Butler to determine
what amount of information and of what nature was necessary for the
proper execution of the survey; but Escombe began to understand now the
means by which his superior had acquired the reputation of an
accomplished surveyor. It is easy for a man in authority to stand or
sit in safety and command another to perform a difficult task at the
peril of his life!

And if Butler was tyrannically exacting in his treatment of Harry, he
was still more so toward the unfortunate peons in his service, and
especially those whom he detailed to accompany him daily to assist in
the task of selecting and marking out the route of the survey line.
These people knew no language but their own, and since Harry was always
engaged elsewhere with theodolite, level, and chain, and was, therefore,
not available to play the part of interpreter, it became necessary for
Butler to secure the services of a man who understood enough English to
translate his orders into the vernacular; and because this unfortunate
fellow was necessarily always at Butler's elbow, he became the scapegoat
upon whose unhappy head the sins and shortcomings of the others were
visited in the form of perpetual virulent abuse, until the man's life
positively became a burden to him, to such an extent, indeed, that he
would undoubtedly have deserted but for the fact that Butler, suspecting
his inclination perhaps, positively refused to pay him a farthing of
wages until the conclusion of his engagement. It can easily be
understood, therefore, that, under the circumstances described, an
element of tragedy was steadily developing in the survey camp.

But although the overbearing and exacting behaviour of the chief of the
expedition was thus making matters particularly unpleasant for everybody
concerned, nothing of a really serious character occurred until the
second section of the survey had been in progress for a little over two
months, by which time the party had penetrated well into the mountain
fastnesses, and were beginning to encounter some of the more formidable
difficulties of their task. Butler was still limiting his share of the
work to the mere marking out of the route, leaving Harry to perform the
whole of the actual labour of the survey under his watchful eye, and
stirring neither hand nor foot to assist the young fellow, although the
occasions were frequent when, had he chosen to give a few minutes'
assistance at the theodolite or level, such help