s
very night."

I advised him to do nothing in a hurry, because anything done in a hurry
was sure to be badly done. I even talked him over to the extent of
making him promise that he would not leave at all, at any rate until he
had some fresh grievance--which I hoped to be able to ensure against.

"Come on in, Glanton," sung out young Sewin, impatiently. "Or are you
going to spend the whole evening jawing with that infernal young sweep.
I suppose you're taking his part."

This was pretty rough considering the pains I had been at to smooth the
way for these people in the teeth of their own pig-headed obstinacy.
But I was not going to quarrel with this cub.

"On the contrary," I said, "I was taking yours, in that I persuaded the
boy not to clear out, as he was on the point of doing."

"Did you? Well then, Glanton, you won't mind my saying that it's a pity
you did. D'you think we're going to keep any blasted nigger here as a
favour on his part?"

"Answer me this," I said. "Are you prepared to herd your own
sheep--_slaag_ them, too--milk your own cows, and, in short, do every
darn thing there is to be done on the farm yourselves?"

"Of course not. But I don't see your point. The country is just
swarming with niggers. If we kick one off the place, we can easily get
another. Just as good fish in the sea, eh?"

"Are there? This colony contains about four hundred thousand natives--
rather more than less--and if you go on as you're doing, Sewin, you'll
mighty soon find that not one of those four hundred thousand will stay
on your place for love or money. Not only that, but those around
here'll start in to make things most unpleasantly lively for you.
They'll _slaag_ your sheep and steal your cattle--and you'll find it too
hot altogether to stay. Now you take my advice and go on a new tack
altogether."

"Mr Glanton's quite right, Falkner," said a clear voice from the
verandah above us--for we had reached the house now, only in the
earnestness of our discussion we had not noticed the presence of
anybody. "He has told us the same thing before, and I hope he will go
on doing so until it makes some impression."

"Oh, as to that, Miss Sewin," I said, idiotically deprecatory, as the
Major's eldest daughter came forward to welcome me, "I am only trying to
make my experience of service to you."

"I don't know what we should have done without it," she answered, in
that sweet and gracious way of hers that always