home, which adjoined that of Bramble Park, and which, by the way, had
been leased during their settlement in India, as early as he could
himself procure conveyance which would enable him to reach the spot.
With this idea, he eagerly scanned the horizon daily, hoping for the
arrival of some craft, even a slaver, that might bear him away, either
towards America or Europe, so that he might get into the course of
travel.

One morning, when he had as usual gone up to the lookout and scanned the
sea view far and near, he at last came down to the breakfast-room with
his face quite speaking with inward satisfaction. He had seen a sail,
evidently a large merchantman, and begged Don Leonardo to go up and see
if together they could not make the stranger out more fully. Charles,
himself, thought that she was heavy and evidently steering for the small
bay on which the factory stood. But their curiosity was soon to be
satisfied, for spar after spar gradually became more and more clearly
defined, until at last the deck itself could be seen, and St. George's
cross observed flying saucily in the breeze. The ship was a British
sloop-of-war, and so it proved.

In an hour more, Captain Robert Bramble came on shore, accompanied by
Helen and her mother, with Maud Leonardo. As it afterwards appeared,
Maud desired to be brought back to her father, and the English ship was
but performing its appointed duty in cruising on the coast; while Helen
knowing that Charles had come hither, persuaded her mother that it was
best to sail with Captain Bramble, rather than stop in Sierra Leone
among utter strangers. For on ship-board they were under his care, and
besides, as she admitted to her mother, she had good reason for
supposing that Captain Will Ratlin, for thus the mother knew him still,
was at Bay Salo, as Don Leonardo's factory was called on the coast. Thus