Part 4 (1/2)
Meanwhile everything possible was being tried to get another half knot of speed out of the _Nautilus_, which glided along under her cloud of sail, sending the water foa water on either side The hose was got to work, and the sails wetted, sheets were hauled htly ho with impatience as they scanned the distant schooner
”If I was the skipper I'd be ready for him this time,” said Mark to his companion
”How? What would you do?”
”Have the boat's crew ready to drop down the moment the slaver captain pitched another poor fellow overboard No, no,” he added, quickly; ”he'll never be such a wretch as to do that again”
”Oh, won't he just?” cried Bob, nodding his head, a great o out one by one, just like the s to the bear, for it to stop and so and save the next black chap, and then perhaps I shall look as cocky as you do Oh, what a wonderful chap you are, Van!”
Mark esture, as if to hit out at his messmate, and then looked on in wonder as the captain ordered the cutter's crew back into the boat, and the men to the falls, ready in case the slaver captain should repeat his uns were double-shotted and laid for the e
”I say,” whispered Bob, ”don't the skipper look savage? I believe he'd send a broadside into the schooner if it wasn't for the slaves on board”
”Of course he would; he said so,” replied Mark, and he went forward and then down belohere, by the di lantern, he could see the wild eyes of the black as he lay in a bunk, ready to start up in dread as the lad approached
”All right; be still,” said thehis hand upon thehilared at him in silence, but made no sound
”It's of no use to talk to you, I s'pose,” continued Mark ”There, go to sleep Perhaps we shall have soain!”
For at that un being fired overhead, ly about him
”I say, that startled him,” said Bob Howlett, who had stolen down behind hisat the black's astonishment ”What do you think of that, old chap? That's soe supply kept on the preoes another! Here, Van, we mustn't stop below”
For a second report shook the deck, and the black tried to rise, but sank back froht, Van, and that he'd better go to sleep”
”How?” replied Mark
”Ah, 'tis how! I say, what a shanorance Here, all right, Massa Sambo Go to sleep I say, do come on, Van, or there'll be a row”
The next minute the two lads were on deck, to find that they were rapidly overhauling the schooner, and they were just in tiiven as the boat was ready to be lowered
”Come, Mr Howlett, where have you been?”
This from the first lieutenant
Bobinto the boat, which dropped out of sight directly, and then darted in again as the men bent to their stout ashen oars, and sent her rapidly in the schooner's wake, where Mark lass that another poor fellow had been tossed overboard by the slaver captain, for he rightly judged that no English officer would leave the black to drown
He was quite correct in his judgh Captain Maitland had fuive up the chance of capture for the sake of a black, when he felt that he ht seize the schooner and put an end to theprobably year after year, he had his vessel's course stayed, and waited patiently for the return of the boat he had lowered
The mission of this cutter was almost an exact repetition of the one in which Mark took part, Bob Howlett having the luck to seize the second drowning man, over whose body the boathook had slipped