In The Afternoon, Coming To A Rock On Which There
Was Some Tripe De Roche, He Halted And Said He Would Gather It Whilst We
Went On And That He Would Soon Overtake Us.
Hepburn and I were now left
together for the first time since Mr. Hood's death, and he acquainted me
With several material circumstances which he had observed of Michel's
behaviour and which confirmed me in the opinion that there was no safety
for us except in his death, and he offered to be the instrument of it. I
determined however, as I was thoroughly convinced of the necessity of
such a dreadful act, to take the whole responsibility upon myself and,
immediately upon Michel's coming up, I put an end to his life by shooting
him through the head with a pistol. Had my own life alone been threatened
I would not have purchased it by such a measure, but I considered myself
as entrusted also with the protection of Hepburn's, a man who, by his
humane attentions and devotedness, had so endeared himself to me that I
felt more anxiety for his safety than for my own. Michel had gathered no
tripe de roche and it was evident to us that he had halted for the
purpose of putting his gun in order with the intention of attacking us,
perhaps whilst we were in the act of encamping.
I have dwelt in the preceding part of the narrative upon many
circumstances of Michel's conduct, not for the purpose of aggravating his
crime, but to put the reader in possession of the reasons that influenced
me in depriving a fellow-creature of life.
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