Swallow: A Tale of the Great Trek

  Now I must go on to tell of the doings of that devil upon earth, SwartPiet, and of how the little Kaffir witch-doctoress, Sihamba Ngenyanga,which means She-who-walks-by-the-moonlight, became the slave and saviourof Suzanne.

  At this time the Heer van Vooren, Swart Piet's father, had been dead fortwo years, and there were strange stories as to the manner of his deathwhich I do not think it necessary to set out here. Whether or no SwartPiet did or did not murder his father I cannot say, nor does it matter,for at the least he worked other crimes as bad. After the death of theHeer van Vooren, however he may have chanced to die, this is certain,that Swart Piet inherited great riches as we used to reckon riches inthose days; that is, he had vast herds of cattle and goats and sleep,some of which were kept for him by native chiefs far away, as much landas he wanted, and, it was said, a good sum in English gold. But he wasa strange man, not like to other men, for he married no wife and courtedno misses, that is until he took to courting Suzanne, and his onlypleasure was to keep the company of Kaffir chiefs and women and to mixhimself up with the devilments of the witch-doctors. Still, as every manhas his fate, at last he fell in love with Suzanne, and in love with herhe remained during all his wicked life, if that can be love which seeksto persecute and bring misery upon its object. It was just before thecoming of the Englishmen that this passion of his manifested itself, forwhenever he met the girl--outside the house for the most part, sinceJan did not like to have him in it--he made sweet speeches and passedfoolish pleasantries which, to be just, I am sure Suzanne neverencouraged, since all her heart was elsewhere.

  Now Swart Piet had information of everything, for his Kaffir spiesbrought it to him; therefore he very soon learned that Jan and Ralph hadgone away with the cattle to the warm veldt, and that we two womenwere alone in the house. This was his opportunity, and one of which heavailed himself, for now two or three times a week he would rideover from his place, take supper and ask leave to sleep, which it wasdifficult to refuse, all this time wearying the poor girl with hisattentions. At last I spoke my mind to him about it, though not withouthesitation, for to tell truth Swart Piet was one of the few men of whomI have ever been afraid. He listened to me politely and answered:

  "All this is very true, Aunt, but if you desire a fruit and it will notfall, then you must shake the tree."

  "What if it sticks to the bough?" I asked.

  "Then, Aunt, you must climb the tree and pluck it."

  "And what if by that time it is in another man's pouch?"

  "Then, Aunt," he answered with one of those dark smiles that turned myblood cold, "then, Aunt, the best thing which you can do is to kill theother man and take it out, for after that the fruit will taste all thesweeter."

  "Get you gone, Swart Piet," I said in anger, "for no man who talks thusshall stay in my house, and it is very well for you that neither myhusband nor Ralph Kenzie are here to put you out of it."

  "Well," he answered, "they are not here, are they? And as for yourhouse, it is a pretty place, but I only seek one thing in it, and thatis not built into the walls. I thank you for your hospitality, Aunt, andnow, good-day to you."

  "Suzanne!" I called, "Suzanne!" for I thought that she was in herchamber; but the girl, knowing that Piet van Vooren was here, hadslipped out, and of this he was aware. He knew, moreover, where she hadgone, for I think that one of his Kaffir servants was watching outsideand told him, and thither he followed her and made love to her.

  In the end--for he would not be put off--he asked her for a kiss,whereat she grew angry. Then, for he was no shy wooer, he tried to takeit by force; but she was strong and active and slipped from him. Insteadof being ashamed, he only laughed after his uncanny fashion, and said:

  "Well, missy, you have the best of me now, but I shall win that kissyet. Oh! I know all about it; you love the English castaway, don't you?But there, a woman can love many men in her life, and when one is deadanother will serve her turn."

  "What do you mean, myn Heer van Vooren?" asked Suzanne, afraid.

  "Mean? Nothing, but I shall win that kiss yet, yes, and before verylong."