fourteen, but the
+rest scored but badly, and the whole were out for forty-eight.
+
+The House had sixty-one to get to win. Six wickets had fallen for
+fifty-one runs, when Thompson put Childers on to bowl. The change was a
+fortunate one. Ruthven's stumps were lowered at the first ball. Handcock
+was caught off the second. The spirits of the Town boys rose. There were
+but two wickets more, and still ten runs to get to win. The House played
+cautiously now, and overs were sent down without a run. Then off a ball
+from Childers a four was scored, but the next ball leveled the outside
+stump. Then by singles the score mounted up until a tremendous shout
+from the House announced that the game was saved, sixty runs being
+marked by the scorers. The next ball, the Town boys replied even more
+lustily, for Childers ball removed the bails, and the game ended in
+a tie. Both parties were equally well satisfied, and declared that a
+better game had never been played at Dr. Parker's. As soon as the game
+was over Frank, without waiting to join in the general talk over the
+game, put on his coat and waistcoat and started at a run for home.
+
+Frank Hargate was an only son. His mother lived in a tiny cottage on the
+outskirts of Deal. She was a widow, her husband, Captain Hargate, having
+died a year before. She had only her pension as an officer's widow,
+a pittance that scarce sufficed even for the modest wants of herself,
+Frank, and her little daughter Lucy, now six years old.
+
+"I hope I have not kept tea waiting, mother," Frank said as he ran in.
+"It is not my beetles and butterflies this time. We have been playing a
+cricket match, and a first rate one it was. Town boys against the House.
+It ended in a tie."
+
+"You are only a quarter of an hour late," his mother said, smiling,
+"which is a great deal nearer being punctual than is usually the case
+when you are out with your net. We were just going to begin, for I know
+your habits too well to give you more than a quarter of an hour's law."
+
+"I'm afraid I am horridly unpunctual," Frank said, "and yet, mother, I
+never go out without making up my mind that I will be in sharp to time.
+But somehow there is always something which draws me away."
+
+"It makes no matter, Frank. If you are happy and amused I am content,
+and if the tea is cold it is your loss, not ours. Now, my boy, as soon
+as you have washed your hands we will have tea."
+
+It was a simple meal, thick slices of bread and butter and tea, for Mrs.
+Hargate could only afford to put meat upon the table once a day, and
+even for that several times in the week fish was substituted, when the
+weather was fine and the fishing boats returned, when well laden. Frank
+fortunately cared very little what he ate, and what was good enough for
+his mother was good enough for him. In his father's lifetime things had
+been different, but Captain Hargate had fallen in battle in New Zealand.
+He had nothing besides his pay, and his wife and children had lived with
+him in barracks until his regiment was ordered out to New Zealand, when
+he had placed his wife in the little cottage she now occupied. He had
+fallen in an attack on a Maori pah, a fortnight after landing in New
+Zealand. He had always intended Frank to enter the military profession,
+and had himself directed his education so long as he was at home.
+
+The loss of his father had been a terrible blow for the boy, who had
+been his constant companion when off duty. Captain Hargate had been
+devoted to field sports and was an excellent naturalist. The latter
+taste Frank had inherited from him. His father had brought home from
+India--where the regiment had been stationed until it returned for its
+turn of home service four years before he left New Zealand--a very large
+quantity of skins of birds which he had shot there. These he had
+stuffed and mounted, and so dexterous was he at the work, so natural
+and artistic were the groups of birds, that he was enabled to add
+considerably to his income by sending these up to the shop of a London
+naturalist. He had instructed Frank in his methods, and had given him
+one of the long blowguns used by some of the hill tribes in India. The
+boy had attained such dexterity in its use that he was able with his
+clay pellets to bring down sitting birds, however small, with almost
+unerring accuracy.
+
+These he stuffed and mounted, arranging them with a taste and skill
+which delighted the few visitors at his mother's cottage.
+
+Frank was ready to join in a game of football or cricket when wanted,
+and could hold his own in either. But he vastly preferred to go out for
+long walks with his blowgun, his net, and his collecting boxes. At home
+every moment not required for the preparation of his lessons was spent
+in mounting and arranging his captures. He was quite ready to follow
+the course his father proposed for him, and to enter the army. Captain
+Hargate had been a very gallant officer, and the despatches had spoken
+most highly of the bravery with which he led his company into action in
+the fight in which he lost his life. Therefore Mrs. Hargate hoped that
+Frank would have little difficulty in obtaining a commission without
+purchase when the time for his entering the army arrived.
+
+Frank's desire for a military life was based chiefly upon the fact that
+it would enable him to travel to many parts of the world, and to indulge
+his taste for natural history to the fullest. He was but ten years
+old when he left India with the regiment, but he had still a vivid
+recollection of the lovely butterflies and bright birds of that country.
+
+His father had been at pains to teach him that a student of natural
+history must be more than a mere collector, and that like other sciences
+it must be methodically studied. He possessed an excellent library of
+books upon the subject, and although Frank might be ignorant of the name
+of any bird or insect shown to him he could at once name the family and
+species.
+
+In the year which Frank had been at school at Dr. Parker's he had made
+few intimate friends. His habits of solitary wandering and studious
+indoor work had hindered his becoming the chum of any of his
+schoolfellows, and this absence of intimacy had been increased by the
+fact that the straitness of his mother's means prevented his inviting
+any of his schoolfellows to his home. He had, indeed, brought one or two
+of the boys, whose tastes lay in the direction of his own, to the house,
+to show them his collections of birds and insects. But he declined their
+invitations to visit them, as he was unable to return their hospitality,
+and was too proud to eat and drink at other fellows' houses when he
+could not ask them to do the same at his own. It was understood at Dr.
+Parker's that Frank Hargate's people were poor, but it was known that
+his father had been killed in battle. There are writers who depict
+boys as worshipers of wealth, and many pictures have been drawn of the
+slights and indignities to which boys, whose means are inferior to those
+of their schoolfellows, are subject. I am happy to believe that this is
+a libel. There are, it is true, toadies and tuft hunters among boys as
+among men. That odious creature, the parasite of the Greek and Latin
+plays, exists still, but I do not believe that a boy is one whit the
+less liked, or is ever taunted with his poverty, provided he is a good
+fellow. Most of the miseries endured by boys whose pocket money is less
+abundant than that of their fellows are purely self inflicted. Boys and
+men who are always on the lookout for slights will, of course, find what
+they seek. But the lad who is not ashamed of what is no fault of his
+own, who frankly and manfully says, "I can't afford it," will not find
+that he is in any way looked down upon by those of his schoolfellows
+whose good opinion is in the smallest degree worth having.
+
+Certainly this was so in the case of Frank Hargate. He was never in the
+slightest degree ashamed of saying, "I can't afford it;" and the fact
+that he was the son of an officer killed in battle gave him a standing
+among the best in the school in spite of his want of pocket money.
+
+Frank was friends with many of the fishermen, and these would often
+bring him strange fish and sea creatures brought up in their nets,
+instead of throwing them back into the sea.
+
+During the holidays he would sometimes go out with them for twenty-four
+hours in their fishing-boats. His mother made no objection to this, as
+she thought that the exercise and sea air were good for his health, and
+that the change did him good. Frank himself was so fond of the sea that
+he was half disposed to adopt it instead of the army as a profession.
+But his mother was strongly opposed to the idea, and won him to her way
+of thinking by pointing out that although a sailor visits many ports he
+stays long at none of them, and that in the few hours' leave he might
+occasionally obtain he would be unable to carry out his favorite
+pursuits.
+
+"Hargate," Ruthven, who was one of the oldest of the House boys, and
+was about Frank's age, that is about fifteen years old, said a few days
+after the match, "the Doctor has given Handcock and Jones and myself
+leave to take a boat and go out this afternoon. We mean to start soon
+after dinner, and shall take some lines and bait with us. We have got
+leave till lockup, so we shall have a long afternoon of it. Will you
+come with us?"
+
+"Thank you, Ruthven," Frank said; "I should like it very much, but you
+know I'm short of pocket money, and I can't pay my share of the boat, so
+I would rather leave it alone."
+
+"Oh, nonsense, Hargate!" Ruthven answered; "we know money is not your
+strong point, but we really want you to go with us. You can manage a
+boat better than any of us, and you will really oblige us if you will go
+with us."
+
+"Oh, if you put it in that way," Frank said, "I shall be glad to go
+with you; but I do not think," he went on, looking at the sky, "that the
+weather looks very settled. However, if you do not mind the chance of a
+ducking, I don't."
+
+"That's agreed then," Ruthven said; "will you meet us near the pier at
+three o'clock?"
+
+"All right. I'll be punctual."
+
+At the appointed hour the four lads met on the beach. Ruthven and his
+companions wanted to choose a light rowing boat, but Frank strongly
+urged them to take a much larger and heavier one. "In the first place,"
+he said, "the wind is blowing off shore, and although it's calm here
+it will be rougher farther out; and, unless I'm mistaken, the wind is
+getting up fast. Besides this it will be much more comfortable to fish
+from a good sized boat."
+
+His comrades grumbled at the extra labor which the large boat would
+entail in rowing. However, they finally gave in and the boat was
+launched.
+
+"Look out, Master Hargate," the boatman said as they started; "you'd
+best not go out too far, for the wind is freshening fast, and we shall
+have, I think, a nasty night."
+
+The boys thought little of the warning, for the sky was bright and
+blue, broken only by a few gauzy white clouds which streaked it here
+and there. They rowed out about a mile, and then laying in their oars,
+lowered their grapnel and began to fish. The sport was good. The fish
+bit freely and were rapidly hauled on board. Even Frank was so absorbed
+in the pursuit that he paid no attention to the changing aspect of the
+sky, the increasing roughness of the sea, or the rapidly rising wind.
+
+Suddenly a heavy drop or two of rain fell in the boat. All looked up.
+
+"We are in for a squall," Frank exclaimed, "and no mistake. I told you
+you would get a ducking, Ruthven."
+
+He had scarcely spoken when the squall was upon them. A deluge of rain
+swept down, driven by a strong squall of wind.
+
+"Sit in the bottom of the boat," Frank said; "this is a snorter."
+
+Not a word was said for ten minutes, long before which all were drenched
+to the skin. With the rain a sudden darkness had fallen, and the land
+was entirely invisible. Frank looked anxiously towards the shore. The
+sea was getting up fast, and the boat tugging and straining at the
+cord of the grapnel. He shook his head. "It looks very bad," he said to
+himself. "If this squall does not abate we are going to have a bad time
+of it."
+
+A quarter of an hour after it commenced the heavy downpour of rain
+ceased, or rather changed into a driving sleet. It was still extremely
+dark, a thick lead colored cloud overspread the sky. Already the white
+horses showed how fast the sea was rising, and the wind showed no signs
+of falling with the cessation of the rain storm. The boat was laboring
+at her head rope and dipping her nose heavily into the waves.
+
+"Look here, you fellows," Frank shouted, "we must take to the oars. If
+the rope were a long one we might ride here, but you know it little more
+than reached the ground when we threw it out. I believe she's dragging
+already, and even if she isn't she would pull her head under water with
+so short a rope when the sea gets up. We'd better get out the oars and
+row to shore, if we can, before the sea gets worse."
+
+The lads got up and looked round, and their faces grew pale and somewhat
+anxious as they saw how threatening was the aspect of the sea. They had
+four oars on board, and these were soon in the water and the grapnel
+hauled up. A few strokes sufficed to show them that with all four rowing
+the boat's head could not be kept towards the shore, the wind taking it
+and turning the boat broadside on.
+
+"This will never do," Frank said. "I will steer and you row, two oars on
+one side and one on the other. I will take a spell presently.
+
+"Row steadily, Ruthven," he shouted; "don't spurt. We have a long row
+before us and must not knock ourselves up at the beginning."
+
+For half an hour not a word was spoken beyond an occasional cheery
+exhortation from Frank. The shore could be dimly seen at times through
+the driving mist, and Frank's heart sank as he recognized the fact that
+it was further off than it had been when they first began to row. The
+wind was blowing a gale now, and, although but two miles from shore, the
+sea was already rough for an open boat.
+
+"Here, Ruthven, you take a spell now," he said.
+
+Although the rowers had from time to time glanced over their shoulders,
+they could not, through the mist, form any idea of their position. When
+Ruthven took the helm he exclaimed, "Good gracious, Frank! the shore is
+hardly visible. We are being blown out to sea."
+
+"I am afraid we are," Frank said; "but there is nothing to do but to
+keep on rowing. The wind may lull or it may shift and give us a chance
+of making for Ramsgate. The boat is a good sea boat, and may keep afloat
+even if we are driven out to sea. Or if we are missed from shore they
+may send the lifeboat out after us. That is our best chance."
+
+In another quarter of an hour Ruthven was ready to take another spell
+at the oar. "I fear," Frank shouted to him as he climbed over the seat,
+"there is no chance whatever of making shore. All we've got to do is to
+row steadily and keep her head dead to wind. Two of us will do for that.
+You and I will row now, and let Handcock and Jones steer and rest by
+turns. Then when we are done up they can take our places."
+
+In another hour it was quite dark, save for the gray light from the
+foaming water around. The wind was blowing stronger than ever, and it
+required the greatest care on the part of the steersman to keep her dead
+in the eye of the wind. Handcock was steering now, and Jones lying at
+the bottom of the boat, where he was sheltered, at least from the
+wind. All the lads were plucky fellows and kept up a semblance of
+good spirits, but all in their hearts knew that their position was a
+desperate one.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II: A MAD DOG
+
+
+"Don't you think, Hargate," Ruthven shouted in his ear, "we had
+better run before it? It's as much as Handcock can do to keep her head
+straight."
+
+"Yes," Frank shouted back, "if it were not for the Goodwins. They lie
+right across ahead of us."
+
+Ruthven said no more, and for another hour he and Frank rowed their
+hardest. Then Handcock and Jones took the oars. Ruthven lay down in
+the bottom of the boat and Frank steered. After rowing for another hour
+Frank found that he could no longer keep the boat head to wind. Indeed,
+he could not have done so for so long had he not shipped the rudder and
+steered the boat with an oar, through a notch cut in the stern for the
+purpose. Already the boat shipped several heavy seas, and Ruthven was
+kept hard at work baling with a tin can in which they had brought out
+bait.
+
+"Ruthven, we must let her run. Put out the other oar, we must watch our
+time. Row hard when I give the word."
+
+The maneuver was safely accomplished, and in a minute the boat was
+flying before the gale.
+
+"Keep on rowing," Frank said, "but take it easily. We must try and make
+for the tail of the sands. I can see the lightship."
+
+Frank soon found that the wind was blowing too directly upon the long
+line of sands to enable him to make the lightship. Already, far ahead,
+a gray light seemed to gleam up, marking where the sea was breaking over
+the dreaded shoal.
+
+"I am afraid it is no use," he said. "Now, boys, we had best, each of
+us, say our prayers to God, and prepare to die bravely, for I fear that
+there is no hope for us."
+
+There was silence in the boat for the next five minutes, as the boys sat
+with their heads bent down. More than one choking sob might have been
+heard, had the wind lulled, as they thought of the dear ones at home.
+Suddenly there was a flash of light ahead, and the boom of a gun
+directly afterwards came upon their ears. Then a rocket soared up into
+the air.
+
+"There is a vessel on the sands," Frank exclaimed. "Let us make for her.
+If we can get on board we shall have a better chance than here."
+
+The boys again bent to their oars, and Frank tried to steer exactly for
+the spot whence the rocket had gone up. Presently another gun flashed
+out.
+
+"There she is," he said. "I can see her now against the line of
+breakers. Take the oar again, Ruthven. We must bring up under shelter of
+her lee."
+
+In another minute or two they were within a hundred yards of the ship.
+She was a large vessel, and lay just at the edge of the broken water.
+The waves, as they struck her, flew high above her deck. As the boat
+neared her a bright light suddenly sprang up. The ship was burning a
+blue light. Then a faint cheer was heard.
+
+"They see us," Frank said. "They must think we are the lifeboat. What
+a disappointment for them! Now, steady, lads, and prepare to pull her
+round the instant we are under her stern. I will go as near as I dare."
+
+Frank could see the people on deck watching the boat. They must have
+seen now that she was not the lifeboat; but even in their own danger
+they must have watched with intense interest the efforts of the tiny
+boat, adrift in the raging sea, to reach them. Frank steered the boat
+within a few yards of the stern. Then Jones and Ruthven, who were both
+rowing the same side, exerted themselves to the utmost, while
+Frank pushed with the steering oar. A minute later, and they lay in
+comparatively still water, under the lee of the ship. Two or three ropes
+were thrown them, and they speedily climbed on board.
+
+"We thought you were the lifeboat at first," the captain said, as they
+reached the deck; "but, of course, they cannot be here for a couple of
+hours yet."
+
+"We were blown off shore, sir," Frank said, "and have been rowing
+against the wind for hours."
+
+"Well, my lads," the captain said, "you have only prolonged your lives
+for a few minutes, for she will not hold together long."
+
+The ship, indeed, presented a pitiable appearance. The masts had already
+gone, the bulwark to windward had been carried away, and the hull lay
+heeled over at a sharp angle, her deck to leeward being level with
+the water. The crew were huddled down near the lee bulwarks, sheltered
+somewhat by the sharp slope of the deck from the force of the wind. As
+each wave broke over the ship, tons of water rushed down upon them. No
+more guns were fired, for the lashing had broken and the gun run down to
+leeward. Already there were signs that the ship would break up ere long,
+and no hope existed that rescue could arrive in time.
+
+Suddenly there was a great crash, and the vessel parted amidships.
+
+"A few minutes will settle it now," the captain said. "God help us all."
+
+At this moment there was a shout to leeward, which was answered by a
+scream of joy from those on board the wreck, for there, close alongside,
+lay the lifeboat, whose approach had been entirely unseen. In a few
+minutes the fifteen men who remained of the twenty-two, who had formed
+the crew of the wreck, and the four boys, were on board her. A tiny sail
+was set and the boat's head laid towards Ramsgate.
+
+"I am glad to see you, Master Hargate," the sailor who rowed one of the
+stroke oars shouted. He was the man who had lent them the boat. "I was
+up in the town looking after my wife, who is sick, and clean forgot you
+till it was dark. Then I ran down and found the boat hadn't returned, so
+I got the crew together and we came out to look for you, though we had
+little hope of finding you. It was lucky for you we did, and for the
+rest of them too, for so it chanced that we were but half a mile away
+when the ship fired her first gun, just as we had given you up and
+determined to go back; so on we came straight here. Another ten minutes
+and we should have been too late. We are making for Ramsgate now. We
+could never beat back to Deal in this wind. I don't know as I ever saw
+it blow much harder."
+
+These sentences were not spoken consecutively, but were shouted out in
+the intervals between gusts of wind. It took them two hours to beat back
+to Ramsgate, a signal having been made as soon as they left the wreck to
+inform the lifeboat there and at Broadstairs that they need not put out,
+as the rescue had been already effected. The lads were soon put to bed
+at the sailors' home, a man being at once despatched on horseback to
+Deal, to inform those there of the arrival of the lifeboat, and of the
+rescue of the four boys who had been blown to sea.
+
+Early next morning Frank and Handcock returned to Deal, the other two
+lads being so exhausted by their fatigue and exposure that the doctor
+said they had better remain in bed for another twenty-four hours.
+
+It is impossible to describe the thankfulness and relief which Mrs.
+Hargate experienced, when, about two in the morning, Dr. Parker himself
+brought her news of the safety of her boy. She had long given up all
+hope, for when the evening came on and Frank had not returned, she had
+gone down to the shore. She learned from the fishermen there that it was
+deemed impossible that the boys could reach shore in face of the gale,
+and that although the lifeboat had just put out in search of them, the
+chances of their being found were, as she herself saw, faint indeed.
+She had passed the hours which had intervened, in prayer, and was still
+kneeling by her bedside, where little Lucy was unconsciously sleeping,
+when Dr. Parker's knock was heard at the door. Fervent, indeed, was her
+gratitude to God for the almost miraculous preservation of her son's
+life, and then, overcome by the emotions she had experienced, she sought
+her couch, and was still asleep when, by the earliest train in the
+morning, Frank returned.
+
+For some time the four boys were the heroes of the school. A
+subscription was got up to pay for the lost boat, and close as were Mrs.
+Hargate's means, she enabled Frank to subscribe his share towards the
+fund. The incident raised Frank to a pinnacle of popularity among his
+schoolfellows, for the three others were unanimous in saying that it was
+his coolness and skill in the management of the boat, which alone kept
+up their spirits, and enabled them to keep her afloat during the gale,
+and to make the wreck in safety.
+
+In the general enthusiasm excited by the event, Frank's pursuits,
+which had hitherto found few followers, now became quite popular in the
+school. A field club was formed, of which he was elected president,
+and long rambles in the country in search of insects and plants were
+frequently organized. Frank himself was obliged, in the interests of the
+school, to moderate the zeal of the naturalists, and to point out
+that cricket must not be given up, as, if so large a number withdrew
+themselves from the game, the school would suffer disaster in its
+various engagements with other schools in the neighborhood. Consequently
+the rule was made that members of the club were bound to be in the
+cricket field on at least three days in the week, including one half
+holiday, while they were free to ramble in the country on other days.
+This wise regulation prevented the "naturalists" from becoming unpopular
+in the school, which would assuredly have been the case had they
+entirely absented themselves from cricket.
+
+One Saturday afternoon Frank started with a smaller boy, who was one of
+his most devoted followers, for a long country walk. Frank carried his
+blowgun, and a butterfly net, Charlie Goodall a net of about a foot in
+depth, made of canvas, mounted on a stout brass rim, and strong stick,
+for the capture of water beetles. Their pockets bulged with bottles and
+tin boxes for the carriage of their captured prey.
+
+They had passed through Eastry, a village four miles from Deal, when
+Frank exclaimed, "There is a green hairstreak. The first I've seen this
+year. I have never caught one before."
+
+Cautiously approaching the butterfly, who was sunning himself on the
+top of a thistle, Frank prepared to strike, when it suddenly mounted and
+flitted over a hedge. In a moment the boys had scrambled through the
+gap and were in full pursuit. The butterfly flitted here and there,
+sometimes allowing the boys to approach within a few feet and then
+flitting away again for fifty yards without stopping. Heedless where
+they were going, the boys pursued, till they were startled by a sudden
+shout close to them.
+
+"You young rascals, how dare you run over my wheat?"
+
+The boys stopped, and Frank saw what, in his excitement, he had not
+hitherto heeded, that he was now running in a field of wheat, which
+reached to his knee.
+
+"I am very sorry, sir," he said. "I was so excited than I really did not
+see where I was going."
+
+"Not see!" shouted the angry farmer. "You young rascal, I'll break every
+bone in your body," and he flourished a heavy stick as he spoke.
+
+Charlie Goodall began to cry.
+
+"I have no right to trespass on your wheat, sir," Frank said firmly;
+"but you have no right to strike us. My name is Frank Hargate. I belong
+to Dr. Parker's school at Deal, and if you will say what damage I have
+caused, I will pay for it."
+
+"You shall pay for it now," shouted the farmer, as he advanced with
+uplifted stick.
+
+Frank slipped three or four of his clay bullets into his mouth.
+
+"Leave us alone or it will be worse for you," he said as he raised the
+blowgun to his mouth.
+
+The farmer advanced, and Frank sent a bullet with all his force, and
+with so true an aim that he struck the farmer on the knuckles. It was a
+sharp blow, and the farmer, with a cry of pain and surprise, dropped the
+stick.
+
+"Don't come a step nearer," Frank shouted. "If you do, I will aim at
+your eye next time," and he pointed the threatening tube at the enraged
+farmer's face.
+
+"I'll have the law of you, you young villain. I'll make you smart for
+this."
+
+"You can do as you like about that," Frank said. "I have only struck you
+in self defense, and have let you off easily. Come along, Charlie, let's
+get out of this."
+
+In a few minutes they were again on the road, the farmer making no
+attempt to follow them, but determined in his mind to drive over the
+next morning to Deal to take out a summons against them for trespass and
+assault. The lads proceeded silently along the road. Frank was greatly
+vexed with himself at his carelessness in running over half grown wheat,
+and was meditating how he could pay the fine without having to ask his
+mother. He determined upon his return to carry some of his cases of
+stuffed birds down to a shop in the town, and he felt sure that he
+could get enough for these to pay for any damage which could have been
+inflicted, with a fine for trespassing, for he had seen stuffed birds
+exposed in the windows for sale, which were, he was sure, very inferior
+to his own both in execution and lifelike interest.
+
+After proceeding a few hundred yards along the road they met a pretty
+little girl of seven or eight years old walking along alone. Frank
+scarcely glanced at her, for at the moment he heard a shouting in
+the distance and saw some men running along the road. For a moment he
+thought that the farmer had despatched some of his men to stop him,
+but instantly dismissed the idea, as they were coming from the opposite
+direction and could by no possibility have heard what had happened. They
+were lost sight of by a dip in the road, and as they disappeared, an
+object was seen on the road on the near side of the dip.
+
+"It is a dog," Frank said. "What can they be shouting at?"
+
+The dog was within fifty yards of them when the men again appeared from
+the dip and recommenced shouting. Frank could now hear what they said.
+
+"Mad dog! mad dog!"
+
+"Get through the hedge, Charlie, quick," Frank cried. "Here, I will help
+you over, never mind the thorns."
+
+The hedge was low and closely kept, and Frank, bundling his comrade over
+it, threw himself across and looked round. The dog was within ten yards
+of them, and Frank saw that the alarm was well founded. The dog was a
+large crossbred animal, between a mastiff and a bulldog. Its hair was
+rough and bristling. It came along with its head down and foam churning
+from its mouth. Frank looked the other way and gave a cry. Yet twenty
+yards off, in the middle of the road, stood the child. She, too, had
+heard the shouts, and had paused to see what was the matter. She had
+not taken the alarm, but stood unsuspicious of danger, watching, not the
+dog, but the men in the distance.
+
+Frank placed the blowgun to his mouth, and in a moment his pellet struck
+the animal smartly on the side of the head. It gave a short yelp and
+paused. Another shot struck it, and then Frank, snatching the water net
+from Charlie, threw himself over the hedge, and placed himself between
+the child and the dog just as the latter, with a savage growl, rushed at
+him.
+
+Frank stood perfectly cool, and as the animal rushed forward, thrust the
+net over its head; the ring was but just large enough to allow its head
+to enter. Frank at once sprang forward, and placing himself behind the
+dog kept a strain upon the stick, so retaining the mouth of the net
+tightly on his neck. The animal at first rushed forward dragging Frank
+after him. Then he stopped, backed, and tried to withdraw his head from
+the encumbrance which blinded him. Frank, however, had no difficulty
+in retaining the canvas net in its place, until the men, who were armed
+with pitchforks, ran up and speedily despatched the unfortunate animal.
+
+"That's bravely done, young master," one of them said; "and you have
+saved missy's life surely. The savage brute rushed into the yard and bit
+a young colt and a heifer, and then, as we came running out with forks,
+he took to the road again. We chased 'um along, not knowing who we
+might meet, and it gived us a rare turn when we saw the master's Bessy
+standing alone in the road, wi' nout between her and the dog. Where have
+you been, Miss Bessy?"
+
+"I've been to aunt's," she said, "and she gave me some strawberries and
+cream, and it's wicked of you to kill the poor dog."
+
+"Her aunt's farm lies next to master's," the man explained; "and little
+miss often goes over there.
+
+"The dog was mad, missy, and if it hadn't been for young master here, it
+would have killed you as safe as eggs. Won't you come back to the farm,
+sir? Master and mistress would be main glad to thank you for having
+saved missy's life."
+
+"No, thank you," Frank said; "we are late now and must be going on our
+way. I am very glad I happened to be here at the time;" so saying Frank
+and Charlie proceeded on their way to Deal.
+
+On reaching home he at once picked out four of his best cases of
+stuffed birds. The cases he had constructed himself, for his father had
+encouraged him to depend upon himself for his amusements. He had asked
+Charlie to come round to help him to carry the cases, and with these he
+proceeded to a shop where he had seen such things offered for sale.
+
+"And you really did these yourself?" the man said in surprise. "They are
+beautifully done. Quite pictures, I call them. It is a pity that they
+are homely birds. There is no great sale for such things here. I cannot
+give you more than five shillings each, but if you had them in London
+they would be worth a great deal more."
+
+Frank gladly accepted the offer, and feeling sure that the pound would
+cover the damage done and the fine, which might be five shillings apiece
+for trespassing, went home in good spirits. The next morning the
+doctor was called out in the middle of school, and presently returned
+accompanied by the farmer with whom they had had the altercation on the
+previous day. Frank felt his cheeks flush as he anticipated a severe
+reprimand before the whole school.
+
+"Mr. Gregson," the doctor said, "tells me that two of my boys were out
+near his place at Eastry yesterday. One of them gave him his name, which
+he has forgotten."
+
+"It was I, sir," Frank said rising in his place; "I was there with
+Goodall. We ran on Mr. Gregson's ground after a butterfly. It was my
+fault, sir, for, of course, Goodall went where I did. We ran among his
+wheat, and I really did not notice where we were going till he called
+to us. I was wrong, of course, and am ready to pay for any damage we may
+have caused."
+
+"You are welcome," the farmer said, "to trample on my wheat for the rest
+of your born days. I haven't come over here to talk about the wheat,
+though I tell you fairly I'd minded to do so. I've come over here, Dr.
+Parker, me and my missus who's outside, to thank this young gentleman
+for having saved the life of my little daughter Bessy. She was walking
+along the road when a mad dog, a big brute of a mastiff, who came, I
+hear, from somewhere about Canterbury, and who has bit two boys on the
+road, to say nothing of other dogs and horses and such like; he came
+along the road, he were close to my Bess, and she stood there all alone.
+Some of my men with pitchforks were two hundred yards or so behind; but
+law, they could have done nothing! when this young gentleman here jumped
+all of a sudden over a hedge and put himself between the dog and my
+Bess. The dog, he rushed at him; but what does he do but claps a bag
+he'd got at the end of a stick over the brute's head, and there he holds
+him tight till the men comes up and kills him with their forks.
+
+"Young gentleman," he said, stepping up to Frank and holding out his
+hand, "I owe my child's life to you. There are not many men who would
+have thrown themselves in the way of a mad dog, for the sake of a child
+they knew nothing of. I thank you for it with all my heart. God bless
+you, sir. Now, boys, you give three cheers with me for your schoolmate,
+for you've got a right to be proud of him."
+
+Three such thundering cheers as those which arose had never been heard
+within the limits of Dr. Parker's school from the day of its foundation.
+Seeing that farther work could not be expected from them after this
+excitement, Dr. Parker gave the boys a holiday for the rest of the day,
+and they poured out from the schoolroom, shouting and delighted, while
+Frank was taken off to the parlor to be thanked by Mrs. Gregson.
+The farmer closed his visit by inviting Frank, with as many of his
+schoolfellows as he liked--the whole school if they would come, the more
+the better--to come over to tea on the following Saturday afternoon, and
+he promised them as much strawberries and cream as they could eat. The
+invitation was largely accepted, and the boys all agreed that a jollier
+meal they never sat down to than that which was spread on tables in
+the farmer's garden. The meal was called tea, but it might have been a
+dinner, for the tables were laden with huge pies, cold chicken and duck,
+hams, and piles of cakes and tarts of all sorts. Before they started for
+home, late in the evening, syllabub and cake were handed round, and the
+boys tramped back to Deal in the highest of glee at the entertainment
+they had received from the hospitable farmer and his wife.
+
+Great fun had been caused after tea by the farmer giving a humorous
+relation of the battle with which his acquaintance with Frank had
+commenced, and especially at the threat of Frank to send a bullet
+into his eye if he interfered with him. When they left, a most cordial
+invitation was given to Frank to come over, with any friend he liked to
+bring with him, and have tea at the Oaks Farm whenever he chose to do
+so.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III: A TOUGH YARN
+
+
+"You had a close shave the other night," one of the boatmen remarked to
+Frank, as a few days after the adventure he strolled down with Ruthven
+and Handcock to talk to the boatman whose boat had been lost, "a very
+narrow shave. I had one out there myself when I was just about your
+age, nigh forty years ago. I went out for a sail with my father in his
+fishing boat, and I didn't come back for three years. That was the only
+long voyage I ever went. I've been sticking to fishing ever since."
+
+"How was it you were away three years?" Handcock asked, "and what was
+the adventure? Tell us about it."
+
+"Well, it's rather a long yarn," the boatman said.
+
+"Well, your best plan, Jack," Ruthven said, putting his hand in his
+pocket and bringing out sixpence, "will be for you to go across the road
+and wet your whistle before you begin."
+
+"Thank ye, young gentleman. I will take three o' grog and an ounce of
+'bacca."
+
+He went across to the public house, and soon returned with a long clay
+in his hand. Then he sat down on the shingle with his back against a
+boat, and the boys threw themselves down close to him.
+
+"Now," he began, when he had filled his pipe with great deliberation and
+got it fairly alight, "this here yarn as I'm going to tell you ain't no
+gammon. Most of the tales which gets told on the beach to visitors as
+comes down here and wants to hear of sea adventures is just lies from
+beginning to end. Now, I ain't that sort, leastways, I shouldn't go to
+impose upon young gents like you as ha' had a real adventure of your
+own, and showed oncommon good pluck and coolness too. I don't say, mind
+ye, that every word is just gospel. My mates as ha' known me from a boy
+tells me that I've 'bellished the yarn since I first told it, and that
+all sorts of things have crept in which wasn't there first. That may
+be so. When a man tells a story a great many times, naturally he can't
+always tell it just the same, and he gets so mixed up atween what he
+told last and what he told first that he don't rightly know which
+was which when he wants to tell it just as it really happened. So if
+sometimes it appears to you that I'm steering rather wild, just you put
+a stopper on and bring me up all standing with a question."
+
+There was a quiet humor about the boatman's face, and the boys winked
+at each other as much as to say that after such an exordium they must
+expect something rather staggering. The boatman took two or three hard
+whiffs at his pipe and then began.
+
+"It was towards the end of September in 1832, that's just forty years
+ago now, that I went out with my father and three hands in the smack,
+the Flying Dolphin. I'd been at sea with father off and on ever since
+I was about nine years old, and a smarter boy wasn't to be found on the
+beach. The Dolphin was a good sea boat, but she wasn't, so to say, fast,
+and I dunno' as she was much to look at, for the old man wasn't the sort
+of chap to chuck away his money in paint or in new sails as long as the
+old ones could be pieced and patched so as to hold the wind. We sailed
+out pretty nigh over to the French coast, and good sport we had. We'd
+been out two days when we turned her head homewards. The wind was
+blowing pretty strong, and the old man remarked, he thought we was in
+for a gale. There was some talk of our running in to Calais and waiting
+till it had blown itself out, but the fish might have spoil before the
+Wind dropped, so we made up our minds to run straight into Dover and
+send the fish up from there. The night came on wild and squally, and as
+dark as pitch. It might be about eight bells, and I and one of the other
+hands had turned in, when father gave a sudden shout down the hatch,
+'All hands on deck.' I was next to the steps and sprang up 'em. Just as
+I got to the top something grazed my face. I caught at it, not knowing
+what it was, and the next moment there was a crash, and the Dolphin went
+away from under my feet. I clung for bare life, scarce awake yet nor
+knowing what had happened. The next moment I was under water. I still
+held on to the rope and was soon out again. By this time I was pretty
+well awake to what had happened. A ship running down channel had walked
+clean over the poor old Dolphin, and I had got hold of the bobstay. It
+took me some time to climb up on to the bowsprit, for every time she
+pitched I went under water. However, I got up at last and swarmed along
+the bowsprit and got on board. There was a chap sitting down fast asleep
+there. I walked aft to the helmsman. Two men were pacing up and down in
+front of him. 'You're a nice lot, you are,' I said, 'to go running down
+Channel at ten knots an hour without any watch, a-walking over ships and
+a-drowning of seamen. I'll have the law of ye, see if I don't.'
+
+"'Jeerusalem!' said one, 'who have we here?'
+
+"'My name is Jack Perkins,' says I, 'and I'm the sole survivor, as far
+as I knows, of the smack, the Flying Dolphin, as has been run down by
+this craft and lost with all hands.'
+
+"'Darn the Flying Dolphin, and you too,' says the man, and he begins
+to walk up and down the deck a-puffn' of a long cigar as if nothing had
+happened.
+
+"'Oh, come,' says I, 'this won't do. Here you've been and run down a
+smack, drowned father and the other three hands, and your lookout fast
+asleep, and you does nothing.'
+
+"'I suppose,' said the captain, sarcastic, 'you want me to jump over
+to look for 'em. You want me to heave the ship to in this gale and
+to invite yer father perlitely to come on board. P'raps you'd like a
+grapnel put out to see if I couldn't hook the smack and bring her up
+again. Perhaps you'd like to be chucked overboard yourself. Nobody asked
+you to come on board, nobody wanted your company. I reckon the wisest
+thing you can do is to go for'ard and turn in.' There didn't seem much
+for me to do else, so I went forward to the forecastle. There most of
+the hands were asleep, but two or three were sitting up yarning. I told
+'em my story and what this captain had said.
+
+"'He's a queer hand is the skipper,' one of 'em said, 'and hasn't got a
+soft place about him. Well, my lad, I'm sorry for what's happened, but
+talking won't do it any good. You've got a long voyage before you, and
+you'd best turn in and make yourself comfortable for it.'
+
+"'I ain't going a long voyage,' says I, beginning to wipe my eye, 'I
+wants to be put ashore at the first port.'
+
+"'Well, my lad, I daresay the skipper will do that, but as we're bound
+for the coast of Chili from Hamburg, and ain't likely to be there for
+about five months, you've got, as I said, a long voyage before you. If
+the weather had been fine the skipper might have spoken some ship in the
+Channel, and put you on board, but before the gale's blown out we shall
+be hundreds of miles at sea. Even if it had been fine I don't suppose
+the skipper would have parted with you, especially if you told him the
+watch was asleep. He would not care next time he entered an English port
+to have a claim fixed on his ship for the vally of the smack.'
+
+"I saw what the sailor said was like enough, and blamed myself for
+having let out about the watch. However, there was no help for it, and I
+turned into an empty bunk and cried myself to sleep. What a voyage that
+was, to be sure! The ship was a Yankee and so was the master and mates.
+The crew were of all sorts, Dutch, and Swedes, and English, a Yank or
+two, and a sprinklin' of niggers. It was one of those ships they call
+a hell on earth, and cussing and kicking and driving went on all day. I
+hadn't no regular place give me, but helped the black cook, and pulled
+at ropes, and swabbed the decks, and got kicked and cuffed all round.
+The skipper did not often speak to me, but when his eye lighted on me he
+gave an ugly sort of look, as seemed to say, 'You'd better ha' gone down
+with the others. You think you're going to report the loss of the smack,
+and to get damages against the Potomac, do you? we shall see.' The
+crew were a rough lot, but the spirit seemed taken out of 'em by the
+treatment they met with. It was a word and a blow with the mates, and
+they would think no more of catching up a handspike and stretching a man
+senseless on the deck than I should of killing a fly. There was two or
+three among 'em of a better sort than the others. The best of 'em was
+the carpenter, an old Dutchman. 'Leetle boy,' he used to say to me,
+'you keep yourself out of the sight of de skipper. Bad man dat. Me much
+surprise if you get to de end of dis voyage all right. You best work
+vera hard and give him no excuse to hit you. If he do, by gosh, he kill
+you, and put down in de log, Boy killed by accident.'
+
+"I felt that this was so myself, and I did my work as well as I could.
+One day, however, when we were near the line I happened to upset a
+bucket with some tar. The captain was standing close by.
+
+"'You young dog,' he said, 'you've done that a purpose,' and before I
+could speak he caught up the bucket by the handle and brought it down on
+my head with all his might. The next thing I remember was, I was lying
+in a bunk in the forecastle. Everything looked strange to me, and I
+couldn't raise my head. After a time I made shift to turn it round, and
+saw old Jans sitting on a chest mending a jacket. I called him, but my
+voice was so low I hardly seemed to hear it myself.
+
+"'Ah, my leetle boy!' he said, 'I am glad to hear you speak again. Two
+whole weeks you say nothing except talk nonsense.'
+
+"'Have I been ill?' I asked.
+
+"'You haf been vera bad,' he said. 'De captain meant to kill you, I haf
+no doubt, and he pretty near do it. After he knock you down he said you
+dead. He sorry for accident, not mean to hit you so hard, but you dead
+and better be tossed overboard at once. De mates they come up and take
+your hands and feet. Den I insist dat I feel your wrist. Two or three of
+us dey stood by me. Captain he vera angry, say we mutinous dogs. I say
+not mutinous, but wasn't going to see a boy who was only stunned thrown
+overboard. We say if he did dat we make complaint before consul when we
+get to port. De skipper he cuss and swear awful. Howebber we haf our way
+and carry you here. You haf fever and near die. Tree days after we
+bring you here de captain he swear you shamming and comed to look at you
+hisself, but he see that it true and tink you going to die. He go away
+wid smile on his face. Every day he ask if you alive, and give grunt
+when I say yes. Now you best keep vera quiet. You no talk 'cept when no
+one else here but me. Other times lie wid your face to the side and your
+eyes shut. Best keep you here as long as we can, de longer de better. He
+make you come on deck and work as soon as he think you strong enough to
+stand. Best get pretty strong before you go out.'
+
+"For another three weeks I lay in my bunk. I only ate a little gruel
+when others were there, but when the skipper was at dinner Jans would
+bring me strong soup and meat from the caboose. The captain came several
+times and shook me and swore I was shamming, but I only answered in a
+whisper and seemed as faint as a girl. All this time the Potomac was
+making good way, and was running fast down the coast of South America.
+The air was getting cool and fresh.
+
+"'I tink,' Jans said one evening to me, 'dat dis not go on much much
+longer. De crew getting desperate. Dey talk and mutter among demselves.
+Me thinks we have trouble before long.'
+
+"The next day one of the mates came in with a bucket of water. 'There!
+you skulking young hound,' he said as he threw it over me; 'you'd best
+get out, or the skipper will come and rouse you up himself.'
+
+"I staggered on to the floor. I had made up my mind to sham weak, but
+I did not need to pretend at first, for having been six weeks in bed, I
+felt strange and giddy when I got up. I slipped on my clothes and went
+out on deck, staggered to the bulwarks and held on. The fresh air soon
+set me straight, and I felt that I was pretty strong again. However, I
+pretended to be able to scarce stand, and, holding on by the bulwark,
+made my way aft.
+
+"'You young dog,' the skipper said, 'you've been shamming for the last
+six weeks. I reckon I'll sharpen you up now,' and he hit me a heavy blow
+with a rattan he held in his hand. There was a cry of 'Shame!' from some
+of the men. As quick as thought the skipper pulled a pistol from his
+pocket.
+
+"'Who cried "Shame"?'" he asked looking round.
+
+"No one answered. Still holding the pistol in his hand he gave me
+several more cuts, and then told me to swab the deck. I did it,
+pretending all the time I was scarce strong enough to keep my feet. Then
+I made my way forward and sat down against the bulwark, as if nigh done
+up, till night came. That night as I lay in my bunk I heard the men
+talking in whispers together. I judged from what they said that they
+intended to wait for another week, when they expected to enter Magellan
+Straits, and then to attack and throw the officers overboard. Nothing
+seemed settled as to what they would do afterwards. Some were in favor
+of continuing the voyage to port, and there giving out that the captain
+and officers had been washed overboard in a storm; when, if all stood
+true to each other, the truth could never be known, although suspicions
+might arise. The others, however, insisted that you never could be sure
+of every one, and that some one would be sure to peach. They argued
+in favor of sailing west and beaching the ship on one of the Pacific
+islands, where they could live comfortably and take wives among the
+native women. If they were ever found they could then say that the ship
+was blown out of her course and wrecked there, and that the captain and
+officers had been drowned or killed by the natives. It seemed to me
+that this party were the strongest. For the next week I was thrashed and
+kicked every day and had I been as weak as I pretended to be, I'm sure
+they would have killed me. However, thanks to the food Jans brought
+me, for I was put on bread and water, I held on. At last we entered the
+straits. The men were very quiet that day, and the captain in a worse
+temper than usual. I did not go to sleep, and turned out at the midnight
+watch, for I was made to keep watch although I was on duty all day.
+As the watch came in I heard them say to the others, 'In ten minutes'
+time.' Presently I saw them come out, and joining the watch on deck they
+went aft quietly in a body. They had all got handspikes in their hands.
+Then there was a rush. Two pistol shots were fired, and then there was
+a splash, and I knew that the officer on watch was done for. Then they
+burst into the aft cabins. There were pistol shots and shouts, and for
+three or four minutes the fight went on. Then all was quiet. Then they
+came up on deck again and I heard three splashes, that accounted for
+the captain and the two other mates. I thought it safe now to go aft. I
+found that six of the men had been killed. These were thrown overboard,
+and then the crew got at the spirit stores and began to drink. I looked
+about for Jans, and found him presently sitting on the deck by the
+bulwark.
+
+"'Ah, my leetle boy!' he said, 'you have just come in time. I have been
+shot through the body. I was not in de fight, but was standing near when
+dey rushed at de officer on watch. De first pistol he fire missed de man
+he aim at and hit me. Well, it was shust as well. I am too old to care
+for living among de black peoples, and I did not want a black wife at
+all. So matters haf not turned out so vera bad. Get me some water.'
+
+"I got him some, but in five minutes the poor old Dutchman was dead.
+There was no one on deck. All were shouting and singing in the captain's
+cabin, so I went and turned in forward. Morning was just breaking when
+I suddenly woke. There was a great light, and running on deck I saw
+the fire pouring out from the cabin aft. I suppose they had all drunk
+themselves stupid and had upset a light, and the fire had spread and
+suffocated them all. Anyhow, there were none of them to be seen. I got
+hold of a water keg and placed it in a boat which luckily hung out on
+its davits, as Jans had, the day before, been calking a seam in her side
+just above the water's edge. I made a shift to lower it, threw off the
+falls, and getting out the oars, rowed off. I lay by for some little
+time, but did not see a soul on deck. Then, as I had nowhere particular
+to go, I lay down and slept. On getting up I found that I had drifted
+two or three miles from the ship, which was now a mere smoking shell,
+the greater part being burnt to the Water's edge. Two miles to the
+north lay the land, and getting out an oar at the stern I sculled her
+to shore. I suppose I had been seen, or that the flames of the ship had
+called down the people, for there they were in the bay, and such a lot
+of creatures I never set eyes on. Men and women alike was pretty nigh
+naked, and dirt is no name for them. Though I was but a boy I was taller
+than most. They came round me and jabbered and jabbered till I was nigh
+deafened. Over and over again they pointed to the ship. I thought they
+wanted to know whether I belonged to it, but it couldn't have been that,
+because when I nodded a lot of 'em jumped into some canoes which was
+lying ashore, and taking me with them paddled off to the ship. I suppose
+they really wanted to know if they could have what they could find. That
+wasn't much, but it seemed a treasure to them. There was a lot of burned
+beams floating about alongside, and all of these which had iron or
+copper bolts or fastenings they took in tow and rowed ashore. We hadn't
+been gone many hundred yards from the vessel when she sunk. Well, young
+gentlemen, for upwards of two years I lived with them critturs. My
+clothes soon wore out, and I got to be as naked and dirty as the rest
+of 'em. They were good hands at fishing, and could spear a fish by the
+light of a torch wonderful. In other respects they didn't seem to have
+much sense. They lived, when I first went there, in holes scratched in
+the side of a hill, but I taught 'em to make huts, making a sort of
+ax out of the iron saved. In summer they used to live in these, but
+in winter, when it was awful cold, we lived in the holes, which were a
+sight warmer than the huts. Law, what a time that was! I had no end
+of adventures with wild beasts. The way the lions used to roar and the
+elephants--"
+
+"I think, Jack," Ruthven interrupted, "that this must be one of the
+embellishments which have crept in since you first began telling the
+tale. I don't think I should keep it in if I were you, because the fact
+that there are neither lions or elephants in South America throws a
+doubt upon the accuracy of this portion of your story."
+
+"It may be, sir," the sailor said, with a twinkle of his eyes, "that the
+elephants and lions may not have been in the first story. Now I think
+of it, I can't recall that they were; but, you see, people wants to
+know all about it. They ain't satisfied when I tell 'em that I lived two
+years among these chaps. They wants to know how I passed my time, and
+whether there were any wild beasts, and a lot of such like questions,
+and, in course, I must answer them. So then, you see, naturally,
+'bellishments creeps in; but I did live there for two years, that's
+gospel truth, and I did go pretty nigh naked, and in winter was pretty
+near starved to death over and over again. When the ground was too hard
+to dig up roots, and the sea was too rough for the canoes to put out, it
+went hard with us, and very often we looked more like living skelingtons
+than human beings. Every time a ship came in sight they used to hurry me
+away into the woods. I suppose they found me useful, and didn't want to
+part with me. At last I got desperate, and made up my mind I'd make a
+bolt whatever came of it. They didn't watch me when there were no ships
+near. I suppose they thought there was nowhere for me to run to, so one
+night I steals down to the shore, gets into a canoe, puts in a lot of
+roots which I had dug up and hidden away in readiness, and so makes
+off. I rowed hard all night, for I knew they would be after me when they
+found I had gone. Them straits is sometimes miles and miles across;
+at other times not much more than a ship's length, and the tide runs
+through 'em like a mill race. I had chosen a time when I had the tide
+with me, and soon after morning I came to one of them narrow places. I
+should like to have stopped here, because it would have been handy for
+any ship as passed; but the tide run so strong, and the rocks were
+so steep on both sides, that I couldn't make a landing. Howsomdever,
+directly it widened out, I managed to paddle into the back water and
+landed there. Well, gents, would you believe me, if there wasn't two
+big allygaters sitting there with their mouths open ready to swallow me,
+canoe and all, when I came to shore."
+
+"No, Jack, I'm afraid we can't believe that. We would if we could, you
+know, but alligators are not fond of such cold weather as you'd been
+having, nor do they frequent the seashore."
+
+"Ah, but this, you see, was a straits, Master Ruthven, just a narrow
+straits, and I expect the creatures took it for a river."
+
+"No, no, Jack, we can't swallow the alligators, any more than they could
+swallow you and your canoe."
+
+"Well," the sailor said with a sigh, "I won't say no more about the
+allygaters. I can't rightly recall when they came into the story.
+Howsomdever, I landed, you can believe that, you know."
+
+"Oh yes, we can quite believe, Jack, that, if you were there, in that
+canoe, in that back water, with the land close ahead, you did land."
+
+The sailor looked searchingly at Ruthven and then continued:
+
+"I hauled the canoe up and hid it in some bushes, and it were well I
+did, for a short time afterwards a great--" and he paused. "Does the
+hippypotybus live in them ere waters, young gents?"
+
+"He does not, Jack," Ruthven said.
+
+"Then it's clear," the sailor said, "that it wasn't a hippypotybus. It
+must have been a seal."
+
+"Yes, it might have been a seal," Ruthven said. "What did he do?"
+
+"Well he just took a look at me, gents, winked with one eye, as much as
+to say, 'I see you,' and went down again. There warn't nothing else as
+he could do, was there?"
+
+"It was the best thing he could do anyhow," Ruthven said.
+
+"Well, gents, I lived there for about three weeks, and then a ship
+comes along, homeward bound, and I goes out and hails her. At first they
+thought as I was a native as had learned to speak English, and it wasn't
+till they'd boiled me for three hours in the ship's copper as they got
+at the color of my skin, and could believe as I was English. So I came
+back here and found the old woman still alive, and took to fishing
+again; but it was weeks and weeks before I could get her or any one else
+to believe as I was Jack Perkins. And that's all the story, young gents.
+Generally I tells it a sight longer to the gents as come down from
+London in summer; but, you see, I can't make much out of it when ye
+won't let me have 'bellishments."
+
+"And how much of it is true altogether, Jack?" Frank asked. "Really how
+much?"
+
+"It's all true as I have told you, young masters," the boatman said. "It
+were every bit true about the running down of the smack, and me being
+nearly killed by the skipper, and the mutiny, and the burning of the
+vessel, and my living for a long time--no, I won't stick to the two
+years, but it might have been three weeks, with the natives before a
+ship picked me up. And that's good enough for a yarn, ain't it?"
+
+"Quite good enough, Jack, and we're much obliged to you; but I should
+advise you to drop the embellishments in future."
+
+"It ain't no use, Master Hargate, they will have 'bellishments, and if
+they will have 'em, Jack Perkins isn't the man to disappint 'em; and,
+Lord bless you, sir, the stiffer I pitches it in the more liberal they
+is with their tips. Thank ye kindly all round, gentlemen. Yes, I do feel
+dry after the yarn."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV: A RISING TIDE
+
+
+The half year was drawing to its close, and it was generally agreed
+at Dr. Parker's that it had been the jolliest ever known. The boating
+episode and that of the tea at Oak Farm had been events which had given
+a fillip to existence. The school had been successful in the greater
+part of its cricket matches, and generally every one was well satisfied
+with himself. On the Saturday preceding the breaking up Frank, with
+Ruthven, Charlie Goodall and two of the other naturalists, started along
+the seashore to look for anemones and other marine creatures among the
+rocks and pools at the foot of the South Foreland. Between Ruthven and
+Frank a strong feeling of affection had grown up since the date of their
+boating adventure. They were constantly together now; and as Ruthven
+was also intended for the army, and would probably obtain his commission
+about the same time as Frank, they often talked over their future,
+and indulged in hopes that they might often meet, and that in their
+campaigns, they might go through adventures together.
+
+Tide was low when they started. They had nearly three miles to walk.
+The pools in front of Deal and Walmer had often been searched, but
+they hoped that once round the Foreland they might light upon specimens
+differing from any which they had hitherto found. For some hours they
+searched the pools, retiring as the tide advanced. Then they went up to
+the foot of the cliffs, and sat down to open their cans and compare
+the treasures they had collected. The spot which they had unwittingly
+selected was a little bay. For a long time they sat comparing their
+specimens. Then Frank said, "Come along, it is time to be moving."
+
+As he rose to his feet he uttered an exclamation of dismay. Although
+the tide was still at some little distance from the spot where they were
+sitting, it had already reached the cliffs extending out at either
+end of the bay. A brisk wind was blowing on shore, and the waves were
+already splashing against the foot of the rocks.
+
+The whole party leaped to their feet, and seizing their cans ran off at
+the top of their speed to the end of the bay.
+
+"I will see how deep the water is," Frank exclaimed; "we may yet be able
+to wade round."
+
+The water soon reached Frank's waist. He waded on until it was up to
+his shoulders, and he had to leap as each wave approached him. Then he
+returned to his friends.
