The thought of that unfinished business harassed him not a little. He had yet to inform Krige that he had reconsidered his offer to carry a message for him to Holman, that it was uncertain when he would see Holman. It was an awkward explanation to make, involving unpleasant possibilities, and raising invidious suggestions; but there was no prospect of evasion; it had to be done. It was not possible, he felt, to go into this before a third person; he must mention the matter to Krige privately. Usually no difficulty to private talk presented itself. In ordinary circumstances he would have deferred it till the evening, and said what was necessary during the half-hour when he was left to the uninterrupted enjoyment of Krige's society; but the arrival of Oom Koos complicated matters. His best chance of seeing Krige alone he believed was after the newcomer had gone to bed. He decided to await his opportunity, and put the affair aside with the quick impatience that characterised his treatment generally of unpleasant matters. After all, the man could not oblige him to carry his communications. If no alternative offered he could at least refuse point blank at the last moment. As the day wore on two things became dear to Matheson: that the enormous Dutchman belonged to the same faction as Krige, and that his visit to Benfontein had some connexion with Holman's communication. He saw Oom Koos, with the letter in his hand and his big glasses on his large nose, seated at the table in the living-room poring over its contents during the quiet hour of the hot afternoon when he himself was resting in the shade of the trees, and inclined, but for his interest in Oom Koos' doings, to sleep. After a while Mynheer Marais came out and joined him, lowering his great bulk with heavy cautiousness into one of the cane chairs. "You take your ease," he said. "That is well in this country. It is very warm, eh?" "A Turkish bath would seem cool by comparison," Matheson replied. "So! You like the heat? ... No!" Oom Koos chuckled, and mopped the perspiration from his florid brow. "It makes some men thin, while others prow fat--according how they take their ease. But you like the country?" "Yes; the country's all right," Matheson replied without enthusiasm. "It is a fine agricultural country," Oom Koos proceeded. "South Africa has a great future. Oh, ja! There will be more gold got out of mohair than out of the ground. You cut the wool and it grows again; the ground yields its minerals, and that is finished. If you ever travel by Three Sisters come to my farm--any one will tell you where Oom Koos Marais lives. I and my good wife and my good son will make you welcome." "Thanks. It's very kind of you."