Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-01-15

thick seam of the whitest and most beautiful marble. I know another like it in Natal. But by whom it had been worked can not say. Not by natives, that is certain, though the builders of , the kraals had condescendcd to borrow the shape of native huts for their model. The only relic of those builders that ever saw was a highly-6nished bronze pick-axe which Stella found one day in the quarry. After we had examined the quarry we climbed the slope of the hill till we came to the mouth of the ancient mines situated in a kind of gorge. be- lieve them to have been silver mines. The gorge was long and narrow, and the moment we entered 1t there rose from every side sound of grooming and bark ing that was almost enough to deafen one. l knew what it was at once; the whole place was filled with babocns, which clambered down tho rocks to- wards us from every direction, in man. ner that struck me as being unusually fearless. Stella turned little pale and clung to my arm.
 ''It is very silly of me-" she whis- pered. 'I am not at all nervous, but I can not bear the sight of those animals ever since they killed Hendrix. I al-
 ways think there is something human about them"
 Meanwhile the baboons came nearer,
 talking to each other as they came.
 Tota began to cry and clung to Stella.
 Stella clung to me, while I and Indaba- zimbi put as bold a front on the matter
 as we could. Only Hendrika stood look ing at tho brutes with an unconcerned smile on her monkey face. When the
 great apes were quite near she sudden
 ly called out aloud. Instantly they
 stopped their hideous clamor as though
 at q word of command. Then Hendrika
 addressed them. I can only describe it
 so. That is to say, that they began to
 mako noise such as baboons do when
 they converse with each other. I have
 known Hottentots and Bushmen who
 said that they could talk with the bA-
 boons and understand their language,
 but confess never heard it done be-
 fore or since.
 From the mouth of Hendrika came a
 succession of grunts, groans, squeaks,
 clicks and every other abominable noise
 that can be conceived. To my mind the
 whole conveyed an idea of expostula-
 tion. At any rate the baboons listened. One of them grunted back some answer, and then the whole mob drew off to the rocks.
 stood astonished, and without word we turned back to tho kraal, for Hen-
 drika was too close for me to speak. When we reached the dining-hut Stella
 went in, followed by Hendrika. But In- : daba-zimbi plucked me by the sleeve, . and stopped outside.
 , "Macumazahn," he said, "Baboon. woman - devil-woman. Be careful, , Macumazahn. She loves that Star (the natives aptly enough called Stella the Starr, and is jealous. Be careful, t Macumazahn, or the Star will set!' CHAPTER K.
 , 1t is very difficult for mo to describe r tho period which elapsed between my l arrival at Babyan's Peak and my mar
 riage with Stella. Whom 1 look back on 5 it it seems sweet as with the odor o1 l flowers and dim as with the happy dusk r of summer eyes, while through the , sweetness comes the sound of Stella's voice and through the gloom shines the 3 starlight of her eyes. I think that we |, loved each other from the first, though l for awhile we said no word of love. Day - by day I went about the place with her 0 accompanied by little Tota and Hen n drilSa only, while she attended to the - thousand and one matters which her ia ther's ever-growing weakness had laid t upon her; or, rather, as time drew on, ,- attended to the business and she ac .- companied me. All day through we l. were together. Then after supper, wher d the night had fallen, we would walk to s gether in the garden and come in al l. length to hear her father read aloud s s / /1I
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