Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 2 (Stockdale).djvu/97

] come, they stopped, and I went up to them with one of the officers of the Recherche. They continued to lead us along the same path, which appeared much frequented, and we walked slowly, that our people might have time to join us. In this way we walked on for a quarter of an hour, holding them by the arm, when on a sudden they quickened their pace, so that it was not easy for us to follow them farther. It appeared to us, that they wished we should leave them, for some of them would not allow us to hold them by the arm any longer, and walked by themselves, at some distance from us. One of our crew, desirous of rejoining one of the fugitives, ran after him, bawling out with all his might; and this alarmed all the rest, who immediately hastened away, and kept at a considerable distance from us. No doubt they were desirous to reach the place where they had deposited their weapons unaccompanied; for, after having again quickened their pace, they struck out of the path a little, and presently we saw them with three or four spears each, which they carried away, most of them proceeding toward Adventure Bay, while others took their course to the west. They then invited us to follow them; but we were not willing to go any farther, for we had no desire