Category: Romance
On the strip of yellow sand in the curve of the wall which separates the beach at Three Anchor Bay from the roadway above it two men sat playing cards in the blaze of the morning sunshine, which beat with untempered violence upon their uncovered heads, upon the hot sand that s...
On the strip of yellow sand in the curve of the wall which separates the beach at Three Anchor Bay from the roadway above it two men sat playing cards in the blaze of the mornin...
2. CHAPTER TWO.The girl faced about at the sound of Matheson's approach. She was vainly attempting to ward off the dog's exuberant attacks, which Matheson quelled promptly with the effective a...
3. CHAPTER THREE.Holman was seated at lunch when Matheson joined him. He had tucked a napkin inside his waistcoat, and, with his elbows at right angles, leaned well over his plate, eating stewed...
4. CHAPTER FOUR."And so you see," Holman said, and flung his coat upon the sands, and took a pack of cards from one of the pockets and shuffled them absently, "you don't stand to lose anyhow. I...
5. CHAPTER FIVE.Brenda Upton, avoiding the notice of the general company by leaving the dinner table early that evening and slipping into the garden while most of the guests remained seated, sa...
6. CHAPTER SIX.For a week Matheson remained in Cape Town awaiting Holman's convenience. He was in no hurry to leave. He felt neither interest nor curiosity in his mission; the only emotion he...
7. CHAPTER SEVEN.There are a thousand beauties of the night, as there are varied shades in the qualities of light and colour, many of them so subtly blended, so dependent on sympathetic conditio...
8. CHAPTER EIGHT.At the last moment Holman decided that he was unable to see his friend off by train on the journey he was undertaking at his request; an engagement prevented him from getting to...
9. CHAPTER NINE.It was manifest to Matheson on his arrival at Benfontein that he was not expected. He had taken it for granted that Holman would inform these people of his coming, and instead h...
10. CHAPTER TEN.It was possible that Andreas Krige was a man of many ideas; he was not a man of many words. For the better part of an hour Matheson sat on the stoep and smoked in company with h...
11. CHAPTER ELEVEN.When he went to his room that night Matheson was in too great a state of excitement to sleep. For some time he made no show of seeking the enveloping couch prepared for him by H...
12. CHAPTER TWELVE.Freidja Krige went many times to the window to look for the riders' return. She had prepared the breakfast; the sarsates were cooked and ready to be served, and Andreas had come...
13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN.Matheson had been over a fortnight at Benfontein before the question of his departure was touched upon, even then it was left to him to broach the subject. Day after day he expe...
14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN.When Honor appeared on the stoep the next morning, dressed for the ride and carrying the early cup of coffee, the horses were saddled and waiting below the stoep, and Matheson s...
15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN.The rondavel was curious rather than beautiful. It was built entirely on the native principle, save that it had a fireplace and properly constructed chimney. In the centre four...
16. CHAPTER SIXTEEN.Nel showed something of the disposition of a boy when later he revealed to Matheson the secret of his rondavel. He fixed his rope ladder to a beam in the roof, mounted, and, rem...
17. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.Oom Koos Marais was a Boer of the old style, who had acquired what little education he possessed, as he had acquired other things during the leisurely course of a frugal, indust...
18. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.No opportunity for talking with Krige offered itself to Matheson that night; he left him still earnestly conferring with Oom Koos when he went to bed. Honor assured him that the...
19. CHAPTER NINETEEN.There was no ride that morning. Feeling disinclined to remain indoors Matheson left the house and went for a walk, hoping to rid himself in some measure of his depression. He pa...
20. CHAPTER TWENTY.It was Matheson's intention to return to the work--to the old firm, if it would take him back--which at Holman's instigation he had thrown up for the uncertain but more attracti...
21. CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.The meeting with Holman and the latter's reference to the girl of the beach brought Matheson's memory with a swing back to Brenda and his promise to her. In all these weeks he h...
22. CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.Whether as a result of the talk with Macfarlane, or the expiration of Aplin's leave and his departure for Algoa Bay, Matheson's visits to the Rondebosch household fell off in re...
23. CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.Matheson dressed early for his meeting with Brenda, dressed with unusual care. A strange excitement held him. The renewal of this friendship meant more to him than its beginning...
24. CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.Matheson made Mrs Upton's acquaintance on the following Sunday. He called at the boarding house and had tea in the shabby general sitting-room, and allowed himself to be drawn o...
25. CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.It is a sad moment in a woman's life when she realises that she does not possess the heart of the man she loves. If one may use a sordid simile in this connexion, her position r...
26. CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.It seemed to Matheson that with his engagement events multiplied with such amazing rapidity that the deep significance of the step he had taken was lost sight of; its importance...
27. CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.There was a task which, when he had little knowledge of the nearness and the overwhelming nature of the tragedy that had since befallen, Matheson had allocated to himself with e...
28. CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.On parting from Nel, Matheson started to walk briskly, aware that already he was some minutes late for his appointment. It was the first occasion on which he had kept his fiance...
29. CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.Sweeping swiftly, as quickly scudding clouds will sweep athwart a wind-swept sky, memories that were not wholly bitter flashed across Matheson's mind with each mile that he cove...
30. CHAPTER THIRTY.Abruptly Matheson dropped the lid, faced about and looked up. The sensation of being observed, of not being, for all that the hut appeared to be empty, alone, was explained. Som...
31. letter I foolishly read to you. I made a mistake--but I thought I could"A damned Englishman is never to be trusted," Holman's voice broke in raspingly behind her. "He'd sell you all... Why couldn't you blasted English keep out of this war?" he dema...
32. CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.What happened to him during his hurried flight from the rondavel Matheson never knew. He was conscious only of walking, walking heavily and unseeingly, forward into the dusk, wh...
33. CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.The day wore slowly away. No one visited the rondavel. Although he knew the wish to be preposterous, Matheson nevertheless felt a strong desire to see Honor. He did not want to...
34. CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.The sunlight flooded the rondavel and played in a golden radiance about Honor's figure. The gleam of it was in her hair; it shone dazzlingly on her white dress, and sparkled wit...
35. CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.There was a thoughtful look in Honor's eyes when, leaving Butter Tom to the unaccustomed task of valeting the wounded baas, she stepped forth into the sunshine and walked with a...
36. CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.Butter Tom was busy outside the rondavel shaking the dust from the skin mats which covered the floor. He glanced up at Honor's approach, and smiled with a cautious deference tha...
37. CHAPTER THIRTY SIX.The dark cloud which had so long overshadowed South Africa, which stretched now blacker than it had ever appeared across the sky of the Union's prosperity, was none the less sur...