he was so much indebted, as we
shall see.

Scarcely had he resolved the matter in his mind, as we have
described, when Selim entered the cabin, and perceiving the
refreshed and cheerful appearance of Aphiz, addressed him in a
congratulatory tone.

"I rejoice to see you so well."

"Thanks to your prompt assistance and hospitality that I am not now
at the bottom of the Bosphorus."

"You were pretty close upon drowning, and must have been under water
for some time, I should say."

"I had indeed, and was very nearly exhausted," answered Aphiz.

"But how came you in such a pitiable plight, what led you so far
from the shore without a boat?"

"I--that is to say--"

"O, I see, some matter that you wish to keep a secret. Very well;
far be it from me to ask aught of thee, or urge thee to reveal any
matter that might compromise thy feelings."

"Not so," answered Aphiz; "but were I to speak, I might criminate
myself."

"O, fear no such matter with me, were you an escaped prisoner from
the law, I--"

"What?" asked Aphiz, as he observed the young officer regarding him
intently.

"Why, I should not betray you again into the Sultan's power. I have
no real sympathy with these Turks, and would much rather serve you,
who seem to be a stranger, than them."

"Thanks, a thousand thanks," answered Aphiz, warmly.

"Therefore, confide in me, and if I can serve thee, I will do so at
once."

"I will," said Aphiz, who felt that the officer was honest in what
he promised.

Then he told him how he had been condemned by the Sultan, for some
private enmity, to die, but he carefully observed the utmost secrecy
as to what the actual motive of his punishment really was. He told
how he had been borne in the execution boat to the usual spot for
the execution of the sentence that had been pronounced upon him. How
he had been confined in the sack and cast into the sea, describing
his first sensations and his struggle with his dagger until he cut
himself free from the terrible confinement of his canvas prison. How
he had struggled beneath the element, and then of the fearful eddy
into which he had been drawn, and finally how at last he rose to the
surface near his own boat.

That was all that Captain Selim knew of the matter, and after
hearing that Aphiz was a Circassian, he supplied him with an undress
uniform to further his disguise, and bade him welcome as his guest.
Therefore when the Armenian doctor and Selim found that their