110 THE AFRICAN TRADER.

I observed the captain frequently wetting his
finger and holding it up, and soon I felt a light
breeze blowing from the land. The sails were let
fall, and the crew making another desperate effort,
the schooner glided away up to her anchors. No
time was lost in weighing them. I thought the
crew would have shouted to show their satisfaction,
but not a sound was uttered. Onward she glided,
keeping close in shore.

My heart sank within me, and my hopes of
escaping from the vile slave ship vanished. The
lead was kept going. I felt sure that no stranger
would venture to stand in so close to the coast as
we were doing. On we stood till the Spanish
seamen seemed satisfied that they had made good
their escape from the boats of the cruiser. As the
schooner had by this time nearly a full cargo of
slaves, I feared that she would not again touch on
the coast, and that I was destined to make a voyage
on board the hateful craft across the Atlantic.