"As we drew near Ekupumuleni we passed by the mound where the slayers
were wont to do their work, and which robe at no long distance from the
great kraal. I could see skulls glistening white among the grass on the
mound, and I knew that in a very brief space my bones would lie there
too, picked clean by the wild beasts of the waste. But even then I
cannot say that I exactly feared. Too often had I gazed upon Death's
face and laughed--for, indeed, to look for death was the daily portion
of a warrior. Still, that was in the roar and excitement of battle,
feeling an enemy sink down beneath each of my blows, while now--It might
be that the King in his wrath would order me, would order us, a
lingering death of torture. Well, still I was a warrior, and must die,
in whatsoever manner death met me, strong, fearless to the last.
"As we entered the lower gate of the kraal, I, in the midst of my
guards, unarmed, but unbound and free of limb, I began to hum a song--a
song which came to me at the moment, a wild, elated song of battle and
of death. My head was thrown back, my eyes looked straight in front of
me while I sang, as though I were marching in the ranks of the _impi_ to
victory instead of to the evil-doer's doom. Those who guarded me stared
and shrugged their shoulders.
"`_Hau_!' one of them cried. `He must be mad! The coming anger of the
King, the Great Great One, has turned his brain.'
"`Not so, Ncongula,' I answered, for the speaker was well known to me.
`I come of a House which knows how to die--whose brain the fear of death
can never turn. I, Untuswa, the son of Ntelani, can walk forward to
death, and sing the while.'
"This was foolish talk and boasting, _Nkose_. Still, I believed it at
the time, and it helped to keep my heart from quailing; for it was a
terrible thing I had done, and from its consequences there was no
escape.
"The warriors were not mustered under arms, but there was an enormous
crowd filling the whole of the great open space, so that it was with
difficulty we could make our way through the densely-packed mass. But
the peremptory summons of my guards to make way for the property of the
King soon opened a lane in the midst. I threw side-glances upon the sea
of faces hemming me in, and in most I read expressions of sorrow,
especially among those of my own age, for although some of the older men
regarded me with jealousy, I was well liked among my companions in arms;
and the daring magnitude of my offence had struck them with admiration.
Beyond the ring-fence in the background, where stood the huts, heads of
women clustered thickly, and even they forgot to use their tongues in
the intense excitement of the moment. All this I took in, so that it
would remain stamped upon my brain as long as the power of thought
should be left. Then I was standing before the King, and raising my
hand, I cried `_Bayete_.' and bent low before him.
"Umzilikazi was seated at the upper end of the open space, a semicircle
of _indunas_ around him. Close beside him, however, squatted the old
Mosutu witch-doctor, whose piercing, beady eyes met my glance with a
most indescribable expression, the meaning of which I was utterly at a
loss to read. I noticed, farther, that Nangeza was not present; but
this was only to be expected. When she had been led off by the guard of
women, I never expected to behold her face again. Her doom would take
place privately. It was only mine--as a necessary warning to those of
my own age and standing--that would be pronounced and carried out in the
sight of the nation. The great space, as I said, was crowded with dense
masses of people; but, except a small body of armed warriors in
attendance on the King, all carried sticks only.
"The King's eyes were fixed upon me, and in them I read no hope; indeed,
not one spark of hope had kindled in my heart from the moment of our
capture. Then Umzilikazi spoke:
"`Draw near, son of Ntelani! Welcome, son of Ntelani!' he said,
speaking soft and pleasantly, but in that most terrible voice of all--
even that mocking, bitter voice of his. `So thou art returned once
more? The calf has again returned to the kraal? Welcome, wanderer!'
"`I lie beneath the foot of the Black Elephant,' I answered.
"`Ha! But thou art an Elephant which is blacker still. Hail, Untuswa,
builder up of a new nation! Hail, thou mightiest of all kings! Cry him
the "_Bayete_," my children! Praise him, ye _izimbonga_! What! Have
ye no titles for Untuswa, the would-be King--the great King of Nowhere?'
