Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-03-15
THE SACRIFICE

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farm by moonlight The plain was 4
weary fiat Of loose red sand, sparsely
covered by dry ''karroO'' bushes, that
cracked beneath the tread like finder
and showed the red earth everywhere
Here and there a milk bush lifted its
pale colored rods. and in every direc-
ton the ants and beetles ran about In
the blazing sand. The red walls OF
the farmhouse, the zinc roofs Of the
outbuilding.. the stone walls of the
kraaIs. all reflected the fierce sunlight
till the eye ached and blenched. No
tree or shrub was to be seen far or
near. The two sunfowers that stood
before the door, Outstared by the sun,
dropped their brazen faces to the sand,
and the little cicadalike insects cried
aloud among the stones of the "kopje."
The Boer woman, seen by daylight,
was even less lovely than when in bed
she rolled and dreamed. She sat on a
chair in the great front room, with
her feet on a wooden stove, and wiped
her fat face with the corner of her
apron and drank coffee and In Cape
Dutch swore that the beloved weather
was damned. Less lovely, too, by day
light was the dead Englishman's child,
her little stepdaughter, upon whose
freckles and low, wrinkled forehead
the sunlight had no mercy.
"Lyndall," the child said to her little
orphan cousin, who sat with her on the
floor threading beads, how is 1t your
beads never fall off your needler'
81 try" said the little one gravely,
moistening her tiny finger THAT Is
why"
The overseer, seen by daylight, was
! huge German, wearing a shabby suit
and with childish habit of rubbing
his hands and nodding his head pro-
digiously when pleased at anything.
He stood out at the kraals In the blaZ-
ing sun, explaining to two Kaftir boys
the approaching end Of the world. The
boys as they cut the cakes of dung
winked at each other and worked as
slowly as they possibly could. but the
German never saw it.
Away beyond the "kopje" Waldo, his
son, herded the ewes and lambs,
small and dusty herd, powdered all
ONNl IlOli A'tli ~ IO'b "iAh ANN '"AiNt
wearing n ragged coat and shoes Of I'M
dressed leather, through whose holes
the toes looked out. His hat was too
large and had sunk down to his eyes,
concealing completely the silky black
curls 1t was a curious small figure.
His flock gave him little trouble. 1t
was too hot for them to move far.
They gathered round erery little milk
bush as though they hoped to find
shade and stood there motionless in
clumps. He himself crept under Il
shelving rock that lay at the foot Of
the "kopje," stretched himself on his
stomach and waved his dilapidated lit
tie shoes in the air.
Soon, from the blue bag where he
kept his dinner, he produced a frag-
ment of slate, an arithmetic and pen
Ill. Proceeding to put down n sum
with solemn and earnest demeanor, he
began to add 1t up aloud, six and 2
is s, and i is Il, and . is II, and is
IS" Here he paused. And is Is,
nnd-4 isis" The last was very much
drawlcd. Slowly the pencil slipped
from his fingers, and the slate follow
ed it into the sand. For awhile he lay
motionless, then began muttering to
himself, folded his little arms, laid his
head down upon them and might have
been asleep but for II muttering sound
that from time to time proceeded from
him. A curious old eve came to sniff
at him, but 1t was long before he rails
ed his head. When he did, I've looked
at the faroff hills with his heavy eyes.
"Ye shall receiye-ye shall receive
shall, shall, SHALL" he muttered.
He sat up then. Slowly the dullness
and hcaviness melted from his face.
1t became radiant Midday had come
now, and the suns rays We're poured
down vertically. 9he earth throbbed
before the eye.
The boy stood up quickly and cleared
a small space from the bushes which
covered it. Looking carefully, be found
II small stones of somewhat Sne same
size. Kneeling down, he arranged
them carefully on the cleared space
in a square pile, in shape like an altar.
Then he walked to the bag where his
dinner was kept In II were mutton
chop and n large slice of brown bread.
The boy took them out and turned the
bread over in his hand, deeply consid-
ering It, Finally he threw it away AID
walked to the altar with the meat and
laid II down on the stones. Close by
in the red sand he knelt down. Sure,
never since the beginning of the world
was there so ragged and SO small a
priest. He took Off his great hat and
placed it solemnly on the ground, then
closed his eyes and folded his hands.
He prayed aloud
40 God. my Father, l have made
thee "a sacrifice. have only twOpcnce,
50 ! cannot buy lamb. If the lambs
were mine. would give thee one. But
now | have only this meat. II is my
dinner meat. Please, my Father, send
lirc down from heaven to burn it. Thou