ance to consent to the wedding.'

"Now the Heer van der Poel was always a quiet man, but
there was nothing weak in him.

"'I do thank you,' he said, 'for playing the part of an
honest man, and no doubt the girl has been foolish. A girl
is, you know; and you are big enough to have taken her eye.
But there will be no marriage; Christina is to marry a
Boer.'

"'So you object to an Englishman?' sneered the other.

"'Yes,' said the old man.

"'What have you against the English?'

"'In general, nothing at all. I have found them brave men
and good fighters; at Potchefstroom I killed three. But,'
and the old man held up his forefinger, 'I will not have
one in my family.'

"'I see,' said the other. 'So you refuse me your daughter?'

"'Yes,' answered the father.

"'So be it,' returned the stranger, turning to the door.
'In that case I shall take her without your leave.' And off
he went at a canter, never looking back.

"Next day Mynheer van der Poel took Christina into a kraal,
and when she had confessed her meetings with the
Englishman, he gave her a sound beating with a stirrup-
leather, and told her that for the future she must not go
alone outside of the house.

"'And either I or one of your brothers will always be at
home,' concluded the old man, 'so that if this Mynheer Dunn
comes, he will be shot.'

"So Christina for upwards of a month never saw her
Englishman. Of course the matter was a great scandal, and
her people said as little as they could about it; but,
nevertheless, it got about, and the number of visitors to
the farm for the next week or two was astonishing. But call
as often as they pleased, the Englishman stayed away and
they saw nothing of him.

"But one morning when daylight came Christina was missing.
They looked about, and there was no trace of her, but in
the road outside there was the spoor of a cart that had
halted in passing during the night.

"'It is plain enough,' said the old man 'She is with her
Englishman at Bothaskraal. Sons, get your rifles, and we
will ride over.'

"But on the way they had to pass Morder Drift, and thinking
only of the shame to their house, they rode altogether into
the water, none looking ahead. There had been rains, and
each man was compelled to give all his care to guiding his
horse through the torrent, while holding his rifle aloft in
one hand.

"When they were thus all in the water together they heard a
shout, and the Englishman on a big horse rod