in hand.
He moved to the door, looked back as though he were going to speak,
then, changing his mind, he shook his head and went out.
That night in the quiet, exhausted minutes before sleep, Sean murmured
against her cheek,
'I think you did today what I should have done years ago. ' And then,
with a sleepy chuckle,
'At least the res no doubt in anyone's mind as to who is the mistress
of Lion Kop.
There was a guileless simplicity in Sean's approach to life-in his mind
any problem when met with direct action disintegrated.
If you became obsessed with a woman, you tumbled her. If that didn't
produce the desired effect, then you married her.
If you wanted a piece of land or a horse or a house or a gold mine,
then you paid your money and took it. If you didn't have the money,
you went out and found it.
If you liked a man, you drank with him, hunted with him, laughed
together If you disliked him, you either punched him in the head or
subjected him to a ponderous sarcasm and mockery. Either way you left
him in no doubt of your feelings.
When a son got out of hand you whaled the tripe out of him, then gave
him an expensive present to demonstrate your affection. Now he
admitted he had been tardy in the matter of Dirk; but Ruth had done a
most effective job. It only remained for him to call Dirk into the
study and shout at him a little. A week later he returned from a trip
to Pietermaritzburg and with an embarrassed scowl presented to Dirk his
peace offerings. The first was a brass-bound leather case, which
contained a hand-made shotgun by Greener of London; tooled silver
inlay, glossy walnut stock and butt, and interchangeable Damascus
barrels. The other was a two-year-old filly from the Huguenot stud at
Worcester in the Cape. By Sun Lord out of Harvest Dance, Sun Dancer
was an animal of the most distinguished blood in Africa and of
surpassing beauty and speed. Sean paid a thousand guineas for her and
considered he had got the best of the bargain.
As far as he was concerned there was no longer any problem with Dirk,
and Sean could devote all his energy to furthering the three major
ventures in which he was engaged.
Firstly, there was the matter of putting Ruth with child. Here he had
her wholehearted co-operation. But their efforts, apart from providing
a deal of healthy exercise and pleasure, were singularly unproductive.
Sean remembered the deadly skill he had shown in their first encounter
and was puzzled. Ruth suggested they keep in training until the rainy
season began; she had developed a superstitious belief in the power of
thunder. On one of his trips to Pietermaritzburg Sean saw a carved
wooden statue of Thor in a junk dealer's window. He bought it for her,
and from then on the god stood on their bedside table clutching his
hammer and overlooking their strivings with such a knowing expression
that at last Ruth turned him face to the wall.
Then there was Michael's Thnnin Extract Plant. He had resorted to a
