ABLE FRIEND--ANTONIO'S ESCAPE FROM THE WRECK.

We were aroused by the voice of the sheikh. "Get up, you lazy sons of
dogs!" he was exclaiming in an angry tone. "You have been deceiving me,
I find, by passing yourselves off as people of importance, when you are
mere servants of servants. Get up, I say;" and he began to enforce his
commands by kicks and blows. We sprang to our feet, and Ben, doubling
his fists, would have knocked the sheikh down had I not held him back.

"What have we done to merit this treatment, O sheikh?" I asked.

"Told lies, vile Nazarene," he answered. "Henceforward know that you
and your companions are to be slaves--should my people not prefer
putting you to death."

The sheikh was heard by the rest of the community, who now gathered
round us, delighted at being able to renew their insults,--some of them
pulling off our caps, while others tugged away at our jackets and
pinched us as before, even spitting at us in their fury. At length
Antonio stalked out of the tent, casting malignant glances at us as he
passed.

"I say, mate, you know what better manners are," exclaimed Ben. "Do try
and teach these people to treat us decently."

Antonio made no reply, but, without even turning his head, walked on.

"You are a pretty fellow," shouted Ben; "I thought you would have wished
to be civil, at least."

Remembering the black's behaviour on board the Spanish ship, however, I
felt that it would be useless to appeal to him.

Presently we saw him returning, accompanied by Sinne and several other
fellows, mostly as ill-favoured as himself. Approaching Ben, they threw
themselves upon him, and, pinioning his arms, led him off, ordering us
to follow.

"I am afraid they mean mischief," said Halliday in a melancholy voice.
"Do you think, Charlie, that they intend to murder poor Ben?"

"I hope not," I answered, though I did not feel over confident about the
matter. "I will do all I can to save him."

We followed Ben and his captors. He turned his head towards us, and, by
his look, evidently thought that his last hour had come; so indeed did
we, and very sad we felt. We walked on till we had got some hundred
yards from the camp, when we saw a sort of bench formed by boards on the
top of a sand-hill, to which Ben was conducted. Sinne and Antonio
having led Ben up to the bench, made him kneel down before it; when, to
our horror, the former drew a pistol from his belt and presented it at
the ho