ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
he possessed marvellous vitality and magnetism. My men 
were simply hypnotized by the remarkable tales of his 
deeds, or rather misdeeds. 
Long before we were ready to start, X went to seat 
himself in the canoe to make sure we should not leave 
him behind. When I asked him to reconsider once more 
what he was doing, which was not fair to his master, no 
matter how bad he may have been, X positively refused 
to remain there. 
“ If you do not want me to come/’ he said with deter¬ 
mination, “ you will have to fling me into the water and 
keep my head under until I am drowned.’’ 
That was rather a trying dilemma. Much as I dis¬ 
approve of slavery, I did not like the idea of taking 
matters into my own hands and freeing other people’s 
slaves; yet it was impossible to refuse assistance to a 
suffering man when he asked for it. In any case I had 
no wish to be responsible for his death. 
“ X,” I said to him, “ you have quite made up your 
mind to go with us? ” 
“ Yes.” 
“ Will you promise faithfully that you will work and 
give no trouble? ” 
“ May my old father and mother be struck by light¬ 
ning this moment if I shall give you trouble!” was his 
reply. 
“ Very good, X. You can keep your rifle and 
cartridges and your ring” — he had just deposited them 
at my feet — “ they are your own property. I do not 
want them. You shall receive the same salary as the 
other men from this day, as long as you do your work 
satisfactorily.” 
X jumped out of the canoe to embrace me. On his 
brutal face was for a moment an expression of gratitude 
... he rested his head upon my shoulder and sobbed for 
many minutes. 
86 
