"On the Gold Coast six months. The niggers brought us gold-dust in quills. One day their duke died."
"Have the negroes dukes among them?" asked Toney.
"Their head-man. They put all his wives and slaves in a pen."
"What for?" asked Tom.
"To knock them on the head and bury them with the duke. Never heard such howling. One nigger jumped over the pen, ran down to the shore, and swam to the ship. They came around in canoes after him. Captain told me to throw him overboard. Had to obey orders. They took him ashore and knocked him on the head with clubs. Next night I was on the beach. Something jumped right up before me and grinned in my face. Looked like the big nigger I had pitched overboard."
"I thought they had knocked him on the head," said Toney.
"His ghost. It gave a whoop and jumped clean over my head, and then jumped back again."
"Like a circus-rider," said Tom.
"Kept jumping back and forth over my head, whooping and grinning. I got mad, and struck at it with a stick. Jerked stick from my hand and beat me over the back with it. I grabbed at the tarnal ghost, and if I could have got a grip on it I'd downed it. Couldn't hold it; got scared."