CHAPTER II.
THE WRECK The night was calm, but now and then a faint, hot wind blew from the shadowy coast, and rippling the water, brought a strange, sour smell.
Lister did not know the smell; Brown knew and frowned, for he had been broken by the malaria that haunts West African river mouths.

Heavy dew dripped from the awnings on _Terrier's_ bridge and in places trickled through the material, since canvas burns in the African sun.

Brown searched the dark coast with his glasses, trying to find the marks he had noted on the chart.

Lister leaned against the rails and mused about the voyage.
They had ridden out a winter's gale in the Bay of Biscay and for a night had lost the hulk and the men on board.

Then they went into Vigo, where Lister's firemen wrecked a wine shop and it cost him much in bribes to save them from jail.