THE BATTLE BEGINS. 287

lay upon the beach of the sea, with his hands and his feet tied with
flags, or things like rushes; and that he was a Nuropean, and had
clothes on.

There was another tree, and a little thicket beyond it, about fifty
yards nearer to them than the place where I was, which, by going
a little way about, I saw I might come at undiscovered, and that
then I should be within half shot of them: so I withheld my
passion, though I was, indeed, enraged to the highest degree, and
going back about twenty paces, I got behind some bushes, which
held all the way till I came to the other tree; and then I came to
a little rising ground, which gave me a full view of them, at the
distance of about eighty yards.

T had now not a moment to lose; for nineteen of the dreadful
wretches sat upon the ground, all close huddled together, and had
just sent the other two to butcher the poor Christian, and bring
him perhaps limb by limb to their fire, and they were stooped
down to untie the bands at his feet. [I turned to Friday. “ Now,
Friday,” said I, “do as I bid thee.” Friday said he would.
“Then, Friday,” says I, “do exactly as you see me do—fail in
nothing.” So Iset down one of the muskets and the fowling-piece
upon the ground, and Friday did the like by his; and with the
other musket I took my aim at the savages, bidding him do the
like. Then asking him if he was ready, he said, “Yes.” ‘“ Then
fire at them,” said 1; and the same moment I fired also.

Friday took his aim so much better than I, that on the side that
he shot he killed two of them, and wounded three more; and on
my side, I killed one and wounded two. They were, you may be
sure, in a dreadful consternation; and all of them who were not hurt
jumped up upon their feet, but did not immediately know which
way to run or which way to look—for they knew not from whence
their destruction came. Friday kept his eyes close upon me, that,
as I had bid him, he might observe what I did. So as soon as the
first shot was made, I threw down the piece and took up the
fowling-piece, and Friday did the like; he sees me cock and pre-
sent; he did the same again. ‘“ Are you ready, Friday?” said I.
“ Yes,” says he. “Let fly, then,” says I, “in the nfime of God!”
and with that I fired again among the amazed wretches, and so did

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