f Hoste putting in that caution," he
said to himself. "I should never have credited the chap with so much
gumption."

He was alone in the shearing-house when the overseer had handed him his
letters. His coat was off, and he was doing one or two odd carpentering
jobs. The time was about midday. Nobody was likely to interrupt him
here.

Something has come to my knowledge [went on the letter] which you, of
all men, ought to be the one to investigate. To come to the point,
there is some reason to suppose that poor Tom Carhayes may still be
alive.

You remember that Kafir on whose behalf you interfered when Jackson
and a lot of fellows were giving him beans? He is my informant. He
began by inquiring for you, and when I told him you were far away, and
not likely to be up here again, he seemed disappointed, and said he
wanted to do you a good turn for standing his friend on that occasion.
He said he now knew who you were, and thought he could tell you
something you would like to know.

Well, I told him he had better unburden himself to me, and if his
information seemed likely to be of use, he might depend upon me
passing it on to you. This, at first, he didn't seem to see--you know
what a suspicious dog our black brother habitually is--and took
himself off. But the secret seemed to weigh upon him, for, in a day
or two, he turned up again, and then, in the course of a good deal of
"dark talking," he gave me to understand that Tom Carhayes was still
alive; and, in fact, he knew where he was.

Milne, you may just bet your boots I felt knocked all out of time. I
hadn't the least suspicion what the fellow was driving at, at first.
Thought he was going to let out that he knew where old Kreli was
hiding, or Hlangani, perhaps. So, you see, you must come up here at
once, and look into the matter. I've arranged to send word to
Xalasa--that's the fellow's name--to meet us at Anta's Kloof directly
you arrive.

Don't lose any time. Start the moment you get this. Of course I've
kept the thing as dark as pitch; but there's no knowing when an affair
of this kind may not leak out and get into all the papers.

Kind regards to Mrs Carhayes--and keep this from her at present.

Yours ever, Percy F. Hoste.

Carefully Eustace read through every word of this communication; then,
beginning again, he read it through a second time.

"This requires some thinking out,