The Republican journal., 1880-08-05
From ST. Nicholas for August
Mnrjorie's Peril.
! rhrh STORY " mr nrsn Or rANAsmAN.

GN MARY LoCKWool.
This happened a few years ago, before
the name of a certain Zulu king called
Cetewayo pronounced 4 -ketch- way-o-
| had become either feared or famous At
that time, the newspapers, which have
made such talk abodt him since. had
never even heard of his existence. and
people still We're far more afraid of wild
beasts than of wild men in Queen \icto-
| ria's South African colonies.
In the latter part of August one of Her
| Majcsty's brave highland regiments, fresh
| from England by sea, landed at Durham,
the tiourishing seaport Of the Province of
Natal, on the southeast coast of the
African continent, and several companies
We're immediately ordered up country to
Il frontier post. a little fort at Tamashak.
upon the confines of the TransVaal and
! Iululand.
The soldiers first went by rail and coach
to lpetcrmaritZburg, the pretty little cap
ital of Natal, fifty miles from Durham,
and ST far the Journey was very pleasant {;
but the rest of the way, over bad roads,
in wagons or atoot, was 50 rough and
wcarsome that many Of the men left their
wives and children at Pietermaritzburg :;
for ii was runored that their stay would
not be long at IumaShaki, and, besides,
it was queer sort of place tor women
and children. But Sergeant Mcleod
would not leave his one mothcrlcSs BARN
behind, for he never felt easy when Mar
jorie WAS away from him. The men
were not sorry TO have her come. either.
the bonnie little Sroth lassic for She
was a great prt with them all. because
She tcl,s 50 Scottish. and wholesome, and
blithc. with her dinples ana auburn
curls. ana mrIr\ rrav ewes, and wjnsome
WAYS Then, tno. SHE Vas useful little
IaSs. though only rirht wears old and
could darn the hose and sew buttons on.
and sweep thr room and boil the nor
ridge. as well as many an older person.
The fort at Tamashal,i had been intend
td in the beginning for a Iulu village.
and. perhaps. was the uncamieSt spot Il
little Scottish girl ever called "home." 1t
was lust a collection of thatchcd mud
huts built around large coult-yard used
for the parade ground, incloscd by a circn-
lar fence Of high bamboo canes, stuck 49,
right into the ground very close to one
another. and bound together With withes
There was no cate. but the circle was
brought round So that the ends Of the
fence oyerlappcd At the entrance in such
a way as to prevent pasScrS- bv from see
ing into the court. There was a sentinel
stationed at the first entrance, WHO paced
the ground where the gate should haFe
been, day and night, and Captain knobcl
meant to have a gate made lust as soon as
he could procure the necessary material
from jhe nearest Dutch settlement in the
Trdnsraul
For several days, Naiuric WAS too busy,
helping her father and the others to make
their funny little huto look a bit homeliilc,
with the fey traps they had brought with
them. to think much about the country
that lay outside their bamboo fence; in
fact, She had never done more than peer
around the corner of the last bamboo
post, across the sandy stretch on which
he Tort was built, and catch Il glimpse of
the green trees OF the bush, South
African bush Is sort Of forest Jungle,
aboundlng in luNurlant vegetation, and
l,