midnight
The witch doctor came and built a little fire before the infant , upon which he boiled some strange concoction in a small earthen pot , making weird passes above it and mumbling strange , monotonous chants . Presently he dipped a zebra 's tail into the brew , and with further mutterings and incantations sprinkled a few drops of the liquid over the baby 's face . After he had gone the women sat about and moaned and wailed until Jane thought that she should go mad ; but , knowing that they were doing it all out of the kindness of their hearts , she endured the frightful waking nightmare of those awful hours in dumb and patient suffering . It must have been well toward midnight that she became conscious of a sudden commotion in the village . She heard the voices of the natives raised in controversy , but she could not understand the words . Presently she heard footsteps approaching the hut in which she squatted before a bright fire with the baby on her lap . The little thing lay very still now , its lids , half-raised , showed the pupils horribly upturned .