lighthearted. His conscience had surrendered unconditionally and in
its place was a sense of well-being. All the more intense for the
period of depression through which he had come.
'Sean Courtney accepts from the Government of the onetime Republic of
the
'Transvaal an amount of twenty-nine thousand, two hundred pounds, in
full discharge of all debts and claims. ' He chuckled again and began
shovelling the gold back into the leather pouches.
With the heavy pack slung over his shoulders and with his arms full of
wild flowers, Sean went down the kopJe. He saddled his horse and
loaded the pack on to his mule before he went to pile the flowers on
Saul's grave. They made a brave show of colour against the brown
grass.
He lingered another hour, fussing over his floral arrangements and
resisting the temptation to thank Saul. For now he had decided the
gold was not a gift from a Republican Governmentbut from Saul
Friedman.
This made it even easier to accept.
At last he mounted and rode away. As the man and his horses dwindled
into insignificance on the great brown plain, a dust devil came dancing
up from the south. A tall, spinning column of heated air and dust and
fragments of dry grass, it weaved and swayed towards the graveyard
below the kopJe. For a time it seemed as though it would pass wide of
it, but suddenly it changed direction and dashed down upon the double
row of crosses. It snatched up the flowers on Saul's grave, lifted
them, ripped their petals and scattered them widely across the plain.
With Michael beside him lugging the carpet-bag which was the heaviest
item of luggage, Sean left the buggy and crossed the sidewalk into the
offices of the Ladyburg Banking & Trust Co. 'Oh! Colonel Courtney,'
the young lady at the reception desk enthused. 'I'll tell Mr. Pye you
are here.'
'Please don't bother. I'll carry the glad news myself.
Ronny Pye looked up in alarm as the door of his office flew open and
the two of them walked in.
'Good morning, Ronny,' Sean greeted him cheerfully.
'Have you bled any good stones today, or is it still too early?'
Guardedly Ronny murmured a reply and stood up.
Sean selected a cigar from the leather box on the desk and sniffed
it.
'Not a bad line in horse-dung you've got here,' he remarked and bit the
end off. 'Match please, Ronay, I'm a customer, where are your manners?
' Reluctantly, suspiciously, Ronny lit the cigar for him.
Sean sat down and placed his feet on the desk with ankles neatly
crossed.
'How much do I owe you?' he asked. The question heightened Ronny's
suspicion and his eyes settled on the carpet-bag in Michael's hands.
-you mean altogether? Capital and interest?'
'Capital and interest,' Sean affirmed.
'Well, I'd have to work that out.
