“My plan is that Allan should escape from our house disguised as myself.  But as I know well that he will not run away while he has his senses, seeing that to do so in his mind would be to confess his guilt, I propose to take his senses from him by means of a drugged drink.  Then I propose that you and Hans should carry him into the shadow of this house, and when no one is looking, to the old grain-pit that lies but a few yards away, covering the mouth of it with dead grass.  There he will remain till the Boers grow tired of searching for him and ride away.  Or if it should chance that they find him, he will be no worse off than he was before.”

“A good plan enough, Marie, though not one that Allan would have anything to do with if he kept his wits,” answered the vrouw, “seeing that he was always a man for facing things out, although so young in years.  Still, we will try to save him in spite of himself from the claws of that stinkcat Pereira, whom may God curse, and his tool, your father.  As you say, at the worst no harm will be done even if they find him, as probably they will, seeing that they will not leave this place without blood.”

Such then was the trick which Marie arranged with the Vrouw Prinsloo.  Or rather, I should say, seemed to arrange, since she told her nothing of her real mind, she who knew that the vrouw was right and that for their own sakes, as well as because they believed it to be justice, the Boers would never leave that place until they saw blood running on the grass.

This, oh! this was Marie’s true and dreadful plan—­to give her life for mine! She was sure that once he had slain his victim, Hernan Pereira would not stop to make examination of the corpse.  He would ride away, hounded by his guilty conscience, and meanwhile I could escape.

She never thought the thing out in all its details, she who was maddened with terror and had no time.  She only felt her way from step to step, dimly seeing my deliverance at the end of the journey.  Marie told the Vrouw Prinsloo nothing, except that she proposed to drug me if I would not go undrugged.  Then the vrouw must hide me as best she could, in the grain-pit or elsewhere, or, if I had my senses about me, let me hide myself.  Afterwards she, Marie, would face the Boers and tell them to find me if they wanted me.

The vrouw answered that she had now thought of a better plan.  It was that she should arrange with her husband and son and the Meyers, all of whom loved me, that they should rescue me, or if need be, kill or disable Pereira before he could shoot me.