The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland by Olive Schreiner: "Well, I left those women there," said Peter, dropping his hands on his
knees. "Mind you, I'd treated those women really well. I'd never given
either of them one touch all the time I had them. I was the talk of all
the fellows round, the way I treated them. Well, I hadn't been gone a
month, when I got a letter from the man I worked with, the one who had the
woman first--he's dead now, poor fellow; they found him at his hut door
with his throat cut--and what do you think he said to me? Why, I hadn't
been gone six hours when those two women skooted! It was all the big one.
What do you think she did? She took every ounce of ball and cartridge she
could find in that hut, and my old Martini-Henry, and even the lid off the
tea-box to melt into bullets for the old muzzle-loaders they have; and off
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