The Pirate Slaver | Page 9

you for a single moment, my lad; in endeavouring to put down
this inhuman slave-trade we are engaged upon a righteous and lawful
task--lawful and righteous in the eyes of God as well as of man, I
humbly believe--and if the traffickers in human flesh and human
freedom and human happiness choose to risk and lose their lives in the
pursuit of their hellish trade, the responsibility must rest with
themselves, and in my humble opinion the earth is well rid of such
inhuman monsters. And as to the other matter--that of being yourself
hurried into eternity unprepared--it need not occur, my boy; no one
need die unprepared. What I mean is, of course, that all should take
especial care to be prepared for death whenever it may meet us, for we
know not what a day, or an hour, or even a moment may bring forth;
the man who walks the streets of his native town in fancied security is
actually just as liable to be cut off unawares as are we who follow the
terrible but necessary profession of arms; the menaces to life ashore are
as numerous as they are afloat, or more so; the forms of accident are
innumerable. And therefore I say that all should be careful to so
conduct themselves that they may be prepared to face death at any
moment. And if they are not, they may easily become so; for God's ear
is always open to the cry of His children, and I will take it upon myself
to say that no earnest, heartfelt prayer is ever allowed to go unanswered.
So, if you have any misgivings about to-night's work, go to God and
ask for His mercy and protection and help; and then, whatever happens,
you will be all right."
So saying, the good old fellow halted just abreast the hatchway, which
we had reached at this point in our perambulation fore and aft the deck,
and, gently urging me toward it suggestively, released my arm and
turned away. I took the hint thus given me and, without a word--for
indeed at that moment I was too deeply moved for speech--made my
way below to the midshipmen's berth, which I found opportunely
empty, and there cast myself upon my knees and prayed earnestly for
some minutes. When I arose from this act of devotion I was once more
calm and unperturbed; and from that moment I date a habit of prayer
that has been an inexpressible comfort and support to me ever since.

Upon returning to the deck the first object that caught my eyes was our
gig, with the first luff and little Pierrepoint--our junior mid but one--in
the stern-sheets, pulling toward the very handsome Spanish
brig--already spoken of as lying at anchor a short distance inside of
us--upon a visit of inspection. That the inspection to which she was
subjected was pretty thorough was sufficiently attested by the fact that
the gig remained alongside her a full hour, the British brig and the
Dutch barque being in their turn afterwards subjected to a similarly
severe examination; but, as Bates had predicted, nothing came of it, all
their papers being perfectly in order, while a rigorous search failed to
discover anything of an incriminating character on board either of
them.
"Of course not," commented the master, when he learned the substance
of the first luff's report to the skipper; "of course not. Bless ye, the
people that trade to this river aren't born fools, not they! Just consider
the matter for a moment. Let's suppose, for argument's sake, that the
Spaniard yonder is a slaver. Would she ship her cargo here in the very
spot that would be first visited by every man-o'-war that enters the river?
Of course she wouldn't; she'd go away up the river into one of the many
creeks that branch into it on either side for the first twenty miles or so,
and ship her blacks there, watching for the chance of a dark night to
slip out and get well off the land before daylight. If she came in here at
all, it would be to fill up her water and lay in a stock of meal upon
which to feed her niggers when she'd got 'em; and you may depend on
it that when a slaver comes in here upon any such errand as that, a very
bright look-out is kept for cruisers, and that, upon the first sight of a
suspicious-looking sail in the offing, her irons, her meal, and
everything else that would incriminate her are bundled ashore and
hidden away safely among the bushes, while her water would be started
and pumped out of her long enough before a man-o'-war could get
alongside of her. What is that Spanish brig taking