Part 35 (2/2)
”Do you know where she is?”
”I know where she will be to-morrow night.”
To-morrow night! And I had been expecting instant action.
”Look here,” I said, seizing him by the shoulder with a grip that must have hurt. ”Has she been injured in any way? Tell me. Has she?”
”Not yet,” he answered. ”No--not yet. But--if you fail to find her, and take her from where she is, to-morrow night--she will die, and that not easily.”
This time he did wince under my grip. In my awful agony I seemed hardly to know what I was doing. The whole moonlit scene seemed to be whirling round with me. My love--in peril! in peril of some frightful and agonising form of death! Oh Heaven help me to keep my wits about me!
Some such idea must have communicated itself to the Xosa's mind, for he said:
”_Nkose_ must keep cool. No man can do a difficult thing if his head is not cool.”
Even then I noticed that he was looking at me with wonder tinged with concern. In ordinary matters--and some out of the ordinary--I was among the coolest headed of mortals. Now I seemed quite thrown off my balance. Somehow it never occurred to me to doubt the truth of Jan Boom's statement.
”Where is this place?” I asked.
”That you will learn to-morrow night, _Nkose_, for I myself will take you there--if you are cautious. If not--!”
”Look here, Jan Boom. You want to earn the cattle which I shall give as a reward?”
”Cattle are always good to have, _Nkose_!”
”Well what other motive have you in helping me in this matter? You have not been very long with me, and I cannot recall any special reason why you should serve me outside of ordinary things.”
”Be not too curious, _Nkose_!” he answered, with a slight smile. ”But, whether you fail or succeed to-morrow night, my life will be sought, for it will be known how you came there.”
”Have no fear as to that, Jan Boom, for I will supply you with the means of defending your life six times over--and you, too, come of a warrior race.”
”That is so, _Nkose_. I am of the Ama Gcaleka. Now talk we of our plan. To-morrow you will return home, starting from here after the sun is at its highest. Up to the time of starting you will help in the search in whatever direction it is made. But if you show any sign or give reason to suspect you know it is all being made in vain, it will mean the failure of our plan, and then--”
”Not on my account shall it fail then,” I said. ”Tell me, Jan Boom. Is Ukozi at the back of this?”
”His eyes and ears are everywhere,” was the reply, accompanied by a significant glance around. ”When you ride homeward to-morrow, your horse will be very lame.”
”Very lame?” I echoed in astonishment.
”Very lame. You yourself will lame it. So shall Ukozi's eyes be deceived. For a man who has just returned home does not ride forth immediately on a horse that is very lame.”
I saw his drift--and it was ingenious.
”You will give out that you are tired of a useless search, that you are exhausted and intend to sleep for three days, and you will pretend to have drunk too much of the strong waters. So shall Ukozi's eyes be deceived.”
”But Jan Boom, you and Tom are the only people on the place,” I urged.
”U' Tom? _Hau_! Ukozi's eyes and ears are everywhere,” was the enigmatical answer.
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