+
+"I could see round," he said, "and I think I could have got round
+without getting into deeper water. The worst of it is the bottom is all
+rocky, and I stumbled several times, and should have gone under water
+if I could not have swam. You can't swim, Ruthven, I know; can you other
+fellows?"
+
+Goodall could swim, as could one of the others.
+
+"Now, Ruthven," Frank said, "if you will put your hand on my shoulder
+and keep quiet, I think I could carry you around. Goodall and Jackson
+can take Childers."
+
+But neither of the other boys had much confidence in their swimming.
+They could get thirty or forty yards, but felt sure that they would be
+able to render but little assistance to Childers, and in fact scarcely
+liked to round the point alone. For some time they debated the question,
+the sea every minute rising and pushing them farther and farther from
+the point. "Look here, Frank," Ruthven said at last; "you are not sure
+you can carry me. The others are quite certain that they cannot take
+Childers. We must give up that idea. The best thing, old boy, is for you
+three who can swim to start together. Then if either of the others fail
+you can help them a bit. Childers and I must take our chance here. When
+you get round you must send a boat as soon as possible."
+
+"I certainly shall not desert you, Ruthven," Frank said. "You know as
+well as I do that I'm not likely to find a boat on the shore till I get
+pretty near Walmer Castle, and long before we could get back it would be
+settled here. No, no, old fellow, we will see the matter out together.
+Jackson and Goodall can swim round if they like."
+
+These lads, however, would not venture to take the risk alone, but said
+they would go if Frank would go with them.
+
+"Chuck off your boots and coats and waistcoats," Frank said suddenly,
+proceeding to strip rapidly to the skin. "I will take them round,
+Ruthven, and come back to you. Run round the bay you and Childers, and
+see if you can find any sort of ledge or projection that we can take
+refuge upon. Now, then, come on you two as quick as you can."
+
+The sea had already reached within a few feet of the foot of the cliff
+all round the bay.
+
+"Now, mind," Frank said sharply, "no struggling and nonsense, you
+fellows. I will keep quite close to you and stick to you, so you needn't
+be afraid. If you get tired just put one hand on my back and swim with
+the other and your legs; and above all things keep your heads as low as
+possible in the water so as just to be able to breathe."
+
+The three lads soon waded out as far as they could go and then struck
+out. Jackson and Goodall were both poor swimmers and would have fared
+very badly alone. The confidence, however, which they entertained in
+Frank gave them courage, and they were well abreast of the point when
+first Jackson and then Goodall put their hands on his shoulders. Thanks
+to the instructions he had given them, and to their confidence in him,
+they placed no great weight upon him. But every ounce tells heavily on a
+swimmer, and Frank gave a gasp of relief as at last his feet touched the
+ground. Bidding his companions at once set off at a run he sat down for
+two or three minutes to recover his breath.
+
+"It is lucky," he said to himself, "that I did not try with Ruthven.
+It's a very different thing carrying fellows who can swim and fellows
+who can't. What fools we've been to let ourselves he caught here! I had
+no idea the tide came so high, or that it was so dangerous, and none of
+us have ever been round here before. Now I must go back to Ruthven."
+
+Frank found it even harder work to get back than it had been to come out
+from the bay, for the tide was against him now. At last he stood beside
+Ruthven and Childers.
+
+"We can only find one place, Frank, where there is any projection a
+fellow could stand upon, and that is only large enough for one. See!" he
+said, pointing to a projecting block of chalk, whose upper surface, some
+eight inches wide, was tolerably flat. "There is a cave here, too, which
+may go beyond the tide. It is not deep but it slopes up a bit."
+
+"That will never do," Frank said; "as the waves come in they will rush
+up and fill it to the top. Don't you see it is all rounded by the water?
+Now, Childers, we will put you on that stone. You will be perfectly safe
+there, for you see it is two feet above this greenish line, which shows
+where the water generally comes to. The tides are not at spring at
+present, so though you may get a splashing there is no fear of your
+being washed off."
+
+The water was already knee deep at the foot of the rocks, and the waves
+took them nearly up to the shoulders. Ruthven did not attempt to dispute
+Frank's allotment of the one place of safety to Childers. Frank and he
+placed themselves below the block of chalk, which was somewhat over six
+feet from the ground. Then Childers scrambled up on to their shoulders,
+and from these stepped onto the ledge.
+
+"I am all right," he said; "I wish to Heaven that you were too."
+
+"We shall do," Frank said. "Mind you hold tight, Childers! You had
+better turn round with your face to the cliff, so as to be able to grip
+hold and steady yourself in case the waves come up high. The tide will
+turn in three quarters of an hour at the outside. Now, then, Ruthven,
+let's make a fight for it, old man."
+
+"What are you going to do, Frank?"
+
+"We will wade along here as far as we can towards the corner, and than
+we must swim for it."
+
+"Don't you think it's possible to stay here," Ruthven said, "if the tide
+will turn so soon?"
+
+"Quite impossible!" Frank said. "I have been nearly taken off my feet
+twice already, and the water will rise a yard yet, at least. We should
+be smashed against the rocks, even if we weren't drowned. It must be
+tried, Ruthven. There is no other way for it. The distance is a good
+deal farther than it would have been if we had started at first; but it
+isn't the distance that makes much matter. We've only got to go out a
+little way, and the tide will soon take us around the point. Everything
+depends on you. I can take you round the point, and land you safely
+enough, if you will lie quiet. If you don't, you will drown both of us.
+So it's entirely in your hands.
+
+"Look out!"
+
+At this moment a larger wave than usual took both boys off their legs,
+and dashed them with considerable force against the cliff. Frank seized
+Ruthven, and assisted him to regain his feet.
+
+"Now, old fellow, let me put you on your back. I will lie on mine and
+tow you along. Don't struggle; don't move; above all, don't try and lift
+your head, and don't mind if a little water gets in your mouth. Now!"
+
+For a moment Ruthven felt himself under water, and had to make a great
+effort to restrain himself from struggling to come to the surface. Then
+he felt himself lying on his back in the water, supported by Frank. The
+motion was not unpleasant as he rose and fell on the waves, although now
+and then a splash of water came over his face, and made him cough and
+splutter for breath. He could see nothing but the blue sky overhead,
+could feel nothing except that occasionally he received a blow from
+one or other of Frank's knees, as the latter swam beneath him, with
+Ruthven's head on his chest. It was a dreamy sensation, and looking
+back upon it afterwards Ruthven could never recall anything that he
+had thought of. It seemed simply a drowsy pleasant time, except when
+occasionally a wave covered his face. His first sensation was that of
+surprise when he felt the motion change, and Frank lifted his head
+from the water and said, "Stand up, old fellow. Thank God, here we are,
+safe!"
+
+Frank had indeed found the journey easier than that which he had before
+undertaken with the others. He had scarcely tried to progress, but had,
+after getting sufficiently far out to allow the tide to take him round
+the point, drifted quietly.
+
+"I owe my life to you, Frank. I shall never forget it, old fellow."
+
+"It's been a close thing," Frank answered; "but you owe your life as
+much to your own coolness as to me, and above all, Ruthven, don't let us
+forget that we both owe our lives to God."
+
+"I sha'n't forget it," Ruthven said quietly, and they stood for a few
+minutes without speaking. "Now, what had we better do? Shall we start to
+run home?"
+
+"I can't," Frank laughed, for he had nothing on but his trousers. These
+he had slipped on after the return from his first trip, pushing the rest
+of his things into a crevice in the rocks as high up as he could reach.
+
+"You had better take off your things, Ruthven, and lay them out to dry
+in the sun. The boat will be here in half an hour. I wonder how Childers
+is getting on!"
+
+"I think he will be safe," Ruthven said. "The tide will not rise high
+enough for there to be much danger of his being washed off."
+
+"I don't think so either," Frank agreed, "or I would try and swim back
+again; but I really don't think I could get round the point against the
+tide again."
+
+In half an hour a boat rowing four oars was seen approaching.
+
+"They are laying out well," Ruthven said. "They couldn't row harder if
+they were rowing a race. But had it not been for you, old fellow, they
+would have been too late, as far as I am concerned."
+
+As the boat approached, the coxswain waved his hat to the boys. Frank
+motioned with his arm for them to row on round the point. The boat
+swept along at a short distance from the shore. The boys watched them
+breathlessly. Presently as it reached the point they saw the coxswain
+stand up and say something to the men, who glanced over their shoulders
+as they rowed. Then the coxswain gave a loud shout. "Hold on! We'll be
+with you directly."
+
+"Thank God!" Frank exclaimed, "Childers is all right."
+
+It was well, however, that the boat arrived when it did, for Childers
+was utterly exhausted when it reached him. The sea had risen so high
+that the waves broke against his feet, throwing the spray far above his
+head, and often nearly washing him from the ledge on which he stood.
+Had it not been, indeed, for the hold which he obtained of the cliff, it
+would several times have swept him away. About eighteen inches above
+his head he had found a ledge sufficiently wide to give a grip for his
+hands, and hanging by these he managed to retain his place when three
+times his feet were swept off the rock by the rush of water. The tide
+was just on the turn when the boat arrived, and so exhausted was he that
+he certainly would not have been able to hold out for the half hour's
+buffeting to which he would have been exposed before the water fell
+sufficiently to leave him. After helping him into the boat the men
+gathered the clothes jammed in fissures of the cliffs. These were, of
+course, drenched with water, but had for the most part remained firm in
+their places. They now pulled round to the spot where Frank and Ruthven
+were awaiting them.
+
+"Childers must have been pretty nearly done," Frank said. "He must be
+lying in the bottom of the boat."
+
+Childers gave a smile of pleasure as his schoolfellows jumped on board.
+He had, glancing over his shoulder, seen them drift out of sight round
+the point, and had felt certain that they had reached shore. It was,
+however, a great pleasure to be assured of the fact.
+
+"You have made quite a stir upon the beach, young gentlemen," the
+coxswain of the boat said. "When they two came running up without their
+shoes or coats and said there were three of you cut off in the bay under
+the Foreland, there didn't seem much chance for you. It didn't take us
+two minutes to launch the boat, for there were a score of hands helping
+to run her down; and my mates bent to it well, I can tell you, though we
+didn't think it would be of any use. We were glad when we made you two
+out on this side of the point. Look, there's half Deal and Walmer coming
+along the shore."
+
+It was as the boatman said. Numbers of persons were streaming along the
+beach, and loud were the cheers which rose as the coxswain stood up and
+shouted in a stentorian voice, "All saved!"
+
+Frank put on his things as they approached Walmer. His shoes were lost,
+as were those of Ruthven, and he had difficulty in getting his arms into
+his wet and shrunken jacket. Quite a crowd were gathered near the castle
+as the boat rowed to shore, and a hearty cheer arose as it was run up
+on the shingle and the boys were helped out. Frank and Ruthven, indeed,
+required no assistance. They were in no way the worse for the adventure,
+but Childers was so weak that he was unable to stand. He was carried up
+and laid on a fly, the others sitting opposite, the driver having first
+taken the precaution of removing the cushions.
+
+There were among the crowd most of the boys from Dr. Parker's. Goodall
+and Jackson had arrived nearly an hour and a half before, and the news
+had spread like wildfire. Bats and balls had been thrown down and every
+one had hurried to the beach. Goodall and his companion had already
+related the circumstance of their being cut off by the water and taken
+round the point by Frank; and as Ruthven on jumping out had explained
+to his comrades who flocked round to shake his hand, "I owe my life to
+Hargate," the enthusiasm reached boiling point, and Frank had difficulty
+in taking his place in the fly, so anxious were all to shake his hand
+and pat him on the shoulder. Had it not been for his anxiety to get home
+as soon as possible, and his urgent entreaties, they would have carried
+him on their shoulders in triumph through the town. They drove first to
+the school, where Childers was at once carried up to a bed, which had
+been prepared with warm blankets in readiness; Ruthven needed only to
+change his clothes.
+
+The moment they had left the fly Frank drove straight home, and was
+delighted at finding, from his mother's exclamation of surprise as he
+alighted from the cab, that she had not been suffering any anxiety, no
+one, in the general excitement, having thought of taking the news to
+her. In answer to her anxious inquiries he made light of the affair,
+saying only that they had stupidly allowed themselves to be cut off
+by the sea and had got a ducking. It was not, indeed, till the next
+morning, when the other four boys came around to tell Mrs. Hargate that
+they were indebted to Frank for their lives, that she had any notion
+that he had been in danger.
+
+Frank was quite oppressed by what he called the fuss which was made over
+the affair. A thrilling description of it appeared in the local papers.
+A subscription was got up in the school, and a gold watch with an
+inscription was presented to him; and he received letters of heart
+felt thanks from the parents of his four schoolfellows, for Childers
+maintained that it was entirely to Frank's coolness and thoughtfulness
+that his preservation was also due.
+
+On the following Wednesday the school broke up. Frank had several
+invitations from the boys to spend his holidays with them; but he knew
+how lonely his mother would feel in his absence, and he declined all the
+invitations. Mrs. Hargate was far from strong, and had had several fits
+of fainting. These, however, had taken place at times when Frank was at
+school, and she had strictly charged her little servant to say nothing
+about it.
+
+One day on returning from a long walk he saw the doctor's carriage
+standing at the door. Just as he arrived the door opened and the doctor
+came out. Upon seeing Frank he turned.
+
+"Come in here, my boy," he said.
+
+Frank followed him, and seeing that the blinds were down, went to draw
+them up. The doctor laid his hand on his arm.
+
+"Never mind that," he said gently.
+
+"My boy," he said, "do you know that your mother has been for some time
+ailing?"
+
+"No, indeed," Frank said with a gasp of pain and surprise.
+
+"It is so, my boy. I have been attending her for some time. She has
+been suffering from fainting fits brought on by weakness of the heart's
+action. Two hours since I was sent for and found her unconscious. My
+poor boy, you must compose yourself. God is good and merciful, though
+his decrees are hard to bear. Your mother passed away quietly half an
+hour since, without recovering consciousness."
+
+Frank gave a short cry, and then sat stunned by the suddenness of the
+blow. The doctor drew out a small case from his pocket and poured a
+few drops from the phial into a glass, added some water, and held it to
+Frank's lips.
+
+"Drink this, my boy," he said.
+
+Frank turned his head from the offered glass. He could not speak.
+
+"Drink this, my boy," the doctor said again; "it will do you good. Try
+and be strong for the sake of your little sister, who has only you in
+the world now."
+
+The thought of Lucy touched the right chord in the boy's heart, and he
+burst into a passionate fit of crying. The doctor allowed his tears to
+flow unchecked.
+
+"You will be better now," he said presently. "Now drink this, then lie
+down on the sofa. We must not be having you ill, you know."
+
+Frank gulped down the contents of the glass, and, passive as a child,
+allowed the doctor to place him upon the sofa.
+
+"God help and strengthen you, my poor boy," he said; "ask help from
+Him."
+
+For an hour Frank lay sobbing on the sofa, and then, remembering the
+doctor's last words, he knelt beside it and prayed for strength.
+
+A week had passed. The blinds were up again. Mrs. Hargate had been laid
+in her last home, and Frank was sitting alone again in the little parlor
+thinking over what had best be done. The outlook was a dark one, enough
+to shake the courage of one much older than Frank. His mother's pension,
+he knew, died with her. He had, on the doctor's advice, written to
+the War Office on the day following his mother's death, to inform the
+authorities of the circumstances, and to ask if any pension could
+be granted to his sister. The reply had arrived that morning and had
+relieved him of the greatest of his cares. It stated that as he was
+now just fifteen years old he was not eligible for a pension, but that
+twenty-five pounds a year would be paid to his sister until she married
+or attained the age of twenty-one.
+
+He had spoken to the doctor that morning, and the latter said that he
+knew a lady who kept a small school, and who would, he doubted not, be
+willing to receive Lucy and to board and clothe her for that sum. She
+was a very kind and motherly person, and he was sure that Lucy would be
+most kindly treated and cared for by her. It was then of his own future
+only that Frank had to think. There were but a few pounds in the house,
+but the letter from the War Office inclosed a check for twenty pounds,
+as his mother's quarterly pension was just due. The furniture of the
+little house would fetch but a small sum, not more, Frank thought, than
+thirty or forty pounds. There were a few debts to pay, and after all was
+settled up there would remain about fifty pounds. Of this he determined
+to place half in the doctor's hands for the use of Lucy.
+
+"She will want," he said to himself, "a little pocket money. It is hard
+on a girl having no money to spend of her own. Then, as she gets on, she
+may need lessons in something or other. Besides, half the money rightly
+belongs to her, The question is, What am I to do?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V: ALONE IN THE WORLD
+
+
+"What am I to do?"
+
+A difficult question indeed, for a boy of fifteen, with but twenty-five
+pounds, and without a friend in the world. Was he, indeed, without a
+friend? he asked himself. There was Dr. Parker. Should he apply to him?
+But the doctor had started for a trip on the Continent the day after
+the school had broken up, and would not return for six weeks. It was
+possible that, had he been at home, he might have offered to keep Frank
+for a while; but the boys seldom stayed at his school past the age
+of fifteen, going elsewhere to have their education completed. What
+possible claim had he to quarter himself upon the doctor for the next
+four years, even were the offer made? No, Frank felt; he could not live
+upon the doctor's charity. Then there were the parents of the boys he
+had saved from drowning. But even as he sat alone Frank's face flushed
+at the thought of trading upon services so rendered. The boy's chief
+fault was pride. It was no petty feeling, and he had felt no shame at
+being poorer than the rest of his schoolfellows. It was rather a pride
+which led him unduly to rely upon himself, and to shrink from accepting
+favors from any one. Frank might well, without any derogation, have
+written to his friends, telling them of the loss he had suffered and the
+necessity there was for him to earn his living, and asking them to beg
+their fathers to use their interest to procure him a situation as a boy
+clerk, or any other position in which he could earn his livelihood.
+
+Frank, however, shrunk from making any such appeal, and determined
+to fight his battle without asking for help. He knew nothing of his
+parents' relations. His father was an only son, who had been left early
+an orphan. His mother, too, had, he was aware, lost both her parents,
+and he had never heard her speak of other relations. There was no one,
+therefore, so far as he knew, to whom he could appeal on the ground of
+ties of blood. It must be said for him that he had no idea how hard was
+the task which he was undertaking. It seemed to him that it must be easy
+for a strong, active lad to find employment of some sort in London. What
+the employment might be he cared little for. He had no pride of that
+kind, and so that he could earn his bread he cared not much in what
+capacity he might do it.
+
+Already preparations had been made for the sale of the furniture,
+which was to take place next day. Everything was to be sold except the
+scientific books which had belonged to his father. These had been packed
+in a great box until the time when he might place them in a library of
+his own, and the doctor kindly offered to keep it for him until such
+time should arrive. Frank wrote a long letter to Ruthven, telling him of
+his loss, and his reasons for leaving Deal, and promising to write some
+day and tell him how he was getting on in London. This letter he did
+not intend to post until the last thing before leaving Deal. Lucy had
+already gone to her new home, and Frank felt confident that she would be
+happy there. His friend, the doctor, who had tried strongly, but without
+avail, to dissuade Frank from going up to London to seek his fortune
+there, had promised that if the lad referred any inquiries to him he
+would answer for his character.
+
+He went down to the beach the last evening and said goodbye to his
+friends among the fishermen, and he walked over in the afternoon and
+took his last meal with Farmer Gregson.
+
+"Look ye here, my lad," the farmer said as they parted. "I tell ye, from
+what I've heerd, this London be a hard nut to crack. There be plenty of
+kernel, no doubt, when you can get at it, but it be hard work to open
+the shell. Now, if so be as at any time you run short of money, just
+drop me a line, and there's ten pound at your service whenever you like.
+Don't you think it's an obligation. Quite the other way. It would be a
+real pleasure to me to lend you a helping hand."
+
+Two days after the sale Frank started for London. On getting out of the
+train he felt strange and lonely amid the bustle and confusion which was
+going on on the platform. The doctor had advised him to ask one of
+the porters, or a policeman, if he could recommend him to a quiet and
+respectable lodging, as expenses at an hotel would soon make a deep
+hole in his money. He, therefore, as soon as the crowd cleared away,
+addressed himself to one of the porters.
+
+"What sort of lodgings do you want, sir?" the man said, looking at him
+rather suspiciously, with, as Frank saw, a strong idea in his mind that
+he was a runaway schoolboy.
+
+"I only want one room," he said, "and I don't care how small it is, so
+that it is clean and quiet. I shall be out all day, and should not give
+much trouble."
+
+The porter went away and spoke to some of his mates, and presently
+returned with one of them.
+
+"You're wanting a room I hear, sir," the man said. "I have a little
+house down the Old Kent Road, and my missus lets a room or two. It's
+quiet and clean, I'll warrant you. We have one room vacant at present."
+
+"I'm sure that would suit me very well," Frank said. "How much do you
+charge a week?"
+
+"Three and sixpence, sir, if you don't want any cooking done."
+
+Frank took the address, and leaving his portmanteau in charge of the
+porter, who promised, unless he heard to the contrary, that he would
+bring it home with him when he had done his work, he set off from the
+station.
+
+Deal is one of the quietest and most dreary places on the coast of
+England, and Frank was perfectly astounded at the crowd and bustle which
+filled the street, when he issued from the railway approach, at the foot
+of London Bridge. The porter had told him that he was to turn to
+his left, and keep straight along until he reached the "Elephant and
+Castle." He had, therefore, no trouble about his road, and was able to
+give his whole attention to the sights which met his eye. For a time
+the stream of omnibuses, cabs, heavy wagons, and light carts, completely
+bewildered him, as did the throng of people who hastened along the
+footway. He was depressed rather than exhilarated at the sight of this
+busy multitude. He seemed such a solitary atom in the midst of this
+great moving crowd. Presently, however, the thought that where so
+many millions gained their living there must be room for one boy more,
+somewhat cheered him. He was a long time making his way to his place of
+destination, for he stared into every shop window, and being, although
+he was perfectly ignorant of the fact, on the wrong side of the
+pavement, he was bumped and bustled continually, and was not long
+in arriving at the conclusion that the people of London must be the
+roughest and rudest in the world. It was not until he ran against a
+gentleman, and was greeted with the angry, "now then, boy. Where are you
+going? Why the deuce don't you keep on your own side of the pavement?"
+that he perceived that the moving throng was divided into two currents,
+that on the inside meeting him, while the outside stream was proceeding
+in the same direction as himself. After this he got on better, and
+arrived without adventure at the house of the porter, in the Old Kent
+Road.
+
+It was a small house, but was clean and respectable, and Frank found
+that the room would suit him well.
+
+"I do not wait upon the lodgers," the landlady said, "except to make the
+beds and tidy the rooms in the morning. So if you want breakfast and tea
+at home you will have to get them yourself. There is a separate place
+downstairs for your coals. There are some tea things, plates and
+dishes, in this cupboard. You will want to buy a small tea kettle, and a
+gridiron, and a frying pan, in case you want a chop or a rasher. Do you
+think you can cook them yourself?"
+
+"Frank, amused at the thought of cooking and catering for himself, said
+boldly that he should soon learn.
+
+"You are a very young gentleman," the landlady said, eyeing him
+doubtfully, "to be setting up on your own hook. I mean," she said,
+seeing Frank look puzzled, "setting up housekeeping on your own account.
+You will have to be particular careful with the frying pan, because
+if you were to upset the fat in the fire you might have the house in a
+blaze in a jiffey."
+
+Frank said that he would certainly be careful with the frying pan.
+
+"Well," she went on, "as you're a stranger to the place I don't know
+as you could do better than get your tea, and sugar, and things at the
+grocer's at the next corner. I deals there myself, and he gives every
+satisfaction. My baker will be round in a few minutes, and, if you
+likes, I can take in your bread for you. The same with milk."
+
+These matters being arranged, and Frank agreeing at once to the
+proposition that as he was a stranger it would make things more
+comfortable were he to pay his rent in advance, found himself alone in
+his new apartment. It was a room about ten feet square. The bed occupied
+one corner, with the washstand at its foot. There was a small table in
+front of the fireplace, and two chairs; a piece of carpet half covered
+the floor, and these with the addition of the articles in the cupboard
+constituted the furniture of the room. Feeling hungry after his journey
+Frank resolved to go out at once and get something to eat, and then
+to lay in a stock of provisions. After some hesitation regarding the
+character of the meal he decided upon two Bath buns, determining to make
+a substantial tea. He laid in a supply of tea, sugar, butter, and salt,
+bought a little kettle, a frying pan, and a gridiron. Then he hesitated
+as to whether he should venture upon a mutton chop or some bacon,
+deciding finally in favor of the latter, upon the reflection that any
+fellow could see whether bacon were properly frizzled up, while as to
+a chop there was no seeing anything about it till one cut it. He,
+therefore, invested in a pound of prime streaky Wiltshire bacon,
+the very best, as the shopman informed him, that could be bought. He
+returned carrying all his purchases, with the exception of the hardware.
+Then he inquired of his landlady where he could get coal.
+
+"The green grocer's round the corner," the landlady said. "Tell him to
+send in a hundredweight of the best, that's a shilling, and you'll want
+some firewood too."
+
+The coal arrived in the course of the afternoon, and at half past six
+the porter came in with Frank's trunk. He had by this time lit a fire,
+and while the water was boiling got some of his things out of the box,
+and by hanging some clothes on the pegs on the back of the door, and by
+putting the two or three favorite books he had brought with him on to
+the mantelpiece, he gave the room a more homelike appearance. He enjoyed
+his tea all the more from the novelty of having to prepare it himself,
+and succeeded very fairly for a first attempt with his bacon.
+
+When tea was over he first washed up the things and then started for a
+ramble. He followed the broad straight road to Waterloo Bridge, stood
+for a long time looking at the river, and then crossed into the Strand.
+The lamps were now alight and the brightness and bustle of the scene
+greatly interested him. At nine o'clock he returned to his lodgings, but
+was again obliged to sally out, as he found he had forgotten candles.
+
+After breakfast next morning he went out and bought a newspaper, and set
+himself to work to study the advertisements. He was dismayed to find how
+many more applicants there were for places than places requiring to be
+filled. All the persons advertising were older than himself, and seemed
+to possess various accomplishments in the way of languages; many too
+could be strongly recommended from their last situation. The prospect
+did not look hopeful. In the first place he had looked to see if any
+required boy clerks, but this species of assistant appeared little in
+demand; and then, although he hoped that it would not come to that, he
+ran his eye down the columns to see if any required errand boys or lads
+in manufacturing businesses. He found, however, no such advertisements.
+However, as he said to himself, it could not be expected that he should
+find a place waiting for him on the very day after his arrival, and that
+he ought to be able to live for a year on his five and twenty pounds; at
+this reflection his spirits rose and he went out again for a walk.
+
+For the first week, indeed, of his arrival in London Frank did not set
+himself very earnestly to work to look for a situation. In his walks
+about the streets he several times observed cards in the window
+indicating that an errand boy was wanted. He resolved, however, that
+this should be the last resource which he would adopt, as he would much
+prefer to go to work as a common lad in a factory to serving in a shop.
+After the first week he answered many advertisements, but in no case
+received a reply. In one case, in which it was stated that a lad who
+could write a good fast hand was required in an office, wages to begin
+with eight shillings a week, he called two days after writing. It was
+a small office with a solitary clerk sitting in it. The latter, upon
+learning Frank's business, replied with some exasperation that his mind
+was being worried out by boys.
+
+"We have had four hundred and thirty letters," he said; "and I should
+think that a hundred boys must have called. We took the first who
+applied, and all the other letters were chucked into the fire as soon as
+we saw what they were about."
+
+Frank returned to the street greatly disheartened.
+
+"Four hundred and thirty letters!" he said. "Four hundred and thirty
+other fellows on the lookout, just as I am, for a place as a boy clerk,
+and lots of them, no doubt, with friends and relations to recommend
+them! The lookout seems to be a bad one."
+
+Two days later, when Frank was walking along the strand he noticed the
+placards in front of a theater.
+
+"Gallery one shilling!" he said to himself; "I will go. I have never
+seen a theater yet."
+
+The play was The Merchant of Venice, and Frank sat in rapt attention
+and interest through it. When the performance was over he walked briskly
+homewards. When he had proceeded some distance he saw a glare in the sky
+ahead, and presently a steam engine dashed past him at full speed.
+
+"That must be a house on fire," he said. "I have never seen a fire;" and
+he broke into a run.
+
+Others were running in the same direction, and as he passed the
+"Elephant and Castle" the crowd became thicker, and when within fifty
+yards of the house he could no longer advance. He could see the flames
+now rising high in the air. A horrible fear seized him.
+
+"It must be," he exclaimed to himself, "either our house or the one next
+door."
+
+It was in vain that he pressed forward to see more nearly. A line of
+policemen was drawn up across the road to keep a large space clear for
+the firemen. Behind the policemen the crowd were thickly packed. Frank
+inquired of many who stood near him if they could tell him the number of
+the house which was on fire; but none could inform him.
+
+Presently the flames began to die away, and the crowd to disperse. At
+length Frank reached the first line of spectators.
+
+"Can you tell me the number of the houses which are burned?" Frank said
+to a policeman.
+
+"There are two of them," the policeman said "a hundred and four and a
+hundred and five. A hundred and four caught first, and they say that a
+woman and two children have been burned to death."
+
+"That is where I live!" Frank cried. "Oh, please let me pass!"
+
+"I'll pass you in," the policeman said good naturedly, and he led him
+forward to the spot where the engines were playing upon the burning
+houses. "Is it true, mate," he asked a fireman, "that a woman and two
+children have been burned?"
+
+"It's true enough," the fireman said. "The landlady and her children.
+Her husband was a porter at the railway station, and had been detained
+on overtime. He only came back a quarter of an hour ago, and he's been
+going on like a madman;" and he pointed to the porter, who was sitting
+down on the doorsteps of a house facing his own, with his face hidden in
+his hands.
+
+Frank went and sat down beside him.
+
+"My poor fellow," he said, "I am sorry for you."
+
+Frank had had many chats with his landlord of an evening, and had become
+quite friendly with him and his wife.
+
+"I can't believe it," the man said huskily. "Just to think! When I went
+out this morning there was Jane and the kids, as well and as happy as
+ever, and there, where are they now?"
+
+"Happier still," Frank said gently. "I lost my mother just as suddenly
+only five weeks ago. I went out for a walk, leaving her as well as
+usual, and when I came back she was dead; so I can feel for you with all
+my heart."
+
+"I would have given my life for them," the man said, wiping his eyes,
+"willing."
+
+"I'm sure you would," Frank answered.
+
+"There's the home gone," the man said, "with all the things that it took
+ten years' savings of Jane and me to buy; not that that matters one way
+or the other now. And your traps are gone, too, I suppose, sir."
+
+"Yes," Frank replied quietly, "I have lost my clothes and twenty-three
+pounds in money; every penny I've got in the world except half a crown
+in my pocket."
+
+"And you don't say nothing about it!" the man said, roused into
+animation. "But, there, perhaps you've friends as will make it up to
+you."
+
+"I have no one in the world," Frank answered, "whom I could ask to give
+me a helping hand."
+
+"Well, you are a plucky chap," the man said. "That would be a knock down
+blow to a man, let alone a boy like you. What are you going to do now?"
+he asked, forgetting for the moment his own loss, in his interest in his
+companion.
+
+"I don't know," Frank replied. "Perhaps," he added, seeing that the
+interest in his condition roused the poor fellow from the thought of
+his own deep sorrow, "you might give me some advice. I was thinking of
+getting a place in an office, but of course I must give that up now, and
+should be thankful to get anything by which I can earn my bread."
+
+"You come along with me," the man said rising. "You've done me a heap of
+good. It's no use sitting here. I shall go back to the station, and turn
+in on some sacks. If you've nothing better to do, and nowhere to go to,
+you come along with me. We will talk it all over."
+
+Pleased to have some one to talk to, and glad that he should not have to
+look for a place to sleep, Frank accompanied the porter to the station.
+With a word or two to the nightmen on duty, the porter led the way to a
+shed near the station, where a number of sacks were heaped in a corner.
+
+"Now," the man said, "I will light a pipe. It's against the regulations,
+but that's neither here nor there now. Now, if you're not sleepy, would
+you mind talking to me? Tell me something about yourself, and how you
+come to be alone here in London. It does me good to talk. It prevents me
+from thinking."
+
+"There is very little to tell," Frank said; and he related to him the
+circumstances of the deaths of his father and mother, and how it came
+that he was alone in London in search of a place.
+
+"You're in a fix," the porter said.
+
+"Yes, I can see that."
+
+"You see you're young for most work, and you never had no practice
+with horses, or you might have got a place to drive a light cart. Then,
+again, your knowing nothing of London is against you as an errand boy;
+and what's worse than all this, anyone can see with half an eye that
+you're a gentleman, and not accustomed to hard work. However, we will
+think it over. The daylight's breaking now, and I has to be at work at
+six. But look ye here, young fellow, tomorrow I've got to look for a
+room, and when I gets it there's half of it for you, if you're not too
+proud to accept it. It will be doing me a real kindness, I can tell you,
+for what I am to do alone of an evening without Jane and the kids, God
+knows. I can't believe they're gone yet."
+
+Then the man threw himself down upon the sacks, and broke into sobs.
+Frank listened for half an hour till these gradually died away, and he
+knew by the regular breathing that his companion was asleep. It was long
+after this before he himself closed his eyes. The position did, indeed,
+appear a dark one. Thanks to the offer of his companion, which he at
+once resolved to accept for a time, he would have a roof to sleep under.
+But this could not last; and what was he to do? Perhaps he had been
+wrong in not writing at once to Ruthven and his schoolfellows. He even
+felt sure he had been wrong; but it would be ten times as hard to write
+now. He would rather starve than do this. How was he to earn his living?
+He would, he determined, at any rate try for a few days to procure a
+place as an errand boy. If that failed, he would sell his clothes, and
+get a rough working suit. He was sure that he should have more chance of
+obtaining work in such a dress than in his present attire.
+
+Musing thus, Frank at last dropped off to sleep. When he woke he found
+himself alone, his companion having left without disturbing him. From
+the noises around him of trains coming in and out, Frank judged that the
+hour was late.
+
+"I have done one wise thing," he said, "anyhow, and as far as I can
+see it's the only one, in leaving my watch with the doctor to keep. He
+pointed out that I might have it stolen if I carried it, and that there
+was no use in keeping it shut up in a box. Very possibly it might be
+stolen by the dishonesty of a servant. That's safe anyhow, and it is my
+only worldly possession, except the books, and I would rather go into
+the workhouse than part with either of them."
+
+Rising, he made his way into the station, where he found the porter at
+his usual work.
+
+"I would not wake you," the man said; "you were sleeping so quiet, and I
+knew 'twas no use your getting up early. I shall go out and settle for
+a room at dinner time. If you will come here at six o'clock we'll go
+off together. The mates have all been very kind, and have been making a
+collection to bury my poor girl and the kids. They've found 'em, and the
+inquest is tomorrow, so I shall be off work. The governor has offered
+me a week; but there, I'd rather be here where there's no time for
+thinking, than hanging about with nothing to do but to drink."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI: THE FIRST STEP
+
+
+All that day Frank tramped the streets. He went into many shops where
+he saw notices that an errand boy was required, but everywhere without
+success. He perceived at once that his appearance was against him, and
+he either received the abrupt answer of, "You're not the sort of chap
+for my place," or an equally decided refusal upon the grounds that
+he did not know the neighborhood, or that they preferred one who had
+parents who lived close by and could speak for him.
+
+At six o'clock he rejoined the porter. He brought with him some bread
+and butter and a piece of bacon. When, on arriving at the lodging of
+his new friend, a neat room with two small beds in it, he produced and
+opened his parcel, the porter said angrily, "Don't you do that again,
+young fellow, or we shall have words. You're just coming to stop with
+me for a bit till you see your way, and I'm not going to have you bring
+things in here. My money is good for two months, and your living here
+with me won't cost three shillings a week. So don't you hurt my feelings
+by bringing things home again. There, don't say no more about it."
+
+Frank, seeing that his companion was really in earnest, said no more,
+and was the less reluctant to accept the other's kindness as he saw that
+his society was really a great relief to him in his trouble. After the
+meal they sallied out to a second hand clothes shop. Here Frank disposed
+of his things, and received in return a good suit of clothes fit for a
+working lad.
+
+"I don't know how it is," the porter said as they sat together
+afterwards, "but a gentleman looks like a gentleman put him in what
+clothes you will. I could have sworn to your being that if I'd never
+seen you before. I can't make it out, I don't know what it is, but
+there's certainly something in gentle blood, whatever you may say
+about it. Some of my mates are forever saying that one man's as good as
+another. Now I don't mean to say they ain't as good; but what I say is,
+as they ain't the same. One man ain't the same as another any more than
+a race horse is the same as a cart horse. They both sprang from the same
+stock, at least so they says; but breeding and feeding and care has made
+one into a slim boned creature as can run like the wind, while the other
+has got big bones and weight and can drag his two ton after him without
+turning a hair. Now, I take it, it's the same thing with gentlefolks and
+working men. It isn't that one's bigger than the other, for I don't see
+much difference that way; but a gentleman's lighter in the bone, and
+his hands and his feet are smaller, and he carries himself altogether
+different. His voice gets a different tone. Why, Lord bless you, when I
+hears two men coming along the platform at night, even when I can't see
+'em, and can't hear what they says, only the tone of their voices, I
+knows just as well whether it's a first class or a third door as I've
+got to open as if I saw 'em in the daylight. Rum, ain't it?"
+
+Frank had never thought the matter out, and could only give his general
+assent to his companion's proposition.
+
+"Now," the porter went on, "if you go into a factory or workshop, I'll
+bet a crown to a penny that before you've been there a week you'll get
+called Gentleman Jack, or some such name. You see if you ain't."
+
+"I don't care what they call me," Frank laughed, "so that they'll take
+me into the factory."
+
+"All in good time," the porter said; "don't you hurry yourself. As
+long as you can stay here you'll be heartily welcome. Just look what
+a comfort it is to have you sitting here sociable and comfortable. You
+don't suppose I could have sat here alone in this room if you hadn't
+been here? I should have been in a public house making a beast of
+myself, and spending as much money as would keep the pair of us."
+
+Day after day Frank went out in search of work. In his tramps he visited
+scores of workshops and factories, but without success. Either they
+did not want boys, or they declined altogether to take one who had no
+experience in work, and had no references in the neighborhood. Frank
+took his breakfast and tea with the porter, and was glad that the latter
+had his dinner at the station, as a penny loaf served his purposes. One
+day in his walks Frank entered Covent Garden and stood looking on at the
+bustle and flow of business, for it happened to be market day. He leaned
+against one of the columns of the piazza, eating the bread he had just
+bought. Presently a sharp faced lad, a year or two younger than himself,
+came up to him.
+
+"Give us a hit," he said, "I ain't tasted nothing today."
+
+Frank broke the bread in half and gave a portion to him.
+
+"What a lot there is going on here!" Frank said.
+
+"Law!" the boy answered, "that ain't nothing to what it is of a morning.
+That's the time, 'special on the mornings of the flower market. It's
+hard lines if a chap can't pick up a tanner or even a bob then."
+
+"How?" Frank asked eagerly.
+
+"Why, by holding horses, helping to carry out plants, and such like. You
+seems a green 'un, you do. Up from the country, eh? Don't seem like one
+of our sort."
+
+"Yes," Frank said, "I'm just up from the country. I thought it would be
+easy to get a place in London, but I don't find it so."
+
+"A place!" the boy repeated scornfully. "I should like any one to see me
+in a place. It's better a hundred times to be your own master."
+
+"Even if you do want a piece of bread sometimes?" Frank put in.
+
+"Yes," the boy said. "When it ain't market day and ye haven't saved
+enough to buy a few papers or boxes of matches it does come hard. In
+winter the times is bad, but in summer we gets on fairish, and there
+ain't nothing to grumble about. Are you out of work yourself?"
+
+"Yes," Frank answered, "I'm on the lookout for a job."
+
+"You'd have a chance here in the morning," said the boy, looking at him.
+"You look decent, and might get a job unloading. They won't have us at
+no price, if they can help it."
+
+"I will come and try anyhow," Frank said.
+
+That evening Frank told his friend, the porter, that he thought of going
+out early next morning to try and pick up odd jobs at Covent Garden.
+
+"Don't you think of it," the porter said. "There's nothing worse for a
+lad than taking to odd jobs. It gets him into bad ways and bad company.
+Don't you hurry. I have spoken to lots of my mates, and they're all on
+the lookout for you. We on the platform can't do much. It ain't in our
+line, you see; but in the goods department, where they are constant
+with vans and wagons and such like, they are likely enough to hear of
+something before long."
+
+That night, thinking matters over in bed, Frank determined to go down to
+the docks and see if he could get a place as cabin boy. He had had this
+idea in his mind ever since he lost his money, and had only put it aside
+in order that he might, if possible, get some berth on shore which might
+seem likely in the end to afford him a means of making his way up again.
+It was not that he was afraid of the roughness of a cabin boy's life; it
+was only because he knew that it would be so very long before, working
+his way up from boy to able bodied seaman, he could obtain a mate's
+certificate, and so make a first step up the ladder. However, he thought
+that even this would be better than going as a wagoner's boy, and he
+accordingly crossed London Bridge, turned down Eastcheap, and presently
+found himself in Ratcliff Highway. He was amused here at the nautical
+character of the shops, and presently found himself staring into a
+window full of foreign birds, for the most part alive in cages, among
+which, however, were a few cases of stuffed birds.
+
+"How stupid I have been!" he thought to himself. "I wonder I never
+thought of it before! I can stuff birds and beasts at any rate a deal
+better than those wooden looking things. I might have a chance of
+getting work at some naturalist's shop. I will get a directory and take
+down all the addresses in London, and then go around."
+
+He now became conscious of a conversation going on between a little old
+man with a pair of thick horn rimmed spectacles and a sailor who had a
+dead parrot and a cat in his hand.
+
+"I really cannot undertake them," the old man said. "Since the death of
+my daughter I have had but little time to attend to that branch. What
+with buying and selling, and feeding and attending to the live ones, I
+have no time for stuffing. Besides, if the things were poisoned, they
+would not be worth stuffing."
+
+"It isn't the question of worth, skipper," the sailor said; "and I don't
+say, mind ye, that these here critturs was pisoned, only if you looks
+at it that this was the noisiest bird and the worst tempered thievingest
+cat in the neighborhood--though, Lord bless you, my missus wouldn't
+allow it for worlds--why, you know, when they were both found stiff and
+cold this morning people does have a sort of a suspicion as how they've
+been pisoned;" and he winked one eye in a portentous manner, and grinned
+hugely. "The missus she's in a nice taking, screeching, and yelling as
+you might hear her two cables' length away, and she turns round on me
+and will have it as I'd a hand in the matter. Well, just to show my
+innocence, I offers to get a glass case for 'em and have 'em stuffed,
+if it cost me a couple of pounds. I wouldn't care if they fell all to
+pieces a week afterwards, so that it pacified the old woman just at
+present. If I can't get 'em done I shall ship at once, for the place
+will be too hot to hold me. So you can't do it nohow?"
+
+The old man shook his head, and the sailor was just turning off when
+Frank went up to him:
+
+"Will you please wait a moment? Can I speak to you, sir, a minute?" he
+asked the old man.
+
+The naturalist went into his shop, and Frank followed him.
+
+"I can stuff birds and animals, sir," he said. "I think I really stuff
+them well, for some which I did for amusement were sold at ten shillings
+a case, and the man who bought them of me told me they would be worth
+four times as much in London. I am out of work, sir, and very very
+anxious to get my living. You will find me hard working and honest. Do
+give me a chance. Let me stuff that cat and parrot for the sailor. If
+you are not satisfied then, I will go away and charge nothing for it."
+
+The man looked at him keenly.
+
+"I will at any rate give you a trial," he said. Then he went to the door
+and called in the sailor. "This lad tells me he can stuff birds. I know
+nothing about him, but I believe he is speaking truthfully. If you like
+to intrust them to him he will do his best. If you're not satisfied he
+will make no charge."
+
+Much pleased at seeing a way out of his dilemma, the sailor placed the
+dead animals on the counter.
+
+"Now," the old man said to Frank, "you can take these out into the back
+yard and skin them. Then you can go to work in that back room. You will
+find arsenical soap, cotton wool, wires, and everything else you require
+there. This has been a fine cat," he said, looking at the animal.
+
+"Yes, it has been a splendid creature," Frank answered. "It is a
+magnificent macaw also."
+
+"Ah! you know it is a macaw!" the old man said.
+
+"Of course," Frank said simply; "it has a tail."
+
+The old man then furnished Frank with two or three sharp knives and
+scissors. Taking the bird and cat, he went out into the yard and in the
+course of an hour had skinned them both. Then he returned to the shop
+and set to work in the room behind.
+
+"May I make a group of them?" he asked.
+
+"Do them just as you like," the old man said.
+
+After settling upon his subject, Frank set to work, and, except that
+he went out for five minutes to buy and eat a penny loaf, continued his
+work till nightfall. The old man came in several times to look at him,
+but each time went out again without making a remark. At six o'clock
+Frank laid down his tools.
+
+"I will come again tomorrow, sir," he said.
+
+The old man nodded, and Frank went home in high spirits. There was a
+prospect at last of getting something to do, and that in a line most
+congenial to his own tastes.
+
+The old man looked up when he entered next morning.
+
+"I shall not come in today," he remarked. "I will wait to see them
+finished."
+
+Working without interruption till the evening, Frank finished them to
+his satisfaction, and enveloped them with many wrappings of thread to
+keep them in precisely the attitudes in which he had placed them.
+
+"They are ready for drying now, sir," he said. "If I might place them in
+an oven they would be dried by morning."
+
+The old man led the way to the kitchen, where a small fire was burning.
+
+"I shall put no more coals on the fire," he said, "and it will be out in
+a quarter of an hour. Put them in there and leave the door open. I will
+close it in an hour when the oven cools."
+
+The next day Frank was again at work. It took him all day to get fur and
+feather to lie exactly as he wished them. In the afternoon he asked the
+naturalist for a piece of flat board, three feet long, and a perch, but
+said that instead of the piece of board he should prefer mounting them
+in a case at once. The old man had not one in the shop large enough,
+and therefore Frank arranged his group temporarily on the table. On the
+board lay the cat. At first sight she seemed asleep, but it was clearly
+only seeming. Her eyes were half open, the upper lip was curled up, and
+the sharp teeth showed. The hind feet were drawn somewhat under her as
+in readiness for an instant spring. Her front paws were before her, the
+talons were somewhat stretched, and one paw was curved. Her ears lay
+slightly back. She was evidently on the point of springing. The macaw
+perch, which had been cut down to a height of two feet, stood behind
+her. The bird hung by its feet, and, head downwards, stretched with open
+beak towards the tip of the cat's tail, which was slightly uplifted. On
+a piece of paper Frank wrote, "Dangerous Play."
+
+It was evening before he had finished perfectly to his satisfaction.
+Then he called the naturalist in. The old man stopped at the door,
+surveying the group. Then he entered and examined it carefully.
+
+"Wonderful!" he said. "Wonderful! I should have thought them alive.
+There is not a shop in the West End where it could have been turned out
+better, if so well.
+
+"Lad, you are a wonder! Tell me now who and what are you? I saw when you
+first addressed me that you were not what you seemed to be, a working
+lad."
+
+"I have been well educated," Frank said, "and was taught to preserve
+and stuff by my father, who was a great naturalist. My parents died
+suddenly, and I was left on my own resources, which," he said, smiling
+faintly, "have hitherto proved of very small avail. I am glad you are
+pleased. If you will take me into your service I will work hard and make
+myself useful in every way. If you require references I can refer you
+to the doctor who attended us in the country; but I have not a single
+friend in London except a railway porter, who has most kindly and
+generously taken me in and sheltered me for the last two months."
+
+"I need no references," the old man said; "your work speaks for itself
+as to your skill, and your face for your character. But I can offer
+you nothing fit for you. With such a genius as you have for setting up
+animals, you ought to be able to earn a good income. Not one man in a
+thousand can make a dead animal look like a live one. You have the knack
+or the art."
+
+"I shall be very content with anything you can give me," Frank said;
+"for the present I only ask to earn my living. If later on I can, as you
+say, do more, all the better."
+
+The old man stood for some time thinking, and presently said, "I do but
+little except in live stock. When I had my daughter with me I did a
+good deal of stuffing, for there is a considerable trade hereabout. The
+sailors bring home skins of foreign birds, and want them stuffed and put
+in cases, as presents for their wives and sweethearts. You work fast as
+well as skillfully. I have known men who would take a fortnight to do
+such a group as that, and then it would be a failure. It will be quite a
+new branch for my trade. I do not know how it will act yet, but to begin
+with I will give you twelve shillings a week, and a room upstairs. If
+it succeeds we will make other arrangements. I am an old man, and a very
+lonely one. I shall be glad to have such a companion."
+
+Frank joyfully embraced the offer, and ran all the way home to tell his
+friend, the porter, of the engagement.
+
+"I am very glad," the man said; "heartily glad. I shall miss you sorely.
+I do not know what I should have done without you when I first lost poor
+Jane and the kids. But now I can go back to my old ways again."
+
+"Perhaps," Frank suggested, "you might arrange to have a room also in
+the house. It would not be a very long walk, not above twenty or five
+and twenty minutes, and I should be so glad to have you with me."
+
+The man sat silent for a time. "No," he said at last, "I thank you all
+the same. I should like it too, but I don't think it would be best in
+the end. Here all my mates live near, and I shall get on in time. The
+Christmas holiday season will soon be coming on and we shall be up
+working late. If you were always going to stop at the place you are
+going to, it would be different; but you will rise, never fear. I shall
+be seeing you in gentleman's clothes again some of these days. I've
+heard you say you were longing to get your books and to be studying
+again, and you'll soon fall into your own ways; but if you will let me,
+I'll come over sometimes and have a cup of tea and a chat with you. Now,
+look here, I'm going out with you now, and I'm going to buy you a suit
+of clothes, something like what you had on when I first saw you. They
+won't be altogether unsuitable in a shop. This is a loan, mind, and you
+may pay me off as you get flush."
+
+Frank saw he should hurt the good fellow's feelings by refusing, and
+accordingly went out with him, and next morning presented himself at the
+shop in a quiet suit of dark gray tweed, and with his other clothes in a
+bundle.
+
+"Aha!" said the old man; "you look more as you ought to do now, though
+you're a cut above an assistant in a naturalist's shop in Ratcliff
+Highway. Now, let me tell you the names of some of these birds. They
+are, every one of them, foreigners; some of them I don't know myself."
+
+"I can tell all the family names," Frank said quietly, "and the species,
+but I do not know the varieties."
+
+"Can you!" the old man said in surprise. "What is this now?"
+
+"That is a mockingbird, the great black capped mockingbird, I think. The
+one next to it is a golden lory."
+
+So Frank went round all the cages and perches in the shop.
+
+"Right in every case," the old man said enthusiastically; "I shall have
+nothing to teach you. The sailor has been here this morning. I offered
+him two pounds for the cat and bird to put in my front window, but he
+would not take it, and has paid me that sum for your work. Here it is.
+This is yours, you know. You were not in my employment then, and you
+will want some things to start with, no doubt. Now come upstairs, I will
+show you your room. I had intended at first to give you the one at the
+back, but I have decided now on giving you my daughter's. I think you
+will like it."
+
+Frank did like it greatly. It was the front room on the second
+floor. The old man's daughter had evidently been a woman of taste and
+refinement. The room was prettily papered, a quiet carpet covered the
+floor, and the furniture was neat and in good keeping. Two pairs of
+spotless muslin curtains hung across the windows.
+
+"I put them up this morning," the old man said, nodding. "I have got the
+sheets and bedding airing in the kitchen. They have not been out of the
+press for the last three years. You can cook in the kitchen. There is
+always a fire there.
+
+"Now, the first thing to do," he went on when they returned to the shop,
+"will be for you to mount a dozen cases for the windows. These drawers
+are full of skins of birds and small animals. I get them for next
+to nothing from the sailors, and sell them to furriers and feather
+preparers, who supply ladies' hat and bonnet makers. In future, I
+propose that you shall mount them and sell them direct. We shall get far
+higher prices than we do now. I seem to be putting most of the work on
+your shoulders, but do not want you to help me in the shop. I will look
+after the birds and buy and sell as I used to do; you will have the back
+room private to yourself for stuffing and mounting."
+
+Frank was delighted at this allotment of labor, and was soon at work
+rummaging the drawers and picking out specimens for mounting, and made
+a selection sufficient to keep him employed for weeks. That evening he
+sallied out and expended his two pounds in underlinen, of which he was
+sorely in need. As he required them his employer ordered showcases for
+the window, of various sizes, getting the backgrounds painted and fitted
+up as Frank suggested.
+
+Frank did not get on so fast with his work as he had hoped, for the fame
+of the sailor's cat and macaw spread rapidly in the neighborhood, and
+there was a perfect rush of sailors and their wives anxious to have
+birds and skins, which had been brought from abroad, mounted. The sailor
+himself looked in one day.
+
+"If you like another two pounds for that 'ere cat, governor, I'm game
+to pay you. It's the best thing that ever happened to me. Every one's
+wanting to see 'em, and there's the old woman dressed up in her Sunday
+clothes a-sitting in the parlor as proud as a peacock a showing of 'em
+off. The house ain't been so quiet since I married. Them animals would
+be cheap to me at a ten pound note. They'll get you no end of orders, I
+can tell you."
+
+The orders, indeed, came in much faster than Frank could fulfill them,
+although he worked twelve hours a day; laying aside all other work,
+however, for three hours in order to devote himself to the shop cases,
+which were to be chef d'oeuvres.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII: AN OLD FRIEND
+
+
+For three months Frank passed a quiet and not unpleasant life with the
+old naturalist in Ratcliff Highway. The latter took a great liking to
+him, and treated him like a son rather than an assistant. The two took
+their meals together now, and Frank's salary had been raised from twelve
+to eighteen shillings a week. So attractive had the cases in the windows
+proved that quite a little crowd was generally collected round them, and
+the business had greatly augmented. The old naturalist was less pleased
+at this change than most men would have been in his position. He had got
+into a groove and did not care to get out of it. He had no relatives or
+any one dependent on him, and he had been well content to go on in a jog
+trot way, just paying his expenses of shop and living. The extra bustle
+and push worried rather than pleased him.
+
+"I am an old man," he said to Frank one day, as after the shop was
+closed they sat over their tea. "I have no motive in laying by money,
+and had enough for my wants. I was influenced more by my liking for
+your face and my appreciation of your talent, than by any desire of
+increasing my business. I am taking now three times as much as I did
+before. Now I should not mind, indeed, I should be glad, if I thought
+that you would succeed me here as a son would do. I would gladly take
+you into partnership with me, and you would have the whole business
+after my death. But I know, my boy, that it wouldn't do. I know that the
+time will come when you will not be content with so dull a life here.
