San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-02-08
QUATERMAN'S WIFE.
By Fl. RIDER HAGGARD.
Author Of "Colonet Quarftch, v Co." "Mr
Nelson's VIII" "A Tale of Three
Lions" Han quatermain,"
"She," Jess" etc.
hour may aIaU dic:.

les. II Is SAD story, but wander
where We will about the world we can
never go beyond the sound of the pass
ing bell. For me, as for my father be-
fore me. and for the millions who have
been and who shall be. there is but one
word of comfort. The Lord hath
given, and the Lord hath taken away"
Let us, then, bow our heads in hope, and
add with Il humble heart, blessed be
the name of the Lorll.
| buried her by her fathers side, and
the weeping of the people who had loved
her went up to heaven. Even Indaba
Zlmbi wept.
On the second night from her burial
could not sleep | rose, dressed myself,
and went out into the night. The moon
was shining brightly, and by its rays l
shaped my course towards the graveyard.
| drew near silently, and as | came i
thought that | heard sound of moan
ing on the further side of the wall. |
hooked over it. CrOuchcd by Stella's
grave, and tearing at its sOdS with her
hands, rs though she would mearth
that which lay within, was licndrika.
Her face VAS wild and haggard; her
form was 80 emaciated that, when the
pelt5 she wore slipped aside, the Shoul-
der blades seemed to project almost
through her skin. suddenly she looked
up and S;tw me. Laughing Il dreadful
maniac laugh, she put her hand to her
girdle and drew her great knife from it.
| thought that she was about to attack
me, and prepared to defend myself us !
best could, for was unarlnod. But she
made no effort to do 81. Lifting the
knife Oh high, for a moment she held it
glttering in the moonlight, then plunged
it into her own breast, and fell headlong
to the ground.
sprang over the wall and ran to her
She was not yet dead. Presently she
opened her eyes, and saw that the mad
ness had gone out Of them.
"Macumazahn,' she said, speaking in
English and in thick difficult voice
like one who half forgot and half rr,nem-
bered - 'Macuntazahn, | remember
now. | have been mad. Is she really
dead, Macumazahn?''
Yes" said, she Is dead, and You
killed her.
Il killed her" the dying woman fall
tered, land loved her. Yes. yra-I
know now. became a brute again and
dragged her to the brutes, and now once
more l am a woman, and she is dead,
and l killed her-becausc | loved her so.
| killed her who saved me from the
brutes. | am not dead yet, MaCu-
maZahn. Take me and torture me to
death, slowly, very slowly. It was ieal-
ousy of you that drove me mad, and
have killed her. and now she never can
forgive me-
Ask forgiveness from above" said,
for Hendrika had been a Christian, and
the torment of her remOrSe touched me.
Il ask no forgiveness" she said. May
God torture me for ever, because | killed
her; may l become brute forever till
she comes to find me and fOrgives me! |
only want her forgiveness" And wall
ing in an anguish of the heart so strong
that her bodily suffering seemed to be
forgotten. Hnndrika. the baboon woman,
died.
went back to the kraals. and, walking
linda ba -zimbi, told him what had hap
pened, asking him 10 send some one to
watch til" body, Is | proposed to give it
burial. But next morning it was gone,
and | found that the natives, hearing of
the event, had taken the corpse and
thrown it to the vultureS with every mark
of hate. Such, then, was the end of
Hendriia.
A week after Iendrika' ; death left
Babyan Kraals The place was hateful
to me now; it was haunted place !
sent for cid Indaba-zimbi and told him
that | was going. He answered that it
was well. The place has served your
turn" he said; here you have won that
Joy which it was fated you should win,
and have suffered those things that it
was fatcd you should suffer Yes, and |
though you know it not now, the Joy |
and the suffering, like the sunshine and |
the storm, are the same thing, and will |
rest at last in the same heaven, the |
heaven from which they came. Now
go, Macumazahn."
asked him if he was coming with me |
No" he answered, ''our paths lie |
apart henceforth, Macumazlhu. We
met together for certain ends, Those
ends are fulfilled Now each one goes
his own way. You have still many years
before you, Macumzahn my wears are
few. When we shake HAMS here it will /
be for the last time. Perhaps we may +,
meet again. but it will not be in this
world IIenceforth we have each Of us
~ fr;,,,.l ,b, Insy