noon
He said that at the moment there were no ships in the river , but that intelligence -- whether trustworthy or no , however , he could not state -- had reached him of the daily-expected arrival of three ships from Cuba . He also confirmed a very extraordinary story which had been told our skipper by the governor of Sierra Leone , to the effect that large cargoes of slaves , known to have been collected on shore up the river , awaiting the arrival of the slavers , had from time to time disappeared in a most mysterious manner , at times when , as far as could be ascertained , no craft but men-o ' - war were anywhere near the neighbourhood . At noon the _ Fawn _ filled away and bore up for Jamaica -- whither she was to proceed preparatory to returning home to be paid off -- her crew manning the rigging and giving us a parting cheer as she did so ; and two hours later her royals dipped below the horizon , and we were left alone in our glory . On parting from the _ Fawn _ we filled away again upon the starboard tack , the wind being off the shore , and at noon brought the ship to an anchor in nine fathoms of water off Padron Point -LRB- the projecting headland on the southern side of the river 's mouth -RRB- at a distance of two miles only from the shore . The order was then given for the men to go to dinner as soon as that meal could be got ready ; it being understood that , notwithstanding the _ Fawn 's _ assurance as to there being no ships in the river , our skipper intended to satisfy himself of that fact by actual examination . Moreover , the deserted state of the river afforded us an excellent opportunity for making an unmolested exploration of it -- making its acquaintance , so to speak , in order that at any future time , if occasion should arise , we might be able to make a dash into it without feeling that we were doing so absolutely blindfold . At 1:30 p.m. the gig was piped away ; Mr Austin being in charge , with me for an _ aide _ , all hands being fully armed .