The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-03-14
THE MERCY OF THE BOER !;
A SOUTH AFRICAN PASTORAL.


The short dusk had suddenly deepened
into q heavy, thick obscurity, impene-
trab1e for q space until there rose the
rim of full moon over the edge Of tho
plain .vhich showed hard and clear cut
against the great disk. The ant hills,
that alone broke the monotonous fat
ness, flung interminable inky shadows
as the cold, white glare, electric in its
fierce intensity, shone out level across
the plains. The sense Of loneliness, Of
utter isolation, was overwhelming. The
heavens, sown with fire seemed SO re-
mote, and the bare earth, stretching
empty and limitless. 1t might have
been the roof Of some dead world.
BY the edge Of the marsh transport
wagon had outspanned for the night,
and within the circle oe arasig;at, where
moon and fame struggled for the mas
terry, ioomed the waverlng outlines Of
the trek oxen tethered to the dissel-
boom and now and again tho figure Of
man.
The only sounds were the cracking
chirps Of the bullfrogs in the vlei and
the voices Of two men who sat leaning
back against the kaross Of meerkat
skins flung over one of the wagon
wheels.
'Nov' repeated the elder man, the
transport rider and owner of the wag-
on, raising his voice. with us they
shall not come-either she or the brat"
"But look, Jakob," persisted the 9th
er, "it Is now three weeks, four weeks,
hot 1n fro1 n5 r1, H.
followed all the time and carried the
child too. How the poor girl lives do
not know. Take only the child,
Jakob."
GLOW are we to eat? How is the
vrouw to eatT demanded the Boer
querulously. "Are there not enough
mouths to fill already? And God knows
how much farther the span can go
without wafer in this accursed coun-
try; they have enough to pull as it is.
And why should 1 feed the wife and
child Of every blnck schelm that is fool
enough to want them? Verdomte
Swartzkop!' And he spat angrily into
the fire.
"But the child" persisted Piet. 'That
Is small and eats but little, not quar-
ter as much as a dog. Besides, Klaus
may run away IL the girl falls sick, and
he alone knows the road and the drifts
across the river"
TheKe was & moments pause, ."Well,
the brat, then, in Gods name" snapped
the other. '"The girl can walk, as she
has walked these three weeks" he
added and rolled himself In his rug to
avoid further surrender.
Piet rose stif1y to his feet; the night
breeze was growing chill He knocked
the ashes out Of his pipe, kicked some
fuel into the embers Of the fire, and
went around to the other side of the
wagon, where the three Basuto boys
were lying.
'.Kausr' he called. '.Here mo-
mentl"
= gfunt from one of the blankets
answered him.
'Baas Jakob says the baby may ride
with the vrouw In the wagon, but the
girl must still walk" 81
There was q sudden movement at his
feet and a dark figure rolled out OF the
blanket.
4. No. boy; mol Not thatp' His hand
was being covered with kisses. Piet
: drew IL sharply away and, taking a
strip OF biltong from his pocket, thrust
It into the Basuto's grasp. "Here; this
may help Tor the girl. It was ell
could get" he said roughly ,dAnd. turn
ling on his heel, ne went back to where
his brother lay sleeping. Baas Piet
was as averse to being generous as the
transport rider, though for other rea-
sons.
For awhile Klaus lay still.
Presently, carrying the piece OF hard
sun dried meat and his own supper of
boiled mealieS, he crept, shivering,
from his blanket and. went slowly out
on to the silent veldt In the direction
from which the wagon had come, as he
had gone every night to listen for the
signal that told him BETA was there
among the ant hills. Then he would
cheer her up and cit beside her while
she ate some OF his poor rations, though
they were not enough for her and the
scs,ssd. = 3. tx
.5s5 Re.ts. vas 8 good girl. he knew that
when he gave her father two oxen and
some wethers an; took her away with
him from the old Ersai Sy the wagon
drift across the Krei three years ago.
~
now, when the trek began, Baas Jnkob
would not let her ride In the wagon or
11ysTccn Ss5iIia near IL, ss. *; & 49,
; Klaus gfasped the kcrsie dangling
from his belt at the recolls sction of tbs
cut across the mouth that the drunken
transport rider Ind given him with his
siambok when lie had asked his per-
mission BESIDES, there was the baby.
and he could not have left both Of
them behind, 80 far. from the kraalYand
her own people Bnt sBaas Jakob was
/ q hard man; he did not understand
such. thing Ils;i !
Mvar since theSS Ind left Burghers.
: dorp, many weeks ago. she Lad walk
| ed after them, the baby slung ut her
back, and there were yet three weeks
more and The desert strip TO cross be-;
f6tc they rcachsd tho great belt ard