It was indirectly through me that the dear little girl was in
her present position. Lastly, a man was better fitted to meet
death in such a peculiarly awful form than a sweet young girl.
Not, however, that I meant to let these gentry torture me to
death -- I am far too much of a coward to allow that, being naturally
a timid man; my plan was to see the girl safely exchanged and
then to shoot myself, trusting that the Almighty would take the
peculiar circumstances of the case into consideration and pardon
the act. All this and more went through my mind in very few
seconds.
'All right, Mackenzie,' I said, 'you can tell the man that I
will exchange myself against Flossie, only I stipulate that she
shall be safely in this house before they kill me.'
'Eh?' said Sir Henry and Good simultaneously. 'That you don't.'
'No, no,' said Mr Mackenzie. 'I will have no man's blood upon
my hands. If it please God that my daughter should die this
awful death, His will be done. You are a brave man (which I
am not by any means) and a noble man, Quatermain, but you shall
not go.'
'If nothing else turns up I shall go,' I said decidedly.
'This is an important matter,' said Mackenzie, addressing the
Lygonani, 'and we must think it over.
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