being transmuted into
gentleness, his love absorbed into itself the savage, and thus became
savage in its character. This resultant was a highly explosive psychic
compound. He never spoke to another being of what his mind was full of,
and the repression which he had to exercise at all natural vents caused
tidal waves of passion to roll back on his soul, fraught with
destruction to himself and to others.

Martha Kawa was as passionately attached to Samuel, as he was to Miss
Blake. In Martha, the Aryan element manifested itself mainly in force
of character, and ability; for in her tastes and desires, as in her
physiognomy, she followed her mother's race. Whilst Samuel was
secretive by nature, she was rendered so by force of circumstances; she
had hardly any opportunities of communicating with the man she loved,
and on the rare occasions when she diffidently attempted to gain his
confidence and friendship, she was met by a cold and impenetrable
indifference, She was not on terms of intimacy with any of the other
pupils, the fact of her being partly of another race preventing
anything of the kind.

It will be seen that the moral and social atmosphere of the mission was
heavily charged with tragic potentialities.

V.

In course of time, Miss Blake went away to spend her Christmas holidays
at a distant town, her native place. The Reverend Robley Wilson took a
holiday shortly afterwards, and followed her. He asked her to be a
helpmeet unto him, and she agreed. Whatever love existed between them
was mainly on his side. She came back to the mission engaged, but by
agreement the fact was to be kept secret for a time, even from the
Missionary and his wife.

During the holidays, Samuel had continued his course of feverish study.
His face had become thin and drawn, and his eyes looked unnaturally
bright and prominent. Martha was more ill-tempered and sulky than ever,
and repeated disobedience had led to talk of her expulsion. During the
holidays she had volunteered to stay at the mission rather than go back
to her mother's kraal. She was allowed to stay on condition that she
did the house-work, helping the old domestic, who was far from well.
She thus had many opportunities of cultivating Samuel's acquaintance,
and it was not long before her suspicions as to his passion for Miss
Blake were fully confirmed. Samuel allowed her to talk to him, but he
said very little in reply.

About a week after Miss Blake's return, Mr. W