Lady Barbara observed him closely. 'You are exhausted,' she said.
'Oh, no,' insisted Smith. 'I'm all right.'
'When did you eat last?' demandd thee girl.
'I had some chocolate with me,' replied Smith. 'I ate the last of it this afternoon sometime.'
'When did you eat a meal, I mean?' persisted Lady Barbara.
'Well,' he admitted, 'I had a light lunch yesterday noon, or rather day before yesterday. It must be after midnight now.'
'And you have been walking all the time since?'
'Oh, I ran part of the time,' he replied, with a weak laugh. 'That was when the lion chased me. And I slept in the afternoon before I came to the village.'
'We are going to stop right here until you are rested' announced the English girl.
'Oh, no,' he demurred, 'we mustn't do that. I want to get you out of this valley before daylight, as they will probably pursue us as soon as the sun comes up.'
'I don't think so,' said Jezebel. 'They are too much afraid of the North Midians to come this far from the village; and, anyway, we have such a start that we can reach the cliffs, where you say the fissure is, before they could overtake us.'
'You must rest,' insisted Lady Barbara.
Reluctantly Lafayette sat down. 'I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help to you,' he said. 'You see I am not really familiar with Africa , and I fear that I am not adequately armed for your protection. I wish Danny were here.'
'Who is Danny?' asked Lady Barbara.
'He's a friend who accompanied me on this trip.'
'He's had African experience?'
'No,' admitted Lafayette , 'but one always feels safe with Danny about. He seems so familiar with firearms. You see he is a protection guy.'
'What is a protection guy?' asked Lady Barbara.
'To be quite candid,' replied Lafayette , 'I am not at all sure that I know myself what it is. Danny is not exactly garrulous about his past; and I have hesitated to pry into his private affairs, but he did volunteer the information one day that he had been a protection guy for a big shot. It sounded reassuring.'
'What is a big shot?' inquired Jezebel.
'Perhaps a big game hunter,' suggested Lady Barbara. 'No,' said Lafayette . 'I gather from Danny's remarks that a big shot is a rich brewer or distiller who also assists in directing the affairs of a large city. It may be just another name for political boss.'
'Of course,' said Lady Barbara, 'it would be nice if your friend were here; but he is not, so suppose you tell us something about yourself. Do you realize that we do not even know your name?'
Smith laughed. 'That's about all there is to know about me,' he said. 'It's Lafayette Smith, and now will you introduce me to this other young lady? I already know who you are.'
'Oh, this is Jezebel,' said Lady Barbara.
There was a moment's silence. 'Is that all?' asked Smith. Lady Barbara laughed. 'Just Jezebel,' she said. 'If we ever get out of here we'll have to find a surname for her. They don't use 'em in the land of Midian .'
Smith lay on his back looking up at the moon. Already he was commencing to feel the beneficial effects of relaxation and rest. His thoughts were toying with the events of the past thirty hours. What an adventure for a prosaic professor of geology, he thought. He had never been particularly interested in girls, although he was far from being a misogynist, and to find himself thus thrown into the intimate relationship of protector to two beautiful young women was somewhat disconcerting. And the moon had revealed that they were beautiful. Perhaps the sun might have a different story to tell. He had heard of such things and he wondered. But sunlight could not alter the cool, crisp, well bred voice of Lady Barbara Collis. He liked to hear her talk. He had always enjoyed the accent and diction of cultured English folk.
He tried to think of something to ask her that he might listen to her voice again. That raised the question of just how he should address her. His contacts with nobility had been few—in fact almost restricted to a single Russian prince who had been a door man at a restaurant he sometimes patronized, and he had never heard him addressed otherwise than as Mike. He thought Lady Barbara would be the correct formula, though that smacked a little of familiarity. Lady Collis seemed, somehow, even less appropriate. He wished he were sure. Mike would never do. Jezebel. What an archaic name! And then he fell asleep.
Lady Barbara looked down at him and raised a warning finger to her lips lest Jezebel awaken him. Then she rose and walked away a short distance, beckoning the golden one to follow.
'He is about done up,' she whispered, as they seated themselves again. 'Poor chap, he has had a rough time of it. Imagine being chased by a lion with only that little popgun with which to defend oneself.'
'Is he from your country?' asked Jezebel.
'No, he's an American. I can tell by his accent.'
'He is very beautiful,' said Jezebel, with a sigh.
'After looking at Abraham, the son of Abraham, and Jobab, for all these weeks I could agree with you if you insisted that St. Ghandi is an Adonis,' replied Lady Barbara.
'I do not know what you mean,' said Jezebel; 'but do you not think him beautiful?'
'I am less interested in his pulchritude than in his marksmanship, and that is positively beastly. He's got sand though, my word! no end. He walked right into that village and took us out from under the noses of hundreds of people with nothing but his little peashooter for protection. That, Jezebel, was top hole.'
The golden Jezebel sighed. 'He is much more beautiful than the men of the land of North Midian ,' she said.
Lady Barbara looked at her companion for a long minute; then she sighed. 'If I ever get you to civilization,' she said, 'I'm afraid you are going to prove something of a problem.' Wherewith she stretched herself upon the ground and was soon asleep, for she, too, had had a strenuous day.
Chapter 15
Eshbaal, the Shepherd
The sun shining on his upturned face awakened Lafayette Smith. At first he had difficulty in collecting his thoughts.
The events of the previous night appeared as a dream, but when he sat up and discovered the figures of the sleeping girls a short distance from him his mind was jerked rudely back into the world of realities. His heart sank. How was he to acquit himself creditably of such a responsibility? Frankly, he did not know.
He had no doubt but that he could find the fissure and lead his charges to the outer world, but how much better off would they be then? He had no idea now, and he realized that he never had, where his camp lay. Then there was the possibility of meeting the lion again in the fissure, and if they did not there was still the question of sustenance. What were they going to use for food, and how were they going to get it?
The thought of food awoke a gnawing hunger within him. He arose and walked to the shore of the lake where he lay on his belly and filled himself with water. When he stood up the girls were sitting up looking at him.
'Good morning,' he greeted them. 'I was just having breakfast. Will you join me?'
They returned his salutation as they arose and came toward him. Lady Barbara was smiling. 'Thank the lord, you have a sense of humor,' she said. 'I think we are going to need a lot of it before we get out of this.'
'I would much prefer ham and eggs,' he replied ruefully.
'Now I know you're an American,' she said.
'I suppose you are thinking of tea and marmalade,' he rejoined.
'I am trying not to think of food at all,' she replied.
'Have some lake,' he suggested. 'You have no idea how satisfying it is if you take enough of it.'
After the girls had drunk the three set off again, led by Smith, in search of the opening to the fissure. 'I know just where it is,' he had assured them the night before, and even now he thought that he would have little difficulty
