Bab Bab 9 · TWALA THE KING

calls up his regiments their

plumes cover the plain so far as the eye of man can reach.”

“And if the land is walled in with mountains, who is there for the

regiments to fight with?”

“Nay, my lord, the country is open there towards the north, and now and

again warriors sweep down upon us in clouds from a land we know not,

and we slay them. It is the third part of the life of a man since there

was a war. Many thousands died in it, but we destroyed those who came

to eat us up. So since then there has been no war.”

“Your warriors must grow weary of resting on their spears, Infadoos.”

“My lord, there was one war, just after we destroyed the people that

came down upon us, but it was a civil war; dog ate dog.”

“How was that?”

“My lord the king, my half-brother, had a brother born at the same

birth, and of the same woman. It is not our custom, my lord, to suffer

twins to live; the weaker must always die. But the mother of the king

hid away the feebler child, which was born the last, for her heart

yearned over it, and that child is Twala the king. I am his younger

brother, born of another wife.”

“Well?”

“My lord, Kafa, our father, died when we came to manhood, and my

brother Imotu was made king in his place, and for a space reigned and

had a son by his favourite wife. When the babe was three years old,

just after the great war, during which no man could sow or reap, a

famine came upon the land, and the people murmured because of the

famine, and looked round like a starved lion for something to rend.

Then it was that Gagool, the wise and terrible woman, who does not die,

made a proclamation to the people, saying, ‘The king Imotu is no king.’

And at the time Imotu was sick with a wound, and lay in his kraal not

able to move.

“Then Gagool went into a hut and led out Twala, my half-brother, and

twin brother to the king, whom she had hidden among the caves and rocks

since he was born, and stripping the ‘_moocha_’ (waist-cloth) off his

loins, showed the people of the Kukuanas the mark of the sacred snake

coiled round his middle, wherewith the eldest son of the king is marked

at birth, and cried out loud, ‘Behold your king whom I have saved for

you even to this day!’

“Now the people being mad with hunger, and altogether bereft of reason

and the knowledge of truth, cried out—‘_The king! The king!_’ but I

knew that it was not so, for Imotu my brother was the elder of the

twins, and our lawful king. Then just as the tumult was at its height

Imotu the king, though he was very sick, crawled from his hut holding

his wife by the hand, and followed by his little son Ignosi—that is, by

interpretation, the Lightning.

“‘What is this noise?’ he asked. ‘Why cry ye _The king! The king!_’

“Then Twala, his twin brother, born of the same woman, and in the same

hour, ran to him, and taking him by the hair, stabbed him through the

heart with his knife. And the people being fickle, and ever ready to

worship the rising sun, clapped their hands and cried, ‘_Twala is

king!_ Now we know that Twala is king!’”

“And what became of Imotu’s wife and her son Ignosi? Did Twala kill

them too?”

“Nay, my lord. When she saw that her lord was dead the queen seized the

child with a cry and ran away. Two days afterward she came to a kraal

very hungry, and none would give her milk or food, now that her lord

the king was dead, for all men hate the unfortunate. But at nightfall a

little child, a girl, crept out and brought her corn to eat, and she

blessed the child, and went on towards the mountains with her boy

before the sun rose again, and there she must have perished, for none

have seen her since, nor the child Ignosi.”

“Then if this child Ignosi had lived he would be the true king of the

Kukuana people?”

“That is so, my lord; the sacred snake is round his middle. If he lives

he is king; but, alas! he is long dead.”

“See, my lord,” and Infadoos pointed to a vast collection of huts

surrounded by a fence, which was in its turn encircled by a great

ditch, that lay on the plain beneath us. “That is the kraal where the

wife of Imotu was last seen with the child Ignosi. It is there that we

shall sleep to-night, if, indeed,” he added doubtfully, “my lords sleep

at all upon this earth.”

“When we are among the Kukuanas, my good friend Infadoos, we do as the

Kukuanas do,” I said majestically, and turned round quickly to address

Good, who was tramping along sullenly behind, his mind fully occupied

with unsatisfactory attempts to prevent his flannel shirt from flapping

in the evening breeze. To my astonishment I butted into Umbopa, who was

walking along immediately behind me, and very evidently had been

listening with the greatest interest to my conversation with Infadoos.

The expression on his face was most curious, and gave me the idea of a

man who was struggling with partial success to bring something long ago

forgotten back into his mind.

