“What do you mean by that?” asked Johnny, who had never devoted any of his time to yellow-covered literature.

“Why, you must know that the inhabitants of Algiers, and the adjacent countries, were, at one time, nothing but pirates.  When they captured a vessel, their first hard work, after taking care of the valuable part of the cargo, was to dispose of their prisoners.  It was too much trouble to set them ashore, so they balanced a plank out of one of the gangways—­one end being out over the water, and the other on board the ship.  The pirates placed their feet on the end inboard, to hold it in its place, and then ordered their prisoners, one at a time, to walk out on the plank.  Of course, they were compelled to obey; and, when they got out to the end of the plank over the water, the pirates lifted up their feet, and down went the prisoners; and they generally found their way to the bottom in a hurry.  I escaped by swimming.  I was in the water twenty-four hours, and was picked up by a vessel bound to New York.”

“I suppose you had a life-preserver,” said Johnny.

“No, sir.  I had nothing to depend upon but my own exertions.”

“You must be some relation to a duck,” said Archie, speaking before he thought.

“I suppose you mean to convey the idea that I am an excellent swimmer,” said Arthur, turning around in his saddle, and looking sharply at Archie.

“Yes; that’s what I intended to say,” replied Archie, demurely.

“The vessel landed me in New York,” continued Arthur, “and I went home; and, having become tired of wandering about, and our troubles with Algiers being settled, I led the quiet life of a student until the Florida war broke out, and then I enlisted in the army.”

“Now, then,” thought Archie, who had been paying strict attention to all Arthur said, “I have got a basis for a calculation, and I am going to find out how old this new friend of ours is.  War was declared against Algeria (not Algiers) in March, 1815; and on the 30th day of June, in the same year, the Dey cried for quarter, and signed a treaty of peace.  If Arthur began his wanderings at eleven, and spent four years with Decatur, he must have been fifteen years old when the war closed.  After that, he led the quiet life of a student until the Florida war broke out.  That commenced in 1835; so Arthur must have spent just twenty years at school.  By the way, it’s a great pity that he didn’t devote a portion of his time to geography and natural history, for then he would have known that there are no icebergs and polar bears in India, or Arabs and burning sands in Patagonia, or wild lions and tigers in Europe.  If he spent twenty years at school, and was fifteen years old when he had those terrible battles with the Algerians, he must have been thirty-five years old when the Florida war broke out.”

“Did you go through the war?” Johnny asked.

“I did.”

“How long did it last?” inquired Frank, “and what was the cause of it?”