"So, Untuswa! My commands were those of a general gone mad?"
"Not so, Serpent of Wisdom," I answered, "for the eyes of one who sits
aloft see farther than those who watch below."
"Yet the order must have seemed passing strange. _Whau_! but these bore
their part as cubs of the lion indeed," went on the King, his
snuff-spoon arrested in mid-air, as he rolled his eyes in pride over the
assemblage of our warriors, who, squatted in rank, were resting after
their hard-won victory. "I almost looked to see you give way, for the
host of Dingane was terrible in its might, and ye--ye looked but a
mouthful to it."
"See yonder, Great Great One," I said, pointing upward to the cliff.
"No living thing surely could find foothold there, yet thence floated
forth a wondrous song, and that song saved the day, Calf of a Black
Bull. For it hardened our hearts, which were already sinking, so that
we fell upon our enemies each man with the strength of ten. And that
song was the Song of the Shield!"
"What tale is this, Untuswa?" said the King, mockingly. "Thy song must
have been piped by a bird, then, for assuredly nothing human could find
foothold there."
"One man may, in truth, be mistaken, Father," I answered. "Yet--ask
these, ask all who followed the white shield this day."
Now a murmur arose among those who were with me attending on the King--
Xulawayo and Mgwali, and other fighting leaders.
"_Yeh-bo_!" they cried. "It is even as Untuswa has said, Father. The
Song of the Shield was the same as that sung by the stranger sorceress
when we went forth to war."
Umzilikazi's countenance clouded somewhat, I thought.
"The sorceress has won," he muttered. "Yet is all this passing
strange."
That night we lay upon the heights of Inkume in battle formation, for we
knew not whether another _impi_ might come against us. Yet, weary as we
were, we slept not over-much, for when the moon rose it seemed to look
down blood-red upon the field of strife; and we--we thought we could see
the bodies of those who were slain and gashed rise up once more and
fight and slay each other again. _Whau_! And of the slain there were
thousands, for in those days we met shield to shield, spear to spear,
and every man slew his enemy or was slain by him. Thousands were there,
and when the day dawned the rising of the sun was well-nigh darkened by
soaring clouds of vultures, swooping and wheeling on their great soft
pinions, awaiting our departure to settle down upon their feast.
With great triumph did we return to Kwa'zingwenya, for although we who
had gone forth thence came back with little more than half our number,
yet with Kalipe's force--which, joining us in time to turn the conflict
into a rout, had suffered but small loss--we made a brave show; for we
had won a great victory, and, I think, _Nkose_, we had a strangely
swelled opinion of ourselves, and that every man thought himself the
greatest warrior in the world. Yet we had some cause for our pride, for
we had once more met and rolled back the mighty Zulu power, had met and
defeated a larger force than our own, one composed of the picked
warriors of Dingane's regiments.
As we drew near to Kwa'zingwenya we heard singing, and lo! a great
company of girls, clad in their gayest dancing dresses, came out to meet
us. They carried green boughs, which they waved as they sang, and at
their head was Lalusini. At sight of her the warriors cried aloud her
name, hailing her as their deliverer, for her _muti_ it was which, when
their hearts were as water, had turned them to iron once more. But she,
smiling kindly at them, turned herself to the King, hailing him by all
his titles. This time, however, she sang not the Song of the Shield,
but the warriors did, for it was roared forth by the whole _impi_, and,
indeed, it became one of the great songs of our nation, nor do I think
it is forgotten yet. Also they sang this song:--
"Are they sharp--the horns of the Bull?
They are sharp. They are strong.
The Lion rushed upon them--
The Lion from the South--
_Ou_! Where is he--that Lion?
His head was high--loud was his roar:
His tail, too, was high;
But the horns of the Bull are sharp--
Ha! Ha! Now the Black Bull roars alone."
We went through the rites of purifying after the shedding of human
blood, and then there was great feasting and rejoicing; for our losses,
which were heavy, were not to be spoken of at such a time, and songs of
victory and rejoicing filled the air--not those of death and mourning--
for great, indeed, had been our triumph, and we were still a mighty
nation.
Death, too, had been busy at Kwa'zingwenya during our struggle for a
nation's life. For it had called to the white _isanusi_ to come over
into the Dark Unknown. The stranger was dead. He had been seized with
sickness in certain swampy lands, while travelling to outlying kraals to
spread his teaching, and had come back to die. And those who were with
him say that he died very quickly, and without pain or fear. Now, I
thought the King was not over-sorrowful about this; for, although the
white doctor was his friend, yet, sooner or later, these two strangers
would want to go forth from our midst--which we did not desire. And now
both were dead: one on a bed of sickness, the other on the field of
blood, as a warrior, making his dying bed of the bodies of those he had
slain. _Au_! It were better so; yet were we sad as we buried the white
priest--burying with him, too, all his possessions and articles of
clothing and sacrifice, even as he used to wear them, deeming that he
would need to make _muti_ where he had gone, even as he had done here.
