Edward Drake left the mess-room and went on deck. It was insufferably hot, and he wished to be alone. As he strolled slowly along the deck, his lips moved in prayer, for he understood only too well that the issue lay in the balance. At times he had been afraid of what he had done, for the responsibility was so great; but when he remembered what was at stake, his courage returned.
“We shall win,” he told himself confidently.
Their cause was just, for they were fighting for freedom and justice. Every peaceable method had been tried, and only force had remained. The smell of the land reached his nostrils, and in his imagination he pictured the scenes that were taking place in the hinterland—the maimings, the torturings, and the doing to death of thousands of helpless fellow creatures. Yes, this land which stretched from the mouth of the Congo for miles was laid desolate; what had been once a densely populated country was deserted—the work of the white men.
And when he thought of Gaunt, a glad light came to his eyes, for he had grown to love the millionaire as a brother. And then like a fair picture Lady Ethel came to his mind, and he wondered if she ever thought of him.
“It is stifling,” Gaunt called from behind. “Dreaming, eh?”
“I was thinking of England.”
“Don’t, my friend. We have enough here to occupy our minds. I thought that I had passed the days of tense excitement; but now I am like a mad boy enjoying his first gamble. Drake, I am glad I came here. And I will tell you something—I will confess that now I have an honest desire to help the natives,” Gaunt said quietly.
The next morning they steamed up the river, further than they had hitherto been. Gaunt and Captain Drake were on the deck, while Armstrong was standing on the bridge with glasses in hand.
Suddenly there was a sharp report—a puff of smoke could be seen on the shore—and a shell whistled over their heads. Another report—and—crash—the shell pitched on the quarter-deck and a violent explosion followed.
Edward Drake came rushing from below, and there was horror in his eyes when he saw two figures lying on the deck. They were John Gaunt and his brother Lindsay.