"I thought she would not last another day." Now for the first time the man at the head of the grave turned.

Lifting his hand, he pointed to me, whereon the other two men turned also.
"God above us!" he said in a choked voice, "at last I am quite mad.
Look! there stands the spook of young Allan, the son of the English predicant who lived near Cradock." As soon as I heard the voice I knew the speaker.
"Oh, Mynheer Marais!" I cried, "I am no ghost, I am Allan himself come to save you." Marais made no answer; he seemed bewildered.

But one of the men cried out crazily: "How can you save us, youngster, unless you are ready to be eaten?
Don't you see, we starve, we starve!" "I have wagons and food," I answered.
"Allemachte! Henri," exclaimed the man, with a wild laugh, "do you hear what your English spook says?
He says that he has wagons and _food, food, food!_" Then Marais burst into tears and flung himself upon my breast, nearly knocking me down.

I wrenched myself free of him and ran to Marie, who was lying face upwards on the ground.

She seemed to hear my step, for her eyes opened and she struggled to a sitting posture.
"Is it really you, Allan, or do I dream ?" she murmured.
"It is I, it is I," I answered, lifting her to her feet, for she seemed to weigh no more than a child.