The King's Assegai Part 9

"'I welcome death at the King's word,' said Sekweni, who knew he was doomed. 'But I would first ask a favour of the Great Great One.'

"'Speak on,' said the King.

"'I would ask that I, too, may die the death of the spear--the death of a warrior, of a soldier of the King.'

"'Ha! thou askest that form of death, son of Ntelani? Yet it is the more painful of the two.'

"'It is the death of a man, O Black Elephant.'

"'So be it,' said Umzilikazi, making a sign to those who stood by for the purpose.

"Then my poor brother was made to sit down on the ground, and in this posture his left arm was drawn high above his head and held there, while a thin-bladed a.s.segai was inserted below his armpit and pressed slowly, slowly downward until it reached the heart. Not a word, not a groan, escaped him in his agony, and at length, with a gasp, he fell over dead.

"In truth, _Nkose_, my heart was sore; yet had I spoken I could not have saved Sekweni's life.

"'_Ou_! he died bravely,' said the King, who had been narrowly watching my poor brother's face, but had failed to detect any sign of shrinking.

'I love not to order the death of such. Yet he who sleeps while en outpost will surely sleep for ever, be he whom he may. Draw near, Masuka.'

"'Thou art an _isa.n.u.si_ indeed!' went on Umzilikazi, taking snuff.

'Thou hast rid the people of two pestilent witches, whose spells have robbed me of one of my bravest fighters. Five cows shalt thou have, old man, to start thee as one of ourselves. Now go.'

"And all the people shouted aloud in praise of the justice and generosity of the King.

"Now, it failed not to be whispered abroad that the naming of the two royal women was a pre-concerted thing, else had even a witch-doctor not dared to name one of the royal House, and, indeed, I at the time believed it. But afterwards I knew it was not so, and that no word had pa.s.sed, the real truth being that Masuka, since his instalment among us, had made himself all eyes and ears and no tongue. Thus he had divined that Umzilikazi desired not the naming of warriors at the witch-findings, and was displeased with his own _iza.n.u.si_ for denouncing such; further, that the woman Shushungani was sharp-tongued and evil-tempered, while the other by her conduct had incurred suspicion, and the King would gladly be rid of them both. So he won great praise from the King for ridding him of these two, and the people felt grateful to him in that he had denounced no one else. As for myself, _Nkose_, I rejoiced greatly; for Shushungani hated me, and was ever talking into the King's ear against me."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

THE PROPHECY OF MASUKA.

"After this the King gave orders that we should break up camp and resume our march, and, _Nkose_, it was something to see this immense company of people moving onward thus, day after day, in order to found a new nation. _Impis_ were thrown out to right and to left, to ensure that no enemy might take us unawares; for the arm of Tshaka was long, and we could not say for certain that we were beyond the reach of it even then.

In front, too, was a strong _impi_ despatched, and this I often accompanied. But we found no enemy, no one to strike, for the terror of our name had gone ahead of us, and when the tribes in our path saw the great herds of game fleeing past them, they cried:

"'_Ou_! the tread of the Great Elephant already rumbles on the earth.

The hunting dogs of the Zulu draw near...' And all fled in fear to the rocks and caves of the mountains. However, we seized what they had left, and laid waste their kraals and pa.s.sed on, for we should have gained nothing by hunting these rats out of their holes.

"These enormous herds of game, too, kept us abundantly in food--eland and quagga and gnu, every species was there--so that we had little need to kill our own cattle. Besides, it afforded us much sport, and kept us active; for not always such harmless and timid game as buck did we seek.

In those days, _Nkose_, we thought no more of slaying a lion with spears than you white people do of shooting it with a gun; and in hunting lions the King took an especial delight, and more than once have I seen Umzilikazi slay with his own spears, and all unaided, the largest and fiercest of lions. In this sport he would often have me to accompany him, and, indeed, on one occasion it would have gone hard with me, in my rashness and anxiety to show my valour under the very eyes of the Great Great One. For I had been overthrown by the rush of a wounded and furious lion, and would certainly have been dead had not the King sprang to the beast's side and stabbed him to the heart with his own hand. Then he laughed, and again reproached me with my lack of judgment and due cautiousness. _Au_! but he was a King indeed!

"Nangeza the while was still in her father's hands, for Gungana, although he desired to possess the girl, was of a close-fisted nature, and would not offer sufficient _lobola_, saying that the condescension of an _induna_ of the King in taking a girl whose father was of no especial rank should more than make up for the deficiency. But this her father stoutly refused to see; on the contrary, he maintained that a man of Gungana's rank ought to give more than one who was n.o.body at all. So the negotiations hung in the air, to my great satisfaction, although this might be short-lived, for at any moment either party might yield.

