Part 24 (1/2)
”Mona, what is it? Mona! Mona! What in the world is the matter? Good heavens!”
And Grace Suffield, startled fro cry, stands, candle in hand, within her cousin's roo with apprehension and alar at the openThe shutters are thrown back, and her tall, white-clad forainst the oblong patch of bright stars And she is gazing out upon the uished look, as though she were striving to pierce the darkness and distance, and would give her life for the power to do so It was a weird sight, and chilled Grace Suffield with an eerie and awesome creep, for it was evident that, in spite of her erect attitude and open eyes, Mona was not awake
What was she to do? Mona had never been given to sleep-walking So and powerful dreaerous--the shock would be too great But in this dilelare of the light, she shut the her hand over them two or three tiht start no sign was there that this was other than an ordinary awakening
”Is that you, Grace!” she said wonderingly ”Why, what's wrong? Any of the children ill?”
”No, dear But you--I thought I heard you call for so”
Thick and clear the waves of recollection flowed back upon Mona's ain that scared look came into her eyes, but she quickly recovered herself
”It washalf to herself ”Yes, it was not a er, and I have warned him Yes, I have, and I feel confident now
He is safe My warning has been heard”
Had it? Had the te tenee over such iven to the dreath and despair of love, to dart forth through the ht spheres until it should thrill upon the unconscious ears, which a ain in this world?
Who can say?
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
A VOICE THROUGH THE NIGHT
Having rested himself and his steed, and still farther dihted another pipe, and began to think about saddling up
He sent a last look around, but no sign of life was there, save for a faint coluazed at this Did it nal, or a camp of friend or foe? It was i way off, and as more to the purpose, nowhere near his line of route Satisfied on this point, and feeling on excellent terms with himself and all the world, he rose and
But now some trouble awaited; for he had knee-haltered the anith of _reim_, and rather carelessly as to the knot, consequently the latter had slipped, leaving the horse alh he were loose So now as he walked quietly up, speaking softly and soothingly, to secure his steed, Roden saw that he would need all his patience
For the young horse was of a fidgety habit, and, as though aware of his power, no sooner did his rider extend a hand to catch hi his tail where his head should be Another atte, onlybrute would allow the hand to approach within halt a yard of the _reim_, then would slew round as before
This trick is a coh one in the 'cussedness' of equine econo in this wicked world, and if there exists an averageterrible language aloud or _secreto_, why, in the plenitude of our experience we never fell in with hih he so far varied upon usual custo, not the horse, but hi such a bungling job of the knee-haltering
The plan under the circuainst a bush or a fence Here, of course, there was no fence, and the only bush was that which grew around the stony _kopje_ to which we have alluded, and thither, in accordance with the ence--which, by the way, invariably shows itself in the wrong direction--nothing on earth would persuade this fiendish beast to proceed Anywhere else, but--not there
Roden tried another plan, that of waiting He would have given ' cattle and horses is a process unknown in South Africa, consequently he ithout that highly serviceable Western i waited to allow the horse to calain, he advanced oncehorse put his head doith a snort of defiance, and slewed round more wildly than before He see, to enter into the joke with a fiendish glee It was a joke, however, which rim one for his rider
And such indeed it did prove The _reiave way His leg now free, and at its normal distance from his chin once more, up went the noble animal's nose into the air, and with a defiant whisk of the tail, which seeained liberty, away he started at a s for all he kne in the direction of the ca