On rounding the first point, right in the middle of the stream lay our friend of the preceding night, moored stem and stern, with boarding nettings up, and Spanish colours flying at the mizen-peak; but we could see no one on board. Sprawl therefore called a halt, and made the men lie on their oars, as some savage pranks had lately been played by slavers in these rivers, such as laying trains to their magazines when they found capture inevitable, and various other pleasant little surprises, one of which generally served a man for a lifetime. So being desirous of avoiding all chance of a hoist of this kind, we dropped anchor in the felucca, and got the boats alongside, all to the cutter, which was sent to pull round the polacre and reconnoitre. On the officer returning, he said he had seen nothing. We therefore determined to remain quiet for some time longer, to give any trick of the nature glanced at, time to develope itself. We lay for two hours under the most intense heat I ever remember; the sun was absolutely broiling us alive, for there was not the least breath of air, and the surface of the sluggish river was one polished sheet of silver--the low swampy banks being covered with mangrove bushes and dwarf palms, preventing any breeze there might be from finding its way to us. "Now," said Lieutenant Sprawl, "this is really very unentertaining. I say, Benjie, my dear, I think I had better pull under the stern of the polacre to reconnoitre a bit. I will take care that I do not go too near." "I see no objections to it," said I, "none in the world; but mind your hand, my hearty--don't go too far, as they are slippery chaps these same slaving gentry--that _I_ can tell you." The boat shoved off--we were eating our hasty dinner on deck at the moment--and proceeded without let or hinderance until she arrived within pistol-shot of the polacre, when lo! from amongst the green bushes on the river bank, about musket-shot from them, a burst of white smoke flew up, and several round shot hopped along the calm surface, stirring up the water with whizzing splashes. The next moment the shrieks of the cutter's crew gave notice that they had told in a fearful manner. We looked out a-head. The wreck of the boat, with eight of her crew, including the lieutenant, holding on by it, came floating down to us; she had been knocked to pieces by the fire of the masked battery that had so unexpectedly opened, but the poor devils were promptly picked up; all to one unfortunate fellow who had been killed and now floated past us on his back, with his chest up, and his head down. Old Davie Doublepipe scrambled on board, in nowise greatly put out by his rough reception. "Why now," said he, "a surprise of this kind is extremely inconvenient." "But where the deuce came the shot from?" said I.