His countenance fell; the man looked the picture of mingled astonishment and misery, while with a deep-drawn sigh--half sob--(almost too much for my gravity) he said: ‘I have no shilling, sir.’ ‘Then,’ said I, ‘I can’t draw your tooth,’ and with that I put my forceps in my pocket. ‘But how is that, sir?’ he asked, ‘you never charged a shilling for drawing a tooth before.’ ‘No,’ I said, ‘I never dreamt of doing so; but then, formerly, the bond of union between us was friendship. You carried me, I paid you proper wages; and if you had toothache, and wanted a tooth drawn, I drew it for nothing. If ill, or your wife or children were ill, I did my best for you, and gave you medicines free; but you are dissatisfied with that bond, you wish the bond between us to be a mere matter of money. Well, just as you like. I have no wish to force my friendship upon you, or upon any one else; but if it is to be money on one side, it must be money on the other. It cannot be friendship on one side, and money on the other; it must be friendship right through, or money right through. You have a perfect right to put any price you please upon your services. If you put four shillings a day on them, when I want them I will pay for them; but when you want mine, you must pay for them, and you may find that to be rather expensive.’ A twinge of the toothache taking him at the moment, he twisted his face and seemed to writhe in agony; when able to speak he turned to me and said in the most pathetic tones: ‘Oh, sir, let’s return to friendship--and draw my tooth!’ Whereupon we returned to friendship, and I drew his tooth, having the most profuse thanks for my trouble, after which he went away, looking the picture of relief and happiness. On his return to the village, he met with some of his fellow bearers, to whom he said: ‘It won’t do to fall out with the white man.’ ‘Why?’ they asked. ‘If he won’t pay us a shilling a day we won’t carry him.’ ‘How will you do,’ he asked, ‘if you happen to have toothache, as I had, and want your tooth drawn?’ ‘We shall go to him,’ they said, ‘and have our teeth drawn.’ ‘But,’ he said, ‘it is a shilling a tooth, if you are not on friendly terms with him, as he only draws the teeth of his friends for nothing.’ Next morning, on my going out into the yard, I found, to my astonishment, my bearers hanging about looking very sheepish. Saluting them, I asked after their health, and how they had been since we parted. One of them plucked up courage to ask when I was going out into the district again. I replied that I could not tell, but as soon as they came to their senses again I would be glad to go. The man said: ‘Please, sir, don’t mention that again!’ upon which I said, ‘Come to-morrow morning, then.’ They came, and we never had any more trouble with them.