They were fully armed, these men. Each carried the large war-shield and
broad assegai. Further, they were plumed and otherwise adorned as
warriors upon a hostile expedition. In the light of the moon I could
see that they were all _amakehla_, or head-ringed men, of middle age,
straight and tall, and, indeed, the very pick and flower of such an
_impi_ as any _induna_ might be proud to command. But who were they?
Not one of their faces was known to me. Clearly they were not of our
own people; and, if not, who were they?
They halted on seeing me, uttering a quick murmur of surprise, yet not
of a surprise that was over great. Then they lowered their weapons,
and, tossing aloft their right hands, they exclaimed--
"_Bayete_!"
Yes; to me they cried the _Bayete_, these warriors--_Bayete_, the salute
of a King--to me, Untuswa! In truth, the old Mosutu _isanusi_ spoke not
falsely when he declared that the strangest thing would happen to me in
the Place of the Three Rifts, for here was I being hailed by armed
warriors as a King. For a moment the thought crossed my mind that the
Great Great One was no more, and that the people had elected me to sit
in his seat, and had sent to find me, but only for a moment. For the
light of the moon was strong, and of the faces of these not one did I
know.
"_Yeh-bo_!" I answered, in a deep, muttering tone, some instinct moving
me to hide my real voice as much as might be. And I stood straight and
erect, waiting for them to continue.
"We have explored this mountain range far on either hand, O Greater of
the Twin Stars of the Heavens," said the foremost, "yet there is no way
by which our _impis_ may cross save by yon gloomy pass. And in the
mouth thereof sits some strange wizard beast and dismally howls."
"It is even as Silwane has said, more valiant of two Kings," declared
another.
"Greater of the Twin Stars of the Heavens!"
"Way by which our _impis_ may cross!" Who was the man addressing? To
what _impis_ did he make reference? _Hau_! was this part of the
wizardry of the place? And then, _Nkose_, as the real truth flashed
upon me, I knew not whether I were living or dead. These warriors were
the advance guard of an _impi_ coming from Zululand. "_Bayete_,"--the
royal salute; "Greater of the Twin Stars," must have been intended for
one of the two Kings, brothers, then reigning over Zululand, Dingane or
Mhlangana. And for one of them these men were mistaking me.
I would ask you, _Nkose_, was ever any man in such a position? The
invading _impi_ must be of immense size if commanded in person by a
King, and it was sent to crush us. That was as clear as noonday. Now,
indeed, I had a part to play. Were the mistake discovered, I could
hardly escape with my life, and, in that case, our whole nation, taken
completely by surprise, would be assailed without warning, and, it might
be, utterly exterminated. Fortunately, my back was to the moon, whereas
they were facing it.
"What is thy will, Father?" went on the man who had been named Silwane.
"Shall we send back to hurry on the companies, and force this pass
tomorrow night? Yet, it will be better to leave it until the night
after."
"Till the night after?" I said, questioningly, desiring to speak in as
few words as possible, lest my voice should betray me, and yet thirsting
for more information.
"It will be better so, Greater of two Kings," went on Silwane. "Unless
we fall upon these Amandebeli by surprise, _au_! the good fortune which
was theirs on the Kwahlamba may still be with them; for, unless they
have _impis_ out elsewhere, the force they can bring against us can
hardly be less than our own."
This was news which caused my heart to leap with joy, only to droop
again immediately, for I recollected that a large _impi_ had gone forth
under Kalipe to eat up two chiefs who dwelt to the northward, and who
had failed to pay their tribute, thinking themselves strong enough.
True, its return was daily expected, but up till now there had been no
sign thereof. Of course, in my character of supposed King, I was in
favour of the delay, and, indeed, would have ordered yet further, but
dared not. The more uncertain were my orders the better, for he whom I
was now personating might really have decided views of his own of a
contrary policy. _Whau, Nkose_! in truth was I walking between spears,
even as when I put my own words into the mouth of the Bakoni chief in
the sight of Umzilikazi and the whole nation. Fortunately, boy as I was
before we left Zululand, I had often seen the princes of the House of
Senzangakona, and remembered their voices, which I now strove to
imitate. And I wanted to find out which of the two Kings I was supposed
to be.
"Thy plan is good, Silwane," I said, and then, carelessly, "_Whau_! I
know not. I who am but a child. I would that the other of the Twin
Stars of the Heavens were by me now, for his judgment in such matters is
greater than mine. What think you, Silwane?"
