ched with
broad leaves. On a bench near the entrance was seated an old
grey-haired Malay man with a bottle beside him. Nearer to the visitors
a young girl was digging in the ground.

"That's the old Malay, for certain," said Sam; "see, the old rascal has
gone pretty deep already into the bottle. Ask the girl, Letta, what his
name is."

Sam did not at first observe that the child was trembling very much and
gazing eagerly at the old man. He had to repeat the question twice
before she understood him, and then she asked the girl, without taking
her eyes off the old man.

"Who is he?" responded the girl in the Malay tongue, "why, that's old
Georgie--drunken Georgie."

She had scarcely uttered the words when Letta uttered a wild cry, ran to
the old man, leaped into his arms, and hugged him violently.

The man was not only surprised but agitated. He loosened the child's
hold so as to be able to look at her face.

"Oh, Georgie, Georgie!" she cried almost hysterically, "don't you know
me--don't you know Letta?"

Georgie replied by uttering a great shout of mingled astonishment and
joy, as he clasped the child in his arms. Then, setting her down and
holding her at arm's-length, he cried in remarkably broken English--

"Know you! W'at? Vous hold nuss--hold Georgie--not know Miss Letty.
Ho! Miss Letty! my hold 'art's a-busted a'most! But you's come back.
T'ank do Lor'! Look 'ere, Miss Letty." (He started up, put the child
down, and, with sudden energy seized the bottle of ruin by the neck.)
"Look ere, yous oftin say to me afore you hoed away, `Geo'gie, do, _do_
give up d'inkin','--you 'members?"

"No, I don't remember," said Letta, smiling through her tears.

"Ho! yes, but you said it--bery often, an' me was used to say, `Yes,
Miss Letty'--de hold hippercrit!--but I didn't gib 'im up. I d'ink away
wuss dan ebber. But now--but now--but now," (he danced round, each time
whirling the bottle above his head), "me d'ink no more--nebber--
nebber--_nebber_ more."

With a mighty swing the old man sent the rum-bottle, like a rocket, up
among the branches of an ebony-tree, where it was shattered to atoms,
and threw an eaves-dropping monkey almost into fits by raining rum and
broken glass upon its inquisitive head.

When the excitement of the meeting had somewhat subsided, Letta suddenly
said, "But where is mamma? Oh! take me to mamma, Georgie."

The old man's joy instantly vanished, and Letta stood pale and tre