GAMBIA RIVER 123 



The headmen of Kuntaur had heard much of the great warship 

 working in the river and were deUghted to welcome her and 

 demanded that they should be allowed to come onboard. 

 Challenger^ reputation as a man of war was so well established 

 in these parts, from hearsay carried upstream by canoe, that it 

 was felt in the ship that something special must be done during the 

 headmen's visit to uphold the reputation. 



A member of a local trading firm brought the desired answer ; 

 he asked Challenger if she would demolish an old warehouse which 

 stood in a state of decay beside the river bank a little downstream 

 from where the ship was lying. This gave the Gunnery Officer 

 an excellent idea. He arranged to send the Boatswain ashore to 

 set demolition charges below the building on the day of the visit 

 by the headmen. At a pre-arranged flag signal the Boatswain would 

 light the time fuse behind the warehouse and make his retreat 

 into the jungle. Just before the time fuse was due to ignite the 

 demolition charges the ship's pom-pom crews would open fire on 

 the building, and, if all went well, the small two-pounder shells 

 would appear to demolish the warehouse with an incredible 

 explosion. 



The guns' crews were as tense at their posts as if the warehouse 

 had indeed housed the enemy as the seconds ticked away on the 

 Gunnery Officer's stop watch. A few yards behind, the headmen 

 of Kuntaur watched with eagerness as 'Open Fire' was ordered 

 and the two guns stuttered into action. The tracer bullets had 

 hardly reached their target when there was a deafening explosion 

 and the shed itself was completely obscured by smoke. The head- 

 men began to talk excitedly, the guns' crews smiled at each other. 

 It was only as the smoke drifted away revealing the warehouse 

 much as it had stood for years that the smiles passed from the 

 faces of the guns' crews and the Gunnery Officer hustled the 

 headmen oft to see the chartroom. 



Returning to Bathurst, copies of the surveys were turned over 

 to the local naval and military authorities, and copies also sent 

 off to the Hydrographer in case Challenger should meet her end 

 in the Atlantic, taking her valuable surveys down with her. 



Despite the fact that the ship's bottom was now clean, 

 Challenger' s best speed was not quite good enough for her to 