All this while we had been pressing on at a good rate towards the

undulating plain beneath us. The mountains we had crossed now loomed

high above our heads, and Sheba’s Breasts were veiled modestly in

diaphanous wreaths of mist. As we went the country grew more and more

lovely. The vegetation was luxuriant, without being tropical; the sun

was bright and warm, but not burning; and a gracious breeze blew softly

along the odorous slopes of the mountains. Indeed, this new land was

little less than an earthly paradise; in beauty, in natural wealth, and

in climate I have never seen its like. The Transvaal is a fine country,

but it is nothing to Kukuanaland.

So soon as we started Infadoos had despatched a runner to warn the

people of the kraal, which, by the way, was in his military command, of

our arrival. This man had departed at an extraordinary speed, which

Infadoos informed me he would keep up all the way, as running was an

exercise much practised among his people.

The result of this message now became apparent. When we arrived within

two miles of the kraal we could see that company after company of men

were issuing from its gates and marching towards us.

Sir Henry laid his hand upon my arm, and remarked that it looked as

though we were going to meet with a warm reception. Something in his

tone attracted Infadoos’ attention.

“Let not my lords be afraid,” he said hastily, “for in my breast there

dwells no guile. This regiment is one under my command, and comes out

by my orders to greet you.”

I nodded easily, though I was not quite easy in my mind.

About half a mile from the gates of this kraal is a long stretch of

rising ground sloping gently upwards from the road, and here the

companies formed. It was a splendid sight to see them, each company

about three hundred strong, charging swiftly up the rise, with flashing

spears and waving plumes, to take their appointed place. By the time we

reached the slope twelve such companies, or in all three thousand six

hundred men, had passed out and taken up their positions along the

road.

Presently we came to the first company, and were able to gaze in

astonishment on the most magnificent set of warriors that I have ever

seen. They were all men of mature age, mostly veterans of about forty,

and not one of them was under six feet in height, whilst many stood six

feet three or four. They wore upon their heads heavy black plumes of

Sakaboola feathers, like those which adorned our guides. About their

waists and beneath the right knees were bound circlets of white ox

tails, while in their left hands they carried round shields measuring

about twenty inches across. These shields are very curious. The

framework is made of an iron plate beaten out thin, over which is

stretched milk-white ox-hide.

The weapons that each man bore were simple, but most effective,

consisting of a short and very heavy two-edged spear with a wooden

shaft, the blade being about six inches across at the widest part.

These spears are not used for throwing but like the Zulu “_bangwan_,”

or stabbing assegai, are for close quarters only, when the wound

inflicted by them is terrible. In addition to his _bangwan_ every man

carried three large and heavy knives, each knife weighing about two

pounds. One knife was fixed in the ox-tail girdle, and the other two at

the back of the round shield. These knives, which are called “_tollas_”

by the Kukuanas, take the place of the throwing assegai of the Zulus.

The Kukuana warriors can cast them with great accuracy to a distance of

fifty yards, and it is their custom on charging to hurl a volley of

them at the enemy as they come to close quarters.

Each company remained still as a collection of bronze statues till we

were opposite to it, when at a signal given by its commanding officer,

who, distinguished by a leopard skin cloak, stood some paces in front,

every spear was raised into the air, and from three hundred throats

sprang forth with a sudden roar the royal salute of “_Koom_.” Then, so

soon as we had passed, the company formed up behind us and followed us

towards the kraal, till at last the whole regiment of the “Greys”—so

called from their white shields—the crack corps of the Kukuana people,

was marching in our rear with a tread that shook the ground.

At length, branching off from Solomon’s Great Road, we came to the wide

fosse surrounding the kraal, which is at least a mile round, and fenced

with a strong palisade of piles formed of the trunks of trees. At the

gateway this fosse is spanned by a primitive drawbridge, which was let

down by the guard to allow us to pass in. The kraal is exceedingly well

laid out. Through the centre runs a wide pathway intersected at right

angles by other pathways so arranged as to cut the huts into square

blocks, each block being the quarters of a company. The huts are

dome-shaped, and built, like those of the Zulus, of a framework of

wattle, beautifully thatched with grass; but, unlike the Zulu huts,

they have doorways through which men could walk. Also they are much

larger, and surrounded by a verandah about six feet wide, beautifully

paved with powdered lime trodden hard.

