Between Snow and Fire — page 79: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

oo’! or i - ‘ G ‘ | si. AH, LOVE, BUT A DAY! af j —— ry * we ee: iI boing to end?” had been his unuttered cry just now. ‘’ How is it going toend!” she had re-echoed. Well, here yas a short and easy solution ready to hand. A flush of blood surged to his face, and his heart beat fiercely under the terrible temptation thus thrown in his way. Yet,so fleeting was it as scarcely to constitute a temptation at all. Now that it was put nakedly to him he could not do this thing. Hecould not consent to a murder—a cold-blooded, treacherous murder. “T cannot talk with you apart, Hlangani,” he answered. “ T cannot leave the /zosikazi standing here alone even for a few minutes.” The piercing glance of the shrewd savage had been scrutin- izing his face—had been reading it like abook. Upon him the terrible struggle within had not been lost. | “ Consider, Ixeshane,” he pursued. ‘“ What is the gift of a few dozen cows, of two hundred cows, when compared with the happiness of a man’s lifetime? Nothing. Js it fo be? Say the word, ls tt to be?” The barbarian’s fiery eyes were fixed upon his with deep and terrible meaning. ‘To Eustace it seemed as if the blasting glare of the Arch fiend himself shone forth from their cruel depths. “Itis zot tobe. The ‘word’ isNo! Unmistakably and distinctly No. You understand, Hlangani ?” ‘4% / Asyou will, Ixeshane,” replied the Kafir, with an expressive shrug of his shoulders. ‘‘See. You wear a ‘charm,’ ”’ referring to a curious coin which Eustace wore hanging from his watchchain. ‘“ If you change your mind send over the ‘charm’ to me at Nteya’s kraal this night— it shall be returned: But after to-night it may be too late. Farewell.” And flinging his blanket over his shoulder the savage turned and strode away into the ve/¢t—Eustace purposely omitting to offer him a little tobacco, lest this ordinary token of good will should be construed into a sort of earnest of the dark and terrible bargain which Hlangani had proposed to him—by mere hints it is true—but still had none the less surely proposed. iat Gomichbooks com i 4 7’ - /.. ee