"We had not been together over-much, Nangeza and I, since the day which had ended so fatally for my brother, Sekweni. In truth, our narrow escape then had rather frightened us; besides, we looked upon the sad outcome of it as a bad omen. Meanwhile, my permission to _tunga_ seemed as far off as ever, and long before it came Nangeza might be out of my reach. There were plenty of other girls, certainly, but I was young then, _Nkose_, and a fool, and had not yet found out that one girl is just as soon tired, of as another. But I have had sixteen wives since those days, and I have found it out now--_yeh-bo_! I have found it out now.

"'Carry out my plan; Untuswa,' she said to me once, when we were able to speak for a few moments. 'That is our only chance.'

"'_Whau_! in good truth,' I answered, 'a madder scheme never yet was set forth.'

"She shrugged her splendid shoulders, uttering a disdainful click.

"'If it is only to risk your life, son of Ntelani, do you not risk it daily in the King's service?'

"This was true. Still, I have ever observed that the man who risks his life in the ordinary way is p.r.o.ne to shrink and draw back when some entirely new and untrodden path of death opens out before him. In my perplexity I bethought me of Masuka.

"The old _isa.n.u.si_, who was now high in the King's favour, occupied a hut by himself; for we were again in a temporary camp. It was said that he pa.s.sed all his days making _muti_, for men rarely saw him, and when he did come abroad, he would creep about in a quiet, retiring way, as though he were the most harmless and inoffensive of our aged people. Of him, of course, our own _iza.n.u.si_ were fiercely envious, and plotted darkly his undoing. Yet he enjoyed the King's favour, wherefore none dare lift hand or tongue against him.

"I found the old man seated outside his hut staring blankly into s.p.a.ce.

In front of him was a small bowl containing a black, sticky substance.

"'Greeting, Father of the Fire-Spirit!' I said.

"'I have seen you, son of Ntelani,' he answered.

"'Are you making _muti_, father?' I went on, with a glance at the stuff.

"He chuckled.

"'_Muti_? Do I need it, Untuswa? Yet if you would see what _muti_ is, you shall. Enter.'

"For a moment I feared, for we Zulus have a horror and repulsion of all that relates to charms and wizardry. To be alone with those dreadful eyes--Ha! I went into that hut a man; I might come out of it a baboon, a snake. Yet I it was who had said to the King, 'I know not fear.'

Then I bent down and crept through the entrance hole, and when I got inside, lo! there was very little in it at all.

"Old Masuka sat down and took snuff, blinking the while at me with his black and snaky eyes. Then he said:

"'You Amazulu are brave as lions in the fight, Untuswa, but in all that pertains to magic you are nowhere. These _iza.n.u.si_ of yours are more ignorant than children.'

"'Their art is nothing beside yours, father. But tell me, you who are now one of us, do you never long for your own dwellings again, the rocks and the mountains? Do you not also feel a thirst for revenge upon those who have slain your kindred and despoiled your possessions?'

"The old man's eyes flashed forth a laugh, and he said:

"'You are young, Untuswa. When you have seen the world grow grey with age, as I have, it is little enough you will grieve over such things as loss of kindred and possessions. Ha! you will as likely grieve over the fall of a tree in the wind, the removal of pebbles by a flooded river.

And now your heart is sore because of the girl Nangeza, upon whose account you have many times incurred the doom of those who break the laws of Tshaka.'

"'_Hau_!' I exclaimed hurriedly and in alarm. 'Speak low, my father, speak low! Even the whisper of such a thing cannot but work me harm, almost as much as though it were really so.'

"'As though it were really so! That is well said, son of Ntelani,' he replied, with a chuckle.

"I was very much confused, for this old wizard seemed to divine the deepest secrets of men's hearts. How knew he this thing? He had never seen me speak with Nangeza, had certainly never witnessed our meetings, and he talked with n.o.body. The girls who had surprised us that day had, I knew, let fall no word.

"'I am sore at heart indeed, father,' I answered.

"'My greatest desire seems impossible of accomplishment. Yet once you declared I should obtain it.'

"'If you obtain it, son of Ntelani, it will be at the cost of pa.s.sing through such unknown terrors as will turn your heart to water, of doing such deeds of peril and daring as no man surely ever did before. At this and at no other cost. Are you prepared to earn it at such a price?'

"'_Hau_! I fear nothing. I am a warrior of the Amazulu,' I answered boastfully.

"Masuka eyed me strangely.