ittle. His
thoughts turned almost exclusively upon his father. Upon their
voyages together, his kindness and care for him, the high hopes
they had cherished when they started upon their voyage, and above
all upon his parting words, and the last gesture of farewell, just
as the ship struck.

For hours Roger lay and sobbed. At last he heard a slight movement
in the room and, looking up, saw one of the young slave girls
regarding him with a look of deep pity. To her, as to everyone
else, Roger had appeared as a supernatural being, come from they
knew not whence; but the lad's sobs had touched her human feelings,
and shown her that he had sorrows, like herself. Her look brought a
feeling of comfort and companionship to Roger's heart; and as, on
seeing that she was observed, she turned timidly to retire, he held
out his hand to her.

She approached and knelt down beside him and, taking his hand,
pressed it to her forehead. She was a girl of some fourteen years
old, already, according to Mexican ideas, a woman.

"What is your name?" Roger asked.

The girl looked at him wonderingly, but shook her head. Roger
thought a moment, and then touched himself on the breast.

"Roger," he said.

He repeated the word several times. Then he touched her lips and
repeated "Roger," and, seeing what was expected, she repeated the
word in a soft voice.

He nodded again, touched himself and said "Roger," and then touched
her. She now saw what he meant. It was his own name he had spoken,
and he now asked for hers.

"Malinche," she said, in her soft Indian voice.

"Malinche," he repeated, "you are a kind-hearted girl. I can see
that, Malinche; and I hope we shall understand each other better,
one of these days. I suppose you are a servant or a slave, and are
not in a much better condition than myself. Now you had better go,
and sleep."

He patted her on the shoulder, pointed to the door by which she had
entered, closed his eyes as if in sleep, and then said, "Good
night, Malinche."

The girl uttered some words he did not understand; but as they
ended with Roger, and with a nod of her head she stole silently
away, he supposed that it was something equivalent to his own
"Goodnight."

Greatly comforted by this little incident, he rolled up one of the
rugs as a pillow, laid his head upon it, and was almost
instantaneously asleep. He woke with a feeling of surprise. The
events of the previous day seemed to him but a dream, and he loo