+You will either get an offer from some West End house which would open
+higher prospects to you, or you will be wandering away as a collector.
+In any case you would not stop here, of that I am quite sure, and
+therefore do not care, as I should have done, had you been my son, for
+the increase of the business. As it is, lad, I could not even wish to
+see you waste your life here."
+
+Frank, after he was once fairly settled at his new work, had written
+to his friend the doctor, at Deal, telling him of the position he had
+taken, and that he was in a fair way to make at least a comfortable
+living, and that at a pursuit of which he was passionately fond. He
+asked him, however, while writing to him from time to time to give him
+news of his sister, not to tell any one his address, as although he was
+not ashamed of his berth, still he would rather that, until he had made
+another step up in life, his old schoolfellows should not know of his
+whereabouts. He had also written to his friend Ruthven a bright chatty
+letter, telling him somewhat of his adventures in London and the loss of
+his money, and saying that he had now got employment at a naturalist's,
+with every chance of making his way.
+
+"When I mount a bit higher," he concluded, "I shall be awfully glad to
+see you again, and will let you know what my address may then be.
+For the present I had rather keep it dark. If you will write to me,
+addressed to the General Post Office, telling me all about yourself and
+the fellows at school, I shall be very, very glad to get your letter. I
+suppose you will be breaking up for Christmas in a few days."
+
+Christmas came and went. It was signalized to Frank only by the despatch
+of a pretty present to Lucy, and the receipt of a letter from her
+written in a round childish hand. A week afterwards he heard somebody
+come into the shop. His employer was out, and he therefore went into the
+shop.
+
+"I knew it was!" shouted a voice. "My dear old Frank, how are you?" and
+his hand was warmly clasped in that of Ruthven.
+
+"My dear Ruthven," was all Frank could say.
+
+"I had intended," Ruthven exclaimed, "to punch your head directly I
+found you; but I am too glad to do it, though you deserve it fifty times
+over. What a fellow you are! I wouldn't have believed it of you, running
+away in that secret sort of way and letting none of us know anything
+about you. Wasn't I angry, and sorry too, when I got the letter you
+wrote me from Deal! When I went back to school and found that not even
+Dr. Parker, not even your sister, knew where you were, I was mad. So
+were all the other fellows. However, I said I would find you wherever
+you had hidden yourself."
+
+"But how did you find me?" Frank asked greatly moved at the warmth of
+his schoolfellow's greeting.
+
+"Oh! it wasn't so very difficult to find you when once I got your letter
+saying what you were doing. The very day I came up to town I began
+to hunt about. I found from the Directory there were not such a great
+number of shops where they stuffed birds and that sort of thing. I tried
+the places in Bond Street, and Piccadilly, and Wigmore Street, and so on
+to begin with. Then I began to work east, and directly I saw the things
+in the window here I felt sure I had found you at last. You tiresome
+fellow! Here I have wasted nearly half my holidays looking for you."
+
+"I am so sorry, Ruthven."
+
+"Sorry! you ought to be more than sorry. You ought to be ashamed of
+yourself, downright ashamed. But, there, I won't say any more now. Now,
+can't you come out with me?"
+
+"No, I can't come out now, Ruthven; but come into this room with me."
+
+There for the next hour they chatted, Frank giving a full account of all
+he had gone through since he came up to town, while Ruthven gave him the
+gossip of the half year at school.
+
+"Well," Ruthven said at last, "this old Horton of yours must be a brick.
+Still, you know, you can't stop here all your life. You must come and
+talk it over with my governor."
+
+"Oh, no, indeed, Ruthven! I am getting on very well here, and am very
+contented with my lot, and I could not think of troubling your father in
+the matter."
+
+"Well, you will trouble him a great deal," Ruthven said, "if you don't
+come, for you will trouble him to come all the way down here. He was
+quite worried when he first heard of your disappearance, and has been
+almost as excited as I have over the search for you.
+
+"You are really a foolish fellow, Frank," he went on more seriously; "I
+really didn't think it of you. Here you save the lives of four or five
+fellows and put all their friends under a tremendous obligation, and
+then you run away and hide yourself as if you were ashamed. I tell you
+you can't do it. A fellow has no more right to get rid of obligations
+than he has to run away without paying his debts. It would be a burden
+on your mind if you had a heavy debt you couldn't pay, and you would
+have a right to be angry if, when you were perfectly able to pay, your
+creditor refused to take the money. That's just the position in which
+you've placed my father. Well, anyhow, you've got to come and see him,
+or he's got to come and see you. I know he has something in his mind's
+eye which will just suit you, though he did not tell me what it was. For
+the last day or two he has been particularly anxious about finding you.
+Only yesterday when I came back and reported that I had been to half a
+dozen places without success, he said, 'Confound the young rascal, where
+can he be hiding? Here are the days slipping by and it will be too late.
+If you don't find him in a day or two, Dick, I will set the police after
+him--say he has committed a murder or broken into a bank and offer a
+reward for his apprehension.' So you must either come home with me this
+afternoon, or you will be having my father down here tonight."
+
+"Of course, Ruthven," Frank said, "I would not put your father to such
+trouble. He is very kind to have taken so much interest in me, only I
+hate--"
+
+"Oh, nonsense! I hate to see such beastly stuck up pride, putting your
+own dignity above the affection of your friends; for that's really what
+it comes to, old boy, if you look it fairly in the face."
+
+Frank flushed a little and was silent for a minute or two.
+
+"I suppose you are right, Ruthven; but it is a little hard for a
+fellow--"
+
+"Oh, no, it isn't," Ruthven said. "If you'd got into a scrape from some
+fault of your own one could understand it, although even then there
+would be no reason for you to cut your old friends till they cut you.
+Young Goodall, who lives over at Bayswater, has been over four or five
+times to ask me if I have succeeded in finding you, and I have had
+letters from Handcock, and Childers, and Jackson. Just as if a fellow
+had got nothing to do but to write letters. How long will you be before
+you can come out?"
+
+"There is Mr. Horton just come in," Frank said. "I have no doubt he will
+let me go at once."
+
+The old naturalist at once assented upon Frank's telling him that a
+friend had come who wished him to go out.
+
+"Certainly, my dear boy. Why, working the hours and hours of overtime
+that you do, of course you can take a holiday whenever you're disposed."
+
+"He will not be back till late," Ruthven said as they went out. "I shall
+keep him all the evening."
+
+"Oh, indeed, Ruthven, I have no clothes!"
+
+"Clothes be bothered," Ruthven said. "I certainly shall end by punching
+your head, Frank, before the day's out."
+
+Frank remonstrated no more, but committed himself entirely to his
+friend's guidance. At the Mansion House they mounted on the roof of an
+omnibus going west, and at Knightsbridge got off and walked to Eaton
+Square, where Ruthven's father resided. The latter was out, so Frank
+accompanied his friend to what he called his sanctum, a small room
+littered up with books, bats, insect boxes, and a great variety of
+rubbish of all kinds. Here they chatted until the servant came up and
+said that Sir James had returned.
+
+"Come on, Frank," Ruthven said, running downstairs. "There's nothing of
+the ogre about the governor."
+
+They entered the study, and Ruthven introduced his friend.
+
+"I've caught him, father, at last. This is the culprit."
+
+Sir James Ruthven was a pleasant looking man, with a kindly face.
+
+"Well, you troublesome boy," he said, holding out his hand, "where have
+you been hiding all this time?"
+
+"I don't know that I've been hiding, sir," Frank said.
+
+"Not exactly hiding," Sir James smiled, "only keeping away from those
+who wanted to find you. Well, and how are you getting on?"
+
+"I am getting on very well, sir. I am earning eighteen shillings a week
+and my board and lodging, and my employer says he will take me into
+partnership as soon as I come of age."
+
+"Ah, indeed!" Sir James said. "I am glad to hear that, as it shows you
+must be clever and industrious."
+
+"Yes, father, and the place was full of the most lovely cases of things
+Frank had stuffed. There was quite a crowd looking in at the window."
+
+"That is very satisfactory. Now, Frank, do you sit down and write a
+note to your employer, asking him to send down half a dozen of the best
+cases. I want to show them to a gentleman who will dine with me here
+today, and who is greatly interested in such matters. When you have
+written the note I will send a servant off at once in a cab to fetch
+them."
+
+"And, father," Dick continued, "if you don't mind, might Frank and I
+have our dinner quietly together in my room? You've got a dinner party
+on, and Frank won't enjoy it half as much as he would dining quietly
+with me."
+
+"By all means," Sir James said. "But mind he is not to run away without
+seeing me.
+
+"You are a foolish lad," he went on in a kind voice to Frank; "and it
+was wrong as well as foolish to hide yourself from your friends. However
+independent we may be in this world, all must, to a certain extent, rely
+upon others. There is scarcely a man who can stand aloof from the rest
+and say, 'I want nothing of you.' I can understand your feeling in
+shrinking from asking a favor of me, or of the fathers of the other boys
+who are, like myself, deeply indebted to you for the great service you
+have rendered their sons. I can admire the feeling if not carried too
+far; but you should have let your schoolfellows know exactly how you
+were placed, and so have given us the opportunity of repaying the
+obligation if we were disposed, not to have run away and hidden yourself
+from us."
+
+"I am sorry, sir," Frank said simply. "I did not like to seem to trade
+upon the slight service I rendered some of my schoolfellows. Dr. Bateman
+told me I was wrong, but I did not see it then. Now I think, perhaps he
+was right, although I am afraid that if it happened again I should do
+the same."
+
+Sir James smiled.
+
+"I fear you are a stiff necked one, Master Frank. However, I will not
+scold you any further. Now, what will you do with yourselves till dinner
+time?"
+
+"Oh, we'll just sit and chat, father. We have got lots more things to
+tell each other."
+
+The afternoon passed in pleasant talk. Frank learned that Ruthven had
+now left Dr. Parker's for good, and that he was going down after the
+holidays to a clergyman who prepared six or eight boys for the army.
+Before dinner the footman returned with half a dozen of the best cases
+from the shop, which were brought up to Dick's room, and the latter was
+delighted with them. They greatly enjoyed their dinner together. At nine
+o'clock a servant came up and took down the cases. Five minutes later he
+returned again with a message, saying that Sir James wished Mr. Richard
+and his friend to go down into the dining room. Frank was not shy, but
+he felt it rather a trial when he entered the room, where seven or
+eight gentlemen were sitting round the table, the ladies having already
+withdrawn. The gentlemen were engaged in examining and admiring the
+cases of stuffed birds and animals.
+
+"This is my young friend," Sir James said, "of whom I have been speaking
+to you, and whose work you are all admiring. This, Frank, is Mr.
+Goodenough, the traveler and naturalist, of whom you may have heard."
+
+"Yes, indeed," Frank said, looking at the gentleman indicated. "I have
+Mr. Goodenough's book on The Passerine Family at home."
+
+"It is rather an expensive book too," the gentleman said.
+
+"Yes, sir. My father bought it, not I. He was very fond of natural
+history and taught me all I know. He had a capital library of books on
+the subject, which Dr. Bateman is keeping for me, at Deal, till I have
+some place where I can put them. I was thinking of getting them up
+soon."
+
+Mr. Goodenough asked him a few questions as to the books in the library,
+and then put him through what Frank felt was a sort of examination, as
+to his knowledge of their contents.
+
+"Very good indeed!" Mr. Goodenough said. "I can see from your work here
+that you are not only a very clever preparer, but a close student of
+the habits and ways of wild creatures. But I was hardly prepared to
+find your scientific knowledge so accurate and extensive. I was at first
+rather inclined to hesitate when Sir James Ruthven made me a proposal
+just now. I do so no longer. I am on the point of starting on an
+expedition into the center of Africa in search of specimens of natural
+history. He has proposed that you should accompany me, and has offered
+to defray the cost of your outfit, and of your passage out and home. I
+may be away for two years. Of course you would act as my assistant, and
+have every opportunity of acquiring such knowledge as I possess. It
+will be no pleasure trip, you know, but hard work, with all sorts of
+hardships and, perhaps, some dangers. At the same time it would be a
+fine opening in a career as a naturalist. Well, what do you say?"
+
+"Oh, sir!" Frank exclaimed, clasping his hands, "it is of all things in
+the world what I should like most. How can I thank you enough? And you,
+Sir James, it is indeed kind and thoughtful of you."
+
+"We are not quits yet by any means, Frank," Sir James said kindly. "I
+am glad indeed to be able to forward your wishes; and now you must go
+upstairs and be introduced to my wife. She is most anxious to see you.
+She only returned home just before dinner."
+
+Frank was taken upstairs, where he and his cases of birds were made
+much of by Lady Ruthven and the ladies assembled in the drawing room.
+He himself was so filled with delight at the prospect opened to him that
+all thought of his dark tweed suit being out of place among the evening
+dresses of the ladies and gentlemen, which had troubled him while he was
+awaiting the summons to the dining room, quite passed out of his mind,
+and he was able to do the honors of his cases naturally and without
+embarrassment. At eleven o'clock he took his leave, promising to call
+upon Mr. Goodenough, who was in lodgings in Jermyn Street, upon
+the following morning, that gentleman having at Sir James' request
+undertaken to procure all the necessary outfit.
+
+"I feel really obliged to you, Sir James," Mr. Goodenough said when
+Frank had left. "The lad has a genius for natural history, and he is
+modest and self possessed. From what you tell me he has done rather
+than apply for assistance to anyone, he must have plenty of pluck and
+resolution, and will make a capital traveling companion. I feel quite
+relieved, for it is so difficult to procure a companion who will exactly
+suit. Clever naturalists are rare, and one can never tell how one will
+get on with a man when you are thrown together. He may want to have his
+own way, may be irritable and bad tempered, may in many respects be a
+disagreeable companion. With that lad I feel sure of my ground. We shall
+get on capitally together."
+
+On his return to the shop Frank told his employer, whom he found sitting
+up for him, the change which had taken place in his life, and the
+opening which presented itself.
+
+Mr. Horton expressed himself as sincerely glad.
+
+"I shall miss you sadly," he said, "shall feel very dull for a time in
+my solitary house here; but it is better for you that you should go, and
+I never expected to keep you long. You were made for better things than
+this shop, and I have no doubt that a brilliant career will be open
+before you. You may not become a rich man, for natural history is
+scarcely a lucrative profession, but you may become a famous one. Now,
+my lad, go off to bed and dream of your future."
+
+The next morning Frank went over, the first thing after breakfast, to
+see his friend the porter. He, too, was very pleased to hear of Frank's
+good fortune, but he was too busy to talk much to him, and promised that
+he would come over that evening and hear all about it. Then Frank took
+his way to Jermyn Street, and went with Mr. Goodenough to Silver's,
+where an outfit suited for the climate of Central Africa was
+ordered. The clothes were simple. Shirts made of thin soft flannel,
+knickerbockers and Norfolk jackets of tough New Zealand flax, with
+gaiters of the same material.
+
+"There is nothing like it," Mr. Goodenough said; "it is the only stuff
+which has a chance with the thorns of an African forest. Now you will
+want a revolver, a Winchester repeating carbine, and a shotgun. My
+outfit of boxes and cases is ready, so beyond two or three extra nets
+and collecting boxes there is nothing farther to do in that way. For
+your head you'd better have a very soft felt hat with a wide brim; with
+a leaf or two inside they are as cool as anything, and are far lighter
+and more comfortable than the helmets which many people use in the
+tropics."
+
+"As far as shooting goes," Frank said, "I think that I shall do much
+better with my blowgun than with a regular one. I can hit a small bird
+sitting nineteen times out of twenty."
+
+"That is a good thing," Mr. Goodenough answered. "For shooting sitting
+there is nothing better than a blowgun in skillful hands. They have
+the advantage too of not breaking the skin; but for flying a shotgun is
+infinitely more accurate. You will have little difficulty in learning to
+shoot well, as your eye is already trained by the use of your blowpipe.
+Will you want any knives for skinning?"
+
+"No, sir. I have a plentiful stock of them."
+
+"Are you going back to Eaton Square? I heard Sir James ask you to stop
+there until we start."
+
+"No," Frank replied; "I asked his permission to stay where I am till
+tomorrow. I did not like to seem in a hurry to run away from Mr. Horton,
+who has been extremely kind to me."
+
+"Mind, you must come here in three days to have your things tried on,"
+Mr. Goodenough said. "I particularly ordered that they are to be made
+easy and comfortable, larger, indeed, than you absolutely require, but
+we must allow for growing, and two years may make a difference of some
+inches to you. Now, we have only to go to a bootmaker's and then we have
+done."
+
+When the orders were completed they separated, as Mr. Goodenough was
+going down that afternoon to the country, and was not to return until
+the day preceding that on which they were to sail. That evening Frank
+had a long chat with his two friends, and was much pleased when the old
+naturalist, who had taken a great fancy to the honest porter, offered
+him the use of a room at his house, saying that he should be more
+than paid by the pleasure of his company of an evening. The offer was
+accepted, and Frank was glad to think that his two friends would be
+sitting smoking their pipes together of an evening instead of being in
+their solitary rooms. The next day he took up his residence in Eaton
+square.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII: TO THE DARK CONTINENT
+
+
+After spending two or three days going about London and enjoying himself
+with his friend Dick, Frank started for Deal, where he was pleased to
+find his sister well and happy. He bade goodbye to her, to the doctor,
+and such of his schoolfellows as lived in Deal, to whom his start for
+Central Africa was quite an event. Dr. Bateman handed over to him his
+watch and chain and his blowgun, which he had taken care of for him,
+also his skinning knives and instruments. The same evening he returned
+to town, and spent the days very pleasantly until the afternoon came
+when he was to depart. Then he bade farewell to his kind friends Sir
+James and Lady Ruthven. Dick accompanied him in the cab to Euston
+station, where a minute or two later Mr. Goodenough arrived. The luggage
+was placed in a carriage, and Frank stood chatting with Dick at the
+door, until the guard's cry, "Take your places!" caused him to jump into
+the carriage. There was one more hearty handshake with his friend, and
+then the train steamed out of the station.
+
+It was midnight when they arrived at Liverpool, and at once went to bed
+at the Station Hotel. On coming down in the morning Frank was astonished
+at the huge heap of baggage piled up in the hall, but he was told that
+this was of daily occurrence, as six or eight large steamers went
+out from Liverpool every week for America alone, and that the great
+proportion of the passengers came down, as they had done, on the
+previous night, and slept at the Station hotel. Their own share of
+the baggage was not large, consisting only of a portmanteau each, Mr.
+Goodenough having sent down all his boxes two days previously. At
+twelve o'clock they went on board the Niger, bound for the west coast
+of Africa. This would carry them as far as Sierra Leone, whence Mr.
+Goodenough intended to take passage in a sailing ship to his starting
+point for the interior.
+
+Frank enjoyed the voyage out intensely, and three days after sailing
+they had left winter behind; four days later they were lying in the
+harbor of Funchal.
+
+"What a glorious place that would be to ramble about!" he said to Mr.
+Goodenough.
+
+"Yes, indeed. It would be difficult to imagine a greater contrast than
+between this mountainous island of Madeira and the country which we are
+about to penetrate. This is one of the most delightful climates in
+the world, the west coast of Africa one of the worst. Once well in
+the interior, the swamp fevers, which are the curse of the shores,
+disappear, but African travelers are seldom long free from attacks of
+fever of one kind or the other. However, quinine does wonders, and we
+shall be far in the interior before the bad season comes on."
+
+"You have been there before, you said, Mr. Goodenough?"
+
+"Yes, I have been there twice, and have made excursions for short
+distances from the coast. But this time we are going into a country
+which may be said to be altogether unknown. One or two explorers have
+made their way there, but these have done little towards examining
+the natural productions of the country, and have been rather led by
+inducements of sport than by those of research."
+
+"Did you have fever, sir?"
+
+"Two or three little attacks. A touch of African fever, during what is
+called the good season, is of little more importance than a feverish
+cold at home. It lasts two or three days, and then there is an end
+of it. In the bad season the attacks are extremely violent, sometimes
+carrying men off in a few hours. I consider, however, that dysentery is
+a more formidable enemy than fever. However, even that, when properly
+treated, should be combated successfully."
+
+"Do you mean to hire the men to go with you at Sierra Leone?"
+
+"Certainly not, Frank. The negroes of Sierra Leone are the most
+indolent, the most worthless, and the most insolent in all Africa. It is
+the last place in the world at which to hire followers. We must get them
+at the Gaboon itself, and at each place we arrive at afterwards we take
+on others, merely retaining one of the old lot to act as interpreter.
+The natives, although they may allow white men to pass safely, are
+exceedingly jealous of men of other tribes. I shall, however, take with
+me, if possible, a body of, say six Houssas, who are the best fighting
+negroes on the coast. These I shall take as a bodyguard; the carriers we
+shall obtain from the different tribes we visit. The Kroomen, whom you
+will see at Cape Palmas, are a magnificent set of men. They furnish
+sailors and boatmen to all the ships trading on these shores. They are
+strong, willing, and faithful, but they do not like going up into the
+interior. Now we will land here and get a few hours' run on shore. There
+are one or two peculiarities about Madeira which distinguish it from
+other places. To begin with we will go for a ride in a bullock cart
+without wheels."
+
+"But surely it must jolt about terribly," Frank said.
+
+"Not at all. The roads are paved with round, knubbly stones, such as
+you see sometimes in narrow lanes and courts in seaside places at home.
+These would not make smooth roads for wheeled vehicles; but here, as you
+will see, the carts are placed on long runners like those of sledges.
+These are greased, and the driver always has a pound of candles or so
+hanging to the cart. When he thinks that the runners want greasing he
+takes a candle, lays it down on the road in front of one of the runners,
+and lets this pass over it. This greases it sufficiently, and it glides
+along over the stones almost as smoothly as if passing over ice."
+
+Frank thoroughly enjoyed his run on shore, but was surprised at the air
+of listlessness which pervaded the inhabitants. Every one moved about in
+the most dawdling fashion. The shopkeepers looked out from their doors
+as if it were a matter of perfect indifference to them whether customers
+called or not. The few soldiers in Portuguese uniform looked as if they
+had never done a day's drill since they left home. Groups sat in chairs
+under the trees and sipped cooling drinks or coffee. The very bullocks
+which drew the gliding wagons seemed to move more slowly than bullocks
+in other places. Frank and his friend drove in a wagon to the monastery,
+high up on the mountain, and then took their places on a little hand
+sledge, which was drawn by two men with ropes, who took them down the
+sharp descent at a run, dashing round corners at a pace which made Frank
+hold his breath. It took them but a quarter of an hour to regain the
+town, while an hour and a half had been occupied in the journey out.
+
+"I shall buy a couple of hammocks here," Mr. Goodenough said. "They are
+made of knotted string, and are lighter and more comfortable than those
+to be met with on the coast. I will get a couple of their cane chairs,
+too, they are very light and comfortable."
+
+In the afternoon they again embarked, and then steamed away for Sierra
+Leone. After several days' passage, they arrived there at daylight, and
+Frank was soon on deck.
+
+"What a beautiful place!" he exclaimed. "It is not a bit what I
+expected."
+
+"No," Mr. Goodenough said; "no one looking at it could suppose that
+bright pretty town had earned for itself the name of the white man's
+grave."
+
+Sierra Leone is built on a somewhat steep ascent about a mile up the
+river. Freetown, as the capital is properly called, stands some fifty
+feet or so above the sea, and the barracks upon a green hill three
+hundred feet above it, a quarter of a mile back. The town, as seen
+from the sea, consists entirely of the houses of the merchants and
+shopkeepers, the government buildings, churches, and other public and
+European buildings. The houses are all large and bright with yellow
+tinged whitewash, and the place is completely embowered in palms and
+other tropical trees. The native town lies hidden from sight among trees
+on low ground to the left of the town. Everywhere around the town the
+hills rise steep and high, wooded to the summit. Altogether there are
+few more prettily situated towns than the capital of Sierra Leone.
+
+"It is wonderful," Mr. Goodenough said, "that generations and
+generations of Europeans have been content to live and die in that
+wretchedly unhealthy place, when they might have established themselves
+on those lofty hills but a mile away. There they would be far above the
+malarious mists which rise from the low ground. The walk up and down to
+their warehouses and offices here would be good for them, and there
+is no reason why Sierra Leone should be an unhealthy residence.
+Unfortunately the European in Africa speedily loses his vigor and
+enterprise. When he first lands he exclaims, 'I certainly shall have a
+bungalow built upon those hills;' but in a short time his energy leaves
+him. He falls into the ways of the place, drinks a great deal more
+spirits than is good for him, stops down near the water, and at the end
+of a year or so, if he lives so long, is obliged to go back to Europe to
+recruit.
+
+"Look at the boats coming out."
+
+A score of boats, each containing from ten to twelve men, approached the
+ship. They remained at a short distance until the harbor master came on
+board and pronounced the ship free from quarantine. Then the boats made
+a rush to the side, and with shouts, yells, and screams of laughter
+scrambled on board. Frank was at once astonished and amused at the noise
+and confusion.
+
+"What on earth do they all want?" he asked Mr. Goodenough.
+
+"The great proportion of them don't want anything at all," Mr.
+Goodenough answered, "but have merely come off for amusement. Some of
+them come to be hired, some to carry luggage, others to tout for the
+boatmen below. Look at those respectable negresses coming up the gangway
+now. They are washerwomen, and will take our clothes ashore and bring
+them on board again this afternoon before we start."
+
+"It seems running rather a risk," Frank said.
+
+"No, you will see they all have testimonials, and I believe it is
+perfectly safe to intrust things to them."
+
+Mr. Goodenough and Frank now prepared to go on shore, but this was not
+easily accomplished, for there was a battle royal among the boatmen
+whose craft thronged at the foot of the ladder. Each boat had about four
+hands, three of whom remained on board her, while the fourth stood
+upon the ladder and hauled at the painter to keep the boat to which he
+belonged alongside. As out of the twenty boats lying there not more
+than two could be at the foot of the ladder together, the conflict was a
+desperate one. All the boatmen shouted, "Here, sar. This good boat, sar.
+You come wid me, sar," at the top of their voices, while at the same
+time they were hard at work pulling each other's boats back and pushing
+their own forward. So great was the struggle as Frank and Mr. Goodenough
+approached the gangway, so great the crowd upon the ladder, that one
+side of the iron bar from which the ladder chains depend broke in two,
+causing the ladder to drop some inches and giving a ducking to those
+on the lower step, causing shouts of laughter and confusion. These rose
+into perfect yells of amusement when one of the sailors suddenly loosed
+the ladder rope, letting five or six of the negroes into the water up to
+their necks. So intense was the appreciation by the sable mind of this
+joke that the boatmen rolled about with laughter, and even the victims,
+when they had once scrambled into their boats, yelled like people
+possessed.
+
+"They are just like children," Mr. Goodenough said. "They are always
+either laughing or quarreling. They are good natured and passionate,
+indolent, but will work hard for a time; clever up to a certain point,
+densely stupid beyond. The intelligence of an average negro is about
+equal to that of a European child of ten years old. A few, a very few,
+go beyond this, but these are exceptions, just as Shakespeare was an
+exception to the ordinary intellect of an Englishman. They are fluent
+talkers, but their ideas are borrowed. They are absolutely without
+originality, absolutely without inventive power. Living among white men,
+their imitative faculties enable them to attain a considerable amount
+of civilization. Left alone to their own devices they retrograde into a
+state little above their native savagery."
+
+This was said as, after having fixed upon a boat and literally fought
+their way into it, they were rowed towards the shore. On landing Frank
+was delighted with the greenness of everything. The trees were heavy
+with luxuriant foliage, the streets were green with grass as long and
+bright as that in a country lane in England. The hill on which the
+barracks stand was as bright a green as you would see on English slopes
+after a wet April, while down the streets clear streams were running.
+The town was alive with a chattering, laughing, good natured, excitable
+population, all black, but with some slight variation in the dinginess
+of the hue.
+
+Never was there such a place for fun as Sierra Leone. Every one was
+brimful of it. Every one laughed when he or she spoke, and every one
+standing near joined freely in the conversation and laughed too. Frank
+was delighted with the display of fruit in the market, which is probably
+unequaled in the world. Great piles there were of delicious big oranges,
+green but perfectly sweet, and of equally refreshing little green limes;
+pineapples and bananas, green, yellow, and red, guava, and custard
+apples, alligator pears, melons, and sour sops, and many other native
+fruits.
+
+Mr. Goodenough purchased a large basket of fruit, which they took with
+them on board the ship. The next morning they started down the coast.
+They passed Liberia, the republic formed of liberated slaves, and of
+negroes from America, and brought up a mile or two off Monrovia, its
+capital. The next day they anchored off Cape Palmas, the headquarters of
+the Kroomen. A number of these men came off in their canoes, and caused
+great amusement to Frank and the other passengers by their fun and
+dexterity in the management of their little craft. These boats
+are extremely light, being hollowed out until little thicker than
+pasteboard, and even with two Kroomen paddling it is difficult for a
+European to sit in them, so extremely crank are they. Light as they are
+the Krooboy can stand up and dive from his boat without upsetting it
+if he take time; but in the hurry and excitement of diving for coppers,
+when half a dozen men would leap overboard together, the canoes were
+frequently capsized. The divers, however, thought nothing of these
+mishaps, righting the boats and getting in again without difficulty.
+Splendidly muscular fellows they were. Indeed, except among the Turkish
+hamals it is doubtful whether such powerful figures could be found
+elsewhere.
+
+"They would be grand fellows to take with us, Mr. Goodenough," Frank
+said.
+
+"Yes, if they were as plucky as they are strong, one could wish for
+nothing better; but they are notorious cowards, and no offer would tempt
+them to penetrate into such a country as that into which we are going."
+
+Stopping a few hours at Cape Coast Castle, Accra, and other ports they
+at last arrived at Bonny.
+
+"It is not tempting in appearance," Frank said, "certainly."
+
+"No," Mr. Goodenough replied, "this is one of the most horribly
+unhealthy spots in Africa. As you see, the white traders do not dare to
+live on shore, but take up their residence in those old floating hulks
+which are thatched over, and serve as residences and storehouses. I have
+a letter from one of the African merchants in London, and we shall take
+up our abode on board his hulk until we get one of the coasting steamers
+to carry us down. I hope it will not be many days."
+
+The very bulky luggage was soon transferred to the hulk, where Frank
+and Mr. Goodenough took up their residence. The agent in charge was very
+glad to receive them, as any break in the terrible monotony of such a
+life is eagerly welcomed. He was a pale, unhealthy looking man, and had
+just recovered from an unusually bad attack of fever. Like most of the
+traders on the coast he had an immense faith in the power of spirits.
+
+"It is the ruin of them," Mr. Goodenough said to Frank when they were
+alone. "Five out of six of the men here ruin their constitutions with
+spirits, and then fall an easy prey to the fever."
+
+"But you have brought spirits with you, Mr. Goodenough. I saw some of
+the cases were labeled Brandy.'"
+
+"Brandy is useful when taken as a medicine, and in moderation. A little
+mixed with water at the end of a long day of exhausting work acts as a
+restorative, and frequently enables a worn out man to sleep. But I have
+brought the brandy you see for the use of others rather than myself.
+One case is of the very best spirits for our own use. The rest is
+common stuff and is intended as presents. Our main drink will be tea and
+chocolate. These are invaluable for the traveler. I have, besides, large
+quantities of calico, brass stair rods, beads, and powder. These are the
+money of Africa, and pass current everywhere. With these we shall pay
+our carriers and boatmen, with these purchase the right of way through
+the various tribes we shall meet. Moreover it is almost necessary in
+Africa to pass as traders. The people perfectly understand that white
+men come here to trade; but if we said that our object was to shoot
+birds and beasts, and to catch butterflies and insects, they would not
+believe us in the slightest degree, but would suspect us of all sorts of
+hidden designs. Now we will go ashore and pay our respects to the king."
+
+"Do you mean to say that there is a king in that wretched looking
+village?" Frank asked in surprise.
+
+"Kings are as plentiful as peas in Africa," Mr. Goodenough said, "but
+you will not see much royal state."
+
+Frank was disappointed indeed upon landing. Sierra Leone had given him
+an exalted idea of African civilization, but this was at once dispelled
+by the appearance of Bonny. The houses were constructed entirely of
+black mud, and the streets were narrow and filthy beyond description.
+The palace was composed of two or three hovels, surrounded by a mud
+wall. In one of these huts the king was seated. Mr. Goodenough and Frank
+were introduced by the agent, who had gone ashore with them, and His
+Majesty, who was an almost naked negro, at once invited them to join
+him in the meal of which he was partaking. As a matter of courtesy
+they consented, and plates were placed before them, heaped with a stew
+consisting of meat, vegetables, and hot peppers. While the meal went on
+the king asked Mr. Goodenough what he had come to the coast for, and
+was disappointed to find that he was not going to set up as a trader at
+Bonny, as it was the custom for each newcomer to make a handsome present
+to him. When the meal was over they took their leave.
+
+"Do you know what you have been eating?" the agent asked Frank.
+
+"Not in the least," Frank said. "It was not bad; what was it?"
+
+"It was dog flesh," the agent answered.
+
+"Not really!" Frank exclaimed with an uncomfortable sensation of
+sickness.
+
+"Yes, indeed," the agent replied. "Dog's meat is considered a luxury in
+Bonny, and dogs are bred specially for the table."
+
+"You'll eat stranger things than that before you've done, Frank," Mr.
+Goodenough continued, "and will find them just as good, and in many
+cases better, than those to which you are accustomed. It is a strange
+thing why in Europe certain animals should be considered fit to eat
+and certain animals altogether rejected, and this without the slightest
+reason. Horses and donkeys are as clean feeders as oxen and sheep. Dogs,
+cats, and rats are far cleaner than pigs and ducks. The flesh of the
+one set is every bit as good as that of the other, and yet the poorest
+peasant would turn up his nose at them. Here sheep and oxen, horses and
+donkeys, will not live, and the natives very wisely make the most of the
+animals which can do so."
+
+Frank was soon tired of Bonny, and was glad to hear that they would
+start the next day for Fernando Po in a little steamer called the
+Retriever. The island of Fernando Po is a very beautiful one, the peak
+rising ten thousand feet above the sea, and wooded to the very summit.
+Were the trees to some extent cleared away the island might be very
+healthy. As it is, it is little better than the mainland.
+
+There was not much to see in the town of Clarence, whose population
+consists entirely of traders from Sierra Leone, Kroomen, etc. The
+natives, whose tribal name is Adiza, live in little villages in the
+interior. They are an extremely primitive people, and for the most part
+dispense altogether with clothing. The island belongs to Spain, and is
+used as a prison, the convicts being kept in guard ships in the harbor.
+After a stay of three days there Mr. Goodenough and Frank took passage
+in a sailing ship for the Gaboon.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX: THE START INLAND
+
+
+After the comforts of a fine steamer the accommodation on board the
+little trader was poor indeed. The vessel smelt horribly of palm oil
+and was alive with cockroaches. These, however, Mr. Goodenough and Frank
+cared little for, as they brought up their mattresses and slept on deck.
+Upon their voyage out from England Frank, as well as several of the
+other passengers, had amused himself by practicing with his rifle at
+empty bottles thrown overboard, and other objects, and having nothing
+else to do now, he resumed the practice, accustoming himself also to the
+use of his revolver, the mark being a small log of wood swung from the
+end of a yard.
+
+"I told you," Mr. Goodenough said, "that your skill with the blowgun
+would prove useful to you in shooting. You are as good a shot as I
+am, and I am considered a fair one. I have no doubt that with a little
+practice you will succeed as well with your double barrel. The shooting
+of birds on the wing is a knack which seems to come naturally to some
+people, while others, practice as they will, never become good shots."
+
+The ship touched twice upon its way down to the Gaboon. Once at
+the Malimba river, the second time at Botauga, the latter being the
+principal ivory port in equatorial Africa.
+
+"Shall we meet with any elephants, do you think?" Frank asked his
+friend.
+
+"In all probability," Mr. Goodenough said. "Elephant shooting, of
+course, does not come within our line of action, and I should not go at
+all out of my way for them. Still, if we meet them we will shoot them.
+The ivory is valuable and will help to pay our expenses, while the
+meat is much prized by the natives, who will gladly assist us in
+consideration of the flesh."
+
+On the sixteenth day after leaving Fernando Po they entered the Gaboon.
+On the right hand bank were the fort and dwellings of the French. A
+little farther up stood the English factories; and upon a green hill
+behind, the church, school, and houses of an American mission. On the
+left bank was the wattle town of King William, the sable monarch of the
+Gaboon. Mr. Goodenough at once landed and made inquiries for a house. He
+succeeded in finding one, consisting of three rooms, built on piles, an
+important point in a country in which disease rises from the soil. At
+Bonny Mr. Goodenough had, with the assistance of the agent, enlisted six
+Houssas. These people live much higher up on the coast, but they wander
+a good deal and may be met with in most of the ports. The men had formed
+a guard in one of the hulks, but trade having been bad the agent had
+gone home, and they were glad to take service with Mr. Goodenough. They
+spoke a few words of English, and, like the Kroomen, rejoiced in names
+which had been given them by sailors. They were called Moses, Firewater,
+Ugly Tom, Bacon, Tatters, and King John. They were now for the first
+time set to work, and the goods were soon transported from the brig to
+the house.
+
+"Is anything the matter with you, Frank?" Mr. Goodenough asked that
+evening.
+
+"I don't know, sir. My head feels heavy, somehow, and I am giddy."
+
+Mr. Goodenough felt his pulse.
+
+"You have got your first touch of fever," he said. "I wonder you've been
+so long without it. You had better lie down at once."
+
+A quarter of an hour afterwards Frank was seized with an overpowering
+heat, every vein appearing to be filled with liquid fire; but his skin,
+instead of being, as usual, in a state of perspiration, was dry and
+hard.
+
+"Now, Frank, sit up and drink this. It's only some mustard and salt and
+water. I have immense faith in an emetic."
+
+The draught soon took its effect. Frank was violently sick, and the
+perspiration broke in streams from him.
+
+"Here is a cup of tea," Mr. Goodenough said; "drink that and you will
+find that there will be little the matter with you in the morning."
+
+Frank awoke feeling weak, but otherwise perfectly well. Mr. Goodenough
+administered a strong dose of quinine, and after he had had his
+breakfast he felt quite himself again.
+
+"Now," Mr. Goodenough said, "we will go up to the factories and mission
+and try and find a really good servant. Everything depends upon that."
+
+In a short time an engagement was made with a negro of the name of
+Ostik. He was a Mpongwe man, that being the name of the tribe on the
+coast. He spoke English fairly, as well as two or three of the native
+languages. He had before made a journey some distance into the interior
+with a white traveler. He was a tall and powerfully built negro, very
+ugly, but with a pleasant and honest face. Frank felt at once that he
+should like him.
+
+"You quite understand," Mr. Goodenough explained, "we are going through
+the Fan country, far into the interior. We may be away from the coast
+for many months."
+
+"Me ready, sar," the man answered with a grin. "Mak no odds to Ostik. He
+got no wife, no piccanniny. Ostik very good cook. Master find good grub;
+he catch plenty of beasts."
+
+"You're not afraid, Ostik, because it is possible we may have trouble on
+the way?"
+
+"Me not very much afraid, massa. You good massa to Ostik he no run away
+if fightee come; but no good fight whole tribe."
+
+"I hope not to have any fighting at all, Ostik; but as I have got six
+Houssas with me who will all carry breech loading guns, I think we
+should be a match for a good sized tribe, if necessary."
+
+Ostik looked thoughtful. "More easy, massa, go without Houssas," he
+said. "Black man not often touch white traveler."
+
+"No, Ostik, that is true; but I must take with me trade goods for paying
+my way and hiring carriers, and if alone I should be at the mercy of
+every petty chief who chose to plunder and delay me. I am going as a
+peaceful traveler, ready to pay my way, and to make presents to the
+different kings through whose territories I may pass. But I do not
+choose to put myself at the mercy of any of them. I do not say that
+eight men armed with breech loaders could defeat a whole tribe; but they
+would be so formidable, that any of these negro kings would probably
+prefer taking presents and letting us pass peacefully to trying to rob
+us. The first thing to do, will be to hire one large canoe, or two if
+necessary. The men must agree to take us up into the Fan country, as far
+as the rapids on the Gaboon. Then we shall take carriers there, and the
+boat can return by itself. These are the things which will have to go."
+
+The baggage consisted of ten large tin cases, each weighing about eighty
+pounds. These contained cotton cloths, powder, beads, tea, chocolate,
+sugar, and biscuits. There were in addition three bundles of stair rods,
+each about the same weight as the boxes. These were done up in canvas.
+There was also a tent made of double canvas weighing fifty pounds, and
+two light folding tressel beds weighing fifteen pounds apiece. Thus
+fourteen men would be required as carriers, besides some for plantains
+and other provisions, together with the portmanteaus, rugs, and
+waterproof sheets of the travelers. There were besides six great chests
+made of light iron. Four of these were fitted with trays with cork
+bottoms, for insects. The other two were for the skins of birds. All the
+boxes and cases had strips of India rubber where the lids fitted down,
+in order to keep out both damp and the tiny ants which are the plague of
+naturalists in Africa.
+
+Four or five days were occupied in getting together a crew, for the
+natives had an abject fear of entering the country of the cannibal
+Fans. Mr. Goodenough promised that they should not be obliged to proceed
+unless a safe conduct for their return was obtained from the King of the
+Fans. A large canoe was procured, sufficient to convey the whole party.
+Twelve paddlers were hired, and the goods taken down and arranged in the
+boat. The Houssas had been, on landing, furnished with their guns,
+which were Snider rifles, had been instructed in the breech loading
+arrangement, and had been set to work to practice at a mark at a hundred
+and fifty yards distance--the stump of an old tree, some five feet
+in height, serving for the purpose. The men were delighted with the
+accuracy of their pieces and the rapidity at which they could be
+fired. Mr. Goodenough impressed upon them that unless attacked at close
+quarters, and specially ordered to fire fast, they must aim just as
+slowly and deliberately as if using their old guns, for that in so
+long a journey ammunition would be precious, and must, therefore, on no
+account whatever, be wasted. In the boxes were six thousand rounds of
+ammunition, a thousand for each gun, besides the ammunition for the
+rifles and fowling pieces of Mr. Goodenough and Frank.
+
+In order to render the appearance of his followers as imposing as
+possible, Mr. Goodenough furnished each of the Houssas with a pair of
+trousers made of New Zealand flax, reaching to their knees. These he had
+brought from England with him. They were all found to be too large, but
+the men soon set to work with rough needles and thread and took them in.
+In addition to these, each man was furnished with a red sash, which went
+several times round the waist, and served to keep the trousers up and to
+give a gay aspect to the dress. The Houssas were much pleased with their
+appearance. All of them carried swords in addition to the guns, as in
+their own country they are accustomed to fight with these weapons.
+
+They started early in the morning, and after four hours' paddling passed
+Konig Island, an abandoned Dutch settlement. Here they stopped for an
+hour or two, and then the sea breeze sprang up, a sail was hoisted, and
+late at night they passed a French guardship placed to mark the boundary
+of that settlement at a point where a large tributary called the Boqui
+runs into it. Here is a little island called Nenge Nenge, formerly a
+missionary station, where the natives are still Christians. At this
+place the canoe was hauled ashore. The Houssas had already been
+instructed in the method of pitching the tent, and in a very few minutes
+this was erected. It was a double poled tent, some ten feet square,
+and there was a waterproof sheet large enough to cover the whole of the
+interior, thus preventing the miasma from arising from the ground within
+it. The beds were soon opened and fixed, two of the large cases formed
+a table and two smaller ones did service as chairs. A lamp was lit, and
+Frank was charmed with the comfort and snugness of the abode.
+
+The men's weapons were fastened round one of the poles to keep them from
+the damp night air. Ostik had at once set to work on landing, leaving
+the Houssas to pitch the tent. A fire was soon blazing and a kettle and
+saucepans suspended over it. Rice was served out to the men, with the
+addition of some salt meat, of which sufficient had been purchased from
+the captain of the brig to last throughout the journey in the canoe. The
+men were all in high spirits at this addition to their fare, which was
+more than had been bargained for, and their songs rose merrily round the
+fire in the night air.
+
+In the morning, after breakfast, they again took their places in the
+canoe. For twelve miles they paddled, the tide at first assisting
+them, but after this the water from the mountains ahead overpowered it.
+Presently they arrived at the first Fan village, called Olenga, which
+they reached six hours after starting. The natives crowded round as the
+canoe approached, full of curiosity and excitement, for never but once
+had a white man passed up the river. These Fans differed widely from
+the coast negroes. Their hair was longer and thicker, their figures were
+slight, their complexion coffee colored, and their projecting upper jaws
+gave them a rabbit mouthed appearance. They wore coronets on their heads
+adorned with the red tail feathers of the common gray parrot. Most of
+the men had beards, which were divided in the middle, red and white
+beads being strung up the tips. Some wore only a strip of goatskin
+hanging from the waist, or the skin of a tigercat, while others had
+short petticoats made of cloth woven from the inner bark of a tree. The
+travelers were led to the hut of the chief, where they were surrounded
+by a mob of the cannibals. The Houssas had been strictly enjoined to
+leave their guns in the bottom of the canoe, as Mr. Goodenough desired
+to avoid all appearance of armed force. The chief demanded of Ostik what
+these two white men wanted here, and whether they had come to trade.
+Ostik replied that the white men were going up the river into the
+country beyond to shoot elephants and buy ivory, that they did not want
+to trade for logwood or oil, but that they would give presents to the
+chiefs of the Fan villages. A score of cheap Birmingham muskets had been
+brought from England by Mr. Goodenough for this purpose. One of these
+was now bestowed upon the chief, together with some powder and ball,
+three bright cotton handkerchiefs, some gaudy glass beads, and
+two looking glasses for his wives. This was considered perfectly
+satisfactory.
+
+The crowd was very great, and at Mr. Goodenough's dictation Ostik
+informed the chief that if the white men were left quiet until the
+evening they would show his people many strange things. On the receipt
+of this information the crowd dispersed. But when at sunset the two
+travelers took a turn through the village, the excitement was again very
+great. The men stood their ground and stared at them, but the women and
+children ran screaming away to hide themselves. The idea of the people
+of Central Africa of the whites is that they are few in number, that
+they live at the bottom of the sea, and are possessed of great wealth,
+but that they have no palm oil or logwood, and are, therefore, compelled
+to come to land to trade for these articles. They believe that the
+strange clothes they wear are manufactured from the skins of sea beasts.
+
+When night fell Mr. Goodenough fastened a sheet against the outside of
+the chief's hut, and then placed a magic lantern in position ten paces
+from it. The Fans were then invited to gather round and take their seats
+upon the ground. A cry of astonishment greeted the appearance of the
+bright disk. This was followed by a wilder yell when this was darkened,
+and an elephant bearing some men sitting on his back was seen to cross
+the house. The men leaped to their feet and seized their spears. The
+women screamed, and Ostik, who was himself somewhat alarmed, had great
+difficulty in calming their fears and persuading them to sit down
+again, assuring them that they would see many wonderful things, but that
+nothing would hurt them.
+
+The next view was at first incomprehensible to many of them. It was a
+ship tossing in a stormy sea; but some of those present had been down to
+the mouth of the river, and these explained to the others the nature
+of the phenomenon. In all there were twenty slides, all of which were
+provided with movable figures; the last two being chromatropes, whose
+dancing colors elicited screams of delight from the astonished natives.
+This concluded the performance, but for hours after it was over the
+village rang with a perfect Babel of shouts, screams, and chatter.
+The whole thing was to the Fans absolutely incomprehensible, and their
+astonishment was equalled by their awe at the powers of the white men.
+
+The next two days they remained at Olenga, as word was sent up to
+Itchongue, the next town, asking the chief there for leave to come
+forward. The people had now begun to get over their first timidity,
+and when Frank went out for a walk after breakfast he was somewhat
+embarrassed by the women and girls crowding round him, feeling his
+clothes and touching his hands and face to assure themselves that these
+felt like those of human beings. He afforded them huge delight by taking
+off his Norfolk jacket and pulling up the sleeves of his shirt to show
+them that his arms were the same color as his hands, and so elated were
+they with this exhibition that it was with great difficulty that he
+withstood their entreaties that he would disrobe entirely. Indeed, Ostik
+had at last to come to his rescue and carry him off from the laughing
+crowd by which he was surrounded.
+
+After dinner Mr. Goodenough invited the people to sit down in a vast
+circle holding each other's hands. He then told them that he should at
+a word make them all jump to their feet. Then taking out a small but
+powerful galvanic battery, he arranged it and placed wires into the
+hands of the two men nearest to him in the great circle.
+
+"Now," he said, "when I clap my hands you will find that you are all
+obliged to jump up."
+
+He gave the signal. Frank turned on the battery, and in an instant the
+two hundred men and women, with a wild shriek, either leapt to their
+feet or rolled backward on the ground. In another minute not a native
+was to be seen, with the exception of the chief, who had not been
+included in the circle. The latter, at Mr. Goodenough's request, shouted
+loudly to his subjects to return, for that the white men would do them
+no harm; but it was a long time before, slowly and cautiously, they
+crept back again. When they had reassembled Mr. Goodenough showed them
+several simple but astonishing chemical experiments, which stupefied
+them with wonder; and concluded with three or four conjuring tricks,
+which completed their amazement. A long day's paddling took them to
+Itchongue, where they were as well received as at Olenga. Here they
+stopped for two days, and the magic lantern was again brought out, and
+the other tricks repeated with a success equal to that which they had
+before obtained. As another day's paddling would take them to the rapids
+Mr. Goodenough now set up a negotiation for obtaining a sufficient
+number of carriers. After great palaver, and the presentation of three
+guns to the chief to obtain his assistance, thirty men were engaged.
+These were each to receive a yard of calico or one brass stair rod a
+day, and were to proceed with the party until such time as they could
+procure carriers from another tribe.
+
+The new recruits were taken up in another canoe. Several villages were
+passed on the way. The river became a mere rapid, against which
+the canoes with difficulty made their way. They had now entered the
+mountains which rose steeply above them, embowered in wood. Two days
+of severe work took them to the foot of the falls. Here the canoes were
+unloaded. The men hired on the coast received their pay, and turned
+the boat's head down stream. The other canoe accompanied it, and the
+travelers remained with their bodyguard of Houssas and their carriers.
+
+"Now," Mr. Goodenough said, "we are fairly embarked on our journey, and
+we will commence operations at once. I have heard the cries of a great
+many birds which are strange to me today, and I expect that we shall
+have a good harvest. We may remain here for some time. The first thing
+to do is to find food for our followers. We have got six sacks of rice,
+but it will never do to let our men depend solely upon these. They would
+soon come to an end."
+
+"But how are we to feed forty people?" Frank asked in astonishment.
+
+"I pointed out to you today," Mr. Goodenough said, "the tracks of
+hippopotami in various places. One of these beasts will feed the men
+for nearly a week. There were, too, numbers of alligators' eggs on the
+banks, and these creatures make by no means bad eating. Your rifle will
+be of no use against such animals as these. You had better take one of
+the Sniders. I have some explosive shells which will fit them. My own
+double barrelled rifle is of the same bore."
+
+After dinner Mr. Goodenough told two of the Houssas to accompany them
+with their rifles, together with three or four of the Fans. He made his
+way down the stream to a point where the hills receded, and where he had
+observed a great many marks of the river horses. As they approached
+the spot they heard several loud snorts, and making their way along as
+quietly as possible they saw two of the great beasts standing in the
+stream. At this point it widened a good deal and was shallow and quite
+near the bank. The Fans had been told to stay behind directly the
+snorting was heard, and Mr. Goodenough and Frank, rifle in hand, crept
+forward, with the Houssas as still and noiseless as cats close behind
+them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X: LOST IN THE FOREST
+
+
+The hippopotami were playing together, floundering in the shallow water,
+and the noise they made prevented their hearing the stealthy approach of
+their enemies.
+
+"You take the one nearest shore, Frank, I will take the other. Aim at
+the forehead between the eyes. I will make a slight sound to attract
+their attention."
+
+Frank knelt on one knee and took steady aim. Mr. Goodenough then gave
+a shout, and the two animals turning their heads stood staring at
+the foliage, scarce a dozen yards away, in which the travelers were
+concealed. The guns flashed at the same moment, and as if struck by
+lightning the hippopotami fell in the stream. The explosive balls had
+both flown true to the mark, invariably a fatal one in the case of the
+river horse. Frank as he fired had taken another rifle which the Houssas
+held in readiness for him, but there was no occasion for its use.
+The Fans came running up, and on seeing the great beasts lying in the
+stream, gave a shout of joy.
+
+"That will do for this evening," Mr. Goodenough said. "They are large
+beasts, and will give food enough for a week or ten days."
+
+They then returned to the camp which, at the news brought by one of the
+Fans, had already been deserted. Before the natives retired to sleep
+the hippopotami had been cut up and carried to the camp. Portions
+were already frizzling over the fires, other parts set aside for the
+consumption of the next two days, and the rest cut up in strips to be
+dried in the sun. The tongue of one was cut up and fried as a great
+luxury for the white men's supper by Ostik. It is not often that the
+natives of equatorial Africa are able to indulge in meat, and the joy
+of the Fans at this abundant supply, and the prospect afforded them of
+further good eating, raised their spirits to the highest extent.
+
+Next morning at daybreak Mr. Goodenough and Frank set out from the camp.
+Each carried a double barreled gun, and was accompanied by one of the
+Houssas carrying his rifle and a butterfly net, and when three hours
+later they returned to the camp for breakfast and compared their spoils
+they found that an excellent beginning had been made. Nearly a score of
+birds, of which several were very rare, and five were pronounced by
+Mr. Goodenough to be entirely new, had been shot, and many butterflies
+captured. Frank had been most successful in this respect, as he had come
+across a small clearing in which were several deserted huts. This was
+just the place in which butterflies delight, for, although many kinds
+prefer the deep shades of the forest, by far the greater portion love
+the bright sunlight.
+
+After breakfast they again set out, Frank this time keeping along the
+edge of the stream, where he had observed many butterflies as he came
+up, and where many birds of the kingfisher family had also been seen. He
+had been very successful, and was walking along by the edge of the water
+with his eyes fixed upon the trees above, where he had a minute before
+heard the call of a bird, when he was startled by a shout from the
+Houssa behind him. He involuntarily sprang back, and it was well he did
+so; for on the instant something swept by within an inch or two of his
+head. Looking round he saw, at the edge of the stream below him, a huge
+alligator. This had struck at him with its tail--the usual manner in
+which the alligator supplies itself with food--and had it not been for
+the warning cry of the Houssa, would have knocked him into the stream.
