256 ESCAPE OF THE PRISONER.

top of the hill, I crossed toward the sea ; and having a very short
cut and all down hill, clapped myself in the way between the pur-
suers and the pursued; hallooing aloud to him that fled, who,
looking back, was at first perhaps as much frighted at me as
at them: but I beckoned with my hand to him*to come back;
and in the meantime I slowly advanced towards the two that fol-
lowed; then rushing at once upon the foremost, I knocked him
down with the stock of my piece. I was loath 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. Hav-
ing knocked this fellow down, the other who pursued with him
stopped, as if he had been frighted, 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 neces-
sitated 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
frighted 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 to fly still 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 further, 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 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 my sav-
ing 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,