s the sea, and having a very short cut, and all down hill, placed
myself in the way between the pursuers and the pursued, hallooing aloud
to him that fled, who, looking back, was at first, perhaps, as much
frightened at me as at them; but I beckoned with my hand to him to come
back; and, in the mean time, I slowly advanced towards the two that
followed; then rushing at once upon the foremost, I knocked him down
with the stock of my piece. I was loth to fire, because I would not have
the rest hear; though, at that distance, it would not have been easily
heard, and being out of sight of the smoke too, they would not have
easily known what to make of it. Having knocked this fellow down, the
other who pursued him stopped, as if he had been frightened, and I
advanced apace towards him: but as I came nearer, I perceived presently
he had a bow and arrow, and was fitting it to shoot at me; so I was
then necessitated to shoot at him first, which I did, and killed him at
the first shot. The poor savage who fled, but had stopped, though he saw
both his enemies fallen and killed, as he thought, yet was so frightened
with the fire and noise of my piece, that he stood stock-still, and
neither came forward nor went backward, though he seemed rather inclined
still to fly, than to come on. I hallooed again to him, and made signs
to come forward, which he easily understood, and came a little way; then
stopped again, and then a little farther, and stopped again; and I could
then perceive that he stood trembling, as if he had been taken prisoner,
and had just been to be killed, as his two enemies were. I beckoned to
him again to come to me, and gave him all the signs of encouragement
that I could think of; and he came nearer and nearer, kneeling down
every ten or twelve steps, in token of acknowledgment for saving his
life. I smiled at him, and looked pleasantly, and beckoned to him to
come still nearer: at length he came close to me; and then he kneeled
down again, kissed the ground, and laid his head upon the ground, and
taking me by the foot, set my foot upon his head; this, it seems, was in
token of swearing to be my slave for ever. I took him up, and made much
of him, and encouraged him all I could. But there was more work to do
yet; for I perceived the savage whom I knocked down was not killed, but
stunned with the blow, and began to come to himself: so I pointed to
him, and showed him the savage, that he was not dead; upon this he spok