Part 18 (2/2)

Sibuko! I re at its wearer, I re Kafir to who on thespirit of the whole ferocious crew We were indeed in a bad way It was manifest that no white es, even apart fronificant promise that he should die ”twice” But--the way out?

”This is what shall be done,” went on Matterson ”The boy shall be sent into the town to be tried by the istrate The laws of the Government are there, and are for all Kuliso cannot make his os, unless the Amandhlambe are prepared to make war upon the Government When a white man kills another he is tried and punished for it When a Kafir kills another the same happens Both are punished by the saht I observed a tendency a them to cool down at these words, but that ruffian Sibuko walked up and down, haranguing the his kerrie, and in the result a number of them went round to the back of the house Well, this did not distress us ht that Beryl would knohat to do in such an eain ”Give him up to us, or ill kill you all and roast you in the fla out the boy”

Septimus Matterson put up his hand The cla out loud and clear ”You shall not have the boy We hold twelve lives here,” drawing his revolver and pointing it, an example I promptly followed ”Before you kill us twelve men shall die You know me”

The silence that followed upon the tuined that they had two unarht of two business-like six-shooters pointed straight at theht on affairs They were hundreds, it was true But that twelve men, or near it, would certainly fall before they could reach us they fully realised, the point of which was that none of them wanted to constitute one of the twelve

I stole a sidelong look at Septi of what had daunted the, quiet erous still, deadly cool through it all At the same time came Beryl's voice from the other side of the house, sharp and clear upon the silence, saying in their tongue--

”These two guns are heavily loaded with buckshot I will pour all four barrels into the mass of you if you make a step forward After that I still hold six lives”

Looking back, I can hardly ever have gone through a more strained crisis of tense excitereat crescent of ochre-ses see for a decisive rush, and indeed I don't care to think what the next ht forth had not a diversion occurred

Coures

Police? No Three of them were Kafirs, the fourth a white man

”_Au_! _Namhlanje_!” went up from the crowd, and heads were turned to watch the new arrivals

Now ”Na ”to-day,” had been bestowed upon his, and when linked with it was uttered another naan to think the crisis was past, for the name was that of one of the Ndhlambe chiefs, whose influence was hardly inferior to that of Kuliso hi the arrival of these, and, as they rode up, the threatening and tued into deep-toned salutations addressed to the chief

The latter was a well-built elderly nia of chieftainshi+p about him, not even the thick ivory armlet which he wore just above the left elbow, for several of his folloore this adornment too But the deference displayed towards him by this unruly e and authority of a tribal chief a the Amaxosa that if you have him on your side in any dispute with his subjects, why, the matter is settled That now Usivulele was upon our side I had no doubt, seeing that Brian was riding with hirizzled heads, and were _aroup, and a rush to hold their horses as they disurative greeting--he had already put away his revolver, and so had I, with a feeling of relief it would be ierate ”Noe can talk”

”My heart is very sore over what has happened,is a child, and he has done it by accident When a child does that for which a grown man would be killed, he is not killed because he is only a child He is not killed, but he is punished Is it not so?”

The three uttered a

”Well, then, although this thing was an accident, and although the child is my own son, I do not propose to shi+eld him from punishment But it is not for me, and it is not for these here, to decide on what punish to send to Fort Lamport for the _aistrate there After that we must leave him to the laws of the Government Say Is not that just and fair?”

”_Ewa_,” assented the three, and I observed that a likecrowd

”_Hau_!” broke forth one voice ”What of our father, Kuliso? Those who are killed were of his house”

The interruption had proceeded fro there in the forefront, his muscular fraeful sneer upon his savage face as he significantly gripped his kerries, struck me as about as evil and formidable an impersonation of barbarism as it would be possible to present

”Yes What of our father, Kuliso?” echoed others But Usivulele ic