ns. It was not a question of aiming, I had only to hold the
pistol down, and it would have hit one of them. Well," he continued,
"shall I take you to the captain? and will you bring your things here?
or will you go your own way?"

I looked at him fixedly, for everything in the man's appearance seemed
to say, "Don't trust him," till his one eye lit up, and a smile began to
curl his lip. Then my hand went out to him.

"Yes," I said, "you are an Englishman, and I'll trust you."

He gripped my hand hard, and then turned to Esau.

"Well," he said, "what do you say? Think I shall do you a mischief?"

"Yah! Not you," said Esau. "I'm not afraid of you. Here, let's get
our things from that other place."

"Let's have the landlady in first," said Gunson, smiling; and he went to
the door and called.

A pleasant-looking German woman came, and in the most broken up English
I ever heard, said we could come at once, but got into a muddle over
terms till Gunson joined in, and spoke to her in German, when the
difficulty was at an end.

"Nice bright-looking place, and plenty of sunshine," said Gunson, as he
led us down to a wharf where a schooner was being laden with barrels,
while a red-nosed, copper-complexioned man looked on smoking a cigar.

"Here, skipper, two more passengers for you--friends of mine; will you
have them?"

The captain looked us both over, and then nodded.

"How much?"

The captain looked at us again, and then said a certain number of
dollars for the two--a price which astonished us.

"I'll say right for them," said Gunson. "They'll send their chests on
board."

"There!" said our new friend, as we walked back. "That matter was soon
settled. Now go and pay your bills, get your traps, and come on to me."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

IN NEW QUARTERS.

Gunson nodded, and we parted, Esau keeping very quiet for a few minutes
before speaking.

"I suppose it's all right," he said; "but if ever a chap looked like bad
company, he do."

"But he seems as friendly to us as can be."

"Yes," said Esau. "But what does he want here with a pistol? Some of
the people board ship was coming to keep shop, some to farm, and some to
be servants. I want to know what he wants here?"

"Perhaps the same as he would in New Zealand, and at the Cape of Good
Hope. I should say he's a traveller."

"What in? Yah! He don't look the sort of man people would trust with
goods to sell. Traveller? Why, you see dozen