Suddenly Hans awoke, and sitting up, stared at me through the bright
flame which I had recently fed with dry wood.
"Baas," he said in a hollow voice, "there you are, here I am, and
there is the fire which never goes out, a very good fire. But, Baas,
why are we not inside of it as your father the Predikant promised,
instead of outside here in the cold?"
"Because you are still in the world, you old fool, and not where you
deserve to be," I answered. "Because Mavovo's Snake was a snake with a
true tongue after all, and Dogeetah came as it foretold. Because we
are all alive and well, and it is Imbozwi with his spawn who are dead
upon the posts. That is why, Hans, as you would have seen for yourself
if you had kept awake, instead of swallowing filthy medicine like a
frightened woman, just because you were afraid of death, which at your
age you ought to have welcomed."
"Oh! Baas," broke in Hans, "don't tell me that things are so and that
we are really alive in what your honoured father used to call this
gourd full of tears.
Pages:
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311