"_Au_!" he cried. "He who sits at Umkunkundhlovu has the wisdom of
nations. But it is thou who art skilled in war, O Mhlangana, Twin Star
of the Amazulu."
Ha! It was Mhlangana then whom I was representing, not Dingane. But
where was that prince himself? He might appear at any moment, and
then--
"Umzilikazi knows well how to use mountain passes," I said, laughing to
myself as I thought of the way we beat back Tshaka's _impi_.
"Wherefore, move not the soldiers until moonrise to-morrow night, and
enter the pass when darkness shall fall on the night after. Meanwhile
let none draw near this mountain chain, lest they be sighted by those
whom we are come to stamp flat--none, no, not one."
"And those who are already posted upon the height, father?"
"Let them remain," I said, "but let them keep well concealed. Stay,
where are they posted?"
"Yonder, where the two patches of scrub crown the projecting spur, Great
Great One," said the _induna_, pointing to a place which I could see,
luckily without turning my head, for had the moonbeams fallen on my face
that moment I were lost.
"Ha! But one picket? It seems I ordered two to be posted," I said
carelessly.
"One was indeed thy order, Serpent of Wisdom," replied Silwane. "Yet
there are five men in it. Shall I send up and bid two of them take up
other position elsewhere?"
"Let be, it matters not," I answered, still carelessly. "Ten eyes
should surely, from such a point, command half the world."
You will observe, _Nkose_, that I had found out four things: that a huge
Zulu _impi_ was advancing to surprise and utterly destroy us; that in
strength it scarcely exceeded that of our whole nation; that it was led
in person by Mhlangana, one of the brother Kings of Zululand; and that
it would cross the mountains at a certain time. It only remained for me
now to do one thing more to complete the trap into which I intended that
the might of Zululand should advance--and fall.
"That look-out is sufficient," I continued, after a moment's pause.
"Yet I think that it is not needful to wait until dark to enter the
pass. It may be done at mid-day, if those upon the watch-place signal
that none are about. Then that night shall the flames of Kwa'zingwenya
light the triumph dance of the might of the People of the Heavens. Let
it be known, then, that a white blanket be waved thrice if the way is
open."
"We hear you, Father," answered the warriors. "The plan will not fail.
By the King's white shield, but the rebel Umzilikazi may soon sit down
in darkness forever."
"_The King's white shield_!" Now I saw yet further light. For,
accompanying these words, the glances of the warriors had fallen
meaningly upon the white shield which I carried--the pure white shield
without spot of any other colour--the shield which had saved the life of
a king, and was now the means of saving the life of a king once more,
and also the life of a nation. This was how the mistake occurred; this
was how they had taken me for Mhlangana, seeing the great white royal
shield in the moonlight. But where was Mhlangana?
I said just now, _Nkose_, that there only remained for me one thing more
to do, yet, having done it, I found there remained another; and this
was, to effect a speedy and safe retreat from a position to which any
moment might bring an end--resulting in my own death and the destruction
of our nation. How was this to be effected? I dared not move or turn
ever so slightly lest the light, falling upon my face, should betray me.
To send these men away, and myself remain behind, might arouse their
suspicion, and, over and above these considerations, the real Mhlangana
might appear at any moment. Truly, _Nkose_, it required all the _muti_
that old Masuka, and the white _isanusi_, and Lalusini, and all the
greatest magicians the world ever saw, could devise to find me a way out
of that trap.
But while these thoughts were racing through my mind a confused murmur
rose among the group of warriors. A murmur of astonishment, even of a
little alarm. Their faces were turned skyward, seeming to look beyond
me as I stood; and, lo! the light had grown so dim that scarcely could I
distinguish their features, up till now so plainly visible.
"_Au_!" they cried. "The moon! The moon! It grows black!"
Now I turned also, deeming it safe to do so, yet with caution, and
covering half my face as though bringing my hand up in astonishment.
And what I beheld was indeed portentous.
Over the face of the moon a black curtain was spreading slowly, slowly--
veiling it not as a cloud veils it, but completely. While we had been
talking, we had not noticed the fading light. Now, as we looked, lo!
the half of the great golden ball was black. Higher, higher--farther,
farther, crept this curtain, till none was left but the outside rim.
All the rest of it was black. The world was in darkness.
