ge of the girl for whom I was then seeking; then, when I not only
insisted that she was in his power, but also minutely described her and
her two girl companions, just as I had seen them in my vision, he
retorted by declaring that it was in his mind to kill me and my
followers, destroy my wagon, and turn my zebras loose, so that no trace
should be left of any of us. Upon this I countered by asking him
whether he really believed me such a fool as to venture into his country
without sending a messenger to my countrymen by another way, informing
them where I had gone, and asking them to investigate my fate if I did
not arrive at home in due course. This retort proved to be my winning
card, for he gave in at once, acknowledging Nell's presence in the
place; but insinuating that, since he had kept her alive and treated her
well ever since the Tembu had sent her to him as a present, I ought to
buy her of him. Of course, after this, the remainder of our negotiation
was merely a matter of bargaining, and as I was not at all disposed to
prolong the agony by being over particular in the matter of price,
another half-hour saw the dear child sobbing happily in my arms, in
exchange for practically the whole of the "truck" that still remained to
me.

Nell sat up quite late that night talking with me and telling her
adventures, beginning with that awful time when she awoke to find her
room full of armed Tembu warriors, who forced her to rise from her bed,
dress, and go with them; but although her tale was interesting enough to
me, I have no space in which to record it here.

One incident, however, struck me as being sufficiently peculiar to be
worthy of mention, and it was this. She told me how, when she had been
at Dingaan's Place nearly a year, she left the town one morning,
accompanied by two young Zulu girls, to go down to a favourite haunt of
hers near the river; "and," said she, "when we were passing just about
here, where this wagon is outspanned, a very strange thing happened.
For, although I was not thinking of you at all just then, I suddenly
believed for an instant that I saw you standing two or three yards away,
with your hands outstretched and your lips moving as though you wanted
to speak to me. I seemed to see you so distinctly that for a moment I
was quite startled--indeed I believe I actually stopped under the
impression that you were really there; but, as I did so, you vanished,
and although I remember looking