very thought made him shudder.

"You are cold, beloved. See, here are coverings. I have thought of
everything."

The voice, the touch upon his arm, recalled him to himself. If the love
of the one woman had stood between him and death--no less had that of
the other borne its part. And this other now stood before him,
soft-eyed, pleading; grand in her statuesque and perfect proportions, in
her splendid strength and courage--that strength and courage which had
nerved her to set aside the most awesome traditions of her race, to
brave its gloomy superstitions, to venture alone and unaided into the
haunt of mysterious terror, for love of this stranger and alien. This,
too, was the sublimity of love in all of its indomitable
quenchlessness. And she who gave so freely, who gave all, indeed, of
this rich, this inestimable gift was--only a savage!

Only a savage! It is probable that some of the most golden-lined,
well-nigh divine phases of mind that ever had dawned upon him in his
life were shed over Laurence Stanninghame then, as he stood upon that
lofty mountain top at midnight in the flooding light of the moon, his
gaze meeting the sweet responsive one from the wide opened eyes of
this--savage.

"Say, Nyonyoba!" and the voice was full and rich,--"say, Nyonyoba, what
will you give me if I show you that which will delight your eyes? Will
you love me very much--very much?" and the soft musical Zulu word
_Ka-kulu_ thus repeated was as a caress in itself. "Well then, come."

She led the way a few yards, then halted. A bundle lay upon the ground,
and this Lindela proceeded to undo. It consisted of a couple of strong
native blankets, inclosing several round baskets of woven grass similar
to those which had contained the food which had been let down in cruel
mercy into the place of the horror by the mysterious hands which had
lowered himself. But that upon which Laurence's eyes rested, upon which
he almost pounced, was a short carbine and a well-stocked
cartridge-belt. It was a vastly inferior weapon to his own trusty
"Express," but still it was a firearm.

"That is not all," cried the girl, laughing gleefully. "See this."

She thrust another bundle into his hands. Almost trembling he opened
it. A revolver--his own; also another of smaller calibre. And with both
was a quantity of ammunition. As he seized these, he realized that he
would have given half his diamonds, up till then well-nigh forgotten,
for just such an armoury.