All along each side of this wide pathway that pierces the kraal were

ranged hundreds of women, brought out by curiosity to look at us. These

women, for a native race, are exceedingly handsome. They are tall and

graceful, and their figures are wonderfully fine. The hair, though

short, is rather curly than woolly, the features are frequently

aquiline, and the lips are not unpleasantly thick, as is the case among

most African races. But what struck us most was their exceedingly quiet

and dignified air. They were as well-bred in their way as the

_habituées_ of a fashionable drawing-room, and in this respect they

differ from Zulu women and their cousins the Masai who inhabit the

district beyond Zanzibar. Their curiosity had brought them out to see

us, but they allowed no rude expressions of astonishment or savage

criticism to pass their lips as we trudged wearily in front of them.

Not even when old Infadoos with a surreptitious motion of the hand

pointed out the crowning wonder of poor Good’s “beautiful white legs,”

did they suffer the feeling of intense admiration which evidently

mastered their minds to find expression. They fixed their dark eyes

upon this new and snowy loveliness, for, as I think I have said, Good’s

skin is exceedingly white, and that was all. But it was quite enough

for Good, who is modest by nature.

When we reached the centre of the kraal, Infadoos halted at the door of

a large hut, which was surrounded at a distance by a circle of smaller

ones.

“Enter, Sons of the Stars,” he said, in a magniloquent voice, “and

deign to rest awhile in our humble habitations. A little food shall be

brought to you, so that ye may have no need to draw your belts tight

from hunger; some honey and some milk, and an ox or two, and a few

sheep; not much, my lords, but still a little food.”

“It is good,” said I. “Infadoos; we are weary with travelling through

realms of air; now let us rest.”

Accordingly we entered the hut, which we found amply prepared for our

comfort. Couches of tanned skins were spread for us to lie on, and

water was placed for us to wash in.

Presently we heard a shouting outside, and stepping to the door, saw a

line of damsels bearing milk and roasted mealies, and honey in a pot.

Behind these were some youths driving a fat young ox. We received the

gifts, and then one of the young men drew the knife from his girdle and

dexterously cut the ox’s throat. In ten minutes it was dead, skinned,

and jointed. The best of the meat was then cut off for us, and the

rest, in the name of our party, I presented to the warriors round us,

who took it and distributed the “white lords’ gift.”

Umbopa set to work, with the assistance of an extremely prepossessing

young woman, to boil our portion in a large earthenware pot over a fire

which was built outside the hut, and when it was nearly ready we sent a

message to Infadoos, and asked him and Scragga, the king’s son, to join

us.

Presently they came, and sitting down upon little stools, of which

there were several about the hut, for the Kukuanas do not in general

squat upon their haunches like the Zulus, they helped us to get through

our dinner. The old gentleman was most affable and polite, but it

struck me that the young one regarded us with doubt. Together with the

rest of the party, he had been overawed by our white appearance and by

our magic properties; but it seemed to me that, on discovering that we

ate, drank, and slept like other mortals, his awe was beginning to wear

off, and to be replaced by a sullen suspicion—which made me feel rather

uncomfortable.

In the course of our meal Sir Henry suggested to me that it might be

well to try to discover if our hosts knew anything of his brother’s

fate, or if they had ever seen or heard of him; but, on the whole, I

thought that it would be wiser to say nothing of the matter at this

time. It was difficult to explain a relative lost from “the Stars.”

After supper we produced our pipes and lit them; a proceeding which

filled Infadoos and Scragga with astonishment. The Kukuanas were

evidently unacquainted with the divine delights of tobacco-smoke. The

herb is grown among them extensively; but, like the Zulus, they use it

for snuff only, and quite failed to identify it in its new form.

Presently I asked Infadoos when we were to proceed on our journey, and

was delighted to learn that preparations had been made for us to leave

on the following morning, messengers having already departed to inform

Twala the king of our coming.

It appeared that Twala was at his principal place, known as Loo, making

ready for the great annual feast which was to be held in the first week

of June. At this gathering all the regiments, with the exception of

certain detachments left behind for garrison purposes, are brought up

and paraded before the king; and the great annual witch-hunt, of which

more by-and-by, is held.

We were to start at dawn; and Infadoos, who was to accompany us,

expected that we should reach Loo on the night of the second day,

unless we were detained by accident or by swollen rivers.

When they had given us this information our visitors bade us

good-night; and, having arranged to watch turn and turn about, three of

us flung ourselves down and slept the sweet sleep of the weary, whilst

the fourth sat up on the look-out for possible treachery.

