waving me toward the other end of the couch; "and as for you, 'Ngaga,
having brought the 'mlungu hither, your task is accomplished, and you
may depart."

So, while I deposited myself upon the pallet, 'Ngaga bade us both a
somewhat ceremonious farewell, and vanished through the opening into the
blazing sunlight without.

Then Mafuta began to talk to me about my journey and the incidents, such
as they were, that had thus far marked it; and I confess that I was
astounded at the intimate knowledge of these matters which he displayed.
Of course I knew that my "boys" might have, and very possibly had,
spoken of them to 'Ngaga and the other Basutos during their gossip round
the fire on the previous evening; yet this man, Mafuta, seemed to know
more about the details of them than was likely to have transpired during
such a conversation, which was probably of an exceedingly desultory and
general character. Yet even this was not so surprising as the knowledge
he displayed of the twofold object of my journey, which I knew he could
not have acquired from my "boys", because even they were ignorant of it,
all that they actually knew being that the journey was ostensibly
undertaken for the purpose of collecting ivory. But without questioning
me at all upon the subject, the nyanga made it clear to me that he was
fully aware of the fact that one great object of my journey was to get
gold rather than ivory.

"Yet even that," said he, "is not all that you seek upon this journey;
important as it is that you should find the yellow metal which the white
man values so greatly, you are even more anxious to find something else:
is it not so? And so anxious are you to find it that, although you
doubt Mafuta's power, you have come to him to see if he can help you."

"It is true," I admitted; "and the fact that you know so much of my most
secret desires and intentions inclines me to hope, and almost to
believe, that you can help me. Do you think you can?"

"It may be, 'mlungu; it may be," he answered. "The white 'ntombozaan
(girl) still lives and is well, for I last night took the trouble to
seek for and find her; but where she is I cannot say, for the place is
strange to me, I having never seen it with my bodily eyes."

I fairly gasped with amazement, for this was the first time that Nell
Lestrange had been mentioned since my arrival in the village, and it was
not I who had spoken of her, but a savage to whom even the bare fact of
her