In Search of an Unknown Race — page 127: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

VAN. 117 Ninada, who betrayed nosign of emotion further than a quickened movement of breathing, as she stood with slightly parted lips looking in the direction Flores had taken. ‘< Did he hurt your wrist, Ninada?” gently asked Van, breaking the momentary silence. ‘Qh, no,” she said quietly, as she suffered Van to lead her to the stone seat where the two sat in silence. Ninada seemed to be hesitating as though she had something very particular to say, and yet had not for- mulated her words as she wished. And having seen for himself that the young girl’s wrist was uninjured, Van was taking advantage of her preoccupation by re- taining her hand, under pretence of examining a very remarkable ring on one of her fingers. ‘¢Cousin Van,” finally said Ninada in a voice that was slightly tremulous, ‘‘my father and I have had a long and important conversation to-day—and—I want to tell — you regarding it.” ‘‘T am listening,” was the quiet reply. ‘‘My mother,” Ninada went on slowly, ‘‘was the daughter of one of the wisest men in the city. Of course it sounds incredible and perhaps foolish to you,” she continued with a wistful smile, ‘‘ but our wise men do and understand some very strange things that per- haps you would hardly believe if I told you.” At one time Van’s matter of fact nature would have secretly scoffed at such an assertion. But since his stay in Itambez, he himself had seen and heard a number of curious illustrations of optical delusions that rather went beyond anything he had known before, EOmMmicboo ‘S (E(0) m