+Its mouth was open and Frank, as if by instinct, fired the contents of
+both barrels into its throat. The animal rolled over on to its back
+in the water and then turned as if to struggle to regain the bank. The
+Houssa, however, had run up, and, placing the muzzle of his gun within a
+foot of its eye, fired, and the creature rolled over dead, and was swept
+away by the stream.
+
+The Houssa gave a loud shout which was answered in the distance. He
+then shouted two or three words, and turning to Frank said: "Men get
+alligator," and proceeded on his way without concerning himself further
+in the matter.
+
+On his return to camp in the evening Frank found that the alligator had
+been discovered and fished out, and that its steaks were by no means bad
+eating. Frank told Mr. Goodenough of the narrow escape he had had, and
+the latter pointed out to him the necessity of always keeping his eyes
+on the watch.
+
+"Alligators frequently carry off the native women when engaged in
+washing," he said, "and almost invariably strike them, in the first
+place, into the river with a blow of their tails. Once in the water they
+are carried off, drowned, and eaten at leisure. Sometimes, indeed,
+a woman may escape with the loss of a foot or arm, but this is the
+exception."
+
+"What is the best thing to do when so attacked?" Frank asked. "I don't
+mean to be caught napping again, still it is as well to know what to do
+if I am."
+
+"Men when so attacked have been known frequently to escape by thrusting
+their thumbs or fingers into the creature's eyes. If it can be done the
+alligator is sure to lose his hold, but it demands quickness and great
+presence of mind. When a reptile is tearing at one's leg, and hurrying
+one along under water, you can see that the nerve required to keep
+perfectly cool, to feel for the creature's eyes, and to thrust your
+finger into them is very great. The best plan, Frank, distinctly is to
+keep out of their reach altogether."
+
+After remaining for a fortnight at their camp they prepared for a move.
+Another hippopotamus was killed, cut up and dried, and the flesh added
+to the burdens. Then the tent was struck and they proceeded farther into
+the mountains. Two days later they halted again, the site being chosen
+beside a little mountain rivulet. They were now very high up in
+the hills, Mr. Goodenough expecting to meet with new varieties of
+butterflies and insects at this elevation. They had scarcely pitched
+their camp when Frank exclaimed:
+
+"Surely, Mr. Goodenough, I can hear some dogs barking! I did not know
+that the native dogs barked."
+
+"Nor do they. They may yelp and howl, but they never bark like European
+dogs. What you hear is the bark of some sort of monkey or baboon."
+
+This opinion was at once confirmed by the Fans.
+
+"We will sally out with our guns at once," Mr. Goodenough said.
+
+"I don't like the thought of shooting monkeys," Frank muttered, as he
+took up his Winchester carbine.
+
+"They are very excellent eating," Mr. Goodenough continued, "superior in
+my opinion, and, indeed, in that of most travelers, to any other meat.
+We shall meet with no other kind of creature fit for food up here. The
+birds, indeed, supply us amply, but for the men it is desirable that we
+should obtain fresh meat when we have the chance. These baboons are very
+mischievous creatures, and are not to be attacked with impunity. Let
+four of the Houssas with their guns come with us."
+
+Following the direction of the sounds they had heard, the travelers came
+upon a troupe of great baboons. It was a curious sight. The males were
+as big as large dogs, some were sitting sunning themselves on rocks,
+others were being scratched by the females. Many of these had a baby
+monkey clinging on their necks, while others were playing about in all
+directions.
+
+"I'd rather not shoot at them, Mr. Goodenough," Frank said.
+
+"You will be glad enough to eat them," Mr. Goodenough answered, and
+selecting a big male he fired. The creature fell dead. The others all
+sprang to their feet. The females and little ones scampered off. The
+males, with angry gestures, rushed upon their assailants, barking,
+showing their teeth, and making menacing gestures. Mr. Goodenough fired
+again, and Frank now, seeing that they were likely to be attacked, also
+opened fire. Six of the baboons were killed before the others abstained
+from the attack and went screaming after the females. The dead baboons
+were brought down, skinned, and two were at once roasted, the others
+hung up to trees. It required a great effort on Frank's part to overcome
+his repugnance to tasting these creatures, but, when he did so, he
+admitted that the meat was excellent.
+
+That night they were disturbed by a cry of terror from the men. Seizing
+their rifles they ran out.
+
+"There are two leopards, sar," Ostik said; "they have smelt the
+monkeys."
+
+The shouts scared the creatures away, and the natives kept up a great
+fire till morning.
+
+"We must get the skins if we can," Mr. Goodenough said. "The skins of
+the equatorial leopard are rare. If we can get them both they will make
+a fine group for you to stuff when you get back, Frank."
+
+"Are you thinking of following their trail?" Frank asked.
+
+"That would be useless," Mr. Goodenough answered. "In soft swampy ground
+we might do so, but up here it would be out of the question. We must set
+a bait for them tonight, but be careful while you are out today. They
+have probably not gone far from the camp, and they are very formidable
+beasts. They not unfrequently attack and kill the natives."
+
+The Fans were much alarmed at the neighborhood of the leopards, and none
+would leave the camp during the day. Two of the Houssas were left on
+guard, although Mr. Goodenough felt sure that the animals would
+not attempt to carry off any meat in the daylight, and two Houssas
+accompanied each of the travelers while out in search of butterflies.
+
+Nothing was heard of the leopards during the day. At nightfall a portion
+of one of the monkeys was roasted and hung up, so as to swing within
+four feet of the ground from the arm of a tree, a hundred yards from the
+camp. Mr. Goodenough and Frank took their seats in another tree a short
+distance off. The night was fine and the stars clear and bright. The
+tree on which the meat hung stood somewhat alone, so that sufficient
+light penetrated from above to enable any creatures approaching the
+bait to be seen. Instead of his little Winchester, Frank had one of the
+Sniders with explosive bullets. The Houssas were told to keep a sharp
+watch in camp, in case the leopards, approaching from the other side,
+might be attracted by the smell of meat there, rather than by the bait.
+The Fans needed no telling to induce them to keep up great fires all
+night.
+
+Soon after dark the watchers heard a roaring in the forest. It came from
+the other side of the camp.
+
+"That is unlucky," Mr. Goodenough said. "We have pitched on the
+wrong side. However, they will probably be deterred by the fire from
+approaching the camp, and will wander round and round: so we may hope to
+hear of them before long."
+
+In answer to the roar of the leopards the natives kept up a continued
+shouting. For some hours the roaring continued at intervals, sometimes
+close at hand, sometimes at a considerable distance. Frank had some
+difficulty in keeping awake, and was beginning to wish that the leopards
+would move off altogether. Two or three times he had nearly dozed off,
+and his rifle had almost slipped from his hold. All at once he was
+aroused by a sharp nudge from his companion. Fixing his eyes on the bait
+he made out something immediately below it. Directly afterwards
+another creature stole forward. They were far less distinct than he had
+expected.
+
+"You take the one to the left," Mr. Goodenough whispered; "Now!"
+
+They fired together. Two tremendous roars were heard. One of the
+leopards immediately bounded away. The other rolled over and over, and
+then, recovering its feet, followed its companion, Mr. Goodenough firing
+his second barrel after him.
+
+"I'm afraid you missed altogether, Frank," he said.
+
+"I don't think so, sir. I fancied I saw the flash of the shell as it
+struck him, but where, I have not the remotest idea. I could not make
+him out clear enough. It was merely a dim shape, and I fired as well as
+I could at the middle of it.
+
+"Shall we go back to the camp now?" Frank asked.
+
+"Yes, we can safely do so. You can tell by the sound of the roars that
+they are already some distance away. There is little chance of their
+returning tonight. In the morning we will follow them. There is sure to
+be blood, and the natives will have no difficulty in tracking them."
+
+The rest of the night passed quietly, although roars and howling could
+be heard from time to time in the distance.
+
+Early in the morning they started with the Houssas.
+
+"We must be careful today," Mr. Goodenough said, "for a wounded leopard
+is a really formidable beast."
+
+There was no difficulty in taking up the traces.
+
+"One of them at least must be hard hit," Mr. Goodenough remarked; "there
+are traces of blood every yard."
+
+They had gone but a short distance when one of the Houssas gave a sudden
+exclamation, and pointed to something lying at the edge of a clump of
+bushes.
+
+"Leopard," he said.
+
+"Yes, there is one of them, sure enough. I think it's dead, but we
+cannot be too cautious. Advance very carefully, Frank, keeping ready to
+fire instantly."
+
+They moved forward slowly in a body, but their precaution was
+unnecessary. There was no movement in the spotted, tawny skin as they
+advanced, and when they came close they could see that the leopard was
+really dead. He had been hit by two bullets. The first had struck his
+shoulder and exploded there, inflicting so terrible a wound that it was
+wonderful he had been able to move afterwards. The other had struck him
+on the back, near the tail, and had burst inside him. Frank on seeing
+the nature of the wounds was astonished at the tenacity of life shown by
+the animal.
+
+"I wonder whether I hit the other," he said.
+
+"I have no doubt at all about it," Mr. Goodenough answered, "although I
+did not think so before. It seemed to me that I only heard the howls of
+one animal in the night, and thought it was the one I had hit. But as
+this fellow must have died at once, it is clear that the cries were made
+by the other."
+
+A sharp search was now set up for the tracks of the other leopard, the
+Houssas going back to the tree and taking it up anew. They soon found
+traces of blood in a line diverging from that followed by the other
+animal. For an hour they followed this, great care being required, as
+at times no spots of blood could be seen for a considerable distance. At
+last they seemed to lose it altogether. Mr. Goodenough and Frank stood
+together, while the Houssas, scattered round, were hunting like well
+trained dogs for a sign. Suddenly there was a sharp roar, and from
+the bough of a tree close by a great body sprang through the air and
+alighted within a yard of Frank. The latter, in his surprise, sprang
+back, stumbled and fell, but in an instant the report of the two barrels
+of Mr. Goodenough's rifle rang out. In a moment Frank was on his feet
+again ready to fire. The leopard, however, lay dead, its skull almost
+blown off.
+
+"You have had another narrow escape," Mr. Goodenough said. "I see that
+your ball last night broke one of his hind legs. That spoilt his spring.
+Had it not been for that he would undoubtedly have reached you, and a
+blow with his paw, given with all his weight and impetus, would probably
+have killed you on the spot. We ought not to have stood near a tree
+strong enough to bear him when in pursuit of a wounded leopard. They
+will always take to trees if they can, and you see this was a very
+suitable one for him. This bough on which he was lying starts from the
+trunk only about four feet from the ground, so that even with his broken
+leg he was able to get upon it without difficulty. Well, thank God,
+you've not been hurt, my boy. It will teach us both to be more careful
+in future."
+
+That afternoon Frank was down with his second attack of fever, a much
+more severe one than the first had been. Mr. Goodenough's favorite
+remedy had its effect of producing profuse perspiration, but two or
+three hours afterwards the hot fit again came on, and for the next four
+days Frank lay half delirious, at one time consumed with heat, and the
+next shivering as if plunged into ice water. Copious doses of quinine,
+however, gradually overcame the fever, and on the fifth day he
+was convalescent. It was, nevertheless, another week before he was
+sufficiently recovered to be able to resume his hunting expeditions.
+They again shifted their camp, and this time traveled for three weeks,
+making short journeys, and halting early so as to give half a day from
+each camping place for their work.
+
+Frank was one day out as usual with one of the Houssas. He had killed
+several birds when he saw a butterfly, of a species which he had not
+before met with, flitting across a gleam of sunshine which streamed in
+through a rift in the trees. He told his Houssa to wait where he was
+in charge of the two guns and birds, and started off with his net in
+pursuit of the butterfly. The creature fluttered away with Frank in
+full pursuit. Hither and thither it flitted, seemingly taking an impish
+delight in tantalizing Frank, settling on a spot where a gleam of
+sunlight streamed upon the bark of a tree, till Frank had stolen up
+within a couple of paces of it, and then darting away again at a pace
+which defied Frank's best attempts to keep up with it until it chose to
+play with him again. Intent only upon his chase Frank thought of nothing
+else. At last, with a shout of triumph, he inclosed the creature in his
+net, shook it into the wide pickle bottle, containing a sponge soaked
+with chloroform, and then, after tightly fitting in the stopper, he
+looked around. He uttered an exclamation of dismay as he did so. He saw
+by the bands of light the sun was already setting, and knew that he must
+have been for upwards of an hour in chase of the butterfly. He had not
+the slightest idea of the direction in which he had come. He had, he
+knew, run up hill and down, but whether he had been traveling in a
+circle or going straight in one direction, he had not the least idea.
+He might be within a hundred yards of the spot where he had left the
+Houssa. He might be three or four miles away.
+
+He at once drew out his revolver, which he always carried strapped to
+his belt, and discharged the six chambers, waiting for half a minute
+between each shot, and listening intently for an answer to his signal.
+None came. The stillness of the wood was unbroken, and Frank felt that
+he must have wandered far indeed from his starting place, and that he
+was completely lost. His first impulse was to start off instantly at the
+top of his speed, but a moment's thought convinced him that this would
+be useless. He had not an idea of the direction which he should pursue.
+Besides the sun was sinking, twilight is short in the tropics, and in
+half an hour it would be as dark as midnight in the forest. Remembering
+his adventure with the leopard he determined to climb into a tree and
+pass the night there. He knew that an active search would be set on
+foot by his friends next morning, and that, as every step he took was as
+likely to lead him from as towards the camp, it was better to stay where
+he was.
+
+He soon found a tree with a branch which would suit his purpose, and,
+climbing up into it, lit his pipe and prepared for an uncomfortable
+night. Frank had never smoked until he reached Africa, but he had then
+taken to it on the advice of Mr. Goodenough, who told him that smoking
+was certainly a preventive, to some extent, of fever in malarious
+countries, and, although he had not liked it at first, he had now taken
+kindly to his pipe, and smoked from the time when the evening mists
+began to rise until he went to bed.
+
+The time passed very slowly. The cries of wild creatures could be heard
+in the woods, and although Frank did not expect to be attacked, it was
+impossible to sleep with these calls of leopards, with which the forest
+seemed to abound, in his ears. He had reloaded his revolver immediately
+after discharging it, and had replaced it in his pouch, and felt
+confident that nothing could climb the tree. Besides, he had heard that
+leopards seldom attack men unless themselves attacked. Sleep, however,
+was out of the question, for when he slept he might have fallen from
+his seat in the crotch of the tree. Occasionally, however, he dozed off,
+waking up always with an uncomfortable start, and a feeling that he
+had just saved himself from falling. With the earliest dawn of morn he
+descended, stiff and weary, from the tree. Directly the sun rose he set
+off walking. He knew at least that he was to the south of the camp, and
+that by keeping the sun on his right hand till it reached the zenith
+he must get in time to the little stream on which it was pitched. As
+he walked he listened intently for the sound of guns. Once or twice
+he fancied that he heard them, but he was quite unable to judge of the
+direction. He had been out with the Houssa about six hours before he
+strayed from him in the pursuit of the butterfly, and they had for some
+time been walking towards the camp, in order to reach it by nightfall.
+Thus he thought, that at that time, he could only have been some three
+or four miles distant from it. Supposing that he had run due south, he
+could still be but eight miles from the stream, and he thought that
+in three hours' walking he might arrive there. In point of fact, after
+leaving the Houssa the butterfly had led him towards the southeast, and
+as the stream took a sharp bend to the north a little distance above the
+camp, he was many miles farther from it than he expected. This stream
+was one of the upper tributaries of the Gaboon.
+
+After walking for two hours the character of the forest changed. The
+high trees were farther apart, and a thick undergrowth began to make its
+appearance, frequently causing him to make long detours and preventing
+his following the line he had marked out for himself. This caused him
+much uneasiness, for he knew that he had passed across no such country
+on his way from the camp, and the thought that he might experience great
+difficulties in recovering it, now began to press upon him.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI: A HOSTILE TRIBE
+
+
+Every step that he went the ground grew softer and more swampy, and
+he at length determined to push on no farther in this direction, but
+turning to his left to try and gain higher ground, and then to continue
+on the line he had marked out for himself.
+
+His progress was now very slow. The bush was thick and close, thorny
+plants and innumerable creepers continually barred his way, and the
+necessity for constantly looking up through the trees to catch a glimpse
+of the sun, which was his only guide, added to his difficulty. At
+length, when his watch told him it was eleven o'clock, he came to a
+standstill, the sun being too high overhead to serve him as a reliable
+guide. He had now been walking for nearly six hours, and he was utterly
+worn out and exhausted, having had no food since his midday meal on
+the previous day. He was devoured with thirst, having merely rinsed his
+mouth in the black and poisonous water of the swamps he had crossed. His
+sleepless night, too, had told on him. He was bathed in perspiration,
+and for the last hour had scarcely been able to drag his feet along.
+
+He now lay down at the foot of a great tree, and for three or four hours
+slept heavily. When he awoke he pursued his journey, the sun serving
+as a guide again. In two hours' time he had got upon higher ground. The
+brushwood was less dense, and he again turned his face to the north, and
+stepped forward with renewed hopes.
+
+It was late in the afternoon when he came upon a native path. Here he
+sat down to think. He did not remember having crossed such a path on
+the day before. Probably it crossed the stream at some point above the
+encampment. Therefore it would serve as a guide, and he might, too, come
+upon some native village where he could procure food. By following it
+far enough he must arrive somewhere. He sat for a quarter of an hour to
+rest himself, and then proceeded along the path, whose direction seemed
+to be the northwest.
+
+For an hour he proceeded and then paused, hearing a sudden outcry ahead.
+Scampering along the path came a number of great baboons, and Frank at
+once stepped aside into the bush to avoid them, as these are formidable
+creatures when disturbed. They were of a very large species, and several
+of the females had little ones clinging around their necks. In the
+distance Frank could hear the shouts of some natives, and supposed that
+the monkeys had been plundering their plantations, and that they were
+driving them away. The baboons passed without paying any attention to
+him, but Frank observed that the last of the troop was carrying a little
+one in one of its forearms.
+
+Frank glanced at the baby monkey and saw that it had round its waist a
+string of blue beads. As a string of beads is the only attire which a
+negro child wears until it reaches the age of ten or eleven years old,
+the truth at once flashed upon Frank that the baboons were carrying off
+a native baby, which had probably been set down by its mother while she
+worked in the plantation. Instantly he drew his pistol, leaped into the
+road, and fired at the retreating ape. It gave a cry, dropped the baby
+and turned to attack its aggressor.
+
+Frank waited till it was within six feet, and then shot it through the
+head. He sprang forward and seized the baby, but in a moment he was
+attacked by the whole party of baboons, who, barking like dogs, and
+uttering angry cries, rushed at him. Frank stood his ground, and
+discharged the four remaining barrels of his revolver at the foremost
+animals. Two of these dropped, but the others who were only wounded
+sprang upon him. Frank struck out with the butt end of his pistol, but
+in a minute he was overpowered.
+
+One monkey seized him by the leg with his teeth, while another bit his
+arm. Others struck and scratched at him, and he was at once thrown down.
+He tried to defend his face with his arms, kicking and struggling to
+the best of his power. With one hand he drew the long knife for skinning
+animals, which he wore at his belt, and struck out fiercely, but a
+baboon seized his wrist in its teeth, and Frank felt that all was over,
+when suddenly his assailants left him, and the instant afterwards he was
+lifted to his feet by some negroes.
+
+He had, when attacked by the apes, thrown the baby into a clump of ferns
+close by, in order to have the use of both his hands, and when he looked
+round he found that a negress had already picked it up, and was crying
+and fondling it. The negroes appeared intensely astonished at Frank's
+color, and he judged by their exclamations of surprise that, not only
+had they not seen a white man before, but that they had not heard of one
+being in the neighborhood.
+
+Frank had been too severely bitten and mauled by the baboons to be able
+to walk, and the negroes, seeing this, raised him, and four of them
+carried him to their village, which was but a quarter of a mile distant.
+Here he was taken to the principal hut, and laid on a bed. His wounds
+were dressed with poultices formed of bruised leaves of some plant, the
+natives evincing the utmost astonishment as Frank removed his clothes to
+enable these operations to be performed.
+
+By pointing to his lips he indicated that he was hungry and thirsty.
+Water was brought to him, and cakes made from pounded yams pressed and
+baked. Having eaten and drank he closed his eyes and lay back, and the
+natives, who had before been all noisily chattering together, now became
+suddenly silent, and stealing away left the strange white visitor to
+sleep.
+
+When Frank woke he could see by the light that it was early morning. A
+woman with a child in her lap, whom Frank recognized as the negress
+who had picked up the baby, was sitting on a low stool by his side. On
+seeing him open his eyes she came to the bed, took his hand and put it
+to her lips, and then raised the baby triumphantly and turned it round
+and round to show that it had escaped without damage. Then when Frank
+pointed again to his lips she brought him a pineapple, roughly cut off
+the skin, and sliced it. Frank ate the juicy fruit, and felt immensely
+refreshed, for the West Coast pineapple is even more delicious than
+that found in the West Indies. Then the woman removed the bandages and
+applied fresh poultices to his wounds, talking in low soft tones, and,
+as Frank had no doubt, expressing sorrow at their cause.
+
+Frank now endeavored to explain to her that he had a white companion
+in the woods, but the woman, not understanding, brought in two or three
+other natives, who stood round the couch and endeavored to gather what
+he wished to say.
+
+Frank held up two fingers. Then he pointed to himself and shut down one
+finger, keeping the other erect, and then pointed all round to signify
+that he had a friend somewhere in the wood. A grin of comprehension
+stole over the faces of the negroes, and Frank saw that he was
+understood.
+
+Then he again held up his two fingers, and taking the hands of the
+negress raised all her fingers by the side of the white ones to signify
+that there were many natives with them. Then he took aim, with an
+imaginary gun, up at the roof of the hut, and said "Bang" very loud,
+and a chorus of approving laughter from the negroes showed that he was
+understood. Then one of them pointed towards the various points of the
+compass, and looked interrogatively at Frank. The sun was streaming in
+through the doorway, and he was thus able to judge of the direction
+in which the camp must lie. He made a sweep with his hand towards the
+northwest, signifying that they were somewhere in that direction.
+
+That afternoon fever set in, and for the two next days Frank was
+delirious. When he recovered consciousness he found Mr. Goodenough
+sitting beside him. The latter would not suffer him to talk, but gave
+him a strong dose of quinine and told him to lie quiet and go to sleep.
+
+It was not till the next day that Frank learned what had happened in
+his absence. The Houssa had not returned until long after nightfall. He
+reported that Frank had told him to wait with the guns, and that he had
+waited until it grew nearly dark. Then he had fired several times and
+had walked about, firing his gun at intervals. Obtaining no responses he
+had made his way back to the camp, where his arrival alone caused great
+consternation.
+
+It was impossible to do anything that night, and the next morning Mr.
+Goodenough, accompanied by five of the Houssas, one only remaining to
+keep guard over the camp, had gone to the place where Frank had last
+been seen. Then they scattered in various directions, shouting and
+firing their guns. The search had been continued all day without
+success, and at nightfall, disheartened and worn out, they had returned
+to the camp. The next day the search had been continued with an equal
+want of success, and the fears that a leopard had attacked and killed
+Frank became stronger and stronger. On the third day the whole of the
+carriers were sent out with instructions to search the woods for native
+paths, to follow these to villages, and to enlist the natives in the
+search. One of these men had met one of the villagers on the search for
+the party of the white man.
+
+It was another ten days before Frank was sufficiently recovered from his
+fever and wounds to march back to the camp. After a stay there of two
+or three more days, to enable him completely to regain his strength, the
+party started again on their journey.
+
+In another three weeks they had descended the hills, and the Fans
+announced their unwillingness to travel farther. Mr. Goodenough,
+however, told them quietly that they had promised to go on until he
+could obtain other carriers, and that if they deserted him he should pay
+them nothing. They might now expect every day to meet people of another
+tribe, and as soon as they should do so they would be allowed to depart.
+Finding that he was firm, and having no desire to forfeit the wages they
+had earned, the Fans agreed to go forward, although they were now in a
+country entirely unknown to them, where the people would presumably be
+hostile. They had, however, such faith in the arms carried by the white
+men and Houssas, that they felt comparatively easy as to the result of
+any attack which might be made upon them.
+
+The very day after this little mutiny, smoke was seen curling up from
+the woods. Mr. Goodenough deemed it inexpedient to show himself at once
+with so large a number of men. He, therefore, sent forward Ostik with
+two of the Fans, each of whom could speak several native dialects, to
+announce his coming. They returned in an hour saying that the village
+was a very large one, and that the news of the coming of two white men
+had created great excitement. The people spoke of sending at once to
+their king, whom they called Malembe, whose place, it seemed, was a
+day's march off.
+
+They now prepared to enter the village. Ostik went first carrying
+himself with the dignity of a beadle at the head of a school procession.
+Two of the Houssas walked next. Mr. Goodenough and Frank followed, their
+guns being carried by two Fans behind them. Then came the long line of
+bearers, two of the Houssas walking on each side as a baggage guard.
+The villagers assembled in great numbers as they entered. The head man
+conducted the whites to his hut. No women or children were to be seen,
+and the expression of the men was that of fear rather than curiosity.
+
+"They are afraid of the Fans," Mr. Goodenough said. "The other tribes
+all have a species of terror of these cannibals. We must reassure them
+as soon as possible."
+
+A long palaver then took place with the chief, with whose language one
+of the Fans was sufficiently acquainted to make himself understood.
+It was rather a tedious business, as each speech had to be translated
+twice, through Ostik and the Fan.
+
+Mr. Goodenough informed the chief that the white men were friends of his
+people, that they had come to see the country and give presents to the
+chiefs, that they only wished to pass quietly through and to journey
+unmolested, and that they would pay handsomely for food and all that
+they required. They wished to obtain bearers for their baggage, and
+these they would pay in cloth and brass rods, and as soon as they
+procured carriers the Fans would return to their own country.
+
+The chief answered expressing his gratification at seeing white men in
+his village, saying that the king would, no doubt, carry out all their
+wishes. One of the boxes was opened and he was presented with five yards
+of bright colored calico, a gaudy silk handkerchief, and several strings
+of bright beads. In return a large number of plantains were presented to
+the white men. These were soon distributed among the Fans.
+
+"Me no like dat nigger," Ostik said. "Me think we hab trouble. You see
+all women and children gone, dat bad. Wait till see what do when king
+come."
+
+That day and the next passed quietly. The baggage had been piled in a
+circle, as usual, in an open space outside the village; the tent being
+pitched in the center, and Ostik advised Mr. Goodenough to sleep here
+instead of in the village. The day after their arrival passed but
+heavily. The natives showed but little curiosity as to the newcomers,
+although these must have been far more strange to them than to
+the people nearer the coast. Still no women or children made their
+appearance. Towards evening a great drumming was heard in the distance.
+
+"Here is his majesty at last," Mr. Goodenough said, "we shall soon see
+what is his disposition."
+
+In a short time the village was filled with a crowd of men all carrying
+spears and bows and arrows. The drumming came nearer and nearer, and
+then, carried in a chair on the shoulders of four strong negroes,
+while ten others armed with guns marched beside him, the king made his
+appearance.
+
+Mr. Goodenough and Frank advanced to meet him. The king was a tall man
+with a savage expression of countenance. Behind Mr. Goodenough, Ostik
+and the Fan who spoke the language advanced. The king's chair was
+lowered under the shade of a tree, and two attendants with palm leaf
+fans at once began to fan his majesty.
+
+"Tell the king," Mr. Goodenough said, "that we are white men who have
+come to see his country, and to pass through to the countries beyond. We
+have many presents for him, and wish to buy food and to hire carriers in
+place of those who have brought our things thus far."
+
+The king listened in silence.
+
+"Why do the white men bring our enemies into our land?" he asked
+angrily.
+
+"We have come up from the coast," Mr. Goodenough said; "and as we passed
+through the Fan country we hired men there to carry our goods, just as
+we wish to hire men here to go on into the country beyond. There were
+none of the king's men in that country or we would have hired them."
+
+"Let me see the white men's presents," the king said.
+
+A box was opened, a bright scarlet shirt and a smoking cap of the same
+color, worked with beads, a blue silk handkerchief and twenty yards of
+bright calico, were taken out. To these were added twelve stair rods,
+five pounds of powder, and two pounds of shot.
+
+The king's eye sparkled greedily as he looked at the treasures.
+
+"The white men must be very rich," he said, pointing to the pile of
+baggage.
+
+"Most of the boxes are empty," Mr. Goodenough said. "We have brought
+them to take home the things of the country and show them to the white
+men beyond the sea;" and to prove the truth of his words, Mr. Goodenough
+had two of the empty cases opened, as also one already half filled with
+bird skins, and another with trays of butterflies and beetles.
+
+The king looked at them with surprise.
+
+"And the others?" he asked, pointing to them.
+
+"The others," Mr. Goodenough said, "contain, some of them, food such
+as white men are accustomed to eat in their own country, the others,
+presents for the other kings and chiefs I shall meet when we have passed
+on.
+
+"The fellow is not satisfied," he said to Ostik, "give him two of the
+trade guns and a bottle of brandy."
+
+The king appeared mollified by these additional presents, and saying
+that he would talk to the white men in the morning, he retired into the
+village.
+
+"I don't like the looks of things," Mr. Goodenough said. "I fear that
+the presents we have given the king will only stimulate his desire for
+more. However, we shall see in the morning."
+
+When night fell, two of the Houssas were placed on guard. The Fans slept
+inside the circle formed by the baggage. Several times in the night the
+Houssas challenged bodies of men whom they heard approaching, but these
+at once retired.
+
+In the morning a messenger presented himself from the king, saying that
+he required many more presents, that the things which had been given
+were only fit for the chief of a village, and not for a great king.
+Mr. Goodenough answered, that he had given the best he had, that the
+presents were fit for a great king, and that he should give no more.
+
+"If we are to have trouble," he said to Frank, "it is far better to have
+it at once while the Fans are with us, than when we are alone with no
+one but the Houssas and the subjects of this man. The Fans will fight,
+and we could hold this encampment against any number of savages."
+
+A quarter of an hour later the drums began beating furiously again. Loud
+shouts and yells arose in the village, and the natives could be seen
+moving excitedly about. Presently these all disappeared.
+
+"Fight come now," Ostik said.
+
+"You'd better lower the tent at once, Ostik. It will only be in our
+way."
+
+The tent was speedily lowered. The Fans grasped their spears and lay
+down behind the circle of boxes and bales, and the six Houssas, the two
+white men and Ostik, to whom a trade musket had been entrusted, took
+their places at regular intervals round the circle, which was some
+eight yards in diameter. Presently the beat of the drums again broke the
+silence, and a shower of arrows, coming apparently from all points of
+the compass, fell in and around the circle.
+
+"Open fire steadily and quietly," Mr. Goodenough said, "among the
+bushes, but don't fire fast. We must tempt them to show themselves."
+
+A dropping fire commenced against the invisible foe, the fire being no
+more frequent than it would have been had they been armed with muzzle
+loading weapons. Presently musketry was heard on the enemy's side, the
+king's bodyguard having opened fire. This was disastrous to them, for,
+whereas the arrows had afforded but slight index as to the position of
+those who shot them, the puffs of smoke from the muskets at once showed
+the lurking places of those who used them, and Mr. Goodenough and Frank
+replied so truly that in a very short time the musketry fire of the
+enemy ceased altogether. The rain of arrows continued, the yells of the
+natives rose louder and louder, and the drums beat more furiously.
+
+"They will be out directly," Mr. Goodenough said. "Fire as quickly as
+you can when they show, but be sure and take good aim."
+
+Presently the sound of a war horn was heard, and from the wood all round
+a crowd of dark figures dashed forward, uttering appalling yells. On
+the instant the dropping fire of the defenders changed into an almost
+continuous fusillade, as the Sniders of the Houssas, the breech loading
+rifle of Mr. Goodenough, and the repeating Winchester of Frank were
+brought into play at their full speed. Yells of astonishment broke
+from the natives, and a minute later, leaving nearly a score of their
+comrades on the ground, the rest dashed back into the forest.
+
+There was silence for a time and then the war drums began again.
+
+"Dey try again hard dis time, massa," Ostik said. "King tell 'em he cut
+off deir heads dey not win battle."
+
+This time the natives rushed forward with reckless bravery, in spite of
+the execution made among them by the rapid fire of the defenders, and
+rushed up to the circle of boxes. Then the Fans leaped to their feet,
+and, spear in hand, dashed over the defenses and fell upon the enemy.
+
+The attack was decisive. Uttering yells of terror the natives fled, and
+two minutes later not a sound was to be heard in the forest.
+
+"I tink dey run away for good dis time, sar," Ostik said. "Dey hav'
+'nuf of him. Dey fight very brave, much more brave than people down near
+coast. Dere in great battle only three, four men killed. Here as many
+men killed as we got altogether."
+
+This was so, nearly fifty of the natives having fallen between the trees
+and the encampment. When an hour passed and all was still, it became
+nearly certain that the enemy had retreated, and the Houssas, who are
+splendid scouts, divested themselves of their clothing and crawled away
+into the wood to reconnoiter. They returned in half an hour in high
+glee, bearing the king's chair.
+
+"Dey all run away, sar, ebery one, de king an' all, and leab his chair
+behind. Dat great disgrace for him."
+
+A council was now held. The Fans were so delighted with the victory they
+had won, that they expressed their readiness to remain with their white
+companions as long as they chose, providing these would guarantee that
+they should be sent home on the expiration of their service. This Mr.
+Goodenough readily promised. After discussing the question with Frank,
+he determined to abstain from pushing farther into the interior, but to
+keep along northward, and then turning west with the sweep of the coast
+to travel slowly along, keeping at about the same distance as at present
+from the sea, and finally to come down either upon Cape Coast or Sierra
+Leone.
+
+This journey would occupy a considerable time. They would cross
+countries but little known, and would have an ample opportunity for the
+collection of specimens, which they might, from time to time, send down
+by the various rivers they would cross, to the trading stations at their
+mouths.
+
+It was felt that after this encounter with the natives it would be
+imprudent in the extreme to push further into the interior. They would
+have continual battles to fight, large numbers of the natives would
+be killed, and their collecting operations would be greatly interfered
+with. As a lesson to the natives the village was burnt to the ground;
+the presents, which the king in the hurry of his flight had left behind
+him, being recovered.
+
+A liberal allowance of tobacco was served out as a "dash" or present to
+the Fans, and a bright silk handkerchief given to each. Then they
+turned off at right angles to the line they had before been pursuing and
+continued their journey.
+
+Two days later Mr. Goodenough was prostrated by fever, and for several
+days lay between life and death. When he became convalescent he
+recovered strength very slowly. The heat was prodigious and the
+mosquitos rendered sleep almost impossible at night. The country at this
+place was low and swampy, and, weak as he was, Mr. Goodenough determined
+to push forward. He was, however, unable to walk, and, for the first
+time, a hammock was got out and mounted.
+
+There is no more comfortable conveyance in the world than a hammock in
+Africa. It is slung from a long bamboo pole, overhead a thick awning
+keeps the sun from the hammock. Across the ends of the pole boards of
+some three feet long are fastened. The natives wrap a piece of cloth
+into the shape of a muffin and place it on their heads, and then take
+their places, two at each end of the pole, with the ends of the board on
+their heads. They can trot along at the rate of six miles an hour, for
+great distances, often keeping up a monotonous song. Their action is
+perfectly smooth and easy, and the traveler in the hammock, by shutting
+his eyes, might imagine himself swinging in a cot on board ship on an
+almost waveless sea.
+
+After two days traveling they got on to higher ground, and here they
+camped for some time, Mr. Goodenough slowly recovering strength, and
+Frank busy in adding to their collections. In this he was in no slight
+degree assisted by the Fans, who, having nothing else to do, had now
+come to enter into the occupation of their employers. A good supply of
+muslin had been brought, and nets having been made, the Fans captured
+large quantities of butterflies, the great difficulty being in
+convincing them that only a few of each species were required. They were
+still more valuable in grubbing about in the decaying trunks of fallen
+trees, under loose bark, and in broken ground, for beetles and larvae,
+a task which suited them better than running about after butterflies,
+which, moreover, they often spoilt irreparably by their rough handling.
+Thus Frank was able to devote himself entirely to the pursuit of birds,
+and although all the varieties more usually met with had been obtained,
+the collection steadily increased in size.
+
+Frank himself had severe attacks of fever, but none of these were so
+severe as that which he had had on the day of the death of the leopards.
+
+At the end of a month Mr. Goodenough had recovered his strength, and
+they again moved forward.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII: A NEGRO'S STORY
+
+
+On arriving at a large village one day, they were struck as they
+approached by the far greater appearance of comfort and neatness than
+generally distinguish African villages. The plots of plantations were
+neatly fenced, the street was clean and well kept. As they entered the
+village they were met by the principal people, headed by an old white
+haired negro.
+
+"Me berry glad to see you, white men," he said. "Long time me no see
+white men."
+
+"And it is a long time," said Mr. Goodenough, shaking hands with him,
+"since I have heard the sound of my own tongue outside my party."
+
+"Me berry glad to see you," repeated the negro. "Me chief of dis
+village. Make you berry comfortable, sar. Great honor for dis village
+dat you come here. Plenty eberyting for you, fowl, and eggs, and
+plantain, and sometime a sheep."
+
+"We have, indeed, fallen into the lap of luxury," Mr. Goodenough said
+to Frank; and they followed the negro to his hut. "I suppose the old man
+has been employed in one of the factories upon the coast."
+
+The interior of the hut was comfortably furnished and very clean. A sort
+of divan covered with neatly woven mats extended round three sides. In
+the center was an attempt at a table. A doubled barreled gun and a rifle
+hung over the hearth. A small looking glass and several colored prints
+in cheap frames were suspended from the walls. A great chest stood at
+one end of the room, while on a shelf were a number of plates and dishes
+of English manufacture.
+
+The negro begged his guests to be seated, and presently a girl entered,
+bringing in a large calabash full of water for them to wash their hands
+and faces. In the meantime the old negro had gone to his chest, and,
+to the immense surprise of the travelers, brought out a snow white
+tablecloth, which he proceeded to lay on the table, and then to place
+knives, forks, and plates upon it.
+
+"You must 'scuse deficiencies, sar," he said. "We berry long way from
+coast, and dese stupid niggers dey break tings most ebery day."
+
+"Don't talk about deficiencies," Mr. Goodenough answered smiling. "All
+this is, indeed, astonishing to us here."
+
+"You berry good to say dat, sar, but dis chile know how tings ought to
+be done. Me libed in good Melican family. He know berry well how tings
+ought to be done."
+
+"Ah, you have traveled a good deal!" Mr. Goodenough said.
+
+"Yes, sar, me trabel great deal. Me lib in Cuba long time. Den me lib
+slave states, what you call Confederate. Den me lib Northern state, also
+Canada under Queen Victoria. Me trabel bery much. Now, sar, dinner come.
+Time to eat not to talk. After dinner white gentlemen tell me what they
+came here for. Me tell dem if they like about my trabels, but dat berry
+long story."
+
+The dinner consisted of two fowls cut in half and grilled over a fire,
+fried plantains, and, to the astonishment of the travelers, green peas,
+followed by cold boiled rice over which honey had been poured. Their
+host had placed plates only for two, but they would not sit down until
+he had consented to join them.
+
+Two girls waited, both neatly dressed in cotton, in a fashion which was
+a compromise between European and negro notions.
+
+After dinner the negro presented them with two large and excellent
+cigars, made, as he said, from tobacco grown in his own garden, and the
+astonishment of the travelers was heightened by the reappearance of one
+of the girls bearing a tray with three small cups of excellent black
+coffee.
+
+Their host now asked them for the story of their journey from the coast,
+and the object with which they had penetrated Africa. Mr. Goodenough
+related their adventures, and said that they were naturalists in search
+of objects of natural history. When he had finished Ostik, in obedience
+to a whisper from him, brought in a bottle of brandy, at the sight of
+which the negro broke into a chuckle.
+
+"Me tree months widout taste dat. Once ebery year me send down to coast,
+get coffee, tea, sugar, calico, beads, and rum. Dis time de rum am
+finish too soon. One of de cases get broke and half de bottles smash.
+Dat berry bad job. Dis chile calculate dat six dozen last for a year,
+dat give him one bottle each week and twenty bottles for presents to
+oder chiefs. Eighteen bottles go smash, and as de oder chiefs expec'
+deir present all de same, Sam hab ta go widout. De men start three weeks
+ago for coast. Me hope dey come back in six weeks more."
+
+"Well," Mr. Goodenough said, "you need not go without it till they
+come back, for I can give you eight bottles which will last you for two
+months. I have got a good supply, and as I never use it for trade unless
+a chief particularly wants it, I can very well spare it."
+
+The old negro was greatly pleased, and when he had drank his glass of
+brandy and water he responded to Mr. Goodenough's request, and, lighting
+a fresh cigar, he began the story of his adventures.
+
+"I was born in dis berry village somewhere about seventy years ago. I
+not know for sure widin two or three year, for when I young man I no
+keep account. My fader was de chief of dis village, just as I am now,
+but de village was not like dis. It was not so big, and was berry dirty
+and berry poor, just like the oder nigger villages. Well, sar, dere am
+nothing perticlar to tell about de first years of my life. I jus' dirty
+little naked nigger like de rest. Dose were berry bad times. Ebery one
+fight against ebery one else. Ebery one take slabes and send dem down de
+river, and sell to white men dere to carry ober sea. When I grow up
+to seventeen, I s'pose, I take spear and go out wid de people of dis
+village and de oder villages of dis part ob country under king, and
+fight against oder villages and carry the people away as slabes. All
+berry bad business dat. But Sam he tink nothing, and just do the same as
+oder people. Sometimes oder tribes come and fight against our villages
+and carry our people away. So it happened to Sam.
+
+"Jus' when he about twenty years old we had come back from a long
+'spedition. Dis village got its share ob slabes, and we drink and sing
+and make merry wid de palm tree wine and tink ourselves berry grand
+fellows. Well, sar, dat night great hullyballoo in de village. De dogs
+bark, de men shout and seize deir arms and run out to fight, but it no
+good. Anoder tribe fall on us ten times as many as we. We fight hard but
+no use. All de ole men and de ole women and de little babies dat no good
+to sell dey killed, and de rest of us, de men and de women and de boys
+and girls, we tied together and march away wid de people dat had taken
+us.
+
+"Berry bad time dat, sar. De season was dry and de water scarce. We
+make long march ebery day, and berry little food given. Dey beat us wid
+sticks and prod us wid spear to make us go. A good many ob de weak ones
+dey die, but de most ob us arribe at mouth ob riber; me neber know what
+riber dat was, but we were berry nigh two months in getting dere. By
+dis time Sam arribe at the conclusion berry strong, dat de burning ob
+villages and carrying off ob slabes berry bad affair altogether. Sam hab
+changed his mind about a great many things, but about dat he am fixed
+right up to dis time.
+
+"Well, at de mouth ob dat riber Sam saw de white man for de first time;
+and me tell you fair, sar, Sam not like him no way. Dey were Spanish
+men, and de way dey treat us poor niggers was someting awful. We huddle
+up night and day in a big shed dey call a barracoon. Dey gabe us berry
+little food, berry little water. Dey flog us if we grumble. Dese men
+belong to ships, and had bought us from dose who brought us down from
+up country. Deir ship not come yet, and for a long time we wait in the
+barracoon wishing dat we could die. At last de ship came, and we were
+taken on board and huddled down below. Law, what a place dat was to be
+sure! Not more than tree feet high, just high enough to sit up, and dere
+we chained to deck. De heat, sar, was someting terrible. Some ob us yell
+out and scream for air, but dey only come down and beat us wid whips.
+
+"De day after we got on board de ship set sail. Tree hours after dat we
+hear a great running about on deck, and a shouting by the white men. Den
+we hear big gun fire ober head, almost make us jump out of skin wid de
+noise. Den more guns. Den dere was a crash, and before we knew what was
+de matter dere was a big hole in de side, and six niggers was killed
+dead. Ebery one yelled berry loud. We tink for sure that de last day
+come. For a long time de guns keep firing, and den everyting quiet
+again. At de time no one could tink what de matter, but I s'pose dat
+British cruiser chase us and dat de slaber sail away.
+
+"Dat was an awful voyage, sar. At first de sea smoove, and de ship go
+along straight. Den de ship begin to toss about jus' as nigger does when
+he has taken too much palm wine, and we all feel berry bad. Ebery one
+groan and cry and tink dat dey must have been poisoned. For tree days it
+was a terrible time. De hatches were shut down and no air could come to
+us, and dere we was all alone in de dark, and no one could make out why
+de great house on de water roll and tumble so much. We cry and shout
+till all breaff gone, and den lie quiet and moan, till jus' when ebery
+one tink he dead, dey take off de hatch and come down and undo de
+padlocks and tell us to go up on deck. Dat berry easy to say, not at all
+easy to do. Most of us too weak to walk, and say dat we dead and cannot
+move. Den dey whip all about, and it was astonishing, sar, to see what
+life dat whip put into dead nigger. Somehow people feel dat dey could
+crawl after all, and when dey get up on deck and see de blessed sun
+again and de blue sky dey feel better. But not all. In spite ob de whip
+many hab to be carried up on deck, and dere de sailor men lay 'em down
+and trow cold water ober dem till dey open dere eyes and come to life.
+Some neber come to life. Dere were about six hundred when we start, and
+ob dese pretty nigh a hundred die in dose tree days.
+
+"After dat tings not so bad. De weather was fine and no more English
+cruisers seen, so dey let half ob us up on deck at once for tree or four
+hours ebery day. Dey give us more food, too, and fatten us up. We talk
+dis ober among ourselves, and s'pose dat dey going to eat us when we
+get to land again. Some propose not to eat food, but when dey try dat
+on they get de whip, and conclude dat if dey must be eaten dey might as
+well be eaten fat as lean.
+
+"At last we come in sight of land. Den we all sent below and stay dere
+till night. Den we brought on deck, and find de vessel lying in a little
+creek. Den we all land in boats, and march up country all night. In de
+morning we halt. Tree or four white men come on horses and look at us.
+Dey separate us into parties, and each march away into country again.
+Den we separate again, till at last me and twenty oders arribe at a
+plantation up in de hills. Here we range along in line before a white
+man. He speak in berry fierce tones, and a nigger by his side tell us
+dat dis man our master, dat he say if we work well he gib us plenty of
+food and treat us well, but dat if we not work wid all our might he whip
+us to death. After dis it was ebident that de best ting to do was to
+work hard.
+
+"I was young and berry strong, sar, and soon got de name of a willing
+hard working nigger. De massa he keep his word. Dose who work well not
+bad treated, plenty ob food and a piece of ground to plant vegetables
+and to raise fowls for ourselves. So we passed two or tree year, plenty
+ob hard work, but not berry much to grumble at. Den me and a gal of my
+own village, who had been bought in de same batch wid me, we go to massa
+and say we want to marry. Massa say, berry well. I fine strong nigger
+and work well, so he gib de gal four yards ob bright cotton for wedding
+dress, and a bottle ob rum to me, and we married.
+
+"Two or tree years pass, and my wife hab two piccanninies. Den de massa
+go home to Spain, and leab overseer in plantation. Berry bad man dat.
+Before, if nigger work well he not beaten. Now he beaten wheder he work
+or not. For two or tree months we 'tand it, but tings get worse and
+worse. De oberseer he always drunk and go on like wild beast. One day he
+passed by my wife hoeing de sugarcane and he gib her cut wid whip, jus'
+out of 'musement. She turn round and ask, 'What dat for?' He get mad,
+cut her wid whip, knock her down wid de handle, and den seizing de chile
+dat she had fastened to her back, he catch him by de leg and smash him
+skull against a tree. Den, sar, I seize my hoe, I rush at him, and I
+chop him down wid all my strength, cut his skull clean in sunder, and he
+drop down dead.
+
+"Den I knew dat dat was no place for Sam, so I take my hoe and I run
+away as fast as I could. No one try to stop me. De oder niggers dance
+and sing when dey saw de oberseer fall dead. I ran all dat day up among
+de hills, skirting round de different plantations till I get quite into
+de wild part. Wheneber I came to stream I walk a long way in him till
+I get to tree hanging ober. Den pull myself up into de branches, climb
+along and drop at de farthest end, and den run again, for I knew dat dey
+would set de bloodhounds after me.
+
+"At last I tink dat it am quite safe, and when de night came on lie down
+to sleep for a few hours. Before morning me off again, and by night get
+to de center of de wild country. Here I light a fire, and sit down, and,
+just as I 'spected, in two or tree hours five or six men come down to
+me. Dose were niggers who had run away from plantations. I tell dem my
+story, dey agree dat I did berry right in killing oberseer. Dey take me
+away to place where dey hab little huts and patches of yams. Two or tree
+days pass and no one come, so, we s'pose dat dey hab lost de scent.
+Me waited a month and den determined to go down and see about wife. I
+journey at night, and reach plantation in two days. Dere I hide till I
+see nigger come along close to bush. I call him and he come. I tell him
+to tell my wife to steal away when night come, and to meet me dere. He
+nod and go away. Dat night my wife come wid de oder chile. We not talk
+much but start away for mountains. Me berry much afraid now because
+my wife not berry strong, she hurt by de blow and fretting after me.
+Howeber, we follow the way I had gone before. I make shift to help her
+up into trees from the streams, and dis time after tree days' travel we
+got back to hut in the mountain.
+
+"Dere we lib berry happy for a year. Sometimes some ob us go down to
+plantation and take down baskets and oder tings dat we had made and chop
+dem for cotton. We had tobacco of our own, and some fowls which we got
+from the plantations in de fust place. Altogether we did berry well.
+Sometimes band of soldiers come and march trough the country, but we hab
+plenty hiding places and dey never find us. More and more runway slabes
+come, and at last we hear dat great 'spedition going to start to search
+all de mountains. Dey come, two tree thousand ob dem. Dey form long
+skirmishing line, five or six mile long, and dey go ober mountain. Ebery
+nigger dey find who not surrender when dey call to him dey shoot. When
+I heard ob deir coming I had long talk wid wife. We agree that it better
+to leave de mountains altogether and go down and live in the bushes
+close to the old plantation. Nobody look for us dere. So we make our way
+down and lib there quiet. We get the yams out ob de plantations and lib
+very comfortable. When we tink all ober in the mountain we go back.
+
+"Well, sar, when we tink it all safe, and we get widin a mile ob de huts
+whar we had libed, all at once we came upon a lot of soldiers in camp.
+Dey see us and make shout. I call to my wife to run, when dey fire. A
+bullet hit de baby, which she hab at her back, and pass through both
+deir bodies. I did not run any more, but jus' stood looking at my wife
+and chile as if my senses had gone. Dere I stood till the soldiers came
+up. Dey put a cord round my arms and led me away. After a time I was
+taken down the country. Dere I was claimed, and when it was known I had
+killed a white oberseer I was tried. But de new oberseer did not want me
+to be hung, for I was a strong slave and worth money, so he told a story
+about how it happen, and after dey had flogged me very hard dey sent me
+back to plantation. Dere I work for a long time wid a great log of wood
+chained to my ankle to prevent me from running away again.
+
+"For a time I not care whether I lib or die, but at last I made up my
+mind to 'scape again. After six months dey took off de log, tinking dat
+I had had enuf of de mountains and would not try to 'scape, and de log
+prevented my doing so much work. De bery next night I ran away again but
+dis time I determined to make for de town in hopes ob getting on board
+an English ship, for I had heard from de oder slabes dat de English did
+not keep black men as slabes, but dat, on de contry, dey did what
+dey could to stop de Spanish from getting dem away from Africa, and I
+understood now dat de dreful noise we had heard on de first day we were
+on board ship was an attack upon our vessel by an English cruiser.
+
+"It was four days' journey down to de town by de sea. Dere was no
+difficulty in finding de way, for de road was good, and I s'pose dat dey
+only looked for me towards de hills. Anyhow I got dar safe, walking at
+night and sleeping in the bushes by day. I got as near de town as I dar,
+and could see seberal vessels lying near de shore. I could see dat some
+ob dem had de Spanish flag--I knew dat flag--de oders had flags which
+I did not know. When it was dark I walked boldly into the town; no one
+asked me any question, and I make my way through de streets down to de
+shore. Dere I get into a boat and lay quiet till all de town was asleep.
+Den I get into water and swim off to a ship--one dat I had noticed had
+a flag which was not Spanish. Dere was a boat alongside. I climb into it
+and pull myself up by the rope on deck. Den some white men seize me and
+say someting in language which I not understand. Den dey take me into
+cabin and say someting to captain; me not know what it was, but de
+captain laugh, and me not like his laugh at all. Howeber, dey give me
+someting to eat, and den take me down into hold of ship and tell me to
+go to sleep on some sacks of sugar, and throw some empty sacks ober me
+to cover me. Den dey close up hatch and leab me alone.
+
+"When I come on deck de land was gone and de vessel sailing along. I
+speak to no one, for I only understand little Spanish, and dese people
+not speak dat. We sail along for some time, and at last we come in sight
+of land again. Den dey hoist flag and I see dat it a flag wid lots of
+red stars and stripes upon him. I know now dat it was a 'Merican ship.
+Den I know noting. We get to port and I want to land, but dey shake deir
+heads.
+
+"De next day de captain he make sign to me to come wid him. I go
+along to shore and he take me to a open space in town, where a man was
+standing on a raised platform. He had a black woman by de side ob him.
+Seberal men come up and look at her. De man he shout bery loud. Oder men
+say something short. At last he knock on de table; a man tell de woman
+to come after him and she walk away. Den a boy was put up, and den two
+more women, and ebery time just de same ting was done. Den de man call
+out, and de captain push his way through the crowd wid me, and tell
+me to climb up on platform. I get up and look round quite surprised.
+Eberybody laugh. Den de man began to holloa again. Den seberal men come
+up and feel my arms and my legs. Dey point to de marks which de whip had
+left on my back, and dey laugh again. Presently de man who was shouting
+bang his hand on the table again, and a white man in the crowd, who had
+seberal times called out loud, come up to me, take me by the arm, and
+sign to me to go wid him.
+
+"I begin to understand now; dat rascally captain had sold me for a
+slabe, and dat flag I had seen was not de English flag. However, it was
+no use to say anyting, and I went along wid my new massa. He was a nice
+looking man, and I thought it might not be so bery bad after all. He
+took me to a high carriage wid two wheels and a fine horse. A negro, who
+was dressed up like a white man, was holding de horse. He showed me to
+climb up behind, de oders climb up in front, and we dribe away."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII: A FUGITIVE SLAVE
+
+
+"Well, sar, work bery much de same on plantation in Virginia and Cuba,
+but de slabe much merrier in 'Merica, when de master am good. My new
+massa bery good man. Slabes all treat bery kind, work not too hard. At
+night dance and sing bery much. Den I marry again, dis time to one ob
+de girls in de house. She favorite ob missy, and so when we marry, missy
+hab me taken off de fields and put to garden. Bery fine garden dat was.
