The King's Assegai Part 7

"We Zulus, you know, _Nkose_, like not to kill a serpent, for the guardian spirit who watches over us often takes that shape, and how can we make war upon it? So when these two _mambas_ rose up against us I lifted no weapon. I only prayed, '_O'zinyoka_, do us no hurt,' and the two of us withdrew. But as we did so the serpents slowly followed us, with crests erect, and hissing. At last they ceased to follow us, and we could hear the rustle of the bushes as they returned. Then we sat down again--and--_Whau!, Nkose_! when people are young, and the talk is of love, time goes upon eagle wings. Suddenly Nangeza cried out that we must part, for the sun would soon be down and we had some distance to travel if we would pa.s.s the King's outposts before dark.

"We arose to retrace our steps. Already the thorns and dry gra.s.s were beginning to crackle under our feet, when I caught Nangeza's wrist and breathed:

"'Silence!'

"The place where we had first rested was on the edge of an open glade, and the distance we had withdrawn from this while retiring before the serpents was about twice that to which a man could fling a spear. On one side of this glade stood a tall rock.

"'Men are coming,' I whispered--'armed men.'

"We stood thus as still as stones, listening hard. Then I could hear, re-echoed back from the face of the rock, the light tread of feet, the rustle of branches pushed aside, and now and then the rattle of a.s.segai hafts; and soon, as we crouched low to the earth, we could hear an armed force advance into the open glade and halt.

"Now, _Nkose_, my heart stood still, for I remembered the King's words that morning. Could it be that he who knew everything had sent men after us to surprise us two together and kill us? Then I heard a warrior's deep tones say:

"'_Au_! here are footprints--those of an _intombi_. Those of a man, too!' he added, as one who has made a discovery. 'Come, let us see where they lead.'

"Crouching down among the thorns and long dry gra.s.s we lay, expecting our end; for to be found thus together, at this distance from the camp, meant certain death. There was not a chance for us. We heard the parting of the bushes--then, from where we lay, we could see the heads of several men following our trail, and, but that the trees threw a darkness around and they were too intent on reading their way, they could not have failed to see us. No, there was no escape. We should be seized, dragged before the King, and not another sun should we see rise.

"But then, while the bitterness of death lay dark upon our hearts, we saw the foremost of the men stop, with a startled look upon his face.

Then a quick exclamation escaped him, and he and the rest turned, and went back again. And we knew the meaning of that hissing noise, and the prayer to the serpents cried out by the warriors as they retreated was the same as my own.

"When they returned to the _impi_, the leader was angry with them.

"'What?' we could hear him say. 'Are we come out to do the King's errand, that a number of you should turn from your way to follow upon the tracks of a man and a maid? What have we to do with such, I say?

Good indeed was it, that the _Izinyoka_ should have been there to teach so many fools their duty. Now we must on.'

"Then we heard the rattle of a.s.segais and s.h.i.+elds as once more the _impi_ fell into rank, and soon the sound of their footsteps died into silence. We left our hiding-place cautiously, and as we went we were very full of thankfulness to our _Izinyoka_, who had come in our path, and in the path of those who would have found us, and had saved us from destruction; and we debated as to the part our serpents had played, and we decided that the serpent of Nangeza, being that of prudence, was the one which had obliged us to retire from our first hiding-place, while the influence of my serpent, being that of the warrior, was the one which availed to drive back the searchers--as befitting the serpent of such a warrior as myself--and who may say that this was not so.? At any rate, the joining together of our two _Izinyoka_, to protect us, struck us as a good omen for the future; for where should we have been had we remained in our first resting-place--where now, had not those who were searching been frightened back?

"But although we had so far escaped, yet were we in the greatest jeopardy. For the sun was nearly down, and how should we reach the camp, each by a roundabout way, before it grew dark? and how should we pa.s.s the King's outposts after? Nangeza might go in by herself, pleading some excuse; but I--how was I to remain out? for even though the King should not require my attendance upon him--and on this I could not reckon--yet he who wanders abroad at night incurs peril from the staff of the 'smeller-out,' for we hold that _tagati_ always takes place during the hours of darkness, and the man who loves to wander abroad at such times, what can he be seeking but means to practise the foul and evil spells of wizardry?

