Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-02-15

told her, however, that I would come
back 10 help her as soon ms ] could
get away. Then went down 10 the ma
tive kraals TO sort out such cattle as had
belonged TO Mr.. Carson from those which
belonged TO the Kaflirs, for proposed 10
take them with us. II was large herd,
and the business took an incaIculable
time. At length, little before sun
down, gave 1t up, and leaving Indaba.
zimbi TO finish the job, got on my horse
and rode homewards.
Arriving, gave the horse 10 one Of
The stable boys, and went into the cen
tral hut There was no sign Of Stella,
though the things she had been packing
lay about the floor. i 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 10 Ka,ilr
In the garden asked him if he had seen
his mistress.
He answered yes" He had seen her
carrying flowers walking towards tho
graveyard, holding the little white girl
my daughter-as he called her, by the
hand, when the sun stood there" and
he pointed to q spot In the horizon where
II would have been about an hour and
half before. 1.-THE two dogs were with
thcm," he added. turned and ran
towards the graveyard, which was about
a quarter of mile from the huts. Of
course there was no reason TO be anxious
evidently she had gone 10 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
tho place, and noticed that he was rub
bing his eyes and yawning. Clearly he
had been asleep. asked him IL 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 they2
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 a clump of
mimosa bush that was situated between
the stream and the ancient marble quar-
ries just above the waterfall, and at the
moutlpof the ravine. Here he stopped,
and heard him give startled cry. I
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 struggle. There, in the
soft earth, were the marks of three hui
man feet--two shod, one enaked--Stella's,
Tota's 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.
My wife and Tota had been carried off
by the baboons As yet they had not
been killed, for if so their remains would
have been found with those of the dogs.
They had been carried Off. The brutes,
acting under the direction of tho woman
monkey, Hendrika, had dragged them
away to some secret den, there to keep
them till they died--or kill them!
For moment l literally staggered be-
meath the terror of the shock. Then
reused myself from my despair. bade
! the native run and alarm the people at
the kraals, telling them TO come armed,
and bring mo guns and ammunition. lie
went like the wind, and | turned to fol-
low the spoor. For few yards it was
plain enough--Stella had been dragged
| along. could see where her heels had
struck the giound; the child had, ! pre-
sumed, been carried-at least there were
no marks of her feet. At the waters
edge the spoor vanished. The water was
shallow, and they had gone along in it,
or at least Hendrika and her victims
had, in order to obliterate the trail
could see where moss grown stone had
been freshly turned over in the water
bed. ran along the bank somo way up
the ravinc, in the vain hope of catching
sight of them. Presently l heard a
bark in the cliffs above me; it was an.
swcred by another, and then | saw that
scores of baboons were hidden about
among the rocks on either side, and were
slowly swinging themselves down to bar
the path. To go ON unarmed as | was
would be useless. j should only be torn
to pieces as the dogs had been. So
turned and fled back toward the huts
AS drew near could SEQ that my mes.
senger had reused the settlement, fol
natives with spears and kerries in Their
.. hands were running up towards the
kraals, When reached the hut l met
old lndaba-z -zimbi, who wore very seri
Gus face.
$50 the evil has fallen, Macumazahn,
he said.
at has fallen" answered.
keep good heart, Macumazahn, h,
said again. "She is not dead, nor is tn,
little maid, and before they die we shal
find them. Remember this, Hendrix,
loves her. She will not harm her or al
low the babyans 10 harm her. She viii
try to hide her away from you-that il
all"
pray God that we may find her."
groaned. 1.-The light is going fast"
1.-The moon rises in three hours" h,
answered. "We will search by moon
light 1t is useless to start now; see, tn,
sun sinks. Let us get the men together
eat and make things ready. Hambi
gachle. Hasten slowly, Macumazahn."
As there was no help took his advice
could eat no food, but l packed som,
up to take with us, and made read,
ropes and a rough kind of litter. If w,
found them they would scarcely be abl,
To walk. Ahi If we found them! How
slowly the time passed! 1t seemed hours