The day was hot, and the koppies simmered blue and brown along the Vaal River. Noon had come, dinner was done. “Allah Mattie!” said the grey old kitchen boy to himself, as he stretched to sleep in the shade of the mimosa behind the house. “Allah Mattie! but it near break my back in dem tobacco lands dis mawnin’. I sleep now.” He stretched himself with a slow groan of pleasure, settling his face upon his hands as he lay, soaking in comfort. In three minutes he was asleep. But round the corner of

“‘Why, you rakes Ou’ Wolf till he cahnt stand no more o’ you, an’ den he gets my daddy to he’p him. An’ my ole daddy comes back wid his tail dat busted dat he cahnt on’y yust sit an’ nurse it an’ growl. An’ when he feel bad he alwiz wants gum, an’ he send me an’ my broder up de trees to get it. Den if I eats a bit myse’f, de ole daddy he shambok me till I has to fair yell enough to make him tink he’s killin’ me ’fore he’ll stop. Dat’s how.’ “‘So all’s de matter wid you is you has to give up de g

“An what did Missis Jackalse an’ little Ainkye Jackalse do for sometin’ to eat, then?” asked Annie anxiously. “Oh, dere was no Missis Jackalse den,” answered the old Hottentot cheerily. “Dis was long ’fore that Dis was when Ou’ Jackalse an’ Ou’ Wolf was young fellas, an’ don’t only go roun’ upsittin’ wid de nices’ young misses dey can hear of. An’ it stand ’em in han’ to be young fellas an’ to had no fam’lies; ’cause de young fellas can scratch all day if dey like an’ den dere ain’t nawtin’ to e

“‘Don’t you b’lieve it,’ ses Ou’ Jackalse, mighty concerned. ‘You yust looks good’n’ bad. You take an’ look at you’ eyes; dey’re all red an’ yalla, like you’s in a terr’ble state. An’ look at de skin under your yaws, an den at de hair on de top o’ you’ head, an’ you’ll see straight off how bad you is.’ “Well, Ou’ Jackalse speak dat se’ious dat Ou’ Wolf try to look where Ou’ Jackalse tell him. But he didn’ had no lookin’-glass, an’ he try to look widout one. An’ he look dat cross-eyed, tryin’ to

“Ou’ Jackalse he put dat lid back mighty slow an’ mighty sorry (like a little boy I knows when his mammy makes him put down de sugar pot at breakfas’), an’ all de time he’s watchin’ Ou’ Wolf out o’ de corner of his eye to see if he’s reg’lar raungin’ mad about it or not. But Ou’ Wolf reg’lar is. “Ou’ Jackalse he ’gun to tink p’r’aps he ain’t a-gun’ to get darie breakfas’ so much ahter all. Den he sniff de smell agen, an’ it ain’t no manner o’ use—four men an’ a dog couldn’t a-druv him away f’m d

“Den he call out, slow an’ cunnin’: ‘My ole house! My ole house!’ An’ he waits an’ dere ain’t no answer. “He call agen: ‘My ole house! My ole house!’ an’ agen dere ain’t no answer. “Dis time he winks an’ he change de call. ‘My ole house! I know Ou’ Wolf’s inside you, else you’d say, “Come in,” like you al’ays does.’ Den he laugh till you could hear him right troo de trees. “Ou’ Wolf behind de door he hear every word, an’ he hear dat laugh besides. ‘Now,’ ses he to hisse’f, ‘if I calls out “Come

“But Ou’ Jackalse open on him wid de biggest wide-open smile. ‘Oh!’ ses he, ‘so dat’s you, is it? An’ you stalks me like dat, does you? By de jimminy, I al’ays did say you was about de slimmes’ ole takhaar on de veldt. Well, dat’s good, dat is, to ketch me like dat; an’ now you’s foun’ me out I s’pose I’ll ha’ to own up. Dat is de kraal I’s a-gun’ to get de big feed outo’. But I don’t mind anyhow; dere’s enough for de two of us, an’ forty times over if dat’s all. An’ to-night’s a-gun’ to be yust

“Will I, Ainkye?” answered the old fellow, with his deepest smile. “Well, here’s de tale an’ you can try anyhow. You see, it was all along o’ dese yere birds dat on’y come in de summer an’ don’t stay for de hard times in de winter. De Af’icander birds dat live here all de time dey got to studyin’ about dese outlander birds what yust comes to skim de cream o’ de year; an’ nawtin’ ’ud do ’em but dey’s goin’ to make a King. Dey reckon de King he’ll tell dese outlander birds he’s had yust about enou

“Now dere was a t’orn-tree like dis,”—here Old Hendrik indicated the mimosa under which he sat,—“an’ dis t’orn-tree was a-growin close beside de river, an’ a willow-tree dat was bigger yet was a-hangin’ over de t’orn. In dat t’orn-tree Young Tinky build his nest, an ahter de eggs is all laid, an’ his missis is well an’ comfy settled into sittin’ on ’em, Young Tink he offs to look for scoff for hisse’f an’ de missis. Den’s de time when Ou’ Jackalse is a-watchin’ him, an’ as soon as he’s gone, her

“Den he sees de blesbuck wanderin’ past, wid de teenty little buckies whimperin’ an’ nosin’ ahter deir mammies, an’ fust he squot an’ watch ’em, an’ den he get to feelin’ cussed, an’ he fair hop round ’em to scare ’em an’ make ’em flurry, till deir mammies turn round an’ chase him out o’ dat. Next he slant his eye at de spruit an’ tinks he’ll yust sa’nter down an’ frow stones at Ou’ Sculpat, de Tortoise, an’ ax him what’s his latest time for a mile wid a flyin’ start. Den he can hear Ou’ Sculpat

“‘An’ what does you do when you is at home?’ ax Hahsie. “‘Dis,’ ses Sculpat, an’ he don’t take de trouble to keep dat one eye half-way round, but let it swing back like a swivel. “Little Hahsie he flick his years like he tink someb’dy ought to yust kick de stuffin’ out o’ Sculpat. ‘But,’ ses he, ‘you has to eat What you do den?’ “‘Eat,’ ses Sculpat—yust de one word. “‘Oh,’ ses Hahsie, like he’d like to do dat kickin’ hisse’f. ‘Den you does ha’ to shift yourse’f a bit sometimes.’ “‘But I don’t,’

“Well, Little Hahsie he squot an’ he sniff, an’ he tink about de dogs an’ de little boys dat frow stones; but he tink o’ de peaches too, an’ he feel yust dat cussed dat he’s a-gun’ to have a try at dem peaches if he lose his tail for it. He can see de fence is all aloes an’ prickly-pear, growin’ dat close dere ain’t room even for Ou’ Ringhals, de snake, to get troo, let alone a Hahsie; but dat ain’t a-gun’ to send him off widout peaches. “So he looks about, an’ dere’s a round stony koppie yust b

“Well, ole daddy he sit down an’ he tink an’ tink, an’ old mammy she go out an’ ketch hold o’ little Wilhelmina an’ spank an’ spank, but young Seeunkie he stays out on de veldt an smack an’ smack his lips on de honey, an’ keep de tail o’ one eye over his shoulder to watch if his daddy’s comin’. “Tings went on a-dis way den, till one mawnin’ at breakfas’ dey had a pretty good ole breakfas’, an’ by de time dey’d finis’ de ole daddy was a-feelin’ yust right an’ comfy, an’ he lean back in his chair