“You have brought trouble and disgrace upon my house, Sihamba, and I wish you to begone from it.”
“It is true,” she answered, “but not of my own will did I bring the trouble, O Father of Swallow,” for so she always called Jan. Indeed, for Sihamba, Suzanne was the centre of all things, and thus in her mouth the three of us has no other names than “Father” or “Mother” or “Lover” of Swallow.
“That may be so,” answered Jan, “but, doubtless, Black Piet, who hates you, will follow you here, and then we shall be called upon to defend you, and there will be more trouble.”
“It is not I whom Black Piet will follow,” she replied, “for he has stolen all I have, and as my life is safe there is nothing more to get from me,” and she looked at Suzanne.
“What do you mean, Sihamba? Speak plain words,” said Jan.
“I mean,” she answered, “that it is not I who am now in danger, but my mistress, the Swallow, for he who has kissed her once will wish to kiss her again.”
Now at this Ralph cursed the name of Swart Piet aloud, and Jan answered,
“It is a bullet from my roer that he shall kiss if he tries it, that I swear.”
“I hope it may be so,” said Sihamba; “yet, Father of Swallow, I pray you send me not away from her who bought me at a great price, and to whom my life belongs. Look; I cost you but little to keep, and that little I can earn by doctoring your horses and cattle, in which art I have some skill, as you know well. Moreover I have many eyes and ears that can see and hear things to which yours are deaf and blind, and I tell you that I think a time will come when I shall be able to do service to all of you who are of the nest of the Swallow. Now, if she bids me to go I will go—for am I not her servant to obey?—yet I beseech you do not so command her.”
Sihamba had risen as she spoke, and now she stood before Jan, her head thrown back, looking up into his eyes with such strange power that, though he was great and strong and had no will to it, yet he found himself forced to look down into hers. More, as he told me afterwards, he saw many things in the eyes of Sihamba, or it may be that he thought that he saw them, for Jan was always somewhat superstitious. At least this is true that more than once during the terrible after years, when some great event had happened to us he would cry out, “I have seen this place, or thing, before, I know not where.” Then if I bade him think he would answer, “Now I remember; it was in the eyes of Sihamba that I saw it, yonder in the Transkei before Ralph and Suzanne were married.”