The office of Frank, Trunnion & Swab—Harry Bracewell reports the arrival of the “Arrow”—History of Nicholas Swab—The slave trade—Our firm gives up all connection with it—Captain Roderick Trunnion—Something about myself and friends—Interview between Mr Trunnion and Godfrey Magor, mate of the “Arrow”—An unexpected arrival—A strange accusation—Suspicions of Captain Trunnion—Mrs Bracewell and her daughter Mary.

Captain Trunnion appears openly at Liverpool—His attentions to Lucy Crank—Her affection for Harry Bracewell—Captain Trunnion exhibits his jealousy of Harry—Suspecting the Captain’s evil intentions, I watch over Harry—Godfrey Magor placed in command of the “Arrow”—Harry and I appointed supercargoes—Attend to the stowage of the vessel—Prepare for sailing—Farewell to loved ones—Voyage commenced.

My shipmates—Tom Tubbs the boatswain—Sight a suspicious craft—Alter our course to avoid her—Chased—A heavy squall—A thick mist—We hope to escape—The stranger reappears—Night comes on and we low sight of her—Once more the stranger is seen in hot chase—Opens fire—Desperate fight—We attempt to rake the enemy—He frustrates it—The enemy hoists the pirate flag—Boards us—Our crew overcome—The captain and boatswain, Harry and I, fight desperately—Captain Trunnion appears—Spares our lives—Dreadful state of the deck—Tom, Harry, and I taken on board the “Vulture”—Captain Magor ordered to navigate the “Arrow” into the Sherbro—The vessels part company.

Our life on board the pirate ship—We tend the wounded—Discuss plans for escaping—Land in sight—Enter the river—At anchor—Preparations for receiving slaves on board—Wounded men landed—We accompany them—Tom agrees to try and escape with us—Comfortably lodged—Slave barracoons—A visit on board to see Tom—Obtain arms and escape from the village—Our flight—Reach a river—Fall in with French traders—Kindly treated—Intended treachery of our pirate companions—Defeated by the Frenchmen—Surprised by a band of savages—A fearful massacre—Saved by the mate of the “Vulture”—Again made prisoners.

We are marched back to the village—Carried on board the “Vulture”—Sent down below—Tubbs refuses to turn pirate—An unpleasant night—The ship under weigh—Crossing the bar—Allowed to go on deck—At sea—Another night—Attempt to escape a pursuer—Sounds of a fight reach us—We break our way out—The captain attempts to blow up the ship—We stop him and make him prisoner—A party from the frigate on board the pirate—Charley appears—Lieutenant Hallton doubts the vessel being a pirate—Trusts the crew—A pleasant supper—Unpleasantly aroused from sleep by seeing the Lieutenant and Charley in the hands of the pirates—A trick to deceive the frigate—The pirate makes sail and escapes from the frigate.

Morning—The frigate not in sight—Again prisoners—The mate of the “Vulture” takes command—Orders us to do duty as seamen—The lieutenant and Charley kept bound—We go below to sleep—Awakened and see Captain Roderick with pistol in hand approaching the lieutenant and Charley—We spring up, overpower him, and release our friends—Suppose the captain to be mad—A discussion among the crew—Hopes of recovering the ship—The “Vulture” comes to an anchor—A sinking boat gets, adrift—Fearful death of one of the crew—Many of the slaves die—A gale comes on—Dangerous position—Attempt to beat off the land—Driven towards the shore—The ship among the breakers—We set the captain at liberty—The ship strikes—We knock the shackles off the slaves’ limbs—They rush on deck—We form a raft and land the survivors—Return on board and supply ourselves with guns, ammunition, and stores—Regain the shore—The blacks, with one exception, have disappeared.

The black Aboh remains with our party—The march towards the forest—Charley chosen leader—Sufferings from thirst—We find traces of the blacks—An enemy at hand—Battle between the natives—Flight and pursuit of the beaten party—Fear of being captured—We conceal ourselves—I and Aboh attempt to succour the wounded—We rejoin our friends and push forward—Our thirst becomes intense—I am on the point of sinking—Encouraged by Harry, I struggle on—Water discovered—Aboh’s duck-hunting—Napping on guard—The big snake—We decide on the route to be taken—Making hats.

Our march westward along the shores of the lake—Tom and the crocodile—Charge of elephants—A narrow escape for Charley—Anxiety on Tom’s account—Besieged in a tree—We have recourse to stratagem and recover our rifles—Aboh’s daring—Renewed attack—The enemy repulsed—Search for our companion, whom we find severely injured—We camp—Danger from crocodiles—Cooking the elephant-meat—Aboh’s skill—Strange noises heard at night—We are compelled to halt—An African forest giant—Tom recovering from the accident slowly—Charley proposes to build a canoe.

