Murray, of course, said that he should be happy to send the Supplejack up, should her draft of water not be too great, and that he could perfectly trust her commander, Lieutenant Rogers, to act with discretion in the matter. Senhor Bernardo soon afterwards made his appearance. He had not only come himself to make his complaint, but had brought his wife with him, without whom, he observed, he never moved from home.
He was not a very favourable specimen of a British consul, and it was difficult to say how he had attained the post. He was a short, dark-skinned personage, with apparently a mixture of negro blood in his veins. With considerable volubility, though in somewhat broken English, he repeated all his complaints, and finished up, requesting that he might be conveyed, with his wife, back to his home.
“But as we are not acquainted with the navigation, it would be impossible for the brig to go up without a pilot,” observed Murray.
“Oh! dat sir, I will provide,” he answered. “I will obtain the services of Anselmo; he knows ebery inch of de way up to Angostura, each sandbank and ebery snag, I might almost say.”
“You saw the brig-of-war in the harbour, do you think she will be able to get up so far?” asked Murray.
“Oh yes, captain; your big ship even would get up as the waters are rising at present, sure. She might, to be sure, stick coming down, though,” answered the consul.
“Thank you, I should prefer then not attempting to take her up,” said Murray, laughing.
“Well, Captain Murray, I will leave you to make arrangements with the consul, and I conclude that Lieutenant Rogers will be ready to give this gentleman and his wife a passage?” observed the governor.
“I can answer for that,” answered Murray, as he took his leave, accompanied by Senhor Guedes.
He returned to the quay.