Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-10-31

all-he talked overmuch IN his sleep
the traitor-and taxed him with it
here in this very veldt, he laughed mt
to scorn ard told nc he was tired O.
my black face and my sour ways ant
glOried in his evil love- ia! he tauntet
me- that I WIS old and barren, I thai
had made a man of him and brought
him gold ard f;cclzs and herds and SCI
him up. And SO I shot him, as say
l could endure it no longer, and the
servants, having trekked to this place
with me, fled, and the oxen wandered,
and am alone, the Lord help me!' Al
the next instant the poor, overwrought
creature fell in q swoon upon the sand.
"Well, it was all very horrible, al
though even now we hardly knew what
to believe. But we brought her to, gave
her some brandy and put her into her
wagon for rest. And later ON I took her
some soup and bread and made her eat
it. She was exhausted now and told me
in a low voice that she had lived on
meal and water for weeks past. Pres
emily we turned in, and all was quiet.
1T was, supposed, some little time
after midnight that Angus and I were
reused by loud voice beyond the camp
fire, which lay between the other wag-
on and our own. We listened It was
the vrouw herself. Hastily we got down
from the kartel and went toward her.
She was beyond the fire, and her figure
was we'll nigh lost in the gloom Of
night. We could just see her white
kapje and an arm waving frantically.
1t was a terrible and uncanny scene.
There stood the woman, screaming in
wild and excited tones at something be-
yond, what we could not see and shiv-
cred even to imagine. Yes, she cried,
you come here to frighten me, Dirk
Starreberg. feared you not in life.
fear you not in death. slew you, and
would slay you again. But l know
why you walk thus through the veldt
and come seeking to drive me mad night
after night. Tomorrow-now that I can
trek-Iwill come and bury your bones,
and you may rest quiet if you can.
Trouble me no more, I say-begoner
"Angus and could stand it no lon
ger, sick with horror though we were.
" Come back to your wagon, Vrouw
Starreberg, l called out You are
dreaming. Go to rest again.
''Still glaring in front of. her, the
woman stepped back till she had met
our advance. am bound to say that 1
looked, and Angus looked, with terri
fed eyes, but saw nothing of what she
saw or thought she saw. We took the
poor mad creatures arms. She was
trembling and wet, literally bathed in
perspiration. What the tension must
have been if this sort of thing had been
going on night after night l shuddered
even to think of. We took her to her
wagon and gave her strong dose Of
brandy and water, and presently she
fell into heavy sleep. Then Angus and
got down our karosses, rekindled roar
ing fire and sat smoking by the blaze for
the rest of that night Scared as 1 was,
believe I dozed once or twice, and
Angus swears to this day that he once
saw the figure of Dirk Sarreberg pass
within the freight so yards away. He
woke me, but it had gone. The cattle
were uneasy and disturbed again, and
our Kaffirs, who had heard the vrouw
talking, as they said, at q spook, lay
huddled together under cur wagon. Il
was uncanny, deviiist uncanuv, ! can
tell you, that intangible horror aI0at
the camp.
"Well, the rest of my story Is siij,it.
Vrouw Starreberg was moving l;.. u,
dawn and insisted that we must trek
back to the old camp and bury the skel-
eton We, fearing more horrors, said it
could not be done, and that we should
at once quit the bush and strike for the
road. She then utterly refused to leave
her wagon unless we did as she asked.
We seriously thought of taking her by
force, but she was a strong, powerful
woman, her mind was already unhing-
ed, and we feared the consequences OF a
struggle And so, very reluctantly, we
agreed to humor her and give her her
wish. 1t was CHASTITY business. We
only prayed to get it quickly over.
cat earliest streak of daylight we
were inspanned and all day travelled
steadily back toward the scene Of Dirk's
tragical ending. That night, strange to
say, nothing happened to disturb US.
Everything passed quietly. We trekked
again all next day and halted for the
night some three miles short Of the
skeleton outspan, as we called it. Our
reason for this was that we hoped the
burial might be quietly accomplished
in the bright sunshine Of next morning
and the woman got we'll away before
nightfall on the homeward journey.
Vrouw Starreberg, noticed, was rest
less and excited, but she made no OBJ
lection. | gain I noticed that she still
carried her Bible tightly clasped under
the left arm. The vrouw lay in our
wagon, Angus and I sleeping by the fire
again. We were dog tired and slept
soundly until reused, just as daylight
broke, by our wagon driver, Griqua
named Albrecht. The man was looking
very strangely. 'Baas, he said, 'vrouw
is not there (pointing to the wagon.
She went in the night. I heard her
whispering, and I looked from where l
was lying, and there she was beyond
the freight, following mana Dutch
man, think-or spook, I don't know
which, toward the murderer's outspan
(de mordenaar' outspan toy. I was
frightened, baas, and dared not move.
There is her spoor, but the mans spoor
I cannot see.
"We sprang to our feet and went
straight to the wagon. The foreclap was
pulled aside The kartel was empty.
Yes, she had gone, and our hearts were
sick with a nameless fear. Taking AL
brecht with US, we saddled up at once
and spoored the vrouw along the track
toward the old outspan. And there,
surely enough, we found her, stone dead,
by the side of the skeleton.
''There was no mark upon her, but
in her face was the most awful look Of
horror and of fright that I ever saw
upon the countenance of the dead. l be-
heve she had died of sheer terror and
of nothing else. What had happened in
those silent, terrible night hours, by
what ghastly agency she had been drag
ged to the scene of the tragedy, how
the end had actually come, God only
knows.
"We were too anxious to get away
from this dreadful place after such