29S 
MY MESSENGER. 
faring with me. I meant to rise and try to walk 
to Dilly ; if I failed, surely some one would be 
on the main path, and be persuaded to carry on 
the letter. By good fortune a lad from a neigh- 
bouring valley, whose open intelligent counte- 
nance had attracted us before, came past that 
afternoon. I explained to him that I wished a 
letter carried to the town, and would reward 
him well. 41 No; he would not go among the 
white people ; he was a hill-man, and was shy/' 
I tempted him with coin after coin : he did not 
know their value. He consented, he refused, he 
wavered ; lie little knew that he held me on the 
rack — that I was almost stifled with eagerness — 
I was really bargaining for my life. At last he 
gave in so far : he would go to the town and 
drop the letter in the street, but he would not 
go to the Palazzio. Off he ran, and I lay back 
thankful and exhausted. But in three minutes 
he was back again ; min had commenced to fall, 
and with a natives dread of a wetting, he would 
not face it. My parasol lay in a corner. I 
pointed to it ; he seized it and ran off — the fun- 
niest figure you ever saw, with his red loin-cloth 
and my blue-spotted parasol for sole attire ! 
About 5 P.M. to my surprise I saw him return- 
ing. Close in his wake followed two men ; these 
