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benita-第29部分

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digging for a bone。 But that bone is not for him; it is for you; Lady;

you and you only。 Oh! I know; you do not seek; still you shall find。

Only the next time that you want help; do not run away into the

wilderness。 Hear the word of Munwali given by his mouth; the Molimo of

Bambatse!〃 And as he spoke; the old priest backed himself out of the

tent; stopping now and again to bow to Benita。



A few minutes later her father entered; looking very weak and shaken;

and supporting himself upon a stick。 Happy was the greeting of these

two who; with their arms about each other's neck; gave thanks for

their escape from great peril。



〃You see; Benita; we can't get away from this place;〃 Mr。 Clifford

said presently。 〃We must find that gold。〃



〃Bother the gold;〃 she answered with energy; 〃I hate its very name。

Who can think of gold with three thousand Matabele waiting to kill

us?〃



〃Somehow I don't feel afraid of them any more;〃 said her father; 〃they

have had their chance and lost it; and the Makalanga swear that now

they have guns to command the gates; the fortress cannot be stormed。

Still; I am afraid of someone。〃



〃Who?〃



〃Jacob Mayer。 I have seen him several times; and I think that he is

going mad。〃



〃The Molimo said that too; but why?〃



〃From the look of him。 He sits about muttering and glowing with those

dark eyes of his; and sometimes groans; and sometimes bursts into

shouts of laughter。 That is when the fit is on him; for generally he

seems right enough。 But get up if you think you can; and you shall

judge for yourself。〃



〃I don't want to;〃 said Benita feebly。 〃Father; I am more afraid of

him now than ever。 Oh! why did you not let me stop down below; among

the Makalanga; instead of carrying me up here again; where we must

live alone with that terrible Jew?〃



〃I wished to; dear; but the Molimo said we should be safer above; and

ordered his people to carry you up。 Also; Jacob swore that unless you

were brought back he would kill me。 Now you understand why I believe

that he is mad。〃



〃Why; why?〃 gasped Benita again。



〃God knows;〃 he answered with a groan; 〃but I think that he is sure

that we shall never find the gold without you; since the Molimo has

told him that it is for you and you alone; and he says the old man has

second sight; or something of the sort。 Well; he would have murdered

meI saw it in his eyeso I thought it better to give in rather than

that you should be left here sick and alone。 Of course there was one

way〃 and he paused。



She looked at him and asked:



〃What way?〃



〃To shoot him before he shot me;〃 he answered in a whisper; 〃for your

sake; dearbut I could not bring myself to do it。〃



〃No;〃 she said with a shudder; 〃not thatnot that。 Better that we

should die than that his blood should be upon our hands。 Now I will

get up and try to show no fear。 I am sure that is best; and perhaps we

shall be able to escape somehow。 Meanwhile; let us humour him; and

pretend to go on looking for this horrible treasure。〃



So Benita rose to discover that; save for her stiffness; she was but

little the worse; and finding all things placed in readiness; set to

work with her father's help to cook the evening meal as usual。 Of

Meyer; who doubtless had placed things in readiness; she saw nothing。



Before nightfall he came; however; as she knew he would。 Indeed;

although she heard no step and her back was towards him; she felt his

presence; the sense of it fell upon her like a cold shadow。 Turning

round she beheld the man。 He was standing close by; but above her;

upon a big granite boulder; in climbing which his soft veld schoons;

or hide shoes; had made no noise; for Meyer could move like a cat。 The

last rays from the sinking sun struck him full; outlining his agile;

nervous shape against the sky; and in their intense red light; which

flamed upon him; he appeared terrible。 He looked like a panther about

to spring; his eyes shone like a panther's; and Benita knew that she

was the prey whom he desired。 Still; remembering her resolution; she

determined to show no fear; and addressed him:



〃Good…evening; Mr。 Meyer。 Oh! I am so stiff that I cannot lift my neck

to look at you;〃 and she laughed。



He bounded softly from the rock; like a panther again; and stood in

front of her。



〃You should thank the God you believe in;〃 he said; 〃that by now you

are not stiff indeedall that the jackals have left of you。〃



〃I do; Mr。 Meyer; and I thank you; too; it was brave of you to come

out to save us。 Father;〃 she called; 〃come and tell Mr。 Meyer how

grateful we are to him。〃



Mr。 Clifford hobbled out from his hut under the tree; saying:



〃I have told him already; dear。〃



〃Yes;〃 answered Jacob; 〃you have told me; why repeat yourself? I see

that supper is ready。 Let us eat; for you must be hungry; afterwards I

have something to tell you。〃



So they ate; with no great appetite; any of themindeed Meyer touched

but little food; though he drank a good deal; first of strong black

coffee and afterwards of squareface and water。 But on Benita he

pressed the choicest morsels that he could find; eyeing her all the

while; and saying that she must take plenty of nutriment or her beauty

would suffer and her strength wane。 Benita bethought her of the fairy

tales of her childhood; in which the ogre fed up the princess whom he

purposed to devour。



〃You should think of your own strength; Mr。 Meyer;〃 she said; 〃you

cannot live on coffee and squareface。〃



〃It is all I need to…night。 I am astonishingly well since you came

back。 I can never remember feeling so well; or so strong。 I can do the

work of three men; and not be tired; all this afternoon; for instance;

I have been carrying provisions and other things up that steep wall;

for we must prepare for a long siege together; yet I should never know

that I had lifted a single basket。 But while you were awayah! then I

felt tired。〃



Benita changed the subject; asking him if he had made any discoveries。



〃Not yet; but now that you are back the discoveries will soon come。 Do

not be afraid; I have my plan which cannot fail。 Also; it was lonely

working in that cave without you; so I only looked about a little

outside till it was time to go to meet you; and shoot some of those

Matabele。 Do you know?I killed seven of them myself。 When I was

shooting for your sake I could not miss;〃 and he smiled at her。



Benita shrank from him visibly; and Mr。 Clifford said in an angry

voice:



〃Don't talk of those horrors before my daughter。 It is bad enough to

have to do such things; without speaking about them afterwards。〃



〃You are right;〃 he replied reflectively; 〃and I apologise; though

personally I never enjoyed anything so much as shooting those

Matabele。 Well; they are gone; and there are plenty more outside。

Listen! They are singing their evening hymn;〃 and with his long finger

he beat time to the volleying notes of the dreadful Matabele war…

chant; which floated up from the plain below。 〃It sounds quite

religious; doesn't it? only the wordsno; I will not translate them。

In our circumstances they are too personal。



〃Now I have something to say to you。 It was unkind of you to run away

and leave me like that; not honourable either。 Indeed;〃 he added with

a sudden outbreak of the panther ferocity; 〃had you alone been

concerned; Clifford; I tell you frankly that when we met again; I

should have shot you。 Traitors deserve to be shot; don't they?〃



〃Please stop talking to my father like that;〃 broke in Benita in a

stern voice; for her anger had overcome her fear。 〃Also it is I whom

you should blame。〃



〃It is a pleasure to obey you;〃 he answered bowing; 〃I will never

mention the subject any more。 Nor do I blame youwho could?not

Jacob Meyer。 I quite understand that you found it very dull up here;

and ladies must be allowed their fancies。 Also you have come back; so

why talk of the matter? But listen: on one point I have made up my

mind; for your own sake you shall not go away any more until we leave

this together。 When I had finished carrying up the food I made sure of

that。 If you go to look to…morrow morning you will find that no one

can come up that walland; what is more; no one can go down it。

Moreover; that I may be quite certain; in future I shall sleep near

the stair myself。〃



Benita and her father stared at each other。



〃The Molimo has a right to come;〃 she said; 〃it is his sanctuary。〃



〃Then he must celebrate his worship down below for a little while。 The

old fool pretends to know everything; but he never guessed what I was

going to do。 Besides; we don't want him breaking in upon our privacy;

do we? He might see the gold when we find it; and rob us of it afterwards。〃







XVII



THE FIRST EXPERIMENT



Again Benita and her father stared at each other blankly; almost with

despair。 They were trapped; cut off from all help; in the power of a

man who was going mad。 Mr。 Clifford said nothing。 He was old and

growing feeble; for years; although he did not know it; Meyer had

dominated him; and never more so than in this hour of stress and

bewilderment。 Moreover; the man had threatened to murder him; and he

was afraid; not so much for himself as for his daughter。 If he were to

die now; what would happen to her; left alone with Jacob Meyer? The

knowledge of his own folly; understood too late; filled him with

shame。 How could he have been so wicked as to bring a girl upon such a

quest in the company of an unprincipled Jew; of whose past he knew

nothing except that it was murky and dubious? He had committed a great

crime; led on by a love of lucre; and the weight of it pressed upon

his tongue and closed his lips; he knew not what to say。



For a little while Benita was silent also; hope died within her。 But

she was a bold…spirited woman; and by degrees her courage re…asserted
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