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Swallow: a tale of the great trek by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard
page 127 of 358 (35%)
again.

She shook her head and answered, "Lady, I cannot, for you have not the
Sight; but bring your husband here, and perhaps he will be able to read
the story, or some of it."

Now at this I grew angry, for it is not pleasant to a woman to hear that
a man whom all know to be but a child compared to her can see things in
water which she is not able to see, even though the things are born
only of the false magic of a witch-doctoress. Still, as at that moment
I chanced to hear Jan seeking me, for he wondered where I had gone, I
called to him and set out the matter, expecting that he would be very
angry and dismiss Sihamba, breaking up her magic bowl. But all the while
that I talked to him the little woman sat, her chin resting upon her
hand, looking into his face, and I think that she had some power over
him. At the least, he was not at all angry, although he said that I must
not mention the business to the _predicant_, who was well known to be
a prejudiced man. Then he asked Sihamba to show him the wonders of the
bowl. Replying that she would if she might, and always keeping her eyes
fixed upon his face, she bade him kneel down and look into the water in
such fashion that he did not shut the moonlight off from it, and to tell
us what he saw.

So he knelt and looked, whispering presently that on the midmost
piece of glass there appeared the image of Suzanne, and on the others
respectively those of Ralph, Jan himself, me his wife, and Sihamba. I
asked him what they were doing, but he could give me no clear answer, so
I suppose that they were printed there like the heads on postage stamps,
if indeed they existed anywhere except in Jan's brain, into which
Sihamba had conjured them.
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