Part 13 (1/2)
Thereon a voice that instantly struck reat hunter lives”
”_Ikona_,” said the Kafir
”Can't you remember his native name?” asked another voice which was also fah I areat hunter, Here-come-a-zany,” said the first voice triumphantly, and instantly there flashed back upon nall Castle and of an i into it thite-robed, Arab-looking e, by the Heavens!” Ihere?”
”There,” said the second voice, ”your black friend has bolted, and no wonder, for who can be called by such a nae, and hired a white guide, it would have saved us a lot of trouble Why will you always think that you know better than anyone else?”
”See we are travelling incog, ' if you persist in calling e? There is a house beyond those trees; go in and ask where----”
By this ti quietly,
”How do you do, Lord Ragnall? How do you do, Mr Savage? I thought that I recognized your voices on the road and caht
Please walk in; that is, if it is I whom you wish to visit”
As I spoke I studied thee looked e surroundings, the tiood deal He was still aman, one of those whoet, but now his handso I felt at once that he had becorief The shadow in his dark eyes and a certain worn expression about the mouth told me that this was so
”Yes, Quatermain,” he said as he took my hand, ”it is you whom I have travelled seven thousand miles to visit, and I thank God that I have been so fortunate as to find you I feared lest you ht be dead, or perhaps far away in the centre of Africa where I should never be able to track you down”
”A week later perhaps you would not have found nall,” I answered, ”but as it happens ht me here, Quatere came up and ent into the house
”You are just in tiood rock cod and a leg of oribe buck for you to eat Boy, set two more places”
”One e ”I should prefer to take et over that in Africa,” I muttered Still I let hiht was seen of thebehindround the square-face as though it were chareatest interest in my priers-on to gather at the ever, Lord Ragnall took it as a ht it better not to interfere
When we had finished ent on to the stoep to snall where his luggage was He replied that he had left it at the Custoe to arrange about getting it up here If you do not h accommodation there is a rooarden”
After soratitude, and a little later Savage and the native were sent off with a note to a ate had shut behind them, ”will you tell me why you have come to Africa?”
”Disaster,” he replied ”Disaster of the worst sort”
”Is your wife dead, Lord Ragnall?”
”I do not know I almost hope that she is At any rate she is lost to ht have run aith so which often happens in the world But fortunately I kept it to myself and only said,
”She was nearly lost once before, was she not?”