hose safety
was as dear to him as his own.

It will be asked why Snowball felt this unselfish solicitude. The child
could not be his own? Complexion, features, everything forbade the
supposition that there could be anything of kinship between her and her
sable protector.

Nor was there the slightest. On the contrary, the little girl was the
daughter of one who had once been Snowball's greatest enemy,--the man
who had sold him into slavery; but who had afterwards won the negro's
gratitude by restoring to him his freedom. This person had formerly
owned a trading fort on the coast of Africa, but of late years had been
a resident of Rio in Brazil. His daughter, born in the former country,
previous to his leaving it, was crossing the great ocean to rejoin him
in his new home in the western world. Hence her presence on board the
_Pandora_, where she had been a passenger under the protection of
Snowball.

And well had the negro performed his duty as protector. When all the
others had forsaken the ship, and the flames were fast spreading over
her decks, the faithful negro had gone below, and, rousing the girl from
her sleep,--for she had been slumbering unconscious of the danger,--had
borne her amidst flames and smoke, at the imminent risk of his own life,
and passing through the cabin windows with his burden in his arms, he
had dropped down into the sea under the stern of the burning bark.

Being an excellent swimmer, he had kept afloat for some minutes,
sustaining both himself and his burden by his own strength; but after a
while he succeeded in clutching on to the davit-tackle by which the gig
had been let down into the water, and having passed his foot through a
loop in the end of it, he remained half suspended, half afloat on the
water. Soon after came the explosion, caused by the ignition of the
gunpowder; and as the vessel was blown to pieces, the sea around became
strewed with fragments of shattered timber, cabin furniture, sea-chests,
and the like. Laying hold on those pieces that were nearest, he
succeeded in forming a rude sort of raft, upon which he and his
_protege_ were enabled to pass the remainder of the night.

When morning dawned, Snowball and the little Lalee--such was the name of
the child--were the only beings who appeared to have survived the
catastrophe,--the wretched creatures who at the last moment had escaped
from the "'tween-decks" were no longer in existence.

Having been brought from