At the moment when the reader first finds himself a member of her crew the _Psyche_ was lying near the mouth of the Benin river, some two miles off the shore and about twice that distance from the river's mouth, at which point we had arrived at midnight; having made our way thither in consequence of "information received," which led us to believe that a large ship was at that moment in the river taking on board a full cargo of blacks.  We had drifted down to the position which we then occupied under the impulse of the last of the land-breeze, which had died out and left us becalmed some two miles short of the precise spot for which we were aiming.  Still, we were near enough for all practical purposes, or believed that we were; for we thought that if a thoroughly smart look- out were maintained--and we had grown to be adepts at that sort of thing--it would be impossible for a slaver to attempt to slip out of the river without our becoming cognisant of the fact.  And now, to return to my story.