"An _impi_ sent by Dingane," was my first thought, as I gassed upon the
fierce countenances and the spears poised aloft with threatening flash.
"Who art thou--and whence?" said he who appeared to be the leader, a
tall man and savage of mien.
"Rather, who are ye?" I answered, with another question, affronted by
the insolent tone employed by the speaker.
"See these," he answered swiftly. "Speak or die! You are one man, and
these are several."
"Yet I have fought with several before this day, O Unknown," I retorted,
with a swift movement, throwing up my shield in defence, at the same
time backing towards the rock, so that they could not get round me. So
I stood ready for a merry fight, for the leader alone would have taken
up all my attention, so tall and strong was he--and there were others.
To my surprise they did not come on. The leader again spoke.
"Once more, who art thou? He who wanders in the retreat of the
Bapongqolo must needs give an account of himself."
"_E-he_!" assented the others.
Then I lowered shield and weapons at once.
"I am Untuswa, the son of Ntelani. Perchance ye have heard of him, ye
who are refugees."
By the look which they exchanged I knew they had heard of me. Then the
leader said:
"What seek you here, Untuswa, for in truth that is a name which is
known?"
"I seek a refuge among the people who are in refuge," I said.
"Why then, thou art welcome, Untuswa," he replied. "I am Sifadu, the
son of Kona, and I wielded a sharp spear in the ranks of the
Imbele-bele, of which I was a captain. But Tola, that jackal-spawned
cheat, did name my father at a witch-finding, and he, being old, died
the death of the black ants; but I and the remainder of his house
escaped--and here we are."
"Tola will name no more, Sifadu," I said. "The knob-sticks of the
King's slayers have put that form of pleasure beyond his reach."
"He is dead, then! _Haul_ I am glad, and yet not, for one day I had
promised myself the delight of having him enticed here that he might die
the death my father suffered through him. I would pay ten cows as the
price of that pleasure--yes, willingly." And the look on the face of
Sifadu was such that it was perhaps as well for Tola in the long run
that he had died the swift and painless death of the knobstick.
Thus we conversed, Sifadu and I, and as we journeyed I told him and the
others a great deal of what had happened; of the invasion of the
Amabuna, and how we had destroyed many of them. They had heard
something of this, but I, who had taken part in it, was able to tell
them everything. But what they especially wanted to know about was the
rumour of plotting in favour of Mpande. Of this, however, I could not
tell them much, because I knew but little myself.
The principal place of the Bapongqolo consisted not of one large kraal,
but a number of small ones; and so scattered were these, and so
carefully hidden, away in the dense forest which covered the slopes of a
vast hollow or bowl, that it would be well-nigh impossible to strike
them all at one blow; and to this end was such concealment planned.
Impossible, too, would it have been for any considerable number of men
to have penetrated the hollow without their advance having been long
since known to the inhabitants, so dense and rock-strewn were the
approaches; and, indeed, all such were under the observation of small
outpost kraals, which served the purposes of pickets.
I gathered that these refugees were counted by hundreds. They were of
all ages, from quite old men down to boys. Most of them, however, were
middle-aged men in their prime; but whether the fact of being refugees
kept them ever on the alert, all had a quick, ready, and fearless look,
together with fine and well-knit frames, that stamped them as a warrior
clan of no contemptible strength. And to Sifadu all seemed to look up
as to a recognised chief.
Of this Sifadu I knew not quite what to make. He was friendly at first,
but as time went by he seemed to look at me with jealous and suspicious
eyes, as though he thought that a man of my standing and prowess would
hardly be content with the position of one among many, wherein he was
right, perhaps. Of one thing, however, I was certain. Did I or any
other man desire the chieftainship of these outlaws Sifadu would first
have to be dead.
For the present, however, I had no such thoughts. I was content to
dwell quietly and unmolested, and await the turn events might take. So,
as time went by, I seemed to have become as one of the Bapongqolo.
Together we hunted the wild game of the forest--together we made
descents in search of plunder into the Swazi country or the lands of the
Amatonga, or levied tribute from the kraals lying beyond the outskirts
of our own fastnesses; and so feared were we that none thought of
resistance or retaliation.
"Of a truth, Untuswa, the day might come when Dingane himself would be
glad to join us," said Sifadu to me, as we were returning from one of
these forays. "With our help, even we might save him his seat. Then
should we not be among the highest of the nation? Then would there not
be some who might groan aloud because the son of Kona had returned?"
Such a thought as this had been in my own mind, but I desired not to
foster it in that of others, at least, not until I had determined upon
my own plans; so to Sifadu I replied lightly on the matter, treating it
as of no importance.
Lalusini had kept her word, and twice had arranged that we should meet
and hold long converse together. But on the second of these occasions
her news was great. The Amabuna had crossed the Tugela in great force,
intending to march upon Nkunkundhlovu. There had been a tremendous
battle, but the army of Dingane had defeated them and had driven them
back; and but for their horses would have stamped them out entirely.
