me through a
Kaffir town and thrust me into the hut where I am without
speaking to any one. Here, being very tired, I went to sleep,
and that is all."

And quite enough too, thought I to myself. Then I put her
through a cross-examination, but Kaatje was a stupid woman
although a good and faithful servant, and all her terrible
experiences had not sharpened her intelligence. Indeed, when I
pressed her she grew utterly confused, began to cry, thereby
taking refuge in the last impregnable female fortification, and
snivelled out that she could not bear to talk of her dear
mistress any more. So I gave it up, and two minutes later she
was literally snoring, being very tired, poor thing.

Now I tried to think matters out as well as this disturbance
would allow, for nothing hinders thought so much as snores. But
what was the use of thinking? There was her story to take or to
leave, and evidently the honest creature believed what she said.
Further, how could she be deceived on such a point? She swore
that she had seen Anscombe and Heda dead and afterwards had seen
their graves.

Moreover, there was confirmation in Nombe's message which could
not well have been invented, that spoke of their being well in
the charge of a "Great One," a term by which the Zulus designate
God, with all their troubles finished. The reason and manner of
their end were left unrevealed. Zikali might have murdered them
for his own purposes, or the Zulus might have killed them in
obedience to the king's order that no white people in the land
were to be allowed to live. Or perhaps the Basutos from
Sekukuni's country, with whom the Zulus had some understanding,
had followed and done them to death; indeed the strangling
sounded more Basuto than Zulu--if they were really strangled.

Almost overcome though I was, I bethought me of the package and
opened it, only to find another apparent proof of their end, for
it contained Heda's jewels as I had found them in the bag in the
safe; also a spare gold watch belonging to Anscombe with his
coat-of-arms engraved upon it. That which he wore was of silver
and no doubt was buried with him, since for superstitious reasons
the natives would not have touched anything on his person after
death. This seemed to me to settle the matter, presumptively at
any rate, since to show that robbery was not the cause of their
murder, their most valuable possessions which were not upon their
persons had been sent to me,