chose to call
me?"

As this ridiculous point seemed to weigh upon his mind I told him that
Mameena was not even of royal blood and in nowise entitled to the salute
of kings.

"Ah!" he said with a feeble grin, "then now I shall know how to deal
with her, especially as she cannot pretend that I did not play my part
in the battle, as she bade me do. Did you see anything of her when Jana
charged, Baas, because I thought I did?"

"I seemed to see something, but no doubt it was only a fancy."

"A fancy? Explain to me, Baas, where truths end and fancies begin and
whether what we think are fancies are not sometimes the real truths.
Once or twice I have thought so of late, Baas."

I could not answer this riddle, so instead I gave him some water which
he asked for, and he continued:

"Baas, have you any messages for the two Shining ones, for her whose
name is holy and her sister, and for the child of her whose name is
holy, the Missie Marie, and for your reverend father, the Predikant? If
so, tell it quickly before my head grows too empty to hold the words."

I will confess, however foolish it may seem, that I gave him certain
messages, but what they were I shall not write down. Let them remain
secret between me and him. Yes, between me and him and perhaps those to
whom they were to be delivered. For after all, in his own words, who
can know exactly where fancies end and truth begin, and whether at times
fancies are not the veritable truths in this universal mystery of which
the individual life of each of us is so small a part?

Hans repeated what I had spoken to him word for word, as a native does,
repeated it twice over, after which he said he knew it by heart and
remained silent for a long while. Then he asked me to lift him up in
the doorway of the cell so that he might look at the sun setting for
the last time, "for, Baas," he added, "I think I am going far beyond the
sun."

He stared at it for a while, remarking that from the look of the sky
there should be fine weather coming, "which will be good for your
journey towards the Black Water, Baas, with all that ivory to carry."

I answered that perhaps I should never get the ivory from the graveyard
of the elephants, as the Black Kendah might prevent this.

"No, no, Baas," he replied, "now that Jana is dead the Black Kendah will
go away. I know it, I know it!"

Then he wandered for a space, speaking of sundry adventures we had
shared together, till quite before