By this time Hendrika was on the tree, and grunting out orders to the baboons which clustered about Stella below.  Suddenly these seized her and little Tota who was in her arms, and lifted her from the ground.  Then Hendrika above, aided by other baboons, put out all her great strength and pulled the two of them up the rock.  Twice Stella swung heavily against the cliff.  After the second blow she felt her senses going, and was consumed with terror lest she should drop Tota.  But she managed to cling to her, and together they reached the cleft.

“From that time,” Stella went on, “I remember no more till I woke to find myself in a gloomy cave resting on a bed of skins.  My legs were bound, and Hendrika sat near me watching me, while round the edge of the cave peered the heads of those horrible baboons.  Tota was still in my arms, and half dead from terror; her moans were pitiful to hear.  I spoke to Hendrika, imploring her to release us; but either she has lost all understanding of human speech, or she pretends to have done so.  All she would do was to caress me, and even kiss my hands and dress with extravagant signs of affection.  As she did so, Tota shrunk closer to me.  This Hendrika saw and glared so savagely at the child that I feared lest she was going to kill her.  I diverted her attention by making signs that I wanted water, and this she gave me in a wooden bowl.  As you saw, the cave was evidently Hendrika’s dwelling-place.  There are stores of fruit in it and some strips of dried flesh.  She gave me some of the fruit and Tota a little, and I made Tota eat some.  You can never know what I went through, Allan.  I saw now that Hendrika was quite mad, and but little removed from the brutes to which she is akin, and over which she has such unholy power.  The only trace of humanity left about her was her affection for me.  Evidently her idea was to keep me here with her, to keep me away from you, and to carry out this idea she was capable of the exercise of every artifice and cunning.  In this way she was sane enough, but in every other way she was mad.  Moreover, she had not forgotten her horrible jealousy.  Already I saw her glaring at Tota, and knew that the child’s murder was only a matter of time.  Probably within a few hours she would be killed before my eyes.  Of escape, even if I had the strength, there was absolutely no chance, and little enough of our ever being found.  No, we should be kept here guarded by a mad thing, half ape, half woman, till we perished miserably.  Then I thought of you, dear, and of all that you must be suffering, and my heart nearly broke.  I could only pray to God that I might either be rescued or die swiftly.

“As I prayed I dropped into a kind of doze from utter weariness, and then I had the strangest dream.  I dreamed that Indaba-zimbi stood over me nodding his white lock, and spoke to me in Kaffir, telling me not to be frightened, for you would soon be with me, and that meanwhile I must humour Hendrika, pretending to be pleased to have her near me.  The dream was so vivid that I actually seemed to see and hear him, as I see and hear him now.”