"Draw near， Hans，" I said in Dutch， and instantly out of a clump of aloes that grew in front of the pomegranate hedge， crept the withered shape of the old Hottentot， as a big yellow snake might do. Why he should choose this method of advance instead of that offered by the garden path I did not know， but it was quite in accordance with his secretive nature， inherited from a hundred generations of ancestors who spent their lives avoiding the observation of murderous foes.
He squatted down in front of me， staring in a vacant way at the fierce ball of the westering sun without blinking an eyelid， just as a vulture does.
"You look to me as though you had been fighting， Hans，" I said. "The crown of your hat is knocked out； you are splashed with mud and there is the mark of a stick upon your left side.""Yes， Baas. You are right as usual， Baas. I had a quarrel with a man about sixpence that he owed me， and knocked him over with my head， forgetting to take my hat off first. Therefore it is spoiled， for which I am sorry， as it was quite a new hat， not two years old. The Baas gave it me. He bought it in a store at Utrecht when we were coming back from Pongoland.""Why do you lie to me？" I asked "You have been fighting a white man and for more than sixpence. You knocked him into a sluit and the mud splashed up over you.""Yes， Baas， that is so. Your spirit speaks truly to you of the matter.
Yet it wanders a little from the path， since I fought the white man for less than sixpence. I fought him for love， which is nothing at all.""Then you are even a bigger fool than I took you for， Hans. What do you want now？""I want to borrow a pound， Baas. The white man will take me before the magistrate， and I shall be fined a pound， or fourteen days in the /trunk/ (i.e. jail). It is true that the white man struck me first， but the magistrate will not believe the word of a poor old Hottentot against his， and I have no witness. He will say， 'Hans， you were drunk again. Hans， you are a liar and deserve to be flogged， which you will be next time. Pay a pound and ten shillings more， which is the price of good white justice， or go to the /trunk/ for fourteen days and make baskets there for the great Queen to use.' Baas， I have the price of the justice which is ten shillings， but I want to borrow the pound for the fine.""Hans， I think that just now you are better able to lend me a pound than I am to lend one to you. My bag is empty， Hans.""Is it so， Baas？ Well， it does not matter. If necessary I can make baskets for the great white Queen to put her food in， for fourteen days， or mats on which she will wipe her feet. The /trunk/ is not such a bad place， Baas. It gives time to think of the white man's justice and to thank the Great One in the Sky， because the little sins one did not do have been found out and punished， while the big sins one did do， such as--well， never mind， Baas--have not been found out at all.
Your reverend father， the Predikant， always taught me to have a thankful heart， Baas， and when I remember that I have only been in the /trunk/ for three months altogether who， if all were known， ought to have been there for years， I remember his words， Baas.""Why should you go to the /trunk/ at all， Hans， when you are rich and can pay a fine， even if it were a hundred pounds？""A month or two ago it is true I was rich， Baas， but now I am poor. Ihave nothing left except ten shillings."
"Hans，" I said severely， "you have been gambling again； you have been drinking again. You have sold your property and your cattle to pay your gambling debts and to buy square-face gin.""Yes， Baas， and for no good it seems； though it is not true that Ihave been drinking. I sold the land and the cattle for ā650， Baas， and with the money I bought other things.""What did you buy？" I said.
He fumbled first in one pocket of his coat and then in the other， and ultimately produced a crumpled and dirty-looking piece of paper that resembled a bank-note. I took and examined this document and next minute nearly fainted. It certified that Hans was the proprietor of Iknow not how many debentures or shares， I forget which they were， in the Bona Fide Gold Mine， Limited， that same company of which I was the unlucky chairman， in consideration for which he had paid a sum of over six hundred and fifty pounds.
"Hans，" I said feebly， "from whom did you buy this？""From the baas with the hooked nose， Baas. He who was named Jacob， after the great man in the Bible of whom your father， the Predikant， used to tell us， that one who was so slim and dressed himself up in a goatskin and gave his brother mealie porridge when he was hungry， after he had come in from shooting buck， Baas， and got his farm and cattle， Baas， and then went to Heaven up a ladder， Baas.""And who told you to buy them， Hans？"
"Sammy， Baas， he who was your cook when we went to Pongoland， he who hid in the mealie-pit when the slavers burned Beza-Town and came out half cooked like a fowl from the oven. The Baas Jacob stopped at Sammy's hotel， Baas， and told him that unless he bought bits of paper like this， of which he had plenty， you would be brought before the magistrate and sent to the /trunk/， Baas. So Sammy bought some， Baas， but not many for he had only a little money， and the Baas Jacob paid him for all he ate and drank with other bits of paper. Then Sammy came to me and showed me what it was my duty to do， reminding me that your reverend father， the Predikant， had left you in my charge till one of us dies， whether you were well or ill and whether you got better or got worse--just like a white wife， Baas. So I sold the farm and the cattle to a friend of the Baas Jacob's， at a very low price， Baas， and that is all the story."I heard and， to tell the honest truth， almost I wept， since the thought of the sacrifice which this poor old Hottentot had made for my sake on the instigation of a rogue utterly overwhelmed me.
