Ahmed also arose uninjured, but Peter lay still where he had fallen.

"W'en I come-to to myself," continued Peter, on reaching this point in
his narrative, "de fus' t'ing I t'ink was dat I'd been bu'sted. Den I
look up, an' I sees our black cook. She's a nigger, like myself, only a
she one.

"`Hallo, Angelica!' says I; `wass de matter?'

"`Matter!' says she; `you's dead--a'most, an' dey lef' you here wid me,
wid strik orders to take care ob you.'

"`Das good,' says I; `an' you better look out an' obey your orders, else
de bowstring bery soon go round your pritty little neck. But tell me,
Angelica, who brought me here?'

"`De Dey ob Algiers an' all his court,' says she, wid a larf dat shut up
her eyes an' showed what a _enormous_ mout' she hab.

"`Is _he_ all safe, Angelica,' says I--`massa, I mean?'

"`Oh, I t'ought you meant de Dey!' says she. `Oh yes; massa's all
right; nuffin'll kill massa, he's tough. And de Dey, he's all right
too.'

"`Das good, Angelica,' says I, feelin' quite sweet, for I was beginnin'
to remember what had took place.

"`Yes, das _is_ good,' says she; `an', Peter, your fortin's made!'

"`Das awk'ard,' says I, `for I ain't got no chest or strong box ready to
put it in. But now tell me, Angelica, if my fortin's made, will you
marry me, an' help to spend it?'

"`Yes, I will,' says she.

"I was so took by surprise, Geo'ge, when she say dat, I sprung up on one
elber, an' felled down agin wid a howl, for two o' my ribs had been
broke.

"`Neber mind de yells, Angelica,' says I, `it's only my leetle ways.
But tell me why you allers refuse me before an' accep' me _now_. Is
it--de--de fortin?' Oh, you should have seen her pout w'en I ax dat.
Her mout' came out about two inch from her face. I could hab kissed
it--but for de broken ribs.

"`No, Peter, for shame!' says she, wid rijeous indignation. `De fortin
hab nuffin to do wid it, but your own noble self-scarifyin' bravery in
presentin' your buzzum to de Dey ob Algiers.'

"`T'ank you, Angelica,' says I. `Das all comfrably settled. You's a
good gall, kiss me now, an' go away.'

"So she gib me a kiss an' I turn round an' went sweetly to sleep on de
back ob dat--for I was awrful tired, an' de ribs was creakin' badly."

"Did you marry Angelica?" asked our middy, with sympathetic interest.

"Marry her! ob course I did. Two year ago. Don' you know it's her as
cooks all our wittles?"

"How could I know, Peter, for you never c