e wise and sweet beings that see deeper
than the surface.

And then I came back, for I was as a lost man there in the rush and
worry of a civilization I knew nothing of moreover, never could I rest,
for the eyes of that other being were haunting me and calling me . . .
calling me. . . . Well she had known spirit, woman, witch, or what she
may have been that once I had looked in her eyes I might forget all
else, but her I should forget never.

And so I have sought for years . . . and I cannot find the path.

Again and again I have tried from all sides. West, where Inyati led me,
the dunes have altered; storm after storm has swept them till many of
the pans are filled and covered, and others laid bare; and from the
south it is the same.

Eastward I have tried in vain, for Khama's men are jealous guardians of
the desert border there, and twice I have been turned back, in spite of
my gold.

From the north and through it I must have found a path back I have
struggled long, and there fever has killed my men, and pathless forests
have kept me back.

There I left Gerard in a lonely grave; for after he knew that my story
had been true nothing could keep him from joining me. Life in Loanda
was far too tame, with such an adventure in hand. "Hang the diamonds,"
he had said, "I've money enough for my simple needs. But those berries
they are what I want, for I am getting old, and would be young again.
And this woman you dream and rave of perhaps I would see her too!"

Poor friend, he lies there in the thick forest where the fever took him
he had not my strength.

And now I go again this time alone. I have searched these dunes till
but one path remains untried on that path I now travel. And this time I
shall not strive in vain, and again I shall look into those eyes that I
have worshipped so long.

And then? Who knows? I am no trembling fugitive now, but one who fears
not to measure strength with the immortals if needs be. ... If she be
that, I fear nothing . . . and I shall find the way. Seek not to follow
me, my friend of the wilderness . . . for I leave no spoor. . . . This
time I shall find the path.

It was nearly morning when he finished his weird tale; the waning moon
had risen, and threw a faint light over the limitless void of the
desert.

The fire was dying down, and I turned to replenish it; for lions were
numerous in the vicinity. And as I turned back, I saw this strange
acquaintance of mine for the last tim