"

At this the graceful young girl advanced a step or two towards me, and
catching hold of my hand, before I could prevent her, kissed it, greatly
to my confusion; as albeit it was an act expressive amongst the Spanish,
with whom she had been brought up, of deferential courtesy and
gratitude, but it made me blush up to my eyes and feel hot all over.

"A thousand thanks, sir," she began; but as she raised her eyes to my
face in thus giving utterance to her thanks for having, as the colonel
had told her, saved her father's life, a flood of recollection seemed to
come upon her, and she exclaimed:

"Ah, I remember now! My father, yes, he is like the gentleman whom I
saw on the deck of the steamer that awful night when the negroes rose up
against us--last Friday, was it not? But it seems so long ago to me!
You, you naughty papa, would not believe that your little girl had seen
anything at all, not even a ship, but that I only fancied it in my
foolishness. However, there is the same steamer that I saw (pointing
with her finger to the _Star of the North_), and here is the same, for I
am sure he is the same, the very same young officer. Am I not right?"
And looking up at her father, she exclaimed, "Your little girl told the
truth after all."

"And you, young lady," said I, smiling at her recognition of me, strange
coincidence as it was, corroborating my own experience of the same
eventful night, "yes; you are the same little girl I saw on board the
`ghost-ship,' as all the men here called your vessel, not believing,
likewise, my story that I had seen her or you either. Yes, I would have
known you anywhere. You are the girl whom I saw with the dog!"

The next moment I could have bitten my tongue out, though, for my
thoughtlessness in alluding to the poor dog; for at the bare mention of
him Elsie's face, which had a sort of absent, wandering look about it
still, at once lighted up, and she glanced round in all directions.

"Ah, I declare I had quite forgotten Ivan in the joy and happiness of
seeing you again, my father," she exclaimed excitedly. "Where is he,
the brave fellow? Ivan, Ivan, you dear old dog. Come here; come here,
sir, directly!"

She looked round again, with a half smile playing about the corners of
her pretty rosebud of a mouth and a joyous light in her eyes, expecting
her faithful friend and companion would come bounding up to her side;
but she now waited and watched and listened in vain, there be