"Long before we reached the camp it grew quite dark, and now we did not separate, for I would not leave Nangeza; for mult.i.tudes of wild beasts accompanied our migration, because of the abundant feasts we provided them with almost daily--even the flesh of men--and already we could hear their roarings and snarlings in the darkness. Moreover, it might be easier for two to pa.s.s the outposts together, than to double the chances of failure by making two separate attempts.

"As we advanced, noiselessly, stealthily, in the gloom, we heard a low humming sound, which seemed to come from the earth. We stood for a moment holding our breath, for we knew that sound. It was the voice of a man, singing, and he might have been twelve spear-lengths in front of us. We knew the ground also. We were in a little valley between two low hills. Probably on each of the latter was another sentinel.

Nangeza threw her skin kaross over both our heads, and breathed forth her plan--for the plan was hers. I was for taking the risk of slipping past--she, for the bolder but safer method of overpowering the sentinel.

"Worming like serpents along the ground, we made our way up behind him bit by bit, and the time consumed must have been enormous, for we would not risk failure for the sake of impatience. But this fool surely courted his own undoing, for he sat there singing. Every time he stopped singing we stopped in our advance, but so fond was he of his own voice that he soon began again. Then Nangeza, creeping up behind him, flung her kaross over his head, at the same time throwing her arms around him and pinioning his tightly to his sides.

"The man struggled, but with the kaross over his head and in his mouth he could not cry out. Still, he struggled, and it took us both all we could do to master him quickly. We could easily have killed him, but had decided it were better not to. At length, with the thong Nangeza had brought to tie the firewood we bound him hand and foot, having gagged him with his own _mutya_, and thus we left him.

"All this while we had spoken no word, lest our voices should be recognised by him; further, we had been careful to leave nothing which might lead to suspicion travelling our way. We were now safe within the outposts, and in the huge camp we could easily pa.s.s unnoticed. It was time to separate, and as we did so Nangeza said:

"'Farewell now, Untuswa. Have patience and courage. I shall see thee an _induna_ yet.'

"'That may be so,' I answered rather gloomily, for now that the adventure was over all my foreboding and disappointment came back. 'But we have only seen the first of this night's doings. The last may wear a very different sort of countenance.'

"And thus we parted.

"Now, _Nkose_, a portion of my gloom came of the knowledge of what would happen to the sentinel whom we had overpowered. Death would be his lot as surely as though I had driven my spear through his heart. I had a mind to go back and loose him, but that would mean giving my life for his, and I was not tired of life just yet. Moreover, it would mean the sacrifice of Nangeza also, and it were better that one person should perish than that two should. Yet, being still young and soft of heart, I felt sad as I thought of the doomed sentinel."

CHAPTER SEVEN.

THE FATE OF THE SENTINEL.

"When I told Nangeza that we had seen but the beginning of the night's doings, _Nkose_, I spoke no more than the truth. The sentinel whom we had overpowered was found towards morning just as we had left him--tied and gagged; yet not, for he had managed to roll over and over until he came near enough to another outpost, who was about to fling a spear through him, thinking it an enemy approaching in the darkness. Better, indeed, if he had.

"Now, if there was one thing upon which Umzilikazi was strict, one rule the punishment of violating which, in the very smallest degree, was certain and merciless, that, was military discipline. By such discipline the great King Tshaka had become great, and with him the Zulu people; and it Umzilikazi, the founder and first King of a new nation, was resolved to maintain at its highest. So when heralds went round at an early hour crying aloud that all must a.s.semble before the King--_indunas_ and fighting men, women and children, boys and old men who were past bearing arms; not one of whatever estate was to be absent on pain of death--when the people heard this, I say, many feared, but none were surprised. All thought there was to be a great 'smelling out'

of _abatagati_, and, indeed, it ended in such. Only I and Nangeza knew the princ.i.p.al reason of the a.s.sembly, and secretly we feared.

"_Whau_! it was a sight, that muster! The warriors, crouching behind their s.h.i.+elds, formed two immense half-circles, and behind them the women and children, the cloud of fear lying heavy upon their faces. The _izinduna_ sat in a group a little distance from the King's hut.

"It happened that I was appointed s.h.i.+eld-bearer to the King, and this went far to remove my fears, for had any suspicion attached to me, I should not have been the man told off to stand behind the Great Great One on such an occasion as this. As Umzilikazi came forth, I walking before him with the great white s.h.i.+eld held aloft, two _izimbonga_ ran before us in a crouching att.i.tude shouting aloud the names of the Great Great One; and the rattle of a.s.segai hafts was as the quiver of the forest trees in a gale as the great half-circles of warriors bent low, echoing in a mighty rolling voice the words of the _izimbonga_.

