hookah with a peculiar smile and an air of calm
contentment. Thereafter he ordered out his horse, mounted it in his
usual dignified manner, and quietly rode away into the darkness of the
night.

It may be observed here our middy had improved greatly in the matter of
costume since his appointment to the rank of limner to Ben-Ahmed. The
old canvas jacket, straw hat, etcetera, had given place to a picturesque
Moorish costume which, with the middy's fine figure and natural bearing,
led people to suppose him a man of some note, so that his appearance was
not unsuited to the mission he had in hand.

We need scarcely say that his spirit was greatly agitated, as he walked
towards the town, by uncertainty as to how he ought to act in the
present emergency, and his mind was much confused by the varied, and, to
some extent, inexplicable incidents of the evening. His thoughts
crystallised, however, as he went along, and he had finally made up his
mind what to do by the time he passed the portals Bab-Azoun and entered
the streets of Algiers.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

MYSTERIOUS AND DARING DEEDS ARE CROWNED WITH SUCCESS.

Threading his way carefully through the badly lighted streets, our middy
went straight to the Kasba, and, rapping boldly at the gate, demanded
admittance.

"Show me to the guard-room. I wish to speak with the officer in
command," he said, in the tone of one accustomed to obedience.

The soldier who admitted him introduced him to the officer in charge for
the night.

"I come, sir," said Foster, with quiet gentlemanly assurance, "to demand
an escort for slaves."

"By whose orders?" asked the officer.

"The order of his Highness the Dey," answered Foster, producing the
ring.

The officer examined it, touched his forehead with it in token of
submission, and asked how many men were required.

"Six will do," returned the middy, in a slow, meditative manner, as if a
little uncertain on the point--"yes, six will suffice. I only wish
their escort beyond the gates. Friends might attempt a rescue in the
town. When I have them a short distance beyond the gates I can manage
without assistance."

He touched, as he spoke, the handle of a silver-mounted pistol which he
carried in his belt. Of course, as he spoke Lingua Franca, the officer
of the guard knew quite well that he was a foreigner, but as the
notables and Deys of Algiers were in the habit of using all kinds of
trusted messengers and agents to do the