t want to have my Arick killed;
and there is no doubt that if he begins this fight again, he will be
likely to go on with it very far. For I have seen him once when he saw,
or thought he saw, an enemy.

It was one of those dreadful days of rain, the sound of it like a great
waterfall, or like a tempest of wind blowing in the forest; and there
came to our door two runaway Black Boys seeking refuge. In such weather
as that my enemy's dog (as Shakespeare says) should have had a right to
shelter. But when Arick saw the two poor rogues coming with their empty
stomachs and drenched clothes, one of them with a stolen cutlass in his
hand, through that world of falling water, he had no thought of any pity
in his heart. Crouching behind one of the pillars of the verandah, to
which he clung with his two hands, his mouth drew back into a strange
sort of smile, his eyes grew bigger and bigger, and his whole face was
just like the one word MURDER in big capitals.

But I have told you a great deal too much about poor Arick's savage
nature, and now I must tell you of a great amusement he had the other
day. There came an English ship of war into the harbour, and the
officers good-naturedly gave an entertainment of songs and dances and a
magic lantern, to which Arick and Austin were allowed to go. At the door
of the hall there were crowds of Black Boys waiting and trying to peep
in, as children at home lie about and peep under the tent of a circus;
and you may be sure Arick was a very proud person when he passed them
all by, and entered the hall with his ticket.

I wish I knew what he thought of the whole performance; but a friend of
the lean man, who sat just in front of Arick, tells me what seemed to
startle him most. The first thing was when two of the officers came out
with blackened faces, like minstrels, and began to dance. Arick was sure
that they were really black, and his own people, and he was wonderfully
surprised to see them dance in this new European style.

But the great affair was the magic lantern. The hall was made quite
dark, which was very little to Arick's taste. He sat there behind my
friend, nothing to be seen of him but eyes and teeth, and his heart was
beating finely in his little scarred breast. And presently there came
out of the white sheet that great big eye of light that I am sure all
you children must have often seen. It was quite new to Arick; he had no
idea what would happen next, and in his fear and ex