Jess | Page 3

and open hissing mouth wavered to and fro like a cobra about to
strike. With a rush John seized the neck in both his hands, and, putting
out all his strength (for he was a strong man), he twisted it till it broke
with a snap, and after a few wild and convulsive bounds and struggles
the great bird lay dead.
Then he sank down dazed and exhausted, and surveyed the scene. The
ostrich was perfectly quiet, and would never kick again, and the lady
too was quiet. He wondered vaguely if the brute had killed her--he was
as yet too weak to go and see--and then fell to gazing at her face. Her
head was pillowed on the body of the dead bird, and its feathery plumes
made it a fitting resting-place. Slowly it dawned on him that the face
was very beautiful, although it looked so pale just now. Low broad

brow, crowned with soft yellow hair, the chin very round and white, the
mouth sweet though rather large. The eyes he could not see, because
they were closed, for the lady had fainted. For the rest, she was quite
young--about twenty, tall and finely formed. Presently he felt a little
better, and, creeping towards her (for he was sadly knocked about),
took her hand and began to chafe it between his own. It was a
well-formed hand, but brown, and showed signs of doing plenty of hard
work. Soon she opened her eyes, and he noted with satisfaction that
they were very good eyes, blue in colour. Then she sat up and laughed
a little.
"Well, I am silly," she said; "I believe I fainted."
"It is not much to be wondered at," said John Niel politely, and lifting
his hand to take off his hat, only to find that it had gone in the fray. "I
hope you are not very much hurt by the bird."
"I don't know," she said doubtfully. "But I am glad that you killed the
skellum (vicious beast). He got out of the ostrich camp three days ago,
and has been lost ever since. He killed a boy last year, and I told uncle
he ought to shoot him then, but he would not, because he was such a
beauty."
"Might I ask," said John Niel, "are you Miss Croft?"
"Yes, I am--one of them. There are two of us, you know; and I can
guess who you are--you are Captain Niel, whom uncle is expecting to
help him with the farm and the ostriches."
"If all of them are like that," he said, pointing to the dead bird, "I don't
think that I shall take kindly to ostrich farming."
She laughed, showing a charming line of teeth. "Oh no," she said, "he
was the only bad one--but, Captain Niel, I think you will find it
fearfully dull. There are nothing but Boers about here, you know. No
English people live nearer than Wakkerstroom."
"You overlook yourself," he said, bowing; for really this daughter of

the wilderness had a very charming air about her.
"Oh," she answered, "I am only a girl, you know, and besides, I am not
clever. Jess, now--that's my sister--Jess has been at school at Capetown,
and she is clever. I was at Cape Town, too, though I didn't learn much
there. But, Captain Niel, both the horses have bolted; mine has gone
home, and I expect yours has followed, and I should like to know how
we are going to get up to Mooifontein--beautiful fountain, that's what
we call our place, you know. Can you walk?"
"I don't know," he answered doubtfully; "I'll try. That bird has knocked
me about a good deal," and accordingly he staggered on to his legs,
only to collapse with an exclamation of pain. His ankle was sprained,
and he was so stiff and bruised that he could hardly stir. "How far is the
house?" he asked.
"Only about a mile--just there; we shall see it from the crest of the rise.
Look, I'm all right. It was silly to faint, but he kicked all the breath out
of me," and she got up and danced a little on the grass to show him.
"My word, though, I am sore! You must take my arm, that's all; that is
if you don't mind?"
"Oh dear no, indeed, I don't mind," he said laughing; and so they
started, arm affectionately linked in arm.
CHAPTER II
HOW THE SISTERS CAME TO MOOIFONTEIN
"Captain Niel," said Bessie Croft--for she was named Bessie--when
they had painfully limped one hundred yards or so, "will you think me
rude if I ask you a question?"
"Not at all."
"What has induced you to come and bury yourself in this place?"
"Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't think that you