Swallow: a tale of the great trek by H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard
page 152 of 358 (42%)
page 152 of 358 (42%)
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Now the man to whom he spoke, that same man with whom the boy Zinti had
heard him plot our murder in the Tiger Kloof, shrugged his shoulders and answered: "I think there is one who will guess." "Who is that, fool?" "She about whose neck I once set a rope at your bidding, Bull-Head, and whose life was bought by those lips," and he pointed to Suzanne, "Sihamba Ngenyanga." "Why should she guess?" asked Piet angrily. "Has she not done so before? Think of the great _schimmel_ and its rider in Tiger Kloof. Moreover, what does her name mean? Does it not mean 'Wanderer-by-moonlight,' and was not this great deed of yours a deed at the telling of which all who hear of it shall grow sick and silent, done in the moonlight, Bull-Head?" Now as we learned afterwards from a man whom Jan took prisoner, and who told us everything which passed that night, hoping to buy his life, Piet made no answer to this saying, but turned to busy himself with his saddle, for, after his ill dealings with her, he was always afraid of Sihamba, and would never mention her name unless he was obliged. Soon the horses, most of which were small and of the Basuto breed, were ready to start. On one of the best of them there was a soft pad of sheepskins, such as girls used to ride on when I was young, before we knew anything about these new-fangled English saddles with leather hooks to hold the rider in her place. On this pad, which had been prepared for her, they |
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