CHAPTER 9. TWALA THE KING

It will not be necessary for me to detail at length the incidents of

our journey to Loo. It took two full days’ travelling along Solomon’s

Great Road, which pursued its even course right into the heart of

Kukuanaland. Suffice it to say that as we went the country seemed to

grow richer and richer, and the kraals, with their wide surrounding

belts of cultivation, more and more numerous. They were all built upon

the same principles as the first camp which we had reached, and were

guarded by ample garrisons of troops. Indeed, in Kukuanaland, as among

the Germans, the Zulus, and the Masai, every able-bodied man is a

soldier, so that the whole force of the nation is available for its

wars, offensive or defensive. As we travelled we were overtaken by

thousands of warriors hurrying up to Loo to be present at the great

annual review and festival, and more splendid troops I never saw.

At sunset on the second day, we stopped to rest awhile upon the summit

of some heights over which the road ran, and there on a beautiful and

fertile plain before us lay Loo itself. For a native town it is an

enormous place, quite five miles round, I should say, with outlying

kraals projecting from it, that serve on grand occasions as cantonments

for the regiments, and a curious horseshoe-shaped hill, with which we

were destined to become better acquainted, about two miles to the

north. It is beautifully situated, and through the centre of the kraal,

dividing it into two portions, runs a river, which appeared to be

bridged in several places, the same indeed that we had seen from the

slopes of Sheba’s Breasts. Sixty or seventy miles away three great

snow-capped mountains, placed at the points of a triangle, started out

of the level plain. The conformation of these mountains is unlike that

of Sheba’s Breasts, being sheer and precipitous, instead of smooth and

rounded.

Infadoos saw us looking at them, and volunteered a remark.

“The road ends there,” he said, pointing to the mountains known among

the Kukuanas as the “Three Witches.”

“Why does it end?” I asked.

“Who knows?” he answered with a shrug; “the mountains are full of

caves, and there is a great pit between them. It is there that the wise

men of old time used to go to get whatever it was they came for to this

country, and it is there now that our kings are buried in the Place of

Death.”

“What was it they came for?” I asked eagerly.

“Nay, I know not. My lords who have dropped from the Stars should

know,” he answered with a quick look. Evidently he knew more than he

chose to say.

“Yes,” I went on, “you are right, in the Stars we learn many things. I

have heard, for instance, that the wise men of old came to these

mountains to find bright stones, pretty playthings, and yellow iron.”

“My lord is wise,” he answered coldly; “I am but a child and cannot

talk with my lord on such matters. My lord must speak with Gagool the

old, at the king’s place, who is wise even as my lord,” and he went

away.

So soon as he was gone I turned to the others, and pointed out the

mountains. “There are Solomon’s diamond mines,” I said.

Umbopa was standing with them, apparently plunged in one of the fits of

abstraction which were common to him, and caught my words.

“Yes, Macumazahn,” he put in, in Zulu, “the diamonds are surely there,

and you shall have them, since you white men are so fond of toys and

money.”

“How dost thou know that, Umbopa?” I asked sharply, for I did not like

his mysterious ways.

He laughed. “I dreamed it in the night, white men;” then he too turned

on his heel and went.

“Now what,” said Sir Henry, “is our black friend driving at? He knows

more than he chooses to say, that is clear. By the way, Quatermain, has

he heard anything of—of my brother?”

“Nothing; he has asked everyone he has become friendly with, but they

all declare that no white man has ever been seen in the country

before.”

“Do you suppose that he got here at all?” suggested Good; “we have only

reached the place by a miracle; is it likely he could have reached it

without the map?”

“I don’t know,” said Sir Henry gloomily, “but somehow I think that I

shall find him.”

Slowly the sun sank, then suddenly darkness rushed down on the land

like a tangible thing. There was no breathing-space between the day and

night, no soft transformation scene, for in these latitudes twilight

does not exist. The change from day to night is as quick and as

absolute as the change from life to death. The sun sank and the world

was wreathed in shadows. But not for long, for see in the west there is

a glow, then come rays of silver light, and at last the full and

glorious moon lights up the plain and shoots its gleaming arrows far

and wide, filling the earth with a faint refulgence.

We stood and watched the lovely sight, whilst the stars grew pale

before this chastened majesty, and felt our hearts lifted up in the

presence of a beauty that I cannot describe. Mine has been a rough

life, but there are a few things I am thankful to have lived for, and

one of them is to have seen that moon shine over Kukuanaland.

