It may be that it is not intended that we should enter that
country at present."
So Mrs. Dove and her daughter went, but for two hours or more Rachel heard
her father and the hunter talking earnestly, and wondered in a sleepy
fashion to what conclusion he had come. Personally she did not mind much
on which side of the Tugela they were to live, if they must bide at all in
the region of that river. Still, for her mother's sake she determined that
if she could bring it about, they should stay where they were. Indeed
there was no choice between this and returning to England, as her father
had quarrelled too bitterly with the white men at Durban to allow of his
taking up his residence among them again.
When Rachel woke on the following morning the first thing she saw in the
growing light was the orphaned native Noie, seated on the further side of
the little tent, her head resting upon her hand, and gazing at her
vacantly. Rachel watched her a while, pretending to be still asleep, and
for the first time understood how beautiful this girl was in her own
fashion. Although small, that is in comparison with most Kaffir women, she
was perfectly shaped and developed. Her soft skin in that light looked
almost white, although it had about it nothing of the muddy colour of the
half-breed; her hair was long, black and curly, and worn naturally, not
forced into artificial shapes as is common among the Kaffirs.
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