Now, I had seen something of this kind before; but never before or since
have I seen the moon grow so utterly, so completely, black. It seemed
darker than the darkest night; yet, in reality, it was not so; but there
was a cold and wizard-like breathing in the night air, and even the
voices of the creatures of the waste were hushed. And heavy upon my
mind lay Lalusini's warning, and the words of her waking vision, uttered
before the King, and relating to the blackening of the moon and of the
feast which awaited the vultures. It was all plain enough now; ah, yes!
the vultures would soon have a gigantic feast, indeed; but--of whom
would it consist--of ourselves, or of the invading might of the two
brothers, the Zulu Kings?
Now I saw in the darkness a wide door open for my escape from my
perilous position.
"We will return now, my children, having found out all we desire to
know," I said.
"_Yeh-bo, Nkulu 'nkulu_!" assented the warriors, bending down and
uttering words of _bonga_. Then they opened for me to pass, but I
signed them to precede me; and so we all climbed up the rocks till we
soon found ourselves on the slope of one of those great rifts which ran
down into the half-circular hollow or basin which I had marked out for
the deathtrap of Mhlangana's _impi_.
"_Whau_!" muttered Silwane, who walked just in front of me. "The moon
is dark for the mourning of a nation, for the death of a king."
"I think that is even so, Silwane," I said grimly, my meaning not being
his.
The steep slope along which we were proceeding was thickly sprinkled
with growths of bush, and here and there great formations of boulders
and stones, which rendered the way difficult and toilsome. And now a
bit of the moon began to reappear. At all risks I must slip away, even
if it aroused suspicion.
I had already drawn back somewhat, falling farther and farther into the
rear. Already I judged the distance between myself and the warriors
great enough, and the spot favourable, for it was rugged and
rock-strewn, and overgrown with bush. Already I had turned the darker
side of my shield towards them, and in a moment more would have dropped
into concealment, and glided away with the silence and rapidity of a
serpent, when, _Nkose_, the strangest of strange things happened.
Between myself and the warriors in front there was a shape. It seemed
to appear out of empty air, for assuredly I had seen it spring out of
nowhere. It was the shape of a man, tall and broad. Unlike the
warriors in front, he was not adorned as for war, but like myself,
though wearing only the _mutya_ as usual, he was fully armed. His back
was towards me, and, as I stared wildly at him in the now fast
lightening darkness, a movement he made brought full into my view the
large war-shield which he carried. _Hau_! The shield was pure white,
like my own--a royal shield. This, then, must be the real Mhlangana.
The time had come, _Nkose_--had fully come--to take leave of that party,
for assuredly had Mhlangana looked back he would have taken me for his
ghost, stalking behind him, and who would wish to frighten any so great
as one of the brother Kings of Zululand? _Whau_! So I dropped quietly
behind a bush to wait until the party were out of hearing. But before
it was so I could hear Mhlangana talking to the warriors; but his words
were few, and their tones were even and showed no suspicion that they
had been receiving their orders and plan of battle from Umzilikazi's
second fighting _induna_. And, indeed, as I thought of it, I laughed so
to myself that I was forced to sit down upon the ground and take snuff.
For these skilled warriors and captains had cried the _Bayete_ and bent
low and uttered _bonga_ to me, Untuswa, who was but yesterday, it
seemed, a boy in Zululand; and from me had they taken their orders,
which would be for their own destruction. _Whau! Nkose_! The world
may have contained more ridiculous positions, but somehow I hardly think
it possible.
"_Hamba gahle_, Mhlangana! _Hambani gahle_, warriors of Dingane!" I
murmured in scornful farewell.
It did not take me long to reach the entrance of the pass. The wizard
beast was no longer there, but even had a hundred such been waiting to
bar my way, they would have delayed me no longer than the time it would
take to fight my way through them. No fears had I now of ghosts, or
shapes of _tagati_, or any such thing. All such fears had disappeared
in the face of this real peril which threatened us as a nation. I
laughed at such fears as I sped through that grim pass, its gloomy
depths rendered still blacker by the bright moon rays--for the moon was
light again now--striking upon the tall cliffs high overhead. And I
could hear stones falling among the rocks as though ghosts were at play,
and weird wailing voices with shrill, sharp screams of fear, or savage
snarls, and indeed, many sounds issuing from the shadows; but of such I
took no heed--but, indeed, nothing--neither ghosts nor animals--could, I
think, have a wilder, fiercer appearance than mine, as, with head bent
forward, and gripping my shield and weapons, I sped through that grim,
black defile which was at one moment in shadow, then in moonlight,
bearing with me that which was of all things the most portentous--the
fate of a nation.