egan to laugh at him. In the end he grew rather angry, and
said that he was willing to shoot me at bucks or swallows, or fireflies,
or anything else I liked.

"Then let it be at geese," I answered, "since it is likely to be
sometime before I am strong enough to ride after buck or other wild
things."'

So the terms of the match were formally written down by Marie, as my
father, although he took a keen sporting interest in the result, would
have nothing to do with what he called a "wager for money," and, except
myself, there was no one else present with sufficient scholarship to
pen a long document. Then we both signed them, Hernan Pereira not very
willingly, I thought; and if my recovery was sufficiently rapid, the
date was fixed for that day week. In case of any disagreement, the Heer
Retief, who was staying at Maraisfontein, or in its neighbourhood, for a
while, was appointed referee and stakeholder. It was also arranged that
neither of us should visit the appointed place, or shoot at the geese
before the match. Still we were at liberty to practise as much as we
liked at anything else in the interval and to make use of any kind of
rifle that suited us best.

By the time that these arrangements were finished, feeling quite tired
with all the emotions of the morning, I was carried back to my room.
Here my midday meal, cooked by Marie, was brought to me. As I finished
eating it, for the fresh air had given me an appetite, my father came
in, accompanied by the Heer Marais, and began to talk to me. Presently
the latter asked me kindly enough if I thought I should be sufficiently
strong to trek back to the station that afternoon in an ox-cart with
springs to it and lying at full length upon a hide-strung "cartel" or
mattress.

I answered, "Certainly," as I should have done had I been at the point
of death, for I saw that he wished to be rid of me.

"The fact is, Allan," he said awkwardly, "I am not inhospitable as you
may think, especially towards one to whom I owe so much. But you and my
nephew, Hernan, do not seem to get on very well together, and, as you
may guess, having just been almost beggared, I desire no unpleasantness
with the only rich member of my family."

I replied I was sure I did not wish to be the cause of any. It seemed
to me, however, that the Heer Pereira wished to make a mock of me and to
bring it home to me what a poor creature I was compared to himself--I a
mere sick boy who was worth nothing.