One day when he was working in the wheat field his Turkish master rode up on horseback and began to whip him. How angry he was! He seized his heavy flail and killed the Turk with one blow. He must lose no time in getting away now. He lifted a bag of wheat to the back of the horse, jumped up behind it, and off he rode as fast as he could go. He wandered through the wilderness for a long time. At last he reached the seashore and got on board an English ship. When he reached England there were many people ready to listen to his wonderful adventures. On the other hand, John Smith heard many stories about the land across the great ocean—of little Virginia Dare and her lost people, and of the Red Men who lived such a free life in the forests of America. This was not all, however, for people were saying: "Why not try again to settle in Virginia? It is a beautiful country. The weather is warm and pleasant there. It must be easy enough to live in such a place, if we can only get along with the Indians." John Smith eagerly listened to all this talk. England was too quiet for him. He did not enjoy his life there, he liked excitement too well. He said: "If a party sails to Virginia I should like to join it." He soon had a chance, for a number of men were at that time getting ready to start. They were not the best kind of people to make a new home in a strange land. Very few of them knew how to do any kind of work. They had heard that the Spaniards found gold in America. They thought they themselves might pick it up on the ground in Virginia. They said to each other: "We will get rich in the easiest way in the world." They did not know how hard work it would be to make themselves safe, as well as comfortable. They settled at a place they called Jamestown, in honor of James, the king of England. When the Red Men saw these newcomers, they were not pleased. They were not willing to have the Englishmen settle in their country. They said: "We will kill these white men before they have a chance to save themselves." The English were taken by surprise. They did not have their guns with them when the Indians drew near with their bows and arrows. It would have been a sad day for John Smith and his party if the Indians had not been frightened off. Something came whizzing over their heads. The next moment the branch of a tree came tumbling down in the midst of them. "It is thunder," they thought. "The Great Spirit is angry with us." They fled from the place as fast as their legs would carry them. They did not stop to look around to see what had happened. If they had seen, they would not have understood. But the white men knew. Some of their friends on board of the ship had seen their danger. They had fired a cross-bar shot from a cannon. That was a bar of iron with a cannon-ball at each end. Such shot are not allowed to be used now-a-days. Although John Smith and his friends were saved at this time, many other troubles were waiting for them.