which the Algerine forces at length emerged. I looked out
eagerly for Ben; and not seeing him, feared that he must have fallen.
At length, to my great joy, I caught sight of him, with his huge sabre
in his hand, alongside the sheikh; with whom he seemed to be on the most
intimate terms. Ben's delight at seeing us was great in the extreme;
and throwing himself from his horse, he ran up to us, shaking us all in
succession warmly by the hand.

"Beg pardon, gentlemen, for the liberty I take," he exclaimed; "but I
cannot help it--on my life, I cannot--I am so glad to see that you have
got away all right from those cut-throat fellows! They will not dare to
make slaves of English officers again in a hurry."

As the French commandant was doubtful of the strength of the enemy, who
might possibly descend in force, he ordered his troops to return. The
wounded were placed in panniers on the backs of mules, which were
brought up for the purpose; and several of the enemy's horses being
caught, we were soon all mounted, and on the way with our new friends to
the northward. We reached the French outposts by nightfall, where we
were most hospitably entertained by the commandant and his officers, who
supplied us with clothing and other necessaries.

The sheikh, to show his gratitude to Ben for having brought him back Bu
Saef, offered to receive him into his tribe, and to make him a chief.

"Please, Mr Blore, tell the old gentleman that I am much obliged to
him," answered Ben; "but as I have not fallen quite into his style of
living, I beg he will excuse me; and, to say the truth, I had rather
serve on board a man-of-war till I can get a pension, and go and settle
down with my Susan in Old England, than turn into an Arab sheikh with a
dozen wives and a thousand blackamoor followers."

Having recruited our strength, we some days after left our kind French
friends and set off for Algiers, where we arrived safely; and soon
afterwards, accompanied by Selim, we embarked for England.

I need not say that we were welcomed there as if from the dead, by our
friends; and I trust that we were all thankful for the merciful way in
which we had been preserved from the numberless dangers we had gone
through. Andrew Spurling was delighted to see us. "I told you, Mr
Blore, that you would find Arabic useful, though I little thought at the
time how much service its acquirement would render you," he exclaimed as
he shook me by the hand. "Howeve