The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-24
The SECRET OF THE WELL.
A story of the TransvaaI.
BY p. Y. Black.

.. usual among the richer. juieer grasses
T,,. could not. lie was doing double |
- The cattle had to feed. or lose
,,s hut. also, the house had 10 he
--.+..5ed closely. lest he were needed there, |
rho nerplexed oxen were remorselessly
+.-t ~ the shorter grass near the farm
bindings.
A.. Paul now called to an obstreperous
.or. aud again looked back at the quiet
t-.srte5 farm, there suddenly came to his
~,,rt.ed ears an alarmed, excited cry from
Inside the farm house.
.E-unie-verdamter! Come back! Thief.
,ohper, PAUL.
Paul left the oxen to their own slow de
,.-ss and dashed to the house. where
.sre the angry yells, his hare, freckled
ieqs leaning across thorns and pebbles and
r,,ks with a recklessness born of life
tore disregard for shoe wear. He sprang
irto the main room and there, in a great.
.Jd-fa shioued chair sat a tall white beard
81 Old man whose white face was dis
,,-fsi now with rage and dismay. 1t was
o,.ijert he was very i'll. ana il was no
,irsab1s that he moved his head very stiff
fl, and his hands still more stiffly while
he legs. which rested on another chair
ho saened quite unable to move al all,
what IS III" cried Pau, running TO
him What is it. grandfather
..r1a ungratefuI dog! The jackaH
L-3rio-robberv' the old Dom Hendrck
snlnttered. quite unable to explain by rea-
son of his huge indignation.
what is il? What has Kunje done?
Where is hep
shoot him! He came in just now aud
rrinned. and said he was going back TO
his Ilr4al-did not want to fight the Eng
ISL, shoot him quick! ] taught you TO
shoot
Shoot Kunje-the last servant to stay
with us"
He has taken my watch-it belonged TO
my grandfather. and your uncle's rife,
and your fathers best coat! Quick! He
vent out through the yard a minute ago
There is no place for him to hide-it is
omen vedt. Quick! Shoot
Young Paul grabbed rifle from the
wan and ran out. Certainly, 400 yards
avav there was the recreant Kaffir ser
want. a big black Swat man. walking
off with his masters church-going coat
an his back, and his masters rife over his
sAoulder-waking off very serenely, be-
cause he knew that behind him were only
an old paralyzed Boer farmer and a young
Roer boy. SO indignant was Paul at the
seht that he rested his rifie-already load
don the stone wall of the yard and took
aim and (for young though he was. he
vas like all Beers a marksman and able
10 shoot straight would next instant have
dropped the Kafir when his heart failed
him. He had shot at beasts, but a man,
even thieving Kaffir man, was something
very different. Paul raised his voice, and
shouted:
"Kunie! Wacht Elm beetjei Come back
or my father will lay his sjambOk on your
back! Come. and I'll speak for your
IL a. and
Ike a sprngbok, took to his heels, and
TO moment was beyond PauIs shoot
ing skill.
Did you shoot?" cried the old man.
did you kill?'
NO. grandfather" said Paul, putting
away the rifle, 81 was afraid to kill
man."
At that the old Boer. who in battle had
killed many men, black and white nearly
chohed with wrath, and so rallied at Paul
that the boy was dazed and frightened.
Coward" cried Dom Hendrick.
Afraid! You are pretty boy to call
1 Yourself a Boer! You to defend your
country-you to be a soldier of which
You have clustered so much When ! was
your age already l had fought the Zulus
and shot them down! Wait till your faith
er gets back from Pretoria, and he will
i thrash you, yes, with his sjambok he VIII
thrash you, when l tell him you are no
Boer, but a coward, who let's his house
be robbed"
Paul went back then to his stolid oxen
without Qor he had been brought up to
i reverence age) a word of reply But he
was heartbroken. In his ears the insects
huzzed the word Coward" and the low
ing kline booed coward" and the birds
flying above him sang coward" so that,
by the banks of the stream, he lay down
and wept for now he who had wished
i 10 be strong and big and a good marks
man like his grandfather and father, able
TO fight back the warlike KafIir tribes ana
the invading English was coward,
coward. coward" who had let his own
home be robbed.
Now at that time all South Africa was
IN hurlyburly. The Zulu war with the
English was over, but English soldiers
We're everywhere, especially on thet Natal
frontier, where bands of irregular volun-
Jeer cavalry were constantly patrolling.
The Reuter- farm lay in the Transvaal
close to Natal, and, as already more war
was talked of between the Beers and the
English, Reuter-, Pauls father, was in an
AWKWARD position, between two fires, as
II might prove. His Kafir servants, last
oi all kunje, had left him. from sheer
lear OF being drawn into the fight, and
j reuter- had gone TO Pretoria, the capital,
i 70 get the real facts and be advised what
i TO DO His wife was dead and Dom Hen
i onek and Paul were left alone. The Old
once grimy fighting Boer was now help
less so on little Paul devolved great re-
SponsIollity, which his father, always
proud OF him, had yielded him with a
j smile.
lou are head of the family now, Paul"
1 s1d ne riding away land remember, you
are ~ charge-even of the we'll"
ana his father would come back from
Ie'orla to find his son was not fit to
rust For a long time Paul Wept by the
n stream
ne was reused from his misery by a
great trampling of feet of horses in the
r'S.d!ce' and hoarse, loud voices and that
mguilar Jingle-jangle of steel against steel
mucn IKE the rattle of the snake. is the
"9rnlhg note of the approach OF cav
i airy command
he5ore Paul made up his mind what 10
rive his cattle as far away as ne
Wu'd, or run to the house TO warn his
tidndfather, the troop came in sight. Of
,.e Uot from round corner of the wood