ils of their late enemy.
"Your poor horse has revenged himself. Poor beast! Will his death be a
painful one?"

"I don't think so. A stupor, more or less gradual, usually attends
death from snake-bite."

As though to bear out its owner's words, the poor animal, which had
risen to its feet, now tottered, swayed, and then lay down.

"Well, I shall have to walk. But that's nothing. I'm in hard
training."

The girl's eyes opened wide.

"Walk? That you certainly will not, except as far as the house; and
that's no great distance. It's nearly dinner time too,"--with a glance
upwards at the sun. "And--you have saved my life, you know. I'm a bad
hand at making a speech, but--will you take for granted all I'd like to
say?"

The other felt a little foolish. This, to him, was an entirely new
experience. This girl, for instance, was quite unlike any he had ever
known before. Her absolute self-possession, free from any trace of
posing or self-consciousness--why he did not know what to make of the
situation. But one thing pushed itself unpleasantly to the fore in his
mind. He was being taken somewhere to be thanked--by a lot of other
people, and he didn't like being thanked. It made him feel a fool. The
only thing to do was to pooh-pooh the whole incident; and yet--and yet--
hang it, he did want to see some more of her, and wanted to see that
some "some more" now, not put it off to some indefinite future time.

"Oh, I don't know," he said, rather lamely. "The affair was of no great
account. You'd have got out of it anyhow. I think perhaps, I'd better
start. Good-bye."

But she ignored the proffered hand. She deliberately put hers behind
her back.

"Doesn't it occur to you," she said, "that I may be a little bit nervous
going home alone after that experience? There may be another of the
same species--what did you call it--_indhlondhlo_?--somewhere near. I
never was afraid of a snake before."

Then he surrendered with a good grace--a very good grace--and profuse
apologies.

"I confess I missed that point of view. Let me collect your painting
things. Do you often come here to draw?"

"Yes, and everywhere else. I love it. I believe I could do something
real in that way if only I had a show." And there was a clouding over
of the speaker's face that was not lost upon her escort.

"By Jove! I should think you could," he answered, scrutinising the
nearly finished sketch. "Why, this is perfect."