Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-01-17
THE STRANGE STORY
 Or Allan 0;l2tcrmain' Wife
EY II. EfJ:,.H H.sGCAED,

have told you this is an evil woman. Sho was l.cu.ishCd on baboon milk, and tho ba boon nature is in her veins. Such creatures should bo killed, not kept. She will mako you mischief if she can. But ! will watch her. Macuma- ! zahn. Look, the Star is waiting for you; go, or shc will hate mo as Hendrika hates you.'
 So went, nothing loath, for attractive ! as was tho wisdom of Indaba-Zimbi, l 1 found a deeper meaning in Stella $ sim plest word. All the rest of that day l | passed in her company, and the greater part of tho two following days. At last came Saturday night, the eve of our marriage. It raincd that night, so we did not go out, but spent tho evening in the hut. We sat hand in hand, saying little, but Mir. Carson talked good deal, telling us tales of his youth and of coun- tries that he had visited. Then he read aloud from the Bible and bade us good night. 1 also kissed Stella and went to bed. I reached my hut by tho covered way, and before l undrcssed opened the door to see what tho night was like. It was very dark, and rain was still falling, but as tho light strcamed out into the gloom I fancicd that caught sight of a dusky form gliding away. The thought of Hendrika flashed into my mind; could she be skulking about outside there? Now, l had said nothing of Uendrika and her threats either to Mir. Carson or Stella, be- cause I did not wish to alarm them. Also I knew that Stella was attached to this strange person, and l did not wish to shake her confidence in her unless it was absolutely necessary For a min ute or two l stood hesitating, then, re- flccting that if it was Hcndrika out there, there sho should stop. went in and put up the stout Wr0tt.:, bar that was used tO secure the door. For tho last few nights old Indaba-zimbi had made 6 ha bit of sleeping in the covered passage, which was the only other pos sible way Of access. As ] cc.;,ic tO bed stepped O., him rollol up ii lis blanket, and to all appearances fast asleep. So it being evident that I had nothing to fear, I promptly dismissed the matter from my mind, which, as may be imagined, was indeed fully occupied with other matters.
 1 1 got into bed, and for awhile lay awake thinking of tho great happiness in store for mo, and of the providcntial course of events that had brought it within my reach. A few weeks slnce and l was wandering in the desert a dy- ing man, bearing a dying child, and with scarcely a possession left in the world except storo of buried ivol that I never expected to sco q arain. An now l was about to we'd ono of tho sweetest and lovelicst women in the whole world-a woman whom l loved moro than I could have thought possible, ,,1< I, though that wCro not good fortune enough, l was to acquire wi.h he" con siderable possessions, quite sufficiently large to enable us to follow any plan of lifo we found agreeable. As I lay and reflected on all this I grew afraid of 'oy good fortune. OlG Indaba-zirlbi's n!rl- ancholy prophecies came in,o my mind. Hitherto he had always prophesied truly. What if thcso should be true also? l turned cold as I thought of it, and prayed to the Power above to preserve us both to 1.-Two and love together. Never was prayer moro needed. While it's words were still upon my lips l dropped asleep and dreamed most dreadful dream.
 l dreamed that stella and l were stand ing together to be married. She was dressed in white, and radiant with beauty, but it was a wild spiritual beauty which frightened me. Her eyes shone like stars, a pale flame played about her features, and the wind that blew did not stir her hair. Nor was this all, for her white robes were death wrap pings, and the altar at which we stood was formed of the pilcdup earth from an open grave that yawned between us, So we stood waiting for one to wed us, but no one came. Presently from the open grave sprang the form of Hendrlka. In her hand was a knife, with which she stabbed at me, but pierced the heart of Stella, who, without Q cry, fell back wards into the grave, still looking at me as she fell. Then Hendrika leaped after her in the grave. heard her feet i strike heavily.
 ''A'cdke, M,cumazahn! auakep' cried the voice of Indaba-zimbi
 l awol1e and bounded from the bed,
 the cold pcrspiration pouring from me. In the darkness on tho other side of the hut heard sounds of furious struggling. :, Luckily, l kept my head. Just by me was chair on which were matches and a rush taper l struck match and held
 it to the taper. Now in tho glowing light could see two forms rolling one
 over the other on tho floor, and from be-
 tween them came the flash of steel.
 The fat melted and the light burned up.
 It was Indaba-zimbi ani the woman
 Hendrika who were struggling, and,
 what was more, tho woman was getting
 the better of the man, strong as he was.
 I rushed toward them. Now she was
 uppermost. Now she had wrenched her.
 self from his fierce grasp, and now the
 great knife she had in her hand flashed
 up.
 But I was behind her, and, getting my
 hands beneath her arms. jerked with all
 my strength. She fell backwards, and
 in her effort to save herself, most fort
 unately dropped the knife. Then we
 flung ourselves upon her. Heavens
 the strength of that she-devil! Nobody
 who has not experienced it could be lnLG ii AlG fAll.rlt ulal h cd 2