the mist which rose from the river and sodden land, however, that she
could not see two yards in front of her, and fearing lest she should
stumble on the lions or some other animals, she did not dare to wander far
from the mouth of the cave. Near to it was a large, hollow-surfaced rock,
filled now with water like a bath. From this she drank, then washed and
tidied herself as well as she could without the aid of soap, comb or
towels, which done, she returned to the cave.

As Richard was still sleeping, very quietly she laid a little more wood on
the embers to keep him warm, then sat down by his side and watched him,
for now the grey light of the dawning crept into their place of refuge. To
her this slumbering lad looked beautiful, and as she studied him her
childish heart was filled with a strange, new tenderness, such as she had
never felt before. Somehow he had grown dear to her, and Rachel knew that
she would never forget him while she lived. Then following this wave of
affection came a sharp and sudden pain, for she remembered that presently
they must part, and never see each other any more. At least this seemed
certain, for how could they when he was travelling to the Cape and she to
Natal?

And yet, and yet a strange conviction told her otherwise. The power of
prescience which came to her from her mother and her Highland forefathers
awoke in her breast, and she knew that her life and this lad's life were
interwoven. Perhaps she dozed off again, sitting there by the fire. At any
rate it appeared to her that she dreamed and saw things in her dream. Wild
tumultuous scenes opened themselves before her in a vision; scenes of
blood and terror, sounds, too, of voices crying war. It appeared to her as
if she were mad, and yet ruled a queen, death came near to her a score of
times, but always fled away at her command. Now Richard Darrien was with
her, and how she had lost him and sought--ah! how she sought through dark