mus' bid you good-day, so keep up your heart an' you'll see
eberyt'ing come right in de end."

With these cheering words the sympathetic negro took his leave; and
Hester, resuming her embroidery, sat down at her little window, not to
work, but to gaze dreamily at the beautiful sea, and cast about in her
mind how she should act in order to alleviate if possible her father's
sad condition.

That very afternoon she received a visit from her stolid but
affectionate friend Sally, who at once said that she knew of a splendid
plan for doing him a great deal of good.

"And what is your plan?" asked Hester eagerly.

"Gib him two or t'ree biscuits," said Sally.

Her friend received the suggestion with a look of disappointment.

"What a stupid thing you are, Sally! How could that do him any good?"

Sally looked at her friend with an air of pity.

"Didn't you say he was awrful t'in?" she asked.

"Thin? Oh yes--dreadfully thin."

"Well, den, isn't dat 'cause he not hab 'nuff to eat? _I_ knows it,
bress you! I's bin wid a missis as starved me. Sometimes I t'ink I
could eat my shoes. Ob course I got awrful t'in--so t'in dat w'en I
stood side-wise you could hardly see me. Well, what de way to get fat
an' strong? Why, eat, ob course. Eat--eat--eat. Das de way. Now,
your fadder git not'ing but black bread, an' not 'nuff ob dat; an' he
git plenty hard work too, so he git t'in. So, what I prupposes is to
gib him two good biskits ebery day. We couldn't gib him more'n two,
'cause he'd hab to hide what he couldn't eat at once, an' de drivers
would be sure to diskiver 'em. But two biskits could be gobbled quick
on de sly, an' would help to make him fat, an' to make you easy."

"So they would," said Hester, eagerly entertaining the idea after this
explanation; "you're a clever girl, Sally--"

"You say I's stoopid jest now!"

"So I did, Sally. Forgive me! I was stupid besides unkind for saying
so. But how shall we manage it? Won't the guards see us doing it?"

"No fear, Geo'giana! De guards am fools--t'ink dere's nobody like 'em.
Dey forgit. All de asses in Algiers am like 'em. Dis de way ob it.
You an' me we'll go to markit ebery day wid baskits on our arms, an
we'll ob course go round by de walls, where your fadder works. No doubt
it's a roundabout way, but what ob dat? We'll go at de hour your fadder
feeds wid de oder slabes, an' as we pass we'll drop de two biskits in
his lap."

"But won't he be take