Suddenly Arlo, who had been trotting along placidly beside the waggons
stopped short, looking backward, and emitting low growls, which soon
changed to a deep-toned, booming bark. We followed his glance. The
Zulus were on the crest of the ridge about half a mile behind. I at
once gave orders to the drivers to resume their normal pace. Further
flight--as flight--was useless and impolitic.
"Put the dog into the tent waggon and tie him there," I said to Falkner.
"He knows you better than he does me, and might give me trouble. We
don't want him damaged at any rate."
Even Falkner found it by no means easy to work his will with the now
infuriated animal, which with hackles erect was facing in the direction
of the impending aggression, making the air resound with his roaring
bark; and only he managed it by his characteristically drastic methods
in the shape of a double _reim_ well laid on. As it was I thought the
dog would have pinned him. However he managed to get him into the tent
waggon and securely tied. Hardly had he rejoined me when the whole
crowd was upon us, shouting and roaring as they surrounded the waggons,
bringing them to a standstill.
"I see you!" I said, coldly sarcastic. "Well, and what is it you want
now?"
For I had recognised several who had taken part in the former riot, what
time Dolf Norbury had appeared upon the scene.
"Want? What we want is the dog--the white dog," came the reply. "The
dog which you have stolen, Abelungu."
"The white dog. The dog which we have stolen," I repeated
sarcastically. "But the dog belongs to our people on the other side--
and we are taking him back. If he has been stolen it is from them."
"From them. Ha! That is a lie, Umlungu. Give us the dog, or we will
take him and everything you have got besides."
"I think not," I said. "But as I cannot talk with a number at once, I
must talk with one. Where is that one?"
The clamour redoubled but of it I took no notice. I filled my pipe
deliberately, and handed the pouch to Falkner.
"What are they saying?" he asked. I told him.
"Well, we ain't going to give up the dog," he said. "I'll see them
damned first," and in his excitement he appended a great deal more that
it is not expedient to reproduce.
"I'm with you there," I said. "And now," relapsing into the vernacular,
as a ringed man came forward--he was an evil-looking rascal, and I
recognised him as having been among those who had troubled us before.
"And now to begin with--who claims him?"
"Udolfu."
"Udolfu? Well how long has he had him, and where did he get him?"
"That is nothing to you, Umlungu. He is Udolfu's dog, and we are come
for him. So give him to us."
"Do you think you could take him yourselves and alive?" I said
banteringly, for the savage and frenzied barks of Arlo within the waggon
pretty well drowned our talk.
"We will take him, I say. Bring him out."
"Bring him out--bring him out," roared the crowd, brandishing assegais
and rapping their shields, in an indescribable clamour.
"_Hau_! _Umfane_! I will cut thee into little pieces," cried one
fellow, seizing my boy Tom by the throat and brandishing a big assegai
as though he would rip him up.
"Have done!" I said pulling my revolver and covering the savage. "See.
We hold plenty of lives here."
Falkner too had drawn his and was eagerly expecting the word from me to
let go.
"Hold!" roared the spokesman, in such wise as to cause the aggressive
one to fall back. "Now, Umlungu, give us the dog."
"First of all," I said, "if the dog belongs to Udolfu, why is not Udolfu
here himself to claim him? Is he afraid?"
"He is not afraid, Umlungu," answered the man, with a wave of the hand.
"For--here he is."
A man on horseback came riding furiously up. With him were a lot more
armed Zulus running hard to keep pace with him. In a twinkling I
recognised we were in a hard tight place, for the number around us
already I estimated at a couple of hundred. He was armed this time, for
he carried a rifle and I could see a business-like six-shooter peeping
out of a side pocket. It was our old friend, Dolf Norbury.
"Hallo, you two damned slinking dog thieves," he sung out, as the crowd
parted to make way for him. "Here we are again you see. Not yet within
British jurisdiction, eh?"
There was a banging report at my ear, and lo, Dolf Norbury and his horse
were mixed up in a kicking struggling heap.
"I don't take that sort of talk from any swine, especially outside
British jurisdiction," growled Falkner, hurriedly jamming in a cartridge
to replace the one he had fired.
There was a rush to extricate the fallen man, and ascertain damages. It
turned out that he had not been hit but his horse was killed. He
himself however seemed half stunned as he staggered to his feet. Then
up went his rifle but the bullet sang high over our heads in the
unsteadiness of his aim.
"Put up your hands!" I sung out, covering him before he could draw his
pistol. "Hands up, or you're dead, by God!"
