328 A FALSE ALARM. 



Having been told that mules would betray this terror at 

 even the smell of Indians, I brought myself in line with 

 the mule's quarters, in an endeavour to keep her between 

 me and the object she thought she saw, so to conceal my 

 advance, and I thus came up close behind her. I peeped 

 round her loins, but could see 110 living thing ; yet still 

 her long ears were stuck out in one direction, and at in 

 tervals she continued to snort, and it became quite obvious 

 to me that the mule saw or smelt something that she 

 was afraid of. Standing thus, with my rifle cocked and 

 ready to my shoulder, my eyes became more reconciled 

 to the darkness, and I detected a very slight motion of 

 some shadowy substance in the grass about the height and 

 just the colour of an Indian upon his knees. The rifle 

 rose to my shoulder, but still I withheld my fire, when, 

 oh, ye gods ! the tone of my anticipation was considerably 

 lowered when the long, low, dark thing, almost concealed 

 in the grass, gave a most unmistakeable and swinish grunt, 

 and I discovered that it was the old sow I had seen follow 

 Mr Canterall, in the act that made her follow him, 

 that of eating the corn I had bought from her owner 

 to feed my mules and horses. On this I drove her 

 away, and, retreating to the watch-fire, roused the man 

 in charge from his habitual state of lethargy ; but the 

 camp was disturbed all night by that sow and a lot 

 of her offspring, who had joined her, and who, from 

 coming too near my ambulance, at last caused Brutus 

 to break his chain, though, when loose, nothing would 

 induce him to give the pig a good shaking by the 

 ear. So annoying was the old sow, that though I turn 

 ed out all hands to drive her off and flung large logs 

 at her, she returned so often that I had a great mind 

 to shoot her in defence of my corn ; but, on reflection, 