"'_Ho, Yisobantu! Indhlovu 'nkulu! Ho, Inyoka 'mninimandhla! Ho, Inkunzi 'mnyama! Ho, 'Nkulu-'nkulu_.'"

[O Father of the People! Great Elephant! O All-powerful Serpent! O Black Bull! O Great One!]

"The King seated himself upon a carved block of wood which was covered with a leopard's skin, I taking up my position behind him, holding the white s.h.i.+eld. On either side were ranged the young men of the royal body-guard, fully armed. Then he gave orders that the defaulting sentinel should be brought before him.

"In the midst of four warriors of his own regiment, unarmed, of course, but not bound, the man drew near. He was a young man, tall and strong, and a feeling of profound pity was in the hearts of all; for, fine warrior as he was, all knew he was doomed. His offence was one which the King could not pardon. He did obeisance, uttering one word, 'Baba!'

[Father!] But as he rose one look at his face, which, though sad, was full of the dignity of fearlessness, caused my heart to stand still--for I recognised my brother, Sekweni. I had doomed to death my own father's son. Then the Great Great One spoke:

"'When a soldier of the King is set to guard the safety of the King, he has eyes to see with and ears to hear with. He has weapons to fight with, and strength wherewith to use them. Yet all these are of no use to him, since, being in full possession of them all, the King's sentinel is found at his post tied up, and gagged, and useless as a wooden log.'

"Umzilikazi paused a moment, looking the young warrior full in the face with a bitter and scornful expression. Then, in that quiet and stinging tone, which he adopted when in the most terrible of his moods, he went on:

"'When a soldier of the King allows himself to be turned into a log for one night, is it not meet that he should be turned into one for ever?

Now a log has no eyes to see with and no ears to hear with; it has no hands, no arms, no legs.'

"Then, _Nkose_, it seemed to me that I had come to the end of my life.

Here was I obliged to stand by while my own father's son was put to a most hideous and disgraceful death, through my means, and keep silence.

I was on the point of speaking, of proclaiming myself the offender, when, from my position behind the King, I caught sight of Nangeza standing among the women, so tall and stately and splendid, and the recollection that if I spoke the lives of two would be taken instead of the life of one came back to me. Nay, further, I remembered that though Nangeza and myself would certainly be adjudged to die the death, the King would, not any the more on that account spare the life of my brother, Sekweni, whose offence was an unpardonable one.

"'A sentinel who is surprised and overpowered at his post is clearly of no use at all,' went on the King. 'We do not keep anything that is of no use, not even a dog. What hast thou to say, son of Ntelani?'

"'This, O Black Elephant,' answered my brother. 'I was bewitched!'

"'Ha! that is not much of a story,' said the King; 'though a stout hide thong may bind about a man a powerful spell. Yet, tell thy tale.'

"'The spell was a female spell, O King!' replied my brother. And then he went on to tell how his seizure and binding had been done by feminine hands. The forms of those who had thus made him captive were the forms of women, and most perfectly moulded women, he declared. Of this he had been a.s.sured during the struggle, and the spells they had woven round him had rendered him powerless. Was not this ample proof that he had been bewitched? since what living woman would undertake to overpower and bind one of the King's sentinels? Wizardry of the most dreaded kind was at work here.

"Now, when I heard this, I trembled for Nangeza. Why would she stand forth thus, so prominent among the other women, in all the splendid vigour of her symmetrical frame? What if the King's eye should fall upon her? What if a new idea should arise in his mind?

"'Thy story seems to hang together well, Sekweni,' said the King. 'But this thong,' holding up the one wherewith Sekweni had been bound, 'savoureth rather more of mortal hands. It is such as would be used to place around the horns of cattle, or as women would tie up burdens with--or firewood.'

"At these words, _Nkose_, my eyes well-nigh leaped from my head with fear. He who knew all things had spoken those words.

"'Here, too, is what was rent from a skin kaross,' went on the Great Great One, holding up a small strip of spotted skin. 'It is as a fragment of a woman's garment. So far thy tale holdeth, son of Ntelani.'