In the
midst of all the hubbub, Paul heard a voice calling in English, and he
stepped out to be met by the son of the American Consul, Colonel
Mathews, who explained the cause of Boyton's appearance to the natives.
It was afterward learned that the peculiar cry of alarm given by the
guard on the wall, was:
"Awake, awake. 'Tis better to pray than to sleep, for the devil has
landed in Tangier."
All the explanation, however, did not prevent one of the natives from
running back into the city with the statement that, he had actually seen
a Christian walking on the sea.
When those on the boat heard all the commotion ashore, their anxiety for
Paul was great. They rightly apprehended that the superstitious
feeling of the Moorish guard had been excited at the apparition of so
strange an object emerging from the sea at that advanced hour of the
night, and might lead them to resort to violence.
In answer to Mr. Matthew's invitation to enter the city as his guest,
Paul told him that he must first paddle back to the boat and Mr. Mathews
agreed to meet him there. As soon as he returned to the boat, he was
divested of his rubber dress, when it was found that his under
clothing was completely saturated with salt water.
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