l tell the lady Heddana
when she is to start. Of all this say nothing on your peril to
the woman Kaatje, since if you do, it will be necessary that she
should be made silent. Indeed, lest she should learn something,
to-morrow I shall send her on to await you at Ulundi, therefore
be not surprised if you see her go, and take no heed of aught she
may say in going. Nombe, my child, will fill her place as
servant to the lady Heddana and sleep with her at night that she
may not be lonely or afraid.'

"Then he clapped his hands again and servants came and conducted
us back to the huts. And now, Allan, Heda will go on with the
story."

"Well, Mr. Quatermain," she said, "nothing more happened that day
which we spent with bursting hearts. Kaatje did not question us
as to what the witch-doctor had said after she was sent away.
Indeed I noticed that she was growing very stupid and drowsy,
like a person who has been drugged, as I daresay she was, and
would insist upon beginning to pack up the things in a foolish
kind of way, muttering something about our trekking on the
following day. The night passed as usual, Kaatje sleeping very
heavily by my side and snoring so much" (here I groaned
sympathetically) "that I could get little rest. On the next
morning after breakfast as the huts were very hot, Nombe
suggested that we should sit under the shadow of the overhanging
rock, just where we are now. Accordingly we went, and being
tired out with all our troubles and bad nights, I fell into a
doze, and so, I think, did Maurice, Nombe sitting near to us and
singing all the while, a very queer kind of song.

"Presently, through my doze as it were, I saw Kaatje approaching.
Nombe went to meet her, still singing, and taking her hand, led
her to the cart, where they seemed to talk to the horses, which
surprised me as there were no horses. Then she brought her round
the cart and pointed to us, still singing. Now Kaatje began to
weep and throw her hands about, while Nombe patted her on the
shoulder. I tried to speak to her but could not. My tongue was
tied, why I don't know, but I suppose because I was really
asleep, and Maurice also was asleep and did not wake at all."

"Yes," said Anscombe, "I remember nothing of all this business."

"After a while Kaatje went away, still weeping, and then I fell
asleep in earnest and did not wake until the sun was going down,
when I roused Maurice and we both went back to the hut, where I
f