Part 24 (1/2)

”There was no other, _Nkose_”

”No other? What? Was the fire not hot enough? Take him back”

But before the order could be carried out the victim decided that he could not face further torony he was undergoing

”If I naroaned, ”shall I die immediately the death of the spear instead of by fire?”

Sapazani thought a moment

”If thou liest not--yes,” he answered

”I have the chief's promise” And he named a name It was that wrested froai under those same dark forest shades

”This tio”

He ais were driven into the body of the tortured wretch as there were of those wielding theh, while those who could not pressed hungrily forward to get in their stab even after life was extinct And it was that, well-nigh instantaneously

”_Ou_! The justice of our father and chief!” cried the whole band as they surveyed their bloodstained blades and gazed adoringly at the splendid fra of Sapazani ”He is the lion ill lead us to ourof the king of beasts

”_Gahle_, et not--when the time comes”

Even as theyup from afar

The blood scent carries an incredible distance to the nostrils of the wild creatures of the waste, and already there wereuntil the fire should die, to quarrel and snarl over this unexpected feast Even as in the case of the other victirim forest had sed, there would be little left of this one to tell any tales And the broad, cold moon shone relentlessly down

Tekana, the son of Msiza, rose blithely in the blithe earlybefore the sun had peeped over the rioodly youth, tall and supple, and as he left the kraal of his relative--a distant relative as not over-attached to hihts of love He had been offering _lobola_ for a girl whose father was the head of a kraal some five h, and Tekana was in despair lest some richer suitor should step in and put hi He had been dejected on this point for so whether if he went away to work in the h to make up the amount deone through that experience In fact, he was for ever talking about it His relative was surly and close-fisted, and, as we have said, had no great love for him; moreover, he had more than hinted of late that he preferred his roo tiht not happen? He was very irl, and she to him, but on that account her avaricious parent stuck firood cows to wit, or their equivalent in hard English sovereigns, five of the cows payable, of course, in advance Now Tekana couldcousin had promised to lend him He was in despair, and so was Ntombisa; in fact, she hinted to him that an elderly, unlovely suitor, with four wives already, and much cattle, hadwith her father in rather an ominous way

Then, suddenly, the whole situation had changed Tekana owned another relative, who in turn was related to the induna of the court at Ezulwini, and this man had pointed out to him insidiously howhim Ntombisa at once

But he did not like the method of it--not at first Not at first But his relative proved that nothing would come of it No harm would come to anybody, least of all to his chief It would be a mere matter of Government officialism, and there the affair would end Besides, he would actually be serving his chief if anything, in that the latter would be obliged to sit still, and thus be saved fro in any trouble, which could only end in disaster and ruin So Tekana sed the bait and accepted the price

Thus Tekana was found to be wending his way in the blithe early , blithe at heart, to the kraal of his prospective father-in-law He had got the balance of the _lobola_ in good English sovereigns, and soon all the preli looked rosy

”_Au_! Thou art hurried, brother Whither bound?”

Four rass by the side of the path These had risen as he approached

”For the kraal of Sondisi, but a short way hence,” he replied

”First sit and take snuff,” one of them answered ”Thine errand will break no ox's head”

He could not refuse; yet it ith ill-concealed i the European clothes Tekana was no fool of a Zulu, wherefore this fact struck hiular; moreover, his own conscience was not clear So he squatted as roup Incidentally he squatted in such wise as to be able to spring to his feet in a fraction of a second

The snuff-horn went round, and they chatted on about ordinary topics