And, as he looked from side to side, some of the old men mumbled out
certain of the royal titles at me in mockery; but most of those present
were silent, being filled with perplexity, perchance remembering that
the humour of kings is like the blade of a spear, having two edges, and
prone to cut both ways.
"Even as a spear, too, did the bitter derision of the King's voice cut.
Then it flashed across me that Nangeza must have been put to the torture
and questioned, for how otherwise could my ambitious dreams and
intentions have become known, since I had breathed no word of them to
any other, not even to old Masuka?
"`Behold him, ye people!' went on the King. `Behold him, my
shield-bearer, my _inceku_, my chief runner! The confidence which I
placed in him as the first has moved him to try to be greater than I;
his opportunities as the second he has used to rob the _Isigodhlo_;
while his powers as the last have enabled him to flee fast and far. As
a cow to her calf, so have I been to Untuswa, my _inceku_, yet he has
run away to seek milk elsewhere, and that not alone. Well, Untuswa?
And thy voice? Hast thou nothing to say?'
"`Nothing, O Great Great One,' I answered, standing there alone, with
the eyes of the whole nation upon me. `Nothing, for every word is the
truth. Even now I walk upon the very edge of the darkness of death, and
look forth into the blackness of its night. But let the double doom be
mine, O Elephant whose tread, rumbleth the world, and spare the other,
for I it was who beguiled her--bewitched her, if you will.'
"At this bold admission a gasp escaped from all who heard it, and men
put their hands to their mouths in wonder. But the band of _izanusi_
who scowled hard by broke into mutterings. The eyes of old Masuka,
however, began to glow with a strange and glittering light.
"`Ha! Fearest thou nothing, Untuswa?' said the King. `The death of the
hot stones, the stake of impalement, the nest of the black ants?'
"`I fear but the frown of the King,' I answered, although in truth a
sweat broke out upon me at the mention of these terrible torments, but
seldom used among us, and then only at the instigation of the _izanusi_.
`But, Father, spare the other--spare Nangeza.'
"If it were possible, I had thought I saw just such an expression pass
across the King's face as sometimes dwelt there when he was especially
pleased and good-humoured. But what mockery! As if such a thing could
be!
"`Of the girl I will talk presently. But for thyself, Untuswa--dost
thou utter no word for thine own life?'
"`No word, Great Great One; for the doer of such a deed as I have done
hath never yet failed to find death as his reward--never since our
nation was a nation. I desire death no more than any other, yet do I
not brave it day by day in the service of the King? To ask my life
would be but a waste of words.'
"`And thou, Ntelani! Hast thou no word for the life of thy son?'
"`No word, Great Great One,' grunted my father, scowling savagely at me.
`When my other son, Sekweni, earned death for his reward, did I seek to
stay the justice of the King? I did not. Nor do I now. Let this one
taste the reward he has won.'
"Then there fell a silence--a silence that one could feel. Even the
breathing of that immense crowd seemed hushed; the bent-forward
attitude, the parted lips, the eyeballs protruding, betrayed the
intensity of the moment. All this I saw in side-glances. In front sat
the semicircle of _indunas_, their faces set in hard, pitiless
sternness. The countenance of the King as he sat gazing at me in
silence was the only face whose owner was master of his own thoughts.
The others were all carried away by the strain of the moment. For my
part, I think my head turned slightly to and fro as though in a dream.
I looked at the sun, whose setting I was not to see; I looked at the
distant mountain ranges and the plains of earth, whose brightness I was
destined to behold no more; and then the King spoke:
"`Even as thou sayest, Untuswa, son of Ntelani, thou hast done a deed
the doer of which hath never yet failed to meet with the reward of
death. The girl shall die. But for thee, Untuswa, by reason of the
great service thou hast done our nation in the past, I grant thee thy
life. But thy life only. For thou mayest no more be among my
_izinceku_; no more shalt thou take thy place in the ranks of the
warriors, or go out with them to battle, nor shalt thou ever be suffered
to _tunga_. Thy place henceforth shall be among the lowest of the
captured slaves who herd the nation's cattle, bearing no arms but a
stick only. Thus I give thee thy life.'
