thankful to white men," she answered. "When
I was young, and just married, our village was attacked by a party of
Moors, when my husband and I were carried down to the coast, to be
conveyed across the wide ocean to slavery in a distant land. While
waiting to embark, the kind governor of the place purchased us, kept us
in his house, and fed and clothed us; and at last, when the country was
at peace, he sent us back to our own home. There we continued to live,
and my husband is now a rich man. Our great pleasure since then has
been to help those white men who have been made slaves by the Arabs, or
who are otherwise in distress."

As she said this, the hope arose in me that she might possibly help us
to escape. I asked her without hesitation if she could do so. She
shook her head. At last she answered:--

"My husband is now old, and has no influence with the people of this
place. They respect me, so they allow me to bring this food to you, but
my power extends no further; still, I will do what I can. I must not
now delay, or I may be accused of endeavouring to assist you to escape."

Of course, after hearing this we could not detain the kind negress; and
wishing us good-bye, she took her departure, while we set to at the
welcome food she had brought us.

"We have indeed reason to be thankful for this unexpected assistance,"
observed Boxall. "He who put it into the heart of this kind negress to
bring us this food, will find us the means of escape."

With our spirits somewhat raised by this event, we stretched our weary
limbs on the hard ground, and were all soon asleep.

We were awakened at daybreak by one of our guides, who told us that we
must immediately set out on our journey. We had barely time allowed us
to eat the remainder of the provisions the good negress had brought us,
and were compelled to abandon any hope we had entertained of escaping by
her assistance.

We had now to march with guards on either side, and our hands tied, two
and two: Boxall and I, Halliday and Ben, with Selim bringing up the
rear. The journey was a fatiguing one, for after we had left the belt
of forest which bordered the river we had a wide expanse of open
country, where we were exposed to the rays of the hot sun. It was not
desert, however; for numerous plantations covered it.

At length we reached another woody district on the very borders of the
Sahara, where the chief had pitched his camp. He had preceded us, we
f