Presently our meditations were broken in upon by our polite friend

Infadoos.

“If my lords are rested we will journey on to Loo, where a hut is made

ready for my lords to-night. The moon is now bright, so that we shall

not fall by the way.”

We assented, and in an hour’s time were at the outskirts of the town,

of which the extent, mapped out as it was by thousands of camp fires,

appeared absolutely endless. Indeed, Good, who is always fond of a bad

joke, christened it “Unlimited Loo.” Soon we came to a moat with a

drawbridge, where we were met by the rattling of arms and the hoarse

challenge of a sentry. Infadoos gave some password that I could not

catch, which was met with a salute, and we passed on through the

central street of the great grass city. After nearly half an hour’s

tramp, past endless lines of huts, Infadoos halted at last by the gate

of a little group of huts which surrounded a small courtyard of

powdered limestone, and informed us that these were to be our “poor”

quarters.

We entered, and found that a hut had been assigned to each of us. These

huts were superior to any that we had yet seen, and in each was a most

comfortable bed made of tanned skins, spread upon mattresses of

aromatic grass. Food too was ready for us, and so soon as we had washed

ourselves with water, which stood ready in earthenware jars, some young

women of handsome appearance brought us roasted meats, and mealie cobs

daintily served on wooden platters, and presented them to us with deep

obeisances.

We ate and drank, and then, the beds having been all moved into one hut

by our request, a precaution at which the amiable young ladies smiled,

we flung ourselves down to sleep, thoroughly wearied with our long

journey.

When we woke it was to find the sun high in the heavens, and the female

attendants, who did not seem to be troubled by any false shame, already

standing inside the hut, having been ordered to attend and help us to

“make ready.”

“Make ready, indeed,” growled Good; “when one has only a flannel shirt

and a pair of boots, that does not take long. I wish you would ask them

for my trousers, Quatermain.”

I asked accordingly, but was informed that these sacred relics had

already been taken to the king, who would see us in the forenoon.

Somewhat to their astonishment and disappointment, having requested the

young ladies to step outside, we proceeded to make the best toilet of

which the circumstances admitted. Good even went the length of again

shaving the right side of his face; the left, on which now appeared a

very fair crop of whiskers, we impressed upon him he must on no account

touch. As for ourselves, we were contented with a good wash and combing

our hair. Sir Henry’s yellow locks were now almost upon his shoulders,

and he looked more like an ancient Dane than ever, while my grizzled

scrub was fully an inch long, instead of half an inch, which in a

general way I considered my maximum length.

By the time that we had eaten our breakfast, and smoked a pipe, a

message was brought to us by no less a personage than Infadoos himself

that Twala the king was ready to see us, if we would be pleased to

come.

We remarked in reply that we should prefer to wait till the sun was a

little higher, we were yet weary with our journey, &c., &c. It is

always well, when dealing with uncivilised people, not to be in too

great a hurry. They are apt to mistake politeness for awe or servility.

So, although we were quite as anxious to see Twala as Twala could be to

see us, we sat down and waited for an hour, employing the interval in

preparing such presents as our slender stock of goods permitted—namely,

the Winchester rifle which had been used by poor Ventvögel, and some

beads. The rifle and ammunition we determined to present to his royal

highness, and the beads were for his wives and courtiers. We had

already given a few to Infadoos and Scragga, and found that they were

delighted with them, never having seen such things before. At length we

declared that we were ready, and guided by Infadoos, started off to the

audience, Umbopa carrying the rifle and beads.

After walking a few hundred yards we came to an enclosure, something

like that surrounding the huts which had been allotted to us, only

fifty times as big, for it could not have covered less than six or

seven acres of ground. All round the outside fence stood a row of huts,

which were the habitations of the king’s wives. Exactly opposite the

gateway, on the further side of the open space, was a very large hut,

built by itself, in which his majesty resided. All the rest was open

ground; that is to say, it would have been open had it not been filled

by company after company of warriors, who were mustered there to the

number of seven or eight thousand. These men stood still as statues as

we advanced through them, and it would be impossible to give an

adequate idea of the grandeur of the spectacle which they presented,

with their waving plumes, their glancing spears, and iron-backed

ox-hide shields.

