"O Eustace," she cried, tearing herself away from him, and yet keeping his hands clenched tightly in hers as though she would hold him at arm's length but could not. "O Eustace! my darling! How is it going to end? How?" The very thought which had passed unspoken through his own mind. "Dearest, think only of the present. For the future--who knows! Did we not agree just now--life is full of surprises?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "_Au_!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Both started. Eanswyth could not repress a little scream, while even Eustace realised that he was taken at a disadvantage, as he turned to confront the owner of the deep bass voice which had fired off the above ejaculation. It proceeded from a tall, athletic Kafir, who, barely ten yards off, stood calmly surveying the pair. His grim and massive countenance was wreathed into an amused smile. His nearly naked body was anointed with the usual red ochre, and round the upper part of his left arm he wore a splendid ivory ring. He carried a heavy knob-kerrie and several assegais, one of which he was twisting about in easy, listless fashion in his right hand. At sight of this extremely unwelcome, not to say formidable, apparition, Eustace's hand instinctively and with a quick movement sought the back of his hip--a movement which a Western man would thoroughly have understood. But he withdrew it--empty. For his eye, familiar with every change of the native countenance, noted that the expression of this man's face was good-humoured rather than aggressive. And withal it seemed partly familiar to him. "Who are you--and what do you want?" he said shortly. Then as his glance fell upon a bandage wrapped round the barbarian's shoulder: "Ah. I know you--Hlangani." "Keep your `little gun' in your pocket, Ixeshane," said the Kafir, speaking in a tone of good-humoured banter. "I am not the man to be shot at twice. Besides, I am not _your_ enemy. If I were, I could have killed you many times over already, before you saw me; could have killed you both, you and the _Inkosikazi_." This was self-evident. Eustace, recognising it, felt rather small. He to be taken thus at a disadvantage, he, who had constituted himself Eanswyth's special protector against this very man! Yes. He felt decidedly small, but he was not going to show it. "You speak the truth, Hlangani," he answered calmly. "You are not my enemy. No man of the race of Xosa is. But why do you come here? There is bad blood between you and the owner of this place. Surely the land is wide enough for both. Why should your pathways cross?" "Ha! _You_ say truly, Ixeshane. There _is_ blood between me and the man of whom you speak. Blood--the blood of a chief of the House of Gcaleka. Ha!"