The money was taken care of all right, and so was the _Aquidneck_! By
daylight of the following morning she was underweigh, and under full
sail at the head of a fleet of piloted vessels, and, being the swiftest
sailer, easily kept the lead, and was one of the vessels that did _not
"rompe el banco_," as was predicted by all the pilots, while they
hunched their shoulders above their ears, exclaiming, "No _practico_, no
_possebla_!" This was my second trip down the Parana, it is true, and I
had been on other rivers as wonderful as this one, and had, moreover,
read Mark Twain's "Life on the Mississippi," which gives no end of
information on river currents, wind-reefs, sand-reefs, alligator-water,
and all that is useful to know about rivers, so that I was confident of
my ability; all that had been required was the stirring-up that I got
from the impertinent pilot, or buccaneer, whichever is proper to call
him--one thing certain, he was no true sailor!
A strong, fair wind on the river, together with the current, in our
favour, carried us flying down the channel, while we kept the lead, with
the Stars and Stripes waving where they ought always to be seen; namely,
on the ship in the van! So the duffers followed us, instead of our
following them, and on we came, all clear, with the good wishes of the
officers and the crews.
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