At this juncture a quiet-looking, oldish gentleman, entirely unlike either an elephant, a lion, or a vulture, of medium height, with gray whiskers, a black coat, and a neat black tie fastened in a bow, came round the corner, leading a little girl by the hand. As he came the praiser lifted up his right hand, and in the most stentorian tones gave the royal salute, “Bayte,” which was re-echoed by all the other natives. The oldish gentleman, who was none other than the Special Commissioner himself, turned upon his extoller with a look of intense annoyance, and addressed him very sharply in Zulu. “Be still,” he said. “Why do you always annoy me with your noise? Be still, I say, you loud-tongued dog, or I will send you back to Natal. My head aches with your empty words.” * The Zulu Napoleon, great-uncle to the last King of Zululand, Cetywayo. “O, elephant! I am silent as the dead: Bayte. O Somptseu! I am quiet: ‘Bayte.’“ “Go! Begone!” With a final shout of Bayte the Zulu turned and fled down the street with the swiftness of the wind, shouting praises as he went. “How do you do, sir?” said Mr. Alston, advancing. “I was just coming up to call upon you.” “Ah, Alston, I am delighted to see you. I heard that you were gone on a hunting trip. Given up work and taken to hunting, eh? Well, I should like to do the same. If I could have found you when I came up here, I should have been tempted to ask you to come with us.” At this point Mr. Alston introduced Ernest and Jeremy. The Special Commissioner shook hands with them. “I have heard of you,” he said to Jeremy; “but I must ask you not to fight any more giants here just at present; the tension between Boer and Englishman is too great to allow of its being stretched any more. Do you know, you nearly provoked an outbreak last night with your fighting? I trust that you will not do it again.” He spoke rather severely, and Jeremy coloured. Presently, however, he made amends by asking them all to dinner. On the following morning Ernest sent off his letter to Eva. He also wrote to his uncle and to Dorothy, explaining his long silence as best he could. The latter, too, he for the first time took into his confidence about Eva. At a distance he no longer felt the same shyness in speaking to her about another woman that had always overpowered him when he was by her side.