Through the whole of the following day, and the night after, we
travelled; and on the next morning, before the son had arisen, we came
upon a large kraal. The land lay enshrouded in heavy mist, and the
hoarse barking of many dogs sounded thick and muffled. Armed men sprang
to the gate to inquire our errand, but one word from my slave, Jambula,
caused them to give us immediate admission. This was the kraal of
Maqandi-ka-Mahlu, the chief over the workers in iron, in whose midst the
horror named the Red Death had broken forth.
As I strode across the centre space--the domes of the encircling huts
looming shadowy through the mist--Maqandi himself came forth to meet me.
Yet although showing me this mark of deference, I liked not his manner,
which was sullen, and somewhat lacking in the respect due from an
inferior and disgraced chief towards one who dwelt at the right hand of
the King, and who was, moreover, the second in command of the King's
army. But it seemed to me that fear was in his mind, for he could not
think that an induna of my rank would arrive alone, attended by one
slave, and I think he expected every moment the signal which should
bring my followers swarming into the kraal to put him and his to the
assegai and his possessions to the flames.
"What is the will of the Great Great One, son of Ntelani?" he said, as
we sat together within his hut alone. "_Hau_! I am an old man now, and
troubles grow thick on every side. I have no people, and am but
taskmaster over a set of miserable slaves--I, who fought with the
assegai and led warriors to victory at the Place of the Three Rifts,
even as you did yourself, Untuswa. Yes, troubles are upon me on every
side, and I would fain sit down at rest within the Dark Unknown."
I looked at Maqandi, and I pitied him. He had, indeed, grown old since
we had fought together in that great battle. His face was lined and his
beard had grown grey; and his hair--which, being in some measure in
disgrace, he had neglected to shave--seemed quite white against the
blackness of his head-ring. Yet with all his desire to sleep the sleep
of death, there was in his eyes a look of fear; such a look as may be
descried in the faces of those to whom the witch-finder's rod draws very
near. Yes, I pitied him.
"The will of the Great Great One is not with thee for the present,
Maqandi," I said, desiring to reassure him. "Now, hearken, and give me
such aid as I need, and it may be that the head-ring of the son of Mahlu
may yet shine once more in its place among the nation."
"Ha! Sayest thou so, holder of the White Shield?" he answered quickly,
a look of joy lighting up his face. "Is not all I have at the disposal
of the second induna of the King?"
"That is rightly said, Maqandi," I replied. "For never yet did I fail
those who did well by me. And now we will talk."
I unfolded my plan to the chief over the ironworkers, and as I did so
his face grew sad and heavy again--for I could see he doubted my success
in ridding the land of this terror--and then would not he, too, be
sacrificed to the anger of the King? But I enjoined upon him silence
and secrecy--telling him that his part lay in strictly obeying my orders
and supplying my need. This, so far, lay in requiring two of the slave
ironworkers to be in attendance upon me at sundown, for I intended
proceeding to the Valley of the Red Death that very night.
Food was brought in, and _tywala_, and we ate and drank. Then I lay
down and slept--slept hard and soundly throughout the heat and length of
the day.
When I awoke the sun was declining from his highest point in the
heavens. My slave Jambula was already waiting and armed before the door
of my hat. Beside him, too, were those I required to be in attendance.
Both went before me, uttering words of _bonga_.
"Why are these armed?" I said, noting that the two ironworkers carried
spears and axes. "I need no armed force. Let them leave their weapons
here."
A look of fear spread over the faces of both slaves at these words, and
they reckoned themselves already dead men. For although weapons could
be of no avail against a thing of _tagati_ and of terror, such as had
already laid low so many of their number, and indeed two of our own
tried warriors, in a death of blood, yet it is in the nature of man to
feel more confident when his hand holds a spear. But at my word they
dropped their weapons and stood helpless.
Now, _Nkose_, not without reason did I so act. The King's word had been
that I should slay this horror accompanied by no armed force, and
although two such miserable fighters as this race of slaves could supply
were of no more use with arms in their hands than without, yet I would
not give Umzilikazi any chance of saying I had not fulfilled his
conditions. Besides, I had a purpose to which I intended putting these
two, wherein weapons would avail them nothing at all.
I took leave of Maqandi-ka-Mahlu and set forth--I and Jambula and the
two workers in iron. Such men of our people as I encountered saluted me
in gloomy silence, and as I passed the kraals of the iron-workers the
people came forth and prostrated themselves on the ground, for my
importance was twofold; I represented the majesty of the King, and
further, some inkling had got abroad that my errand lay to investigate,
and, if possible, bring to an end the terror of the Red Magic.