He obeyed. Clearly he had been under fire enough.
"Go in and take his pistol, Sewin," I said, still covering him steadily.
"If he moves he's dead."
It was a tense moment enough, as Falkner walked coolly between the rows
of armed savages, for to drive half a dozen spears through him, and
massacre the lot of us would have been the work of a moment to them, but
I realised that boldness was the only line to adopt under the
circumstances. Even then I don't know how the matter would have ended,
but some sort of diversion seemed to be in the air, for heads were
turned, and murmurs went up. Still no weapon was raised against us.
"I've drawn his teeth now, at any rate, the sweep!" said Falkner with a
grin, as he returned and threw down the discomfited man's weapons. "I
say Dolf, old sportsman," he sung out banteringly. "Feel inclined for
another spar? Because if so, come on. Or d'you feel too groggy in the
nut?"
But now I had taken in the cause of the diversion. The opposite ridge--
that between us and the river--was black with Zulus. On they came, in
regular rapid march, hundreds and hundreds of them. They carried war
shields and the large _umkonto_ or broad stabbing spear, but had no war
adornments except the _isityoba_, or leglet of flowing cow-hair.
Those of our molesters who had been most uproarious were silent now,
watching the approach of the newcomers. Dolf Norbury sat stupidly
staring. The roaring bark of Arlo tied within the waggon rose strangely
weird above the sudden silence.
"I say," broke out Falkner. "Have we got to fight all these? Because
if so, the odds ain't fair."
For all that he looked as if he was willing to undertake even this.
Whatever his faults, Falkner Sewin was a good man to have beside one in
a tight place.
"No," I said. "There's no more fight here, unless I'm much mistaken.
This is a King's impi."
It was a fine sight to see them approach, that great dark phalanx. Soon
they halted just before the waggons, and a shout of _sibongo_ went up
from the turbulent crowd who had been mobbing and threatening us but a
little while since.
The two chiefs in command I knew well, Untuswa, a splendid old warrior
and very friendly to the whites, and Mundula, both indunas of the King.
"Who are these?" said the first, sternly, when we had exchanged
greetings. "Are they here to trade, Iqalaqala?"
"Not so, Right Hand of the Great Great One," I answered. "They are here
to threaten and molest us--and it is not the first time some of them
have visited us on the same errand. We are peaceful traders in the land
of Zulu, and assuredly there are many here who know that this is not the
first time I have come into the land as such."
A hum of assent here went up from the warriors in the background. Those
I had thus denounced looked uncommonly foolish. Still I would not spare
them. It is necessary to keep up one's prestige and if those who are
instrumental in trying to lower it suffer, why that is their lookout,
not mine.
"He is a liar, chief," interrupted Dolf Norbury, savagely. "These two
have stolen my dog and I and my people have come to recover him. Before
they came in to try and steal my trade. That is where we quarrelled
before."
Untuswa heard him but coldly. As I have said, Dolf Norbury was not in
favour with the more respectable chiefs of Zululand at that time.
Quickly I put our side of the case before this one.
"This I will look into," he said. "It is not often we have to settle
differences between white people, especially Amangisi [English]. But
the Great Great One, that Elephant who treads the same path as the
Queen, will have order in the land--wherefore are we here," with a wave
of his hand towards his armed warriors; from whom deep-toned utterances
of _sibongo_ went up at the naming of the royal titles. "With the
matter of the trade, I have nothing to do. But, Iqalaqala, Udolfu says
you have stolen his dog, though had it been his lion he had said, I
think he would have uttered no lie, for in truth we could hear his roars
while yet far away," added the old induna with a comical laugh all over
his fine face. "Now bring forth this wonderful beast, for we would fain
see him."
"Get out the dog, Sewin," I said. "The chief wants to see him."
"Yes, but what the devil has all the jaw been about? It's all jolly
fine for you, but I'm not in the fun," he growled.
"Never mind. I'll tell you presently. Leave it all to me now. You've
got to, in fact."
Falkner climbed into the waggon, and in a moment reappeared with Arlo,
still holding him in his improvised leash. At sight of him the warriors
in the impi set up a murmur of admiration.
"Loose him," said Untuswa.
I translated this to Falkner, and he complied. The dog walked up and
down, growling and suspicious.
"See now, Udolfu," said Untuswa, who had been watching the splendid
beast with some admiration. "This is your dog. Now call him, and take
him away with you."
"Arno!" called Norbury. "Here, Arno, old chap. Come along home. Good
dog."
