Evening star., 1909-03-03
CHAPTER XIV.
What Glanced at Ramah.

The news which reached Rachel that
Ishmael had been I'll after the rough
handling of the captains in her presence
was true enough. For many days he
was far too i'll to travel, and when he
recovered sufficiently to start he could
only journey slowly to the Tugela.
1t will be remembered that she was told
that he had escaped, as indeed he seemed
to do slipping off at night. but this
escape of his was carefully arranged be-
forehand. nor did any attempt to recap
ture him upon his way. When at length
he came to the river he found the small
impi awaiting him. not knowing whith-
er they were to go or what they were
to do. their only orders being that they
must obey him in all things He found
also that the Tugela was in furious flood.
so that to ford it proved quite impossible.
Here, then. he was Obliged TO remain
for ten full days while the water ran
down.
DAYS which he spent in recovering his
health and incidentally In reflection.
Thus he thought great deal of his past
life. and did not find the record satisfac.
tory. With his exact history we need not
trouble ourselves. He was we'll born, as
he had told Rachel, but had been badly
brought up His strong passions had
led him into trouble while young. and in
stead of trying to reform him his belong
tngs had cast him off. Then he had en-
listed I'm the army, and so reached South
Africa. There he committed a crime-as
q matter of fact 1t was murder or some
thing like it-and fled from justice tar
into the wilderness. where touch OF
imagination prompted him to take the
name of Ishmael.
In. while this new existence suited
him well enough. Thus he had wives in
plenty of a sort. and he grew rich, be-
coming Just such person as might DE
expected from his environment and un-
checked natural tendencies AT length
1t happened that he met Rachel. VINO
awoke in him certain forgotten aSsoc1a-
tions She was an English lady, ana ne
remembered that once he had Deen an
English gentleman, years and years ago.
Also she was beautiful which appealed
to his strong animal nature. and spiritual:
which appealed to, a materlallst soaked
In kaffir superstition. So he feii In love
with her, really in love: that Is to say,
he came to desire to make her his wife
more than he desired anything else on
earth For her sake he grew to dislike
his black cOnsorts. however handsome
even the heaping UP of herds OF cattle
after the native fashion ceased 10 appeal
O him. He wanted to live as his for
bears had lived, quietly, respectfully,
with woman of his own class.
So he made advances to her, with the
results we know. For fifteen years or
more he had been savage. and he could
not hide his savagery from her eyes, any
more than he could break off the ties and
entanglements that had grown up about
him. Had she happened to care for
him ii is very possible, however, that IN
this he would have succeeded in time.
He might even have reformed himself
completely. and died in old age a much
respected colonial gentleman: perhaps
member Of the local legislature. But she
did not: she detested him: she knew him
for what he was. a coWardly OutcaS,
whose good looks did not appeal to her
So the spark of his new aspirations was
trampled out beneath her merciless heel,
and there remained only the acquired
savagery and superstition mixed with the
Unborn instincts of a blackguard.
II was this superstition of his that had
brought all her troubles upon Rachel. for
however it came about. he had conceived
the idea that she something more
than an ordinary woman. and. with many
.ales of her mysterious origin and powers,
impaired it to the Zulus, in whose minds
if was fostered by the accident of the
coincidence of her native name and per
sonai loveliness with those of the tradi.
tionaI white spirit of their race and by
Mopo's identification Of her with that
spirit Thus she became their goddess
and his; at any rate for time But
while they desired to worship her only.
and use her rumored wisdom ora
Gle. he sought to make her his wife: the
more impossible it became l.he more he
sought it. She refused him with con
tumely and he laid plo,s t. decoy her to
Zululand. thinking that tn ire she would
be in his power. In the ED he succeed
ed, basely enough, only T, find that he