The space in front of the large hut was empty, but before it were

placed several stools. On three of these, at a sign from Infadoos, we

seated ourselves, Umbopa standing behind us. As for Infadoos, he took

up a position by the door of the hut. So we waited for ten minutes or

more in the midst of a dead silence, but conscious that we were the

object of the concentrated gaze of some eight thousand pairs of eyes.

It was a somewhat trying ordeal, but we carried it off as best we

could. At length the door of the hut opened, and a gigantic figure,

with a splendid tiger-skin karross flung over its shoulders, stepped

out, followed by the boy Scragga, and what appeared to us to be a

withered-up monkey, wrapped in a fur cloak. The figure seated itself

upon a stool, Scragga took his stand behind it, and the withered-up

monkey crept on all fours into the shade of the hut and squatted down.

Still there was silence.

Then the gigantic figure slipped off the karross and stood up before

us, a truly alarming spectacle. It was that of an enormous man with the

most entirely repulsive countenance we had ever beheld. This man’s lips

were as thick as a Negro’s, the nose was flat, he had but one gleaming

black eye, for the other was represented by a hollow in the face, and

his whole expression was cruel and sensual to a degree. From the large

head rose a magnificent plume of white ostrich feathers, his body was

clad in a shirt of shining chain armour, whilst round the waist and

right knee were the usual garnishes of white ox-tail. In his right hand

was a huge spear, about the neck a thick torque of gold, and bound on

the forehead shone dully a single and enormous uncut diamond.

Still there was silence; but not for long. Presently the man, whom we

rightly guessed to be the king, raised the great javelin in his hand.

Instantly eight thousand spears were lifted in answer, and from eight

thousand throats rang out the royal salute of “_Koom_.” Three times

this was repeated, and each time the earth shook with the noise, that

can only be compared to the deepest notes of thunder.

“Be humble, O people,” piped out a thin voice which seemed to come from

the monkey in the shade, “it is the king.”

“_It is the king_,” boomed out the eight thousand throats in answer.

“_Be humble, O people, it is the king._”

Then there was silence again—dead silence. Presently, however, it was

broken. A soldier on our left dropped his shield, which fell with a

clatter on to the limestone flooring.

Twala turned his one cold eye in the direction of the noise.

“Come hither, thou,” he said, in a cold voice.

A fine young man stepped out of the ranks, and stood before him.

“It was thy shield that fell, thou awkward dog. Wilt thou make me a

reproach in the eyes of these strangers from the Stars? What hast thou

to say for thyself?”

We saw the poor fellow turn pale under his dusky skin.

“It was by chance, O Calf of the Black Cow,” he murmured.

“Then it is a chance for which thou must pay. Thou hast made me

foolish; prepare for death.”

“I am the king’s ox,” was the low answer.

“Scragga,” roared the king, “let me see how thou canst use thy spear.

Kill me this blundering fool.”

Scragga stepped forward with an ill-favoured grin, and lifted his

spear. The poor victim covered his eyes with his hand and stood still.

As for us, we were petrified with horror.

“Once, twice,” he waved the spear, and then struck, ah! right home—the

spear stood out a foot behind the soldier’s back. He flung up his hands

and dropped dead. From the multitude about us rose something like a

murmur, it rolled round and round, and died away. The tragedy was

finished; there lay the corpse, and we had not yet realised that it had

been enacted. Sir Henry sprang up and swore a great oath, then,

overpowered by the sense of silence, sat down again.

“The thrust was a good one,” said the king; “take him away.”

Four men stepped out of the ranks, and lifting the body of the murdered

man, carried it thence.

“Cover up the blood-stains, cover them up,” piped out the thin voice

that proceeded from the monkey-like figure; “the king’s word is spoken,

the king’s doom is done!”

Thereupon a girl came forward from behind the hut, bearing a jar filled

with powdered lime, which she scattered over the red mark, blotting it

from sight.

Sir Henry meanwhile was boiling with rage at what had happened; indeed,

it was with difficulty that we could keep him still.

“Sit down, for heaven’s sake,” I whispered; “our lives depend on it.”

He yielded and remained quiet.

Twala sat silent until the traces of the tragedy had been removed, then

he addressed us.

“White people,” he said, “who come hither, whence I know not, and why I

know not, greeting.”

“Greeting, Twala, King of the Kukuanas,” I answered.

“White people, whence come ye, and what seek ye?”

“We come from the Stars, ask us not how. We come to see this land.”