+Tree, four of us work dar, Sam jus' as happy as man could be. Sometime,
+when der am party, Sam come into the house to help at de table, dat how
+Sam know how to do tings proper. De little massas dey bery fond ob me,
+and when dey want to go out hunting de coon or fishing in de riber, dey
+always cry for Sam.
+
+"So fifteen years passed by, bery happy years, sar, den do ole massa
+die; missy, too, soon after. De young massa not like him father. Me tink
+de ole gentleman make mistake wid him when him chile, let him hab too
+much his own way. I bery fond ob him because I had been wid him so much,
+but I often shake my head when I tink de time come dat he be massa ob de
+plantation. It was not dat his nature was bad; he get in rage sometime,
+but dat all ober in no time, but he lub pleasure too much; go to de
+races and 'top at de town weeks together, and play too much wid de
+cards. Dere were two boys and two girls; de second boy, he go to West
+Point and become officer in de army.
+
+"After de death ob de ole people de house change bery much. Before dat
+time we keep good company, gib sometimes grand balls, and all de fust
+families ob Virginia in dat part visit dar. After dat always people
+in de house. De young massa, when he go to Richmond, bring back six or
+eight young men wid him, and dey laugh and drink and play cards half de
+night. I tink de young missys speak to him about his ways. Anyhow, one
+day dere great row, and dey off to lib wid an aunt in de city. After dat
+tings get worse. One day missy come back from town and she gib my wife
+her papers of freedom. You see, my wife was giben by de ole man to missy
+when her war a little girl, and fortunate it was dat he had made out de
+papers all right and presented dem to her. When missy gib her de papers
+ob freedom, she cry bery much. 'Me 'fraid bad time coming, Sally,' she
+said. 'Me tink dat it better for a time dat you clar out ob dis. Now you
+got de paper you free woman, but you wife ob slabe; might be difficulty
+about it. Me fear dat broder Dick ruined--de plantation and slabes to be
+sole;' and wid dat she bu'st out crying wus dan eber. Ob course my wife
+she cry too.
+
+"'Better you go norf, Sally,' missy say presently. 'I gib you letter
+to friends dar, and tell dem you bery good nurse. Den if Sam get good
+master you can come back to him again. If not, as you tell me dat when
+he slabe before he run away, it jus' possible he do de same again.'
+
+"'Don't you tink, missy,' de wife said, 'dat de young massa gib freedom
+to Sam too. Sam wait on him a great many years, sabe him life when he
+tumbled into water.'
+
+"'I bery much afraid,' missy said, shaking her head, 'dat my broder
+not able to do so if he wish. He borrow money on de plantation and de
+slabes, and dat prevent him from making any ob dem free. De sale soon
+come now. You go tell Sam; tell him not to say word to nobody. Den you
+pack up and come right away wid me to de city. It bery much better you
+clar out ob dis before dey come down and seize eberybody.'
+
+"Well, sar, you guess when Sam heard dis he in fine taking. He often
+grieve bery much dat he and Sally hab no children. Now he tank de Lord
+wid all his heart dat dere no piccanniny, for dey would hab been sold,
+one one way and one another, and we should neber hab seen dem again.
+Hows'ever, I make great effort, and tell Sally she do jus' what missy
+say. I tell her to go norf while she can, and promise dat some day or
+oder Sam join her dar. 'Better for to be parted for ten year, Sally, dan
+to hab de risk ob you being seize and sold to one master, me to anoder.
+You trus' Sam to break out some day. He do bery well here for a time.
+He bery good strong nigger, good gardner, good at de horses, good
+carpenter. Sam sure to get good place, but, howeber good, when he see a
+chance he run away. If no chance, he sabe up his money, and you sabe up
+your money, Sally, and buy him freedom.'
+
+"Well, sar, we bofe cry bery much, and den Sally go away wid de young
+missy. A week after dat de bust up come. De officers dey come down and
+seize de place, and a little while after dey sell all de slabes. Dat
+was a terrible affair, to see de husbands and de wives and de children
+separated and sold to different masters. De young massa he not dere
+at sale. Dey say he pretty nigh break him heart, but he ought to hab
+thought ob dat before. Me sure dat de ole gentleman and de ole missy
+pretty nigh turn in deir grabe at de thought ob all de hands they was so
+kind to sold away.
+
+"Dat de curse of slabery, sar. Me trabel a good deal, and me tink dat
+no working people in de world are so merry and happy as de slabe in a
+plantation wid a good massa and missy. Dey not work so hard as de white
+man. Dey have plenty to eat and drink, dey hab deir gardens and deir
+fowls. When dey are sick dey are taken care ob, when dey are ole they
+are looked after and hab nothing to do. I have heard people talk a lot
+of nonsense about de hard life of de plantation slabe. Dat not true,
+sar, wid a good massa. De slabe hab no care and he bery happy. If all
+massas were good, and dere were a law dat if a plantation were broken up
+de slabes must be sold in families together, me tell you dat de life on
+a plantation a thousand times happier dan de life ob a black man in
+his own country. But all masters are not good. Some neber look after de
+slabes, and leabe all to overseers, and dese bery often bad, cruel men.
+But worst of all is when a sale comes. Dat terrible, sar. De husban'
+sold to Alabama, de wife to Carolina, de children scattered trough de
+States. Dis too bad, sar, dis make ob slabery a curse to de black men.
+
+"Well, sar, we all sold. Me fetch high price and sold to a planter in
+Missouri. Sam no like dat. Dat a long way from the frontier. Tree years
+Sam work dar in plantation. Den he sold again to a man who hab boats on
+de riber at New Orleans. Dar Sam work discharging de ships and working
+de barges. Dar he come to learn for sure which de British flag. De times
+were slack, and my massa hire me out to be waiter in a saloon. Dat place
+dey hab dinners, and after dinner dey gamble. Dat war a bad place, mos'
+ebery night quarrels, and sometimes de pistols drawn, and de bullets
+flying about. Sam 'top dar six months; de place near de riber, and de
+captains ob de ships often come to dine.
+
+"One young fellow come bery often, and one day Sam saw tree or four men
+he knew to be Texas horse dealers talking wid him. Now dis young captain
+had been bery friendly wid Sam; always speak cibil and gib him quarter
+for himself, and Sam sorry to see dose chaps get hold ob him. Dis went
+on for two or tree days, till one ebening de captain, instead of going
+away after dinner, stopped talking to dese follows. De play begin at de
+table, and dey persuade him to join. He hab de debil's luck. Dey thought
+they going to cheat him, and if dey had got him by demselves dey would
+have cleaned him out sure. But dere were oder people playing and dey not
+able to cheat.
+
+"Well, sar, he won all de money. Drinks had been flying about, and when
+at last de man dat kep' de table said, 'De bank will close for tonight,'
+de young fellow could scarce walk steady on his feet. His pockets were
+full ob notes. I went up to him and said, 'Will you hab a bed here, sar,
+bery good bed?' but he laugh and say, 'No, Sam, I may be a little fresh
+in de wind, but I tink I can make de boat.' I saw dose fellows scowl
+when I speak to him, and I make up my mind dey after no good. Well, sar,
+dey go out fust. Den he go out wid some oder people and stand laughing
+and talking at de door. Sam run up to him room, slip on his money belt,
+for he had had a good deal giben him while he was dar, and was sabing up
+to buy his freedom, and he didn't know what was going to happen. Den Sam
+look into de kitchen and caught up a heavy poker and a long knife, den
+he run down and turn out de lights ob de saloon and lock de door after
+him.
+
+"He was jus' in time, for he saw at de corner, where de street go down
+on to the wharves, de young captain separate from de men who had gone
+out wid him and walk away by hisself. Sam kicked off his shoes and ran
+as fast as he could to de end ob de street. De wharf was bery badly
+lighted, jus' a lamp here and dere. Sam ran along till he got widin
+about thirty yards ob de sailor, and den stole quiet along in de shadow
+ob de houses. Sudden he see five men run out. Den Sam he leap forward
+like tiger and gibs a shout to warn de captain. He turn round jus' in
+time. Sam saw an arm lifted and de captain fall, and den at de same
+moment almost him poker come down wid a crunch upon de top ob one of
+deir head. Den they turn on Sam, but, law bless you, sar! what was de
+good ob dat? Bery strong negro wid heavy poker in one hand and long
+knife in de oder more dan match for four men. He knock dem ober like
+nine pin. Tree of dem, he tink he kill straight, the poker fall on de
+top ob deir heads, de oder man give a dig in Sam's left shoulder wid his
+knife, and de sudden pain shake Sam's aim a little and de blow fall
+on him neck. He gib a shout and tumble down. None ob do oder four
+had shouted or made any remark when Sam hit dem. Den Sam caught up de
+captain and ran along de wharf. Presently he heard a hail. 'All right,'
+Sam said.
+
+"'Am dat you, captain?' some one say.
+
+"'Me got a captain here,' Sam say; 'you come and see wheder he yours.'
+
+"De men came up and look in de captain's face.
+
+"'Hullo,' dey say; 'de captain am dead.'
+
+"'Me no tink him dead,' I say. 'He had a fight, and Sam come to him aid
+and beat de rascals off. You had better take him straight on board de
+ship.'
+
+"Dey put him in boat and Sam go wid him to ship. Dey examine de wound
+and find it not bery serious. De captain was turning round when dey
+struck, and de blow had glanced off, but it had made a ugly gash; and
+what wid de surprise, and de loss ob blood, and knocking him head on
+de wharf, and de liquor, de captain had lost his consciousness. He soon
+come round, and Sam tell all about it. De captain shake Sam's hand bery
+much and call him his preserver, and ask what he do for him.
+
+"'You take me out ob dis country,' me said, 'and Sam be grateful.'
+
+"'Sartain, I will,' he said; 'and now what am de best ting to do?'
+
+"'Me not stop on board now. Dey come and search de vessel for sure in
+de morning. When de four white men found, me hope five, den dere great
+rumpus. If five dead no suspicion fall on Sam, but you're sure to be
+asked questions. It would be known dat dey were gambling in de saloon,
+and it would be known dat you had broken de bank and had gone away wid
+your pockets stuffed full ob notes. People would suspec' dat likely
+enuff dey had made an attack on you. Dis you couldn't deny, for you will
+be bandaged up in de morning, and if you had killed dem no one would
+blame you. But it a different ting wid Sam. All dose rascals friends
+together, and you be bery sure dat some ob dem pay him off for it. If
+five men dead, all well and good. Den you say you knocked down and know
+nufing furder. You s'pose some people came up and take your side, and
+kill dose men, and carry you to de boat, and gib you ober to de sailors,
+and den go away; but dat you know nufing at all about it. If only four
+men killed den do oder, who will be sure to go away and say nufing ob
+his share in de business, will tell all his mates dat dis nigger intrude
+himself into de affair, and dat bad for Sam. So, sar, propose dat I go
+ashore, and dat I go down de bank five or six mile, and dere hide in de
+bush. When your ship come down you hoist little white flag, so Sam sure
+ob de right ship. If Sam tink de coast am clear he swim off. If you no
+see Sam when you get fifteen mile down de riber, den you anchor, and at
+night send a boat ashore. Sam come down to it for sure.'
+
+"So de matter was arranged. De captain say he tree more days fill up his
+ship, but dat no do for me come on board by daylight because dere would
+be a pilot on board. Also he says little white flag no do, pilot tink
+him strange, but would tell one ob de men to hang a red shirt, as if to
+dry, up in de rigging. At night would show two lights ober de bow for me
+to know which was de ship.
+
+"Fust dey bind up de wound on my shoulder, den dey gib me food for four
+days and a bottle of rum, and den row me ashore. Den Sam start, and
+before morning he hid in de swampy bush ten miles down de riber. He wait
+dere two days, den make him way down anoder four miles and dere stop.
+Late dat afternoon he see a ship come down de riber wid a red shirt in
+de rigging. He go on and on, and jus' as it got dark he anchor two miles
+furder down. Sam make his way along through de bush and at last get
+facing de ship. At twelve o'clock boat come along bery quiet. Sam
+go down and get in. De men say, 'Hush, make no noise. De pilot am as
+watchful as a cat. Dey had tied tings round de oars dat dey should make
+no noise, and when dey get to de side ob de ship dey lay dem in very
+quiet, hook on de tackle and hoist her up. De hatchway were off, and
+de men beckon to Sam, and two ob dem go down wid him, and de hatchways
+closed down again.
+
+"'I tink we hab tricked him,' one ob de sailors said. 'Dere great row at
+New Orleans about de four men found dead dar. Dey come off and inquire
+ob de captain ober and ober again. Dey know you missing, and dey find de
+kitchen poker lying by de men, and tink you must have had a hand in it.
+A thousand dollars reward have been offered, and dey searched de ship
+high and low, and turn ober all de cargo. A guard stop on board till de
+last ting to see no one come off. When de captain say he anchor de pilot
+say no, but de captain say he in no hurry and not going to risk his ship
+by sailing at night. Me tink pilot smell a rat, for ebery time he hear
+a noise on deck he come out of his cabin and look round. We greased de
+falls to make dem run quiet, and took off our shoes so as to make no
+noise while we were lowering it. De men on deck was told to get de
+hatchway open when dey saw us coming, and so we hoped dat de pilot heard
+nufing. Now we must head you up in a cask. We hab bored some holes in
+it for de air. Den we shall pile oder casks on de top and leabe you.
+Dey are as likely as not to search de ship again when she goes past de
+forts, for de pilot will suspect dat it am possible dat you have come on
+board tonight.'
+
+"Me take my place in a big sugar cask. Dey give me some water and some
+food, and den shut in de head ober me. Dere I remain two days. I heard
+some men come below and make a great noise, moving de cargo about near
+de hatchway, and dey hammered in all de casks ob de top tier to see if
+any ob dem was empty. I felt bery glad when it was all ober, and de hold
+was quiet again. I slept a great deal and did not know anything about
+time; but at last I heard a noise again, and de moving of casks, and den
+de head of de hogshead was taken out, and dere were de sailors and de
+captain. Dey shook Sam very hearty by de hand, and told him dat de ship
+was safe out at sea, and dat he was a free man.
+
+"All through dat voyage dey bery kind to Sam. He libed de life ob a
+gentleman; ate, and drank, and smoke plenty, and nufing at all to do. At
+last we got to Liberpool, and dar de captain take Sam to a vessel bound
+to New York, pay him passage across, and gib Sam a present ob fifty
+pound. Dis chile had saved fifty beside, so he felt dat he was a rich
+man. Nufing happen on passage, except great storm, and Sam thought dat
+de steamer go to de bottom, but she got through all right, and Sam land
+at New York. Den he journey to Philadelphia, dat the place where missy
+give Sam a card wid a name and address written on it, for him to go to
+ask where Sally was living. Well, sar, you could have knocked me down
+when I find a great bill in de window, saying dat de house were to let.
+Sam almost go out ob his mind. He ask a great many people, de servants
+at de doors, and de people in de shops and at last find dat de family am
+gone to trabel in Europe, and dat dey might be away for years.
+
+"For two months Sam searched about Philadelphia, and looked at ebery
+black woman he saw in de streets. He could see no signs whatsomeber ob
+Sally. Den he took a place as waiter at an hotel, and he wrote to missy
+at Richmond, to ask if she know Sally's address, but he neber got no
+answer to dat letter, and s'posed that missy was either dead or gone
+away. After he work dere for some months de idea came to Sam dat first
+class hotel wasn't de best place in de world to look for black woman.
+Den Sam went to warehouse and bought a lot of books and started to
+peddle them trough de country. He walked thousands ob miles, and
+altogether saw thousands ob black men, but nothing like Sally. Ebery
+black woman he could he spoke to, and asked dem if dey knew her. It was
+a curious ting dat no one did. Me did not find Sally, but me made a good
+deal of money, and tree more years pass away at dis work. By dis time
+me was nigh forty-five years old, as well as me could tell. Ebery few
+months me go back to Philadelphia and search dere again.
+
+"One day a woman, dressed bery plain, came up to me and said, 'I hab
+been tole by my nurse dat you have been asking her if she had seen your
+wife.' I s'pose I looked hopeful like for she said at once, 'Me know
+nothing ob her, but I was interested about you. You are an escaped
+slabe, are you not?'
+
+"'Yes, ma'am,' me said. 'Dere is no law against me here.'
+
+"'None at all,' she said. 'But I thought that you might, like me, be
+interested in freeing slabes.'
+
+"'Dat I am,' I said, 'dough I had neber thought much about it.'
+
+"'You hab heard, p'raps,' she said, 'ob de underground railway.'
+
+"'Yes, ma'am,' said I. 'Dat is de blessed 'stitution which smuggles
+slaves across the frontier.'
+
+"'Dat is it,' she said, 'and I belongs to it.'
+
+"'Does you, missy?' me says. 'De Lord bless you.'
+
+"'Now,' she said, 'we want two or three more earnest men, men not afraid
+to risk deir libes, or what is worse deir freedom, to help deir follow
+creatures. I thought that you, habing suffered so much yourself, might
+be inclined to devote yourself to freeing oders from de horrors of
+slabery.'
+
+"'Sam is ready, ma'am,' me says, 'It may be dat de Lord neber intends me
+see my Sally again, but if I can be de means ob helping to get oder men
+to join deir wives I shall be content.'
+
+"'Very well,' she said. 'Come into my house now and we will talk about
+it.'
+
+"Den she 'splained the whole business to me. Dere were, principally in
+lonely places, in swamps and woods, but sometimes libing in villages and
+towns in de south, people who had devoted deir libes to de carrying
+out of de purposes ob de underground railway. For de most part dese led
+libes differing no way from deir neighbors; dey tilled de land, or kept
+stores like oders, and none of dose around dem suspected in de slightest
+degree deir mission in de south. To deir houses at night fugitive slabes
+would come, guided by dose from de next post. De fugitives would be
+concealed for twenty-four hours or more, and den passed on at night
+again to de next station. Dose formed the larger portion ob de body.
+
+"Dere were oders who lived a life in de swamps, scattered trough the
+country. Deir place of residence would be known to de slabes ob de
+neighborhood, but de masters had no suspicion dat de emissaries ob de
+association were so near. To dese any negro, driben to desperation
+by harsh treatment, would resort, and from dem instructions would be
+received as to de route to be taken, and de places where aid could be
+obtained. Dose people held deir life in deir hands. Had any suspicion
+fallen upon dem ob belonging to de 'stitution dey would be lynched for
+sartin. De lady set before me all de dangers ob de venture. She said it
+war a case whar dere were no money to be earned, and only de chances
+of martyrdom. My mind quite made up. Me ready to undertake any work dey
+like to give me. My life ob no value to no one. De next day me saw some
+ob de oder people connected wid de affair, and tree days afterwards I
+started for de south."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV: A CHRISTIAN TOWN
+
+
+"My share ob de business was to make my way down south and settle in de
+swamps ob Carolina. I war to be taken down by trading schooner, to be
+landed on de coast, and to make my way to a place in de center ob a big
+swamp whar an ole nigger, named Joe, had been carrying on de work for
+four years. He had sent to say dat he war bery ill wid de swamp fever
+and like to die, dat he should not leabe de work as long as he libed,
+but hoped dat dey would send anoder man out to take on his work after
+his death.
+
+"Well, sar, I was landed, and I made my way to de place. It war no easy
+matter. De niggers all say dey know no such person, but I found de next
+post, and dere de man guided me to de path which led into de swamp. Dey
+told me dey thought de ole man dead, for dat no one had come along to
+dem from him for nigh two month. Well, sar, as I 'spected I found him
+dead, and I buried him, and took up my place in de hut. Soon it became
+known through de plantations round dat de hut was occupied again, and
+dey began to come to me to ask for assistance. My 'structions war dat
+only to enable a husband to join his wife, or a wife her husband, or in
+cases where de masters were uncommon cruel, dat I was to send 'em along
+by de underground railway. De risks was too great to be run often. If
+we had tried to help ebery one to 'scape we should mighty soon hab been
+hunted down.
+
+"Well, sar, I libed dere for three year. It was a lonesome life. I
+planted a few yams round de hut, and de plantation hands would bring me
+tings dat dey got hold of. It was my duty when I found dat a case was ob
+de proper description to arrange for de flight, de man or de woman would
+come to my hut, and I would guide dem through de swamps, twenty-five
+mile away, to de house ob a clergyman, which was de next station. I
+would jus' knock in a 'ticular way at de door, and when dis was open
+leab de party dere and go straight away back to de swamp. More dan once
+de planters got up hunts and searched de swamp through and through for
+me wid dogs, and my hut was twice burnt to de ground, but de slabes
+always brought me notice in time, and I went away into de tickest part
+ob de swamp and lay dar till dey had gone away.
+
+"Well, sar, one time come, I bery busy, passed tree men away in two
+week. One night me hear barking of dogs, and jump up jus' in time to see
+party ob men coming out from de little path towards de hut. I ran for de
+swamp. Dey fire at me and one ball hit me. Den I ran in to de swamp,
+de dogs dey follow, but I get farder and farder away, and de swamp get
+deeper, and me tink dey lose me altogether. I sit quiet on 'tump when I
+hear someting splashing in swamp, and all of a sudden a big hound sprang
+on me, and fix him teeth in my shoulder. I had no arms, for in de hurry
+I had not time to catch dem up. De beast he growl and bite, and hold
+on like death. I saw dere only one ting to do. I tumble forward into de
+swamp wid de dog underneath me, and dere I lay, wid my mouf sometimes
+above de water sometimes below, till de dog was drowned.
+
+"Den I start for de next station. I was hit in de hip, and it took me
+tree days to crawl dat twenty-five miles. On de tird ebening I knock at
+de door ob de house, and when it was open I tumble down in faint inside.
+It war a long time before I come to myself, two weeks dey tell me,
+and den I tink I dream, for sitting by de side of de bed war dat woman
+Sally. Till she spoke, me couldn't believe dat it war true, but she told
+me dat it war her, sure enuf, and dat I war to ask no questions but to
+go off to sleep.
+
+"Next day she told me all about it. She had stopped a year at
+Philadelphy. Den she heard ob de underground railway, and was tole dat
+a clergyman, who war just going down south to work a station, wanted
+a black nurse for his children, who would help in de work. Sally she
+volunteer, and dar she had been libing eber since, hoping all de
+time eider dat I should pass through dere or dat she should hear from
+Philadelphy dat I had got dere. She used to act as de guide ob de
+runaways to de next station, and ebery man who came along she asked
+if they knew me; but, law bless you, sar, de poor woman knew nufing ob
+places, or she would hab known dat she war hundreds ob miles south of
+Virginia, and though she allowed she had heard I had gone to Missouri,
+she s'posed dat de way from der might be by de sea coast. I hab
+observed, sar, dat de gography ob women am bery defective.
+
+"I stopped thar till I was cured. The clergyman knew someting of
+surgery, and he managed to substract the ball from my hip. When I war
+quite well Sally and me started for the norf, whar we had helped so many
+oders to go, and, bress de Lord, we arribed dere safe. Den I told Sally
+dat I should like to libe under de British flag, so we went up to Canada
+and dere we libed bery comfortable for ten years together. Sally washed
+and I kep' a barber's shop, and we made plenty ob money. Den she die,
+sar, de tought come into my mind dat I would come back to Africa and
+teach dose poor niggers here de ways ob de white men, and sar," and he
+pointed to a Bible standing on the chest, "de ways ob de Lord. So I came
+across the Atlantic, and stopped a little while on de coast, for I had
+pretty nigh forgotten de language ob de country. When I got it back
+again I started up for dis place, wid plenty ob goods and presents.
+
+"I had hard work at fust to get de people to know me. It war nigh forty
+year since I had gone away, but at last some ob de ole people remember
+me, dat I was de son ob de chief. As I had plenty goods, and dey did not
+like de man dat was here, dey made me chief in my fader's place. I told
+dem dat I no accept de place unless dey promise to behave bery well, to
+mind what I said to dem, and to listen to my words; but dat if they do
+dat I gibe dem plenty goods, I make dem comfortable and happy, and I
+teach dem de way ob de Lord. Dey agree to all dis.
+
+"I find de slave trade now all at an end, and dat de people not fight
+often now. Still, de twenty muskets dat I bring make de people of oder
+villages respec' us very much. Dey come ober to see de village. Dey see
+dat de houses are comfortable, dat de gardens are bery well cultivated,
+dat de people are well dressed, not like common nigger, dat dey are
+happy and contented. Dey see dat dey no believe in fetish any more, but
+dat ebery ebening when de work is ober, dey gadder under de big tree and
+listen for half an hour while I read to dem and den sing a hymn. Once
+a year I send down to de coast and get up plenty cloth, and hoes for
+de gardens, and eberyting dey want. When I land here ten year ago I hab
+eight hundred pound. I got five hundred ob him left here still. Dat more
+dan enuf to last Sam if he libe to be bery, bery ole man. Dar are some
+good men in de village who, when I am gone, will carry on de work ob de
+Lord and dat's all, sar, dat I hab to tell you about Sam, and I am sure
+dat you must be very tired and want to go to bed."
+
+The hour was, indeed, for Africa, extremely late, but the time had
+passed unheeded, so interested were the listeners in the narrative of
+the fine old negro. They remained at the village for a week, and were
+greatly pleased with the industrious habits and happy appearance of the
+people, and with the earnestness and fervor in which every evening, and
+twice on Sunday, they joined in devotions under the great tree. At the
+end of that time they said goodbye to their kind host, giving him a
+large amount of cloth for distribution among his people. He was unable
+to furnish them with bearers, as a considerable tract of uninhabited
+country extended beyond his village, and the people on the other side
+were on bad terms with his villagers, on account of an outstanding feud
+which had existed long before his return from America, and which he
+had in vain attempted to settle since he assumed the headship of the
+village.
+
+On approaching the Niger they again came upon an inhabited country, but
+the tribes here being accustomed to trade with the coast were
+friendly, and at the first large village they came to no difficulty was
+experienced in obtaining a fresh relay of bearers. This was a matter of
+great satisfaction, for the Fans were regarded with extreme antipathy by
+the natives. As soon as arrangements had been made to supply their place
+the Fans were paid the four months' wages which they had earned. A large
+"dash" of beads and other presents were bestowed upon them, three of the
+remaining sacks of rice were given to them, and, greatly rejoicing, they
+started for their own country, which, by making long marches, they would
+regain in a fortnight's time. Although it was not probable that they
+would meet with any enemies, six trade muskets, with a supply of powder
+and ball, were given to them, as, although they would not be able to
+do much execution with these weapons, their possession would exercise a
+powerful influence over any natives they might meet.
+
+In crossing the country to the Niger the white men were the objects of
+lively curiosity, and the exhibition of the magic lantern, the chemical
+experiments, and conjuring tricks created an effect equal to that which
+they had produced among the Fans. On reaching the Niger a canoe was
+hired with a crew of rowers. In this all the cases, filled with the
+objects they had collected, were placed, the whole being put in charge
+of the Houssas, Moses and King John, who had been seized with a fit
+of homesickness. These were to deliver the cases to the charge of an
+English agent at Lagos or Bonny, to both of whom Mr. Goodenough wrote
+requesting him to pay the sum agreed to the boatmen on the safe arrival
+of the cases, and also to pay the Houssas, who preferred taking their
+wages there, as it was not considered advisable to tempt the cupidity of
+any of the native princes along the river. Should they be overhauled
+the Houssas were told to open the cases and show that these contained
+nothing but birds' skins and insects, which would be absolutely
+valueless in the eyes of a native.
+
+When the precious freight had fairly started, the party crossed the
+Niger in a canoe, arrangements having already been made with the
+potentate of a village on the opposite side for a fresh relay of
+carriers, twenty men being now sufficient, owing to the gaps which had
+been made in the provisions in the goods, by the payment of the carriers
+and presents, and, in the cases, by the despatch of eight of the largest
+of these to the coast. They had still, however, ample space for the
+collections they might still make. The cases of goods and provisions
+were utilized for this purpose as they were emptied.
+
+For another two months they journeyed on, halting frequently and adding
+continually to their stores. The country was fairly populated, and there
+was no difficulty in buying plantains and fruit and in obtaining fresh
+sets of carriers through the territories of each petty chief. They were
+now approaching the Volta, when one day a native, covered with dust and
+bathed in perspiration, came up to their camp, and throwing himself on
+the ground before Mr. Goodenough poured out a stream of words.
+
+"What does he say, Ostik?"
+
+"Me not know, sar. P'r'aps Ugly Tom know. He been down near Volta
+country."
+
+Ugly Tom was called, and after a conversation with the native, told Mr.
+Goodenough that he was a messenger from Abeokuta, that the people there
+were threatened by an attack by the King of Dahomey, and that they
+implored the white men, who they heard were in the neighborhood, to come
+to their aid.
+
+"What do you say, Frank?" Mr. Goodenough asked.
+
+"I don't know anything about it, sir," Frank said. "I have heard of
+Dahomey, of course, and its horrible customs, but I don't know anything
+about Abeokuta."
+
+"Abeokuta is a very singular town," Mr. Goodenough said. "Its people
+were christianized many years ago, and have faithfully retained the
+religion. The town lies not very far from Dahomey, and this power, which
+has conquered and enslaved all its other neighbors, has been unable to
+conquer Abeokuta, although it has several times besieged it. The Dahomey
+people have every advantage, being supplied with firearms, and even
+cannon, by the rascally white traders at Whydah, the port of Dahomey.
+Nevertheless, the Abeokuta people have opposed an heroic resistance, and
+so far successfully. Of course they know that every soul would be put to
+death did they fall into the hands of the King of Dahomey; but negroes
+do not always fight well, even under such circumstances, and every
+credit must be given to the people of Abeokuta. What do you say? It
+will be a perilous business, mind, for if Abeokuta is taken we shall
+assuredly be put to death with the rest of the defenders."
+
+"I think we ought to help them, sir," Frank said. "They must be a noble
+people, and with our guns and the four Houssas we might really be of
+material assistance. Of course there is a risk in it, but we have risked
+our lives from fever, and in other ways, every day since we've been in
+the country."
+
+"Very well, my lad. I am glad that is your decision. Tell him, Ugly Tom,
+that we will at once move towards Abeokuta with all speed, and that they
+had better send out a party of carriers to meet us, as you may be sure
+that these men will not go far when they hear that the Dahomey people
+are on the warpath. Learn from him exactly the road we must move by, as
+if our carriers desert us we shall be detained till his people come up.
+How far is it to Abeokuta?"
+
+Ugly Tom learned from the native that it was about forty-five miles.
+
+"Very well," Mr. Goodenough said, "we shall march twenty this afternoon.
+Where we halt they will most likely have heard the rumors of the war,
+and I expect the carriers will go no farther, so they must send out to
+that point."
+
+The Houssa translated the message, and the native, saying, "I shall be
+at Abeokuta tonight," kissed the hands of the white men and started at a
+trot.
+
+"Wonderful stamina some of these men have," Mr. Goodenough said. "That
+man has come forty-five miles at full speed, and is now going off again
+as fresh as when he started."
+
+"What speed will he go at?" Frank asked.
+
+"About six miles an hour. Of course he goes faster when he is running,
+but he will sometimes break into a walk. Five miles an hour may be
+taken as the ordinary pace of a native runner, but in cases which they
+consider of importance, like the present, you may calculate on six."
+
+The camp was at once broken up, the carriers loaded, and they started on
+their way. It was late in the evening when they reached a village about
+twenty miles from their starting place. They found the inhabitants in a
+great state of alarm. The news had come that a great army was marching
+to attack Abeokuta, and that the King of Dahomey had sworn on his
+father's skull that this time the place should be captured, and not a
+house or a wall left remaining. As Abeokuta was certain to make a strong
+resistance, and to hold out for some time, the villagers feared that the
+Dahomey people would be sending out parties to plunder and carry away
+captives all over the surrounding country. The panic at once extended
+to the bearers, who declared that they would not go a foot farther. As
+their fears were natural, and Mr. Goodenough was expecting a fresh relay
+from Abeokuta on the following evening, he consented to their demand
+to be allowed to leave immediately, and paying them their wages due, he
+allowed them to depart at once on the return journey. The tent was
+soon pitched and supper prepared, of fried plantains, rice, a tin of
+sardines, and tea. Later on they had a cup of chocolate, and turned in
+for the night.
+
+In the morning they were awakened just at daybreak by great talking.
+
+"Men come for baggage, sar," Ugly Tom said, putting his head in the tent
+door.
+
+"They have lost no time about it, Frank," Mr. Goodenough exclaimed. "It
+was midday yesterday when the messenger left us. He had forty-five miles
+to run, and could not have been in till pretty nearly eight o'clock, and
+these men must have started at once."
+
+There was no time lost. While the Houssas were pulling down and packing
+up the tent Ostik prepared two bowls of chocolate with biscuit soaked
+in it. By the time that this was eaten the carriers had taken up their
+loads, and two minutes later the whole party started almost at a trot.
+Ugly Tom soon explained the cause of the haste. The army of Dahomey was,
+the evening before, but eight miles from Abeokuta, and was expected
+to appear before the town by midday, although, of course, it might be
+later, for the movements of savage troops are uncertain in the extreme,
+depending entirely upon the whims of their leader. So anxious were the
+bearers to get back to the town in time, that they frequently went at a
+trot. They were the better able to keep up the speed as a larger number
+than were required had been sent. Many of the cases, too, were light,
+consequently the men were able to shift the heavy burdens from time to
+time. So great was the speed, that after an hour both Mr. Goodenough and
+Frank, weakened by the effect of fever and climate, could no longer keep
+up. The various effects carried in the hammocks were hastily taken out
+and lifted by men unprovided with loads. The white men entered and were
+soon carried along at a brisk trot by the side of the baggage. When they
+recovered from their exhaustion sufficiently to observe what was going
+on, they could not help admiring the manner in which the negroes,
+with perspiration streaming from every pore, hurried along with their
+burdens. So fast did they go, that in less than six hours they emerged
+from the forest into the clearing, and a shout proclaimed that Abeokuta
+was close at hand.
+
+Ten minutes later the white men were carried through the gate, their
+arrival being hailed with shouts of joy by the inhabitants. They were
+carried in triumph to the principal building of the town, a large hut
+where the general councils of the people were held. Here they were
+received by the king and the leading inhabitants, who thanked them
+warmly for coming to their assistance in the time of their peril. The
+travelers were both struck with the appearance of the people. They were
+clad with far more decency and decorum than was usual among the negro
+tribes. Their bearing was quiet and dignified. An air of neatness and
+order pervaded everything, and it was clear that they were greatly
+superior to the people around.
+
+Mr. Goodenough expressed to the king the willingness with which his
+friend and himself took part in the struggle of a brave people against
+a cruel and bloodthirsty foe, and he said, that as the four Houssas were
+also armed with fast firing guns he hoped that their assistance would be
+of avail. He said that he would at once examine the defences of the town
+and see if anything could be done to strengthen them.
+
+Accompanied by the king, Mr. Goodenough and Frank made a detour of the
+walls. These were about a mile in circumference, were built of clay, and
+were of considerable height and thickness, but they were not calculated
+to resist an attack by artillery. As, however, it was not probable
+that the Dahomey people possessed much skill in the management of their
+cannon, Mr. Goodenough had hopes that they should succeed in repelling
+the assault. They learnt that a large store of provisions had been
+brought into the town, and that many of the women and children had been
+sent far away.
+
+The spies presently came in and reported that there was no movement
+on the part of the enemy, and that it was improbable that they would
+advance before the next day. Mr. Goodenough was unable to offer any
+suggestions for fresh defenses until they knew upon which side the enemy
+would attack. He advised, however, that the whole population should be
+set to work throwing up an earthwork just outside each gate, in order
+to shelter these as far as possible from the effect of the enemy's
+cannonballs. Orders were at once given to this effect, and in an hour
+the whole population were at work carrying earth in baskets and piling
+it in front of the gates. In order to economize labor, and to make the
+sides of the mounds as steep as possible, Mr. Goodenough directed with
+brushwood, forming a sort of rough wattle work. Not even when night set
+in did the people desist from their labor, and by the following morning
+the gates were protected from the effect of cannon shot, by mounds of
+earth twenty feet high, which rose before them. The king had, when Mr.
+Goodenough first suggested these defenses, pointed out that much less
+earth would be required were it piled directly against the gates.
+Mr. Goodenough replied, that certainly this was so, but that it was
+essential to be able to open the gates to make a sortie if necessary
+against the enemy, and although the king shook his head, as if doubting
+the ability of his people to take such a desperate step as that of
+attacking the enemy outside their walls, he yielded to Mr. Goodenough's
+opinion.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV: THE AMAZONS OF DAHOMET
+
+
+A spacious and comfortable hut was placed at the disposal of the white
+men, with a small one adjoining for the Houssas. That evening Frank
+asked Mr. Goodenough to tell him what he knew concerning the people of
+Dahomey.
+
+"The word Dahomey, or more properly Da-omi, means Da's belly. Da was,
+two hundred and fifty years ago, the king of the city of Abomey. It was
+attacked by Tacudona the chief of the Fois. It resisted bravely, and
+Tacudona made a vow that if he took it he would sacrifice the king to
+the gods. When he captured the town he carried out his vow by ripping
+open the king, and then called the place Daomi. Gradually the conquerors
+extended their power until the kingdom reached to the very foot of the
+Atlas range, obtaining a port by the conquest of Whydah. The King of
+Dahomey is a despot, and even his nobility crawl on the ground in his
+presence. The taxes are heavy, every article sold in the market paying
+about one eighteenth to the royal exchequer. There are besides many
+other taxes. Every slave is taxed, every article that enters the
+kingdom. If a cock crow it is forfeited, and, as it is the nature of
+cocks to crow, every bird in the kingdom is muzzled. The property of
+every one who dies goes to the king; and at the Annual Custom, a grand
+religious festival, every man has to bring a present in proportion to
+his rank and wealth. The royal pomp is kept up by receiving strangers
+who visit the country with much state, and by regaling the populace with
+spectacles of human sacrifices. The women stand high in Dahomey.
+Among other negro nations they till the soil. In Dahomey they fight as
+soldiers, and perform all the offices of men. Dahomey is principally
+celebrated for its army of women, and its human sacrifices. These last
+take place annually, or even more often. Sometimes as many as a thousand
+captives are slain on these occasions. In almost all the pagan nations
+of Africa human sacrifices are perpetrated, just as they were by the
+Druids and Egyptians of old. Nowhere, however, are they carried to such
+a terrible extent as in Dahomey. Even Ashanti, where matters are bad
+enough, is inferior in this respect. The victims are mostly captives
+taken in war, and it is to keep up the supply necessary for these
+wholesale sacrifices that Dahomey is constantly at war with her
+neighbors."
+
+"But are we going to fight against women, then?" Frank asked horrified.
+
+"Assuredly we are," Mr. Goodenough answered. "The Amazons, as white men
+have christened the force, are the flower of the Dahomey army, and fight
+with extraordinary bravery and ferocity."
+
+"But it will seem dreadful to fire at women!" Frank said.
+
+"That is merely an idea of civilization, Frank. In countries where women
+are dependent upon men, leaving to them the work of providing for the
+family and home, while they employ themselves in domestic duties and in
+brightening the lives of the men, they are treated with respect. But as
+their work becomes rougher, so does the position which they occupy in
+men's esteem fall. Among the middle and upper classes throughout Europe
+a man is considered a brute and a coward who lifts his hand against a
+woman. Among the lower classes wife and woman beating is by no means
+uncommon, nor is such an assault regarded with much more reprobation
+than an attack upon a man. When women leave their proper sphere and put
+themselves forward to do man's work they must expect man's treatment;
+and the foolish women at home who clamor for women's rights, that is
+to say, for an equality of work, would, if they had their way, inflict
+enormous damage upon their sex."
+
+"Still," Frank said, "I shan't like having to fire at women."
+
+"You won't see much difference between women and men when the fight
+begins, Frank. These female furies will slay all who fall into their
+hands, and therefore in self defense you will have to assist in slaying
+them."
+
+The following day the sound of beating of drums and firing of guns was
+heard, and soon afterwards the head of the army of Dahomey was seen
+approaching. It moved with considerable order and regularity.
+
+"Those must be the Amazons," Mr. Goodenough said. "They are proud of
+their drill and discipline. I do not think that any other African troops
+could march so regularly and solidly."
+
+The main body of the army now came in view, marching as a loose and
+scattered mob. Then twelve objects were seen dragged by oxen. These were
+the cannon of the besiegers.
+
+"How many do you think there are?" Frank asked.
+
+"It is very difficult to judge accurately," Mr. Goodenough said. "But
+Dahomey is said to be able to put fifty thousand fighting men and women
+in the field, that is to say her whole adult population, except
+those too old to bear arms. I should think that there are twenty or
+twenty-five thousand now in sight."
+
+The enemy approached within musket shot of the walls, and numbers of
+them running up, discharged their muskets. The Abeokuta people fired
+back; but Mr. Goodenough ordered the Houssas on no account to fire, as
+he did not wish the enemy to know the power of their rifles.
+
+The first step of the besiegers was to cut down all the plantations
+round the town and to erect great numbers of little huts. A large
+central hut with several smaller ones surrounding it was erected for the
+king and his principal nobles. The Dahomans spread round the town and
+by the gesticulation and pointing at the gates it was clear that the
+defenses raised to cover these excited great surprise.
+
+The wall was thick enough for men to walk along on the top, but being
+built of clay it would withstand but little battering. Mr. Goodenough
+set a large number of people to work, making sacks from the rough cloth,
+of which there was an abundance in the place. These were filled with
+earth and piled in the center of the town ready for conveyance to
+any point threatened. He likewise had a number of beams, used in
+construction of houses, sharpened at one end; stakes of five or six feet
+long were also prepared and sharpened at both ends. That day the enemy
+attempted nothing against the town. The next morning the twelve cannon
+were planted at a distance of about five hundred yards and opened fire
+on the walls. The shooting was wild in the extreme; many of the balls
+went over the place altogether; others topped the wall and fell in the
+town; some hit the wall and buried themselves in the clay.
+
+"We will give them a lesson," Mr. Goodenough said, "in the modern rifle.
+Frank, you take my double barrel rifle and I will take the heavy, large
+bored one. Your Winchester will scarcely make accurate firing at five
+hundred yards."
+
+The Houssas were already on the wall, anxious to open fire. Mr.
+Goodenough saw that their rifles were sighted to five hundred yards.
+The cannon offered an easy mark. They were ranged along side by side,
+surrounded by a crowd of negroes, who yelled and danced each time a shot
+struck the wall.
+
+"Now," Mr. Goodenough said to the Houssas, "fire steadily, and, above
+all, fire straight. I want every shot to tell."
+
+Mr. Goodenough gave the signal, and at once Frank and the Houssas
+opened fire. The triumphant yells of the Dahomans at once changed their
+character, and a cry of wrath and astonishment broke from them. Steadily
+Mr. Goodenough and his party kept up their fire. They could see that
+great execution was being done, a large proportion of the shots telling.
+Many wounded were carried to the rear, and black forms could be seen
+stretched everywhere on the ground. Still the enemy's fire continued
+with unabated vigor.
+
+"They fight very pluckily," Frank said.
+
+"They are plucky," Mr. Goodenough answered; "and as cowardice is
+punished with death, and human life has scarcely any value among them,
+they will be killed where they stand rather than retreat."
+
+For three or four hours the fight continued. Several officers, evidently
+of authority, surrounded by groups of attendants, came down to the guns;
+but as Frank and Mr. Goodenough always selected these for their mark,
+and--firing with their guns resting on the parapet--were able to make
+very accurate shooting, most of them were killed within a few minutes of
+their arriving on the spot.
+
+At the end of four hours the firing ceased, and the Dahomans retired
+from their guns. The Abeokuta people raised a cry of triumph.
+
+"I imagine they have only fallen back," Mr. Goodenough said, "to give
+the guns time to cool."
+
+While the cannonade had been going on a brisk attack had been kept up on
+several other points of the wall, the enemy advancing within fifty yards
+of this and firing their muskets, loaded with heavy charges of slugs, at
+the defenders, who replied vigorously to them. Their cannonade was
+not resumed that afternoon, the Dahomans contenting themselves with
+skirmishing round the walls.
+
+"They are disappointed with the result of their fire," Mr. Goodenough
+said. "No doubt they anticipated they should knock the wall down without
+difficulty. You will see some change in their tactics tomorrow."
+
+That night Mr. Goodenough had a number of barrels of palm oil carried on
+to the wall, with some of the great iron pots used for boiling down the
+oil, and a supply of fuel.
+
+"If they try to storm," he said, "it will most likely be at the point
+which they have been firing at. The parapet is knocked down in several
+places, and the defenders there would be more exposed to their fire."
+
+It was at this point, therefore, that the provision of oil was placed.
+Mr. Goodenough ordered fires to be lighted under the boilers an hour
+before daybreak, in order that all should be in readiness in case an
+attack should be made the first thing in the morning. The Abeokutans
+were in high spirits at the effect of the fire of their white allies,
+and at the comparative failure of the cannon, at whose power they had
+before been greatly alarmed. Soon after daylight the Dahomans were seen
+gathering near the guns. Their drums beat furiously, and presently they
+advanced in a solid mass against the wall.
+
+"They have got ladders," Mr. Goodenough said. "I can see numbers of them
+carrying something."
+
+The Houssas at once opened fire, and as the enemy approached closer,
+first the Abeokutans who had muskets, then the great mass with bows and
+arrows, began to fire upon the enemy, while these answered with their
+musketry. The central body, however, advanced without firing a shot,
+moving like the rest at a quick run.
+
+Mr. Goodenough and Frank were not firing now, as they were devoting
+themselves to superintending the defence. Ostik kept close to them,
+carrying Frank's Winchester carbine and a double barreled shotgun.
+
+"This is hot," Mr. Goodenough said, as the enemy's slugs and bullets
+whizzed in a storm over the edge of the parapet, killing many of the
+defenders, and rendering it difficult for the others to take accurate
+aim. This, however, the Abeokutans did not try to do. Stooping below
+the parapet, they fitted their arrows to the string, or loaded their
+muskets, and then, standing up, fired hastily at the approaching throng.
+
+The walls were about twenty-five feet high inside, but the parapet gave
+an additional height of some four feet outside. They were about three
+feet thick at the top, and but a limited number of men could take post
+there to oppose the storming party. Strong bodies were placed farther
+along on the wall to make a rush to sweep the enemy off should they gain
+a footing. Others were posted below to attack them should they leap down
+into the town, while men with muskets were on the roofs of the houses
+near the walls, in readiness to open fire should the enemy get a footing
+on the wall. The din was prodigious.
+
+The Dahomans, having access to the sea coast, were armed entirely with
+muskets, these being either cheap Birmingham trade guns or old converted
+muskets, bought by traders for a song at the sale of disused government
+stores. It is much to be regretted that the various governments of
+Europe do not insist that their old guns shall be used only as old iron.
+The price obtained for them is so trifling as to be immaterial, and
+the great proportion of them find their way to Africa to be used in
+the constant wars that are waged there, and to enable rich and powerful
+tribes to enslave and destroy their weaker neighbors. The Africans use
+very much heavier charges of powder than those in used in civilized
+nations, ramming down a handful of slugs, of half a dozen small bullets,
+upon the powder. This does not conduce to good shooting, but the noise
+made is prodigious. The Abeokutans, on the other hand, were principally
+armed with bows and arrows, as, having no direct access to the sea
+coast, it was difficult for them to procure guns.
+
+The Dahomans poured up in a mass to the foot of the wall, and then a
+score of rough ladders, constructed of bamboo, and each four feet wide,
+were placed against the walls. Directly the point to be attacked was
+indicated, Mr. Goodenough had distributed his cauldrons of boiling oil
+along the walls, and had set men to work to pierce holes through the
+parapet at distances of a couple of feet apart, and at a height of six
+inches from the ground. A line of men with long spears wore told to lie
+down upon the ground, and to thrust through the holes at those climbing
+the ladders. Another line of holes was pierced two feet higher, through
+which those armed with muskets and bows were to fire, for when the
+enemy reached the foot of the walls their fire was so heavy that it was
+impossible to return it over the top of the parapet.
+
+Immediately the ladders were placed, men with ladles began to throw
+the boiling oil over the parapet. Shrieks and yells from below at once
+testified to its effect, but it was only just where the cauldrons were
+placed that the besiegers were prevented by this means from mounting
+the ladders, and even here many, in spite of the agony of their burns,
+climbed desperately upward.
+
+When they neared the top the fight began in earnest. Those without were
+now obliged to cease firing, and the besieged were able to stand up and
+with sword and spear defend their position. The breech loaders of Mr.
+Goodenough and the Houssas and Frank's repeating carbine now came into
+play. The Dahomans fought with extraordinary bravery, hundreds fell shot
+or cut down from above or pierced by the spears and arrows through the
+holes in the parapet. Fresh swarms of assailants took their places on
+the ladders. The drums kept up a ceaseless rattle, and the yells of
+the mass of negroes standing inactive were deafening. Their efforts,
+however, were in vain. Never did the Amazons fight with more reckless
+bravery; but the position was too strong for them, and at last, after
+upwards of a thousand of the assailants had fallen, the attack was given
+up, and the Dahomans retired from the wall followed by the exulting
+shouts of the men of Abeokuta.
+
+The loss of the defenders was small. Some ten or twelve had been killed
+with slugs. Three or four times that number were more or less severely
+wounded about the head or shoulders with the same missiles. Frank had a
+nasty cut on the cheek, and Firewater and Bacon were both streaming with
+blood.
+
+There was no chance of a renewal of the attack that day. Sentries were
+placed on the walls, and a grand thanksgiving service was held in the
+open space in the center of the town which the whole populace attended.
+
+"What will be their next move, do you think?" Frank asked Mr.
+Goodenough.
+
+"I cannot say," Mr. Goodenough said; "but these people know something
+of warfare, and finding that they cannot carry the place by assault,
+I think you will find that they will try some more cautious move next
+time."
+
+For two days there was no renewal of the attack. At Mr. Goodenough's
+suggestion the Abeokutans on the wall shouted out that the Dahomans
+might come and carry off their dead, as he feared that a pestilence
+might arise from so great a number of decomposing bodies at the foot
+of the wall. The Dahomans paid no attention to the request, and, at Mr.
+Goodenough's suggestion, on the second day the whole populace set to
+work carrying earth in baskets to the top of the wall, and throwing this
+over so as to cover the mass of bodies at its foot. As to those lying
+farther off nothing could be done. On the third morning it was seen that
+during the night a large number of sacks had been piled in a line upon
+the ground, two hundred yards away from the wall. The pile was eight
+feet in height and some fifty yards long.
+
+"I thought they were up to something," Mr. Goodenough said. "They have
+been sending back to Dahomey for sacks."
+
+In a short time the enemy brought up their cannon, behind the shelter
+of the sacks, regardless of the execution done by the rifles of Mr.
+Goodenough's party during the movement. The place chosen was two or
+three hundred yards to the left of that on which the former attack had
+been made. Then a swarm of men set to work removing some of the sacks,
+and in a short time twelve rough embrasures were made just wide enough
+for the muzzles of the guns, the sacks removed being piled on the
+others, raising them to the height of ten feet and sheltering the men
+behind completely from the fire from the walls.
+
+"They will make a breach now," Mr. Goodenough said. "We must prepare to
+receive them inside."
+
+The populace were at once set to work digging holes and securely
+planting the beams already prepared in a semicircle a hundred feet
+across, behind the wall facing the battery. The beams when fixed
+projected eight feet above the ground, the spaces between being filled
+with bamboos twisted in and out between them. Earth was thrown up behind
+to the height of four foot for the defenders to stand upon. The space
+between the stockade and the wall was filled with sharp pointed bamboos
+and stakes stuck firmly in the ground with their points projecting
+outwards. All day the townspeople labored at these defenses, while the
+wall crumbled fast under the fire of the Dahomey artillery, every shot
+of which, at so short a distance, struck it heavily. By five in the
+afternoon a great gap, fifty feet wide, was made in the walls, and the
+army of Dahomey again gathered for the assault. Mr. Goodenough with two
+of the Houssas took his place on the wall on one side of the gap, Frank
+with the other two faced him across the chasm. A large number of the
+Abeokuta warriors also lined the walls, while the rest gathered on the
+stockade.
+
+With the usual tumult of drumming and yells the Dahomans rushed to
+the assault. The fire from the walls did not check the onset in the
+slightest, and with yells of anticipated victory they swarmed over the
+breach. A cry of astonishment broke from them as they saw the formidable
+defense within, the fire of whose defenders was concentrated upon them.
+Then, with scarce a pause, they leaped down and strove to remove the
+obstructions. Regardless of the fire poured upon them they hewed away
+at the sharp stakes, or strove to pull them up with their hands. The
+riflemen on the walls directed their fire now exclusively upon the
+leaders of the column, the breech loaders doing immense execution, and
+soon the Dahomans in their efforts to advance had to climb over lines of
+dead in their front. For half an hour the struggle continued, and then
+the Dahomans lost heart and retired, leaving fifteen hundred of their
+number piled deep in the space between the breach and the stockade.
+
+"This is horrible work," Frank said when he rejoined Mr. Goodenough.
+
+"Horrible, Frank; but there is at least the consolation that by this
+fearful slaughter of their bravest warriors we are crippling the
+power of Dahomey as a curse and a scourge to its neighbors. After this
+crushing repulse the Abeokutans may hope that many years will elapse
+before they are again attacked by their savage neighbors, and the
+lessons which they have now learned in defense will enable them to make
+as good a stand on another occasion as they have done now."
+
+"Do you think the attack will be renewed?"
+
+"I should hardly think so. The flower of their army must have fallen,
+and the Amazon guard must have almost ceased to exist. I told you,
+Frank, you would soon get over your repugnance to firing at women."
+
+"I did not think anything about women," Frank said. "We seemed to be
+fighting a body of demons with their wild screams and yells. Indeed, I
+could scarce distinguish the men from the women."
+
+A strong guard was placed at night at the stockade, and Mr. Goodenough
+and Frank lay down close at hand in case the assault should be renewed.
+At daybreak the sound of a cannon caused them to start to their feet.
+
+"They are not satisfied yet," Mr. Goodenough exclaimed, hurrying to the
+wall. In the night the Dahomans had either with sacks or earth raised
+their cannon some six feet, so that they were able to fire over the
+mound caused by the fallen wall at the stockade behind it, at which they
+were now directing their fire.
