himself together for the last great shock
which no human power could withstand, the shattering asunder of
soul and body, the swift amazing release of the spirit.

Involuntarily he shut his eyes as the thing drew near; but he did
not shrink, nor was there terror in his heart.

"Thank God I shall die like a man!" he said through his set teeth.

And then--while he waited tense and ready for the great revelation,
while all that was mortal in him throbbed with anguished
expectation--the monster of destruction swerved as if drawn by a
giant hand and passed him by.

He opened his eyes upon a flicker of lightning and saw it whirling
onwards, growing ever in volume, towards the _kopje_ which Sylvia
had never conquered. The blackness of the sky above was appalling.
It hung so near, pressing earthwards through that mighty spout.

With bated breath he watched till the _kopje_ was blotted from his
sight, and the demons of the storm came shrieking back. Then
suddenly there came a crash that shook the world and made the
senses reel. He heard the rush and swish of water, water
torrential that fell in a streaming mass, and as his understanding
came staggering back he knew that the first, most menacing danger
was past. The cloud had burst upon the _kopje_.

The thunder was drowned in the rush of the rain. It descended in a
vast sheet through which the lightning leapt and quivered. The
light of day was wholly gone.

The bungalow rocked on its foundations; the wrath of the tempest
beat around it as if it would sweep it away. The noise of the
falling rain was terrific. He wondered if the place would stand.

Gradually the first wild fury spent itself, and though the storm
continued the sky seemed to lift somewhat, to recede as if the
swollen clouds were being drawn upwards again. In the glimmering
lightning the _veldt_ shone like a sea. The water must be deep in
the hollows, and he hoped none of the sheep had been caught. The
fact that the farm was on rising ground, though it had been exposed
to the full force of the storm, had been its salvation. He thought
of the Kaffir huts, and dismissed the idea of any serious danger
there. The stables, too, were safe for the same reason. It was
only on the lower ground beyond the _kopje_ that the flood could be
formidable. He thought of the watercourse, dry for so many weeks,
now without doubt a seething torrent. He thought with a sudden
leap of memory of the hut on the sand a