Jacob's angry disappointment was written
on his face, and Benita was filled with despair, since to escape from
their gaoler above and the Matabele below seemed impossible. Moreover,
she had another cause for anxiety.
The ill-health which had been threatening her father for a long while
now fell upon him in earnest, so that of a sudden he became a very old
man. His strength and energy left him, and his mind was so filled with
remorse for what he held to be his crime in bringing his daughter to
this awful place, and with terror for the fate that threatened her, that
he could think of nothing else. In vain did she try to comfort him. He
would only wring his hands and groan, praying that God and she would
forgive him. Now, too, Meyer's mastery over him became continually more
evident. Mr. Clifford implored the man, almost with tears, to unblock
the wall and allow them to go down to the Makalanga. He even tried to
bribe him with the offer of all his share of the treasure, if it were
found, and when that failed, of his property in the Transvaal.
But Jacob only told him roughly not to be a fool, as they had to see the
thing through together. Then he would go again and brood by himself,
and Benita noticed that he always took his rifle or a pistol with him.
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