Widnes Examiner. — 1900-12-21 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

CHAPTER IV.  Meanwhile there had been other happen. ings in Zwart Kloof. Jakob Fesche was not the unerring marksman he plumed himself on being, inasmuch as his shot, instead of making a bole in Gerald Venn's skull, had really only taken a snippet off the rim of his horse's ear. In its subsequent stumble and wild bucking:4 the frenzied brute had unseated its rider, whose head had struck against one of the ironstone rocks as he crashed heavily to earth. Stunned and inert, he lay there like one already dead. But he was worth any number of eoffined men yet. Within a few minutes of Fesche's disappearance from the Kloof, Gerald regained consciousness and struggled up on his elbow. Still numb and half-stupel, he had not yet accounted far his present sorry predicament before a clatter of hoofs caused him to look round in perplexity. Two horses were crossing the white belt of moonlight below, the bridle of one held by the woman who rode the second animal.  Even at that distance, despite his aching eyes, Gerald recognised all three—his own chestnut, Hilda's pony, and—Hilda herself In a little while the girl was kneeling beside him, full of pity, care and womanly tenderness.  "An awkward spill I've had, nothing more," said Gerald in reply to her anxious inquiries. "If it wasn't for the buzzing in my head I should be as right as—But you, Hilda—you here! What does it mean ?" With the intuition of a born nurse, Hilda put aside his questions until she had assured herself of the slightness of his injuries; then, as she staunched the blood and bandaged his gashed forehead with her handkerchief, she made answer:  "This is all Jakob Fesche's evil doing! I know—l feel certain of that, Gerald." Her words brought Gerald's memory back to him, and with it a whirl of harassed thought. He staggered erect and clapped his hand to his breast pocket. "The papers—gone ! ' he groaned, aghast. "I remember now. That scoundrel must have stolen them from me. It was all a murderous trap to kill and rob me of them." "I feared as much—l dreaded it," said Hilda shuddering. "When father, soon after you had started, told me of the undertaking you were engaged on, the recollection of that man's skulking near the house came back at once to my mind. What if he had really been listening to your plans and arrangements all the time? I knew he would stop at nothing to do you harm, Gerald. I dared not mention my suspicions to father, for he could have done nothing to :help or warn you. Yet my fears were not to be set aside. I knew it would be impossible for me either to sleep or rest until—and—and so I followed you myself!" "But your fatherr" "die does not know—he would not have let me go. After bidding him good-night I slipped out of the house instead of going up to my room, saddled the pony and rode my hardest—hoping to overtake you and urge you to follow a different route from the one you had fixed op. I thought Fesche would probably gallop ahead to betray your plans to the Boers, so that they might waylay and cut you off. I fancied that that was what had actually happened when, near Vanderst's Farm, I saw your horse trotting back home without you. He recognised my voice and came whinnying to me when I called." "By Jove, Hilda!" cried Gerald, in unfeigned admiration. "For downright nerve and grit you're a girl in a million! It's a pity such pluck should be wasting in lae,dling a blind ass like myself out of the hole I've blundered into." _ _ _ _  "Don't, Gerald—don't 1" protested she, quaveringly. "Besides, you are not out of danger yet. At any moment Fesche may bring the Boers uponus ." "1 warrant they'll be in no vast hurry to pay their respects to a corpse. Why should they? And the nearest of them must be miles away, or they'd have swooped down like vultures on bearing Fesche's shot. But still, you're right, Hilda. The sooner we clear out of this gruesome den, the better. Let me help you into the saddle—so! Now we can ride back together." "Oh, no—no !" interposed Hilda quickly. "I am going back, as I came—alone. I insist, Gerald. No, I won't listen! Aftel what has occurred, your life would be even less safe in Watenstad than if you took your chances and pushed on for Naa.uwpoors to-night."