The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-02-17

Pan Mai N6asihe Might had Just
fallen upon he x6ldt. = Erbe short dusk
tad suddenly deefs1s !lito a'heayy.
thick oh6surity, fnHenetrahle Tor q
space until tbsie tbe rim q fun
moon over the edge .0t fie plain which
shOWed hard ana clear cut againat the
great disk The ant hilis, that alone
bTSsa the inon0ton0us hatness, hung Inc
tefminabisz !aitY shadows as the cold
white glare, electric III as tierce inten-
sity, shone ont level across the plains.
The sense q loneliness. Of utter :sola-
ton. was overwhelming; the heavens.
aoWn With fire, seemed 80 remote, and
the bare earth, stretching away into
the dim, starry distance, 30 empty and
limitless. It might have been the root
Of some dead world.
BY the edge Of the marsh a transport
wagon had outspanned for the night
and within the circle ofhTelight, whore
moon and fame struggled for the mas
terry, doomed the waverlng outlines Of
the trek oxen tethered to the dissel-
boom, and now and again the figure OF
Q man,
The only pounds were the cracking
chlrps Of the bullfrogs in the vlei' ana
the Voices Of two men who sat leaning
back against the kaross OF meer'kat
skins aunG over one Of the wagon
wheels
EMO" repeated the elder man, the
transport rider and owner Of the wa
gon, raising hisiyolce. with US they
Shall not come either she or the brat.
''But look. Jakoh,r persisted the 9th
isr: nit Is now three weeks, four weeks
that we are on the treck. and she has
followed ali the time, and carried the
child, too. How the poor girl lives do
not know. Take only the child, ia
kob."
.How arc we to eat? How is the
vrouw 10 eat?'' demanded the BOer
auerulously. care there not enough
mouths to all already? And God knows
how much. further the span can 80
without water ID this accursed country;
they have enough 70 pull Is It is. And
why should 1 feed the wife and child OF
every black schslm that Is fool enough
to want them9 verdOmte swartzkopF
And he spat angfIly into the Are.
i.Rut the child pGrsISted Plet: "thRt
Is small, and eats but little. not a quar-
Ter as much as dog. Besides. KLAUS
may run away II the girl falls sick. and
he alone knows the road and the drifts
across the river
There was a moments pause. We'll
the brat. then, in Gods name snap
ned the other. 'AsThe girl can walk as
she has walked these three weeks" he
added, and rolled himself in his rug TO
avoid further surrender!
PET rose stiftiY to his feet; the night
breeze was growing chm. He knocked
the ashes out Of his pipe, kicked some
fuel into the cinhers OF the fre. and
went around TO the other side of the
wagon, where the three Basuto boys
were lying.
mentlg
Agrunt from one of the blankets am
awered him.
-Baas Jakob says the baby may ride
with the yrouw in the wagon, but the
girl must sim walk"
There was a sudden movement ct his
feet. and a dark.lgure rolled out of the
blanket.
EMO. boy. no! Not that" His hand
vas being covered with kisses. Piet
drew II sharply away, and. taking
strip Of biltong from his pocket, thrust
Il into the Basuto's grasp. Here. this
may help for the girl; 1t was all
could got" he said roughly. and turn
ing on his heel he went back to where
his brother lay sleeping. Baas Plet
was as averse TO being generous as the
transport rider though for other rea-
sons.
For a while Klaus lay still.
presently, carrying the piece Of hard.
egn-drled meat and his bwn supper Of
boiled mealios, he creBt shIverirfg from
his blanket and went slowly out on to
me silent vel6t. ini5tbe. direction from
which the wakan .hRdiooEae. as he had
zone every night TO listen for the sig
M that told him Bstt5 was there
among the ant hills. Then he would
cheer her up, and 1T beside her while
she ate some of his poor rations, though
they we're not enough for her and the
child.
BETA was a good girl. He knew that
when he gave her father two oxen and
some wethsrs, and took her away with
him from the old kraal by the wagon