+
+"Now for the sacks," Mr. Goodenough said. Running down, he directed the
+sacks laden with earth, to whose necks ropes had been attached, to
+be brought up. Five hundred willing hands seized them, and they were
+lowered in front of the center of the stockade, which was alone exposed
+to the enemy's fire, until they hung two deep over the whole face.
+As fast as one bag was injured by a shot it was drawn up and another
+lowered to its place. In the meantime the rifles from the walls had
+again opened fire, and as the gunners were now more exposed their shots
+did considerable execution. Seeing the uselessness of their efforts the
+Dahomans gradually slackened their fire.
+
+When night came Mr. Goodenough gathered two hundred of the best troops
+of Abeokuta. He caused plugs to be made corresponding to the size of
+the various cannonballs which were picked up within the stockade, which
+varied from six to eighteen pounders.
+
+About midnight the gate nearest to the breach was thrown open, and the
+party sallied out and made their way towards the enemy's battery.
+The Dahomans had placed sentries in front facing the breach, but
+anticipating no attack in any other direction had left the flanks
+unguarded. Mr. Goodenough had enjoined the strictest silence on his
+followers, and their approach was unobserved until they swept round
+into the battery. Large numbers of the enemy were lying asleep here, but
+these, taken by surprise, could offer no resistance, and were cut down
+or driven away instantly by the assailants.
+
+Mr. Goodenough and Frank, with a party who had been told off specially
+for the purpose, at once set to work at the cannon. These were filled
+nearly to the muzzle with powder, and the plugs were driven with mallets
+tight into the muzzles. Slow matches, composed of strips of calico
+dipped in saltpetre, were placed in the touch holes. Then the word was
+given, and the whole party fell back to the gate just as the Dahomans in
+great numbers came running up. In less than a minute after leaving the
+battery twelve tremendous reports, following closely one upon another
+were heard. The cannon were blown into fragments, killing numbers of the
+Dahomey men who had just crowded into the battery.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI: CAPTIVES IN COOMASSIE
+
+
+Upon the morning following the successful sortie not an enemy could be
+seen from the walls. Swift runners were sent out, and these returned in
+two hours with news that the enemy were in full retreat towards their
+capital. The people of Abeokuta were half wild with exultation and joy,
+and their gratitude to their white allies was unbounded. Mr. Goodenough
+begged them not to lose an hour in burying their slain enemies, and
+the entire population were engaged for the two following days upon this
+necessary but revolting duty. The dead were counted as they were placed
+in the great pits dug for their reception, and it was found that no
+fewer than three thousand of the enemy had fallen.
+
+Mr. Goodenough also advised the Abeokutans to erect flanking towers at
+short intervals round their walls, to dig a moat twenty feet wide and
+eight deep at a few yards from their foot, and to turn into it the water
+from the river in order that any future attack might be more easily
+repelled.
+
+The inhabitants were poor, but they would willingly have presented all
+their treasures to their white allies. Mr. Goodenough, however, would
+accept nothing save a few specimens of native cloth exquisitely woven
+from the inner barks of the trees, and some other specimens of choice
+native workmanship. He also begged them to send down to the coast by the
+first opportunity the cases of specimens which had been collected since
+the departure of the Fans.
+
+A violent attack of fever, brought on by their exertions in the sun,
+prostrated both the white travelers a few days after the termination of
+the siege, and it was some weeks before they were able to renew their
+journey. Their intention was to ascend the river for some distance,
+to move westward into upper Ashanti, and then to make their way to
+Coomassie, whence they would journey down to Cape Coast and there take
+ship for England. As soon as they were able to travel they took leave
+of their friends at Abeokuta, who furnished them with carriers for their
+cases and hammock bearers for their journey as far as the Volta. This
+lasted for a fortnight through an open and fertile country. Then
+they crossed the river and entered Ashanti, the great rival empire of
+Dahomey. As Ashanti was at peace with England they had now no fear of
+molestation on their journey.
+
+Ashanti consisted of five or six kingdoms, all of which had been
+conquered, and were tributary to it. The empire of Ashanti was separated
+by the river Prah from the country of the Fantis, who lived under
+British protection. The people drew their supplies from various points
+on the coast, principally, however, through Elmina, a Dutch settlement,
+five miles to the west of Cape Coast. The Ashantis could not be called
+peaceable neighbors. They, like the Dahomans, delighted in human
+sacrifices upon a grand scale, and to carry these out captives must be
+taken. Consequently every four or five years, on some pretext or other,
+they cross the Prah, destroyed the villages, dragged away the people to
+slavery or death, and carried fire and sword up to the very walls of the
+English fort at Cape Coast. Sometimes the English confined themselves
+to remonstrance, sometimes fought, not always successfully, as upon one
+occasion Sir Charles Macarthy, the governor, with a West Indian regiment
+was utterly defeated, the governor himself and all his white officers,
+except three, being killed.
+
+In 1828 we aided the Fantis to defeat the Ashantis in a decisive battle,
+the consequence of which was the signature of a treaty, by which the
+King of Ashanti recognized the independence of all the Fanti tribes. In
+1844, and again in 1852, a regular protectorate was arranged between
+the British and the Fantis, the former undertaking to protect them from
+enemies beyond the borders, and in turn exercising an authority over
+the Fantis, forbidding them to make war with each other, and imposing a
+nominal tribute upon them.
+
+In 1853 the Ashantis again crossed the Prah, but, being met with
+firmness, retired again. After ten years' quiet, in 1863 they again
+invaded the country, burnt thirty villages, and slaughtered their
+inhabitants. Governor Price then urged upon the home authorities the
+necessity for the sending out from England of two thousand troops to aid
+the native army in striking a heavy blow at the Ashantis, and so putting
+a stop to this constant aggression. The English government, however,
+refused to entertain the proposal. In order to encourage the natives
+some companies of West Indian troops were marched up to the Prah. The
+wet season set in, and, after suffering terribly from sickness, the
+survivors returned five months later to Cape Coast.
+
+Up to this period the Dutch trading ports and forts upon the coast were
+interspersed with ours, and as the tribes in their neighborhood were
+under Dutch protection constant troubles were arising between the Dutch
+tribes and our own, and in 1867 an exchange was effected, the Dutch
+ceding all their forts and territory east of the Sweet river, a small
+stream which falls into the sea midway between Cape Coast and Elmina,
+while we gave up all our forts to the west of this stream. Similarly
+the protectorate of the tribes inland up to the boundary of the Ashanti
+kingdom changed hands. The natives were not consulted as to this treaty,
+and some of those formerly under British protection, especially the
+natives of Commendah, refused to accept the transfer, and beat off
+with loss the Dutch troops who attempted to land. The Dutch men of war
+bombarded and destroyed Commendah.
+
+This step was the commencement of fresh troubles between the Ashantis
+and the English. The Commendah people were Fantis, and as such the
+implacable enemies of the Elmina people, who had under Dutch protection
+been always allies of the Ashantis, and had been mainly instrumental
+in supplying them with arms and ammunition. The Fantis, regarding
+the Elmina natives and the Dutch as one power, retaliated for the
+destruction of Commendah by invading the territory of the Elmina tribe,
+destroying their villages and blockading the Dutch in their port.
+Another reason for this attack upon the Elminas was that an Ashanti
+general, named Atjempon, had marched with several hundred men through
+the Fanti country, burning, destroying, and slaying as usual, and had
+taken refuge with his men in Elmina. From this time the desultory war
+between the Elminas and their Ashanti allies, and the Fantis of the
+neighborhood had never ceased. Our influence over our allies was
+but small, for we in vain endeavored to persuade them to give up the
+invasion of Elmina. We even cut off the supplies of powder and arms to
+the Fantis, whose loyalty to our rule was thereby much shaken.
+
+All these troubles induced the Dutch to come to the decision to
+withdraw altogether, and they accordingly offered to transfer all their
+possessions to us. The English government determined not to accept the
+transfer if it should lead to troubles with the natives, and as a first
+step required that the Ashanti force should leave Elmina. In 1870 the
+King of Ashanti wrote to us claiming Elmina as his, and protesting
+against its being handed over to us. According to native ideas the king
+of Ashanti's claim was a just one. The land upon which all the forts,
+English, Dutch, Danish, and French, were built had been originally
+acquired from the native chiefs at a fixed annual tribute, or as we
+regarded it as rent, or as an annual present in return for friendly
+relations. By the native customs he who conquers a chief entitled to
+such a payment becomes the heir of that payment, and one time the King
+of Ashanti upon the strength of his conquest of the Fantis set up a
+claim of proprietorship over Cape Coast and the other British forts.
+
+Of a similar nature was the claim of the Ashantis upon Elmina. The Dutch
+had paid eighty pounds a year, as they asserted, as a present, and they
+proved conclusively that they had never regarded the King of Ashanti as
+having sovereignty over their forts, and that he had never advanced such
+a claim. They now arrested Atjempon, and refused to pay a further sum
+to the King of Ashanti until he withdrew his claim. In order to settle
+matters amicably they sent an envoy to Coomassie with presents for the
+king, and obtained from him a repudiation of his former letter, and a
+solemn acknowledgment that the money was not paid as a tribute. The
+king sent down two ambassadors to Elmina, who solemnly ratified this
+declaration.
+
+The transfer was then effected. We purchased from the Dutch their forts
+and stores, but the people of Elmina were told that we should not take
+possession of the place except with their consent; but it was pointed
+out to them that if they refused to accept our protection they would be
+exposed as before to the hostility of the Fantis. They agreed to accept
+our offer, and on the 4th of April, 1872, a grand council was hold, the
+king and chiefs of Elmina announced the agreement of their people to the
+transfer, and we took possession of Elmina, Atjempon and the Ashantis
+returning to their own country.
+
+Upon the transfer taking place, Mr. Pope Hennessey, the governor of
+the colony, sent to the King of Ashanti saying that the English desired
+peace and friendship with the natives, and would give an annual present,
+double that which he had received from the Dutch. At the same time
+negotiations were going on with the king for the free passage of Ashanti
+traders to the coast, and for the release of four Germans who had been
+carried off ten years before by Aboo Boffoo, one of the king's generals,
+from their mission station on British territory near the Volta. The king
+wrote saying that Aboo Boffoo would not give them up without a ransom
+of eighteen hundred ounces of gold, and protracted negotiations went on
+concerning the payments of these sums.
+
+At the time when Mr. Goodenough and Frank had landed on the Gaboon,
+early in 1872, nothing was known of any anticipated troubles with
+Ashanti. The negotiations between the English and the Dutch were in
+progress, but they had heard that the English would not take over Elmina
+without the consent of the inhabitants, and that they would be willing
+to increase the payment made by the Dutch to the king of Ashanti. It was
+known too that efforts would be made to settle all points of difference
+with the king; and as at Abeokuta they received news that the
+negotiations were going on satisfactorily, and that there was no
+prospect whatever of trouble, they did not hesitate to carry out the
+plans they had formed.
+
+Before crossing the Volta, they sent across to inquire of the chief of
+the town there whether two English travelers would be allowed to pass
+through Ashanti, and were delayed for a fortnight until a messenger was
+sent to Coomassie and returned with a letter, saying that the king
+would be glad to see white men at his capital. With this assurance they
+crossed the stream. They were received in state by the chief, who at
+once provided them with the necessary carriers, and with them a guard,
+which he said would prevent any trouble on their way. On the following
+day they started, and after arriving, at the end of a day's journey, at
+a village, prepared to stop as usual for a day or two to add to their
+collection. The officer of the guard, however, explained to them through
+Bacon, who spoke the Ashanti language, that his instructions were, that
+they were to go straight through to Coomassie. In vain Mr. Goodenough
+protested that this would entirely defeat the object of his journey. The
+officer was firm. His orders were that they were to travel straight
+to Coomassie, and if he failed in carrying these out, his head would
+assuredly be forfeited.
+
+"This is serious, Frank," Mr. Goodenough said. "If this fellow has not
+blundered about his orders, it is clear that we are prisoners. However,
+it may be that the king merely gave a direction that we should be
+escorted to the capital, having no idea that we should want to loiter
+upon the way."
+
+They now proceeded steadily forward, making long day's marches. The
+officer in command of the guard was most civil, obtaining for them an
+abundance of provisions at the villages at which they stopped, and
+as Frank and his companion were both weakened by fever he enlisted
+sufficient hammock bearers for them, taking fresh relays from each
+village. He would not hear of their paying either for provisions or
+bearers, saying that they were the king's guests, and it would be an
+insult to him were they to pay for anything.
+
+Ten days after starting from the Volta they entered Coomassie. This
+town lay on rising ground, surrounded by a deep marsh of from forty to
+a hundred yards wide. A messenger had been sent on in front to announce
+their coming, and after crossing the marsh they passed under a great
+fetish, or spell, consisting of a dead sheep wrapped up in red silk and
+suspended from two poles.
+
+Mr. Goodenough and Frank took their places at the head of the little
+procession. On entering the town they were met by a crowd of at least
+five thousand people, for the most part warriors, who fired their guns,
+shouted, and yelled. Horns, drums, rattles, and gongs added to the
+appalling noise. Men with flags performed wild dances, in which the
+warriors joined. The dress of the captains consisted of war caps with
+gilded rams' horns projecting in front, and immense plumes of eagles'
+feathers on each side. Their vest was of red cloth, covered with
+fetishes and charms in cases of gold, silver, and embroidery. These were
+interspersed with the horns and tails of animals, small brass bells, and
+shells. They wore loose cotton trousers, with great boots of dull red
+leather coming halfway up to the thigh, and fastened by small chains to
+their waist belts, also ornamented with bells, horse tails, strings of
+amulets, and strips of colored leather. Long leopards' tails hung down
+their backs.
+
+Through this crowd the party moved forward slowly, the throng thickening
+at every step. They were escorted to a house which they were told was
+set aside for their use, and that they would be allowed to see the king
+on the following day. The houses differed entirely from anything which
+they had before seen in Africa. They were built of red clay, plastered
+perfectly smooth. There were no windows or openings on the exterior, but
+the door led into an open courtyard of some twelve feet in diameter. On
+each side of this was a sort of alcove, built up of clay, about three
+feet from the ground. This formed a couch or seat, some eight feet long
+by three feet high, with a thatched roof projecting so as to prevent the
+rain beating into the alcove. Beyond were one or more similar courts
+in proportion to the size of the house. A sheep and a quantity of
+vegetables and fruits were sent in in the course of the day, but they
+were told not to show themselves in the streets until they had seen the
+king.
+
+"We shall be expected to make his majesty a handsome present," Mr.
+Goodenough said, "and, unfortunately, our stores were not intended for
+so great a potentate. I will give him my double barreled rifle and your
+Winchester, Frank. I do not suppose he has seen such an arm. We had
+better get them cleaned up and polished so as to look as handsome as
+possible."
+
+In the morning one of the captains came and said that the king was in
+readiness to receive them, and they made their way through a vast crowd
+to the marketplace, an open area, nearly half a mile in extent. The sun
+was shining brightly, and the scene was a brilliant one. The king, his
+Caboceers or great tributaries, his captains, and officers were seated
+under a vast number of huge umbrellas, some of them fifteen feet across.
+These were of scarlet, yellow, and other showy colors in silks and
+cloths, with fantastically scalloped and fringed valences. They were
+surmounted with crescents, birds, elephants, barrels, and swords of
+gold, and on some were couched stuffed animals. Innumerable smaller
+umbrellas of striped stuff were borne by the crowd, and all these
+were waved up and down, while a vast number of flutes, horns and other
+musical instruments sounded in the air. All the principal people wore
+robes woven of foreign silk, which had been unraveled for working into
+native patterns. All had golden necklaces and bracelets, in many cases
+so heavy that the arms of the bearers were supported on boys' heads.
+The whole crowd, many thousands in number, shone with gold, silver, and
+bright colors.
+
+The king received them with dignity, and expressed his satisfaction at
+seeing them, his speech being interpreted by one of his attendants, who
+spoke English. Mr. Goodenough replied that they had very great pleasure
+in visiting the court of his majesty, that they had already been
+traveling for many months in Africa, having started from the Gaboon and
+traveled through many tribes, but had they had any idea of visiting so
+great a king they would have provided themselves with presents fit for
+his acceptance. But they were simple travelers, catching the birds,
+beasts, and insects of the country, to take home with them to show to
+the people in England. The only things which they could offer him were
+a double barreled breech loading rifle of the best English construction,
+and a little gun, which would fire sixteen times without loading.
+
+The king examined the pieces with great attention, and, at his request,
+Mr. Goodenough fired off the whole contents of the magazine of the
+repeating rifle, whose action caused the greatest astonishment to
+the assembled chiefs. The king then intimated his acceptance of the
+presents, and said that he would speak farther with them on a future
+occasion. He informed them that they were free to move about in the town
+where they wished, and that the greatest respect would be shown to them
+by the people. There was a fresh outburst of wild music, and they were
+then conducted back to their house.
+
+After the assembly had dispersed the two Englishmen walked about through
+the town. It was not of great extent, but the streets were broad and
+well kept. Many of the houses were much larger than that allotted to
+them, but all were built on the same plan. It was evident that the great
+mass of the population they saw about must live in villages scattered
+around, the town being wholly insufficient to contain them.
+
+Three days afterwards they were told that the king wished to see them in
+his palace. This was a large building situated at the extremity of the
+town. It was constructed of stone, and was evidently built from European
+designs. It was square, with a flat roof and embattled parapet. They
+were conducted through the gateway into a large courtyard, and then into
+a hall where the king sat upon a raised throne. Attendants stood round
+fanning him.
+
+"Why," he asked abruptly as they took their places before him, "do the
+English take my town of Elmina?"
+
+Mr. Goodenough explained that he had been nine months absent from the
+coast, and that having come straight out from England he was altogether
+unaware of what had happened at Elmina.
+
+"Elmina is mine," the king said. "The Dutch, who were my tributaries,
+had no right to hand it over to the English."
+
+"But I understood, your majesty, that the English were ready to pay an
+annual sum, even larger than that which the Dutch have contributed."
+
+"I do not want money," the king said. "I have gold in plenty. There
+are places in my dominions where ten men in a day can wash a thousand
+ounces. I want Elmina, I want to trade with the coast."
+
+"But the English will give your majesty every facility for trade."
+
+"But suppose we quarrel," the king said, "they can stop powder and guns
+from coming up. If Elmina were mine I could bring up guns and powder at
+all times."
+
+"Your majesty would be no better off," Mr. Goodenough said; "for the
+English in case of war could stop supplies from entering."
+
+"My people will drive them into the sea," the king said. "We have been
+troubled with them too long. They can make guns, but they cannot fight.
+My people will eat them up. We fought them before; and see," he said
+pointing to a great drum, from the edge of which hung a dozen human
+skulls, "the heads of the White men serve to make a fetish for me."
+
+He then waved his hand to signify that the audience was terminated.
+
+"Things look bad, Frank," Mr. Goodenough said as they walked towards
+their home. "I fear that the king is determined upon war, and if so our
+lives are not worth a month's purchase."
+
+"It can't be helped," Frank said as cheerfully as he could. "We
+must make the best of it. Perhaps something may occur to improve our
+position."
+
+The next day the four German missionaries, who had so long been kept
+captive, called upon them, and they obtained a full insight into the
+position. This seemed more hopeful than the king's words had given them
+to expect. The missionaries said that negotiations were going on for
+their release, and that they expected very shortly to be sent down to
+Cape Coast. So far as they knew everything was being done by the English
+to satisfy the king, and they looked upon the establishment of peace as
+certain. They described the horrible rites and sacrifices which they had
+been compelled to witness, and said that at least three thousand persons
+were slaughtered annually in Coomassie.
+
+"You noticed," one of them said, "the great tree in the marketplace
+under which the king sat. That is the great fetish tree. A great
+many victims are sacrificed in the palace itself, but the wholesale
+slaughters take place there. The high brushwood comes up to within
+twenty yards of it, and if you turn in there you will see thousands of
+dead bodies or their remains putrefying together."
+
+"I thought I felt a horribly offensive smell as I was talking to the
+king," Frank said shuddering. "What monsters these people must be! Who
+would have thought that all that show of gold and silver and silks and
+bright colors covered such horrible barbarism!"
+
+After chatting for some time longer, and offering to do anything in
+their power to assist the captives, the Germans took their leave.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII: THE INVASION OF FANTI LAND
+
+
+The following morning Mr. Goodenough and Frank were called to the door
+by the noise of a passing crowd, and to their horror saw a man being
+taken to sacrifice. He was preceded by men beating drums, his hands were
+pinioned behind him. A sharp thin knife was passed through his cheeks,
+to which his lips were noozed like the figure 8. One ear was cut off and
+carried before him, the other hung to his head by a small piece of skin.
+There were several gashes in his back, and a knife was thrust under each
+shoulder blade. He was led by a cord passed through a hole bored in his
+nose. Frank ran horror stricken back into the house, and sat for a while
+with his hand over his eyes as if to shut out the ghastly spectacle.
+
+"Mr. Goodenough," he said presently, "if we are to be killed, at least
+let us die fighting to the last, and blow out our own brains with the
+last shots we have left. I don't think I'm afraid of being killed, but
+to be tortured like that would be horrible."
+
+The next day a message was brought them that their retaining private
+guards was an insult to the king, and that the Houssas must remove
+to another part of the town. Resistance was evidently useless. Mr.
+Goodenough called his four men together and told them what had happened.
+
+"I am sorry I have brought you into this plight, my poor fellows,"
+he said. "There are now but two things open to you. You can either
+volunteer to join the king's army and then try to make your escape as an
+opportunity may offer, or slip away at once. You are accustomed to the
+woods, and in native costume might pass without notice. You can all
+swim, and it matters not where you strike the Prah. If you travel at
+night and lie in the woods by day you should be able to get through. At
+any rate you know that if you try to escape and are caught you will be
+killed. If you stop here it is possible that no harm may happen to you,
+but on the other hand you may at any moment be led out to sacrifice. Do
+not tell me your decision; I shall be questioned, and would rather be
+able to say that I was ignorant that you intended to escape. There is
+one other thing to settle. There is a long arrear of pay due to you for
+your good and faithful service. It would be useless for me to pay you
+now, as the money might be found on you and taken away, and if you
+should be killed it would be lost to your friends. I have written here
+four orders on my banker in England, which the agents down at Cape Coast
+will readily cash for you. Each order is for twice the sum due to you.
+As you have come into such great danger in my service, and have behaved
+so faithfully, it is right that you should be well rewarded. Give me the
+names of your wives or relatives whom you wish to have the money. Should
+any of you fall and escape, I will, on my arrival at Cape Coast, send
+money, double the amount I have written here, to them."
+
+The men expressed themselves warmly grateful for Mr. Goodenough's
+kindness, gave him the names and addresses of their wives, and then,
+with tears in their eyes, took their leave.
+
+"Now, Ostik, what do you say?" Mr. Goodenough asked, turning to him.
+
+"I stay here, sar," Ostik said. "Houssas fighting men, creep through
+wood, crawl on stomach. Dey get through sure enough. Ostik stay with
+massa. If dey kill massa dey kill Ostik. Ostik take chance."
+
+"Very well, Ostik, if we get through safe together you shall not have
+reason to regret your fidelity. Now, Frank, I think it would be a good
+thing if you were to spend some hours every day in trying to pick up as
+much of the language here as you can. You are quick at it, and were able
+to make yourself understood by our bearers far better than I could do.
+You already know a great many words in four or five of these dialects.
+They are all related to each other, and with what you know you would in
+a couple of months be able to get along very well in Ashanti. It
+will help to pass your time and to occupy your mind. There will be no
+difficulty in finding men here who have worked down on the coast and
+know a little English. If we get away safely you will not regret that
+your time has been employed. If we have trouble your knowledge of the
+language may in some way or other be of real use to you. We can go round
+to the Germans, who will, no doubt, be able to put you in the way of
+getting a man."
+
+The next day they were again sent for to the king, who was in a high
+state of anger at having heard that the Houssas had escaped.
+
+"I know nothing about it," Mr. Goodenough said. "They were contented
+when they were with me, and had no wish to go. Your soldiers took them
+away yesterday afternoon, and I suppose they were frightened. It was
+foolish of them. They should have known that a great king does not
+injure travelers who come peacefully into his country. They should have
+known better. They were poor, ignorant men, who did not know that the
+hospitality of a king is sacred, and that when a king invites travelers
+to enter his country they are his guests, and under his protection."
+
+When the interpreter translated this speech the king was silent for two
+or three minutes. Then he said, "My white friend is right, They were
+foolish men. They could not know these things. If my warriors overtake
+them no harm shall come to them."
+
+Pleased with the impression that his words had evidently made Mr.
+Goodenough returned to Frank, who had not been ordered to accompany him
+to the palace. In the afternoon the king sent a sheep and a present
+of five ounces of gold, and a message that he did not wish his white
+friends to remain always in the town, but that they might walk to any
+of the villages within a circle of three or four miles, and that four
+of his guards would always accompany them to see that no one interfered
+with or insulted them. They were much pleased with this permission, as
+they were now enabled to renew their work of collecting. It took them,
+too, away from the sight of the horrible human sacrifices which went
+on daily. Through the German missionaries they obtained a man who had
+worked for three years down at Cape Coast. He accompanied them on their
+walks, and in the evening sat and talked with Frank, who, from the
+knowledge of native words which he had picked up in his nine months'
+residence in Africa, was able to make rapid progress in Ashanti. He
+had one or two slight attacks of fever, but the constant use of quinine
+enabled him to resist their effect, and he was now to some degree
+acclimatized, and thought no more of the attacks of fever than he would
+have done at home of a violent bilious attack.
+
+This was not the case with Mr. Goodenough. Frank observed with concern
+that he lost strength rapidly, and was soon unable to accompany him in
+his walks. One morning he appeared very ill.
+
+"Have you a touch of fever, sir?"
+
+"No, Frank, it is worse than fever, it is dysentery. I had an attack
+last time I was on the coast, and know what to do with it. Get the
+medicine chest and bring me the bottle of ipecacuanha. Now, you must
+give me doses of this just strong enough not to act as an emetic, every
+three hours."
+
+Frank nursed his friend assiduously, and for the next three days hoped
+that he was obtaining a mastery over the illness. On the fourth day an
+attack of fever set in.
+
+"You must stop the ipecacuanha, now," Mr. Goodenough said, "and Frank,
+send Ostik round to the Germans, and say I wish them to come here at
+once."
+
+When these arrived Mr. Goodenough asked Frank to leave him alone with
+them. A quarter of an hour later they went out, and Frank, returning,
+found two sealed envelopes on the table beside him.
+
+"My boy," he said, "I have been making my will. I fear that it is all
+over with me. Fever and dysentery together are in nine cases out of ten
+fatal. Don't cry, Frank," he said, as the lad burst into tears. "I would
+gladly have lived, but if it is God's will that it should be otherwise,
+so be it. I have no wife or near relatives to regret my loss--none, my
+poor boy, who will mourn for me as sincerely as I know that you will do.
+In the year that we have been together I have come to look upon you as
+my son, and you will find that I have not forgotten you in my will. I
+have written it in duplicate. If you have an opportunity send one of
+these letters down to the coast. Keep the other yourself, and I trust
+that you will live to carry it to its destination. Should it not be so,
+should the worst come to the worst, it will be a consolation to you to
+know that I have not forgotten the little sister of whom you have spoken
+to me so often, and that in case of your death she will be provided
+for."
+
+An hour later Mr. Goodenough was in a state of delirium, in which he
+remained all night, falling towards morning into a dull coma, gradually
+breathing his last, without any return of sensibility, at eight in the
+morning.
+
+Frank was utterly prostrated with grief, from which he roused himself to
+send to the king to ask permission to bury his friend.
+
+The king sent down to say how grieved he was to hear of the white man's
+death. He had ordered many of his warriors to attend his funeral. Frank
+had a grave dug on a rising spot of ground beyond the marsh. In the
+evening a great number of the warriors gathered round the house, and
+upon the shoulders of four of them Mr. Goodenough was conveyed to his
+last resting place, Frank and the German missionaries following with
+a great crowd of warriors. The missionaries read the service over the
+grave, and Frank returned heart broken to his house, with Ostik, who
+also felt terribly the loss of his master.
+
+Two days later a wooden cross was erected over the grave. Upon this
+Frank carved the name of his friend. Hearing a week afterwards that the
+king was sending down a messenger to Cape Coast, Frank asked permission
+to send Mr. Goodenough's letter by him. The king sent for him.
+
+"I do not wish any more troubles," he said, "or that letters should be
+sent to the governor. You are my guest. When the troubles are settled I
+will send you down to the coast; but we have many things to write about,
+and I do not want more subjects for talk."
+
+Frank showed the letter and read the address, and told the king that it
+was only a letter to the man of business of Mr. Goodenough in England,
+giving directions for the disposal of his property there.
+
+The king then consented that his messenger should take the letter.
+
+At the end of December, when Frank had been nearly three months at
+Coomassie, one of the Germans said to him:
+
+"The king speaks fairly, and seems intent upon his negotiations; but he
+is preparing secretly for war. An army is collecting on the Prah. I hear
+that twelve thousand men are ordered to assemble there."
+
+"I have noticed," Frank said, "that there have been fewer men about than
+usual during the last few days. What will happen to us, do you think?"
+
+The missionary shook his head.
+
+"No one can say," he said. "It all depends upon the king's humor. I
+think, however, that he is more likely to keep us as hostages, and to
+obtain money for us at the end of the war, than to kill us. If all goes
+well with his army we are probably safe; but if the news comes of any
+defeat, he may in his rage order us to be executed."
+
+"What do you think are the chances of defeat?" Frank asked.
+
+"We know not," the missionary said; "but it seems probable that the
+Ashantis will turn the English out of the coast. The Fantis are of
+no use. They were a brave people once, and united might have made a
+successful resistance to the Ashantis; but you English have made women
+of them. You have forbidden them to fight among themselves, you have
+discouraged them in any attempts to raise armies, you have reduced
+the power of the chiefs, you have tried to turn them into a race of
+cultivators and traders instead of warriors, and you can expect no
+material aid from them now. They will melt away like snow before the
+Ashantis. The king's spies tell him that there are only a hundred
+and fifty black troops at Cape Coast. These are trained and led by
+Englishmen, but, after all, they are only negroes, no braver than the
+Ashantis. What chance have they of resisting an army nearly a hundred to
+one stronger than themselves?"
+
+"Is the fort at Cape Coast strong?" Frank asked.
+
+"Yes, against savages without cannon. Besides, the guns of the ships of
+war would cover it."
+
+"Well," Frank said, "if we can hold that, they will send out troops from
+England."
+
+"They may do so," the missionary asserted; "but what could white troops
+do in the fever haunted forests, which extend from Coomassie to the
+coast?"
+
+"They will manage somehow," Frank replied confidently. "Besides, after
+all, as I hear that the great portion of Ashanti lying beyond this is
+plain and open country, the Ashantis themselves cannot be all accustomed
+to bush fighting, and will suffer from fever in the low, swamp land."
+
+Three days later the king sent for Frank.
+
+"The English are not true," he said angrily. "They promised the people
+of Elmina that they should be allowed to retain all their customs as
+under the Dutch. They have broken their word. They have forbidden the
+customs. The people of Elmina have written to me to ask me to deliver
+them. I am going to do so."
+
+Frank afterwards learned that the king's words were true. Colonel
+Harley, the military commandant, having, with almost incredible fatuity,
+and in spite of the agreement which had been made with the Elminas,
+summoned their king and chiefs to a council, and abruptly told them that
+they would not be allowed henceforth to celebrate their customs,
+which consisted of firing of guns, waving of flags, dancing, and other
+harmless rites. The chiefs, greatly indignant at this breach of the
+agreement, solemnly entered into with them, at once, on leaving the
+council, wrote to the King of Ashanti, begging him to cross the Prah and
+attack the English. Frank could only say that he knew nothing of what
+was going on at the coast, and could only think that his majesty must
+have been misinformed, as the English wished to be friendly with the
+Ashantis.
+
+"They do not wish it," the king said furiously; "they are liars."
+
+A buzz of approval sounded among the cabooceers and captains standing
+round. Frank thought that he was about to be ordered to instant
+execution, and grasped a revolver, which he held in his pocket,
+resolving to shoot the king first, and then to blow out his own brains,
+rather than to be put to the horrible tortures which in Ashanti always
+precede death.
+
+Presently the king said suddenly to him:
+
+"My people tell me that you can talk to them in their own tongue."
+
+"I have learnt a little Ashanti," Frank said in that language. "I cannot
+talk well, but I can make myself understood."
+
+"Very well," the king said. "Then I shall send you down with my general.
+You know the ways of English fighting, and will tell him what is best
+to do against them. When the war is over and I have driven the English
+away, I will send you away also. You are my guest, and I do not wish to
+harm you. Tomorrow you will start. Your goods will be of no more use to
+you. I have ordered my treasurer to count the cloth, and the powder, and
+the other things which you have, and to pay you for them in gold. You
+may go."
+
+Frank retired, vowing in his heart that no information as to the best
+way of attacking the English should be obtained from him. Upon the whole
+he was much pleased at the order, for he thought that some way of making
+his escape might present itself. Such was also the opinion of Ostik when
+Frank told him what had taken place at the palace.
+
+An hour later the king's treasurer arrived. The whole of the trade goods
+were appraised at fair prices, and even the cases were paid for, as the
+treasurer said that these would be good for keeping the king's state
+robes. Frank only retained his own portmanteau with clothes, his bed and
+rugs, and the journals of the expedition, a supply of ammunition for his
+revolver, his medicine chest, tent, and a case with chocolate, preserved
+milk, tea, biscuits, rice, and a couple of bottles of brandy.
+
+In the morning there was a great beating of drums.
+
+Four carriers had been told off for Frank's service, and these came in,
+took up his baggage, and joined the line. Frank waited till the general,
+Ammon Quatia, whom he had several times met at the palace, came along,
+carried in a hammock, with a paraphernalia of attendants bearing chairs,
+umbrellas, and flags. Frank fell in behind these accompanied by
+Ostik. The whole population of Coomassie turned out and shouted their
+farewells.
+
+There was a pause in the marketplace while a hundred victims were
+sacrificed to the success of the expedition. Frank kept in the thick of
+the warriors so as to avoid witnessing the horrible spectacle.
+
+As they passed the king he said to the general, "Bring me back the
+head of the governor. I will place it on my drum by the side of that of
+Macarthy."
+
+Then the army passed the swamp knee deep in water, and started on their
+way down to the Prah. Three miles further they crossed the river Dah at
+Agogo, where the water was up to their necks. The road was little
+more than a track through the forest, and many small streams had to be
+crossed.
+
+It was well that Frank had not had an attack of fever for some time,
+for they marched without a stop to Fomanse, a distance of nearly thirty
+miles. Fomanse was a large town. Many of the houses were built in the
+same style as those at Coomassie, and the king's palace was a stone
+building. That night Frank slept in a native house which the general
+allotted to him close to the palace. The army slept on the ground.
+
+The next morning they crossed a lofty hill, and then descending again
+kept along through the forest until, late in the afternoon, they arrived
+on the Prah. This river was about sixty yards wide, and here, in roughly
+made huts of boughs, were encamped the main army, who had preceded them.
+Here there was a pause for a week while large numbers of carriers came
+down with provisions. Then on the 22d of January the army crossed the
+Prah in great canoes of cottonwood tree, which the troops who first
+arrived had prepared.
+
+Had the Ashanti army now pushed forward at full speed, Cape Coast and
+Elmina must have fallen into their hands, for there were no preparations
+whatever for their defence. The Assims, whose territory was first
+invaded, sent down for assistance, but Mr. Hennessey refused to believe
+that there was any invasion at all, and when the King of Akim, the
+most powerful of the Fanti potentates, sent down to ask for arms and
+ammunition, Mr. Hennessey refused so curtly that the King of Akim was
+grievously offended, and sent at once to the Ashantis to say that he
+should remain neutral in the war.
+
+About this time Mr. Hennessey, whose repeated blunders had in no slight
+degree contributed to the invasion, was relieved by Mr. Keate, who at
+once wholly alienated the Fantis by telling them that they must defend
+themselves, as the English had nothing more to do with the affair
+than to defend their forts. Considering that the English had taken the
+natives under their protection, and that the war was caused entirely by
+the taking over of Elmina by the English and by their breach of faith to
+the natives there, this treatment of the Fantis was as unjust as it was
+impolitic.
+
+Ammon Quatia, however, seemed to be impressed with a spirit of prudence
+as soon as he crossed the river. Parties were sent out, indeed, who
+attacked and plundered the Assim villages near the Prah, but the main
+body moved forward with the greatest caution, sometimes halting for
+weeks.
+
+The Ashanti general directed Frank always to pitch his tent next to the
+hut occupied by himself. Four guards were appointed, nominally to do him
+honor, but really, as Frank saw, to prevent him from making his escape.
+These men kept guard, two at a time, night and day over the tent, and if
+he moved out all followed him. He never attempted to leave the camp.
+The forest was extremely dense with thick underwood and innumerable
+creepers, through which it would be almost impossible to make a way.
+The majority of the trees were of only moderate height, but above them
+towered the cotton trees and other giants, rising with straight stems to
+from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high. Many of the trees
+had shed their foliage, and some of these were completely covered with
+brilliant flowers of different colors. The woods resounded with the
+cries of various birds, but butterflies, except in the clearings, were
+scarce.
+
+The army depended for food partly upon the cultivated patches around
+the Assim villages, partly on supplies brought up from the rear. In the
+forest, too, they found many edible roots and fruits. In spite of the
+efforts to supply them with food, Frank saw ere many weeks had passed
+that the Ashantis were suffering much from hunger. They fell away in
+flesh. Many were shaking with fever, and the enthusiasm, which was
+manifest at the passage of the Prah, had entirely evaporated.
+
+The first morning after crossing the river Frank sent Ostik into the
+hut of the general with a cup of hot chocolate, with which Ammon Quatia
+expressed himself so much gratified that henceforth Frank sent in a
+cup every morning, having still a large supply of tins of preserved
+chocolate and milk, the very best food which a traveler can take with
+him. In return the Ashanti general showed Frank many little kindnesses,
+sending him in birds or animals when any were shot by his men, and
+keeping him as well provided with food as was possible under the
+circumstances.
+
+It was not until the 8th of April that any absolute hostilities took
+place. Then the Fantis, supported by fifty Houssas under Lieutenant
+Hopkins, barred the road outside the village of Dunquah. The Ashantis
+attacked, but the Fantis fought bravely, having great confidence in the
+Houssa contingent. The battle was one of the native fashion, neither
+side attempting any vigorous action, but contenting themselves with a
+heavy fire at a distance of a hundred yards. All the combatants took
+shelter behind trees, and the consequence was that at the end of the day
+a great quantity of powder and slugs had been fired away, and a very few
+men hit on either side. At nightfall both parties drew off.
+
+"Is that the way your English soldiers fight?" the general asked Frank
+that night.
+
+"Yes," Frank said vaguely; "they fire away at each other."
+
+"And then I suppose," the general said, "when one party has exhausted
+its ammunition it retires."
+
+"Certainly it would retire," Frank said. "It could not resist without
+ammunition you know."
+
+Frank carefully abstained from mentioning that one side or the other
+would advance even before the ammunition of its opponents was expended,
+for he did not wish the Ashantis to adopt tactics which, from their
+greatly superior numbers, must at once give them a victory. The Ashantis
+were not dissatisfied with the day's work, as they considered that they
+had proved themselves equal to the English troops.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII: THE ATTACK ON ELMINA
+
+
+On the 14th the Fantis took the initiative, and attacked the Ashantis.
+The fight was a mere repetition of that of a week before, and about
+midday the Fantis, having used up all their ammunition, fell back again
+to Cape Coast.
+
+"Now," the general said to Frank, "that we have beaten the Fantis we
+shall march down to Elmina."
+
+Leaving the main road at Dunquah the army moved slowly through the bush
+towards Elmina, thirty miles distant, halting in the woods some eight
+miles from the town, and twelve from Cape Coast.
+
+"I am going," the general said, "to look at the English forts. My white
+friend will go with me."
+
+With fifty of his warriors Ammon Quatia left the camp, and crossing a
+stream came down upon the sea coast, a short distance west of Elmina.
+With them were several of the Elmina tribe, who had come up to the camp
+to welcome the Ashantis. They approached to within three or four hundred
+yards of the fort, which was separated from them by a river.
+
+The forts on the west coast of Africa, not being built to resist
+artillery, are merely barracks surrounded by high walls sufficiently
+thick to allow men to walk in single file along the top, to fire over
+the parapet. The tops of the walls being castellated, the buildings have
+an appearance of much strength. The fort of Elmina is of considerable
+size, with a barrack and officers' quarters within it. One side faces
+the river, and another the sea.
+
+"It is a wonderful fort," the Ashanti general said, much impressed by
+its appearance.
+
+"Yes," Frank replied. "And there are cannon on the top, those great
+black things you see sticking out. Those are guns, and each carries
+balls enough to kill a hundred men with each shot."
+
+The general looked for some time attentively. "But you have castles in
+the white men's country, how do you take them?"
+
+"We bring a great many cannon throwing balls of iron as big as my head,"
+Frank answered, "and so knock a great hole in the wall and then rush
+in."
+
+"But if there are no cannon?" the general urged.
+
+"We never attack a castle without cannon," Frank said. "But if we had
+no cannon we might try to starve the people out; but you cannot do that
+here, because they would land food from the sea."
+
+The general looked puzzled. "Why do the white men come here?
+
+"They come to trade," he said presently.
+
+"Yes, they come to trade," Frank replied.
+
+"And they have no other reason?"
+
+"No," Frank said. "They do not want to take land, because the white man
+cannot work in so hot a climate."
+
+"Then if he could not trade he would go away?" the general asked.
+
+"Yes," Frank agreed, "if he could do no trade it would be no use
+remaining here."
+
+"We will let him do no trade," the general said, brightening up. "If we
+cannot take the forts we will surround them closely, and no trade can
+come in and out. Then the white man will have to go away. As to the
+Fantis we will destroy them, and the white men will have no one to fight
+for them."
+
+"But there are white troops," Frank said.
+
+"White soldiers?" the Ashanti asked surprised. "I thought it was only
+black soldiers that fought for the whites. The whites are few, they are
+traders."
+
+"The English are many," Frank said earnestly. "For every man that the
+King of Ashanti could send to fight, England could send ten. There are
+white soldiers, numbers of them, but they are not sent here. They are
+kept at home to fight other white nations, the French and the Dutch and
+the Danes, and many others, just as the kings of Africa fight against
+each other. They are not sent here because the climate kills the whites,
+so to guard the white traders here we hire black soldiers; but, when
+it is known in England that the King of Ashanti is fighting against our
+forts, they will send white troops."
+
+Ammon Quatia was thoughtful for some time. "If they come," he said at
+length, "the fevers will kill them, The white man cannot live in the
+swamps. Your friend, the white guest of the king, died at Coomassie."
+
+"Yes," Frank asserted, "but he had been nearly a year in the country
+before he died. Three weeks will be enough for an English army to march
+from Cape Coast to Coomassie. A few might die, but most of them would
+get there."
+
+"Coomassie!" the general exclaimed in surprise. "The white men would be
+mad to think of marching against the city of the great king. We should
+make great fetish, and they would all die when they had crossed the
+river."
+
+"I don't think, General," Frank said dryly, "that the fetishes of the
+black man have any effect upon the white men. A fetish has power when it
+is believed in. A man who knows that his enemy has made a fetish against
+him is afraid. His blood becomes like water and he dies. But the whites
+do not believe in fetishes. They laugh at them, and then the fetishes
+cannot hurt them."
+
+The general said no more, but turned thoughtfully and retired to his
+camp. It was tantalizing to Frank to see the Union Jack waving within
+sight, and to know that friends were so near and yet to be unable to
+stretch out his hand to them.
+
+He was now dressed in all respects like a native, the king having, soon
+after his arrival at Coomassie, sent a present of clothes such as were
+worn by his nobles, saying that the people would not notice them so much
+if they were dressed like themselves. Consequently, had the party been
+seen from the castle walls the appearance of an Englishman among them
+would have been unobserved.
+
+Three days later the general with a similar party crossed the Sweet
+river at night, and proceeded along the sea coast to within a few
+hundred yards of Cape Coast Castle, whose appearance pleased him no more
+than that of Elmina had done.
+
+The Ashantis were now better supplied with food, as they were able to
+depend upon the Elmina tribes who cultivated a considerable extent of
+ground, and to add to the stock, the Ashanti soldiers were set to work
+to aid in planting a larger extent of ground than usual, a proof in
+Frank's mind that the general contemplated making a long stay, and
+blockading Elmina and Cape Coast into surrender if he could not carry
+them by assault.
+
+The natives of Africa are capable of great exertion for a time, but
+their habitual attitude is that of extreme laziness. One week's work in
+the year suffices to plant a sufficient amount of ground to supply the
+wants of a family. The seed only requires casting into the earth, and
+soon the ground will be covered with melons and pumpkins. Sweet potatoes
+and yams demand no greater cultivation, and the bananas and plantains
+require simply to be cut. For fifty-one weeks in the year the negro
+simply sits down and watches his crops grow. To people like these time
+is of absolutely no value. Their wants are few. Their garden furnishes
+them with tobacco. They make drink from the palm or by fermenting the
+juice of the cocoanut. The fowls that wander about in the clearings
+suffice when carried down occasionally to the port, to pay for the few
+yards of calico and strings of beads which are all that is necessary for
+the clothing and decoration of a family.
+
+Such people are never in a hurry. To wait means to do nothing. To
+do nothing is their highest joy. Their tomorrow means a month hence,
+directly, a week. If, then, the Ashanti army had been detained for one
+year or five before the English settlements, it would have been a matter
+of indifference to them, so long as they could obtain food. Their women
+were with them, for the wife and daughters of each warrior had carried
+on head, with the army, his household goods, a tiny stool, a few
+calabashes for cooking, a mat to sleep on, and baskets high piled with
+provisions. They were there to collect sticks, to cook food, draw water,
+bring fire for his pipe, minister to his pleasures. He could have no
+more if he were at home, and was contented to wait as long as the king
+ordered, were that time years distant.
+
+Frank was often filled with disgust at seeing these noble savages lying
+indolently from morn till night while their wives went miles in the
+forest searching for pineapples and fruits, bent down and prematurely
+aged by toil and hardship. Many of the young girls among the negroes are
+pretty, with their soft eyes and skin like velvet, their merry laugh and
+graceful figures. But in a very few years all this disappears, and by
+middle age they are bent, and wrinkled, and old. All loads are carried
+by women, with the exception only of hammocks, which are exclusively
+carried by men.
+
+Thus, then, the Ashantis settled down to what appeared to Frank to be an
+interminable business, and what rendered it more tantalizing was, that
+the morning and evening guns at the English forts could be plainly
+heard.
+
+It was on the 7th of June that Ammon Quatia reconnoitered Elmina, and
+the news came next day that a hundred and ten white men in red coats had
+landed from a ship which had arrived that morning off the coast. Frank
+judged from the description that these must be marines from a ship of
+war. In this he was correct, as they consisted of marines and marine
+artillerymen under Lieutenant Colonel Festing, who had just arrived from
+England. Three days later the Ashanti general, with a portion of his
+force, moved down close to Elmina; Frank was told to accompany them.
+Shortly afterwards the news came that the Elminas were all ordered
+to lay down their arms. They replied by going over in a body to the
+Ashantis. Ammon Quatia determined at once to attack the town, but as he
+was advancing, the guns of the ships of war opened fire upon the native
+town of Elmina, which lay to the west of the European quarter.
+
+The sound of such heavy cannon, differing widely from anything they had
+ever heard before, caused the Ashantis to pause in astonishment. Then
+came the howl of the shells, which exploded in rapid succession in
+the village, from which flames began immediately to rise. After a
+few minutes' hesitation the Ashantis and Elminas again advanced. The
+general, who was carried in a chair upon the shoulders of four men, took
+his post on rising ground near the burning village.
+
+"There," he said, "the English soldiers are coming out of the fort. Now
+you will see."
+
+The little body of marines and the blue jackets of the Barraconta
+deployed in line as they sallied from the fort. The Ashantis opened fire
+upon them, but they were out of range of the slugs. As soon as the line
+was formed the English opened fire, and the Ashantis were perfectly
+astonished at the incessant rattle of musketry from so small a body of
+men. But it was not all noise, for the Snider bullets swept among the
+crowded body of blacks, mowing them down in considerable numbers. In two
+minutes the Ashantis turned and ran. The general's bearers, in spite of
+his shouts, hurried away with him with the others, and Frank would have
+taken this opportunity to escape had not two of his guards seized him by
+the arms and hauled him along, while the other two kept close behind.
+
+As soon as they had passed over the crest of the rise, and the British
+fire had ceased, Ammon Quatia leaped from his chair and threw himself
+among his flying troops, striking them right and left with his staff,
+and hurling imprecations upon them.
+
+"If you do not stop and return against the whites," he said, "I will
+send every one of you back to Coomassie, and there you will be put to
+death as cowards."
+
+The threat sufficed. The fugitives rallied, and in a few minutes were
+ready to march back again. It was the surprise created by the wonderful
+sustained fire of the breech loaders, rather than the actual loss they
+inflicted, which caused the panic.
+
+In the meantime, believing that the Ashantis had retired, the naval
+contingent went back to their boats, when the Dutch vice consul, having
+ascended a hill to look round, saw that Ammon Quatia had made a detour
+with his troops, and was marching against the town from the east, where
+he would not be exposed to the fire of the fort. He instantly ran back
+with the news.
+
+The marines and the thirty West Indian soldiers in the fort at once
+marched out, and met the Ashantis just as they were entering the town.
+The fight was a severe one, and for a time neither side appeared to have
+the advantage, and Frank, who, under the care of his guards, was a few
+hundred yards in the rear, was filled with dismay at observing that the
+Ashantis, in spite of the heavy loss they were suffering, were gaining
+ground and pressing forward bravely. Suddenly he gave a shout of joy,
+for on a rise on the flank of the Ashantis appeared the sailors of the
+Barraconta, who had been led round from the boats by Lieutenant Wells,
+R. N., who was in command. The instant these took up their position they
+opened a heavy fire upon the flank of the Ashantis, who, dismayed by
+this attack by fresh foes, lost heart and at once fled hastily. In the
+two engagements they had lost nearly four hundred men. Frank, of course,
+retired with the beaten Ashantis, and that evening Ammon Quatia told
+him that the arms of the white men were too good, and that he should not
+attack them again in the open.
+
+"Their guns shoot farther, as well as quicker, than ours," he said. "Our
+slugs are no use against the heavy bullets, at a distance; but in the
+woods, where you cannot see twenty feet among the trees, it will be
+different. If I do not attack them they must attack me, or their trade
+will be starved out. When they come into the woods you will see that we
+shall eat them up."
+
+Several weeks now passed quietly. There was news that there was
+great sickness among the white soldiers, and, indeed, with scarce an
+exception, the marines first sent out were invalided home; but a hundred
+and fifty more arrived to take their place. Some detachments of the 2d
+West Indian regiment came down to join their comrades from Sierra Leone,
+and the situation remained unchanged.
+
+One night towards the end of August a messenger arrived and there was an
+immediate stir.
+
+"Now," the general said to Frank, "you are going to see us fight the
+white men. Some of the big ships have gone to the mouth of the Prah,
+and we believe that they are going to land in boats. You will see. The
+Elmina tribes are going to attack, but I shall take some of my men to
+help."
+
+Taking fifty picked warriors Ammon Quatia started at once. They marched
+all night towards the west, and at daybreak joined the Elminas. These
+took post in the brushwood lining the river. The general with a dozen
+men, taking Frank, went down near the mouth of the river to reconnoiter.
+The ships lay more than a mile off the shore. Presently a half dozen
+boats were lowered, filled with men, and taken in tow by a steam launch.
+It was seen that they were making for the mouth of the river.
+
+"Now let us go back," Ammon Quatia said. "You will see what we shall
+do."
+
+Frank felt full of excitement. He saw the English running into an
+ambuscade, and he determined, even if it should cost him his life, to
+warn them. Presently they heard the sharp puffs of the steam launch. The
+boats were within three hundred yards.
+
+Frank stepped forward and was about to give a warning shout when Ammon
+Quatia's eye fell upon him. The expression of his face revealed his
+intention to the Ashanti, who in an instant sprang upon him and hurled
+him to the ground. Instantly a dozen hands seized him, and, in obedience
+to the general's order, fastened a bandage tightly across his mouth, and
+then bound him, standing against a tree, where he could observe what was
+going on. The incident had occupied but a minute, and Frank heard the
+pant of the steam launch coming nearer and nearer. Presently through
+the bushes he caught a glimpse of it, and then, as it came along, of the
+boats towing behind. The Elminas and Ashantis were lying upon the ground
+with their guns in front of them.
+
+The boats were but fifteen yards from the bank. When they were abreast
+Ammon Quatia shouted the word of command, and a stream of fire shot out
+from the bushes. In the boats all was confusion. Several were killed and
+many wounded by the deadly volley, among the latter Commodore Commerell
+himself, and two or three of his officers. The launch now attempted
+to turn round, and the marines in the boats opened fire upon their
+invisible foes, who replied steadily. In five minutes from the first
+shot being fired all was over, the launch was steaming down with the
+boats in tow towards the mouth of the river, the exulting shouts of the
+natives ringing in the ears of those on board.
+
+The position of Frank had not been a pleasant one while the fight
+had lasted, for the English rifle bullets sang close to him in quick
+succession, one striking the tree only a few inches above his head. He
+was doubtful, too, as to what his fate would be at the termination of
+the fight.
+
+Fortunately Ammon Quatia was in the highest spirits at his victory. He
+ordered Frank to be at once unbound.
+
+"There, you see," he said, "the whites are of no use. They cannot fight.
+They run with their eyes shut into danger. So it will be if they attack
+us on the land. You were foolish. Why did you wish to call out? Are you
+not well treated? Are you not the king's guest? Am I not your friend?"
+
+"I am well treated, and you are my friend," Frank said, "but the English
+are my countrymen. I am sure that were you in the hands of the English,
+and you saw a party of your countrymen marching into danger, you would
+call out and warn them, even if you knew that you would be killed for
+doing so."
+
+"I do not know," the Ashanti said candidly. "I cannot say what I should
+do, but you were brave to run the risk, and I'm not angry with you.
+Only, in future when we go to attack the English, I must gag you to
+prevent your giving the alarm."
+
+"That is fair enough," Frank said, pleased that the matter had passed
+off so well, "only another time do not stick me upright against a tree
+where I may be killed by English bullets. I had a narrow escape of it
+this time, you see," and he pointed to the hole in the trunk of the
+tree.
+
+"I am sorry," the Ashanti general said, with an air of real concern. "I
+did not think of your being in danger, I only wished you to have a good
+sight of the battle; next time I will put you in a safer place."
