Waylaid and Captured 
he was, had trifled with him. Still he did not 
seem satisfied and he hesitated as to his decision. 
After a short pause, he took from some one 
behind him, a very long and heavy sword, and 
handed it to a man of a very stern and repulsive 
countenance who stood on the left. When the 
scowling brute ordered me to follow him, a des¬ 
perate plan of escape flashed like lightning 
through my excited imagination. I determined 
to wrest the sword from the hand of the execu¬ 
tioner, fight my way to my horse and escape by 
any way that might be open. I am more than 
six feet tall and have a large frame, but fortu¬ 
nately for me, my companion was as cautious as 
I was hasty. With a loud exclamation, in the 
Yoruban language, 1 sprang at once to my feet, 
but Russell quickly intervened and hastily ex¬ 
plained that the governor was only going to 
send me to prison. There was much confusion 
at first, but after order had been restored, speak¬ 
ing through my companion, I sincerely apolo¬ 
gized for my unseemly and hasty conduct. 
But I could not suppress fears of treachery, for 
the countenance of the man with the sword as 
well as other things, showed that he was the 
regular executioner, and as I passed on to the 
gate the people averted their faces and eyes. 
139 