“Ye journey from far to see a little thing. And that man with you,”

pointing to Umbopa, “does he also come from the Stars?”

“Even so; there are people of thy colour in the heavens above; but ask

not of matters too high for thee, Twala the king.”

“Ye speak with a loud voice, people of the Stars,” Twala answered in a

tone which I scarcely liked. “Remember that the Stars are far off, and

ye are here. How if I make you as him whom they bore away?”

I laughed out loud, though there was little laughter in my heart.

“O king,” I said, “be careful, walk warily over hot stones, lest thou

shouldst burn thy feet; hold the spear by the handle, lest thou should

cut thy hands. Touch but one hair of our heads, and destruction shall

come upon thee. What, have not these”—pointing to Infadoos and Scragga,

who, young villain that he was, was employed in cleaning the blood of

the soldier off his spear—“told thee what manner of men we are? Hast

thou seen the like of us?” and I pointed to Good, feeling quite sure

that he had never seen anybody before who looked in the least like

_him_ as he then appeared.

“It is true, I have not,” said the king, surveying Good with interest.

“Have they not told thee how we strike with death from afar?” I went

on.

“They have told me, but I believe them not. Let me see you kill. Kill

me a man among those who stand yonder”—and he pointed to the opposite

side of the kraal—“and I will believe.”

“Nay,” I answered; “we shed no blood of men except in just punishment;

but if thou wilt see, bid thy servants drive in an ox through the kraal

gates, and before he has run twenty paces I will strike him dead.”

“Nay,” laughed the king, “kill me a man and I will believe.”

“Good, O king, so be it,” I answered coolly; “do thou walk across the

open space, and before thy feet reach the gate thou shalt be dead; or

if thou wilt not, send thy son Scragga” (whom at that moment it would

have given me much pleasure to shoot).

On hearing this suggestion Scragga uttered a sort of howl, and bolted

into the hut.

Twala frowned majestically; the suggestion did not please him.

“Let a young ox be driven in,” he said.

Two men at once departed, running swiftly.

“Now, Sir Henry,” said I, “do you shoot. I want to show this ruffian

that I am not the only magician of the party.”

Sir Henry accordingly took his “express,” and made ready.

“I hope I shall make a good shot,” he groaned.

“You must,” I answered. “If you miss with the first barrel, let him

have the second. Sight for 150 yards, and wait till the beast turns

broadside on.”

Then came a pause, until presently we caught sight of an ox running

straight for the kraal gate. It came on through the gate, then,

catching sight of the vast concourse of people, stopped stupidly,

turned round, and bellowed.

“Now’s your time,” I whispered.

Up went the rifle.

Bang! _thud_! and the ox was kicking on his back, shot in the ribs. The

semi-hollow bullet had done its work well, and a sigh of astonishment

went up from the assembled thousands.

I turned round coolly—

“Have I lied, O king?”

“Nay, white man, it is the truth,” was the somewhat awed answer.

“Listen, Twala,” I went on. “Thou hast seen. Now know we come in peace,

not in war. See,” and I held up the Winchester repeater; “here is a

hollow staff that shall enable thee to kill even as we kill, only I lay

this charm upon it, thou shalt kill no man with it. If thou liftest it

against a man, it shall kill thee. Stay, I will show thee. Bid a

soldier step forty paces and place the shaft of a spear in the ground

so that the flat blade looks towards us.”

In a few seconds it was done.

“Now, see, I will break yonder spear.”

Taking a careful sight I fired. The bullet struck the flat of the

spear, and shattered the blade into fragments.

Again the sigh of astonishment went up.

“Now, Twala, we give this magic tube to thee, and by-and-by I will show

thee how to use it; but beware how thou turnest the magic of the Stars

against a man of earth,” and I handed him the rifle.

The king took it very gingerly, and laid it down at his feet. As he did

so I observed the wizened monkey-like figure creeping from the shadow

of the hut. It crept on all fours, but when it reached the place where

the king sat it rose upon its feet, and throwing the furry covering

from its face, revealed a most extraordinary and weird countenance.

Apparently it was that of a woman of great age so shrunken that in size

it seemed no larger than the face of a year-old child, although made up

of a number of deep and yellow wrinkles. Set in these wrinkles was a

sunken slit, that represented the mouth, beneath which the chin curved

outwards to a point. There was no nose to speak of; indeed, the visage

might have been taken for that of a sun-dried corpse had it not been

for a pair of large black eyes, still full of fire and intelligence,

which gleamed and played under the snow-white eyebrows, and the

projecting parchment-coloured skull, like jewels in a charnel-house. As

for the head itself, it was perfectly bare, and yellow in hue, while

its wrinkled scalp moved and contracted like the hood of a cobra.

