This page needs to be proofread.
laughed at the shots that would have followed ;
could have escaped in spite of my wounds and wasted
strength, but I had made a solemn promise to men
who were humane and honourable, and I was bound
to keep it. I kept my promise, and I kept it at a
fearful cost, and I knew the cost at the time. At
every rugged and bushy pass on the way to prison
I fought a battle with myself against a reckless and
impulsive spirit that almost lifted me out of the trail,
and almost forced me to dash down the mountain
through the chaparral in spite of my resolution and
promise.
