The covenant - James A. Michener [403]
'It may be as you say,' she conceded, inwardly proud of the accomplishments he kept rattling off. 'But the Afrikaners I met at the coffeehouse don't seem to recognize any of it.'
'Nor did they ever recognize what Hilary was trying to do.'
'Your granduncle, was it? The missionary with the . . .'
'Black woman?'
'I didn't mean to say it that way, Frank.'
'I understand. But don't be surprised if you live to believe that what Hilary tried to do was right. That he saw the salvation of this land.'
'Do you think of this as your land? The way the Boers say they do?'
'I was born here. I've made it my home, even if your Afrikaner friends won't acknowledge my joint ownership. Just because they were here first doesn't mean that God gave them the land in some kind of deal. That's what the Boers up north preach, but mark my words, the English progress they despise will catch up with them. Perhaps very soon.'
'You're getting too serious, Frank Saltwood. Tell me about elephant hunting. Is it dangerous?'
She really did want to go on an elephant hunt, and if that proved impractical, a lion would do. When he informed her that both animals had quit these parts generations ago, she said simply, 'Then let's go after them. I have a small allowance, but I think it might suffice.'
When he disappointed her by saying that he could not remove himself from Kimberley, she said, 'Good, I've always wanted to see how they dig for diamonds. Silly stoneswouldn't want one myself.'
He pointed out that it would be quite improper for her to journey to Kimberley either with him or by herself, but she snapped, 'Nonsense! I carry with me letters to the most respectable families on the diamond fields.' And she organized the delivery of her two trunks to the railway and the purchase of her sleeping compartment to Kimberley. Frank was free to tag along, if he so wished.
The journey north was as pleasing as any he would ever know, a revelation of what a young woman could be. She was neither flirtatious nor coy; whenever an interesting topic arose, her expressive face revealed pretty much what she was thinking; and she sought out people for animated discussion. In the dining car, on the first evening, she invited an older couple to join them. With charming frankness she explained that she was not married to Frank, then went on to say that he was an important part of the diamond industry. From them she elicited the fact that they had a nephew working the gold fields and that he believed there was need, in the new town of Johannesburg, for a tailor. Normally they could not have afforded first-class accommodations on the train, but he had sent so much money that they had decided to splurge.
'Are you Jewish?' Maud asked abruptly.
'Yes. From Germany, our fathers, years ago.'
'Would you ever consider returning to Germany?'
'No. That happens to other people, not us.'
'Do you think Germany will try to take South Africa from us?'
'Germany will try to take everything,' they said.
On the second day she invited an Australian couple to dine with them, and again she explained that she was not married to Frank, whereupon the wife asked, 'Isn't it a mite risky? I mean, traveling with a young man?'
'Not if he's a nice young man, like Frank.' But as she patted his hand she added, 'Of course, he's not so young, really. How old are you, Frank?'
'Past thirty,' he said.
'Time to be taking the plunge,' the man said, at which Frank blushed uncontrollably.
'He'll do the right thing at the right time,' Maud said. 'With you?' the Australian woman asked.
'Goodness, we hardly know each other.' And by the time the train reached Kimberley, all the passengers knew that this fine-looking young woman was traveling with a young man she scarcely knew.
Mr. Rhodes took one look at the couple and realized that young Salt-wood had better be dispatched at once, or he was going to fall into irreversible error, so once the introductions were made, he said,