place, Baas. It gives time to think of the white man's justice and to
thank the Great One in the Sky, because the little sins one did not do
have been found out and punished, while the big sins one did do,
such as--well, never mind, Baas--have not been found out at all. Your
reverend father, the Predikant, always taught me to have a thankful
heart, Baas, and when I remember that I have only been in the _trunk_
for three months altogether who, if all were known, ought to have been
there for years, I remember his words, Baas."

"Why should you go to the _trunk_ at all, Hans, when you are rich and
can pay a fine, even if it were a hundred pounds?"

"A month or two ago it is true I was rich, Baas, but now I am poor. I
have nothing left except ten shillings."

"Hans," I said severely, "you have been gambling again; you have been
drinking again. You have sold your property and your cattle to pay your
gambling debts and to buy square-face gin."

"Yes, Baas, and for no good it seems; though it is not true that I have
been drinking. I sold the land and the cattle for £650, Baas, and with
the money I bought other things."

"What did you buy?" I said.

He fumbled first in one pocket of his coat and then in the other, and
ultimately produced a crumpled and dirty-looking piece of paper that
resembled a bank-note. I took and examined this document and next minute
nearly fainted. It certified that Hans was the proprietor of I know not
how many debentures or shares, I forget which they were, in the Bona