+
+They then returned to the camp.
+
+The next day a distant cannonade was heard, and at nightfall the news
+came that the English fleet had bombarded and burnt several Elmina
+villages at the mouth of the Prah.
+
+"Ah," the general said, "the English have great ships and great guns.
+They can fight on the seaside and round their forts, but they cannot
+drag their guns through the forests and swamps."
+
+"No," Frank agreed. "It would not be possible to drag heavy artillery."
+
+"No," Ammon Quatia repeated exultingly. "When they are beyond the
+shelter of their ships they are no good whatever. We will kill them
+all."
+
+The wet season had now set in, in earnest, and the suffering of the
+Ashantis were very great. Accustomed as many of them were to high lying
+lands free of trees, the miasma from the swamps was well nigh as fatal
+to them as it would be to Europeans. Thousands died, and many of the
+rest were worn by fever to mere shadows.
+
+"Do you think," Ammon Quatia said to Frank one day, "that it is possible
+to blow up a whole town with powder?"
+
+"It would be possible if there were powder enough," Frank said,
+wondering what could be the motive of the question.
+
+"They say that the English have put powder in holes all over Cape Coast,
+and my people are afraid to go. The guns of the fort could not shoot
+over the whole town, and there are few white soldiers there; but my men
+fear to be blown up in the air."
+
+"Yes," Frank said gravely. "The danger might be great. It is better that
+the Ashantis should keep away from the town. But if the fever goes on as
+at present the army will melt away."
+
+"Ten thousand more men are coming down when the rains are over. The king
+says that something must be done. There is talk in the English forts
+that more white troops are coming out from England. If this is so I
+shall not attack the towns, but shall wait for them to come into the
+woods for me. Then you will see."
+
+"Do they say there are many troops?" Frank asked anxiously.
+
+"No; they say only some white officers, but this is foolishness. What
+could white officers do without soldiers? As for the Fantis they are
+cowards, they are only good to carry burdens and to hoe the ground. They
+are women and not men."
+
+During this time, when the damp rose so thick and steaming that
+everything was saturated with it, Frank had a very sharp attack of
+fever, and was for a fortnight, just after the repulse of the attack on
+Elmina, completely prostrated. Such an attack would at his first landing
+have carried him off, but he was now getting acclimatized, and his
+supply of quinine was abundant. With its aid he saved a great many lives
+among the Ashantis, and many little presents in the way of fruit and
+birds did he receive from his patients.
+
+"I wish I could let you go," the general said to him one day. "You are
+a good white man, and my soldiers love you for the pains you take going
+amongst them when they are sick, and giving them the medicine of the
+whites. But I dare not do it. As you know when the king is wroth the
+greatest tremble, and I dare not tell the king that I have let you
+go. Were it otherwise I would gladly do so. I have written to the king
+telling him that you have saved the lives of many here. It may be that
+he will order you to be released."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX: THE TIDE TURNED
+
+
+From many of the points in the forest held by the Ashantis the sea could
+be seen, and on the morning of the 2d of October a steamer which had not
+been there on the previous evening was perceived lying off the town. The
+Ashantis were soon informed by spies in Elmina and Cape Coast that the
+ship had brought an English general with about thirty officers. The news
+that thirty men had come out to help to drive back twenty thousand was
+received with derision by the Ashantis.
+
+"They will do more than you think," Frank said when Ammon Quatia was
+scoffing over the new arrival. "You will see a change in the tactics of
+the whites. Hitherto they have done nothing. They have simply waited.
+Now you will see they will begin to move. The officers will drill the
+natives, and even a Fanti, drilled and commanded by white officers, will
+learn how to fight. You acknowledge that the black troops in red coats
+can fight. What are these? Some of them are Fantis, some of them
+are black men from the West Indian Islands, where they are even more
+peaceful than the Fantis, for they have no enemies. Perhaps alone the
+Fantis would not fight, but they will have the soldiers and sailors from
+on board ship with them, and you saw at Elmina how they can fight."
+
+The ship was the Ambriz, one of the African company's steamers, bringing
+with it thirty-five officers, of whom ten belonged to the Commissariat
+and Medical staff. Among the fighting men were Sir Garnet Wolseley,
+Colonel M'Neil, chief of his staff, Major T. D. Baker, 18th Regiment,
+Captain Huyshe, Rifle Brigade, Captain Buller, 60th Rifles, all of the
+staff; Captain Brackenbury, military secretary, and Lieutenant Maurice,
+R. A., private secretary, Major Home, R. E., Lieutenant Saunders, R.
+A., and Lieutenant Wilmot, R. A.. Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn Wood, 90th
+Regiment, and Major B. C. Russell, 13th Hussars, were each to form and
+command a native regiment, having the remainder of the officers as their
+assistants.
+
+The Ambriz had left England on the 12th of September, and had touched
+at Madeira and at the various towns on the coast on her way down, and
+at the former place had received the news of the disaster to the naval
+expedition up the Prah.
+
+The English government had been loath to embark upon such an expedition,
+but a petition which had been sent home by the English and native
+traders at Sierra Leone and Elmina had shown how great was the peril
+which threatened the colony, and it had been felt that unless an effort
+was made the British would be driven altogether from their hold of the
+coast. When the expedition was at last determined upon, the military
+authorities were flooded with recommendations and warnings of all kinds
+from persons who knew the coast. Unfortunately these gentlemen differed
+so widely from each other, that but little good was gained from their
+counsels. Some pronounced the climate to be deadly. Others said that
+it was really not bad. Some warmly advocated a moderate use of spirits.
+Others declared that stimulants were poison. One advised that all
+exercise should be taken between five and seven in the morning. Another
+insisted that on no account should anyone stir out until the sun had
+been up for an hour, which meant that no one should go out till half
+past seven. One said take exercise and excite perspiration. Another
+urged that any bodily exercise should be avoided. One consistent
+gentleman, after having written some letters to the papers strongly
+advocating the use of white troops upon the coast instead of West Indian
+regiments, when written to by Sir Garnet Wolseley for his advice as
+to articles of outfit, replied that the only article which he could
+strongly commend would be that each officer should take out his coffin.
+
+Ten days passed after the landing. It was known in the Ashanti camp that
+the Fanti kings had been ordered to raise contingents, and that a
+white officer had been alloted to each to assist him in this work.
+The Ashantis, however, had no fear whatever on this score. The twenty
+thousand natives who occupied the country south of the Prah had all been
+driven from their homes by the invaders, and had scattered among the
+towns and villages on the seacoast, where vast numbers had died from the
+ravages of smallpox. The kings had little or no authority over them,
+and it was certain that no native force, capable in any way of competing
+with the army of the assailants, could be raised.
+
+The small number of men of the 2d West Indian regiment at Elmina had
+been reinforced by a hundred and twenty Houssas brought down the coast.
+The Ashanti advanced parties remained close up to Elmina.
+
+On the 13th of October Frank accompanied the Ashanti general to the
+neighborhood of this town. The Ashanti force here was not a large one,
+the main body being nearly twenty miles away in the neighborhood of
+Dunquah, which was held by a small body of Houssas and natives under
+Captain Gordon. At six in the morning a messenger ran in with the news
+that two of the English war steamers from Cape Coast were lying off
+Elmina, and that a number of troops had been landed in boats. The
+Ashanti general was furious, and poured out threats against his spies in
+Cape Coast for not having warned him of the movement, but in fact these
+were not to blame. So quietly had the arrangements been made that, until
+late in the previous afternoon, no one, with the exception of three or
+four of the principal officers, knew that an expedition was intended.
+Even then it was given out that the expedition was going down the coast,
+and it was not until the ships anchored off Elmina at three in the
+morning that the officers and troops were aware of their destination.
+All the West Indian troops at Cape Coast had been taken, Captain Peel of
+the Simoon landing fifty sailors to hold the fort in case the Ashantis
+should attack it in their absence. The expedition consisted of the
+Houssas, two hundred men of the 2d West India regiment, fifty sailors,
+and two companies of marines and marine artillery, each fifty strong,
+and a large number of natives carrying a small Armstrong gun, two rocket
+tubes, rockets, spare ammunition, and hammocks for wounded.
+
+The few Ashantis in the village next to Elmina retired at once when the
+column was seen marching from the castle. Ammon Quatia had taken up his
+quarters at the village of Essarman, and now advanced with his troops
+and took post in the bush behind a small village about three miles from
+the town. The Houssas were skirmishing in front of the column. These
+entered the village which had been deserted by the Ashantis, and set it
+on fire, blowing up several kegs of powder which had been left there
+in the hurry of the flight. Then as they advanced farther the Ashantis
+opened fire. To their surprise the British, instead of falling
+back, opened fire in return, the Houssas, West Indians, and natives
+discharging their rifles at random in all directions. Captain Freemantle
+with the sailors, the gun, and rockets made for the upper corner of the
+wood facing them to their left. Captain Crease with a company of marine
+artillery took the wood on the right. The Houssas and a company of West
+Indians moved along the path in the center. The remainder of the force
+remained with the baggage in reserve. The Ashantis kept up a tremendous
+fire, but the marines and sailors pushed their way steadily through the
+wood on either side. Captain Freemantle at length gained a point where
+his gun and rockets could play on Essarman, which lay in the heart of
+the wood, and opened fire, but not until he had been struck by a slug
+which passed through his arm. Colonel M'Neil, who was with the Houssas,
+also received a severe wound in the arm, and thirty-two marines and
+Houssas were wounded. The Ashantis were gradually driven out of the
+village and wood, a great many being killed by the English fire.
+
+Having accomplished this, the British force rested for an hour and
+then moved on, first setting fire to Essarman, which was a very large
+village. A great quantity of the Ashanti powder was stored there, and
+each explosion excited yells of rage among the Ashantis. Their general
+was especially angry that two large war drums had been lost. So great
+was the effect produced upon the Ashantis by the tremendous fire which
+the British had poured into every bush and thicket as they advanced,
+that their general thought it expedient to draw them off in the
+direction of his main body instead of further disputing the way.
+
+The English now turned off towards the coast, marching part of the
+way through open country, part through a bush so dense that it was
+impossible to make a flank attack upon them here. In such cases as this,
+when the Ashantis know that an enemy is going to approach through a
+dense and impassable forest, they cut paths through it parallel to that
+by which he must advance and at a few yards' distance. Then, lying in
+ambush there, they suddenly open fire upon him as he comes along. As
+no idea of the coming of the English had been entertained they passed
+through the dense thickets in single file unmolested. These native paths
+are very difficult and unpleasant walking. The natives always walk in
+single file, and the action of their feet, aided by that of the rain,
+often wears the paths into a deep V-shaped rut, two feet in depth.
+Burning two or three villages by the way the column reached the coast at
+a spot five miles from Elmina, having marched nine miles.
+
+As the Ashantis were known to be in force at the villages of Akimfoo and
+Ampene, four miles farther, a party was taken on to this point. Akimfoo
+was occupied without resistance, but the Ashantis fought hard in Ampene,
+but were driven out of the town into the bush, from which the British
+force was too small to drive them, and therefore returned to Elmina,
+having marched twenty-two miles, a prodigious journey in such a climate
+for heavily armed Europeans. The effect produced among the Ashantis by
+the day's fighting was immense. All their theories that the white men
+could not fight in the bush were roughly upset, and they found that his
+superiority was as great there as it had been in the open. His heavy
+bullets, even at the distance of some hundred yards, crashed through the
+brush wood with deadly effect, while the slugs of the Ashantis would not
+penetrate at a distance much exceeding fifty yards.
+
+Ammon Quatia was profoundly depressed in spirits that evening.
+
+"The white men who come to fight us," he said, "are not like those who
+come to trade. Who ever heard of their making long marches? Why, if they
+go the shortest distances they are carried in hammocks. These men march
+as well as my warriors. They have guns which shoot ten times as far
+as ours, and never stop firing. They carry cannon with them, and have
+things which fly through the air and scream, and set villages on fire
+and kill men. I have never heard of such things before. What do you call
+them?"
+
+"They are called rockets," Frank said.
+
+"What are they made of?"
+
+"They are made of coarse powder mixed with other things, and rammed into
+an iron case."
+
+"Could we not make some too?" the Ashanti general asked.
+
+"No," Frank replied. "At least, not without a knowledge of the things
+you should mix with the powder, and of that I am ignorant. Besides, the
+rockets require great skill in firing, otherwise they will sometimes
+come back and kill the men who fire them."
+
+"Why did you not tell me that the white men could fight in the bush?"
+
+"I told you that there would be a change when the new general came, and
+that they would not any longer remain in their forts, but would come out
+and attack you."
+
+A few days after this fight the Ashantis broke up their camp at Mampon,
+twelve miles from Elmina, and moved eastward to join the body who were
+encamped in the forest near Dunquah.
+
+"I am going," Ammon Quatia said to Frank, "to eat up Dunquah and Abra
+Crampa. We shall do better this time. We know what the English guns can
+do and shall not be surprised."
+
+With ten thousand men Ammon Quatia halted at the little village of
+Asianchi, where there was a large clearing, which was speedily covered
+with the little leafy bowers which the Ashantis run up at each halting
+place.
+
+Two days later Sir Garnet Wolseley with a strong force marched out from
+Cape Coast to Abra Crampa, halting on the way for a night at Assaiboo,
+ten miles from the town. On the same day the general sent orders to
+Colonel Festing of the Marine Artillery, who commanded at Dunquah, to
+make a reconnaissance into the forest from that place. In accordance
+with this order Colonel Festing marched out with a gun and rocket
+apparatus under Captain Rait, the Annamaboe contingent of a hundred and
+twenty men under their king, directed by Captain Godwin, four hundred
+other Fantis under Captain Broomhead, and a hundred men of the 2d West
+India regiment. After a three mile march in perfect silence they came
+upon an Ashanti cutting wood, and compelled him to act as guide. The
+path divided into three, and the Annamaboes, who led the advance, when
+within a few yards of the camp, gave a sudden cheer and rushed in.
+
+The Ashantis, panic stricken at the sudden attack, fled instantly from
+the camp into the bush. Sudden as was the scare Frank's guards did not
+forget their duty, but seizing him dragged him off with them in their
+flight, by the side of Ammon Quatia. The latter ordered the war drums to
+begin to beat, and Frank was surprised at the quickness with which the
+Ashantis recovered from their panic. In five minutes a tremendous fire
+was opened from the whole circle of bush upon the camp. This stood
+on rising ground, and the British force returned the fire with great
+rapidity and effect. The Annamaboe men stood their ground gallantly, and
+the West Indians fought with great coolness, keeping up a constant and
+heavy fire with their Sniders. The Houssas, who had been trained as
+artillerymen, worked their gun and rocket tube with great energy,
+yelling and whooping as each round of grape or canister was fired into
+the bush, or each rocket whizzed out.
+
+Notwithstanding the heavy loss which they were suffering, the Ashantis
+stood their ground most bravely. Their wild yells and the beating of
+their drums never ceased, and only rose the louder as each volley of
+grape was poured into them. They did not, however, advance beyond the
+shelter of their bush, and, as the British were not strong enough to
+attack them there, the duel of artillery and musketry was continued
+without cessation for an hour and a half, and then Colonel Festing fell
+back unmolested to Dunquah.
+
+The Ashantis were delighted at the result of the fighting, heavy as
+their loss had been. They had held their ground, and the British had not
+ventured to attack them in the bush.
+
+"You see," Ammon Quatia said exultingly to Frank, "what I told you was
+true. The white men cannot fight us in the bush. At Essarman the wood
+was thin and gave but a poor cover. Here, you see, they dared not follow
+us."
+
+On the British side five officers and the King of Annamaboe were
+wounded, and fifty-two of the men. None were killed, the distance from
+the bush to the ground held by the English being too far for the Ashanti
+slugs to inflict mortal wounds.
+
+Ammon Quatia now began to meditate falling back upon the Prah--the sick
+and wounded were already sent back--but he determined before retiring to
+attack Abra Crampa, whose king had sided with us, and where an English
+garrison had been posted.
+
+On the 2d of November, however, Colonel Festing again marched out from
+Dunquah with a hundred men of the 2d West India regiment, nine hundred
+native allies, and some Houssas with rockets, under Lieutenant Wilmot,
+towards the Ashanti camp. This time Ammon Quatia was not taken by
+surprise. His scouts informed him of the approach of the column, and
+moving out to meet them, he attacked them in the bush before they
+reached the camp. Crouching among the trees the Ashantis opened a
+tremendous fire. All the native allies, with the exception of a hundred,
+bolted at once, but the remainder, with the Houssas and West Indians,
+behaved with great steadiness and gallantry, and for two hours kept up a
+heavy Snider fire upon their invisible foes.
+
+Early in the fight Lieutenant Wilmot, while directing the rocket tube,
+received a severe wound in the shoulder. He, however, continued at his
+work till, just as the fight was ended, he was shot through the heart
+with a bullet. Four officers were wounded as were thirteen men of the
+2d West India regiment. One of the natives was killed, fifty severely
+wounded, and a great many slightly. After two hours' fighting Colonel
+Festing found the Ashantis were working round to cut off his retreat,
+and therefore fell back again on Dunquah. The conduct of the native
+levies here and in two or three smaller reconnaisances was so bad that
+it was found that no further dependence could be placed upon them, and,
+with the exception of the two partly disciplined regiments under Colonel
+Wood and Major Russell, they were in future treated as merely fit to act
+as carriers for the provisions.
+
+Although the second reconnaissance from Dunquah had, like the first,
+been unsuccessful, its effect upon the Ashantis was very great. They
+had themselves suffered great loss, while they could not see that any
+of their enemies had been killed, for Lieutenant Wilmot's body had been
+carried off. The rockets especially appalled them, one rocket having
+killed six, four of whom were chiefs who were talking together. It was
+true that the English had not succeeded in forcing their way through the
+bush, but if every time they came out they were to kill large numbers
+without suffering any loss themselves, they must clearly in the long run
+be victorious.
+
+What the Ashantis did not see, and what Frank carefully abstained from
+hinting to Ammon Quatia, was that if, instead of stopping and firing at
+a distance beyond that which at their slugs were effective, they were
+to charge down upon the English and fire their pieces when they reached
+within a few yards of them, they would overpower them at once by their
+enormous superiority of numbers. At ten paces distant a volley of slugs
+is as effective as a Snider bullet, and the whole of the native troops
+would have bolted the instant such a charge was made. In the open such
+tactics might not be possible, as the Sniders could be discharged twenty
+times before the English line was reached, but in the woods, where the
+two lines were not more than forty or fifty yards apart, the Sniders
+could be fired but once or at the utmost twice, while the assailants
+rushed across the short intervening space.
+
+Had the Ashantis adopted these tactics they could have crushed with
+ease the little bands with which the English attacked them. But it is
+characteristic of all savages that they can never be got to rush down
+upon a foe who is prepared and well armed. A half dozen white men have
+been known to keep a whole tribe of Red Indians at a distance on the
+prairie. This, however, can be accounted for by the fact that the power
+of the chiefs is limited, and that each Indian values his own life
+highly and does not care to throw it away on a desperate enterprise.
+Among the Ashantis, however, where the power of the chiefs is very great
+and where human life is held of little account, it is singular that such
+tactics should not have been adopted.
+
+The Ashantis were now becoming thoroughly dispirited. Their sufferings
+had been immense. Fever and hunger had made great ravages among them,
+and, although now the wet season was over a large quantity of food could
+be obtained in the forest, the losses which the white men's bullets,
+rockets, and guns had inflicted upon them had broken their courage. The
+longing for home became greater than ever, and had it not been that they
+knew that troops stationed at the Prah would prevent any fugitives from
+crossing, they would have deserted in large numbers. Already one of the
+divisions had fallen back.
+
+Ammon Quatia spent hours sitting at the door of his hut smoking and
+talking to the other chiefs. Frank was often called into council, as
+Ammon Quatia had conceived a high opinion of his judgment, which had
+proved invariably correct so far.
+
+"We are going," he said one day, "to take Abra Crampa and to kill its
+king, and then to fall back across the Prah."
+
+"I think you had better fall back at once," Frank answered. "When
+you took me with you to the edge of the clearing yesterday I saw that
+preparations had been made for the defense, and that there were white
+troops there. You will never carry the village. The English have thrown
+up breastworks of earth, and they will lie behind these and shoot down
+your men as they come out of the forest."
+
+"I must have one victory to report to the king if I can," Ammon Quatia
+said. "Then he can make peace if he chooses. The white men will not wish
+to go on fighting. The Fantis are eager for peace and to return to their
+villages. What do you think?"
+
+"If it be true that white troops are coming out from England, as the
+Fanti prisoners say," Frank answered, "you will see that the English
+will not make peace till they have crossed the Prah and marched to
+Coomassie. Your king is always making trouble. You will see that this
+time the English will not be content with your retiring, but will in
+turn invade Ashanti."
+
+Ammon Quatia and the chiefs laughed incredulously.
+
+"They will not dare to cross the Prah," Ammon Quatia said. "If they
+enter Ashanti they will be eaten up."
+
+"They are not so easy to eat up," Frank answered. "You have seen how a
+hundred or two can fight against your whole army. What will it be when
+they are in thousands? Your king has not been wise. It would be better
+for him to send down at once and to make peace at any price."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX: THE WHITE TROOPS
+
+
+Two days later Frank was awoke by a sudden yell. He leaped from his
+bed of boughs, seized his revolver, and rushing to the door, saw that
+a party of some twenty men were attacking Ammon Quatia's hut. The two
+guards stationed there had already been cut down. Frank shouted to
+his four guards and Ostik to follow him. The guards had been standing
+irresolute, not knowing what side to take, but the example of the young
+Englishman decided them. They fired their muskets into the knot of
+natives, and then charged sword in hand. Ostik drew the sword which he
+always carried and followed close to his master's heels. Frank did not
+fire until within two yards of the Ashantis. Then his revolver spoke out
+and six shots were discharged, each with deadly effect. Then, catching
+up a musket which had fallen from the hands of one of the men he had
+shot, he clubbed it and fell upon the surprised and already hesitating
+conspirators.
+
+These, fortunately for Frank, had not loaded their muskets. They had
+intended to kill Ammon Quatia and then to disperse instantly before aid
+could arrive, believing that with his death the order for retreat across
+the Prah would at once be given. Several of them had been killed by the
+slugs from the muskets of Frank's guard, and his pistol had completed
+their confusion. The reports of the guns called up other troops, and
+these came rushing in on all sides. Scarcely did Frank and his followers
+fall upon the conspirators than they took to their heels and fled into
+the wood.
+
+Ammon Quatia himself, sword in hand, had just sprung to the door of
+the hut prepared to sell his life dearly, when Frank's guard fired.
+The affair was so momentary that he had hardly time to realize what had
+happened before his assailants were in full flight.
+
+"You have saved my life," he said to Frank. "Had it not been for you
+I must have been killed. You shall not find me ungrateful. When I have
+taken Abra Crampa I will manage that you shall return to your friends.
+I dare not let you go openly, for the king would not forgive me, and I
+shall have enough to do already to pacify him when he hears how great
+have been our losses. But rest content. I will manage it somehow."
+
+An hour afterwards Ammon Quatia gave orders that the army should move to
+the attack of Abra Crampa. The place was held by a body of marines and
+sailors, a hundred West Indians, and the native troops of the king.
+Major Russell was in command. The village stood on rising ground,
+and was surrounded for a distance of a hundred and fifty yards by a
+clearing. Part of this consisted of patches of cultivated ground, the
+rest had been hastily cleared by the defenders. At the upper end stood a
+church, and this was converted into a stronghold. The windows were high
+up in the walls, and a platform had been erected inside for the sailors
+to fire from the windows, which were partially blocked with sandbags.
+The houses on the outside of the village had all been loopholed, and had
+been connected by breastworks of earth. Other defenses had been thrown
+up further back in case the outworks should be carried. The mission
+house in the main street and the huts which surrounded it formed, with
+the church, the last strongholds. For two or three days the bush round
+the town had swarmed with Ashantis, whose tomtoms could be heard by the
+garrison night and day.
+
+Frank accompanied Ammon Quatia, and was therefore in the front, and had
+an opportunity of seeing how the Ashantis commence an attack. The war
+drums gave the signal, and when they ceased, ten thousand voices raised
+the war song in measured cadence. The effect was very fine, rising as
+it did from all parts of the forest. By this time the Ashantis had lined
+the whole circle of wood round the clearing. Then three regular volleys
+were fired, making, from the heavy charges used, a tremendous roar.
+
+Scarcely had these ceased when the King of Abra, a splendid looking
+negro standing nearly six feet four in height, stepped out from behind
+the breastwork and shouted a taunting challenge to the Ashantis to come
+on. They replied with a loud yell, and with the opening of a continuous
+fire round the edge of the wood. On wall and roof of the village the
+slugs pattered thickly; but the defenders were all in shelter, and in
+reply, from breastwork and loophole, from the windows and roof of the
+church, the answering Snider bullets flew out straight and deadly.
+Several times Ammon Quatia tried to get his men to make a rush. The war
+drums beat, the great horns sounded, and the men shouted, but each time
+the English bullets flew so thick and deadly into the wood wherever the
+sound rose loudest that the Ashantis' heart failed them, and they could
+not be got to make the rush across the hundred yards of cleared ground.
+
+At five o'clock the fire slackened, but shortly after dark the attack
+recommenced. The moon was up and full. Frank feared that the Ashantis
+would try and crawl a part of the distance across the clearing and
+then make a sudden rush; but they appeared to have no idea of a silent
+attack. Several times, indeed, they gathered and rushed forward in
+large bodies, but each time their shouting and drums gave warning to
+the besieged, and so tremendous a fire was opened upon them when they
+emerged from the shadow of the trees into the moonlight, that each time
+they fell back leaving the ground strewn with dead. Till midnight the
+attack was continued, then the Ashantis fell back to their camp.
+
+At Accroful, a village on the main road some four miles distant, the
+attack had been heard, and a messenger sent off to Cape Coast to inform
+Sir Garnet Wolseley.
+
+In the morning fifty men of the 2d West India regiment marched from
+Accroful into Abra Crampa without molestation. Later on some Abra scouts
+approached the Ashanti camp and shouted tauntingly to know when the
+Ashantis were coming into Abra Crampa.
+
+They shouted in return, "After breakfast," and soon afterwards, a rocket
+fired from the roof of the church falling into the camp, they again
+sallied out and attacked. It was a repetition of the fight of the day
+before. Several times Major Russell withheld his fire altogether, but
+the Ashantis could not be tempted to show in force beyond the edge of
+the wood. So inspirited were the defenders that they now made several
+sorties and penetrated some distance into the wood.
+
+At eight in the morning Sir Garnet Wolseley had marched from Cape
+Coast with three hundred marines and blue jackets to the relief of the
+position, but so tremendous was the heat that nearly half the men fell
+exhausted by the way, and were ordered when they recovered to march back
+to Cape Coast. The remainder, when they arrived at Assaibo, five
+miles from Abra Crampa, were so utterly exhausted that a long halt was
+necessary, although a faint but continuous fire could be heard from the
+besieged place.
+
+Chocolate and cold preserved meat were served out to the men, and in the
+course of another three hours a large number of the stragglers came in.
+At three o'clock, a hundred of the most exhausted men being left to hold
+the village, the rest of the force with the fifty West Indians stationed
+there marched forward to Buteana, where they were jointed by fifty more
+men from Accroful. Just as they started from this place they met the
+King of Abra, who had come out with a small body of warriors; from him
+Sir Garnet learned that this road, which wound round and came in at the
+back of Abra Crampa, was still open.
+
+The Ashantis were too busy with their own operations to watch the path,
+and the relieving force entered the place without firing a shot. The
+firing round the town continued, but Ammon Quatia, when he saw the
+reinforcements enter, at once began to fall back with the main body
+of his troops, and although the firing was kept up all night, when the
+besieged in the morning advanced to attack the Ashanti camp they found
+it altogether deserted.
+
+"It is of no use," the Ashanti general said to Frank. "My men cannot
+fight in the open against the English guns. Besides, they do not know
+what they are fighting for here; but if your general should ever cross
+the Prah you will find it different. There are forests all the way to
+Coomassie, as you know, and the men will be fighting in defense of their
+own country, you will see what we shall do then. And now I will keep
+my promise to you. Tonight your guards will go to sleep. I shall have
+medicine given them which will make them sleep hard. One of the Fanti
+prisoners will come to your hut and will guide you through the woods to
+Assaiboo. Goodbye, my friend. Ammon Quatia has learnt that some of the
+white men are good and honest, and he will never forget that he owes his
+life to you. Take this in remembrance of Ammon Quatia."
+
+And he presented Frank with a necklace composed of nuggets of gold as
+big as walnuts and weighing nearly twenty pounds.
+
+Frank in return gave the general the only article of value which he now
+possessed, his revolver and tin box of cartridges, telling him that he
+hoped he would never use it against the English, but that it might be of
+value to him should he ever again have trouble with his own men. Frank
+made a parcel of the necklace and of the gold he had received from the
+king for his goods, and warned Ostik to hold himself in readiness for
+flight. The camp was silent although the roar of musketry a few hundred
+yards off round Abra Crampa continued unbroken. For some time Frank
+heard his guards pacing outside, and occasionally speaking to each
+other. Then these sounds ceased and all was quiet. Presently the front
+of the tent was opened and a voice said, "Come, all is ready."
+
+Frank came out and looked round. The Ashanti camp was deserted. Ammon
+Quatia had moved away with the main body of his troops, although the
+musketry fire round the village was kept up. A Fanti stood at the
+door of the hut with Ostik. The four guards were sleeping quietly.
+Noiselessly the little party stole away. A quarter of an hour later they
+struck the path, and an hour's walking brought them to Assaiboo. Not an
+Ashanti was met with along the path, but Frank hardly felt that he was
+safe until he heard the challenge of "Who goes there?" from an English
+sentry. A few minutes later he was taken before Captain Bradshaw, R.
+N., who commanded the sailors and marines who had been left there. Very
+hearty was the greeting which the young Englishman received from the
+genial sailor, and a bowl of soup and a glass of grog were soon set
+before him.
+
+His arrival created quite a sensation, and for some hours he sat talking
+with the officers, while Ostik was an equal subject of curiosity among
+the sailors. The news that the Ashanti army was in full retreat relieved
+the garrison of the place from all further fear of attack, and Frank
+went to sleep before morning, and was only roused at noon when a
+messenger arrived with the news that the Ashanti camp had been found
+deserted, and that the road in its rear was found to be strewn
+with chairs, clothes, pillows, muskets, and odds and ends of every
+description. Few Ashanti prisoners had been taken, but a considerable
+number of Fantis, who had been prisoners among them, had come in, having
+escaped in the confusion of the retreat. Among these were many women,
+several of whom had been captured when the Ashantis had first crossed
+the Prah ten months before. In the afternoon Sir Garnet Wolseley, with
+the greater portion of the force from Abra Crampa, marched in, and Frank
+was introduced by Captain Bradshaw to the general. As the latter was
+anxious to press on at once to Cape Coast, in order that the sailors
+and marines might sleep on board ship that night, he asked Frank to
+accompany him, and on the road heard the story of his adventures. He
+invited him to sleep for the night at Government House, an invitation
+which Frank accepted; but he slept worse than he had done for a long
+time. It was now nearly two years since he had landed in Africa, and
+during all that time he had slept, covered with a rug, on the canvas of
+his little camp bed. The complete change, the stillness and security,
+and, above all, the novelty of a bed with sheets, completely banished
+sleep, and it was not until morning was dawning that, wrapping himself
+in a rug, and lying on the ground, he was able to get a sleep. In the
+morning at breakfast Sir Garnet asked him what he intended to do, and
+said that if he were in no extreme hurry to return to England he could
+render great services as guide to the expedition, which would start for
+Coomassie as soon as the white troops arrived. Frank had already thought
+the matter over. He had had more than enough of Africa, but two or three
+months longer would make no difference, and he felt that his knowledge
+of the Ashanti methods of war, of the country to be traversed, the
+streams to be crossed, and the points at which the Ashantis would
+probably make a stand, would enable him to tender really valuable
+assistance to the army. He therefore told Sir Garnet Wolseley that he
+had no particular business which called him urgently back, and that he
+was willing to guide the army to Coomassie. He at once had quarters as
+an officer assigned to him in the town, with rations for himself and
+servant.
+
+His first step was to procure English garments, for although he had
+before starting laid aside his Ashanti costume, and put on that he
+had before worn, his clothes were now so travel worn as to be scarce
+wearable. He had no difficulty in doing this. Many of the officers were
+already invalided home, and one who was just sailing was glad to dispose
+of his uniform, which consisted of a light brown Norfolk shooting
+jacket, knickerbockers, and helmet, as these would be of no use to him
+in England.
+
+Frank's next step was to go to the agent of Messrs. Swanzy, the
+principal African merchants of the coast. This gentleman readily cashed
+one of the orders on the African bank which Mr. Goodenough had, before
+his death, handed over to Frank, and the latter proceeded to discharge
+the long arrears of wages owing to Ostik, adding, besides, a handsome
+present. He offered to allow his faithful servant to depart to join
+his family on the Gaboon at once, should he wish to do so, but Ostik
+declared that he would remain with him as long as he stopped in Africa.
+On Frank's advice, however, he deposited his money, for safe keeping,
+with Messrs. Swanzy's agent, with orders to transmit it to his family
+should anything happen to him during the expedition.
+
+Three days later Frank was attacked by fever, the result of the reaction
+after so many dangers. He was at once sent on board the Simoon, which
+had been established as a hospital ship; but the attack was a mild one,
+and in a few days, thanks to the sea air, and the attention and nursing
+which he received, he was convalescent. As soon as the fever passed
+away, and he was able to sit on deck and enjoy the sea breezes, he had
+many visits from the officers of the ships of war. Among these was the
+captain of the Decoy gunboat.
+
+After chatting with Frank for some time the officer said: "I am going
+down the coast as far as the mouth of the Volta, where Captain Glover is
+organizing another expedition. You will not be wanted on shore just at
+present, and a week's rest will do you good; what do you say to coming
+down with me--it will give you a little change and variety?"
+
+Frank accepted the invitation with pleasure. An hour later the Decoy's
+boat came alongside, and Frank took his place on board it, Ostik
+following with his clothes. An hour later the Decoy got up her anchor
+and steamed down the coast. It was delightful to Frank, sitting in a
+large wicker work chair in the shade of the awning, watching the distant
+shore and chatting with the officers. He had much to hear of what
+had taken place in England since he left, and they on their part were
+equally eager to learn about the road along which they would have to
+march--at least those of them who were fortunate enough to be appointed
+to the naval brigade--and the wonders of the barbarian capital. The
+Decoy was not fast, about six knots being her average pace of steaming;
+however, no one was in a hurry; there would be nothing to do until the
+troops arrived from England; and to all, a trip down the coast was a
+pleasant change after the long monotony of rolling at anchor. For some
+distance from Cape Coast the shore was flat, but further on the country
+became hilly. Some of the undulations reached a considerable height, the
+highest, Mamquady, being over two thousand feet.
+
+"That ought to be a very healthy place," Frank said. "I should think
+that a sanatorium established there would be an immense boon to the
+whites all along the coasts."
+
+"One would think so," an officer replied "but I'm told that those hills
+are particularly unhealthy. That fellow you see jutting out is said to
+be extremely rich in gold. Over and over again parties have been formed
+to dig there, but they have always suffered so terribly from fever that
+they have had to relinquish the attempt. The natives suffer as well
+as the whites. I believe that the formation is granite, the surface of
+which is much decomposed; and it is always found here that the turning
+up of ground that has not been disturbed for many years is extremely
+unhealthy, and decomposing granite possesses some element particularly
+obnoxious to health. The natives, of course, look upon the mountain as
+a fetish, and believe that an evil spirit guards it. The superstition
+of the negroes is wonderful, and at Accra they are, if possible, more
+superstitious than anywhere else. Every one believes that every malady
+under the sun is produced by fetish, and that some enemy is casting
+spells upon them."
+
+"There is more in it than you think," the doctor joined in; "although it
+is not spells, but poison, which they use against each other. The use of
+poison is carried to an incredible extent here. I have not been much on
+shore; but the medical men, both civilian and military, who have been
+here any time are convinced that a vast number of the deaths that take
+place are due to poison. The fetish men and women who are the vendors of
+these drugs keep as a profound secret their origin and nature, but it is
+certain that many of them are in point of secrecy and celerity equal to
+those of the middle ages."
+
+"I wonder that the doctors have never discovered what plants they get
+them from," Frank said.
+
+"Some of them have tried to do so," the doctor replied; "but have
+invariably died shortly after commencing their experiments; it is
+believed they have been poisoned by the fetish men in order to prevent
+their secrets being discovered."
+
+The hours passed pleasurably. The beautiful neatness and order
+prevailing on board a man of war were specially delightful to Frank
+after the rough life he had so long led, and the silence and discipline
+of the men presented an equally strong contrast to the incessant
+chattering and noise kept up by the niggers.
+
+The next morning the ship was off Accra. Here the scenery had entirely
+changed. The hills had receded, and a wide and slightly undulating plain
+extended to their feet, some twelve miles back. The captain was going to
+land, as he had some despatches for the colony, and he invited Frank to
+accompany him. They did not, as Frank expected, land in a man of war's
+boat, but in a surf boat, which, upon their hoisting a signal, came out
+to them. These surf boats are large and very wide and flat. They are
+paddled by ten or twelve negroes, who sit upon the gunwale. These men
+work vigorously, and the boats travel at a considerable pace. Each boat
+has a stroke peculiar to itself. Some paddle hard for six strokes and
+then easy for an equal number. Some will take two or three hard and then
+one easy. The steersman stands in the stern and steers with an oar. He
+or one of the crew keeps up a monotonous song, to which the crew reply
+in chorus, always in time with their paddling.
+
+The surf is heavy at Accra and Frank held his breath, as, after waiting
+for a favorable moment, the steersman gave the sign and the boat darted
+in at lightning speed on the top of a great wave, and ran up on the
+beach in the midst of a whirl of white foam.
+
+While the captain went up to Government House, Frank, accompanied by one
+of the young officers who had also come ashore, took a stroll through
+the town. The first thing that struck him was the extraordinary number
+of pigs. These animals pervaded the whole place. They fed in threes and
+fours in the middle of the streets. They lay everywhere in the road,
+across the doors, and against the walls. They quarreled energetically
+inside lanes and courtyards, and when worsted in their disputes galloped
+away grunting, careless whom they might upset. The principal street of
+Accra was an amusing sight. Some effort had been made to keep it free
+of the filth and rubbish which everywhere else abounded. Both sides were
+lined by salesmen and women sitting on little mats upon the low wooden
+stools used as seats in Africa. The goods were contained in wooden
+trays. Here were dozens of women offering beads for sale of an unlimited
+variety of form and hue. They varied from the tiny opaque beads of all
+colors used by English children for their dolls, to great cylindrical
+beads of variegated hues as long and as thick as the joint of a finger.
+The love of the Africans for beads is surprising. The women wear them
+round the wrists, the neck, and the ankles. The occupation of threading
+the little beads is one of their greatest pleasures. The threads used
+are narrow fibers of palm leaves, which are very strong. The beads,
+however, are of unequal sizes, and no African girl who has any respect
+for her personal appearance will put on a string of beads until she has,
+with great pains and a good deal of skill, rubbed them with sand and
+water until all the projecting beads are ground down, and the whole are
+perfectly smooth and even.
+
+Next in number to the dealers in beads were those who sold calico, or,
+as it is called in Africa, cloth, and gaudily colored kerchiefs for
+the head. These three articles--beads, cotton cloth, and colored
+handkerchiefs--complete the list of articles required for the attire and
+adornment of males and females in Africa. Besides these goods, tobacco,
+in dried leaves, short clay pipes, knives, small looking glasses, and
+matches were offered for sale. The majority of the saleswomen, however,
+were dealers in eatables, dried fish, smoked fish, canki--which is a
+preparation of ground corn wrapped up in palm leaves in the shape of
+paste--eggs, fowls, kids, cooked meats in various forms, stews, boiled
+pork, fried knobs of meat, and other native delicacies, besides an
+abundance of seeds, nuts, and other vegetable productions.
+
+After walking for some time through the streets Frank and his companions
+returned to the boat, where, half an hour later, the captain joined
+them, and, putting off to the Decoy, they continued the voyage down the
+coast.
+
+The next morning they weighed anchor off Addah, a village at the mouth
+of the Volta. They whistled for a surf boat, but it was some time before
+one put out. When she was launched it was doubtful whether she would
+be able to make her way through the breaking water. The surf was much
+heavier here than it had been at Accra, and each wave threw the boat
+almost perpendicularly into the air, so that only a few feet of the end
+of the keel touched the water. Still she struggled on, although so long
+was she in getting through the surf that those on board the ship thought
+several times that she must give it up as impracticable. At last,
+however, she got through; the paddlers waited for a minute to recover
+from their exertions, and then made out to the Decoy. None of the
+officers had ever landed here, and several of them obtained leave to
+accompany the captain on shore. Frank was one of the party. After what
+they had seen of the difficulty which the boat had in getting out, all
+looked somewhat anxiously at the surf as they approached the line where
+the great smooth waves rolled over and broke into boiling foam. The
+steersman stood upon the seat in the stern, in one hand holding his oar,
+in the other his cap. For some time he stood half turned round, looking
+attentively seaward, while the boat lay at rest just outside the line of
+breakers. Suddenly he waved his cap and gave a shout. It was answered by
+the crew. Every man dashed his paddle into the water. Desperately they
+rowed, the steersman encouraging them by wild yells. A gigantic wave
+rolled in behind the boat, and looked for a moment as if she would break
+into it, but she rose on it just as it turned over, and for an instant
+was swept along amidst a cataract of white foam, with the speed of an
+arrow. The next wave was a small one, and ere a third reached it the
+boat grounded on the sand. A dozen men rushed out into the water. The
+passengers threw themselves anyhow on to their backs, and in a minute
+were standing perfectly dry upon the beach.
+
+They learned that Captain Glover's camp was half a mile distant, and at
+once set out for it. Upon the way up to the camp they passed hundreds of
+negroes, who had arrived in the last day or two, and had just received
+their arms. Some were squatted on the ground cooking and resting
+themselves. Others were examining their new weapons, oiling and removing
+every spot of rust, and occasionally loading and firing them off. The
+balls whizzed through the air in all directions. The most stringent
+orders had been given forbidding this dangerous nuisance; but nothing
+can repress the love of negroes for firing off guns. There were large
+numbers of women among them; these had acted as carriers on their
+journey to the camp; for among the coast tribes, as among the Ashantis,
+it is the proper thing when the warriors go out on the warpath, that the
+women should not permit them to carry anything except their guns until
+they approach the neighborhood of the enemy.
+
+The party soon arrived at the camp, which consisted of some bell tents
+and the little huts of a few hundred natives. This, indeed, was only the
+place where the latter were first received and armed, and they were then
+sent up the river in the steamboat belonging to the expedition, to the
+great camp some thirty miles higher.
+
+The expedition consisted only of some seven or eight English officers.
+Captain Glover of the royal navy was in command, with Mr. Goldsworthy
+and Captain Sartorius as his assistants. There were four other officers,
+two doctors, and an officer of commissariat. This little body had the
+whole work of drilling and keeping in order some eight or ten
+thousand men. They were generals, colonels, sergeants, quartermasters,
+storekeepers, and diplomatists, all at once, and from daybreak until
+late at night were incessantly at work. There were at least a dozen
+petty kings in camp, all of whom had to be kept in a good temper, and
+this was by no means the smallest of Captain Glover's difficulties, as
+upon the slightest ground for discontent each of these was ready at once
+to march away with his followers. The most reliable portion of Captain
+Glover's force were some 250 Houssas, and as many Yorabas. In addition
+to all their work with the native allies, the officers of the expedition
+had succeeded in drilling both these bodies until they had obtained a
+very fair amount of discipline.
+
+After strolling through the camp the visitors went to look on at the
+distribution of arms and accouterments to a hundred freshly arrived
+natives. They were served out with blue smocks, made of serge, and blue
+nightcaps, which had the result of transforming a fine looking body of
+natives, upright in carriage, and graceful in their toga-like attire,
+into a set of awkward looking, clumsy negroes. A haversack, water
+bottle, belts, cap pouch, and ammunition pouch, were also handed to each
+to their utter bewilderment, and it was easy to foresee that at the end
+of the first day's march the whole of these, to them utterly useless
+articles, would be thrown aside. They brightened up, however, when the
+guns were delivered to them. The first impulse of each was to examine
+his piece carefully, to try its balance by taking aim at distant
+objects, then to carefully rub off any little spot of rust that could be
+detected, lastly to take out the ramrod and let it fall into the barrel,
+to judge by the ring whether it was clean inside.
+
+Thence the visitors strolled away to watch a number of Houssas in hot
+pursuit of some bullocks, which were to be put on board the steamers
+and taken up the river to the great camp. These had broken loose in the
+night, and the chase was an exciting one. Although some fifty or sixty
+men were engaged in the hunt it took no less than four hours to capture
+the requisite number, and seven Houssas were more or less injured by
+the charges of the desperate little animals, which possessed wonderful
+strength and endurance, although no larger than moderate sized donkeys.
+They were only captured at last by hoops being thrown over their horns,
+and even when thrown down required the efforts of five or six men to tie
+them. They were finally got to the wharf by two men each: one went ahead
+with the rope attached to the animal's horn, the other kept behind,
+holding a rope fastened to one of the hind legs. Every bull made the
+most determined efforts to get at the man in front, who kept on at a
+run, the animal being checked when it got too close by the man behind
+pulling at its hind leg. When it turned to attack him the man in front
+again pulled at his rope. So most of them were brought down to the
+landing place, and there with great difficulty again thrown down, tied,
+and carried bodily on board. Some of them were so unmanageable that
+they had to be carried all the way down to the landing place. If
+English cattle possessed the strength and obstinate fury of these little
+animals, Copenhagen Fields would have to be removed farther from London,
+or the entrance swept by machine guns, for a charge of the cattle would
+clear the streets of London.
+
+After spending an amusing day on shore, the party returned on board
+ship. Captain Glover's expedition, although composed of only seven or
+eight English officers and costing the country comparatively nothing,
+accomplished great things, but its doings were almost ignored by
+England. Crossing the river they completely defeated the native tribes
+there, who were in alliance with the Ashantis, after some hard fighting,
+and thus prevented an invasion of our territory on that side. In
+addition to this they pushed forward into the interior and absolutely
+arrived at Coomassie two days after Sir Garnet Wolseley.
+
+It is true that the attention of the Ashantis was so much occupied by
+the advance of the white force that they paid but little attention to
+that advancing from the Volta; but none the less is the credit due to
+the indomitable perseverance and the immensity of the work accomplished
+by Captain Glover and his officers. Alone and single handed, they
+overcame all the enormous difficulties raised by the apathy, indolence,
+and self importance of the numerous petty chiefs whose followers
+constituted the army, infused something of their own spirit among their
+followers, and persuaded them to march without white allies against the
+hitherto invincible army of the Ashantis. Not a tithe of the credit due
+to them has been given to the officers of this little force.
+
+Captain Glover invited his visitors to pass the night on shore, offering
+to place a tent at their disposal; but the mosquitoes are so numerous
+and troublesome along the swampy shore of the Volta that the invitations
+were declined, and the whole party returned on board the Decoy. Next day
+the anchor was hove and the ship's head turned to the west; and two days
+later, after a pleasant and uneventful voyage, she was again off Cape
+Coast, and Frank, taking leave of his kind entertainers, returned on
+shore and reported himself as ready to perform any duty that might be
+assigned to him.
+
+Until the force advanced, he had nothing to do, and spent a good deal
+of his time watching the carriers starting with provisions for the Prah,
+and the doings of the negroes.
+
+The order had now been passed by the chiefs at a meeting called by Sir
+Garnet, that every able bodied man should work as a carrier, and while
+parties of men were sent to the villages round to fetch in people
+thence, hunts took place in Cape Coast itself. Every negro found in
+the streets was seized by the police; protestation, indignation, and
+resistance, were equally in vain. An arm or the loin cloth was firmly
+griped, and the victim was run into the castle yard, amid the laughter
+of the lookers on, who consisted, after the first quarter of an hour, of
+women only. Then the search began in the houses, the chiefs indicating
+the localities in which men were likely to be found. Some police were
+set to watch outside while others went in to search. The women would at
+once deny that anyone was there, but a door was pretty sure to be found
+locked, and upon this being broken open the fugitive would be found
+hiding under a pile of clothes or mats. Sometimes he would leap through
+the windows, sometimes take to the flat roof, and as the houses join
+together in the most confused way the roofs offered immense facilities
+for escape, and most lively chases took place.
+
+No excuses or pretences availed. A man seen limping painfully along the
+street would, after a brief examination of his leg to see if there was
+any external mark which would account for the lameness, be sent at a
+round trot down the road, amid peals of laughter from the women and
+girls looking on.
+
+The indignation of some of the men thus seized, loaded and sent up
+country under a strong escort, was very funny, and their astonishment
+in some cases altogether unfeigned. Small shopkeepers who had never
+supposed that they would be called upon to labor for the defense of
+their freedom and country, found themselves with a barrel of pork
+upon their heads and a policeman with a loaded musket by their side
+proceeding up country for an indefinite period. A school teacher was
+missing, and was found to have gone up with a case of ammunition. Casual
+visitors from down the coast had their stay prolonged.
+
+Lazy Sierra Leone men, discharged by their masters for incurable
+idleness, and living doing nothing, earning nothing, kept by the
+kindness of friends and the aid of an occasional petty theft, found
+themselves, in spite of the European cut of their clothes, groaning
+under the weight of cases of preserved provisions.
+
+Everywhere the town was busy and animated, but it was in the castle
+courtyard Frank found most amusement. Here of a morning a thousand
+negroes would be gathered, most of them men sent down from Dunquah,
+forming part of our native allied army. Their costumes were various but
+scant, their colors all shades of brown up to the deepest black. Their
+faces were all in a grin of amusement. The noise of talking and laughing
+was immense. All were squatted upon the ground, in front of each was a
+large keg labelled "pork." Among them moved two or three commissariat
+officers in gray uniforms. At the order, "Now then, off with you," the
+negroes would rise, take off their cloths, wrap them into pads, lift
+the barrels on to their heads, and go off at a brisk pace; the officer
+perhaps smartening up the last to leave with a cut with his stick, which
+would call forth a scream of laughter from all the others.
+
+When all the men had gone, the turn of the women came, and of these two
+or three hundred, who had been seated chattering and laughing against
+the walls, would now come forward and stoop to pick up the bags of
+biscuit laid out for them. Their appearance was most comical when they
+stooped to their work, their prodigious bustles forming an apex. At
+least two out of every three had babies seated on these bustles, kept
+firm against their backs by the cloth tightly wrapped round the mother's
+body. But from the attitudes of the mothers the position was now
+reversed, the little black heads hanging downwards upon the dark brown
+backs of the women. These were always in the highest state of good
+temper, often indulging when not at work in a general dance, and
+continually singing, and clapping their hands.
+
+After the women had been got off three or four hundred boys and girls,
+of from eleven to fourteen years old, would start with small kegs of
+rice or meat weighing from twenty-five to thirty-five pounds.
+These small kegs had upon their first arrival been a cause of great
+bewilderment and annoyance to the commissariat officers, for no man or
+woman, unless by profession a juggler, could balance two long narrow
+barrels on the head. At last the happy idea struck an officer of the
+department that the children of the place might be utilized for the
+purpose. No sooner was it known that boys and girls could get half men's
+wages for carrying up light loads, than there was a perfect rush of
+the juvenile population. Three hundred applied the first morning, four
+hundred the next. The glee of the youngsters was quite exuberant.
+All were accustomed to carry weights, such as great jars of water and
+baskets of yams, far heavier than those they were now called to take up
+the country; and the novel pleasure of earning money and of enjoying an
+expedition up the country delighted them immensely.
+
+Bullocks were now arriving from other parts of the coast, and although
+these would not live for any time at Cape Coast, it was thought they
+would do so long enough to afford the expedition a certain quantity of
+fresh meat; Australian meat, and salt pork, though valuable in their
+way, being poor food to men whose appetites are enfeebled by heat and
+exhaustion.
+
+It was not till upwards of six weeks after the fight at Abra Crampa that
+the last of the Ashanti army crossed the Prah. When arriving within a
+short distance of that river they had been met by seven thousand fresh
+troops, who had been sent by the king with orders that they were not to
+return until they had driven the English into the sea. Ammon Quatia's
+army, however, although still, from the many reinforcements it had
+received, nearly twenty thousand strong, positively refused to do any
+more fighting until they had been home and rested, and their tales
+of the prowess of the white troops so checked the enthusiasm of the
+newcomers, that these decided to return with the rest.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI: THE ADVANCE TO THE PRAH
+
+
+A large body of natives were now kept at work on the road up to the
+Prah. The swamps were made passable by bundles of brushwood thrown into
+them, the streams were bridged and huts erected for the reception of the
+white troops. These huts were constructed of bamboo, the beds being made
+of lattice work of the same material, and were light and cool.
+
+On the 9th of December the Himalaya and Tamar arrived, having on
+board the 23d Regiment, a battalion of the Rifle Brigade, a battery
+of artillery, and a company of engineers. On the 18th, the Surmatian
+arrived with the 42d. All these ships were sent off for a cruise, with
+orders to return on the 1st of January, when the troops were to be
+landed. A large number of officers arrived a few days later to assist in
+the organization of the transport corps.
+
+Colonel Wood and Major Russell were by this time on the Prah with their
+native regiments. These were formed principally of Houssas, Cossoos,
+and men of other fighting Mahomedan tribes who had been brought down the
+coast, together with companies from Bonny and some of the best of
+the Fantis. The rest of the Fanti forces had been disbanded, as
+being utterly useless for fighting purposes, and had been turned into
+carriers.
+
+On the 26th of December Frank started with the General's staff for the
+front. The journey to the Prah was a pleasant one. The stations had been
+arranged at easy marches from each other. At each of these, six huts
+for the troops, each capable of holding seventy men, had been built,
+together with some smaller huts for officers. Great filters formed
+of iron tanks with sand and charcoal at the bottom, the invention of
+Captain Crease, R.M.A., stood before the huts, with tubs at which the
+native bearers could quench their thirst. Along by the side of the road
+a single telegraph wire was supported on bamboos fifteen feet long.
