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Updated: June 27, 2025
"Do as I doos," said Rais to Flaggan, as he stretched himself on his back on the ottoman. "Surely," acquiesced Ted, with a gasp, for he was beginning to feel the place rather suffocating. He would not have minded the heat so much, he thought, if there had only been a little fresh air! Rais Ali's bath-attendant lay down on the slab beside him.
"Flaggan," said Mrs Langley, when the stout seaman appeared, hat in hand, "I want you to accompany our interpreter, Rais Ali, into town, to bring out a message from a gentleman named Sidi Omar. Ali himself has other duties to attend to, and cannot return till evening, so take particular note of the way, lest you should miss it in returning."
Saying this, he gave a powerful tug at something under the rock in question, and drew forth a canvas bag or wallet, which had the appearance of being well filled. Slinging this across his shoulder, Ted Flaggan pursued his way, moralising as he went, until he came to a rugged hollow among the hills, in which was a chaos of large stones, mingled with scrubby bushes.
Go, find Rais Ali at once, and put him on his guard," said Mrs Langley, as she left the seaman and returned to the house. Now, if there ever was a man who could not understand either how to deceive, or to guard against deception, or to do otherwise than take a straight course, that man was Ted Flaggan, and yet Ted thought himself to be an uncommonly sharp deceiver when occasion required.
"Why, Flaggan," he asked, "what's wrong? for something must be, to induce your strange conduct." "Lord Exmouth, sir," replied Ted, rising up with an air of dignified importance which the elevated snout of the boar tended sadly to impair, "is in the offing with fifty sail o' the line, more or less, comin' to blow this precious city into the middle of next week."
"You don't say so, sir," remarked Flaggan, blowing a thin cloud of admiration into the air; "well, an' how did things git along arter the abridginal inhabitants was fust druv back into the mountains?" "They did not get along quite so quietly as might have been desired," said Lucien.
The crew of the prize, therefore, were raised from the lowest depths of despair to the highest heights of extravagant joy on hearing that they were free, and their gratitude knew no bounds when the consul sent Ted Flaggan and Rais Ali to conduct them from the Marina to his own town residence, where beds and board, attendance and consolation, were hospitably provided for them.
Master Jim soon became purple in the visage, but Zubby, looking up at him, and supposing the effect to be the result of an unusual flow of spirits, rather enjoyed that than otherwise. "Pr'aps I may be excused for the observation," said Flaggan, removing his pipe for a moment, and gazing over Paulina's shoulder, "but if that youngster ain't being strangulated he looks oncommon "
"Arter you, sir," said Ted, bowing politely. Mariano laughed and followed his brother, and Ted Flaggan, muttering something about its being the "most strornar companion hatch he'd ever entered," followed suit. A creep of two or three yards brought him into a cavern which was just high enough to admit of a man standing erect, and about eight or ten feet wide.
Having arranged that Mrs Langley was to visit his bride on her way to Sidi Omar's wedding the following day, Rais Ali set out on his mission, accompanied by Mr Flaggan. The Irishman soon discovered that the Moor was a conceited coxcomb and a barefaced boaster, and ere long began to suspect that he was an arrant coward.
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