We messed together, and pledged mutual friendship in the new land, a pledge not destined to be fulfilled, as I never again saw nor heard of the former after we went ashore, and the last glimpse I had of the older man was as he was being loaded into a cart bound for some interior plantation.

God grant they both lived, and became again free men.
How those sodden hours and days dragged! How long were those black nights, in which I lay sleepless, listening to indescribable noises, and breathing the rank, poisonous air.

The short time passed on deck was my only solace, and yet even there I found little to interest, except a continuous new hope.

We were herded well forward, a rope dividing us from the main deck, which space the passengers aft used as a promenade.

Here, between the foremast and the cabin, someone was strolling idly about most of the time, or lounging along the rail out of the sun.