New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-04
THE MERCY OF THE BoER.
A SOUTH AFRICAN PASTORAL

80 ~,sa the rim Of a full nlooH 80 o,,+
-, showed hard ana cleAf GU
- ,.-. Great disk The am h1A'S' - -,
-. he -,,no+onous fairness nuns -.
=. - shadows as the cold "ii''e s., -.
i+s fierce intensity shone o-' - -.
1,- The sense OF loneliness -
-, vas overwhelming; the Nc - -,
- $40 seemed SO remote anu - ,.t.
stretching away into the olin' -, 49,, +ba
SO empty and lfmitess' II
roof Of some dead world $500.
o., tte edge Of the marsh transport wagon
- o,tsnanned for the night, and within the
-. - e-aIjeht where moon and fame strug-
- -, The mastery, doomed the wayering out
90 - the trek oxen tethered TO the dissei-
s.o-, and now and again the figure OF man
7,s o-lv sounds were the cracking chlrps OF
-, t.,1,f-,es in the Wei and the voices or TWO
-, yVbo sat leaning back against the kaross OF
.,--tst skins flung over one Of the wagon
wheels -.
a,,oi~ repeated the elder man. the transport
and owner Of the wagon, raising his voice
win u they shall not coIre-either she or the
brat" m +,
.But look Jakob" persisted the other; IT Is
INV three weeks. four weeks. that we are on
The trek. and she has followed all the time ana
carried The child. too How the poor girl lives
do not know Take only the child, Jakob-
.T4ov. are We to eat2 How IS the Vrouw to
ssty' demanded the Boer querulously Are
there not enough mouths to I'LL already? And God
Knows how much further the span can go with
nut water n this accursed country; they have
enough to pull as II IS And Why should feed
the wife and child Of every black schelm that is
fool enough to want them? Verdomte swartz-
kcul" And ne spat angrily into the fire
.rBut the child" persisted Pet; that is small,
and eats but little. not ! quarter as much as
dog Besides. Klaus may run away If the girl
falls sick. and he alone knows the road and the
drifts across the river"
There was q moments pause. Well, the brat.
thea. 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
10 avoid further surrender.
PET rose stiffly TO his feet: the night breeze
vas growing chill. He knocked the ashes out
Of his pine. kicked some fuel into the members
Of the fire. and went around to the other side Of
the wagon where the three Basuto boys were
lying.
Klaus He called Here a momentT'
4 grunt from one Of the blankets answered
hin
@Baas Jakob says the baby may ride with the
Vrouw in the wagon. but the girl must still
walk"
There was a sudden movement at his feet,
and a dark figure rolled out of the blanket
No boy. MOI Not that His hand was be
ing covered with kisses. Pet drew it sharply
away, and, taking q strip Of biltong from his
pocket thrust It into the Basutos grasp. Here
this may help for the girl; it was all I could
get" he said roughly. and turning on his heel
he went back to where his brother lay sleeping.
Baas Pet was as averse % being generous as
the transport rider. though for other reasons
For while Klaus lay still
Presently. carrying the piece Of hard sun dried
meat and MS own supper Of boiled meales, he
crept shivering from his blanket and went
slowly out On 10 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 hin BETA was there among the ant hills.
Then he would cheer her up, and sit beside her
while she ate some Of his poor ratiOns, though
they were not enough for her and the child.
Beta was a good girl He knew that when he
gave her father two oxen and some wethers,
and took her away with him from the old kraal
by the wagon drift across the Krei three years
ago She had been with him ever since and
now when the trek began. Baas Jakob would
not let her ride in the wagon or even come
near il
Klaus grasped he kerrie dangling from his
belt al the recollection Of the cut across the
mouth that the drunken transport rider had
gwen him with his sjambok when he had asked
lis permission Besides. there was the baby.
and he could not have left both Of them behind,
50 far from the kraal and her own people But