Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-05-02
The Strange Story
OF
ALLAN QUATERMA|N'S Wife.
BY H RIDER HAGGARD.
A NEW AFRICAN ROMANCE.
CHAPTER VII.

man must rue on tifC OILlSIs WIZ HfAAhs
and Hendrika will carry the little child.
Oh, do not be afraid, she is very strong,
she could carry you or me"
Hendrka grunted assent. am sorry
that cannot express her method of speech
by auy more polite term. Sometimes she
prunted like Il monkey; sometimes she
clicked like Bushman, aud sometimes
she did both together, when she became
cutie unintelligihle.
| expostulated against this proposed ar
rangement, saying that we could walk,
which was Il flo, for do rot think that l
could have done mile; Jut Stella would
not listen. she would not even let me
carry my elephant gun, but took 1t her
self. So we mounted with some difficult
ty and Heudgika took up the sleeping IOta
In ner long, slnewy arms.
"See that the 'baboon-woman' does not
run away into the mountains with the
| little white one" said Indaba-Zimbt TO
me in KafIir, as he climbed on TO the
| horse.
Unfortunately Hendrika understood his
| speech Her face twisted and grew livid
| with fury. She put down Tota and liter
| ally sprang at Indaba -Zimbi as r.Onkey
| springs. But weary and worn as he was,
| the old gentleman was too quick for her.
! With an exclamation of genuine fright
! he threw himself from the horse on the
| further side, with the somewhat ludicrous
result that all in a moment Hendrika
was occupying the seat that he had va
I Gated Just then Stella realized the posi-
/ ton.
Come down, you savage, come down"
| she said, stamping her foot
! The extraordinary creature flung herself
from the horse and literally grovelled on
| the ground before her mistress and burst
! into tears.
Pardon. Miss Stella" she clicked,
| md grunted in villainous English, but
he called me 'babyan-frau' (baboon-wo-
NAM.
Tell your servant that he must not
+ use such words to Hendrika, Mr.. Allan"
! Stella said to me. "If he does" she added
! in a whisper, "Hendrika will certainly kill
| him"
| explained this to Indaba-zimbi, who,
| being considerably frightened, deigned to
| apologize. But from that hour there was
| hate and war between these two.
| Harmony having been thus restored, we
! started, the dogs following us. small
strip of desert interviewed between us and
| the slope of the peak-perhaps it was two
miles wide. We crossed it and reached
rich grass lands, for here considerable
stream gathered from the hills; but it
! did not flow across the barren lands, it
| passed to the east along the foot of the
| hills.
| This stream we had to pass by ford.
| Hendrka walked boldly through it, hold
| ing Tota in her arms. Stella leapt across
| from stone to stone like n rOebuck: I
! thought to myself that she was the most
! graceful creature that | had ever seen.
| After this the track passed round pleas
! antly-wooded shoulder of the peak which
was, found, known as Babyau Kap or
! Balloon Head. OF course we could only
| 20 ut foot pace, so our progress was slow.
| stella walked for some way in silence
then she spoke.
Tell me, Mr.. Allan" she said, chow it
was that | came to find you dying in the
DESERT"
So began and told her all It took
an hour or more to do so, and she listened
intently, now and again asking a ques-
ton.
at is all very wonderful" she said when
| had done, Every wonderful. indeed. Do
You know went out this morning with
Hendrika and the dogs for IL ride, mean
father is i'll, and do not like to leave him
for long. But just rs | was going to turn
when we were about where we are now
yes, this was the very bush-an orbe got
up and the dogs chased it.
II followed them for the gallop, and when
we came to the river. Instead of turning
to the left as bucks generally do, the oribe
swan the stream aud took to the bad
| lands haynnI | f,Il,r,-aJ VII
hundred yards of the big tree the dogs
killed it, Hendrika wanted me to turn
back Mt once. but said that we would
rest under the shade of the tree, for knew
that there was n spring of water near.
Well, we went; and there | saw you all
lying like dead; but Iendrka, who is
you know the rest. Yes. it is very won
derfuL"
cit is indced'I said. "Now tell me,
Miss Stella, who is IIendrikag"
She looked round before answering to
see that the woman was not near
Hers is a strange story, Mr.. Allan. I
will tell YOU You must know that all
| these mountains and the country beyond
are fun of balloons When | was a girl of
about ten used To wander about a good
deal alone in the hills and valleys. and
watch the balloons as they played among
The rocks There was one family of ba-
boons that l watched eSpncialIy-they
used to live in klaaf about mile from
the house The old man babpou was verv
| large, anu one OF the females nau gray
lace.
but the reason why / watched them so
much was because saw that they had
with them a creature that looked like a
girl, for her skin was quite white, and,
what was more. that she was protected
from the weather when it happened to be
cold by a fur belt of some Sort which she
tied round her throat
For nearly "A whole summer watched
this particular white-skinned baboon till
| at last my curiosity quite overmastercu
| me. | noticed that, though she climbed
| about the cliffs with the other monkeys.
at Il certain hour little before shutdown
they used to put her with one or two other
| much smaller ones INTO little cave, While
the family went off somewhere to get
food, to the mealie fields, l suppose.
Then | got an idea that l would catch this
| white baboou and brtngit home.
But of course | could not do this by
myself, So | took Hottentot-a very clev-
or man when he was not druuk-who
| lived on the stead, into my confidence.
He was called Hendrix. and was very
fond of me; but for long while he would
not listen to my plan. because he said that
| the babyans would kill us. At last bribed
| him with a knife that had four blades,
| and one afternoon we started, Hendrix
| carrying stout sack made of hide. with a
| rope running through it so that the mouth
could be drawn tight.
We'll, we Cpt TO the place, and. hiding
| ourselves carefully in the trees ut the foot
| of the kloof, watched the balloons playing
about aud granting to each other, till at
length. according to custom, they took
the white one and three other little babies
and put them in the cave. Then the old
| man came out, looked carefully round.
| called to his family, and went off with
| them over the brow of the kloof
| Now very slowly and cautiously we
| crept up over the rocks till we came to the
| mouth of the cave and looked in. All the
| four little balloons were fast asleep, with
| their backs towards us, and their arms
/ around each others necks, the white one
being IN the middle.
Nothing could have been better for
our plans. Hendrix, who by this time
! had quite entered into the spirit of the
| thing, crept into the cave like snake,
and suddenly dropped the mouth of the
hide bag over the head of the white b.
| hn0D Tho moor Iittla thiny- yvcka nm aud