Yes, we were sorry, for he was a good man and a brave man, that white
teacher, and although I have seen and heard many since, _Nkose_, never
did I hear any who spoke words quite as did that one.
Meanwhile, there was a thought ever present in my mind, and this was the
matter of Lalusini. The King, too, when we were alone together, would,
at times, talk strangely on that subject, as though he would read my
thoughts; and I, recollecting, wondered if I had rendered Tauane's last
words as darkly as I had intended, or if some inkling of the Bakoni
chief's real meaning had not come back to the Great Great One's mind.
But when things had quieted down after our feasting and rejoicing, the
King sent for Lalusini.
"Hail, Black Bull! whose horns are too sharp for the Lion!" was her
salute.
"To thee, greeting, whose voice, singing from the air, brings life to
the dead hearts of defeated warriors," answered Umzilikazi. "Tell me
now, sister, how was that done?"
"Nay, son of Matyobane," she said, with a smile and a shake of the head.
"That may not be. Sufficient is it that I have from the King's own
mouth that my _muti_ did raise the drooping hearts of the warriors, and
thus cause them to triumph over the Lion of the South. Does the word of
the King stand?"
Umzilikazi looked disappointed. Yet it was scarcely a fair thing to
question a sorceress as to the secrets of her magic; and I, sitting
there, hearing her claim the fulfilment of the King's promise,
remembered how I, too, had once done the same, though, then, my case had
been, indeed, a most desperate one.
"What, then, dost thou ask, sister?" he said.
"This, Great Great One. I am tired of wandering. I would fain rest
within the kraal of the Black Bull, and dwell with this nation forever."
"That is granted, daughter of the Mighty," said the King.
"Not all my request is it, Elephant. I am tired of sorcery, I would
fain abandon it and live as others do."
Now we all cried out in surprise, we _izinduna_ who were in attendance
upon the King. After the proof she had given of her astounding powers,
to desire to leave all this and dwell among us as any ordinary woman!
_Whau_! It was a marvel.
"The word of the King was that there were already magicians enough in
this nation," she went on, fearlessly. "Now I would retire from among
such. I would wed."
"_Hau_!" we all cried, in amaze.
"And whom wouldst thou wed, Lalusini?" said the King.
"I would wed the bravest warrior of this nation, Great Great One."
Now murmurs of astonishment filled the air, for, besides certain
councillors, several of our principal fighting-captains were present--
Kalipe, Gasibona, and Xulawayo, and others--besides myself.
"_Whau_!" cried the King. "Among so many who are brave who may say
which is the bravest? What sayest thou, son of Ntelani?"
"I say in the words of the Great Great One. Among so many brave who can
point out the bravest, my Father!" I answered, and, as I gazed upon
Lalusini's beauty, a terrible fear was round my heart lest some other
should be chosen, and in my anxiety I bent forward, sweeping with my
gaze the ring of set, astonished faces, and I seemed to behold them afar
off, and as through a mist.
"What say ye all?" said the King, turning to the others.
There was a pause, then Kalipe answered, for he was well disposed
towards me, and, moreover, liked not to wed with a sorceress himself.
"The bearer of the white shield, Great Great One. He is the bravest of
our warriors--none braver."
And all the others shouted aloud in assent of Kalipe's words.
"Hear ye what these say, Lalusini?" said the King.
"I hear them, Black Elephant," she replied, turning and smiling on me
now for the first time.
"Let it be so, then, for my word stands," said Umzilikazi.
Thus it came about, _Nkose_, that I took for my chief wife Lalusini, the
daughter of great Tshaka, but as to this the King enjoined upon us to
keep her birth a secret. And we dwelt long together and loved each
other much, and there was peace in our kraal; for Lalusini was
tender-hearted as well as beautiful, and not as Nangeza, who was hard
and desired to be chief over all upon whom she looked. But save on very
great and momentous occasions, Lalusini gave up practising sorcery, and,
indeed, she told me afterwards how she had been able to sing the Song of
the Shield in our ears in such wise as to turn the tide of the battle,
and how that the great cliff above us was so formed at one place as to
throw back the voice even when the singer was a long distance off: so
had the song been heard as though it sprang out of nowhere, to the
saving of our nation.
And I, after that I carried the white shield and the King's broad spear
into many a fray, and the might of the Amandebeli stood as it had ever
done, nor was the arm of Dingane stretched out again to strike us
until--Well, there came a time.
But it will soon grow dark, _Nkose_, nor is there time to begin another
story. _Whau_! and a long one indeed has this been, for I think the sun
had but just risen when I began, and now it is about to sink below the
rim of the world again. In the lives of men, as in the lives of
nations, strange things befall, and in mine, who am now old, strange
things have befallen. I have lived under the shadow of five Kings--all
mighty and great--but of them all, saving perhaps Tshaka, none was so
great as Umzilikazi, the Father and Founder of a great and mighty
nation.