in the ashes. Poor little Estelle turned away
her head at first, but Hebert, alarmed at her shivering in her wet
clothes, contrived to make her swallow a little, and then took off the
soaked dress, and wrapped her in the bournouse. She was by this time
almost unconscious from weariness, and made no resistance to the
unaccustomed hands, or the disgusting coarseness and uncleanness of her
wrapper, but dropped asleep the moment he laid her down, and he applied
himself to trying to dry her clothes at a little fire of sticks that had
been lighted outside the open space, round which the huts stood.

The Abbe too had fallen asleep, as Hebert managed to assure poor Lanty,
who rushed out of the other tent, nearly naked, and bloodstained in many
places, but more concerned at his separation from his foster-brother than
at anything else that had befallen him. Men, women, children, and dogs
were all after him, supposing him to be trying to escape, and he was
seized upon and dragged back by main force, but not before the steward
had called out--

'M. l'Abbe sleeps--sleeps sound--he is not hurt! For Heaven's sake,
Laurent, be quiet--do not enrage them! It is the only hope for him, as
for Mademoiselle and the rest of us.'

Lanty, on hearing of the Abbe's safety, allowed himself to be taken back,
making himself, however, a passive dead weight on his captor's hands.

'Arrah,' he muttered to himself, 'if ye will have me, ye shall have the
trouble of me, bad luck to you. 'Tis little like ye are to the barbarous
people St. Paul was thrown with; but then what right have I to expect the
treatment of a holy man, the like of him? If so be, I can save that poor
orphan that's left, and bring off Master Phelim safe, and save poor
Victorine from being taken for some dirty spalpeen's wife, when he has
half a dozen more to the fore--'tis little it matters what becomes of
Lanty Callaghan; they might give him to their big brutes of dogs, and
mighty lean meat they would find him!'

So came down the first night upon the captives.

CHAPTER V--CAPTIVITY

'Hold fast thy hope and Heaven will not
Forsake thee in thine hour.
Good angels will be near thee,
And evil ones will fear thee,
And Faith will give thee power.'

SOUTHEY.

The whole northern coast of Africa is inhabited by a medley of tribes,
all owning a kind of subjection to the Sultan, but more in the sense of
Pope than of King. The part of the coast where