REPORT OF A GUN. 
401 
took the first or the second, yet was my choice, in 
this respect, the means under God’s providence of 
my life being saved, and the cause of the loss of 
that of my overseer. 
The night was cold, and the wind blowing hard 
from the south-west, whilst scud and nimbus were 
passing very rapidly by the moon. The horses fed 
tolerably well, but rambled a good deal, threading 
in and out among the many belts of scrub which 
intersected the grassy openings, until at last I hardly 
knew exactly where our camp was, the fires having 
apparently expired some time ago. It was now half 
past ten, and I headed the horses back, in the direc- 
tion in which I thought the camp lay, that I might 
be ready to call the overseer to relieve me at eleven. 
Whilst thus engaged, and looking steadfastly around 
among the scrub, to see if I could anywhere detect 
the embers of our fires, I was startled by a sudden 
flash, followed by the report of a gun, not a quarter 
of a mile away from me. Imagining that the over- 
seer had mistaken the hour of the night, and not 
being able to find me or the horses, had taken that 
method to attract my attention, I immediately 
called out, but as no answer was returned, I got 
alarmed, and leaving the horses, hurried up towards 
the camp as rapidly as I could. About a hundred 
yards from it, I met the King George’s Sound 
native (Wylie), running towards me, and in great 
alarm, crying out, “ Oh Massa, oh Massa, come 
2 D 
VOL. i. 
