ely well.

That evening, or that night, the elephant was somehow strangely
disturbed and continually trumpeted so as to awake Saba and cause him
to bark. Stas observed that this irritated the patient; so he left the
tree to quiet them. He silenced Saba easily, but as it was a harder
matter to bid the elephant to be silent, he took with him a few melons
to throw to him, and stuff his trunk at least for a time. Returning, he
observed, by the light of the camp-fire, Kali who, with a piece of
smoked meat on his shoulders, was going in the direction of the river.

"What are you doing there, and where are you going?" he asked the negro.

And the black boy stopped, and when Stas drew near to him said with a
mysterious countenance:

"Kali is going to another tree to place meat for the wicked Mzimu."

"Why?"

"That the wicked Mzimu should not kill the 'Good Mzimu.'"

Stas wanted to say something in reply, but suddenly grief seized his
bosom; so he only set his teeth and walked away in silence.

When he returned to the tree Nell's eyes were closed, her hands, lying
on the saddle-cloth, quivered indeed strongly, but it seemed that she
was slumbering. Stas sat down near her, and from fear of waking her he
sat motionless. Mea, sitting on the other side, readjusted every little
while pieces of ivory protruding out of her ears, in order to defend
herself in this manner from drowsiness. It became still; only from the
river below, from the direction of the overflow, came the croaking of
frogs and the melancholy piping of toads.

Suddenly Nell sat up on the bedding.

"Stas!"

"I am here, Nell."

And she, shaking like a leaf in the breeze, began to seek his hands and
repeat hurriedly:

"I am afraid! I am afraid! Give me your hand!"

"Don't fear. I am with you."

And he grasped her palm which this time was heated as if on fire; not
knowing what to do he began to cover that poor, emaciated hand with
kisses.

"Don't be afraid, Nell! don't be afraid!"

After which he gave her water with honey to drink, which by that time
had cooled. This time Nell drank eagerly and clung to the hand with the
utensil when he tried to take it away from her lips. The cool drink
seemed to soothe her.

Silence ensued. But after the lapse of half an hour Nell again sat up
on the bedding and in her wide-open eyes could be seen terrible fright.

"Stas!"

"What is it, dear?"

"Why," she asked in a broken voice, "do Gebhr and Chamis walk aro