Kafir Stories | Page 9

somewhat
conceal its nakedness.
"Of course," she said, "the bad are not equal to the good; but if God
holds that otherwise all men are equal, it would be wrong of any one to
think differently."
"But white people never really think that we blacks are equal to them,"
said Samuel, speaking in a strained tone, "no matter what they say."
Miss Blake felt unable to reply, so after a short pause Samuel
continued:
"When a black man walks in the ways of the whites, he becomes a
stranger to his own kind, and he has really no friends. The white man
says 'Come here to us,' and when the black man comes as near as he
can, there is still a gulf that he cannot pass. I am a lonely man, Miss
Elizabeth; I have left my own people, and there is no one that I can call
a friend. Even you only tolerate me because you think it pleasing to
God that you should do so; but you would never be my friend or let me
be yours."
"There you are wrong, Samuel," replied the girl, moved by a sense of
great pity; "I have the warmest friendship and regard for you, and I like
you as well as if you were white."
Samuel then did an unusual thing--he held out his hand to the girl, who
took it and pressed it cordially.
"Good night. Miss Elizabeth," he said. "I will do my duty better, and
try to be worthy of your friendship. You have lightened my heart."
Miss Blake went in to the empty class-room and arranged the morrow's

work. She was filled with a vague sense of uneasiness, and she felt that
in her conversation with Samuel she had not been quite ingenuous;
especially in her closing remark.
Samuel went to his room, and, as was his wont, read several chapters of
the Bible before going to bed. On this occasion his choice fell upon the
Song of Solomon. This he read right through. He began it again, and
read until he reached the words, "I am black but comely." He went to
sleep with these words on his lips, and with a strange dream at his
heart.
IV.
The mission was perplexed by another change in Samuel. He bought a
new suit of clothes; he parted his hair on the left side, teasing it up into
two high, unequal ridges; he became redolent of cheap scent; he
applied himself anew to his studies, with feverish activity, and he
pulled his disorderly class together so effectively, that when the school
inspector again came to the mission, that official dealt out almost
unstinted praise instead of the censure which was usually Samuel's
well-deserved portion.
Moreover, Samuel notified his intention of qualifying forthwith for his
next step towards the ministry. In the choir, his voice rang out with an
almost birdlike rapture that astonished all hearers.
It was then noticed that Martha Kawa began to lose her place at the top
of the class. It should be mentioned that all the boarders, as well as the
senior day pupils, were taught by Miss Blake, and that Samuel taught
the second class. The very small pupils were instructed by the second
lady-teacher. Martha grew thin and ill-tempered. On several occasions
she was very impertinent to Miss Blake. In church, or when singing
after evening prayers, she hardly ever took her eyes from Samuel. This
was, of course, remarked by the other girls, but a chaffing allusion to
the fact was met by such a burst of fury, that the experiment was not
repeated.
Samuel hardly ever spoke to Miss Blake; in fact he appeared to avoid

her. His usual taciturnity was unchanged, but it did not convey the idea
of moroseness. His general demeanour was as that of one in a dream,
but in Miss Blake's presence he became alert, with almost an expectant
look; and he gave, generally, the idea of being under the influence of
strong, but suppressed excitement.
Miss Blake was very fond of flowers, and on the hills around the
mission, watsonias, purple orchids, and other flowers grew; whilst on
the edges of the kloofs, sweet-scented clematis trailed. Samuel got into
the habit of gathering flowers--generally on Saturday afternoons, when
he was free from duty. After one of his rambles, a bouquet would
generally be sent to each of the teachers and to Mrs. Schultz, but it was
noticed that the choicest selection always reached the senior teacher.
The Reverend Robley Wilson, a young Wesleyan minister who had
been ordained three years previously, became a more or less constant
visitor at the mission. He was in charge of a station about thirty miles
distant. A tall, spare man, with dark eyes and hair, he had the reputation