so described very accurately the sort of place in which he was locked
up at night; and I promised, if I could, to go and have some more
conversation with him. As we did not lose time in talking of anything
except the matter in hand, I was speedily able to rejoin the captain and
his companions. The captain approved of the arrangements I had made,
though he was very sorry that there was no immediate prospect of meeting
with Captain Stenning.

We were received with all the usual marks of respect by the old Moor who
owned the property. He had been a pirate in his youth, and cut-throats
and robbed without compunction; but he was now a dignified old
gentleman, who looked as if he had been engaged in rural affairs all his
life. I came in for almost as much of the attention and good fare as
the captain; for in that country a beggar may eat off the same table, or
rather the same floor, and sit under the same roof as a prince. The
excuse for the visit was to sell to the old Moor some of the goods
aboard the _Dolphin_, specimens of which the captain had brought with
him.

As soon after our arrival as we had shaken the dust out of our clothes,
and washed our faces and our hands and feet, we were ushered by slaves
into a hall, at one end of which sat the old Moor, and the captain and
the renegade and the interpreter were placed on each side of him, and I
sat a little further off, tucking up my legs as I had done before; and
then some black slaves in white dresses brought in a little table for
each of us, with all sorts of curious things to eat, which I need not
describe, for in that country one feast is very much like another. The
renegade had also brought a case; but that it contained something
besides merchandise he proved by producing, one after the other, several
of his favourite bottles of Schiedam, which apparently were no less
acceptable to the old Moor than to him. I am not, however, fond of
describing such scenes, or of picturing such gross hypocrites as the
renegade and the old Moor.

I gained an advantage, however, from their drunken habits; for as soon
as it was dark I stole out of the house, and tried to find my way to the
shed where Lyal told me he was chained at night. I had taken good note
of the bearings of the place as we rode along. I knew that if I was
found prying about, I should run a great chance of being killed; but
still I was resolved to run every risk to try and rescue the poor fellow
from capt