The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1890-05-21
ALLAN QUA7ERMAIN'S WIFE
BY H. RIDER HAGGARD,
Author of "Col. Quaritch, v. c., "Mr.
Nelson's WILL" ga Tale of Three
Lions" "Allan Quatermain,"
''She," Cess" Etc.
CHAPTER XT.-Continued.

some dinner. Stella said that she was
going to pack during the afternoon, so I
did not think it necessary to caution her
about going out alone, as did not wish
to allude to the subject of Hendrika and
the balloons unless was obliged to-
told her, however, that L would come
back to help her as soon as l could
get away. Then went down to the ma
tive kraals to sort out such cattle as had
belonged to Mr.. Carson from those which
belonged to the Kaffirs, for proposed to
take them with u.s. 1t was large herd,
and the business took an incalculable
time. At length, a little before sun
down, l gave it up, and leaving Indaba-
zimbi to finish the job, got on my horse
and rode homewards.
Arriving, I gave the horse to one of
the stable boys, and went into the GEN.
trail hut There was no sign of Stella,
though the things she had been packing
lay about the floor. / passed first into
our sleeping hut, thence one by one into
all the others, but still saw no sign of her.
Then [ went out, and calling to Kaffir
in the garden asked him if he had seen
his mistress.
He answered Eyes" He had seen her
carrying flowers walking towards the
graveyard, holding the little white girl
my daughter-as he called her, by the
hand, when the sun stood "there," and
he pointed to spot in the horizon where
it would have been about an hour and a
half before. ''The two dogs were with
Them" he added. I turned and ran
towards the graveyard, which was about
course there was no reason to be anxious
evidently she had gone tn lay the
flowers on her fathers grave And yet
| was anxious.
When got near the graveyard met
one of the natives, who, by my orders,
had been set round the kraals to watch
the place, and noticed that he was rub
bling his eyes and yawning. Clearly he
had been asleep. | asked him if he had
seen his mistress, and he answered that
he had not, which under the circum-
stances was not wonderful Without
stopping to reproach him, ordered the
man to follow me, and went on to the
graveyard. There, on Mr. Carson s
grave, lay the dropping flowers which
Stella had been carrying. and there in
the fresh mold was the spoor of Tota S
veldschoon, or hide slipper. But where
were they?
ran from the graveyard and called
aloud at the top of my voice, but no an
swer came. Meanwhile the native was
more profitably engaged in tracing their
spoor. He followed it for about. hun
dred yards till he came to clump of
mimosa bush that was situated between
the stream and the ancient marble quar-
ries just above the waterfall, and at the
mouth of the ravine. Here he stopped,
and heard him give a startled cry
rushed to the spot, passed through the
trees, and saw this. The little open
space in the center of the glade had been
the scene of a struggle. There, in the
soft earth, were the marks of three hui
man feet-two shod, one naked-Stellas
Totals and Hendricks. Nor was this all.
There, close by, lay the fragments of the
two dogs-they were nothing more-and
one baboon, not yet quite dead, which
had been bitten in the throat by the
dogs. All round us was the-spoor of
numberless balloons. The full horror of
what had happened flashed into my mind.
Ny wife and Tota had been carried off
by the balloons. AS yet they had not
been killed, for if so their remains would
have been found with those of the dogs.