As the night wore on, the congregation of canoes became thicker, and presently something like a raft floated down to within three quarters of a mile of us, accompanied by five large boats, full of people. It was clearly distinguishable, from a bright halo of luminous smoke that hovered over it, proceeding from a fire that every now and then blazed up on board. By the time the raft was anchored, the evening breeze came strong down the river, wafting towards us the sounds of African drums, blended with dismal yells, as of captives, and loud fierce shouts. I directed my glass towards the name, that was flashing fitfully, as if tar or rosin, or some other equally inflammable substance, had been suddenly cast into it. "What can that be?" said I, to young De Walden, who was also spying away at the same object, close to where I stood. "Really," said the very handsome boy, "I cannot well tell, but I will call Serjeant Quacco, sir. He knows all the practices of the savages hereabouts." "No, no," rejoined I; "never mind--never mind; but what _can_ they be doing there on the raft? I see two uprights about five feet asunder, and judging from the dusky figures that are cruising about them, and the fire that is kindled beneath, as it were between them, they should be about eight feet high above the raft on which they are rigged. What _are_ they after now? Two fellows sitting on men's shoulders, are fixing a cross piece, or transom, on the top of the uprights--now they are lashing it to them tightly with some sort of rope--ah, they descend, and the fire seems to have gone out, for every thing is dark again." All in the neighbourhood of the raft was now undistinguishable, but small red fires began to burn steadily in the three advanced canoes. "What next?" said Sprawl. "Oh, I suppose, having set their piquets for the night, we are safe." And I took the glass from my eye, and banged the joints of it one into another, when De Walden spoke. "Please look again, sir--please look again." I did so. The gibbet sort of erection that I had been inspecting, was now lit up by a sudden glare of bright crimson flame. The dark figures, and the bows and sides of the attendant canoes, and the beams of the gallows-looking machine itself, were all tinged with a blood-red light, and presently the sound of the Eboe drums and flutes was borne down on the night-wind with startling distinctness, and louder than before, drowning the snoring of the toads, and _chir-chir-chirring_, and _wheetle-wheetling_ of the numberless noisy insects that floated off from the bank on either side of us.