Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE AVENGER OF BLOOD THE Vrouw Grobelaar entered in haste, closed the door, and sat down panting. " If my last husband were alive," she said—" if any of them were alive, that creature would be shot for looking at an honest woman with such eyes," and she cast an anxious glance over her shoulder. "What is it?" demanded Katje. "That old Hottentot hag," responded the old lady. " She looks like a witch, and I am sure she is a witch. I would make the Kafirs throw her on to the veld, but you can't be too careful with witches. Why, as I came in just now, she was squatting by the door like a big toad, and her eyes made me go cold all through." Katje made a remark. " What! You say nonsense !" The old lady pricked herself into an ominous majesty. " Nonsense, indeed! Katje, beware of pride. Beware of puffing yourself up. Aren't there witches in the Bible, and weren't they horrible and wicked ? Didn't King David see the dead corpses come up out of the ground when the witch crooked her finger, like dogs running to heel? Well, then! "Oh, I know," continued the old lady, as Katje tossed a mutinous head. "They've taught you a lot in that school, but they didn't teach you belief. Nor manners. You're going to say there are no witches nowadays." " I'm not," said Katje. "Yes, you are," pursued the Vrouw Gro- belaar. " I know you. But you're wrong. You don't know anything. Young girls in these days are like young pigs, all squeak and fight, but no bacon. Didn't the brother of my half-brother's wife die of a witch's devilry ? " "I'm sure I don't know," returned hapless Katje. " Well, he did. I'll tell you." The old lady settled herself comfortably and lapsed into history. " His name was Fanie, and he was a Van der Merwe on his father's side, but his mother was only a Pri...