The first elation of their most timely rescue cooled, Haviland and
Oakley realised that they had no very bright outlook before them, under
the changed condition of things. Instead of their return to
civilisation and the outside world after their long exile--a return,
too, bearing with them the results of a highly successful enterprise,
and which every day had been bringing nearer and nearer--here they were
virtually captives once more, in process of being marched back further
and further from the goal to which they had looked; back, indeed, into
unknown wilds, and at the mercy of a barbarian despot whose raids and
massacres had set up a reputation for cruelty which surpassed that of
Mushad himself.
The conditions of the march, too, were exhausting even to themselves.
Twenty-five, even thirty miles a day, were as nothing to these sinewy
savages. They did not, however, take a straight line, but diverged
considerably every now and then to fall upon some unhappy village.
Contrary, however, to custom, they perpetrated no massacres on these
occasions. What they did do was to show off Mushad and his principal
followers, with slave-yokes on their necks, and under every possible
circumstance of ignominy, in order that all might see that the terrible
and redoubted slaver chief was a mere dog beside the power of the Great
King. This revolted the two Englishmen, and however little reason they
had to commiserate their late enemies, at any rate these were brave men,
and they had expected that a brave race like the Inswani would have
recognised this. At last they said as much.
It happened that Dumaliso had compelled several of the meanest of the
villagers to lash Mushad. The infliction was not severe. It was merely
the indignity that was aimed at. The haughty Arab, however, might have
been made of wood for all the sign he gave of either pain or
humiliation. But the two white men were thoroughly disgusted, and it is
absolutely certain that, had the means been at hand, they would, at all
risks, have aided their late enemy to escape.
"Why degrade a brave man thus, leader of the Great Great One's impi?"
Haviland had expostulated. "If he is to die, even in torment, it may be
that he has deserved that. But to degrade him at the hands of these
vile dogs, who just now trembled at the mere sound of his name--is that
well?"
"Is it well?" echoed Dumaliso, with a brutal laugh. "See there, white
man," pointing with his great assegai at Mushad. "If yonder dog had
fifty lives, every one of them should be taken from him in the torment
of many days. For him nothing is too bad. It is the word of the Great
Great One."
"What has he done, that your King should hate him so?"
"_Au_! He has seized and made slaves of some of our people. Inswani
slaves! Think of it, _Umlungu_! That for one thing. For another, he
has sworn to seize the Great Great One, and turn him into the meanest of
slaves, to heap indignities upon him far worse than any we have heaped
upon his vile carrion carcase, indignities which are not to be named.
This hath he done, O insect-hunter! Is it not enough?"
Haviland realised the futility of further remonstrance, but the
unpleasant conviction seemed to be growing upon them more and more that
they had perchance only fallen out of the frying-pan into the fire--that
they were themselves virtually prisoners, and that in the hands of a
race of ferocious savages without one spark of humanity or ruth--in
short, for sheer devilish, bloodthirsty cruelty not one whit behind
those from whom they had been delivered. Not a day but furnished forth
instances of this. The captive slave-hunters had been forced to act as
carriers, and enormous bundles containing the loot of both camps had
been placed upon them to bear. Did they falter, they were unmercifully
beaten and goaded on with spear-points, while several, who from sheer
exhaustion gave up, were savagely tortured and mutilated and left to
die. To our two friends it was simply horrible. It was as though the
dark places of the earth were indeed given over to devils in human
shape--to work their utmost in deeds of sickening barbarity and
bloodshed. And further and further into these "dark places" were they
themselves being forced.
They had induced their rescuers--or captors--to revisit the scene of the
battle, by holding out to them the possibility of finding more loot,
over looked or not thought worth bringing away by Mushad, their own
object being twofold--to bury their unfortunate friend, and to recover
if possible the precious specimens. As to the first, disappointment
befell them, for such high revel had been held by the carrion birds and
beasts that the remains of the doctor were undistinguishable from those
of any other victim of the hideous massacre. In the second matter they
were more fortunate. Most of the treasured collections had escaped
damage, and the Inswani warriors had stood round, some amused, some
jeering, at the spectacle of the two white men--who they had it from
Kumbelwa _could_ fight--eagerly repacking dried and pressed plants, or
striving to repair the broken wings of tiny beetles.
