I kept my eye
lifting towards this corner of the building, Waiting for him to
reappear, which by-and-by he did, and with a truly porcine air of
minding his own business and that only.
His unconcern was so admirably affected that, to test it, instead of
waving him back I lifted my musket very quietly, almost without
shifting my position, and brought the butt against my shoulder.
He saw the movement; for at once, even with his head down in the
grasses, he hesitated and came to a full stop. Suddenly, as my
fingers felt for the trigger-guard, my heart began to beat like a
hammer.
_There_ lay my danger; and in a flash I knew it, but not the extent
of it. This was no hog, but a man; by the start and the quick
arrested pose in which the brute faced me, still with his head low
and his eyes regarding me from the grasses, I felt sure of him.
But what of the others? Were they also men? If so, I was certainly
lost, but I dared not turn my eyes for a glance at them. With a
sudden and most natural grunt the brute backed a little, shook his
head in disgust, and sidled towards the angle of the building.
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