Part 13 (2/2)

Marnham watched her depart Then he too ith his head bowed and staggering a little in his walk Next Ansob rose and li man,” I said, ”you have put us all in the soup now and no mistake”

”Yes, Allan, I am afraid I have But on the whole don't you think it rather interesting soup-sosoup! Unexpected ingredients!” I repeated after hi, ”Why not call it hell's broth at once?”

Then he became serious, dreadfully serious

”Look here,” he said, ”I love Heda, and whatever her family history may be I mean to marry her and face the row at home”

”You could scarcely do less in all the circu lady would soon fit herself into any place that you can give her But the question is, how can youwill happen,” he replied opti will certainly happen, but the point is-what? So when I turned up on that stoep, so near that I think it was lucky for you, or for Miss Heda, or both, that I have learned how to handle a pistol Now let me see your foot, and don't speak another word to ht I'd rather tackle it when I a”

Well, I exa very carefully and found that Rodd was right Although it still hurt him to walk, the wound was quite healed and all inflaone from the liht theed he held forth on the virtues and charet to sleep, if you can,” I said when I had finished ”The door is locked and I a on to the stoep, so you needn't be afraid of the s Good-night”

I went out and sat ing lamp, which still burned, I could make sure that no one could approach either Heda's orhiht vigils, and the loaded revolver hung from my wrist by a loop of hide Moreover, never had I felt less sleepy There I sat hour after hour, thinking

The substance of hts does not matter, since the events that followed make them superfluous to the story I will reat horror took hold of me I did not knohat I was afraid, but I wasin either Heda's or our room, of that I made sure by personal examination Therefore it would seerew I felt sure that so somewhere, a dread occurrence which it was beyond h whether it were in this house or at the other end of Africa I did not know

The mental depression increased and culminated Then of a sudden it passed completely away, and as I mopped the sweat fro It was a tender and beautiful dawn, and in a di but the daily resurrection of the sun, and yet it brought to ht was past with all its fears; the light had come with all its joys From that moment I was certain that we should triumph over these difficulties and that the end of them would be peace

So sure was I that I ventured to take a nap, knowing that the slightest movement or sound would wake me I suppose I slept until six o'clock, when I was aroused by a footfall I sprang up, and saw beforeand his face was ashen beneath the black Moreover he could not speak All he did was to put his head on one side, like a deaddoards Then with hiseyes he beckoned to me to follow him

I followed

CHAPTER VIII

RODD'S LAST CARD

The man led me to Marnham's room, which I had never entered before All I could see at first, for the shutters were closed, was that the place seerew accustoure of a man seated in a chair with his head bent forward over a table that was placed at the foot of the bed almost in the centre of the rooht poured in Theof spirit in it I looked for the glass and found it by his side on the floor, shattered, not merely broken

”Drunk,” I said aloud, whereon the servant, who understood htened voice in Dutch-

”No, Baas, dead, half cold I found him so just now”

I bent down and exah, he was dead, for his jaw had fallen; also his flesh was chill, and froht for ato any one else, He went, and now for the first tie envelope addressed ”Allan Quatermain, Esq” in a somewhat shaky hand This I picked up and slipped into my pocket

Rodd arrived half dressed

”What's the rowled