Haviland, with his knowledge of their language, had laid himself out to
try and gain their friendship, but they were not particularly
responsive; and here he was surprised, for, whereas some--Dumaliso
included--spoke pure Zulu, others only talked a kind of dialect of it,
introducing a great many words that were strange to him. Yet somehow
none of these men quite resembled the straight, clean-limbed,
aristocratic savage he had become familiar with in the realm of
Cetywayo. In physique many of them excelled him, but there was a hard,
brutal, aggressive look in their otherwise intelligent faces. Those of
them, too, who wore the head-ring wore it very large and thick, and, as
we have said, their shields and assegais were heavier and of a different
finish. He wondered whether these were an evolution of the original
Zulu, or if the Zulu up to date had receded from this type.
Day after day their weary march continued, and they began to estimate
they had covered close on four hundred miles. Four hundred weary miles
to be re-traversed, if they ever did return. But during the last few
days the face of the country had been improving. The climate was
cooler, and, as they had been gradually ascending, it was evident that
the home of these people lay amid healthy uplands. Great valleys opened
out, dotted with mimosa patches and baobab, and half a hundred varieties
of shrubbery. Game, too, was plentiful; but when our friends would have
varied the monotony of the march by a little sport they were promptly
repressed, for this was one of the king's preserves, and woe betide him
who should violate, it. And then at last one morning a halt was called,
and weapons and shields were furbished up, and full war-gear, laid aside
for the march, was donned. Away in the distance, far up the valley, but
just discernible from their elevation on the hill slope, a light veil of
smoke hung upon the morning air. It was the King's town.
And now, as the march was resumed, our two friends saw, for the first
time, something of the people of the country into which they had been
brought; for those inhabiting the outlying villages, both men and women,
came swarming down to meet the returning impi. Most of the women, they
noticed to their surprise, were inclined to be rather short and squat,
though there were some of good height among them. But these stared at
the two Englishmen in wild surprise, uttering remarks which, to
Haviland, at any rate, who understood them, were not calculated to
enhance self-esteem. The main centre of attention, however, was the
presence of the captive slave-hunters, and here the fury of the
undisciplined savage nature broke forth, and the air rang with wild
howls and threats of impending vengeance. And this awful tumult
gathered volume as it rolled along the valley, for, drawn by it, others
came down in every direction to swell the tide of dark, infuriated
humanity; and, lo! the returning impi seemed a mere handful in the midst
of the crowd that poured round it on every hand, roaring like beasts,
clamouring for the blood and anguish of their hated foes; and the dust
swirled heavenward in a mighty cloud, while the earth shivered to the
thunder of thousands and thousands of feet.
In the midst of all this horrible tumult, our two friends were straining
their eyes through the blinding dust-clouds to catch a first glimpse of
the town, and it was not until they were right upon it that they did so.
Contrary to their expectation, however, it bore no resemblance what
ever to a Zulu kraal, for it was square in shape and fenced in with a
formidable stockade. Some twenty yards back from it was another and a
similar stockade, and they reckoned that the space enclosed by this was
fully a mile each way. The huts, or houses, were also square, except in
some instances where they were oblong, and many of them were of some
size. From these dark forms could be seen pouring, until all the open
spaces within the town were even as a disturbed ants' nest. Then, as
they drew near the principal gate, Haviland noticed that the stakes on
either side of it were thickly studded with heads, a very un-Zulu
practice.
The whole impi defiled through this, followed by its accompanying crowd,
and to such grim accompaniment our two friends entered the head town of
the terrible King of the Inswani. But they were rather silent, for the
same thought was in both their minds. How would they leave it?
Up to the principal open space they marched, the impi with its prisoners
in its midst, distinguishable from the unorganised crowd by its
well-ordered ranks and towering head-gear. Before an oblong hut of
large size it halted. Down went shield and weapon. Every right hand
shot into the air, and from the thousand and odd throats there roared
forth one word:
"_Umnovu_!"
"Drop your weapons, _Amakosi_!" whispered a warning voice.
Haviland obeyed, telling Oakley to do the same, for the speaker was
Kumbelwa.
The whole vast crowd continued its vociferations. It was evident, too,
to the two white spectators that the word was a royal title, or form of
salute. Still the roar continued, but nobody appeared. Then the impi
struck up a kind of swaying dance. Faster and faster this grew,
stimulated by a wild whirling chant. The whole body would prostrate
itself, rising as one man, and taking extravagant leaps into the air.
At last, when the frenzy had reached its height, and throats were hoarse
with bawling, and dusky bodies were streaming with perspiration, the
uproar ceased--ceased so suddenly that the dead silence which succeeded
was even more startling than the tumult of a second before.