There was, however, an argument in preparation for him with which the white men had nothing whatever to do, but which drove home conviction beyond dispute and in the most terrifying fashion.
Ever since the fighting, and the subsequent orgies, the villages had been unusually quiet. Even the wholesale submission of Ra'a's men produced little excitement among them.
"They are like snakes after a full meal," said Cathie. "They've eaten too much, and it'll take 'em all their time to digest it."
Evans, however, had his doubts. He hinted to Blair that he feared an outbreak of sickness, but as yet could form no opinion as to its character. The men had lost all their energy, the women were depressed, the children listless. It was as though the strenuous doings at One-Tree Pass had sucked all the life out of them. And Evans went in and out of the houses with a keen eye for symptoms.
It was about a fortnight after the fight that Blair, going up to the village, met him coming hastily from it, and was startled at the sight of his face.
"What is it, Evans?" he asked.
"It's come—I feared it, but could not be sure—smallpox."
"God help us! ... How has it got here?"
"I can only imagine," said Evans, with a quick, meaning look at him.
"Good God! How very horrible!"