age, it was almost a hundred miles from this place; but it was the
same idol, for they carry him about in procession all over the
country."--"Well," said I, "then that idol ought to be punished for it;
and it shall," said I, "if I live this night out."

In a word, finding me resolute, he liked the design, and told me, I
should not go alone, but he would go with me; but he would go first,
and bring a stout fellow, one of his countrymen, to go also with us;
"and one," said he, "as famous for his zeal as you can desire any one to
be against such devilish things as these." In a word, he brought me his
comrade a Scotsman, whom he called Captain Richardson; and I gave him a
full account of what I had seen, and also what I intended; and he told
me readily, he would go with me, if it cost him his life. So we agreed
to go, only we three. I had, indeed, proposed it to my partner, but he
declined it. He said, he was ready to assist me to the utmost, and upon
all occasions, for my defence; but that this was an adventure quite out
of his way: so, I say, we resolved upon our work, only we three, and my
man-servant, and to put it in execution that night about midnight, with
all the secresy imaginable.

However, upon second thoughts, we were willing to delay it till the next
night, because the caravan being to set forward in the morning, we
supposed the governor could not pretend to give them any satisfaction
upon us when we were out of his power. The Scots merchant, as steady in
his resolution to enterprise it as bold in executing, brought me a
Tartar's robe or gown of sheep-skins, and a bonnet, with a bow and
arrows, and had provided the same for himself and his countryman, that
the people, if they saw us, should not be able to determine who we were.

All the first night we spent in mixing up some combustible matter with
aqua-vitae, gunpowder, and such other materials as we could get; and,
having a good quantity of tar in a little pot, about an hour after night
we set out upon our expedition.

We came to the place about eleven o'clock at night, and found that the
people had not the least jealousy of danger attending their idol. The
night was cloudy; yet the moon gave us light enough to see that the idol
stood just in the same posture and place that it did before. The people
seemed to be all at their rest; only, that in the great hut, or tent as
we called it, where we saw the three priests, whom we mistook for
butchers, we saw a li