In Savage Africa / Or, The adventures of Frank Baldwin from the Gold Coast to Zanzibar.

by Verney Lovett Cameron

First I wondered if Jimmy Duds and the other man had recognized me or not. Then as I remembered that the colouring of the fetichman at Whydah and the black which had been smeared over me by Pentlea had not yet worn off, it was very improbable that I should have been recognized. At all events I could be certain that my father knew of the presence of the slavers in the river, and would be on his guard. But what was to become of me I did not know. There was small chance of my being able to get through the mangrove swamp to the dry ground beyond; and even if I did, I was sure to be caught either by men from the slavers or by some of Okopa’s people and made a prisoner again; while to escape from my prison by swimming was almost impossible, besides the risks I should run from the alligators with which the stream swarmed.

Fortunately the squall which drove my canoe from under my feet was the last of the tornado. The rain soon ceased, the clouds cleared away, and all the stars came out with that peculiar brilliancy which is only observable after a storm in the tropics. I was miserably cold and wet, and did not feel in a mood for admiring the marvellous beauty of the scene, but rather racked my brains for some means of extricating myself from the dangerous position in which I was.

Suddenly I heard the sound of heavy guns and musketry, and some way up the river I could see the reflection of the flashes of guns and rifles, and masses of smoke rising in the air. Could the brig be attacked already? and had those on board been taken at a disadvantage, or had they been warned by my attempts to attract their attention? The sounds seemed after a time to be drawing closer, and then to be becoming less; and presently I saw the lofty sails of the brig above the mangroves, as, aided by the first of the land breeze, she was stemming the young flood which was now making up the river. Almost immediately after I had seen her I heard heavy firing again, and judged, and rightly too, that she was passing the creek where the slavers were hidden, and that the blockhouses had opened fire on her.

My determination as to what I should do was now taken; for looking at the river abreast of me I did not think that the Petrel could pass more than ninety or a hundred yards from where I was, so I stripped off all my clothes and made up my mind, as soon as she came near, to risk all on the attempt to swim off to her.

I watched anxiously for her hull to appear round a point a short way above me, and when I saw her flying-jib coming past the trees, I got down close to the water, ready to make my plunge the moment I judged her within the proper distance. Behind the brig I now saw the sails of one of the schooners, and soon both vessels were in sight, exchanging a heavy fire of musketry, for the schooner being right astern of the Petrel none of the guns of either vessel could bear.

The moment came when I should try for my swim, and slipping into the water I struck out for the brig. I swam my strongest, and rapidly closed on her, and thought that in another two or three minutes I should be alongside of her and be hauled up on her deck and find myself in the arms of my father and Willie, when suddenly I felt myself being swept so fast up the stream that there would be no chance of my reaching her. I had just reached the strong stream of the tide, which I had not allowed for. The schooner seemed to be now my best chance of safety, as evidently she was gaining on the brig, and intended to run her on board; but though I got within six or seven yards of her, I was unable to reach her, and was left out in the middle of the river, with the tide running up so fast that I could not possibly struggle against it.

For a time, in my despair, I swam after the vessels, but soon found that they were rapidly leaving me astern, and that if I were not to be drowned I must endeavour to make my way back to the shore again. As a last and a forlorn hope I shouted and yelled to try to attract the attention of some on board the schooner; but I might as well have attempted to wake the dead. And so, sadly and despondently after my desperate try for freedom, I turned again toward the shore, which I almost despaired of ever reaching.

I now swam without energy, and more from an instinct of self-preservation than from any hope that I would reach the shore; and even when I got there, if I ever did, there seemed to be no hope for me. As I was doggedly striking out I saw before me on the surface of the water something that looked long and black; and remembering what Silas had said about crocodiles, and fearing that it was one of these monsters, I ceased swimming, and only floated, for fear of making any noise by which I would attract the brute’s attention.

The time which I remained still with this dreaded object close to me seemed hours, though it could have been only a few moments, when the moon rising over the trees, her rays fell on what I supposed to be an alligator and showed it to be an empty canoe.

Hope came back to me, and I struck out lustily for it, and managed with some difficulty to get on board. I now had time to look round, and I saw that the Petrel and the schooner were crossing the bar alongside of each other, and that evidently from the noise of firing a hand-to-hand struggle was going on on board.