box she had used upon the waggon, which had now arrived safely at the
farm. Benita asked who had ordered the box to be unpacked, and Sally
answered that the Heer Meyer had ordered it so that she might not be
disturbed in her sleep, and that her things should be ready for her when
she woke.

"The Heer Meyer thinks a great deal about other people," said Benita.

"Ja, ja!" answered the old half-breed. "He tink much about people when
he want to tink about them, but he tink most about himself. Baas Meyer,
he a very clever man--oh! a very clever man, who want to be a great man
too. And one day, Missee, he be a great man, great and rich--if the Heer
God Almighty let him."




VI

THE GOLD COIN

Six weeks had gone by since the eventful evening of Benita's arrival at
Rooi Krantz. Now the spring had fully come, the veld was emerald with
grass and bright with flowers. In the kloof behind the house trees had
put out their leaves, and the mimosas were in bloom, making the air
heavy with their scent. Amongst them the ringdoves nested in hundreds,
and on the steep rocks of the precipice the red-necked vultures fed
their young. Along the banks of the stream and round the borders of
the lake the pig-lilies bloomed, a sheet of white. All the place was
beautiful and full of life and hope. Nothing seemed dead and hopeless