The Shadow of the PastYoung, F. E. Mills (Florence Ethel Mills)
Philosophy
The Shadow of the Past
Young, F. E. Mills (Florence Ethel Mills)
South African War, 1899-1902 -- Fiction; Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Fiction
was as the passionate warmth of her nature; while the remote serene dusk
conveyed the remembrance of her gentler moods when she looked into the
heart of Africa with pity for its unhealed wounds.
He gazed out again upon the darkness, and the picture of Honor faded.
The lights of the city became visible and the dark outline of the sea.
He sat up straighter and gripped the window with his left hand and
peered out at familiar objects looming large in the gloom as the train
ran on towards the terminus. Something one of the men in the carriage
was saying arrested his attention. It recalled in a measure Herman
Nel's theories in regard to the rising; only the speaker spoke with less
restraint than Nel habitually used, and with less sympathy with the
rebels.
"They boast that they are fighting for the independence of the old
Republics," he was saying. "Perhaps a few of them are. But it is
racial prejudice and political jealousy which has maddened the leaders.
And for the rest, rebellion is always an easy method of making a
living."
A big fair Dutchman, standing in the middle of the swaying compartment,
paused in the act of reaching up for a wonderful carpet bag which was
serviceable rather than a thing of beauty, to remark with a slow shrug:
"Judas was not the only man to take blood-money. They come to a bad
end, these men who sell human lives for greed."
Do they? Matheson felt that the speaker generalised over-freely. If
Justice were always discriminating and inexorable in her dealings with
malefactors, she worked too secretly for the ordinary man to follow her
methods. It was altogether a fallacy in regard to this life that the
wicked suffer and are punished in proportion to their offence.
The train ran into the station. He got out quickly. He had no baggage
to concern himself with, and was one of the first to descend from the
train. He searched the platform eagerly for Brenda; and when he caught
sight of her and saw the light of welcome in her face, he realised how
great his disappointment would have been had she failed him.
She came forward swiftly, a pleased shyness in her look, love for him
shining behind the smiling gladness in her eyes. He stooped and kissed
her. It was an unusual demonstration from him in public; but the sight
of her welcoming face was good; it surprised him into a betrayal of
greater tenderness than she was accustomed to from him. She drew him
towards a lamp and scrutinised him attentively, and he saw her quick
startled glance directed towards his empty sleeve, and felt
unaccountably embarrassed.
"It's nothing," he said jerkily in an attempt to reassure her. "I'll
tell you about that some other time."
Her eyes lifted from the empty sleeve to his face.
"You look very tired," she said. "You've been ill... You _are_ ill."
He tucked his hand within her arm and led her outside the station.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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