The Irish standard., 1890-02-22

aha inbi, 4 4 said, W. can never
GROSS this IL we take six days. 8 q 535
s''As you will, Macumazahn he an-
swered; t'but tell you that there -
and he pointed to the peak there the
white man lives. Turn which way you
like, but il you turn you will perish s 4
Il reflected for 8 moment. Our case
was, humanity speaking, almost hopeless.
It mattered little which way we went.
We were alone, almost without food,
with no means Of transport, and child
to carry. As we'll perish in the sandy
waste as on the rolling veldt or among
the trees Of the hillside. Providence
alone could save us, and we must trust to
Providence.
Come on,'' said, lifting Tota on to
my back, for she was already tired. ''Al
roads lead to rest. !"
How am to describe the misery Of the
next four days? How am to tell how
we stumbled on through that awful des-
ert, almost without food, and quite with
out water, for there were ne streams,
and we saw no springs? We soon found
how the case was, and saved almost all
the water in our bottles for the child.
70 look back on It IL like nightmare.
can scarcely bear to dwell on 70. Day
after day, by turns carrying the child
through the heavy sand; night after
night lying down in the scrub, chewing
the leaves and licking such dew as there
was from the scanty grassl Nota spring,
not a pool, not head Of camel 1t was
the third night; we were nearly mad
with thirst Tota was in a comatose
condition. Indaba-zimbi still had lit
tie water in his bottle perhaps wine
glassful. We moistened her lips and
our blackened tongues with it. Then
we gave the rest to the child. 1t revived
her. She awoke from her swoon to sink
into sleep.
See, the dawn was breaking. The
hills we're not more than eight miles Or
SO away now, and they were green.
There must be water there.
''Come," said.
Indaba-zimbi lifted Tota into the
kind of sling that we had made ouS Of
the blanket in which to carry he1 on
our backs, and we staggered on for an
hour through the sand. She woke cry
ing for water, and, alasi we had mono to
give her; our tongues we're hanging
from our lips, we could scarcely speak.
We rested awhile, and Tota merci-
fully swooned away. Then Indaba-
zimbi took ber. Though he was so
thin the old mans strength was Won
derful.
Another hour; the slope of the great
peak could not be m ore than two miles
away now. A couple of hundred yards
off grew a large, baobale tree. Could
we reach its shade! We had done half
the distance when Indaba-zimbi fell
from exhaustion We were now so
weak that neitayf of us could lift the
child on to our backs. We each took
one of her hands and dragged her
along the road. Fifty yards-they
seemed to be fifty miles. All! the tree
was reached at last; compared with the
heat outside, the shade Of it's dense
foliage seemed like the dusk and cool of
vault. I remember thinking that it
was good place to die in. Then re-
member no more. w.
woke with feeling as though the
blessed rain were falling on my face
and head. Slowly and with great diff
fculty I opened my eyes, then shut
them again, having seen vision. For
a space lay thus, while the rain con-
tinued to fall; I saw now that I must be
asleep, or off my head with thirst or
fever. If were not off my head how
came I to imagine that a lovely, dark
eyed girl was bending over me sprinl-
ling water on my face? A white girl,
too, not Kaffir woman. However, the
dream went on.
'tHendrika," said voice in English,
the sweetest voice that had ever heard;
somehow it Reminded me Of wind whis-
pering in the trees at night. ''Hendrika,
I fear he dies; there is a flask of brandy
in my saddle-bag; get it,"
'tAhl ahv' grunted harsh voice in
answer; t'let him die, Miss Stella. He
will bring you bad luck-let hir- die, |
say" 7 felt movement of ar above
me as though the woman Of my vision
turned swiftly, and once again opene :
my eyes. She had risen. this dream
woman. Now saw that she was IL
and graceful as reed. She was ~ngry,
too; her dark eyes flashed, and she
pointed with her hand at a female who
stood before her, dressed in nondescri t
kind of clothes such as might be worn
by either man or woman. The
woman was young, Of white blood, ve-y
short, with bowed legs and enormous
shoulders. In face she was not bad
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