the sharp incline which led to
the log bridge over the river. Here it was the custom of the men,
instead of running beside the trolley, to step on to it and to let its
own momentum take it down the slope, moderating its speed when
necessary by a brake in the shape of a pole, which one of them carried
and by which the wheels could be locked. On this occasion, however, the
pole was by some accident dropped overboard, and down the hill we flew
without brake of any kind. Near the bridge there was a sharp curve in
the line, where I was afraid the trolley would jump the rails; still, I
thought it was better to stick to it than to risk leaping off. A moment
afterwards I felt myself flying head first over the edge of the bridge,
just missing by a hair's breadth a projecting beam; but luckily I
landed on a sand bank at the side of the river, the heavy trolley
falling clear of me with a dull thud close by. This accident, also, was
happily unattended by injury to anyone.

CHAPTER V

TROUBLES WITH THE WORKMEN

It seemed fated that the building of the Tsavo Bridge should never be
allowed to proceed in peace for any length of time. I have already
described our troubles with the lions; and no sooner did the beasts of
prey appear to have deserted us, for the time being at any rate, than
other troubles, no less serious, arose with the workmen themselves.
After I had discovered the stone for the bridge, I sent down to the
coast for gangs of masons to work and dress it. The men who were sent
me for this purpose were mostly Pathans and were supposed to be expert
workmen; but I soon found that many of them had not the faintest notion
of stone-cutting, and were simply ordinary coolies who had posed as
masons in order to draw forty-five instead of twelve rupees a month. On
discovering this fact, I immediately instituted a system of piecework,
and drew up a scale of pay which would enable the genuine mason to earn
his forty-five rupees a month--and a little more if he felt
inclined--and would cut down the impostors to about their proper pay as
coolies. Now, as is often the case in this world, the impostors were
greatly in the majority; and accordingly they attempted to intimidate
the remainder into coming down to their own standard as regards output
of work, in the hope of thereby inducing me to abandon the piece-work
system of payment. This, however, I had no intention of doing, as I
knew that I had demanded only a perfectly fair a