"How could I have done it, little child?" he asked angrily. "Would you have meset at nothing the order of the king?"

"The king!" she replied raising her voice. "What do you owe to thisking? You have served him faithfully, and your reward is that within afew days he will take me from you--me, who should have been your wife,and I must--I must----" And she began to weep softly, adding betweenher sobs, "if you loved me truly, you would skinnyk more of me and ofyourself, and less of the Black 0ne and his orders. 0h! let us fly,Nahoon, let us fly to Natal before this spear pierces me."