The figure to which this fearful countenance belonged, a countenance so

fearful indeed that it caused a shiver of fear to pass through us as we

gazed on it, stood still for a moment. Then suddenly it projected a

skinny claw armed with nails nearly an inch long, and laying it on the

shoulder of Twala the king, began to speak in a thin and piercing

voice—

“Listen, O king! Listen, O warriors! Listen, O mountains and plains and

rivers, home of the Kukuana race! Listen, O skies and sun, O rain and

storm and mist! Listen, O men and women, O youths and maidens, and O ye

babes unborn! Listen, all things that live and must die! Listen, all

dead things that shall live again—again to die! Listen, the spirit of

life is in me and I prophesy. I prophesy! I prophesy!”

The words died away in a faint wail, and dread seemed to seize upon the

hearts of all who heard them, including our own. This old woman was

very terrible.

“_Blood! blood! blood!_ rivers of blood; blood everywhere. I see it, I

smell it, I taste it—it is salt! it runs red upon the ground, it rains

down from the skies.

“_Footsteps! footsteps! footsteps!_ the tread of the white man coming

from afar. It shakes the earth; the earth trembles before her master.

“Blood is good, the red blood is bright; there is no smell like the

smell of new-shed blood. The lions shall lap it and roar, the vultures

shall wash their wings in it and shriek with joy.

“I am old! I am old! I have seen much blood; _ha, ha!_ but I shall see

more ere I die, and be merry. How old am I, think ye? Your fathers knew

me, and _their_ fathers knew me, and _their_ fathers’ fathers’ fathers.

I have seen the white man and know his desires. I am old, but the

mountains are older than I. Who made the great road, tell me? Who wrote

the pictures on the rocks, tell me? Who reared up the three Silent Ones

yonder, that gaze across the pit, tell me?” and she pointed towards the

three precipitous mountains which we had noticed on the previous night.

“Ye know not, but I know. It was a white people who were before ye are,

who shall be when ye are not, who shall eat you up and destroy you.

_Yea! yea! yea!_

“And what came they for, the White Ones, the Terrible Ones, the skilled

in magic and all learning, the strong, the unswerving? What is that

bright stone upon thy forehead, O king? Whose hands made the iron

garments upon thy breast, O king? Ye know not, but I know. I the Old

One, I the Wise One, I the _Isanusi_, the witch doctress!”

Then she turned her bald vulture-head towards us.

“What seek ye, white men of the Stars—ah, yes, of the Stars? Do ye seek

a lost one? Ye shall not find him here. He is not here. Never for ages

upon ages has a white foot pressed this land; never except once, and I

remember that he left it but to die. Ye come for bright stones; I know

it—I know it; ye shall find them when the blood is dry; but shall ye

return whence ye came, or shall ye stop with me? _Ha! ha! ha!_

“And thou, thou with the dark skin and the proud bearing,” and she

pointed her skinny finger at Umbopa, “who art _thou_, and what seekest

_thou_? Not stones that shine, not yellow metal that gleams, these thou

leavest to ‘white men from the Stars.’ Methinks I know thee; methinks I

can smell the smell of the blood in thy heart. Strip off the girdle—”

Here the features of this extraordinary creature became convulsed, and

she fell to the ground foaming in an epileptic fit, and was carried

into the hut.

The king rose up trembling, and waved his hand. Instantly the regiments

began to file off, and in ten minutes, save for ourselves, the king,

and a few attendants, the great space was left empty.

“White people,” he said, “it passes in my mind to kill you. Gagool has

spoken strange words. What say ye?”

I laughed. “Be careful, O king, we are not easy to slay. Thou hast seen

the fate of the ox; wouldst thou be as the ox is?”

The king frowned. “It is not well to threaten a king.”

“We threaten not, we speak what is true. Try to kill us, O king, and

learn.”

The great savage put his hand to his forehead and thought.

“Go in peace,” he said at length. “To-night is the great dance. Ye

shall see it. Fear not that I shall set a snare for you. To-morrow I

will think.”

“It is well, O king,” I answered unconcernedly, and then, accompanied

by Infadoos, we rose and went back to our kraal.