Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-19

CopyrighL tiS9e. by II. Rider Haggard)
. CHAPTER ~.
Presentiyd mastering something that the lis
tener couldinosEcatch. Nahoon left Nanea. and
crept out of tfie hut by its bee-hole entrance.
Then Hadden opened his eyes and looked
around him. The sun was sinking and a ray
OF its red light flowing through the little
opening OF the hut filled It with a soft and
crimson glow In the center Of the hut, sup
porting 1t, stood a roof tree Of thorn wood,
colored black by the smoke Of the fire, and
against 1t, the rich light falling full upon her.
leaned the girl, Nanea, a very picture of
gentle despair.
AS 10 occasionally the case among zuiu
women. she was beautiful, so beautiful that
the sight of her went straight 10 the White
mans heart, fer a moment, causing the breath
to catch In his throat. Her dress was very
simple. On her shoulders. hanging open IN
front, was a mantle Of solf white stun eoyed
with blue beads, about her middle was a
deerskin moocha, also embroidered with blue
beads, while round her forehead ana lett
knee were strips Of gray fur, and on her right
wrist was a shining bangle of copper. Her
naked, bronze-hued figure was tall and per
feet in its proportions, while her face had
little in common with that OF the ordinary
native girl, showing as 1t did strong traces
of the ancestral Arabian or. Semitic blood.
1t was oya; in shape, with delicate aquiline
| y althtu
dropped a little at the corners, tiny ears be-
hind which the wavy coal-black hair hung
down 40 the shoulders, and the very loveliest
pair of dark and liquid eyes that 1t is possible
to imagine.
For a minute. or more Nsnea stood thus.
her sweet face bathed in the sunbeam, while
Hadden feasted his eyes upon its beauty.
Then signing heavily, she turned, and seeing
that he was awake, started, drew her man
tie over her breast and came or rather glided
toward him. -
'The chief is awake" she said in her soft
Zulu accents. Does he need %aught?'
Eyes, lady" he answered; 81 need to drink,
but alas! l am too weak"
She knelt down beside him, and support
ing him with her left, arm. with her right
held the gourd to his lips.
How 1t came about Hadden never knew, but
before that draught was finished a change
passed over him. Whether 1t was the savage
girls touch, or her strange and fawn-like
loneliness, or the tender pity in her eyes,
matters not, the issue was the same; she
struck some chord in his turbulent, uncurbed
nature, and of a sudden it was filled full
with passion for her. a passion which. If not
elevated, at least was real. He did not fer
q moment mistake the significance of the
ncod of feeling that surged through his veins.
MADDEN never shirked facts.
by heaven!" he said to himself. 81 have
fallen in love with, a black beauty at first
sight, more in love than / have ever been
before. It's awkward, but there will be COM
pthoatiOliS. ~ tPush AZ ois vi ANahOShb
or fer Cetywayo, or for both of them. After
all 1 can always get rid of her If she becomes
a nuisance. "E5's
Then in aofteof renewed weakness brought
about by the, turmoil Of his blood, he lay
back upon his, pillow of furs, watching Ma
meas face while with a native salve of
pounded leaves she busted herself dressing
the wounds thatnthe leopard had made.
1t also seemed as though something of
what was passing In his mind communicated
itself to that % the girl. At least her hand
shook a little at her task, and getting done
with it as quickly as she could, she rose
from her knees with a courteous 1T is
finished, Inkoos,S and once more took up her
position by the rbof tree.
Il thank'yo lady" he said your hand is
kind"
"You must mot call me lady, Inkoos," she
answered. 'i''I eafl no chieftainess, but only
the daughter OF Il headman, Umgona." 80
p And named Nansa," he said May, do
not be surprised, 1 have heard OF you. Well.
Nanea, perhaps you Will soon become a
chieftainess-up at the kings kraal yonder."
face with her hand. F
"Do" not grieve, Nanea, a hedge is never
so tall and thick but that 1t can be climbed
or crept through"
| eagerly, but he did not pursue the subject.
"Tell me, how did l come here, Nanea %
N"Nahoon and his companions carried you,
Inkoos."
lnueeu, L USSdH u NC tldUhlul 10 the
leopard that struck me down. Well, Nahoon
is a brave man, and he had done me a /
great service. I trust that may be able to
| repay ito you, Nanea."
This was the first meeting of Nanea and
| Hadden, but although she did not seek them,
| the necessities of his sickness and of the
situation brought them about many another.
Never for a moment did the White Man
waver in his determination to get into his
keeping the native girl who had captivated
| him, and, to attain this end, he brought to
bear all his powers and charms to detach
her from Nahoon and win her affections for
himself. He was no rough wooer. however,
but proceeded warily, weaving her about
a web of fattery and attention that
must, he thought, produce the desired effect
upon her mind. Without a doubt, indeed,
1t would have done SO, for she was but a
woman, and On untutored one, had 1t not
been for a simple fact which dominated her
whole nature.4 She loved Nahoon and there
was no room in her heart for any other
man. white or black. To Hadden she was
courteous and ~Skindiy, but no more, nor did
vances by which he attempted to win a foot
hold In her heart. For a while this puzzled
him, but he remembered that 1t is not usual
among the Zulu women to permit themselves
to show feeling toward an undeclared sutton.
Therefore, 1t became necessary that he
should speak out.
His mind once made up he had not to
wait long for an opportunity. By now he
was quite recovered from his hurts and ac-
customed to walk In the neighborhood of
the kraal. About 200 yards from Umgona's
huts was a spring, and thither 1t was
Nanea's habit to resort In the evening to
bring back drinking water for the use of
her fathers household. The path between
the spring aud the kraal ran through a
patch of bush, where on a certain afternoon
toward shutdown Hidden took his seat under
a tree, having frst seen Nanea go down to
the little stream, as was her custom. A
quarter Of an hour later she appeared, carry
'& ST