I remember that my father agreed to pay a certain proportion of this
tutor's salary, a plan which suited the thrifty Boer very well indeed.

Thither, accordingly, I went in due course, nothing loth, for on the
veld between our station and Maraisfontein many pauw and koran--that is,
big and small bustards--were to be found, to say nothing of occasional
buck, and I was allowed to carry a gun, which even in those days I could
use fairly well. So to Maraisfontein I rode on the appointed day,
attended by a Hottentot after-rider, a certain Hans, of whom I shall
have a good deal to tell. I enjoyed very good sport on the road,
arriving at the stead laden with one pauw, two koran, and a little
klipspringer buck which I had been lucky enough to shoot as it bounded
out of some rocks in front of me.

There was a peach orchard planted round Maraisfontein, which just then
was a mass of lovely pink blossom, and as I rode through it slowly, not
being sure of my way to the house, a lanky child appeared in front of
me, clad in a frock which exactly matched the colour of the peach bloom.
I can see her now, her dark hair hanging down her back, and her big,
shy eyes staring at me from the shadow of the Dutch "kappie" which she
wore. Indeed, she seemed to be all eyes, like a "dikkop" or
thick-headed plover; at any rate, I noted little else about her.

I pulled up my pony and stared at her, feeling very shy and not knowing
what to say. For a while she stared back at me, being afflicted,
presumably, with the same complaint, then spoke with an effort, in a
voice that was very soft and pleasant.

"Are you the little Allan Quatermain who is coming to learn French with
me?" she asked in Dutch.