I thought we were no longer in London,
but in some horrible place where great beasts attacked us."
"There, there, Alice," he said, stroking her forehead, "try
to sleep again, and do not worry your head about bad dreams."
That night a little son was born in the tiny cabin beside the
primeval forest, while a leopard screamed before the door, and
the deep notes of a lion's roar sounded from beyond the ridge.
Lady Greystoke never recovered from the shock of the
great ape's attack, and, though she lived for a year after her
baby was born, she was never again outside the cabin, nor
did she ever fully realize that she was not in England.
Sometimes she would question Clayton as to the strange
noises of the nights; the absence of servants and friends, and
the strange rudeness of the furnishings within her room, but,
though he made no effort to deceive her, never could she
grasp the meaning of it all.
In other ways she was quite rational, and the joy and happiness
she took in the possession of her little son and the constant
attentions of her husband made that year a very happy
one for her, the happiest of her young life.
That it would have been beset by worries and apprehension
had she been in full command of her mental faculties Clayton
well knew; so that while he suffered terribly to see her so,
there were times when he was almost glad, for her sake, that
she could not understand.
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