"From a gasp which was first a lamentation as the multitude heard this
dread sentence, there grew a great chorus of _bonga_.
"`Oh the just, the merciful One! How he pardons, how he spares! Is he
not our Father!'
"Thus all men cried aloud by reason of the clemency of the King. Only I
stood as I had stood, moving neither hand nor foot--silent.
"`Well, Untuswa, who art no more a warrior?' said the King, when the
shouting had ceased. `Have I not given thee thy life? Look up. Thou
wilt see the sun go down this night, thou wilt see it rise and go down
many days, many nights. While all the people cry aloud in praise that I
have given thee thy life, thou alone remainest mute.'
"`Because I would prefer death, O Black Elephant!' I answered, raising
my head. And then the tears rained from my eyes, even as from those of
a child who is hurt. Yes, _Nkose_, I, Untuswa, the warrior who feared
nothing, and who, when the King's enemies lay in front of us, suffered
no man to come between me and them, I, Untuswa, wept in the sight of the
whole nation because of the dread sentence pronounced upon me by the
King. For only think what it meant! I, a warrior, who lived but for
battle, never again to bear arms! I, in the full flush and strength of
my vigorous manhood, never to be allowed to wear the ring; I, an
_inceku_, to descend to herd with the off-scourings of all the miserable
and degraded tribes we had swept from our path! Of course, I preferred
death ten times over; the death of the hot stones, of the stake of
impalement, of the black ants; any death, however hideous, however
lingering, to life upon the terms of such awful degradation.
"`So thou askest for death, son of Ntelani?' said the King.
"`I pray for it, O Great Great One.'
"`Ha! I should have been surprised hadst thou not prayed for it. Well,
thou shalt have thy wish.'
"And now, _Nkose_, I know not how it was, but as Umzilikazi pronounced
these words my eyes once more met those of the old Mosutu witch-doctor.
They were burning with a strange glitter of intensity. His body was
bent half forward in an attitude of anxiety such as I had never beheld
in him, even when his own fate hung in the balance. But as I gazed into
those burning orbs, something in them brought back the moment when I had
dragged old Masuka from beneath the heaps of slain, and when he had
pleaded for his life half defiantly while uttering his marvellous
divination.
"The slayers advanced a few steps, then halted, and stood watching for a
word, a sign, from the King. Then I lifted my voice, and cried:
"`The Black Elephant is good. I asked a boon, and, lo! it was granted.
The Great Serpent is merciful. But now I make a claim. I claim the
fulfilment of the King's promise!'
"The start, the stare, the quick murmur of astonishment which met these
words, from all hearers, is hardly to be told. Even the Great Great One
showed surprise. But in old Masuka's glittering eyes there was now
another look. It was the look of one who has attained his object--of
one who triumphs.
"`The King's promise, the "word" of the Great Great One, in whose light
we live!' I cried. `The King's "word" stands, for I have fulfilled its
conditions.'
"I saw Umzilikazi start ever so slightly. `How so, Untuswa?' he said.
`Explain.'
"`Thus, O Elephant. The words of the King were: "Perform some act, O
son of Ntelani; perform some act bolder than any act I have ever yet
heard tell of, and you shall be allowed to _tunga_. Not only that, but
I will give you this broad _umkonto_ which I hold in my hand." Such was
the "word" of the Great Great One.'
"`Yes, that is no lie, Untuswa,' said the King softly, while all held
their breath for his reply. `Yet I know not so far what thou hast done
to claim the fulfilment of such a promise.'
"`_Whau_!' I cried, bringing my hand to my mouth. `I would ask the
King, the father of the wise, what bolder thing a man, being young,
could do, than to steal one of the King's girls from the _Isigodhlo_ in
broad daylight, and depart with her alone in search of unknown tribes,
to reign over a new nation? What bolder act was ever performed, O Black
Elephant?'
