Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the sight of something moving at the side of the road. It looked too small for a man, yet its movements seemed too intelligent for a dog or a stray donkey. "Stay here, I will soon find out," whispered Foster, drawing his pistol, and bounding towards the object in question. It ran from him, but our middy was swift of foot. He quickly overtook it, and seized firmly by the arm what in the dark he thought to be a boy. A slight scream undeceived him, and at the same time caused his heart to bound. "Oh, you hurt me!" exclaimed a well-remembered voice. "Hester!" cried the youth, and next moment, folding her in his arms, he kissed her--quite unintentionally, but irresistibly. Thrusting him away with indignation, the maiden said, with flashing eyes, "You forget yourself, sir, and take advantage of my defenceless position." "No--no, indeed! I did not intend to frighten you, dear child," (in his desperation the middy assumed the paternal _role_). "Pray forgive me, it was only my joy at the prospect of reuniting you to your father, and--" "My father!" cried Hester, forgetting her offended dignity. "Where is he? You are alone! Peter the Great sent me here to meet him, but he did not say I should meet _you_." "Peter the Great sent you here--and alone!" exclaimed Foster, in amazement. "Yes; he went out first to make sure that my father was coming, and then sent me to meet him that we might be alone. But Peter is close at hand." "Ho, yis! bery close at hand, Geo'ge!" said Peter himself, suddenly emerging from a place of concealment. "Now you come along wid me, sar, an' let dat poo' chile meet her fadder in private." "But she cannot do that, Peter, for Edouard Laronde is with him." "Who'n all de wurld's Eddard Larongd?" Before Foster could reply Hester had bounded from his side, and next moment was locked in her father's arms. "Come away, Geo'ge--an' you too, Eddard La--La-whatever-it-is!" cried the negro, grasping the latter by the arm and hurrying him along the road in the direction of the seashore, while the reunited father and child knelt down together and poured out their gratitude to God. "Dey'll foller us in a minnit or two," continued the negro. "What kep' you so long, Geo'ge?" "Couldn't manage it sooner. But can you guess, Peter, why Ben-Ahmed behaved in the strange way he has done? He got into a rage when I attempted to tell him honestly, that I did not intend to go back to him, or to take Sommers to his house, and that I'd try to escape along with him if I could, but he would not listen or let me say a word." "Did you t'ink ob tellin' him all dat?" asked Peter. "I certainly did." "Well, you're not half such a hipperkrite as I t'ink you was." "I'm glad to hear you say so, for I don't like to play the part of a hypocrite, Peter; I like to be all fair and above-board."