Part 3 (2/2)

”Woodden, stop talking, and sit down,” exclaimed his master ”Yes, there, where you can look at the flower Now, Mr Quater to end Of course o its habitat if you like, for it isn't fair to ask that secret Woodden can be trusted to hold his tongue, and so can I”

I remarked that I was sure they could, and for the next half-hour talked al that I was anxious to find someone ould finance an expedition to search for this particular plant; as I believed, the only one of its sort that existed in the world

”How much will it cost?” asked Mr Somers

”I lay it at 2,000,” I answered ”You see, we oods and presents”

”I call that cheap But supposing, Mr Quatermain, that the expedition proves successful and the plant is secured, what then?”

”Then I propose that Brother John, who found it and of whoht sell for, that I as captain of the expedition should take one-third, and that whoever finds the necessarythird”

”Good! That's settled”

”What's settled?” I asked

”Why, that we should divide in the proportions you naain to be allowed to take my whack in kind-Ithe rest of the plant at whatever value reed upon”

”But, Mr Somers, do you mean that you wish to find 2,000 and make this expedition in person?”

”Of course I do I thought you understood that That is, if you will have ether seek for and find this golden flower I say that's settled”

On the ly, it was settled with the help of a docuned in duplicate by both of us

Before these arrangements were finally concluded, however, I insisted that Mr Somers should meet my late companion, Charlie Scroope, when I was not present, in order that the lattermyself Apparently the intervieas satisfactory, at least so I judged fro Soht it my duty to explain to him with reat dangers of such an enterprise as that on which he proposed to eht out that he must be prepared to find his death in it froes, while success was quite problematical and very likely would not be attained

”You are taking these risks,” he said

”Yes,” I answered, ”but they are incident to the rough trade I follohich is that of a hunter and explorer Moreover, h experiences and bereave, that cause ht value on life I care little whether I die or continue in the world for some few added years Lastly, the excitement of adventure has become a kind of necessity forAlso I'o, that this hour is foreordained and that nothing I can do will either hasten or postpone it by one mo If you stay here and approach your father in a proper spirit, I have no doubt but that he will forget all the rough words he said to you the other day, for which indeed you know you gave hi up such prospects and undertaking such dangers for the chance of finding a rare flower? I say this to ht find it hard to discover anyone else ould risk 2,000 upon such a venture, but I do urge you to weighSomers looked at me for a little while, then he broke into one of his hearty laughs and exclaimed, ”Whatever else you entleman No bullion-broker in the City could have put the matter more fairly in the teeth of his own interests”

”Thank you,” I said

”For the rest,” he went on, ”I too aolden Cypripediuh That's only a symbol What I seek are adventure and romance Also, like you I am a fatalist God chose His own time to send us here, and I presuain So I leave the matter of risks to Him”

”Yes, Mr Somers,” I replied rather solemnly ”You may find adventure and romance, there are plenty of both in Africa Or you rave in some fever-haunted swamp Well, you have chosen, and I like your spirit”

Still I was so little satisfied about this business, that a week or so before we sailed, after much consideration, I took it upon myself to write a letter to Sir Alexander Somers, in which I set forth the whole erous nature of our undertaking In conclusion, I asked hiht it wise to allow his only son to accompany such an expedition, mainly because of a not very serious quarrel with himself

As no answer came to this letter I went on with our preparations There was money in plenty, since the re-sale of ”O Pavo” to Sir Joshua Tredgold, at some loss, had been satisfactorily carried out, which enabled s needful with a cheerful heart Never before had I been provided with such an outfit as that which preceded us to the shi+p

At length the day of departure ca for the Dartmouth train to start, for in those days the African mail sailed from that port Ato enter our carriage I caught sight of a face that I see for sos, Sir Alexander's clerk, whos,” I said as he passedfor Mr Somers? If so, he is in here”

The clerk jumped into the coed again and waited Somers read the letter and tore off a blank sheet from the end of it, on which he hastily wrote sos, and I could not help seeing ritten It was: ”Too late now God bless you, ain If not, try to think kindly of your troublesome and foolish son, Stephen”

In another minute the train had started

”By the way,” he said, as we steamed out of the station, ”I have heard from my father, who enclosed this for you”

I opened the envelope, which was addressed in a bold, round hand that seemed to me typical of the writer, and read as follows: ”My Dear Sir,-I appreciate the motives which caused you to write to me and I thank you very heartily for your letter, which shows me that you are a man of discretion and strict honour As you surmise, the expedition on which my son has entered is not one that commends itself to me as prudent Of the differences between him and myself you are aware, for they came to a cliy for having dragged you into an unpleasant fa been forwarded to my place in the country from my office I should have at once coout whichI can do is to write tothat the letter which I send by a special er will reach him in time and avail to alter his determination to undertake this journey Here I h I have differed and do differ from him on various points, I still have a deep affection for my son and earnestly desire his welfare The prospect of any har to him is one upon which I cannot bear to dwell

”Now I ae of his plans at this eleventh hour would involve you in serious loss and inconvenience I beg to inforood everything and will in addition write off the 2,000 which I understand he has invested in your joint venture It may be, however, that my son, who has in hie his her Power I can only co that you will look after hih he were your own child I can ask and you can do no more Tell him to write me as opportunity offers, as perhaps you will too; also that, although I hate the sight of them, I will look after the flohich he has left at the house at Twickenhaed servant, ALEXANDER SOMERS”

This letter touched me much, and indeed made me feel very uncomfortable Without a word I handed it to h carefully

”Nice of hiood heart, although he lets his te had his oay all his life”

”Well, ill you do?” I asked

”Go on, of course I've putto turn back I should be a cur if I did, and what's ht say he'd think none the better of ood”

For quite a while afterwards young Somers seemed to be comparatively depressed, a state of mind that in his case was rare indeed At last, he studied the wintry landscape through the carriageand said nothing By degrees, however, he recovered, and e reached Dartether share

Before we sailed I wrote to Sir Alexander telling hih he never showed me the letter

At Durban, just as ere about to start up country, I received an answer from him, sent by some boat that followed us very closely In it he said that he quite understood the position, and whatever happened would attribute no blas He told me that, in the event of any difficulty or want of ht be required, and that he had advised the African Bank to that effect Further, he added, that at least his son had shown grit in thiswhile I ood-bye to Sir Alexander Soland

CHAPTER IV

MAVOVO AND HANS

We arrived safely at Durban at the beginning of March and took up our quarters at my house on the Berea, where I expected that Brother John would be awaiting us But no Brother John was to be found The old, lame Griqua, Jack, who looked after the place for me and once had been one of my hunters, said that shortly after I went away in the shi+p, Dogeetah, as he called him, had taken his tin box and his net and walked off inland, he knew not where, leaving, as he declared, no e or letter behind him The cases full of butterflies and dried plants were also gone, but these, I found he had shi+pped to so vessel bound for the United States which chanced to put in at Durban for food and water As to what had becoet no clue He had been seen at Maritzburg and, according to some Kaffirs whom I knew, afterwards on the borders of Zululand, where, so far as I could learn, he vanished into space

This, to say the least of it, was disconcerting, and a question arose as to as to be done Brother John was to have been our guide He alone knew the Mazitu people; he alone had visited the borders of the o-land, I scarcely felt inclined to attempt to reach that country without his aid

When a fortnight had gone by and still there were no signs of him, Stephen and I held a soleers of the situation to hiht be wise to give up this wild orchid-chase and go elephant-hunting instead in a certain part of Zululand, where in those days these aniree withelephants had attractions for him