Van Dorn touched his horses and entered the
dense woods in a byway to the north.
"Get up here, Master Levin, and ride by me," the Captain said, very
soon, and he lifted Levin's old hat from his head and looked at his
bright hair parted in the middle, his fine, large eyes, needing the
light of knowledge, and his soft complexion and marks of good
extraction.
"Where is thy father, Levin, to let thee go so ragged, with such
graceful limbs and feet as these?"
"Shipwrecked," said Levin; "gone down, I 'spect, on the privateer."
"A sailor, was he? Well, he should be home to clothe thee and see that
thou dost not cheat. I marked how Madam Cannon's punch was tossed out of
the window."
"I thought you would not want me drunk beside you all night, sir, and
then I might enjoy your company. I don't want to drink no more liquor."
"You like my company?"
"Yes, sir."
The Captain blushed, and asked,
"Why do you like me?"
"Not fur nothin' you do, sir. I like you fur somethin' in your ways; I
reckon you're a smart man."
"_Si, senor_, that I am. I have gained the whole world and lost two."
"Two worlds, sir?"
"Yes, two immortal worlds; that is to say, two unaccountable worlds. I
am no Christian."
"Maybe you're Chinee or Mahometan, then, sir; I 'spect everybody's got a
religion."
"I was a Mahometan for business ends," Van Dorn said. "Having become a
slaver, it was nothing to be a renegade.
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