at!"

The negro threw back his head, opened his capacious jaws, and gave vent
to an almost silent chuckle.

"That does indeed mound strange," returned Foster; "how has such a
wonderful event been brought about?"

"By lub, Geo'ge. Di'n't I tell you before dat hub am eberyt'ing?"

"Yes; and my dear old mother told me, long before you did, that `love is
the fulfilling of the law.'"

"Well, I dun know much about law, 'xcep' dat I b'lieve it's a passel o'
nonsense, for what we's got here an't o' no use--leastwise not for
slabes."

"But my mother did not refer to human laws," returned Foster. "She
quoted what the Bible says about God's laws."

"Oh! das a _bery_ diff'rent t'ing, massa, an' I s'pose your mudder was
right. Anyway it was lub what obercame Ben-Ahmed. You see, I put it to
'im bery tender like. `Massa,' says I, `here I's bin wid you night an'
day for six year, an' you's nebber say to me yet, "Peter de Great, go
out for de day an' enjoy you'self." Now, massa, I wants to take dat
small raskil Geo'ge Fuster to de town, an' show him a few t'ings as'll
make him do his work better, an' dat'll make you lub 'im more, an' so
we'll all be more comfrable.' Das what I say; an' when I was sayin' it,
I see de wrinkles a-comin' round massa's eyes, so I feel sure; for w'en
dem wrinkles come to de eyes, it is all right. An' massa, he say,
`Go'--nuffin more; only `Go;' but ob course das nuff for me, so I hoed;
an' now--we're bof goin'."

At this point in the conversation they came to a place where the road
forked. Here they met a number of Arabs, hasting towards the town in a
somewhat excited frame of mind. Following these very slowly on a mule
rode another Arab, whose dignified gravity seemed to be proof against
all excitement. He might have been the Dey of Algiers himself, to judge
from his bearing and the calm serenity with which he smoked a cigar.
Yet neither his occupation nor position warranted his dignified air, for
he was merely a seller of oranges, and sat on a huge market-saddle,
somewhat in the lady-fashion--side-wise, with the baskets of golden
fruit on either side of him.

Going humbly towards this Arab, the negro asked him in Lingua Franca if
there was anything unusual going on in the town?

The Arab replied by a calm stare and a puff of smoke as he rode by.

"I 'ope his pride won't bust 'im," muttered Peter, as he fell behind and
rejoined his companion.

"Do you think anything has happened, th