The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-06

were wont to crush the corn beneath the
swift-failing, rhythmic blows of the huge
wooden pestles; no calling from the birds
in the trees by the rivers banks; no
music from the water that flowed shallow
and silent in the river bed. Only over all
the intense drowsiness of an African
afternoon.
In the store, which stood just opposite
to the main entrance of the kraal, there
was a. silence also, except for the deep
breathing of its proprietor, who lay out
stretched upon the rough counter OF uil-
polshed pine boards, with blanket for
his pillow, asleep. Upon the stoep his
fav0rite dog, a brown. curly-haired re-
triever, was dreaming Of the wild guinea
f6wl which he had ably retrieved after
long chase through the thick under
growth upon the previous evening; and
anon moved his legs with short spasmodic
Jerks in Imaginary pursuit of an elusive
surugbok of gigantic proportions
Even the misguided fly. which had spent
some time in prospecting the enticing
depths of the retrieNerS pink-llned ear.
ceased at last those interesting opera
tons to rest upon one of the Veranda
wooden supports, and. pruning its gauzy
wings with many movements of its quick
SinuOus legs, was about to lapse into
Inconsistencies when, from what looked
like brown projection upon the pole,
long tongue shot suddenly out, and swept
it into the perfect oblivion of a lizards
digestive organism.
So the afternoon wore on and later,
when the sun had almost reached the
topmOst peak of the mountain range to
the west the kraal awoke. Soon, from
the distance. came the voices of the
lIattir women returning from their work
in-t6e corn lands and the shouting of the
herd boys as they drove slowly home the
huge horned trek oxen from the pastures;
and from the receSseS of the kraal
emerged a number of kaffir maidens,
walking gracefully erect, and bearing
Upon their heads the great clay pots in
which they carry the water from the
river to their huts. When the old Kaffir
woman. wearing skirt of black print,
covered with blue chrysanthemums, and
with a brass door knob. which did duty
as q suuffboX. suspended from her neck
by strip of Unframed hide timtdly
crossed the stoep. the retriever got up
and. yaWning as he went, entered the
store. put his forepaws upon the coun-
ter and gave sharp bark in his masters
ear.
Thus was Harry Robbins suddenly re
called from a tete-a-tete with a pretty
English girl in a white muslin frock and
a.I.eghorn hat trimmed with roses. upon
that bank that sloped gently down to the
rivers edge behind the Old vicarage at
home. to the stern duties Of a Kathr
storekeeper; and if it was not with all
the pOliteneSS he would have laviShed
Upon the girl in the muslin frock that he
attended to the elderly Kafir lady with
the door knob snuffboX who was anxious
to exchange a particularly skinny-look-
ing fowl for bar of blue-mottled soap,
perhaps he is not altogether without eX-
cUSe.
With the departure of his customer the
Storekeeper would fain have sat awhile
and day-dreamed over the incidents of his
vision at home. But 1t was not to be.
Coming down the narrow path, smooth
trodden with the passing of countless I'M
shod feet, that led from the kraal, he saw
a procession Of women and girls. clad in
their brght-hued blankets, and carry
ing upon their heads conical baskets of
fiIe-plaited grass, filed with meaIies
and corn, which they We're coming to
barter for some of the productions of
Manchester, Bradford, or Birmingham.
What a chattering went up when they
arrived at the store, and standing their
baskets upon the stoep took stock of
the goods displayed within. And What a
babel OF voices when some half-Score
of them entered, all talking at once, and
asked. what was equivalent in their soft
sounding SesuthO tongue, to see some of
the newest things in the costume depart
meut. Imagine Harry Robbins in his
moleskin riding breeches, striped flannel
shirt. and broad-brimmed 1erai hat, TAX
ing down box after box of white Swiss
embroidered robes, gowns of pale pastel
shaded voile, skirts of rustling gIace silk
showing dainty under choice guipure or
Brussels lace, and filmy CONNECTIONS of
cloud-like chiffons, with wonderful
gleams of costly passementerie shining
from between the billowy folds!
Imagine all this, I say, and you will
have conJured up a picture so alto
gether unlike the reality as to be posi-
lively ludicrousl What did occur was
simply this. The storel2eeper turned to
the well-flled shelves behind him, and
fiinging upon the counter a dozen or
50 of those vari-colored blankets with
lustrous rainbow stripes, left the group
to select one for themselves while he
fastened to attend to the tiny kaffir girl
who came in tottering under the weight
of a huge watermelon, and went away
contented with half a pound of brown
treacly-loOking sugar Nor did he go
back to them until he had first served
the decrepit old man who came to eX-
change an oXhide for half a dozen boxes
of matches and a hit of roll tobacco.
Then, having put to fight the herd-boy
who sought to palm off upon him a doz-
Ell of ancient-looking hens eggs, whose
contents justified their claim to antiquity
even through the shells, and noted that
upon the stock Kaffir who looked like
It prospective purchaser. was infinitely
examining an American plough, he turn
ed at last to a group of women, who
having rejected all the blankets but two.
We're now disposed TO differ over the final
selection. Into the midst of the argu-
ment he plunged with praiseworthy cour-
age, and Selling upon the blanket which
was little less offensive in its coloring
than the other, he spread it out, held 1t
aioft, eXpatiated with a marvellous flu
ency in their own language upon it's
beauty, the glossiness of its wool and its
ability to outwear the limits of ordinary
human existence, and then be handed
down as an heirloom TO succeeding gen
crations. All this and much more he
told them, and when at last, exhausted,
he laid the blanket folded before them.
with a delicious touch of feminine incon-
sistency they unanimously decided in
favor of the other.
Fortunately for Harry Robbins peace
OF mind, the remaining customers were
more easily disposed of and When. some
half hour later the last of them depart
ed, he called his house Kaffir to clear up
and close the store. while he took up
q comfortable position on the steeD,
and gave himself up to the contempla-
5lea afforded by the study of an album
OF photographs, prominent among which
was one representing a young lady in
d white frock and big rose-trimned hat
who looked marvelously like the girl CT
his dream.
IT was While he was thus engaged that
shadow falling across his book made
him look up, and there stood Mopatra!
For the time being ne had for
gotten MopatlG. Now, he closed the
hook and turned TO greet her, it seemed
strange that he should have forgotten
her. even for a little while
( frip,atPned Won q Whit fa,,,o