t his pipe, which had gone out.

His yarn took the prize.

1917.

XI

THE MOTHER STONE

It was after dinner, and five elderly Englishmen were discussing the
causes of the war.

"Well," said Travers, a big, fresh-coloured grey-beard, with little
twinkling eyes and very slow speech, "you gentlemen know more about it
than I do, but I bet you I can lay my finger on the cause of the war at
any minute."

There was an instant clamour of jeering. But a man called Askew, who
knew Travers well, laughed and said: "Come, let's have it!" Travers
turned those twinkling little eyes of his slowly round the circle, and
with heavy, hesitating modesty began:

"Well, Mr. Askew, it was in '67 or '68 that this happened to a great big
feller of my acquaintance named Ray--one of those fellers, you know,
that are always on the look-out to make their fortunes and never do.
This Ray was coming back south one day after a huntin' trip he'd been in
what's now called Bechuanaland, and he was in a pretty bad way when he
walked one evenin' into the camp of one of those wanderin' Boers. That
class of Boer has disappeared now. They had no farms of their own, but
just moved on with their stock and their boys; and when they came to
good pasture they'd outspan and stay there till they'd cleared it
out--and then trek on again. Well, this old Boer told Ray to come right
in, and take a meal; and heaven knows what it was made of, for those old
Boers, they'd eat the devil himself without onion sauce, and relish him.
After the meal the old Boer and Ray sat smokin' and yarnin' in the door
of the tent, because in those days these wanderin' Boers used tents.
Right close by in the front, the children were playin' in the dust, a
game like marbles, with three or four round stones, and they'd pitch 'em
up to another stone they called the Moer-Klip, or Mother-stone--one,
two, and pick up--two, three, and pick up--you know the game of marbles.
Well, the sun was settin' and presently Ray noticed this Moer-Klip that
they were pitchin' 'em up to, shinin'; and he looked at it, and he said
to the old Boer: 'What's that stone the children are playin' with?' And
the old Boer looked at him and looked at the stone, and said: 'It's just
a stone,' and went on smokin'.

"Well, Ray went down on his knees and picked up the stone, and weighed
it in his hand. About the size of a hazel-nut it was, and looked--well,
it looked like a piece of alum; but the more he looked