204 



AUGUSTINE BAY. 



limbs and eyed their teeth as if he were apprais- 

 ing so much horseflesh. Oh, it was a horrid sight ! 

 And I saw it done. 



In the midst of the operation a man-of-war, 

 cruising for slavers, entered the harbor. A boat 

 sped swiftly across the water, and the officers 

 boarded the Frenchman. But nothing could be 

 contrived to save the poor wretches. The French- 

 man's papers were flawless. Dastardly though 

 the fact, it was cloaked in a legal fiction. No one 

 had a right to interfere. 



The process of examination went steadily 

 forward. The young and strong were taken. 

 The old and decrepit were rejected. Lucky, 

 indeed, were the physically unfit. 



When our repairs were done and all supplies 

 got in and stowed down, we took our mudhook 

 and put to sea, beating out of Augustine Bay in 

 the early afternoon. 



Down into the southern sea sank those pleasant 

 shores, slowly and almost reluctantly, but bold 

 against the far horizon we could still see the 

 ugly form of the slaver, swift upon her way 

 toward Bourbon. 