But the "good dog" merely looked sideways at him and growled the harder.
"_Arno_. D'you hear? Come here, sir. Damn you. D'you hear!"
The growls increased to a sort of thunder roll.
"_Whau_!" said Mundula. "That is a strange sort of dog to own--a dog
that will not come, but growls at his master when he calls him instead."
"I have not had him long enough to know me thoroughly," said Dolf.
"Those two, who stole him from me, have taught him better."
"Call him in the other direction, Falkner," I said.
This he did, and the dog went frisking after him as he ran a little way
out over the veldt, and back again, both on the best understanding with
each other in the world.
"_Au_! the matter is clear enough," pronounced Untuswa. "The dog
himself has decided it. He is not yours, Udolfu. Yet, Iqalaqala, may
it not be that those with whom you last saw the dog may have sold him?"
"That is quite impossible, leader of the valiant," I answered. "From
those who own him no price would buy him. No, not all the cattle in the
kraals of the Great Great One. Further, he has not even got the sound
of the dog's name right," and I made clear the difference between the
"l" and the "n" which the other had substituted for it.
"_Au_! That is a long price to pay for one dog, fine though he is,"
said Untuswa with the same comical twinkle in his eyes. "Well, it is
clear to whom the dog belongs. You," with a commanding sweep of the
hand towards the riotous crowd who had first molested us, "go home."
There was no disputing the word of an induna of the King. The former
rioters saluted submissively and melted away. Dolf Norbury, however,
remained.
"Will the chief ask them," he said, cunningly, "why they had to leave
Majendwa's country in a hurry, and why they are bringing back about half
their trade goods?"
"We did not leave in a hurry," I answered, "and as for trade goods, the
people seemed not willing to trade. For the rest, we have plenty of
cattle, which are even now crossing Inncome, driven by boys whom Muntisi
the son of Majendwa sent with us."
"That is a lie," responded Norbury. "They had too many eyes, and looked
too closely into what did not concern them. They had to fly, and now
they will carry strange stories to the English about the doings on the
Zulu side."
This, I could see, made some impression upon the warriors. However, I
confined myself simply to contradicting it. Then Norbury asked the
chief to order the return of his weapons.
"I need no such order," I said. "I am willing to return them, but--I
must have all the cartridges in exchange."
He was obliged to agree, which he did sullenly. As he threw down the
bandolier and emptied his pockets of his pistol cartridges he said:
"Glanton, my good friend--if you value your life I warn you not to come
to this section of the Zulu country any more. If it hadn't been for
this crowd happening up, you'd both have been dead meat by now. You can
take my word for that."
"Oh no, I don't," I answered. "I've always been able to take care of
myself, and I fancy I'll go on doing it. So don't you bother about
that. Here are your shooting-irons."
"What about my horse? You've shot my horse you know. What are you
going to stand for him?"
"Oh blazes take you and your impudence," struck in Falkner. "I'm only
sorry it wasn't you I pinked instead of the gee. Outside British
jurisdiction, you know," he added with an aggravating grin. "Stand?
Stand you another hammering if you like to stand up and take it. You
won't? All right. Good-bye. We've no time to waste jawing with any
blighted dog-stealer like you."
The expression of the other's face was such that I felt uncommonly glad
I had insisted on taking his cartridges; and at the same time only
trusted he had not an odd one left about him. But the only weapon
available was a string of the direst threats of future vengeance,
interspersed with the choicest blasphemies, at which Falkner laughed.
"You came along like a lion, old cock," he said, "and it strikes me
you're going back like a lamb. Ta-ta."
I talked a little further with the two chiefs, and then we resumed our
way, they walking with us as far as the drift. As to the state of the
border Untuswa shook his head.
"See now, Iqalaqala," he said. "One thing you can tell your people, and
that is that any trouble you may have met with in the land where the
Great Great One rules has not been at the hands of his people but at
those of your own."
This was in reference to all sorts of reports that were being circulated
with regard to the so-called enormities of Cetywayo, and the hostility
of his people; and the point of it I, of course, fully recognised.
I made the chiefs a liberal present, out of the remnant of the things we
were taking back with us. We took leave of them at the drift, and the
whole impi, gathered on the rising ground, watched us cross and raised a
sonorous shout of farewell. Under all the circumstances I was not sorry
to be back over the border, but I decided to trek on a good bit before
outspanning lest Dolf Norbury should yet find means to play us some bad
trick.
And then--for home!