CHAPTER V.

We at length got out of the river into the open sea, but a calm
comes on, and the Captain again becomes very ill.—No one
on board understanding navigation, I doubt whether I shall
find my way to Sierra Leone.—The Captain does not be-
lieve that he is in danger.— Paul pleads with him about the
safety of hig soul.—A fire breaks out in the hold.—We in
vain endeavour to extinguish it—The rest of the crew de-
sert us.—Paul and I endeavour to save the Captain, but
driven from the cabin by the flames leap overboard and
reach a small boat, which we right and get into.—Seea
schooner approaching us. ,

T day-break the pilot came on board, the
sails were loosed, the anchor hove up,
and the ‘Chieftain,’ with a hot land

breeze, which still blew strong, glided down the

 

river. Captain Willis, who had been brought from
his cabin by Paul and Sambo, sat propped up with
pillows on the deck. It was melancholy to see

him, his once strong frame reduced to a mere
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