tically, where all had
been silence a moment before. They thought, of course, that I was still
some distance off and had not seen them, but to their consternation I
shouted to them that they were too late, as I had been watching them
for some time. I fined every man present heavily, besides summarily
degrading the Headman, who had thus shown himself utterly unfit for his
position. I then proceeded to my hut, but had scarcely arrived there
when two of the scoundrels tottered up after me, bent almost double and
calling Heaven to witness that I had shot them both in the back. In
order to give a semblance of truth to an otherwise bald and
unconvincing narrative, they had actually induced one of their fellow
workmen to make a few holes like shot holes in their backs, and these
were bleeding profusely. Unfortunately for them, however, I had been
carrying a rifle and not a shot gun, and they had also forgotten to
make corresponding holes in their clothing, so that all they achieved
by this elaborate tissue of falsehood was to bring on themselves the
derision of their comrades and the imposition of an extra fine.

Shortly after this, when the masons realised that I intended to make
each man do a fair day's work for his money, and would allow nothing to
prevent this intention from being carried out, they came to the
conclusion that the best thing to do would be to put me quietly out of
the way. Accordingly they held a meeting one night, all being sworn to
secrecy, and after a long palaver it was arranged that I was to be
murdered next day when I made my usual visit to the quarry. My body was
to be thrown into the jungle, where of course it would soon be devoured
by wild beasts, and then they were to say that I had been killed and
eaten by a lion. To this cheerful proposal every man present at the
meeting agreed, and affixed his finger-mark to a long strip of paper as
a binding token. Within an hour after the meeting had dispersed,
however, I was aroused by one of the conspirators, who had crept into
my camp to give me warning. I thanked him for his information, but
determined to go to the quarry in the morning all the same, as at this
stage of affairs I really did not believe that they were capable of
carrying out such a diabolical scheme, and was rather inclined to think
that the informant had been sent merely to frighten me.

Accordingly the next morning (September 6) I started off as usual along
the trolley line to the lonel