difficulty; my friend has
agreed to take my bond for the payment of this sum when it shall be
convenient to you to discharge it."

Mrs. Godwin accepted this arrangement with a profound bow, which
concealed the astonishment it occasioned her. But she drew a long
breath, and I perceived she cast a curious glance at all three of us, as
if she were marvelling at the change that must have taken place in
civilised countries since her absence, which should account for a pack
of thieves nowadays being so very unlike what a pack of thieves was in
her young days.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

_How we hear Moll's sweet voice through the walls of her prison, and
speak two words with her though almost to our undoing._

Having written his letter, Sidi ben Ahmed proposed that Mrs. Godwin
should await the return of Moll before setting out for England, very
graciously offering her the hospitality of his house meanwhile, and this
offer she willingly accepted. And now, there being no reason for my
staying in Elche, Dawson gladly agreed I should accompany him, the more
so as I knew more of the Moors' language than he. Going down with us to
the water side, Don Sanchez gave us some very good hints for our
behaviour in Barbary, bidding us, above everything, be very careful not
to break any of the laws of that country. "For," says he, "I have seen
three men hanged there for merely casting a Turk into the sea in a
drunken frolic."

"Be assured, I'll touch nothing but water for my drink," says Dawson,
taking this warning to his share.

"Be careful," continues the Don, "to pay for all you have, and take not
so much as an orange from a tree by the wayside without first laying a
fleece or two on the ground. I warn you that they, though upright enough
amongst themselves, are crafty and treacherous towards strangers, whom
they regard as their natural enemies; and they will tempt you to break
the law either by provoking a quarrel, or putting you to some unlawful
practice, that they may annul your firman and claim you as convicted
outlaws for their slaves. For stealing a pullet I have seen the flesh
beaten off the soles of an English sailor's feet, and he and his
companions condemned to slavery for life."

"I'll lay a dozen fleeces on the ground for every sour orange I may
take," says Dawson. "And as for quarrelling, a Turk shall pull my nose
before ever a curse shall pass my lips."

With these and other exhortations and promises, we parted,