58 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 



first passed, and who numbered about a hundred. 

 Both groups of men, carrying crowbars and flourish- 

 ing their heavy hammers, then closed in on me in 

 the narrow part of the ravine. I stood still, waiting 

 for them to act, and one man rushed at me, seizing 

 both my wrists and shouting out that he was going 

 to "be hung and shot for me '' rather a curious 

 way of putting it, but that was his exact expression. 

 I easily wrenched my arms free, and threw him 

 from me ; but by this time I was closely hemmed 

 in, and everywhere I looked I could see nothing 

 but evil and murderous-looking faces. One burly 

 brute, afraid to be the first to deal a blow, hurled 

 the man next him at me ; and if he had succeeded 

 in knocking me down, I am certain that I should 

 never have got up again alive. As it was, however, 

 I stepped quickly aside, and the man intended 

 to knock me down was himself thrown violently 

 against a rock, over which he fell heavily. 



This occasioned a moment's confusion, of which I 

 quickly took advantage. I sprang on to the top of 

 the rock, and before they had time to recover them- 

 selves I had started haranguing them in Hindustani. 

 The habit of obedience still held them, and fortun- 

 ately they listened to what I had to say. I told them 

 that I knew all about their plot to murder me, and 

 that they could certainly do so if they wished ; but 

 that if they did, many of them would assuredly be 