+
+Passing through Assaiboo they entered the thick bush. The giant cotton
+trees had now shed their light feathery foliage, resembling that of an
+acacia, and the straight, round, even trunks looked like the skeletons
+of some giant or primeval vegetation rising above the sea of foliage
+below. White lilies, pink flowers of a bulbous plant, clusters of yellow
+acacia blossoms, occasionally brightened the roadside, and some of the
+old village clearings were covered with a low bush bearing a yellow
+blossom, and convolvuli white, buff, and pink. The second night the
+party slept at Accroful, and the next day marched through Dunquah. This
+was a great store station, but the white troops were not to halt there.
+It had been a large town, but the Ashantis had entirely destroyed it, as
+well as every other village between the Prah and the coast. Every fruit
+tree in the clearing had also been destroyed, and at Dunquah they had
+even cut down a great cotton tree which was looked upon as a fetish by
+the Fantis. It had taken them seven days' incessant work to overthrow
+this giant of the forest.
+
+The next halting place was Yancoomassie. When approaching Mansue the
+character of the forest changed. The undergrowth disappeared and the
+high trees grew thick and close. The plantain, which furnishes an
+abundant supply of fruit to the natives and had sustained the Ashanti
+army during its stay south of the Prah, before abundant, extended no
+further. Mansue stood, like other native villages, on rising ground, but
+the heavy rains which still fell every day and the deep swamps around
+rendered it a most unhealthy station.
+
+Beyond Mansue the forest was thick and gloomy. There was little
+undergrowth, but a perfect wilderness of climbers clustered round the
+trees, twisting in a thousand fantastic windings, and finally running
+down to the ground, where they took fresh root and formed props to the
+dead tree their embrace had killed. Not a flower was to be seen, but
+ferns grew by the roadside in luxuriance. Butterflies were scarce, but
+dragonflies darted along like sparks of fire. The road had the advantage
+of being shady and cool, but the heavy rain and traffic had made it
+everywhere slippery, and in many places inches deep in mud, while all
+the efforts of the engineers and working parties had failed to overcome
+the swamps.
+
+It was a relief to the party when they emerged from the forests into the
+little clearings where villages had once stood, for the gloom and quiet
+of the great forest weighed upon the spirits. The monotonous too too of
+the doves--not a slow dreamy cooing like that of the English variety,
+but a sharp quick note repeated in endless succession--alone broke the
+hush. The silence, the apparently never ending forest, the monotony of
+rank vegetation, the absence of a breath of wind to rustle a leaf, were
+most oppressive, and the feeling was not lessened by the dampness and
+heaviness of the air, and the malarious exhalation and smell of decaying
+vegetation arising from the swamps.
+
+Sootah was the station beyond Mansue, beyond this Assin and Barracoo.
+Beyond Sootah the odors of the forest became much more unpleasant, for
+at Fazoo they passed the scene of the conflict between Colonel Wood's
+regiment and the retiring Ashantis. In the forest beyond this were the
+remains of a great camp of the enemy's, which extended for miles, and
+hence to the Prah large numbers of Ashantis had dropped by the way or
+had crawled into the forest to die, smitten by disease or rifle balls.
+
+There was a general feeling of pleasure as the party emerged from the
+forest into the large open camp at Prahsue. This clearing was twenty
+acres in extent, and occupied an isthmus formed by a loop of the river.
+The 2d West Indians were encamped here, and huts had been erected under
+the shade of some lofty trees for the naval brigade. In the center was a
+great square. On one side were the range of huts for the general and
+his staff. Two sides of the square were formed by the huts for the white
+troops. On the fourth was the hospital, the huts for the brigadier and
+his staff, and the post office. Upon the river bank beyond the square
+were the tents of the engineers and Rait's battery of artillery, and the
+camps of Wood's and Russell's regiments. The river, some seventy yards
+wide, ran round three sides of the camp thirty feet below its level.
+
+The work which the engineers had accomplished was little less than
+marvelous. Eighty miles of road had been cut and cleared, every stream,
+however insignificant, had been bridged, and attempts made to corduroy
+every swamp. This would have been no great feat through a soft wood
+forest with the aid of good workmen. Here, however, the trees were for
+the most part of extremely hard wood, teak and mahogany forming the
+majority. The natives had no idea of using an axe. Their only notion of
+felling a tree was to squat down beside it and give it little hacking
+chops with a large knife or a sabre.
+
+With such means and such men as these the mere work of cutting and
+making the roads and bridging the streams was enormous. But not only was
+this done but the stations were all stockaded, and huts erected for
+the reception of four hundred and fifty men and officers, and immense
+quantities of stores, at each post. Major Home, commanding the
+engineers, was the life and soul of the work, and to him more than any
+other man was the expedition indebted for its success. He was nobly
+seconded by Buckle, Bell, Mann, Cotton, Skinner, Bates and Jeykyll,
+officers of his own corps, and by Hearle of the marines, and Hare of the
+22d, attached to them. Long before daylight his men were off to their
+work, long after nightfall they returned utterly exhausted to camp.
+
+Upon the 1st of January, 1874, Sir Garnet Wolseley, with his staff,
+among whom Frank was now reckoned, reached the Prah. During the eight
+days which elapsed before the white troops came up Frank found much to
+amuse him. The engineers were at work, aided by the sailors of the naval
+brigade, which arrived two days after the general, in erecting a bridge
+across the Prah. The sailors worked, stripped to the waist, in the muddy
+water of the river, which was about seven feet deep in the middle. When
+tired of watching these he would wander into the camp of the native
+regiments, and chat with the men, whose astonishment at finding a young
+Englishman able to converse in their language, for the Fanti and Ashanti
+dialects differ but little, was unbounded. Sometimes he would be sent
+for to headquarters to translate to Captain Buller, the head of the
+intelligence department, the statements of prisoners brought in by the
+scouts, who, under Lord Gifford, had penetrated many miles beyond the
+Prah.
+
+Everywhere these found dead bodies by the side of the road, showing
+the state to which the Ashanti army was reduced in its retreat. The
+prisoners brought in were unanimous in saying that great uneasiness had
+been produced at Coomassie by the news of the advance of the British to
+the Prah. The king had written to Ammon Quatia, severely blaming him for
+his conduct of the campaign, and for the great loss of life among his
+army.
+
+All sorts of portents were happening at Coomassie, to the great
+disturbance of the mind of the people. Some of those related singularly
+resembled those said to have occurred before the capture of Rome by
+the Goths. An aerolite had fallen in the marketplace of Coomassie, and,
+still more strange, a child was born which was at once able to converse
+fluently. This youthful prodigy was placed in a room by itself, with
+guards around it to prevent anyone having converse with the supernatural
+visitant. In the morning, however, it was gone, and in its place was
+found a bundle of dead leaves. The fetish men having been consulted
+declared that this signified that Coomassie itself would disappear,
+and would become nothing but a bundle of dead leaves. This had greatly
+exercised the credulous there.
+
+Two days after his arrival Frank went down at sunset to bathe in the
+river. He had just reached the bank when he heard a cry among some white
+soldiers bathing there, and was just in time to see one of them pulled
+under water by an alligator, which had seized him by the leg. Frank had
+so often heard what was the best thing to do that he at once threw off
+his Norfolk jacket, plunged into the stream, and swam to the spot where
+the eddy on the surface showed that a struggle was going on beneath. The
+water was too muddy to see far through it, but Frank speedily came upon
+the alligator, and finding its eyes, shoved his thumbs into them. In
+an instant the creature relaxed his hold of his prey and made off, and
+Frank, seizing the wounded man, swam with him to shore amid the loud
+cheers of the sailors. The soldier, who proved to be a marine, was
+insensible, and his leg was nearly severed above the ankle. He soon
+recovered consciousness, and, being carried to the camp, his leg was
+amputated below the knee, and he was soon afterwards taken down to the
+coast.
+
+It had been known that there were alligators in the river, a young one
+about a yard long having been captured and tied up like a dog in the
+camp, with a string round its neck. But it was thought that the noise
+of building the bridge, and the movement on the banks, would have driven
+them away. After this incident bathing was for the most part abandoned.
+
+The affair made Frank a great favorite in the naval brigade, and of a
+night he would, after dinner, generally repair there, and sit by
+the great bonfires, which the tars kept up, and listen to the jovial
+choruses which they raised around them.
+
+Two days after the arrival of Sir Garnet, an ambassador came down
+from the king with a letter, inquiring indignantly why the English had
+attacked the Ashanti troops, and why they had advanced to the Prah.
+An opportunity was taken to impress him with the nature of the English
+arms. A Gatling gun was placed on the river bank, and its fire directed
+upon the surface, and the fountain of water which rose as the steady
+stream of bullets struck its surface astonished, and evidently filled
+with awe, the Ashanti ambassador. On the following day this emissary
+took his departure for Coomassie with a letter to the king.
+
+On the 12th the messengers returned with an unsatisfactory answer to
+Sir Garnet's letter; they brought with them Mr. Kuhne, one of the German
+missionaries. He said that it was reported in Coomassie that twenty
+thousand out of the forty thousand Ashantis who had crossed the Prah
+had died. It is probable that this was exaggerated, but Mr. Kuhne had
+counted two hundred and seventy-six men carrying boxes containing the
+bones of chiefs and leading men. As these would have fared better than
+the common herd they would have suffered less from famine and dysentery.
+The army had for the most part broken up into small parties and gone to
+their villages. The wrath of the king was great, and all the chiefs who
+accompanied the army had been fined and otherwise punished. Mr. Kuhne
+said that when Sir Garnet's letter arrived, the question of peace or war
+had been hotly contested at a council. The chiefs who had been in the
+late expedition were unanimous in deprecating any further attempt to
+contend with the white man. Those who had remained at home, and who
+knew nothing of the white man's arms, or white man's valor, were for war
+rather than surrender.
+
+Mr. Kuhne was unable to form any opinion what the final determination
+would be. The German missionary had no doubt been restored as a sort of
+peace offering. He was in a bad state of health, and as his brother
+and his brother's wife were among the captives, the Ashanti monarch
+calculated that anxiety for the fate of his relatives would induce him
+to argue as strongly as possible in favor of peace.
+
+Frank left the camp on the Prah some days before the arrival of the
+white troops, having moved forward with the scouts under Lord Gifford,
+to whom his knowledge of the country and language proved very valuable.
+The scouts did their work well. The Ashantis were in considerable
+numbers, but fell back gradually without fighting. Russell's regiment
+were in support, and they pressed forward until they neared the foot of
+the Adansee Hills. On the 16th Rait's artillery and Wood's regiment
+were to advance with two hundred men of the 2d West Indians. The Naval
+Brigade, the Rifle Brigade, the 42d, and a hundred men of the 23d would
+be up on the Prah on the 17th.
+
+News came down that fresh portents had happened at Coomassie. The word
+signifies the town under the tree, the town being so called because its
+founder sat under a broad tree, surrounded by his warriors, while he
+laid out the plan of the future town. The marketplace was situated round
+the tree, which became the great fetish tree of the town, under which
+human sacrifices were offered. On the 6th, the day upon which Sir Garnet
+sent his ultimatum to the king, a bird of ill omen was seen to perch
+upon it, and half an hour afterwards a tornado sprang up and the fetish
+tree was levelled to the ground. This caused an immense sensation in
+Coomassie, which was heightened when Sir Garnet's letter arrived, and
+proved to be dated upon the day upon which the fetish tree had fallen.
+
+The Adansee Hills are very steep and covered with trees, but without
+undergrowth. It had been supposed that the Ashantis would make their
+first stand here. Lord Gifford led the way up with the scouts, Russell's
+regiment following behind. Frank accompanied Major Russell. When Gifford
+neared the crest a priest came forward with five or six supporters and
+shouted to him to go back, for that five thousand men were waiting there
+to destroy them. Gifford paused for a moment to allow Russell with his
+regiment to come within supporting distance, and then made a rush with
+his scouts for the crest. It was found deserted, the priest and his
+followers having fled hastily, when they found that neither curses nor
+the imaginary force availed to prevent the British from advancing.
+
+The Adansee Hills are about six hundred feet high. Between them and the
+Prah the country was once thick with towns and villages inhabited by
+the Assins. These people, however, were so harassed by the Ashantis
+that they were forced to abandon their country and settle in the British
+protectorate south of the Prah.
+
+Had the Adansee Hills been held by European troops the position would
+have been extremely strong. A hill if clear of trees is of immense
+advantage to men armed with rifles and supported by artillery, but to
+men armed only with guns carrying slugs a distance of fifty yards,
+the advantage is not marked, especially when, as is the case with the
+Ashantis, they always fire high. The crest of the hill was very narrow,
+indeed a mere saddle, with some eight or ten yards only of level ground
+between the steep descents on either side. From this point the scouts
+perceived the first town in the territory of the King of Adansee, one
+of the five great kings of Ashanti. The scouts and Russell's regiment
+halted on the top of the hill, and the next morning the scouts went out
+skirmishing towards Queesa. The war drum could be heard beating in the
+town, but no opposition was offered. It was not, however, considered
+prudent to push beyond the foot of the hill until more troops came up.
+The scouts therefore contented themselves with keeping guard, while for
+the next four days Russell's men and the engineers labored incessantly,
+as they had done all the way from the Prah, in making the road over the
+hill practicable.
+
+During this time the scouts often pushed up close to Queesa, and
+reported that the soldiers and population were fast deserting the town.
+On the fifth day it was found to be totally deserted, and Major Russell
+moved the headquarters of his regiment down into it. The white officers
+were much surprised with the structure of the huts of this place, which
+was exactly similar to that of those of Coomassie, with their red clay,
+their alcoved bed places, and their little courts one behind the other.
+Major Russell established himself in the chief's palace, which was
+exactly like the other houses except that the alcoves were very lofty,
+and their roofs supported by pillars. These, with their red paint, their
+arabesque adornments, and their quaint character, gave the courtyard the
+precise appearance of an Egyptian temple.
+
+The question whether the Ashantis would or would not fight was still
+eagerly debated. Upon the one hand it was urged that if the Ashantis had
+meant to attack us they would have disputed every foot of the passage
+through the woods after we had once crossed the Prah. Had they done
+so it may be confidently affirmed that we could never have got to
+Coomassie. Their policy should have been to avoid any pitched battle,
+but to throng the woods on either side, continually harassing the troops
+on their march, preventing the men working on the roads, and rendering
+it impossible for the carriers to go along unless protected on either
+side by lines of troops. Even when unopposed it was difficult enough
+to keep the carriers, who were constantly deserting, but had they been
+exposed to continuous attacks there would have been no possibility of
+keeping them together.
+
+It was then a strong argument in favor of peace that we had been
+permitted to advance thirty miles into their country without a shot
+being fired. Upon the other hand no messengers had been sent down to
+meet us, no ambassadors had brought messages from the king. This silence
+was ominous; nor were other signs wanting. At one place a fetish,
+consisting of a wooden gun and several wooden daggers all pointing
+towards us, was placed in the middle of the road. Several kids had been
+found buried in calabashes in the path pierced through and through with
+stakes; while a short distance outside Queesa the dead body of a slave
+killed and mutilated but a few hours before we entered it was hanging
+from a tree. Other fetishes of a more common sort were to be met at
+every step, lines of worsted and cotton stretched across the road, rags
+hung upon bushes, and other negro trumperies of the same kind.
+
+Five days later the Naval Brigade, with Wood's regiment and Rait's
+battery, marched into Queesa, and the same afternoon the whole marched
+forward to Fomana, the capital of Adansee, situated half a mile only
+from Queesa. This was a large town capable of containing some seven
+or eight thousand inhabitants. The architecture was similar to that
+of Queesa, but the king's palace was a large structure covering a
+considerable extent of ground. Here were the apartments of the king
+himself, of his wives, the fetish room, and the room for execution,
+still smelling horribly of the blood with which the floor and walls
+were sprinkled. The first and largest court of the palace had really
+an imposing effect. It was some thirty feet square with an apartment
+or alcove on each side. The roofs of these alcoves were supported by
+columns about twenty-five feet high. As in all the buildings the lower
+parts were of red clay, the upper of white, all being covered with deep
+arabesque patterns.
+
+Fomana was one of the most pleasant stations which the troops had
+reached since leaving the coast. It lay high above the sea, and the
+temperature was considerably lower than that of the stations south of
+the hills. A nice breeze sprung up each day about noon. The nights
+were comparatively free from fog, and the town itself stood upon rising
+ground resembling in form an inverted saucer. The streets were very
+wide, with large trees at intervals every twenty or thirty yards along
+the middle of the road.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII: THE BATTLE OF AMOAFUL
+
+
+Two days after the arrival at Fomana the remaining members of the German
+mission, two males, a female, and two children, were sent in by the king
+with a letter containing many assurances of his desire for peace, but
+making no mention of the stipulations which Sir Garnet Wolseley had laid
+down. The advance was therefore to continue. The rest of the troops came
+up, and on the 25th Russell's regiment advanced to Dompiassee, Wood's
+regiment and Rait's battery joining him the next day. That afternoon the
+first blood north of the Prah was shed. It being known that a body of
+the enemy were collecting at a village a little off the road the force
+moved against them. Lord Gifford led the way, as usual, with his scouts.
+The enemy opened fire as soon as the scouts appeared; but these, with
+the Houssa company of Russell's regiment, rushed impetuously into the
+village, and the Ashantis at once bolted. Two of them were killed and
+five taken prisoners.
+
+The next halting places of the advance troops were Kiang Bossu and
+Ditchiassie. It was known now that Ammon Quatia was lying with the
+Ashanti army at Amoaful, but five miles away, and ambassadors arrived
+from the king finally declining to accept the terms of peace. Russell's
+and Wood's regiments marched forward to Quarman, within half a mile of
+the enemy's outposts. The white troops came on to Insafoo, three miles
+behind. Quarman was stockaded to resist an attack. Gordon with the
+Houssa company lay a quarter of a mile in advance of the village,
+Gifford with his scouts close to the edge of the wood. Major Home with
+the engineers cut a wide path for the advance of the troops to within a
+hundred yards of the village which the enemy held.
+
+Every one knew that the great battle of the war would be fought next
+morning. About half past seven on the morning of the 81st of January the
+42d Regiment entered the village of Quarman, and marched through without
+a halt. Then came Rait's artillery, followed by the company of the 23d
+and by the Naval Brigade. The plan of operations was as follows. The
+42d Regiment would form the main attacking force. They were to drive the
+enemy's scouts out of Agamassie, the village in front, and were then
+to move straight on, extending to the right and left, and, if possible,
+advance in a skirmishing line through the bush. Rait's two little
+guns were to be in their center moving upon the road itself. The right
+column, consisting of half the Naval Brigade, with Wood's regiment, now
+reduced by leaving garrisons at various posts along the road to three
+companies, was to cut a path out to the right and then to turn parallel
+with the main road, so that the head of the column should touch the
+right of the skirmishing line of the 42d. The left column, consisting of
+the other half of the Naval Brigade with the four companies of Russell's
+regiment, was to proceed in similar fashion on the left. These columns
+would therefore form two sides of a hollow square, protecting the 42d
+from any of those flanking movements of which the Ashantis are so fond.
+The company of the 23d was to proceed with the headquarter staff. The
+Rifle Brigade were held in reserve.
+
+Early in the morning Major Home cut the road to within thirty yards of
+the village of Agamassie, and ascertained by listening to the voices
+that there were not more than a score or so of men in the village.
+Gifford had made a circuit in the woods, and had ascertained that the
+Ashanti army was encamped on rising ground across a stream behind the
+village.
+
+Frank had been requested by Sir Garnet Wolseley to accompany the 42d, as
+his knowledge of Ashanti tactics might be of value, and he might be able
+by the shouts of the Ashantis to understand the orders issued to them.
+The head of the 42d Regiment experienced no opposition whatever until
+they issued from the bush into the little clearing surrounding the
+village, which consisted only of four or five houses. The Ashantis
+discharged their muskets hastily as the first white men showed
+themselves, but the fire of the leading files of the column quickly
+cleared them away. The 42d pushed on through the village, and then
+forming in skirmishing line, advanced. For the first two or three
+hundred yards they encountered no serious opposition, and they were
+then received by a tremendous fire from an unseen foe in front. The left
+column had not gone a hundred yards before they too came under fire.
+Captain Buckle of the Engineers, who was with the Engineer laborers
+occupied in cutting the path ahead of the advancing column, was shot
+through the heart. A similar opposition was experienced by the right.
+
+The roar of the fire was tremendous, so heavy indeed that all sound of
+individual reports was lost, and the noise was one hoarse hissing roar.
+Even the crack of Rait's guns was lost in the general uproar, but the
+occasional rush of a rocket, of which two troughs with parties of Rait's
+men accompanied each wing, was distinctly audible.
+
+The 42d could for a time make scarcely any way, and the flanking columns
+were also brought to a stand. Owing to the extreme thickness of the
+wood and their ignorance of the nature of the ground these columns were
+unable to keep in their proper position, and diverged considerably. The
+Ashantis, however, made no effort to penetrate between them and the
+42d. For an hour this state of things continued. The company of the
+23d advanced along the main road to help to clear the bush, where the
+Ashantis still fought stubbornly not two hundred yards from the village,
+while two companies of the Rifle Brigade were sent up the left hand road
+to keep touch with the rear of Russell's regiment.
+
+When the fight commenced in earnest, and the 42d were brought to a stand
+by the enemy, Frank lay down with the soldiers. Not a foe could be seen,
+but the fire of the enemy broke out incessantly from the bushes some
+twenty yards ahead. The air above was literally alive with slugs and
+a perfect shower of leaves continued to fall upon the path. So
+bewilderingly dense was the bush that the men soon lost all idea of the
+points of the compass, and fired in any direction from which the enemy's
+shots came. Thus it happened that the sailors sent in complaints to the
+general that the 23d and 42d were firing at them, while the 42d and 23d
+made the same complaint against the Naval Brigade. Sir Garnet, who had
+taken up his headquarters at the village, sent out repeated instructions
+to the commanding officers to warn their men to avoid this error.
+
+For two hours the fight went on. Then the column to the left found
+that the Ashantis in front of them had fallen back; they had, however,
+altogether lost touch of the 42d. They were accordingly ordered to cut a
+road to the northeast until they came in contact with them. In doing
+so they came upon a partial clearing, where a sharp opposition was
+experienced. The Houssas carried the open ground at a rush, but the
+enemy, as usual, opened a heavy fire from the edge of the bush. The
+Houssas were recalled, and fire was opened with the rockets, which soon
+drove the Ashantis back, and the cutting of the path was proceeded with.
+
+In the meantime the 42d was having a hard time of it. They had fought
+their way to the edge of the swamp, beyond which lay an immense Ashanti
+camp, and here the fire was so tremendously heavy that the advance was
+again completely arrested. Not an enemy was to be seen, but from every
+bush of the opposite side puffs of smoke came thick and fast, and a
+perfect rain of slugs swept over the ground on which they were lying.
+Here Rait's gun, for he was only able from the narrowness of the path to
+bring one into position, did splendid service. Advancing boldly in front
+of the line of the 42d, ably assisted by Lieutenant Saunders, he poured
+round after round of grape into the enemy until their fire slackened a
+little, and the 42d, leaping to their feet, struggled across the swamp,
+which was over knee deep. Step by step they won their way through
+the camp and up the hill. Everywhere the dead Ashantis lay in heaps,
+attesting the terrible effect of the Snider fire and the determination
+with which they had fought.
+
+Beyond the camp, upon the hills the bush was thicker than ever, and
+here, where it was impossible for the white soldiers to skirmish through
+the bush, the Ashantis made a last desperate stand. The narrow lane up
+which alone the troops could pass was torn as if by hail with the shower
+of slugs, while a large tree which stood nearly in the center of the
+path and caused it slightly to swerve, afforded some shelter to them
+from the storm of bullets which the 42d sent back in return. Here Rait
+brought his gun up again to the front and cleared the lane. The bush was
+too thick even for the Ashantis. The gun stopped firing and with a rush
+the regiment went up the narrow path and out into the open clearing
+beyond. For a short time the Ashantis kept up a fire from the houses,
+but the 42d soon drove them out, and a single shot from the gun down the
+wide street which divided the town into two portions, bursting in the
+midst of a group at the further end, killed eight and drove all further
+idea of resistance in that direction from their minds.
+
+It was now about twelve o'clock; but although the Ashantis had lost
+their camp and village, and had suffered terribly, they were not yet
+finally beaten. They had moved the principal part of the forces which
+had been engaged upon our left round to the right, were pressing hard
+upon the column there and the 23d, and were cutting in between the
+latter and the 42d, when a fortunate accident enabled us to meet this
+attack more effectively. The left column had cut its path rather too
+much to the east, and came into the road between the 42d and 23d,
+forming a connecting link between them; while the right column, having
+at last cut away the whole of the brush wood in which the Ashantis had
+so long wedged themselves between them and the road, were now in direct
+communication with the 23d. They had been reinforced by a company of the
+Rifle Brigade. Our front, therefore, was now entirely changed, and faced
+east instead of north. The Ashantis in vain tried to break the line, but
+desisted from their efforts.
+
+The firing died away, and it was thought that the battle was over, when
+at about a quarter to one a tremendous fire broke out from the rear of
+the column, showing that the Ashantis were making a last and desperate
+effort to turn our flank, and to retake the village from which we had
+driven them at eight in the morning. So near was the rear of the column
+to the village that the slugs fell fast into the reserve who were
+stationed there. Three companies of the Rifles were sent up to
+strengthen the line, and for three quarters of an hour the roar of the
+musketry was as heavy and continuous as it had been at any time during
+the day. Then, as the enemy's fire slackened, Sir Garnet gave the word
+for the line to advance, sweeping round from the rear so as to drive the
+enemy northwards before them.
+
+The movement was admirably executed. The Bonny men of Wood's regiment,
+who had fought silently and steadily all the time that they had been
+on the defensive, now raised their shrill war cry, and slinging their
+rifles and drawing their swords--their favorite weapons--dashed forward
+like so many panthers let loose. By their side, skirmishing as quietly
+and steadily as if on parade, the men of the Rifle Brigade searched
+every bush with their bullets, and in five minutes from the commencement
+of the advance the Ashantis were in full and final retreat. The battle
+ended at about half past one, having lasted five hours and a half.
+
+The Ashantis were supposed to have had from fifteen to twenty
+thousand men in the field. What their loss was could not accurately be
+calculated, as they carry off their dead as fast as they fall; but where
+rushes were made by our troops, as they had not time to do this, they
+lay everywhere thick on the ground. By the most moderate computation
+they must have lost over two thousand. Ammon Quatia himself was killed,
+as well as Aboo, one of the six great tributary kings. The body of the
+king's chief executioner was also pointed out by some of the prisoners.
+They fought with extraordinary pluck and resolution, as was shown by
+the fact that although wretchedly armed, for upwards of five hours they
+resisted the attack of troops armed with breech loaders, and supported
+by guns and rockets. Their position was a good one, and they had, no
+doubt, calculated upon coming down upon us from the rising ground,
+either on the flank or rear, with advantage, should we succeed in
+pushing forward.
+
+Upon our side the loss in killed was very slight, not exceeding eight or
+ten. The 42d out of a total of four hundred and fifty had a hundred and
+four wounded, of whom eight were officers. In the right hand column,
+Colonel Wood, six naval officers, and twenty men of the Naval Brigade,
+with many of the native regiment, were wounded. Of the sixty engineer
+laborers twenty were wounded; while of their five officers Captain
+Buckle was killed, Major Home and Lieutenant Hare wounded, together with
+several of their white soldiers. Altogether our casualties exceeded two
+hundred and fifty. Fortunately but a small proportion of the wounds were
+serious.
+
+While the battle was raging at one o'clock Quarman was attacked by a
+strong body of Ashantis coming from the west, probably forming part of
+Essarman Quatia's force. Captain Burnett, who was in command, having
+under him Lieutenant Jones of the 2d West Indian regiment, and
+thirty-five men of that corps and a few natives, conducted the defense,
+and was well seconded by his men. Although the attacking force was very
+greatly superior, and took the little garrison by surprise--for they did
+not expect, while a great battle was raging within a distance of a mile,
+that the Ashantis would be able to spare a force to attack a detached
+party--the garrison defended itself with great gallantry and complete
+success, not only beating off the enemy whenever they attacked, but
+sallying out and assisting to bring in a convoy of stores which was
+close at hand when the attack began.
+
+Amoaful was a town capable of containing two or three thousand
+inhabitants. Great quantities of grain and coarse flour were found here.
+These were done up in bundles of dried plantain leaves, each bundle
+weighing from five to fifteen pounds. This capture was of great service
+to the commissariat, as it afforded an abundant supply of excellent food
+for the carriers. The troops were in high spirits that night. They had
+won a battle fought under extreme difficulty, and that with a minimum
+of loss in killed. There were therefore no sad recollections to damp the
+pleasure of victory.
+
+Frank had been twice struck with slugs, but in neither case had these
+penetrated deeply, and he was able to sit round the camp fire and to
+enjoy his glass of rum and water. Two kegs of rum were the only stores
+which that night came up from the rear, thanks to the consideration of
+a commissariat officer, to whom the soldiers felt extremely grateful for
+providing them with an invigorating drink after their long and fatiguing
+labors of the day.
+
+At about a mile and a quarter from Amoaful lay the town of Bequah,
+the capital of one of the most powerful of the Ashanti kings. Here a
+considerable force was known to be collected before the battle, and here
+many of the fugitives were believed to have rallied. It would have been
+impossible to advance and leave this hostile camp so close to a
+station in our rear. Lord Gifford was therefore sent out at daybreak
+to reconnoiter it. He approached it closely, when twenty men sprang out
+from the bush and fired at him, fortunately without hitting him. When he
+returned and made his report the general determined to attack and burn
+the place, and orders were issued for a column, consisting of Russell's
+regiment, Rait's battery, and the Naval Brigade, supported by the 42d
+and commanded by Colonel M'Leod, to start at one o'clock.
+
+The march was not opposed through the bush, but as the scouts entered
+the clearing a heavy fire was opened upon them. Lord Gifford and almost
+the whole of his party were more or less severely wounded when the
+sailors rushed in to their support. For a short time the enemy kept up a
+heavy fire from the houses, and then fled, leaving about forty of their
+number dead on the ground. The town, which was about twice the size of
+Fomana, was burned, and the column returned to the camp.
+
+A great portion of the town was destroyed and the place stockaded, and
+then all was in readiness for the advance upon Coomassie. Amoaful was to
+be left in charge of the 2d West Indians, who had now come up. Each man
+received four days' rations and each regiment was to take charge of its
+own provision and baggage. The advance started at seven in the morning,
+Russell's regiment, Rait's battery, and the Rifle Brigade. Then came the
+headquarter staff followed by the 42d and Naval Brigade. The hammocks
+and rations went on with the troops. The rest of the baggage remained
+behind. The road differed in nothing from that which had so long
+been followed. It bore everywhere marks of the retreating enemy, in
+provisions and other articles scattered about, in occasional dark
+stains, and in its plants and grass trampled into the ground, six feet
+in breadth, showing that the usual negro way of walking in single file
+had been abandoned. The rate of progression was slow, as the country had
+to be thoroughly searched by the advance. There were, too, many streams
+to be crossed, each causing a delay.
+
+At one of the villages there was a large camp, where about a thousand
+men were assembled to make a stand. The defense was, however, feeble in
+the extreme, and it was evident that they were greatly demoralized by
+their defeat on the 1st. Russell's regiment carried the place at a rush,
+the enemy firing wildly altogether beyond the range of their weapons.
+Several were killed and the rest took precipitately to the bush. A few
+shots were fired at other places, but no real resistance took place.
+On reaching the village of Agamemmu, after having taken six hours in
+getting over as many miles, the column halted, and orders were sent for
+the baggage to come on from Amoaful. The troops were set to work to cut
+the bush round the village, which was a very small one, and a breastwork
+was thrown up round it. The troops were in their little tentes d'abri
+packed as closely together as possible outside the houses, but within
+the stockade. The carriers slept in the street of the village, where so
+thickly did they lie that it was impossible for anyone to make his way
+along without treading upon them.
+
+News came in that night that Captain Butler with the Western Akims
+had arrived within two days' march of Amoaful, but that without the
+slightest reason the king and the whole of his army had left Captain
+Butler and retired suddenly to the Prah. At the same time they heard
+that the army of the Wassaws under Captain Dalrymple had also broken
+up without having come in contact with the enemy. From the rear also
+unpleasant news came up. The attack upon Quarman had been no isolated
+event. Fomana had also been attacked, but the garrison there had, after
+some hours' fighting, repulsed the enemy. Several convoys had been
+assaulted, and the whole road down to the Prah was unsafe. The next
+morning, after waiting till a large convoy came safely in, the column
+marched at nine o'clock, Gifford's scouts, Russell's regiment, and
+Rait's battery being as usual in front. The resistance increased with
+every step, and the head of the column was constantly engaged. Several
+villages were taken by Russell's regiment, who, full of confidence
+in themselves and their officers, carried them with a rush in capital
+style. It was but six miles to the Dab, but the ground was swampy and
+the road intersected by many streams. Consequently it was not until
+after being eight hours on the road that the head of the column reached
+the river, three hours later before the whole of the troops and their
+baggage were encamped there.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII: THE CAPTURE OF COOMASSIE
+
+
+Upon the afternoon of the arrival of the English column upon the Dah the
+king made another attempt to arrest their progress, with a view no doubt
+of bringing up fresh reinforcements. A flag of truce came in with a
+letter to the effect that our rapid advance had much disconcerted
+him, which was no doubt true, and that he had not been able to make
+arrangements for the payments claimed; that he would send in hostages,
+but that most of those whom the general had asked for were away, and
+that he could not agree to give the queen mother or the heir apparent.
+These were, of course, the principal hostages, indeed the only ones who
+would be of any real value. The answer was accordingly sent back, that
+unless these personages arrived before daybreak the next morning we
+should force our way into Coomassie.
+
+The Dah is a river about fifteen yards wide and three feet deep at the
+deepest place. The Engineers set to work to bridge it directly they
+arrived, Russell's regiment at once crossing the river and bivouacking
+on the opposite bank.
+
+It was unfortunate that this, the first night upon which the troops had
+been unprovided with tents, should have turned out tremendously wet.
+The thunder roared, the lightning flashed, and the rain came down
+incessantly. Tired as the troops were there were few who slept, and
+there was a general feeling of satisfaction when the morning broke and
+the last day of the march began.
+
+The rain held up a little before daybreak, and the sky was clear when
+at six o'clock Wood's Bonny men, who had come up by a forced march the
+evening before, led the advance. Lieutenant Saunders with one of Rait's
+guns came next. The Rifles followed in support.
+
+Before the Bonny men had gone half a mile they were hotly engaged, and
+the combat was for two hours a repetition of that of Amoaful. Saunders
+advanced again and again to the front with his gun, and with a few
+rounds of grape cleared the sides of the path of the enemy. At last,
+however, the Bonny men would advance no farther, and Lieutenant Byre,
+the adjutant of Wood's regiment, was mortally wounded.
+
+Lieutenant Saunders sent back to say it was impossible for him to get
+on farther unless supported by white troops. The Rifles were then sent
+forward to take the Bonny men's place, and slowly, very slowly, the
+advance was continued until the clearing round a village could be seen
+fifty yards away. Then the Rifles gave a cheer and with a sudden rush
+swept through to the open and carried the village without a check. In
+the meantime the whole column had been following in the rear as the
+Rifles advanced, and were hotly engaged in repelling a series of
+flank attacks on the part of the enemy. These attacks were gallantly
+persevered in by the Ashantis, who at times approached in such masses
+that the whole bush swayed and moved as they pushed forward.
+
+Their loss must have been extremely large, for our men lined the road
+and kept up a tremendous Snider fire upon them at a short distance. Our
+casualties were slight. The road, like almost all roads in the country,
+was sunk two feet in the center below the level of the surrounding
+ground, consequently the men were lying in shelter as behind a
+breastwork, while they kept up their tremendous fire upon the foe.
+
+The village once gained, the leading troops were thrown out in a circle
+round it, and the order was given to pass the baggage from the rear to
+the village. The operation was carried out in safety, the path being
+protected by the troops lying in a line along it. The baggage once in,
+the troops closed up to the village, the disappointed foe continuing a
+series of desperate attacks upon their rear. These assaults were kept up
+even after all had reached the cleared space of the village, the enemy's
+war horn sounding and the men making the woods re-echo with their wild
+war cry. The Naval Brigade at one time inflicted great slaughter upon
+the enemy by remaining perfectly quiet until the Ashantis, thinking they
+had retired, advanced full of confidence, cheering, when a tremendous
+fire almost swept them away.
+
+It was six hours from the time at which the advance began before the
+rear guard entered the village, and as but a mile and a half had been
+traversed and Coomassie was still six miles away, it was evident that
+if the Ashantis continued to fight with the same desperation, and if the
+baggage had to be carried on step by step from village to village, the
+force would not get halfway on to Coomassie by nightfall.
+
+The instant the baggage was all in, preparations were made for a fresh
+advance. Rait's guns, as usual, opened to clear the way, and the 42d
+this time led the advance. The enemy's fire was very heavy and the
+Highlanders at first advanced but slowly, their wounded straggling
+back in quick succession into the village. After twenty minutes' work,
+however, they had pushed back the enemy beyond the brow of the hill, and
+from this point they advanced with great rapidity, dashing forward at
+times at the double, until the foe, scared by the sudden onslaught, gave
+way altogether and literally fled at the top of their speed.
+
+War drums and horns, chiefs' stools and umbrellas, littered the next
+village and told how sudden and complete had been the stampede. As the
+42d advanced troops were from time to time sent forward until a despatch
+came in from Sir A. Alison saying that all the villages save the last
+were taken, that opposition had ceased, and that the enemy were in
+complete rout. Up to this time the attack of the enemy upon the rear
+of the village had continued with unabated vigor, and shot and slug
+continually fell in the place itself. The news from the front was soon
+known and was hailed with a cheer which went right round the line of
+defense, and, whether scared by its note of triumph or because they
+too had received the news, the efforts of the enemy ceased at once, and
+scarcely another shot was fired.
+
+At half past three the baggage was sent forward and the headquarter
+staff and Rifle Brigade followed it. There was no further check. The
+42d and several companies of the Rifle Brigade entered Coomassie without
+another shot being fired in its defense. Sir Garnet Wolseley soon after
+arrived, and taking off his hat called for three cheers for the Queen,
+which was responded to with a heartiness and vigor which must have
+astonished the Ashantis. These were still in considerable numbers in the
+town, having been told by the king that peace was or would be made.
+They seemed in no way alarmed, but watched, as amused and interested
+spectators, the proceedings of the white troops.
+
+The first thing to be done was to disarm those who had guns, and this
+seemed to scare the others, for in a short time the town was almost
+entirely deserted. It was now fast getting dark, and the troops
+bivouacked in the marketplace, which had so often been the scene of
+human sacrifices on a large scale.
+
+Their day's work had, indeed, been a heavy one. They had been twelve
+hours on the road without rest or time to cook food. Water was very
+scarce, no really drinkable water having been met with during the day.
+In addition to this they had undergone the excitement of a long and
+obstinate fight with an enemy concealed in the bush, after work of
+almost equal severity upon the day before, and had passed a sleepless
+night in a tropical rainstorm, yet with the exception of a few fever
+stricken men not a single soldier fell out from his place in the ranks.
+
+Nor was the first night in Coomassie destined to be a quiet one.
+Soon after two o'clock a fire broke out in one of the largest of the
+collections of huts, which was soon in a blaze from end to end. The
+engineers pulled down the huts on either side and with great difficulty
+prevented the flames from spreading. These fires were the result of
+carriers and others plundering, and one man, a policeman, caught with
+loot upon him, was forthwith hung from a tree. Several others were
+flogged, and after some hours' excitement the place quieted down. Sir
+Garnet was greatly vexed at the occurrence, as he had the evening before
+sent a messenger to the king asking him to come in and make peace, and
+promising to spare the town if he did so.
+
+Although Coomassie was well known to Frank he was still ignorant of the
+character of the interior of the chiefs' houses, and the next day he
+wandered about with almost as much curiosity as the soldiers themselves.
+The interiors even of the palaces of the chiefs showed that the Ashantis
+can have no idea of what we call comfort. The houses were filled with
+dust and litter, and this could not be accounted for solely by the
+bustle and hurry of picking out the things worth carrying away prior
+to the hurried evacuation of the place. From the roofs hung masses
+of spiders' web, thick with dust, while sweeping a place out before
+occupying it brought down an accumulation of dust which must have been
+the result of years of neglect. The principal apartments were lumbered
+up with drums, great umbrellas, and other paraphernalia of processions,
+such as horns, state chairs, wooden maces, etc. Before the door of
+each house stood a tree, at the foot of which were placed little idols,
+calabashes, bits of china, bones, and an extraordinary jumble of strange
+odds and ends of every kind, all of which were looked upon as fetish.
+Over the doors and alcoves were suspended a variety of charms, old stone
+axes and arrow tips, nuts, gourds, amulets, beads, and other trumpery
+articles.
+
+The palace was in all respects exactly as the king had left it. The
+royal bed and couch were in their places, the royal chairs occupied
+their usual raised position. Only, curiously enough, all had been turned
+round and over. The storerooms upstairs were untouched, and here was
+found an infinite variety of articles, for the most part mere rubbish,
+but many interesting and valuable: silver plate, gold masks, gold cups,
+clocks, glass, china, pillows, guns, cloth, caskets, and cabinets; an
+olla podrida, which resembled the contents of a sale room.
+
+In many of the native apartments of the palace were signs that human
+sacrifice had been carried on to the last minute. Several stools were
+found covered with thick coatings of recently shed blood, and a horrible
+smell of gore pervaded the whole palace, and, indeed, the whole town.
+The palace was full of fetish objects just as trumpery and meaningless
+as those in the humblest cottages. The king's private sitting room was,
+like the rest, an open court with a tree growing in it. This tree was
+covered with fetish objects, and thickly hung with spiders' webs. At
+each end was a small but deep alcove with a royal chair, so that the
+monarch could always sit on the shady side.
+
+Along each side of the little court ran a sort of verandah, beneath
+which was an immense assortment of little idols and fetishes of all
+kinds.
+
+From one of the verandahs a door opened into the king's bedroom, which
+was about ten feet by eight. It was very dark, being lighted only by a
+small window about a foot square, opening into the women's apartments.
+At one end was the royal couch, a raised bedstead with curtains, and
+upon a ledge by the near side (that is to say the king had to step over
+the ledge to get into bed) were a number of pistols and other weapons,
+among them an English general's sword, bearing the inscription, "From
+Queen Victoria to the King of Ashanti." This sword was presented to the
+predecessor of King Coffee. Upon the floor at the end opposite the
+bed was a couch upon which the king could sit and talk with his wives
+through the little window.
+
+In the women's apartments all sorts of stuffs, some of European, some of
+native manufacture, were found scattered about in the wildest confusion.
+The terror and horror of the four or five hundred ladies, when they
+found that their husband was about to abandon his palace and that
+they would have no time to remove their treasured finery, can be well
+imagined.
+
+In almost every apartment and yard of the palace were very slightly
+raised mounds, some no larger than a plate, others two or even three
+feet long. These were whitewashed and presented a strong contrast to
+the general red of the ground and lower walls. These patches marked
+the places of graves. The whole palace, in fact, appeared to be little
+better than a cemetery and a slaughterhouse in one. A guard was placed
+over the palace, and here, as elsewhere through the town, looting was
+strictly forbidden.
+
+All day the general expected the arrival of the king, who had sent
+a messenger to say he would be in early. At two o'clock a tremendous
+rainstorm broke over the town, lasting for three hours. In the evening
+it became evident that he was again deceiving us, and orders were issued
+that the troops, in the morning, should push on another three miles
+to the tombs of the kings, where he was said to be staying. Later
+on, however, the news came that the king had gone right away into the
+interior, and as another storm was coming up it became evident that the
+rainy season was setting in in earnest. The determination was therefore
+come to, to burn the town and to start for the coast next morning.
+
+All night Major Home with a party of Engineers was at work mining the
+palace and preparing it for explosion, while a prize committee were
+engaged in selecting and packing everything which they considered worth
+taking down to the coast. The news of the change of plan, however, had
+not got abroad, and the troops paraded next morning under the belief
+that they were about to march still farther up the country. When it
+became known that they were bound for the coast there was a general
+brightening of faces, and a buzz of satisfaction ran down the ranks.
+It was true that it was believed that a large amount of treasure was
+collected at the kings' tombs, and the prize money would not have been
+unwelcome, still the men felt that their powers were rapidly becoming
+exhausted. The hope of a fight with the foe and of the capture of
+Coomassie had kept them up upon the march, but now that this had been
+done the usual collapse after great exertion followed. Every hour added
+to the number of fever stricken men who would have to be carried down to
+the coast, and each man, as he saw his comrades fall out from the ranks,
+felt that his own turn might come next.
+
+At six o'clock in the morning the advanced guard of the baggage began to
+move out of the town. The main body was off by seven. The 42d remained
+as rearguard to cover the Engineers and burning party.
+
+Frank stayed behind to see the destruction of the town. A hundred
+engineer laborers were supplied with palm leaf torches, and in spite of
+the outer coats of thatch being saturated by the tremendous rains, the
+flames soon spread. Volumes of black smoke poured up, and soon a huge
+pile of smoke resting over the town told the Ashantis of the destruction
+of their blood stained capital. The palace was blown up, and when the
+Engineers and 42d marched out from the town scarce a house remained
+untouched by the flames.
+
+The troops had proceeded but a short distance before they had reason
+to congratulate themselves on their retreat before the rains began in
+earnest, and to rejoice over the fact that the thunderstorms did not
+set in three days earlier than they did. The marsh round the town had
+increased a foot in depth, while the next stream, before a rivulet two
+feet and a half deep, had now swollen its banks for a hundred and fifty
+yards on either side, with over five feet and a half of water in the old
+channel.
+
+Across this channel the Engineers had with much difficulty thrown a
+tree, over which the white troops passed, while the native carriers had
+to wade across. It was laughable to see only the eyes of the taller men
+above the water, while the shorter disappeared altogether, nothing being
+seen but the boxes they carried. Fortunately the deep part was only
+three or four yards wide. Thus the carriers by taking a long breath
+on arriving at the edge of the original channel were able to struggle
+across.
+
+This caused a terrible delay, and a still greater one occurred at the
+Dah. Here the water was more than two feet above the bridge which the
+Engineers had made on the passage up. The river was as deep as the
+previous one had been, and the carriers therefore waded as before; but
+the deep part was wider, so wide, indeed, that it was impossible for
+the shorter men to keep under water long enough to carry their burdens
+across. The tall men therefore crossed and recrossed with the burdens,
+the short men swimming over.
+
+The passage across the bridge too was slow and tedious in the extreme.
+Some of the cross planks had been swept away, and each man had to feel
+every step of his way over. So tedious was the work that at five in
+the afternoon it became evident that it would be impossible for all the
+white troops to get across--a process at once slow and dangerous--before
+nightfall. The river was still rising, and it was a matter of importance
+that none should be left upon the other side at night, as the Ashantis
+might, for anything they could tell, be gathering in force in the rear.
+Consequently Sir Archibald Alison gave the order for the white troops to
+strip and to wade across taking only their helmets and guns. The clothes
+were made up in bundles and carried over by natives swimming, while
+others took their places below in case any of the men should be carried
+off their feet by the stream. All passed over without any accident.
+
+One result, however, was a laughable incident next morning, an incident
+which, it may be safely asserted, never before occurred in the British
+army. It was quite dark before the last party were over, and the natives
+collecting the clothes did not notice those of one of the men who had
+undressed at the foot of a tree. Consequently he had to pass the night,
+a very wet one, in a blanket, and absolutely paraded with his regiment
+in the morning in nothing but a helmet and rifle. The incident caused
+immense laughter, and a native swimming across the river found and
+brought back his clothes.
+
+As the journeys were necessarily slow and tedious, owing to the quantity
+of baggage and sick being carried down, Frank now determined to push
+straight down to the coast, and, bidding goodbye to Sir Garnet and the
+many friends he had made during the expedition, he took his place for
+the first time in the hammock, which with its bearers had accompanied
+him from Cape Coast, and started for the sea. There was some risk as far
+as the Prah, for straggling bodies of the enemy frequently intercepted
+the convoys. Frank, however, met with no obstacle, and in ten days after
+leaving the army reached Cape Coast.
+
+Ostik implored his master to take him with him across the sea; but Frank
+pointed out to him that he would not be happy long in England, where
+the customs were so different from his own, and where in winter he
+would feel the cold terribly. Ostik yielded to the arguments, and having
+earned enough to purchase for years the small comforts and luxuries dear
+to the negro heart, he agreed to start for the Gaboon immediately Frank
+left for England.
+
+On his first arrival at Cape Coast he had to his great satisfaction
+found that the Houssas who had escaped from Coomassie had succeeded in
+reaching the coast in safety, and that having obtained their pay from
+the agent they had sailed for their homes.
+
+Three days after Frank's arrival at Cape Coast the mail steamer came
+along, and he took passage for England. Very strange indeed did it feel
+to him when he set foot in Liverpool. Nearly two years and a half
+had elapsed since he had sailed, and he had gone through adventures
+sufficient for a lifetime. He was but eighteen years old now, but he had
+been so long accustomed to do man's work that he felt far older than
+he was. The next day on arriving in town he put up at the Charing Cross
+Hotel and then sallied out to see his friends.
+
+He determined to go first of all to visit the porter who had been the
+earliest friend he had made in London, and then to drive to Ruthven's,
+where he was sure of a hearty welcome. He had written several times,
+since it had been possible for him to send letters, to his various
+friends, first of all to his sister, and the doctor, to Ruthven, to the
+porter, and to the old naturalist. He drove to London Bridge Station,
+and there learned that the porter had been for a week absent from duty,
+having strained his back in lifting a heavy trunk. He therefore drove
+to Ratcliff Highway. The shop was closed, but his knock brought the
+naturalist to the door.
+
+"What can I do for you, sir?" he asked civilly.
+
+"Well, in the first place, you can shake me by the hand."
+
+The old man started at the voice.
+
+"Why, 'tis Frank!" he exclaimed, "grown and sunburnt out of all
+recollection. My dear boy, I am glad indeed to see you. Come in, come
+in; John is inside."
+
+Frank received another hearty greeting, and sat for a couple of hours
+chatting over his adventures. He found that had he arrived a fortnight
+later he would not have found either of his friends. The porter was in a
+week about to be married again to a widow who kept a small shop and was
+in comfortable circumstances. The naturalist had sold the business, and
+was going down into the country to live with a sister there.
+
+After leaving them Frank drove to the residence of Sir James Ruthven
+in Eaton Square. Frank sent in his name and was shown up to the
+drawing room. A minute later the door opened with a crash and his old
+schoolfellow rushed in.
+
+"My dear, dear, old boy," he said wringing Frank's hand, "I am glad to
+see you; but, bless me, how you have changed! How thin you are, and how
+black! I should have passed you in the street without knowing you; and
+you look years older than I do. But that is no wonder after all you've
+gone through. Well, when did you arrive, and where are your things? Why
+have you not brought them here?"
+
+Frank said that he had left them at the hotel, as he was going down
+early the next morning to Deal. He stayed, however, and dined with
+his friend, whose father received him with the greatest cordiality and
+kindness.
+
+On leaving the hotel next morning he directed his portmanteau to be sent
+in the course of the day to Sir James Ruthven's. He had bought a few
+things at Cape Coast, and had obtained a couple of suits of clothes for
+immediate use at Liverpool.
+
+On arriving at Deal he found his sister much grown and very well and
+happy. She was almost out of her mind with delight at seeing him. He
+stayed two or three days with her and then returned to town and took up
+his abode in Eaton Square.
+
+"Well, my dear boy, what are you thinking of doing?" Sir James Ruthven
+asked next morning at breakfast. "You have had almost enough of travel,
+I should think."
+
+"Quite enough, sir," Frank said. "I have made up my mind that I shall be
+a doctor. The gold necklace which I showed you, which Ammon Quatia gave
+me, weighs over twenty pounds, and as it is of the purest gold it is
+worth about a thousand pounds, a sum amply sufficient to keep me and pay
+my expenses till I have passed. Besides, Mr. Goodenough has, I believe,
+left me something in his will. I sent home one copy to his lawyer and
+have brought the other with me. I must call on the firm this morning.
+I have also some thirty pounds' weight in gold which was paid me by
+the king for the goods he took, but this, of course, belongs to Mr.
+Goodenough's estate."
+
+Upon calling upon the firm of lawyers, and sending in his name, he was
+at once shown in to the principal.
+
+"I congratulate you on your safe return, sir," the gentleman said.
+"You have called, of course, in reference to the will of the late Mr.
+Goodenough."
+
+"Yes," Frank replied. "I sent home one copy from Coomassie and have
+brought another with me."
+
+"We received the first in due course," the gentleman said, taking the
+document Frank held out to him. "You are, of course, acquainted with its
+contents."
+
+"No," Frank answered, "beyond the fact that Mr. Goodenough told me he
+had left me a legacy."
+
+"Then I have pleasant news to give you," the lawyer said. "Mr.
+Goodenough died possessed of about sixty thousand pounds. He left
+fifteen thousand each to his only surviving nephew and niece. Fifteen
+thousand pounds he has divided among several charitable and scientific
+institutions. Fifteen thousand pounds he has left to you."
+
+Frank gave a little cry of surprise.
+
+"The will is an eminently just and satisfactory one," the lawyer said,
+"for Mr. Goodenough has had but little intercourse with his relations,
+who live in Scotland, and they had no reason to expect to inherit
+any portion of his property. They are, therefore, delighted with the
+handsome legacy they have received. I may mention that Mr. Goodenough
+ordered that in the event of your not living to return to England, five
+thousand pounds of the portion which would have come to you was to be
+paid to trustees for the use of your sister, the remaining ten thousand
+to be added to the sum to be divided among the hospitals."
+
+"This is indeed a surprise," Frank said; "and I shall be obliged, sir,
+if you will at once draw out a paper for me to sign settling the five
+thousand pounds upon my sister. Whatever may happen then she will be
+provided for."
+
+The accession of this snug and most unexpected fortune in no way altered
+Frank's views as to his future profession. He worked hard and steadily
+and passed with high honors. He spent another three years in hospital
+work, and then purchased a partnership in an excellent West End
+practice. He is now considered one of the most rising young physicians
+of the day. His sister keeps house for him in Harley Street; but it is
+doubtful whether she will long continue to do so. The last time Dick
+Ruthven was at home on leave he persuaded her that it was her bounden
+duty to endeavor to make civilian life bearable to him when he should
+attain captain's rank, and, in accordance with his father's wish, retire
+from the army, events which are expected to take place in a few months'
+time.
+
+Ruthven often laughs and tells Frank that he is a good soldier spoiled,
+and that it is a pity a man should settle down as a doctor who had made
+his way in life "by sheer pluck."
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of By Sheer Pluck, by G. A. Henty
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