From the kraal of Maqandi we could already see the great mountain range
in whose heart lay the locality of this terror, and shortly, ere the
last rays of the sun faded from the world, we stood before a dark and
narrow defile. We had left behind the dwellings of men, though
plentiful traces of their occupation would meet our eyes, being left by
the iron-working parties. Through this defile a thin trickle of water
ran, though in times of rain and storm the place showed signs of pouring
down a mighty and formidable flood. High overhead the slopes were
covered with thick bush and forest trees, and above this, again, walls
of red-faced rock seemed to cleave the sky. As we entered this gloomy
place the terror on the faces of the slaves deepened, and even I,
_Nkose_, felt not so easy in my mind as I would have it appear.
Soon we came out into more open ground; open immediately around us, for
on raising my eyes I saw that we were in a large valley, or hollow. A
ring of immense cliffs shut in the place as with a wall, nor, save the
way by which we had come in, could my glance, keen and searching as it
was, descry any means by which a man might find a way out.
The bottom of this strange valley was nearly level, and well grown with
tall forest trees and undergrowth; not so thick, however, but that there
were grassy open spaces, bestrewn with large rocks and boulders. But
from the level floor of the hollow robe little or no slope. The great
iron faces of the cliffs rose immediately, either in terraces or soaring
up to a great height. Such was the aspect of the Valley of the Red
Death.
That it was indeed the dreaded valley, the looks on the faces of the two
iron-workers were sufficient to show. But I, gazing earnestly around
and noting that there was but one way in or out, reckoned that the first
part of my errand would not be hard--to find the accursed thing. Then a
further examination of the cliffs, and I felt not so sure, for
irregularly along their faces were black spots of all shapes and sizes.
These were the mouths of caves.
Now, as we stood there, the light of day had all but faded from the
world, and already one or two stars were peeping over the rim of the
vast cliff-wall rearing up misty and dim to the height of the heavens.
Little sound of life was there, from bird, or beast, or insect; and this
of itself added to the grey and ghostly chill which seemed to brood over
the place; for in that country night was wont to utter with more voices
than day. But the golden bow of a young moon, bright and clear, gave a
sufficient light to make out anything moving, save under the black
darkness of the trees.
"What is thy name?" I said suddenly, turning to one of the slaves.
"Suru, father," he replied.
"Well then, Suru, attend," I said. "Remain here, in this open space
beside this small rock, and stir not hence until I send for or call
thee. To fail in thy orders in the smallest particular is death."
But the man sank on the ground at my feet.
"Slay me now, father," he entreated, "for death by one blow of the spear
of the mighty do I prefer to the awfulness and horror of the death which
shall come upon me here alone."
"But death by one blow of the spear shall not be thy portion, oh fool,"
I answered, mocking him. "Ah, ah! No such easy way is thine, oh dog,
oh slave. The stake of impalement shall be thy lot, oh Suru. Think of
it, thou hast never seen it. Ask Jambula here how long a man may live
when seated upon that sharp throne. For days and days may he beg for
death, with blackened face and bursting eyeballs and lolling tongue, and
every nerve and muscle cracking and writhing with the fiery torture.
Why surely the death which this ghost could bring upon thee here would
be mercy compared with such a death as that. But I think I will leave
thee no choice. Bind him, Jambula. Even a bound sentinel is better
than none, though more helpless. If Suru will not keep his watch a free
man he shall keep it bound. Ah, ah!"
That settled all his doubts. As Jambula made a step towards him, Suru
cried out to me to pardon his first hesitation, and to allow him to obey
my orders at any rate unbound. I agreed to this, for he was frightened
enough, and indeed, _Nkose_, as he moved away to take up the position I
had assigned to him, his look was that of one who stands on the brink of
the Pool of the Alligators with the slayers beside him.
Leaving Suru to his solitary post, I moved back with Jambula and the
other slave to near the neck of the narrow passage by which we had
entered the hollow, for I wanted to see whether the thing of dread came
in when night fell, or whether it abode within the place itself. This
we could do, for I chose a position a little way up the hillside,
whence, by the light of the moon, I could command a clear space over
which anything approaching from without could not but pass. So we sat
beneath a cluster of rocks, and watched, and watched.
Night had fallen, mysterious and ghostly. The stars burned bright in
the heavens, yet it seemed as though some black cloud of fear hung
above, blurring their light. From the open country far beyond came the
cry of hyaenas, and the sharp barking yelp of the wild hunting dog
calling to its mates; but in the drear gloom of this haunted valley, no
sound of bird or beast was there to break the silence. So the night
watches rolled on.
