avenged upon me for other matters, private matters between me and him.
But, lady, do not trouble yourself about the fate of such a poor
black creature as I am. Go away and tell the story if you will, but go
quickly, for these sights of death are not fit for young eyes like yours
to see."

"I will not go," exclaimed Suzanne, "or if I go, it shall be to bring
down upon you, Swart Piet, the weight of the law which you have broken.
Ah! would that my father were at home; he does not love Kaffirs but he
does love justice."

Now when they heard Suzanne speaking such bold words and saw the fire
in her eyes, Swart Piet and those with him began to grow afraid. The
hanging of a witch-doctoress after a formal trial upon the charge of
theft of cattle was no great matter in those days, for such thefts
were common and a cause of much trouble to out-lying farmers, nor would
anyone in these half-settled regions be likely to look too closely into
the rights and wrongs of an execution on account of them. But if a white
person who was present went away to proclaim to the authorities, perhaps
even to the Governor of the Cape, whose ear could always be won through
the missionaries of the London Society, that this pretended execution
was nothing but a murder, then the thing became serious. From the moment
that Suzanne began to speak on behalf of Sihamba, Swart Piet had seen
that it would be impossible to hang her unless he wished to risk his
own neck. But he guessed also that the girl could not know this, and
therefore he determined to make terms by working on her pity, such terms
as should put her to shame before all those gathered there; yes, and
leave something of a stain upon her heart for so long as she should
live.