o him
what they had found, showing him the bags.

"That is right, U' Joe," said the Zulu, turning them over in his hands.
"There were but four. _Whau_! I like not this dark hole. It savours
of _tagati_."

"But you will like all the cattle and new wives your share of this will
bring you, son of Musi," said Fleetwood with a laugh. "If it is
_tagati_ it is pretty good _tagati_ for us three, this time anyhow.
Well, the sun will soon be down, and I think we had better take a short
rest and travel by moonlight. It will be safer."

This was agreed to, and as the red moon raised her great disc above the
lone mountain range, flooding forest and valley and rock with her
chastened brilliance, two ragged, unkempt white men stepped forth on
their return journey, and upon them was wealth surpassing their highest
expectations.

"Hang it all, I can't believe it yet," said Wyvern, for the twentieth
time, with the twentieth grip on the bags of gems disposed about his
clothing.

"I can hardly believe it myself," rejoined Fleetwood, going through
precisely the same performance.

But Hlabulana, the Zulu, said nothing. He only took snuff as calmly as
if nothing had happened.

CHAPTER THIRTY.

"IN THE MORNING."

Probably there is no greater fallacy than that youth is quick to cast
off impressions; otherwise Lalante with youth in her favour, should,
after the first few days from the shock which had smitten her down, have
begun to rally, and to realise that there was something left in life
after all. But she did not.

The light of life had gone out. Her very youth was against her. She
was just at an age when her whole-souled love for this one who had been
taken from her, reached a stage of passionate adoration that was all
absorbing, entrancing her whole being. She lived in it. And now she
would see him no more--would see him never again on earth. And yet--all
her every day surroundings--every sight, every sound, every locality--
were wrapped up in memories of him. From such there was no escape, nor
did she desire that there should be.

Days grew into weeks, but brought no change, no solace, no relief. She
strove to throw off at any rate the outward gloom if only for the sake
of her two small brothers, but the attempt was little short of a ghastly
failure. At this point she became aware of a marked change in her
father. He seemed to be failing in health. He had lost the old
elasticity, the old alertness, the