Master of the Game

"Tell me again about the raft they built."

And David would tell her.

"Tell me about the sharks…Tell me about the sea mis…Tell me about the day…"

Kate did not see very much of her mother. Margaret was too involved in running the affairs of Kruger-Brent, Ltd. She did it for Jamie.

Margaret talked to Jamie every night, just as she had during the year before he died. "David is such a great help, Jamie, and he’ll be around when Kate’s running the company. I don’t want to worry you, but I don’t know what to do with that child…"

Kate was stubborn and willful and impossible. She refused to obey her mother or Mrs. Talley. If they chose a dress for her to wear, Kate would discard it for another. She would not eat properly. She ate what she wanted to, when she wanted to, and no threat or bribe could sway her. When Kate was forced to go to a birthday party, she found ways to disrupt it. She had no girl friends. She refused to go to dancing class and instead spent her time playing rugby with teen-age boys. When Kate finally started school, she set a record for mischief. Margaret found herself going to see the headmistress at least once a month to persuade her to forgive Kate and let her remain in school.

"I don’t understand her, Mrs. McGregor," the headmistress sighed. "She’s extremely bright, but she rebels against simply everything. I don’t know what to do with her."

Neither did Margaret.

The only one who could handle Kate was David. "I understand you’re invited to a birthday party this afternoon," David said.

"I hate birthday parties."

David stooped down until he was at her eye level. "I know you do, Kate. But the father of the little girl who’s having the birthday party is a friend of mine. It will make me look bad if you don’t attend and behave like a lady."

Kate stared at him. "Is he a good friend of yours?"

"Yes."

"I’ll go."

Her manners that afternoon were impeccable.

"I don’t know how you do it," Margaret told David. "It’s magic."

"She’s just high-spirited," David laughed. "She’ll grow out of it. The important thing is to be careful not to break that spirit."

"I’ll tell you a secret," Margaret said grimly, "half the time I’d like to break her neck."

When Kate was ten, she said to David, "I want to meet Banda."

David looked at her in surprise. "I’m afraid that’s not possible, Kate. Banda’s farm is a long way from here."

"Are you going to take me there, David, or do you want me to go by myself?"

The following week David took Kate to Banda’s farm. It was a good-sized piece of land, two morgens, and on it Banda raised wheat, sheep and ostriches. The living accommodations were circular huts with walls made of dried mud. Poles supported a cone-shaped roof covered with thatches. Banda stood in front, watching as Kate and David drove up and got out of the carriage. Banda looked at the gangling, serious-faced girl at David’s side and said, "I’d have known you were Jamie McGregor’s daughter."

"And I’d have known you were Banda," Kate said gravely. "I came to thank you for saving my father’s life."

Banda laughed. "Someone’s been telling you stories. Come in and meet my family."

Banda’s wife was a beautiful Bantu woman named Ntame. Banda had two sons, Ntombenthle, seven years older than Kate, and Magena, six years older. Ntombenthle was a miniature of his father. He had the same handsome features and proud bearing and an inner dignity.

Kate spent the entire afternoon playing with the two boys. They had dinner in the kitchen of the small, neat farmhouse. David felt uncomfortable eating with a black family. He respected Banda, but it was traditional that there was no socializing between the two races. In addition to that, David was concerned about Banda’s political activities. There were reports that he was a disciple of John Tengo Javabu, who was fighting for drastic social changes. Because mine owners could not get enough natives to work for them, the government had imposed a tax of ten shillings on all natives who did not work as mine laborers, and there were riots all over South Africa.

In the late afternoon, David said, "We’d better get started home, Kate. We have a long ride."

"Not yet." Kate turned to Banda. "Tell me about the sharks…"

From that time on, whenever David was in town, Kate made him take her to visit Banda and his family.

David’s assurance that Kate would grow out of her high-spiritedness showed no signs of coming to pass. If anything, she grew more willful every day. She flatly refused to take part in any of the activities that other girls her age participated in. She insisted on going into the mines with David, and he took her hunting and fishing and camping. Kate adored it. One day when Kate and David were fishing the Vaal, and Kate gleefully pulled in a trout larger than anything David had caught, he said, "You should have been born a boy."

She turned to him in annoyance. "Don’t be silly, David. Then I couldn’t marry you."

David laughed.

"We are going to be married, you know."

"I’m afraid not, Kate. I’m twenty-two years older than you. Old enough to be your father. You’ll meet a boy one day, a nice young man – "

"I don’t want a nice young man," she said wickedly. "I want you."

"If you’re really serious," David said, "then I’ll tell you the secret to a man’s heart."

"Tell me!" Kate said eagerly.

"Through his stomach. Clean that trout and let’s have lunch."

There was not the slightest doubt in Kate’s mind that she was going to marry David Blackwell. He was the only man in the world for her.