“We cannot do anything for you,” said the old woman who had approached, and stood by with the spoon in her hand. “This is not an hotel, and the old Baas would be angry if we took you in.” She scowled at them, but when she saw Swartz who had come up behind them her features slightly relaxed, and she gave him a curt nod.
“This is pretty tough,” said Carden, putting his hat on the back of his head in an absent-minded way and laughing a little. “Well! We’d better go back to our buck, I suppose, and make a fire in the open. We can get some sleep anyhow.”
But the girl suddenly began to speak. Her speech had a queer little twist to it that made it unusual, but the ugly Dutch fashion of clipping the ends of words betrayed that she was colonial and jarred Carden’s fine ear.
“Oh, no,” she said excitedly, “Grietje is mad. You mustn’t go away. Of course we will do all we can for you. Come inside. Don’t mind Grietje. Would you like some coffee?”
“Wouldn’t we?” said Talfourd. “And if we could only have some soap and water—”
Carden said nothing but stared keenly into the girl’s “cappie” trying to see her face. She led the way indoors and they followed her, Talfourd limping with weariness. But fatigue was gone from Carden’s face. Something in the way the girl walked and in the lines of the slim young figure in the faded print dress refreshed him like wine.
From the verandah they entered a large low room remarkably unlike the usual Eat-kammer of a Boer house. It is true there were guns in the corner, karosses on the furniture, and skins on the floor; but the things were arranged with taste, and there were flowers about; a big jar of wild jasmine on the chimney-piece with long fronds trailed upwards over a fine pair of koodoo horns nailed near the ceiling, and on the table a native bowl full of leaves and bright wild geraniums.
“What a capital room!” said Talfourd full of enthusiasm; but Carden always and ever remained silent.
“If you will sit down I will see about a room for you,” said the girl, in her soft voice and bad accent. They protested that they wished to give no trouble, but she opened a door and disappeared, returning after a matter of five minutes to lead the way to a bedroom which astonished them even more than the Eat-kammer had done. It contained only one bed, a very white and nice one, but there was a sofa, large and comfortable-looking, covered by a beautiful leopard kaross. Rough dark tables had white calico cloths edged with narrow lace upon them. A white wooden shelf on the wall held a few books and again there were flowers everywhere.
“If you do not mind using my room to wash and rest in until supper time,” said the girl, “there will be two rooms got ready for you by to-night. Please lie down and rest if you wish to.”