"But will he protect my property?" poor Isaac would ask tremulously.

"To be sure he will! He would confiscate it all rather than that you
should be robbed of it."

With this Job's comfort the Jew had been obliged to content himself as best
he could, and to await the promised arrival of the governor.

When Servadac and his companions reached the shore,
they found that the _Hansa_ had anchored in an exposed bay,

protected but barely by a few projecting rocks, and in such
a position that a gale rising from the west would inevitably

drive her on to the land, where she must be dashed in pieces.
It would be the height of folly to leave her in her present moorings;

without loss of time she must be brought round to the mouth
of the Shelif, in immediate proximity to the Russian yacht.

The consciousness that his tartan was the subject of discussion made
the Jew give way to such vehement ejaculations of anxiety, that Servadac

turned round and peremptorily ordered him to desist from his clamor.
Leaving the old man under the surveillance of the count and Ben Zoof,

the captain and the lieutenant stepped into a small boat and were soon
alongside the floating emporium.

A very short inspectionsufficed to make them aware that both
the tartan and her cargo were in a perfect state of preservation.

In the hold were sugar-loaves by hundreds, chests of tea,
bags of coffee, hogsheads of tobacco, pipes of wine, casks of brandy,

barrels of dried herrings, bales of cotton, clothing of every kind,
shoes of all sizes, caps of various shape, tools, household utensils,

china and earthenware, reams of paper, bottles of ink, boxes of lucifer
matches, blocks of salt, bags of pepper and spices, a stock of huge

Dutch cheeses, and a collection of almanacs and miscellaneous literature.
At a rough guess the value could not be much under pounds 5,000 sterling.

A new cargo had been taken in only a few days before the catastrophe,
and it had been Isaac Hakkabut's intention to cruise from Ceuta to Tripoli,

calling wherever he had reason to believe there was likely to be a market
for any of his commodities.

"A fine haul, lieutenant," said the captain.
"Yes, indeed," said the lieutenant; "but what if the owner refuses

to part with it?"
"No fear; no fear," replied the captain. "As soon as ever the old rascal

finds that there are no more Arabs or Algerians for him to fleece,
he will be ready enough to transact a little business with us.

We will pay him by bills of acceptance on some of his old friends
in the Old World."

"But why should he want any payment?" inquired the lieutenant.
"Under the circumstances, he must know that you have a right to make

a requisition of his goods."
"No, no," quickly rejoined Servadac; "we will not do that.

Just because the fellow is a German we shall not be justified in treating
him in German fashion. We will transact our business in a business way.

Only let him once realize that he is on a new globe, with no prospect
of getting back to the old one, and he will be ready enough to come

to terms with us."
"Perhaps you are right," replied the lieutenant; "I hope you are.

But anyhow, it will not do to leave the tartan here; not only
would she be in danger in the event of a storm, but it is very

questionable whether she could resist the pressure of the ice,
if the water were to freeze."

"Quite true, Procope; and accordingly I give you the commission to see
that your crew bring her round to the Shelif as soon as may be."

"To-morrow morning it shall be done," answered the lieutenant, promptly.
Upon returning to the shore, it was arranged that the whole

of the little colony should forthwithassemble at the gourbi.
The Spaniards were summoned and Isaac, although he could

only with reluctance take his wistful gaze from his tartan,
obeyed the governor's orders to follow.

An hour later and the entire population of twenty-two had met
in the chamber adjoining the gourbi. Young Pablo made his

first acquaintance with little Nina, and the child seemed
highly delighted to find a companion so nearly of her own age.

Leaving the children to entertain each other, Captain Servadac
began his address.

Before entering upon further explanation, he said that he counted
upon the cordial co-operation of them all for the common welfare.

Negrete interrupted him by declaring that no promises or pledges could
be given until he and his countrymen knew how soon they could be sent

back to Spain.
"To Spain, do you say?" asked Servadac.

"To Spain!" echoed Isaac Hakkabut, with a hideous yell.
"Do they expect to go back to Spain till they have paid their debts?

Your Excellency, they owe me twenty reals apiece for their passage here;
they owe me two hundred reals. Are they to be allowed . . . ?"

"Silence, Mordecai, you fool!" shouted Ben Zoof, who was accustomed to call
the Jew by any Hebrew name that came uppermost to his memory. "Silence!"

Servadac was disposed to appease the old man's anxiety by promising to see
that justice was ultimately done; but, in a fever of frantic excitement,

he went on to implore that he might have the loan of a few sailors to carry
his ship to Algiers.

"I will pay you honestly; I will pay you _well_," he cried;
but his ingrained propensity for making a good bargain prompted

him to add, "provided you do not overcharge me."
Ben Zoof was about again to interpose some angry exclamation;

but Servadac checked him, and continued in Spanish: "Listen to me,
my friends. Something very strange has happened. A most wonderful

event has cut us off from Spain, from France, from Italy, from every
country of Europe. In fact, we have left the Old World entirely.

Of the whole earth, nothing remains except this island on which
you are now takingrefuge. The old globe is far, far away.

Our present abode is but an insignificantfragment that is left.
I dare not tell you that there is any chance of your ever again

seeing your country or your homes."
He paused. The Spaniards evidently had no conception of his meaning.

Negrete begged him to tell them all again. He repeated
all that he had said, and by introducing some illustrations

from familiar things, he succeeded to a certain extent in
conveying some faint idea of the convulsion that had happened.

The event was precisely what he had foretold. The communication
was received by all alike with the most supreme indifference.

Hakkabut did not say a word. He had listened with manifest attention,
his lips twitching now and then as if suppressing a smile.

Servadac turned to him, and asked whether he was still disposed
to put out to sea and make for Algiers.

The Jew gave a broad grin, which, however, he was careful to conceal
from the Spaniards. "Your Excellency jests," he said in French;

and turning to Count Timascheff, he added in Russian:
"The governor has made up a wonderful tale."

The count turned his back in disgust, while the Jew sidled up
to little Nina and muttered in Italian. "A lot of lies, pretty one;

a lot of lies!"
"Confound the knave!" exclaimed Ben Zoof; "he gabbles every tongue

under the sun!"
"Yes," said Servadac; "but whether he speaks French, Russian, Spanish, German,

or Italian, he is neither more nor less than a Jew."
CHAPTER XX

A LIGHT ON THE HORIZON
On the following day, without giving himself any further concern about

the Jew's incredulity, the captain gave orders for the _Hansa_ to be
shifted round to the harbor of the Shelif. Hakkabut raised no objection,

not only because he was aware that the move insured the immediate
safety of his tartan, but because he was secretlyentertaining the hope

that he might entice away two or three of the _Dobryna's_ crew and make
his escape to Algiers or some other port.

Operations now commenced for preparing proper winter quarters.
Spaniards and Russians alike joined heartily in the work,

the diminution of atmosphericpressure and of the force
of attraction contributing such an increase to their muscular

force as materially facilitated all their labors.
The first business was to accommodate the building adjacent to

the gourbi to the wants of the little colony. Here for the present
the Spaniards were lodged, the Russians retaining their berths upon

the yacht, while the Jew was permitted to pass his nights upon
the _Hansa_. This arrangement, however, could be only temporary.

The time could not be far distant when ships' sides and ordinary
walls would fail to give an adequateprotection from the severity