"What is this about Nyakami?"
"U' Nyakami? Is he dead?" answered Tyingoza, pausing with his
snuff-spoon in mid air.
"That is what some would like to know," I went on. "But they have not
found him yet."
I had named, by his native name, a neighbour of mine, who farmed some
way down the river. Though in actual fact he was rather too far off to
be termed exactly a neighbour. His real and British name was Hensley,
and he had disappeared.
Sounds strange, doesn't it, and it certainly was. People don't
disappear in Natal like they do in London, or any other large and
civilised city, least of all highly respectable and fairly substantial
colonists, of which Hensley was one. But this man had, and the
strangest part of it was that he had not only disappeared but had done
so leaving no trace. Not only that, but no one could be found who could
swear to having been the last to see him.
He lived alone, and was an ordinary type of the frontier stock farmer.
He was fairly prosperous and there was no reason on earth why he should
have taken himself out of the way. No reason on earth was there either
why he should have been put out of the way. He was on good terms with
the natives, could always get plenty of servants, and so on. No, there
was no reason in the world for his disappearance, yet he had
disappeared--how and when nobody seemed to have the faintest idea.
The news had reached me through native sources, as a large portion of my
news did. Indeed it is hardly credible the quantity I used to learn
about my neighbours in this way; some of whom would have been mightily
disconcerted could they have guessed that I, or anybody else, had an
inkling of anything of the sort. The Natal Mounted Police had been
investigating, but neither they nor their native detectives had been
able to lay hand on the slightest clue. The man might have been caught
up to heaven at midnight for all there was to show what had become of
him.
"Not found him yet?" echoed Tyingoza, when he had absorbed his snuff.
"_Au_! he will find himself. Men are strange, Iqalaqala, especially
white men. And this one--if he wants to disappear why should he not?"
"Wants to disappear? But this one has no reason to want anything of the
kind. Some men might, but this one not. You know him, Tyingoza, as
well as I. What do you think?"
There was a comical twinkle in the chief's eyes. He merely answered:
"Who can think in such a case?"
Obviously there was nothing to be got out of Tyingoza--as yet--so I left
the subject. In fact I had a far more interesting subject on my mind
just then, for this was the day the Sewins had fixed upon for their
visit to me, and so I fell to discussing with the chief the arrangements
which were to be made for their entertainment. He had promised that a
goodly number of his people should muster, and I had promised them
cattle to kill in proportion to the number that would require feasting.
This ought to ensure a very good roll up indeed. The disappearance of
Hensley was to me a very secondary matter to-day.
By the way, I was in a state of fidget absolutely unwonted with me; and
my "boy" Tom simply gaped with astonishment at the thorough turn-out I
made him give my hut; and when I fetched a roll of Salampore cloth to
hang around the walls so as to conceal the grass thatching I could see
that he was entertaining considerable doubts as to his master's sanity.
He would have entertained even graver doubts could he have witnessed a
still further stage of imbecility into which I lapsed. I found myself
looking in the glass--not for ordinary purposes of toilet, be it noted,
and I have set out upon this narrative determined to spare none of my
own weaknesses, but because I was anxious to see what sort of fellow I
looked--and I don't know that I felt particularly flattered by the
result; for, confound it, I was no longer in my first youth, and a face
bronzed and roughened by twenty years of knocking about, struck me as
nothing particularly attractive to the other sex. Yet it was only the
roughness of weather and more or less hard times that had told upon it,
for I had always been rather abstemious and had set my face like a flint
against the wild roaring sprees that some of my friends in the same line
were prone to indulge in. If I had not the "clean run" look of Falkner
Sewin, my eye was every whit as clear and I had a trifle the advantage
of him in height, and held myself quite as straight. No, it was absurd
to try and start comparisons with Sewin, who was quite ten years
younger, and had never known any hardening experiences, so I turned from
the looking-glass imprecating one Godfrey Glanton as a silly ass, who
had much better trek away right up-country and stay there altogether.
And this idea was the first intimation that I had returned to sanity
again.
My guests arrived earlier than I had expected, somewhere in the middle
of the afternoon to wit, and the first thing they did was to reproach me
for having put myself out for them so as they called it.
"I warned you there was nothing particular to see, didn't I?" I said,
as I showed them the inside of the store.
"But I think there is," declared Miss Sewin, gazing around at the
various "notions" disposed along the shelves or hanging about from the
beams. "And how tidy you keep it all. Ah--" as an idea struck her, "I
believe you have had it all put ship-shape for the occasion. Confess
now, Mr Glanton, haven't you?"
"Well, you know, it's a sort of general holiday, so of course things are
a little more ship-shape than usual," I answered.
"Ah, but the fun would have been to have taken you by surprise, when you
were in the thick of it. How is it there are no natives here to-day?"
"They'll roll up directly for the fun this evening. I expect quite a
lot of them."
"Are they hard at a deal?" she went on, still gazing with interest at
the trade goods. "Do they haggle much?"
"Haggle? Rather! Haggle like any Italian. Only they're much more
difficult to bring down. But, won't you come round now and have tea?