I know not whether I slept, _Nkose_; it may be that I partly did; but
there came a feeling over me as of the weight of some great terror, and
indeed it seemed to hold me as though I could not move. Was it an evil
dream? Scarcely, for, as with a mighty effort, I partly threw off the
spell, my glance fell upon the face of Jambula.
He was gazing upward--gazing behind him--gazing behind him and me. His
jaw had fallen as that of a man not long dead, and his eyeballs seemed
bursting from their sockets, and upon his face was the same awful look
of fear as that worn by the slave, Suru, when left to his solitary
watch. I followed his glance, and then I too felt the blood run chill
within me.
Rising above the rocks, at the foot of which we sat, a pair of great
branching horns stood forth black against the sky. Slowly, slowly, the
head followed, till a pair of flaming eyes shone beneath, seeming to
burn us as we crouched there. But the size of it! _Whau_! No animal
that ever lived--even the largest bull in the King's herd--ever attained
to half the size. Thoughts of the _tagati_ terror rushed through my
mind. Should I creep round the rocks and slay the monster, while its
attention was taken up watching my slaves? Would it indeed fall to
mortal weapon? And at that moment, I, the fearless, the foremost in the
fiercest battle, the second commander of the King's armies, felt my
heart as water within me. But before I could decide on any plan the
thing vanished--vanished as I gazed.
It was coming round the rocks, of course. In a moment we should receive
its onslaught, and three more would be added to the number of the
victims of the Red Death.
But--after? I thought of my beautiful wife, writhing her life out upon
the stake of agony. I thought of my kinsmen and followers given over to
the death of the alligators, and in a moment my heart grew strong again.
I felt nerved with the strength of ten men. Let the thing come; and
gripping my broad assegai, the royal spear, and my great white shield,
the royal gift, I stood above the two scared and cowering slaves, ready
to give battle to this terror from the unseen world. And in the short
space of silence, of waiting, it seemed that I lived the space of my
whole life.
But as I thus waited there rang forth upon the night a shrill, wild
echoing yell--such a cry as might issue from the throat of one suffering
such unheard of torments as the mind of man could ever invent. It
pealed forth again louder, more quavering, rending the night with its
indescribable notes of terror and agony--and it rose from where we had
left the slave, Suru, to keep his grisly watch alone in the blackness of
the forest. There was silence, but immediately that was rent by another
sound--a terrible sound, too--the savage growling roars as of an
infuriated bull--receding further and further from the place whence the
death cry had arisen, together with a crashing sound as though a great
wind were rushing away further and further up the haunted valley.
For long did that fearful death-yell ring in my ears, as I stood
throughout the night watches, grasping my spear, every moment expecting
the onslaught of the thing--for, of course, it would return, where more
victims awaited. Then the thought came to me that it only dared attack
and slay the unarmed; that at the sight of a warrior like myself, armed
and ready for battle, it had retired to vent its rage upon an easier
prey; and this thought brought strength and encouragement, for I would
find no great difficulty in slaying such. But with the thought came
another. The two men of Hlatusa's band had been slain as easily and
mysteriously as the iron-working slaves--slain in broad daylight--and
they were well-armed warriors, and men of tried valour. In truth, the
undertaking seemed as formidable as ever.
Even that night came to an end, and the cheerfulness and warmth of the
newly-arisen sunbeams put heart even into the two badly-frightened
slaves; and, feeling strong in my presence, their fears yielded to
curiosity to learn the exact fate of Suru--not that any of us really
doubted what that fate had been.
With spear held ready, and none the less alert because it was day, and
the valley was now flooded with the broad light of the sun, I quickly
made my way down, followed by Jambula and the other, to where I had left
the slave the night before. It was as I thought. There he lay--dead;
crushed and crumpled into a heap of body and limbs. He had tried to
run. I could see that by the tracks, but before he had run ten steps
the terrible ghost-bull had overtaken him and flung him forward. The
great hole made by the entering horn gaped wide between his ribs, and,
tearing forward, had half ripped him in two. The grass around was all
red and wet with half-congealed blood, and in the midst, imprinted deep
and clear as in the muddy earth after rain, two great hoof marks, and
those of such a size as to be imprinted by no living animal.
So now I had seen with my own eyes a victim of the terror of the Red
Death, and now I myself must slay this horror. But how to slay a great
and terrible ghost--a fearful thing not of this world?