Then the English at Tegwini had undertaken to interfere in this quarrel,
and had crossed the Tugela with a large _impi_ of Amakafula. These,
however, got no further than the bank of the Tugela, for the King's
warriors made meat of that _impi_ until the river ran red with their
blood; and, in his wrath and disgust at this breach of faith on the part
of the whites at Tegwini, Dingane sent an _impi_ there to eat them up,
too. _Whau_! and they would have been eaten up but that they took to
the water--took refuge on a ship that was there--for these whites,
_Nkose_, had no business to interfere in a quarrel which concerned them
not. They were not of the blood of the Amabuna, and they had ever been
treated as friends by the house of Senzangakona since the great Tshaka
had allowed them the use of the lands on which they then dwelt. So they
were rightly served.
Now all these tales of war and of great battles fired my blood, for I
would fain have been in them; yet here I was, hiding away as a fugitive.
But when I would have boldly returned, craving only that Dingane would
allow me to wield a spear in the ranks of his troops, Lalusini dissuaded
me. The hostility of Tambusa and Umhlela burned as hot against me as
ever, and indeed I had fled not any too soon. She bade me wait. She
herself was high in favour with the King by reason of the victories
which had attended the Zulu arms, for she had foretold them.
Not without risk did I thus meet Lalusini. I could not reveal the real
relationship between us, and the suspicions of the fierce Bapongqolo
once fairly aroused, I might be slain suddenly and without warning, and
no opportunity given me of explanation or self-defence. Indeed, after
the first time, I thought I noticed a frost of suspiciousness in the
converse of those people towards me as we sat around our fires at night.
But the second time something so unlooked for happened that it gave
them all something else to think about.
Lalusini had finished telling me all there was of news when, of a
sudden, her manner became strange and suspicious.
"We are being watched, Untuswa," she said quietly.
"Watched? Why then, it will be bad--ah, very bad--for the watcher."
And hardly had the words escaped me than I darted from her side. I
hurled myself through the thickness of the bush, but something was
already crashing through it away from me. I made out the form of a man.
"Now, stop!" I cried--a casting assegai poised for a throw. "Stop! or
I cleave thee to the heart."
I was about to hurl the spear fair between the shoulders of the fleeing
man--who was now not many paces in front--when he stopped suddenly. I
went at him. He turned round and faced me, a glare of hate and fury in
his eyes that seemed to scorch--to burn. And I--_Whau_! I stood as one
suddenly turned to stone, the uplifted assegai powerless in my stiffened
grasp. For the face was that of a ghost--the dreadful glare of hate and
fury that paralysed me was upon the face of a ghost. I was gazing upon
one whom I had seen slain, whom my own eyes had beheld clubbed to death
by the King's slayers--Tola, the chief of the witch doctors.
We stood for a moment thus, motionless, I gazing upon the horrible form
of one I knew to be dead, as it stood there, shadowed in the gloom of
the trees. Then, slowly raising an arm, the voice came, deep and
hollow--
"Retire--or I put that upon thee which shall blast and wither thy heart
and turn to water thy courage; which shall change the most valiant of
fighting-men into the most cowardly of women."
Awful as were the words, the effect upon me was not that intended. He
had better have kept silence, for now I knew him to be alive, and I
sprang upon him. He had a spear, and struck furiously at me with it;
but I turned the blow, and then we closed. He fought and bit and
kicked, and, powerful as I was, the lithe and slippery witch doctor for
long defied my efforts to secure him, for I was anxious to take him
alive. At last it seemed I should be obliged to kill him, when
something was dropped over his head which, the next moment, was rolled
round and round in a thick covering of stuff. It was Lalusini's
blanket. She had come to my aid just at the right time. We had no
difficulty in securing him now, and with strips cut from his own skin
cloak we bound his hands firmly behind him, and his feet. Then we
removed the blanket.
"Greeting, Tola!" I said. "I thought thou wert dead; but I had
forgotten, a great _izanusi_ such as thou could not die, which is well,
for not far off is one who longeth to welcome thee."
"Have a care, Untuswa, have a care," he snarled. "Dost thou not fear?"
"Why, no," I answered. "The _muti_ which protects me is greater than
any which can be turned against me. But thou, what canst thou fear, O
great _izanusi_ who cannot die?"
I was but mocking him, _Nkose_, for now I saw through the plot. He had
purposely been allowed to escape in the turmoil what time all the other
_izanusi_ had been slain; and I laughed at myself for my fears on first
beholding him.
We left Tola lying there helpless; and, removing a little distance, we
said out all we had to say. Then we took leave of each other.
"Use care, Untuswa, for it is that man's life or thine," said Lalusini,
as we parted. "On no account let him escape."
"Have no fear as to that, Lalusini," I answered. "There is one who will
take even better care of him than I could."
When she had gone I unbound Tola's ankles, and told him to walk. Now,
seeing himself in my power, he began to talk fair. He promised to do
all for me if I would but let him go--to rid me of my enemies, to make
me the greatest man, next to the King. But I only mocked him.