I've had a waggon sail rigged up for shade because I thought you'd
prefer it outside."
The ladies were delighted, and I will own in candour that there didn't
seem to be anything wanting, if about four kinds of biscuits; and rolls,
white and fresh, done on a gridiron; some very excellent tinned jam;
butter and potted meats; tea and coffee, and for us men a decanter of
first-rate Boer brandy--contributed a sufficient afternoon tea.
"So this is the `roughing it' you warned us against, Mr Glanton?"
laughed Mrs Sewin, who was pouring out. "Why, it is luxury, positive
luxury."
"But it's a great occasion," I answered. "Major, have a glass of grog
after your ride."
"Well, that's no bad idea. Capital stuff this," holding up his glass.
"So it is," pronounced Falkner, tossing off his. "Here's luck, Glanton.
By Jove, you've got an uncommonly snug crib up here. Hanged if it
don't feel like turning Zulu trader myself."
"And if Tyingoza came here rather often, and stuck here a little longer
than you wanted, how long would it be before you started to kick him off
the place?"
"Oh, not long, I expect," answered Falkner equably, amid the general
laugh at his expense.
"Quite so. Then from that, moment you might as well shut up shop."
"Isn't this Tyingoza the chief of the location?" asked Miss Sewin.
"Yes. He was here this morning."
"Oh, I should like to see him."
"You shall," I answered. "He's sure to be here to-night. If not I'll
send over for him the first thing in the morning. He's a great friend
of mine."
Falkner guffawed. "Friend of yours! Oh, I say now, Glanton. A
nigger!"
"All serene, Sewin. I've known quite as fine fellows in their way among
`niggers' as you call them--as among white men. Strange, isn't it?
But, fact, for all that."
"Now I come to think of it," said the Major, "I've noticed that the men
I've met over here, who have large experience of natives, invariably
speak well of them."
I rejoiced that the old man was coming to his senses on that point,
because there was less likelihood of him getting disgusted with and
leaving the neighbourhood.
"You have a perfectly lovely view from here, at any rate," said Miss
Sewin, when he had debated the oft-threshed-out question a little
further. "How black and jagged the Drakensberg peaks look over there.
And so that is Zululand?" turning to the expanse beyond the Tugela.
"By Jove!" said the Major. "It strikes me we are pretty much at
Cetywayo's mercy, right on the border as we are."
"If you're never at the mercy of anybody worse, you won't have cause for
uneasiness, Major," I said. "As long as he's let alone he'll let us
alone. There isn't a native chief in the whole of Africa who is less
likely to molest us in any way."
"And are these people round you Zulus, Mr Glanton?" went on Miss Sewin,
her beautiful eyes wide open as she gazed forth upon the country that
had awakened her interest.
"Yes. Those on the immediate border here, Tyingoza's people, and two or
three more of the large locations along the river. Further in they are
made up of all sorts of the tribes originally inhabiting what is now
Natal. Ah! Do you hear that? Here come some of them at any rate."
"Yes. They are singing, and quite well too."
I looked at her as she stood listening; her beautiful face lit up with
animation, and, I must admit, I was enjoying the position of host and
entertainer to her.
"But now, if there was a war with Cetywayo," struck in the Major, "would
these people go over to him or stand by us?"
"Well that would depend on how our forces behaved at first.
Sentimentally their sympathies would be with him, but then a savage is
pre-eminently a practical animal, Major, with a hard keen eye to the
side on which his bread is buttered, and that would tell. Look now,
here they come."
All eyes were turned with interest, as a body of natives emerged from
the bush about a quarter of a mile from my store. They were a good bit
got up, and wore feather adornments and tufts of cow-tails round leg and
arm. They carried the _isihlangu_, or large war shield, instead of the
small _irau_, or dancing shield, they usually moved about with, and the
quiver of assegai hafts kept time with the tread of feet and the deep
sonorous thunder of their marching song. In number they were about a
hundred.
"That's all right," I said gleefully. "I told Tyingoza to turn them out
in good form, and he has."
"Why, they're splendid," pronounced Miss Sewin, as they drew near,
making a brave show with their multi-coloured shields, and the gleam of
assegais in the afternoon sun, and I delighted to watch her animated
face and kindling eyes, as the whole body marched up to where we stood,
and halting suddenly with weapons lowered and right hand uplifted,
chorussed forth one deep-voiced word of salute:
"_Amakosi_!" [Chiefs.]
I went forward and spoke to them. Most of them I knew personally or by
sight. They were all young men and unringed, and in high glee at the
prospect of an abundant beef feast. And it would be an abundant one,
for were it to run to half my herd, I was determined to stint nothing to
render the entertainment complete on this occasion.
Hardly had they withdrawn to the place I had pointed out and squatted
themselves upon the ground than a sound of singing was heard from
another quarter and soon a second company came in sight likewise bravely
got up, and then another, till I reckoned there must be something over
three hundred of them. The ladies were delighted, and pronounced it
well worth coming to see: so was I, because they were.
"I say though," said Falkner, "to be serious, isn't this rather--well,
injudicious, Glanton? These fellows are all fully armed you know, and
we--"