s
master, lifts the hangings for us to go.

Dawson stammered a few broken words of passionate protest, and then
breaking down as he perceived the folly of resisting, he dropped his
head and suffered me to lead him out. As I saluted the Moors in going, I
caught, as I fancied, a gleam of triumphant gladness in the dark eyes of
Mohand ou Mohand.

Coming back to the place where we had hid our bundles, Dawson cast
himself on the ground and gave vent to his passion, declaring he would
see his Moll though he should tear the walls down to get at her, and
other follies; but after a time he came to his senses again so that he
could reason, and then I persuaded him to have patience, and forbear
from any outburst of violence such as we had been warned against,
showing him that certainly Don Sanchez, hearing of our condition, would
send the money speedily, and so we should get Moll by fair means instead
of losing her (and ourselves) by foul; that after all, 'twas but the
delay of a week or so that we had to put up with, and so forth. Then,
discussing what we should do next, I offered that we should return to
Elche and make our case known rather than trust entirely to Ali Oukadi's
promise of writing; for I did suspect some treacherous design on the
part of Mohand ou Mohand, by which Mrs. Godwin failing of her agreement,
he might possess himself of Moll; and this falling in with Dawson's
wishes, we set out to return to Alger forthwith. But getting to Alger
half-dead with the fatigue of trudging all that distance in the full
heat of the day, we learnt to our chagrin that no ship would be sailing
to Elche for a fortnight at the least, and all the money we had would
not tempt any captain to carry us there; so here were we cast down again
beyond everything for miserable, gloomy apprehensions.

After spending another day in fruitless endeavour to obtain a passage,
nothing would satisfy Dawson's painful, restless spirit but we must
return to Thadviir; so thither we went once more to linger about the
palace of Ali Oukadi, in the poor hope that we might see Moll come out
to take the air.

One day as we were standing in the shade of the garden wall, sick and
weary with dejection and disappointment, Dawson, of a sudden, starts me
from my lethargy by clutching my arm and raising his finger to bid me
listen and be silent. Then straining my ear, I caught the distant sound
of female voices, but I could distinguish not one from another, though