ed and ran. You see, I lost my head
completely."

For answer I pressed the hand that rested on my arm closer to my side.

"Well, and what then?" I said.

"As soon as I began to run they came after me. As I say--I had lost my
head completely, and hardly knew where I was going. Then, suddenly, I
found myself on the brink of the waterhole; in fact I had nearly fallen
into it. I turned, and the two were right upon me. `Why had I run
away?' they asked. `There was surely nothing to be afraid of. Surely I
knew them both well enough. My dog was lying there dead and they had
been trying to see what they could do for him.'

"I was unaccountably frightened, and dreadfully out of breath after the
run. I felt half faint. Then just as I began to think I had behaved
like a fool something was thrown over my head from behind, something
that seemed saturated with some particularly overpowering and nauseous
drug. Then I became unconscious, and only recovered when I found myself
at the place we have just come from--or rather in a small kraal in a
hollow just above it."

"And you have been there all the time. Aida, you are sure they have not
injured you?"

"Oh yes. On the contrary they were quite deferential, the witch doctor
especially. He told me my presence was necessary for a certain time on
account of an important rain-making ceremony he was engaged in. After
that I should be taken home again. Well I thought it advisable to make
a virtue of necessity, and conciliate them. I even began to enter into
the adventure of the thing, and supposed I was going to witness some
quaint and rare native superstition. Another thing. The drug that at
first overpowered me had left a strange effect--I believe it is a little
upon me still. It was a sort of half drowsy apathetic feeling, as if it
was too much trouble to think about anything. The women there took care
of me, great care; they were Ukozi's wives they said. Well, this
evening he came to me and said the moon was right, and with my help, he
had accomplished all he wanted, and it would soon rain abundantly. The
time had come to take me home and he would guide me there. Do you know,
he can talk English quite well?"

"No--by Jove I didn't. He's kept it remarkably dark hitherto. Yet he
wasn't talking English when you appeared."

"No he wasn't. I've got to understand them rather well by this time.
Well, then you all burst out upon us and here I am."

"Thank God