"A live _izanusi_ may do great things," I said. "But a dead
_izanusi_--_whau_!--of what use is he? And, Tola, I seem to remember
that thou art dead--dead by order of the Great Great One. How then
canst thou serve me?"
Then he began on another story. He could teach me things--could reveal
mysteries which would render me all-powerful against every form of harm.
But I only laughed at this, saying that he would soon have an
opportunity of testing his powers in his own favour; and thus, ever with
a watchful eye upon him, we travelled on together until we entered the
hollow where were the kraals of the Bapongqolo.
"There are many here who will give thee warm greeting, chief of the
_izanusi_," I said. "Some even, upon whom thou hast looked before."
Now people began to crowd around us, and, recognising my prisoner,
shouts of hatred and threats were hurled at him. They would have torn
him from me, but I restrained them.
"Go, call Sifadu," I said. "I have brought him a long-desired guest."
At the mention of Sifadu's name the terror stamped upon the face of Tola
was frightful to behold. We, standing around, enjoyed this, for
scarcely a man there but had seen some relative haled to the place of
doom at the bidding of this hyena; some indeed to writhe in torment for
long before they died. Then Tola, foaming at the mouth, rolled on the
ground in convulsions; but for this they cared nothing, as a mere
witch-finding trick. They pricked him with their assegais until he came
to again, roaring with laughter the while. And as he came to again,
Sifadu appeared.
"Welcome, Tola," he cried. "Welcome! We have long awaited thee. Ha,
and a right warm welcome shall be thine, ah, ah! a right warm welcome."
And thrusting his face close to that of the witch doctor he gnashed his
teeth in a grin of such hardly-to-be-restrained fury that I thought he
would have seized the other with his churning jaws like a beast.
"Welcome, Tola," he went on. "A warm welcome to thee, in the name of
all my house whom thou didst eat up. _Whau_! There were my two young
wives. How nicely their tender limbs shrivelled and burned as they died
the death of the hot stones as witches, smelt out by thee Tola--by thee,
Tola--thou prince of smellers out!" and with the two repetitions he
sliced off the witch doctor's ears with the keen blade of his broad
assegai. A frightful howl escaped the sufferer.
"Then there was my mother and another of my father's wives; they were
lashed to death with switches to make them confess--by thy orders.
Tola. _Haul_ Does this feel good--and this--and this?" And he lashed
the prisoner's naked body with a green hide thong until the air rang
with screams.
"Then there was my father, Kona. He was eaten by black ants--at thy
word, Tola--by black ants. It took nearly a day for him to die in that
torment, raving and roaring as a madman. And now I think this shall be
thine own end. _Whau_! The black ants--the good black ants--the fierce
black ants--the hungry black ants. They shall be fed--they shall be
fed."
Now, _Nkose_, looking at Sifadu, I thought he came very near being a
madman at that moment, so intense was his hate and fury, so difficult
the restraint he put upon himself not to hack the vile witch doctor into
pieces there and then with his own hand. He foamed at the month, he
ground his teeth, his very eyeballs seemed about to roll from their
sockets. But the face of Tola, ah! never did I see such terror upon
that of any living man. The crowd, looking on, roared like lions,
stifling Sifadu's voice. They called to him the death of relatives--of
fathers, of brothers, of wives, all of whose deaths lay at the doors of
the _izanusi_. They wished that this one had a hundred lives that they
might take a hundred days in killing him. There were several nests of
black ants at no distance. Then somebody cried out that there was a
particularly large one under a certain tree.
"Under a tree!" cried Sifadu. "Ha. I have an idea! Bring him along."
They flung themselves upon Tola, whose wild howling was completely
drowned by the ferocious yells of the crowd. But as they were dragging
him roughly over the ground Sifadu interposed.
"_Gahle_, brothers. Do not bruise him. The ants like their meat
uninjured."
Amid roars of delight the miserable wretch was dragged to the place of
torment. Already some had knocked the top off the ants' nest, and were
stirring it with sticks to infuriate the insects. Right over the nest
grew a long bough a little more than the height of a tall man from the
ground. Now Sifadu's idea took shape.
A wedge of wood was inserted between the victim's teeth. This had the
effect of holding his jaws wide open, nor by any effort could he
dislodge the gag. Then his ankles being strongly bound together, he was
hoisted up to the branch above, and left hanging by the feet, so that
his head and gaping mouth just touched the broken top of the ant heap.
Then as he writhed and twisted and howled in his agony--for the
infuriated insects swarmed all over him--into his nostrils, mouth,
severed ears, everywhere--the Bapongqolo crowded around gloating over
his torments, and shouting into his ears the names of those whom he
himself had doomed to a like torment. It was long indeed before he
died, but though I have seen many a terrible form of death, never did I
see any man suffer as did this one. And yet, _Nkose_, it was just that
he should, for had not he himself been the means of dooming many
innocent persons to that very death? Wherefore the revenge of the
refugees was a meet and a just one.