f the hide ropes beneath
his arms. Indeed, from the former he never did quite recover, since
thenceforward Benita, who for her own reasons watched the man closely,
discovered a marked and progressive change in his demeanour. Hitherto he
had appeared to be a reserved man, one who kept tight hand upon himself,
and, if she knew certain things about him, it was rather because she
guessed, or deduced them, than because he allowed them to be seen. On
two occasions only had he shown his heart before her--when they had
spoken together by the shores of Lake Chrissie on the day of the arrival
of the messengers, and he declared his ardent desire for wealth and
power; and quite recently, when he killed the Matabele envoy. Yet she
felt certain that this heart of his was very passionate and insurgent;
that his calm was like the ice that hides the stream, beneath which its
currents run fiercely, none can see whither. The fashion in which his
dark eyes would flash, even when his pale countenance remained unmoved,
told her so, as did other things.

For instance, when he was recovering from his swoon, the first words
that passed his lips were in German, of which she understood a little,
and she thought that they shaped themselves to her name, coupled with
endearing epithets. From that time forward he became less guarded--or,
rather, it seemed as though he were gradually losing power to control
himself. He would grow excited without apparent cause, and begin to
declaim as to what he would do when he had found the gold; how he would
pay the world back all it had caused him to suffer--how he would become
a "king."

"I am afraid that you will find that exalted position rather lonely,"
said Benita with a careless laugh, and next minute was sorry that she
had spoken, for he answered, looking at her in a way that she did not
like:

"Oh, no! There will be a queen--a beautiful queen, whom I shall endow
with wealth, and deck with jewels, and surround with love and worship."

"What a fortunate lady!" she said, still laughing, but taking the
opportunity to go away upon some errand.

At other times, especially after dark, he would walk up and down in
front of the cave, muttering to himself, or singing wild old German
songs in his rich voice. Also, he made a habit of ascending the granite
pillar and seating himself there, and more than once called down to
her to come up and share his "throne." Still, these outbreaks were so
occasional that her f