128 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



give them the assistance of his pilot, a zealous and 

 intelligent man of the name of Berwick. 



But they were still to meet with difficulties. An 

 order suddenly arrived from the governor to send the 

 American captain and his people, without delay, to 

 Cayenne. They were thus on the verge of seeing 

 their whole design overthrown. The captain, how- 

 ever, gave them courage on this occasion. He offered 

 to take their pilotage on himself, and for this purpose 

 to escape and hide in the forest, and there be ready 

 to join them by signal in seizing the canoe on the 3d 

 of June, the day appointed for the attempt. But to 

 this act of generosity the rational objection occurred, 

 that the captain was too important a person not to be 

 missed, when his crew were called over, and that the 

 suspicion would be immediately visited upon the 

 prisoners. Finally, Berwick was again appointed to 

 the honour. 



The third of June was fixed on, from its being the 

 day for which the commandant was invited to dine 

 on board of the American prize. The day com- 

 menced prosperously. The commandant was enter- 

 tained on board with a handsome dinner, and as 

 much wine as he liked. The friends of the prisoners 

 for even there, whether by hope, fear, or friend- 

 ship, they had some allies were active in the crisis. 

 The privateer captain had given some common wine 

 to the soldiers ; in the course of the evening these 

 bottles unaccountably swelled into a distribution 



