Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-03-02


shout Of delight from tho crowd, who always
like to see an aggressor laid low, his head
humping with considerable force against the
Intel Of the door. For a moment no lay still,
and John was afraid that the man was really
hurt Presently, however, he rose, and with
out attempting any further hostile demonstra-
ton or saying n single word, tramped of
toward the house, leaving his enemy to COM
pose his rufiied nerves as best no could Now,
John, like most gentlemen, hated a row with
oil his heart, though he had the Anglo Saxon
tendency to go through with il untlinchinsly
when once it began. Indeed, thu whole thing
irritated him beyond bearing, for he knew
that the story would, with additions, 60 the
round OF the country side, and, what is more,
that he had made powerful and implacable
enemy.
This is all your fault. you drunken It'll,
blackguard" he said, turning savagely on tie
tottie, who, now that his excitement had left
him, was sniveling and driveling in an IL
toxcated fashion, and calling him his pre-
s,fvar and his baas in maudlin accents.
"He hit me, baas; he hit me, and did not
take the forage. He is bad man, Bans
Muller"
"Be of with you and get the horses in
and, having seen the operation advancing tc
q conclusion. he went to the sitting room of
the hotel, where Bessie was waiting in happy
ignorance Of the disturbance. It was not ill
they were well on their homeward way that
he told her what had passed, whereat, remem-
bering the scene she had herself gone through
with Frank Muller, and the threats that lie
had the, made use Of, she looked very grave
Her old uncle, too, was much put out when
he heard the story ON their arrival homo that
evening.
"You have made an enemy, Capt. Mel"
- said, "and q bad one. Not but what you
we're right to stand up for the Hottentot.
would have done as much myself had been
there and ten years younger, but Frank Null
Ter Is not the man to forget being put upon
his back befnre lot Of Kaflrs and white folk
too. Perhaps that Jantje b sober BY now"
This conversation took place upon the follow
ing morning, a. they sat upon the veranda
after breakfast ~ will 60 and call him, and
NO viii hear what this story h about his
father and his mother"
Presently he returned, followed by the rag
ged, dirty looking little Hottentot, who took
OF his hat and squatted down on the drive,
looking very miserable and ashamed Of him.
self, in the full glare of the African sun, to
the effects OF which he appeared to be totally
impervious
snow, Jantje, listen to me" said the ola
man. Yesterday you got drunk again.
Well, I'm not going to talk about that now,
except to my that II find or hear Of your
being drunk once more-you leave this
place"
~Yes, baas," said the Hottentot meekly. IL
was drunk, though not very; only had half
bottle Of Cape Smoke"
@By getting drunk you mado q quarrel with
Baas Muller, 20 that blows passed between
Baas Muller and the baas here ON your &C.
count, which was moro than you are worth.
Now when BAas Muller had struck you, you
said that no had shot your father and your
mother. Was that lie, or what did you
mean by saying itr
ut was no lie, bans" said the Hottentot,
excitedly. II have said it once, and will
say 1t again. Listen, bans, and will tell you
the story. When Twas young, SO highland
he held his hand high enough to indicate q
tottie OF about IA years Of age-@we, that is,
my father, my mother, my uncle, q very old
man, older than the baas pointing to Silas
Croft, "were bijwoners authorized squat-
ters) on o place belonging to old Jacob Muller,
Baas Franks father, down In Lydenburg
yonder. 1t was bush veldt farm, and old
jacob used to come down there with his cattle
from the High veldt In the winter when there
was no grass In the High veLlt, and with him
came the Englishwoman, his wife, and the
young Bans Frank-tho baas VIC saw yester-
day.
How long ago was all thisr asked Mr..
Croft.
Jamie counted ON his fingers for some sec
onds, and then held up his hand and opened
1t four times in succession. $780," he said,
twenty years last winter. Bans Frank was
young then; ho had only little down upon
his chin. One year, when ON Jacob went
away, after the first rains. he left six oxen
that werc too poor tthin) to 60 with my faith
er, and told him to look after them as though
they werc his children. But the oxen were
bewitched. Three of them took the lungsck
and died, a lion got one, snake killed one,
and ono ate tulip and died too. So when
ON Jacob came back the next year all the
oxen werc gono. He was very angry with
my father, and beat him with q yoke strap
till he was all blood, and, though we showed
him the bones of the oxen, he said that we
had stolen them and sold them.
"Now, ON Jacob had a beautiful span of
hioo'- tLot i.o 1c---s r;,-~ -t.;l g.
teen OF them were there, and they would
come up to the yoke when he called them and
put down thoir heads of themselves. They
were tame as dogs. These oxen were thin
when they came down, but in two months
they got fat and began to want to trek about
rs oxen do At this time there was Basutu,
one Of Sequati's people, resting in our hut,
for he had hurt his foot with thorn. When
ON Jacob found that the Basutu was there
he was very angry, Tor he said that all Basu-
tus wcro thieves. So my father told the
Basutu that the bans said that he must go
away, and he went that night Next morn
ing the span Of black oxen were gone too.
The kraal gate was down and they had gone.
We hunted all day, but we could not find
them. Then ON Jacob got mad with rage.
and the young Bans Frank told him that
one Of the KsfFir boys had said to him that
he had heard my father sell them to the Ba-
sutu for sheep which he was to pay to us in
the summer. 1t was lie, but Baas Frank
hated my father because Of something about
. woman-a Zulu girl Next morning. when
VIC werc asleep, just ut daybreak, ON Jacob