The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-03-23
(Continued.l CHAPTER XIX.
Rachel Finds Her Spirit.


 Rachel Finds Her Spirit
 Northward ever northward journey
 ed Rachel with the Ghost-priests; for days and weeks they journeyed s.owiy and for the most part at night, since these people dreaded the glare of the sun. Sometimes she was borne along in litter with NOie upon the should CTS of the huge slaves. but more often she walked between the filters in the midst Of a guard of soldiers. for now
 she was so strong that she never seem l ed to weary. nor even in the fever swamps where many fell did any sick ness toucl, her. Also this Iabour of the body seemed to soothe her wander. ! ing and tormented mind, as did the touch Of Noie's hand and the sound of | Noie's voice. At times. however, her | madness got hold of her and she broke
 out into those bursts of wild laughter 1 which had scared the Zulus. Then l Eddo would descend from his litter | and lay his long fingers on her fore | head and look into her eyes in such | fashion that she went to sleep and was I at peace. But if Noie spoke to her il | these sleeps. she answered her queS- | tions. and even talked reasonably as she had done before the people of | Mafooti laid the body of Richard at
 her feet and she stood upon the roof | of the hut which Ishmael strove to | climb.
 ] Thus it was that Noie came to learn i all that had happened to her since thsy- parted. for though she had gathered l much from them. the ZuIus could not, I or would not. tel! her everything. In,
 past days she had heard from Rachel l of the lad, Richard Darrien. who had | been her companion years before | through that night of storm on the i island in the river. and now she under | stood that her lady loved this Richard, and that it was because of his murder I by the wild brute, Ibubesf, that she | had become mad.
 | Yes. she was mad, and for that req l Nnio rain hcf ho dyx-a arfrl pie were taking her to their home. since if she could be cured at all. they | were able to heal her, they the great | doctors. Moreover. if these priests and the Zulus would have let her go, whither else could she have gone | whose parents and lover were d ead. I except to the white people on the coast who did not reverence the insane. as I do. all black folk but would have lock ! ed her up in house with others like | her until she died. No. although she. ! knew that there were dangers before ! them, many and great dangers, Noie rejoiced that things had befallen thus. l Also in her tender care already Ra- chel improved much. and Noie believed ! that one day she would be herself again. Only she wished that she and her lady were alone together; that I there were no priests with them. and r above all no Eddo. For Eddo as she knew well was jealous of her authority ! over Rachel: jealous. too. of the love | that they bore one to the other. He wished to use this crazed wh te chief | tainess who had been accepted as their l Inkosazana by the great Zulu people for their own purposes. This had been clear from the beginning. and that was why when he first heard of her he had consented to go on the embassy to, Dingaan. since by his magic he could foresee much of the future that was dark to Noie. whose blood was mixed ano who had not all the gifts of the GhoSt-kingS.
 Moreover the Mother of the Trees was Noie's great aunt. being the sis ter of her grandfather. or of his father I Noie was not sure which. for she had dwelt among them but few days. and never thought to inquire of the matter. 1 But of one thing she was sure. that Eddo the first priest. hated this Moth CT of the Trees. whos was named Nya. and desired that when her tree fell' the next mother should be his servant. which Nya was not. Perhaps. reflect ed Noie. it was in his mind that her lady would fill this part. and being mad obey him in all things. Still she kept a watch upon her words, and even on her thoughts for
 Eddo and his fellow-priests. Pani and hearts, and read their secrets. Also she protected Rachel from him as much she was able, never leaving her side for a moment. however weary she might be, for she feared lest he should become the master of her will. Only when the fits of madness fell up-
 on her mistress, she was forced to al- law Eddo to QueH them with his touch and eye. since herself she lacked this power. nor dared sine calle the others to help for they were under the hand of Eddo.
 Northward, ever northward. First
 they passed through thez1 ZuluS and
 their subjects who knew of them and of the Inkosazana. All of these were suffering from the curse that lay upon
 the land because, as they believed, | there was blood between the Inkosa- zana and her people. The locusts de- voured their crops and the plague | ravaged their cattle, so that they were
 terrified of her, and of the little Grey l folk With whom she travelled, the wiz ards who mad shown fearful things to | Dingaan and left him sick with dread.
 They fled at their approach, only 1eav- | ing few of their old people to pros |
 trate themselves before this Inkosa- l
 zana who wandered in search of her own Spirit, and the Dream-men who
 dwelt with the ghosts in the heart Of a forest, and to pray her and them to | Tiff. this cloud of evil from the land |
 bringing gifts of such things as were left to them. %t --s ~,
 At length all the zulus were passed, l and they entered into the territories | of other tribes. wild, wandering tribes.
 But even these knew of the Ghost | kings, and attempted nothing against them, as they had attempted nothing against Noie and her escort when she | travelled through this land on her em-
 bassy to the People of the Trees. In
 deed, some of their doctors would visit them at their camps and ask an
 oracle, or an interpretation of dreams,
 or a charm against their enemies. or
 a deadly poison. offering great gifts
 in return. At times Eddo and his fel-
 low-priests would listen, and the
 giants would bring a tiny bowl filed with dew into which they gaZed. tell ing them the pictures they saw there
 though this they did but seldom, as
 the supply of dew which they had brought with them from their own
 country ran low and since 1t could
 not be used twice they kept it for their own purposes. St Next they came to country Of vast swamps, where dwelt few men an1 many wild beasts. a country full of fevers and reeds and pools, in which lived snakes and crocodiles. Yet no
 harm came to them from these kings,
 for the Ghost-priests had medicines