the whole of the roots and lower portions of the mangroves became thickly
studded with oysters, whose shells, sharp as razors, cut the bare feet of
the fugitive; while, on the contrary, they proved of assistance to me by
preventing my thick boots from slipping off the treacherous roots. I now
gained ground as fast as I had previously lost it, and made certain of
capturing my prisoner on arriving at the end of the mangroves, through
which I could already catch glimpses of the sea. Animated by the thoughts
of bringing a captive into camp, from whom we should probably gain valuable
information, I jumped from tree to tree in hot pursuit, and when the bay
opened out clearly, I was only a short distance in the rear.

"Now I've got you," I muttered, as the black fellow jumped on to the last
stool of roots, and as I was eagerly following, holding my breath for a
tussle; when, to my intense mortification, he plunged headlong into the
sea, leaving me disconsolate and out of wind, to get back as best I could.
I waited until his head reappeared, which was not until he had put a good
thirty yards between us, and, pointing my carbine, shouted to him to return
or I would fire. It was quite useless. He went quietly out seaward, and
at the last, when I turned unwillingly to retrace my steps, I saw his black
head bobbing about on the calm surface. When, after a series of
involuntary feats on the mangrove rope, I again stood on 'terra firma', all
the pigeons had left; and I was compelled to make my way back to camp,
empty-handed, muddy, cut about the shins, and with my boots almost in
tatters. "So much," thought I, "for trying to catch a black fellow
single-handed."

My companions had shot plenty of pigeons, after roasting which we started
for the interior of the island, and without meeting with anything beyond
the ordinary routine of bad bush and mountain travelling; certainly
encountering nothing that would justify me in inflicting a prolix