"Well， Baas，" he said， "if you did not send it someone did--perhaps your father the reverend Predikant， who sees that you are in trouble and wishes to wash your name white again. Meanwhile， Baas， please put that bit of paper in your pocket-book and keep it for me， for otherwise I might be tempted to buy square-face with it.""No，" I answered， "you can now buy your land back， or some other land， and there will be no need for you to come with me to the country of the Kendah."Hans thought a moment and then very deliberately began to tear up the draft； indeed I was only just in time to save it from destruction.
"If the Baas is going to turn me off because of this paper，" he said， "I will make it small and eat it.""You silly old fool，" I said as I possessed myself of the cheque.
Then the conversation was interrupted， for who should appear but Sammy， my old cook， who began in his pompous language：
"The perfect rectitude of your conduct， Mr. Quatermain， moves me to the deepest gratitude， though indeed I wish that I had put something into the food of the knave Jacob who beguiled us all， that would have caused him internal pangs of a severe if not of a dangerous order. My holding in the gold mine was not extensive， but the unpaid bill of the said Jacob and his friends----"Here I cut him short and fled， since I saw yet another shareholder galloping to the gate， and behind him two more in a spider. First Itook refuge in my room， my idea being to put away that pile of letters. In so doing I observed that there was one still unopened.
Half mechanically I took it from the envelope and glanced at its contents. They were word for word identical with those of that addressed to "Mr. Hans， Hottentot，" only my name was at the bottom of it instead of that of Hans and the cheque was for ā1，500， the amount Ihad paid for the shares I held in the venture.
Feeling as though my brain were in a melting-pot， I departed from the house into a patch of native bush that in those days still grew upon the slope of the hill behind. Here I sat myself down， as I had often done before when there was a knotty point to be considered， aimlessly watching a lovely emerald cuckoo flashing， a jewel of light， from tree to tree， while I turned all this fairy-godmother business over in my mind.
Of course it soon became clear to me. Lord Ragnall in this case was the little old lady with the wand， the touch of which could convert worthless share certificates into bank-notes of their face value. Iremembered now that his wealth was said to be phenomenal and after all the cash capital of the company was quite small. But the question was --could I accept his bounty？
I returned to the house where the first person whom I met was Lord Ragnall himself， just arrived from some interview about the fifty Snider rifles， which were still in bond. I told him solemnly that Iwished to speak to him， whereon he remarked in a cheerful voice， "Advance， friend， and all's well！"I don't know that I need set out the details of the interview. He waited till I had got through my halting speech of mingled gratitude and expostulation， then remarked：
"My friend， if you will allow me to call you so， it is quite true that I have done this because I wished to do it. But it is equally true that to me it is a small thing--to be frank， scarcely a month's income； what I have saved travelling on that ship to Natal would pay for it all. Also I have weighed my own interest in the matter， for Iam anxious that you should start upon this hazardous journey of ours up country with a mind absolutely free from self-reproach or any money care， for thus you will be able to do me better service. Therefore Ibeg that you will say no more of the episode. I have only one thing to add， namely that I have myself bought up at par value a few of the debentures. The price of them will pay the lawyers and the liquidation fees； moreover they give me a status as a shareholder which will enable me to sue Mr. Jacob for his fraud， to which business I have already issued instructions. For please understand that I have not paid off any shares still standing in his name or in those of his friends."Here I may add that nothing ever came of this action， for the lawyers found themselves unable to serve any writ upon that elusive person， Mr. Jacob， who by then had probably adopted the name of some other patriarch.
"Please put it all down as a rich man's whim，" he concluded.
"I can't call that a whim which has returned ā1，500 odd to my pocket that I had lost upon a gamble， Lord Ragnall.""Do you remember， Quatermain， how you won ā250 upon a gamble at my place and what you did with it， which sum probably represented to you twenty or fifty times what it would to me？ Also if that argument does not appeal to you， may I remark that I do not expect you to give me your services as a professional hunter and guide for nothing.""Ah！" I answered， fixing on this point and ignoring the rest， "now we come to business. If I may look upon this amount as salary， a very handsome salary by the way， paid in advance， you taking the risks of my dying or becoming incapacitated before it is earned， I will say no more of the matter. If not I must refuse to accept what is an unearned gift.""I confess， Quatermain， that I did not regard it in that light， though I might have been willing to call it a retaining fee. However， do not let us wrangle about money any more. We can always settle our accounts when the bill is added up， if ever we reach so far. Now let us come to more important details."So we fell to discussing the scheme， route and details of our proposed journey. Expenditure being practically no object， there were several plans open to us. We might sail up the coast and go by Kilwa， as I had done on the search for the Holy Flower， or we might retrace the line of our retreat from the Mazitu country which ran through Zululand.
