On recovering consciousness, our hero found himself lying upon the rough bamboo deck of a rude cabin built under the poop of the Arab vessel, and dimly illuminated by the open doorway, there being no other means of admitting air or light. A cushion stuffed with native cotton and covered with Turkey red supported Jack's head, and, to his astonishment, the middy found that his own dripping clothes had been stripped from him and their place taken by an Arabic jacket and pair of loose trousers secured by a cummerbund; his feet being slipped into a pair of yellow shoes. Squatting upon his haunches close beside his prisoner, and with his subtle dark eyes fixed intently upon the middy's blanched face, was Ahmed Bungoo, skipper of the dhow, and one of the most noted slave-dealers of Zanzibar. The Arab gave a grunt of satisfaction when he saw that the midshipman had opened his eyes, for he had feared for some almost intolerable moments that the prisoner would slip through his fingers. For a few seconds Jack felt strangely bewildered, then memory asserted her sway in a flash, and he distinctly remembered the train of incidents which had led up to his almost miraculous rescue from a watery grave. He tried to sit up, but fell back helpless with a groan. Ahmed frowned, and played with the hilt of a gaily-ornamented knife which was stuck into his girdle. He was about to speak when he saw that his captive had fallen into a profound sleep--the sleep of exhausted nature. Our mid of the maintop slept tranquilly for many long hours, and when he eventually awoke felt quite recovered and as ravenous as a shark. He found himself still in the same position upon the deck of the cabin, but the lynx-eyed skipper had disappeared. In his place a gaunt-looking, grizzle-headed Arab stood on guard at the entrance of the cabin--which was innocent of a door--armed with a very long-barrelled musket and a curved scimitar. [Illustration: (Arab guard)] Anxious to thank his preservers, and curious also to ascertain the nature of the vessel which had picked him up, our hero rose to his feet and moved towards the sentry, intending to pass him and go in search of the captain. The Arab, however, perceiving his intention, immediately barred the entrance with his long musket, at the same time uttering some sharp order in Arabic, which of course Jack did not understand. The middy at once gathered, however, from the man's threatening manner that he must consider himself a prisoner, and, thinking it wiser for the present to obey orders, he re-seated himself upon the deck, and, pointing to his mouth, said in a loud voice: "Me want some grub very bad, Johnny." The sentry shouted to someone who was invisible to Jack, and presently a short, repulsive-looking native with a very black skin appeared upon the scene, bearing in his huge hands a chatty of boiled rice and a wooden spoon. This dish he set before the midshipman, and signed to him to eat.