g no one near except our own
party, I slipped off my horse, and ran up to him. Of course, he thought
I was a Moor, and he looked as if he would have fainted with surprise
when he heard me hail him in English.

"Who are you? What do you come here for?" he exclaimed, panting for
breath.

"I belong to the _Dolphin_ brig, and I came here to try and find Captain
Stenning and any of his companions."

"Heaven be praised, then?" he exclaimed, bursting into tears. "He and I
are the only survivors of that demon-possessed craft which he commanded.
But how came your vessel to be called by the name of one which proved
so unfortunate?"

"I cannot tell you all about that just now," I answered, seeing that
much time would be lost if I entered into particulars. I therefore
merely explained the steps we had taken to discover them, and asked him
what had become of Captain Stenning.

"The captain! He has been in this very place till within the last three
or four weeks, when the Moors carried him away to serve on board one of
their ships--the very ship which captured us. They found out that he
was the captain and understood navigation, so they took him to navigate
one of their piratical craft. I was sick and unfit for work, or they
would have taken me likewise; but they saw that I was only a man before
the mast, and guessed that I did not understand navigation. What has
since become of the captain I don't know. There is no one here I can
talk to. They set me to work by signs, which, if I do not understand,
they sharpen my wits with a lash; and they take care that I shall not
run away, by securing me at night with a chain round my leg. There are
several other slaves employed by the same master, but not one of them
understands a word of English."

The young man's name was Jacob Lyal, he told me; and he said that he was
just out of his apprenticeship when he joined the _Dolphin_.

"I have a father and mother, and brothers and sisters, at home, in
Somersetshire, and it would make their hearts sorrowful if they heard
that I was left a slave in this barbarous country; so you'll do all you
can to help me," he exclaimed, as I was about to leave him, for I was
afraid of remaining longer lest we should be observed.

Just as I was going, however, I told him to try and arrange some plan by
which we might have a talk with him, and let him know how things stood
before we left the place, should we be unable to take him with us. He
al