CHAPTER XL. 
Further Experiences of Mr. Fresh : 
HOLING A CLEARING ; DEBTORS, DOCTORS AND DEMONS. 
After an infinite amount of worry, trouble, and bother,, 
quite a sufficient space of ground was lined so as to 
enable a full force of coolies to commence and hole. 
Mr. Fresh had been told that they could very easily 
open up twenty-five or thirty boles each man, eighteen 
inches deep and the same in diameter, but he kept 
this information secret ; he would not tell them the num- 
ber he expected them to do, for who knew but that 
they might finish off thirty- five or even forty, or more, 
if they were kept in ignorance of the usual task, 
whereas if lie told them the quantity expected to be 
performed, if anything at all was certain, the certainty 
undoubtedly wotdd be that not a single hole more 
than the specified number would be cut. At the morn- 
ing muster each man had served out to him from the 
end verandah, which answered the purpose of a bag 
store and general tool-house, a mamotie and crowbar, 
and with these tools shouldered musket-fashion the 
W’hole force marched to the bottom of the lined space 
on the new clearing. Mr. Fresh himself brought up 
the rear, as he judged it expedient on this very parti- 
cular and important juncture to come out without 
w'aiting for or partaking of coffee and “ roti. ” The 
kanganis did not seem to have the same interest as 
the master in the starting of this important work, 
for on looking round in order to give some directions 
to these headmen, whom he supposed to be imme- 
diately and respectfully walking behind him, they 
were not to be seen, and on asking where they had 
gone to the prompt reply was, To the lines, to 
eat rice.’’ So “master’' had to start the work him 
self, gave every man a line of pegs to work on, and 
fully explained, as well as he possibly could — which 
very probably was not understood at all, as his limited 
knowledge of the language extended only to two words, 
“yes” and “no.” By the bye, there was another 
word he knew, and perhaps a much more essentially 
necessary one than these two little monosyllables, one 
which was almost constantly in use, in spite of which 
little or no attention was ever paid to it, so that 
while essentially necessary in theory, it was always 
found to be essentially unnecessary, wholly and 
solely from an intense dislike to put it in practice. 
This word was “ sureka ” (quick). He held up both 
his hands with fingers well spread out twice, then one 
hand only, by which action even the very dullest of 
the lot knew that he would have said, if he could 