Determined to overcome our difficulty, we decide on building a canoe, when unlooked-for help arrives, and Aboh finds a relative—A pleasant breakfast—Tom taken across the lake by the blacks—We prepare a present of game for the king—Looking out for the return of the canoe—The crocodile and its victim—We camp for the night—An unwelcome visitor—A fortunate shot—The leopard’s skin—Return of the canoe—We embark—Storm on the lake—Safe again with Tom Tubbs—A native doctor declares the king bewitched—We change the bowl of poison—Presented to King Quagomolo—The test of the “poison-cup” applied—The king’s quick recovery celebrated with rejoicings—Tom having perfectly recovered, we determine to recommence our journey—The king finds means to delay and detain us—I save the king’s child from a crocodile—Prisoners.

King Quagomolo will not let us go—He shows us his plantain grove—Schemes for escape—Start on an elephant hunt—Elephants caught by traps and nets—Two natives crushed to death—Part of an elephant cut off for the idols—A native dance—The king not such a fool as we take him for—Detained by rain—Enter an hostile country—Encamp and feast—Tobacco and palm-wine make his majesty wax valiant—We keep watch—A night attack—Captured by King Sanga Tanga—How can Tubbs rejoin us—Try to explain to the king—We go to get Tom—King Quagomolo’s surprise—Return with Tom and the knapsacks—Huge apes—The Nshiego’s house—Disturb domestic happiness—Separated from my companions—See a fire—A charming family—I retreat—Climb a tree—An unpleasant visitor—I go to sleep.

I travel north-east—Breakfast—A strange supper companion—Another day’s journey—Meet some girls—The princess carried off by an ape—I shoot him—Triumphant procession to the village—The maiden’s song alarms me—Am thanked by the king—The king’s weavers—My friends return—We are most handsomely treated—The princess and her grandfather—My alarm only too well founded—Charley comes to the rescue—Discuss our prospects.

We find we are not to be idle—A Buffalo hunt—Two good shots—Again at the buffalo—A strange steed and rider—I shoot both, and save Ombay’s life—Much beautiful game—A commotion in the village—Our sleep disturbed—The ape skin destroyed by the ants—Tom’s plan of escape—Prince Ombay sees through it—A grand hunt—A novel use for a net—Kill thirty head of game—Will Tom take the Princess off my hands—A delightful surprise—The marriage—A noisy wedding breakfast—A barbarous dance—The native idols—Native superstitions—We determine to make our escape.

We are expected to go out hunting again—We complain to the king and demand our freedom—Remind him of our good services—His ingratitude—Neither bribery or threats affect him—Our condition becomes worse—Tom feigns illness—His howls arouse the village—He frightens the king—The king falls ill—We determine to escape with the other black prisoners—The medicine man the only weasel in the village—We are pursued—One of our men hit—We fire—Tom hit—We check the natives—We make for a defensive position—The enemy again come up with us—The morning is breaking—Two volleys disperse our pursuers—We rest—See a village—Sight a river—Our plans for descending it—Meet a hunting party—They seize us—Carried before the king—Our captor tells “one big lie”—We recover our guns—Sleep in a dirty hut—Eat the food in our knapsacks—The king surprised at our endurance—A welcome present from an unknown friend—Our confinement affects our health, and we prepare to fight for liberty—A startling recognition—Captain Roderick undertakes to obtain our release—An agreeable change of quarters—The general’s powerful fetish—Captain Roderick’s determination never to return to England—Patience in captivity.

The king proposes to send us out on a hunting expedition—Captain Roderick recognises Harry and me in our true characters—The start for the chase—A pleasant surprise—We meet Prince Kendo who has command of the party—A successful day—Charley as a hunter—The return—Captain Roderick’s mysterious warning—His sorrow at his own wasted life—The loss of Growler—Illness of the queen—The witch-doctor sent for—We are again forced to go hunting—Strange arrival in camp of the two pirates—A dangerous man—Murder of Captain Roderick—Effect of his death on the blacks—The solitary grave—Continuation of the hunt—Encounter with a wild man of the woods—Return to the village with a quantity of game.

Our audience with the king—The fall of a commander-in-chief—Unsatisfactory termination of our interview—In despair we wander along the river bank—Plans for escape—Making paddles—Kendo’s wife Iguma undertakes to assist us—Arrival of the fetish doctor—He has recourse to the “black art of magic,” and denounces Shimbo, Iguma, and others, as the cause of the queen’s death—Cruel sacrifice of Shimbo—Flight of Iguma and her husband, with whom we effect our escape—On the lake—Charley and I miss our companions in the darkness—On daylight returning we find ourselves near the shore—We are surprised by natives and attacked—Repulse of the enemy—Bravery of Iguma.

Iguma relieves me at the paddle—We rejoin our companion!—Charley has the “watch below”—Wreck of Kendo’s canoe—I recognise Herman Jansen among our party—Necessity of taking rest—A narrow escape from surprise by a party of natives—Temptation to kill resisted—A dangerous enemy—Hippopotami—Our other canoe destroyed—Fate of the murderer of Captain Roderick—We determine to divide our party, and, following the course of the river, march towards the seaboard, taking it turn and turn about in the canoe—A fearful storm—Our only canoe crushed—Continuation of the journey on foot—The “sparkling ocean” once more in sight—Waiting for a sail—The signal answered—Captain Magor—On board the “Arrow”—Conclusion.

The End.