A TRYING POSITION. 
255 
again, I said that, if they returned to their duty 
peacefully and orderly, I would never say anything 
about the horse-stealing business. They said that 
the cause of their deserting was my hastiness, and 
not following their advice, and speaking to them in 
English, which they could not understand, and they 
thought I was swearing at them ; but I think it is 
the fault of the old wagon, which was, when we 
outspanned, almost tumbling to pieces from the 
drought. The iron pins that fastened on the tires to 
the Alleys had dropped out of one wheel, and I 
replaced them by wooden pegs, and ordered them 
to put the wheels into the river for twenty-four 
hours, to swell and tighten. The last of the grog 
was broached, and both master and servants pro¬ 
mised to try and get on better together for the 
future. 
I had a visit in the course of the morning from 
live villains, who made me feel anything but com¬ 
fortable. As soon as I saw them, I put the guns, 
copper, and beads, and things that would excite 
their cupidity, out of their sight, and made some 
pretext of carrying a gun with me wherever I went. 
There was whispering and moving round me that I 
did not like ; and they seemed at one time to make 
a kind of general movement to cut me off from my 
guns in front of the wagon ; but I had taken the 
precaution of removing the caps, though the guns 
were loaded, so that they were useless in their 
hands. I jumped in at the back of the wagon, and 
