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exactly three weeks after my conversation with Mackinnon just recorded, that
a boy appeared with a note from the old gentleman to me. It was written from
the township, and stated that they had got so far and would be with me during
the afternoon. From that time forward I was in a fever of impatience. Over
and over again I examined my preparations with a critical eye, discussed the
mea1s with the cook to make sure that he had not forgotten a single
particular, drilled my servants in their duties until I had brought them as
near perfection as it was possible for me to get them, and in one way and
another fussed about generally until it was time for my guests to arrive. I
had fitted up my own bedroom for Miss Maybourne, and made it as comfortable
as the limited means at my disposal would allow. Her father would occupy the
overseer's room, that individual sharing a tent with me at the back.
The sun was just sinking to his rest below the horizon when I espied a cloud
of dust on the western veldt.
Little by little it grew larger until we could distinctly make out a buggy
drawn by a pair of horses. It was travelling at a high rate of speed, and
before many minutes were over would be with us. As I watched it my heart
began to beat so tumultuously that it seemed as if those around me could not
fail to hear it. In the vehicle now approaching was the woman I loved, the
woman whom I had made up my mind I should never see again.
Five minutes later the horses had pulled up opposite my verandah and I had
shaken hands with my guests and was assisting Agnes to alight. Never before
had I seen her look so lovely. She seemed quite to have recovered from the
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horrors of the shipwreck, and looked even stronger than when I had first seen
her on the deck of the
Fiji Princess, the day we had left Southampton. She greeted me with a fine
show of cordiality, but under it it was easy to see that she was as nervous
as myself. Having handed the horses and buggy over to a couple of my boys, I
led my guests into the house I had prepared for them.
Evidently they had come with the intention of being pleased, for they
expressed themselves as surprised and delighted with every arrangement I had
made for their comfort. It was a merry party, I can assure you, that sat down
to the evening meal that nightso merry, indeed, that under the influence of
Agnes' manner even
Mackinnon forgot himself and ceased to prophesy ruin and desolation.
When the meal was finished we adjourned to the verandah and lit our pipes.
The evening was delightfully cool after the heat of the day, and overhead the
stars twinkled in the firmament of heaven like countless lamps, lighting up
the sombre veldt till we could see the shadowy outline of trees miles away.
The evening breeze rustled the long grass, and across the square the figure
of our cook could just be seen, outlined against the ruddy glow of the fire
in the hut behind him. How happy I was I must leave you to guess. From where
I
sat I could catch a glimpse of my darling's face, and see the gleam of her
rings as her hand rested on the arm of her chair. The memory of the awful
time we had spent together on the island, and in the open boat, came back to
me with a feeling that was half pleasure, half pain. When I realized that I
was entertaining them in my abode in Rhodesia, it seemed scarcely possible
that we could be the same people.
Towards the end of the evening, Mr. Maybourne made an excuse and went into
the house, leaving us together. Mackinnon had long since departed. When we
were alone, Agnes leant a little forward in her chair, and said:
"Are you pleased to see me, Gilbert?"
THE LUST OF HATE
CHAPTER X. I TELL MY STORY.
92
"More pleased than I can tell you," I answered, truthfully. "But you must not
ask me if I think you were wise to come."
"I can see that you think I was not," she continued. "But how little you
understand my motives. I could not
"
Thinking that perhaps she had said too much, she checked herself suddenly,
and for a little while did not speak again. When she did, it was only about
the loneliness of my life on the mine, and such like trivial matters.
Illogical as men are, though I had hoped, for both our sakes, that she would
not venture again on such delicate ground as we had traversed before we said
goodbye, I could not help a little sensation of disappointment when she acted
up to my advice. I was still more piqued when, a little later, she stated
that she felt tired, and holding out her hand, bade me "goodnight," and went
to her 'com.
Here I can only give utterance to a remark which, I am told, is as old as the
hillsand that is, how little we men understand the opposite sex. From that
night forward, for the first three or four days of her visit, Agnes'
manner towards me was as friendly as of old, but I noticed that she made but
small difference between her treatment of Mackinnon and the way in which she
behaved towards myself. This was more than I could bear, and in consequence
my own behaviour towards her changed. I found myself bringing every bit of
ingenuity I
possessed to bear on an attempt to win her back to the old state. But it was
in vain I Whenever I found an opportunity, and hinted at my love for her, she
invariably changed the conversation into such a channel that all my
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intentions were frustrated. In consequence, I exerted myself the more to
please until my passion must have been plain to everyone about the place.
Prudence, honour, everything that separated me from her was likely to be
thrown to the winds. My infatuation for Agnes Maybourne had grown to such a
pitch that without her I felt that I could not go on living.
One day, a little more than a week after their arrival, it was my good
fortune to accompany her on a riding excursion to a waterfall in the hills,
distant some seven or eight miles from the mine. On the way she rallied me
playfully on what she called "my unusual quietness." This was more than I
could stand, and I determined, as soon as I could find a convenient
opportunity, to test my fate and have it settled for good and all.
On reaching our destination, we tied our horses, by their reins, to a tree at
the foot of the hill, and climbed up to the falls we had ridden over to
explore. After the first impression, created by the wild grandeur of the
scene, had passed, I endeavoured to make the opportunity I wanted.
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