"`He is mad!--quite mad!' burst from the _indunas_. But the King
smiled, and a new and strange look came into his face, yet from it I
augured nothing. `I think thou hast done even a bolder thing, son of
Ntelani,' he said, `and that is to claim the fulfilment of my promise on
such a ground. Surely no bolder act was ever heard tell of.'
"And now men found speech and cried aloud in praise of the wisdom of the
King--of the truth of his words. Then he went on:
"`My promise shall be kept,' he said slowly, but with a dark and
terrible meaning; `the latter part of it first. Thou shalt have this
broad _umkonto_,' twirling the great assegai in his hand till it
flashed--a band of fire. `Oh yes, Untuswa! the "word" of the King
stands. Thou shalt have what I promised thee. Prepare, then, to
receive thy reward.'
"Then, in my joy, I shouted out the praises of the King, who had changed
the doom of eternal degradation he had pronounced upon me to that of
death. But a grand and noble death would be mine, that of the spear;
yet not that only, for I was to die by the spear of the King--to die by
the King's own hand, for none other might wield the royal weapon for
such a purpose. Yet, while I praised, no _bonga_ arose from the
multitude. All voices were hushed in expectation.
"Umzilikazi rose and advanced towards me. As he stood facing me, with
the bright and gleaming spear uplifted, I looked him straight in the
eyes--alone and about to taste death. And then it seemed that this
situation was familiar to me--a man standing among men and an assegai
descending to his chest. Ha! the third vision of the wizard's _muti_!
Then I knew not--now I knew who held the spear. Still, I flinched not,
though the eyes of the King were terrible in their wrath. `Take the
reward I promised thee!' he said.
"`_I_ welcome death at the hand of the King, the Great Great One!' I
answered, gazing at the uplifted spear.
"Down it swept--down like a flash of light--down to my breast which was
thrust forward to receive it. But it did not enter. It halted--
motionless but for a slight quiver--within a hand's-breadth of my heart.
Still, my eyes left not those of the King, and for a moment thus we
stood. Then Umzilikazi spoke:
"`Once more I grant thee thy life, Untuswa, son of Ntelani, for I think
thou art the bravest warrior that ever lived, and fearest death in its
cold form no more than in the heat and shock of battle. And I love
such. Yet, but for my promise, thou wert already dead. The King's
assegai is thine. Take it.'
"Then it was that my self-command was sorely tried. I was not to die,
but to receive honour, for I held in my hand the King's royal weapon.
But my mind had gone through so much that it was hardened--cool and
cutting even as the blade of the splendid spear; wherefore I laid the
weapon softly down, for I might not address the King armed; and raising
both hands aloft, I poured forth words of _bonga_, such as had surely
never been heard before. And the whole nation joined in, and, indeed,
even in the far mountains the foul _Izimu_ and such _abatagati_ must
have quaked in their dens, for even thither must have reached the vast
roaring chorus of the praises of the King.
"`It is well, my children,' said Umzilikazi when he again spoke. `Never
before has such a deed met with other reward than death, never shall it
again; and here my "word" will stand as fast as it did in my promise to
Untuswa. And thou, son of Ntelani. Go now forth from among us until
the moon is full, and speak to no man the while, and the man or woman
who speaks to thee shall die. Then it may be that what thou hast done
shall be put away. Depart, for he who has done what thou hast done must
not mix with his fellows for awhile, lest they make too light of a most
weighty matter. Go.'
"So singing aloud the praises of the King, I took up the dark-handled
spear and went forth, and built a hut within sight of Ekupumuleni, and
in that hut I dwelt alone; yet daily I would stand before it and chant
in praise of the King, and all who heard me turned aside. Also I sang
many songs of battle. And when the moon was at the full the Great Great
One sent for me and ordered me to _tunga_, and soon afterwards created
me second _induna_ in command of the army, Kalipe holding the chief
command. Thus, _Nkose_, did I win the King's dark-handled spear, and my
head-ring at the same time, but the path by which I travelled to reach
it would have surely been, but for the King's promise, the path of
death."