It was
very heavy, so heavy that Burke himself never lifted it, seldom
moved it from its place, but opened and closed it as it stood. She
wondered as she groped for the key why he had given it to her.
That action of his pointed to but one conclusion. He expected to
be going into danger. He would not have parted with it otherwise.
Of that she was certain. He and Guy were both going into danger
then, and she was left in utter solitude to endure her suspense as
best she could.
She searched in vain for the key. It was small and made to fit a
patent lock. The darkness of the room baffled her search, and at
last she abandoned it and went to the pantry for a lamp. The
Kaffirs had gone to their huts. She found the lamp empty and
untrimmed in a corner, with two others in the same condition. The
oil was kept in an outbuilding some distance from the bungalow, and
there was none in hand. She diverted her search to candles, but
these also were hard to find. She spent several minutes there in
the darkness with the wind howling weirdly around like a lost thing
seeking shelter, and the sand beating against the little window
with a persistent rattle that worried her nerves with a strange
bewilderment.
Eventually she found an empty candlestick, and after prolonged
search an end of candle. Sand was everywhere.
Pages:
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273