Part 31 (1/2)

All the loathso coils which enveloped the person of the Snake-Doctor like clothing, were in motion as he cast forth some half dozen of the reptiles These crawled around the helpless victi horribly It was clear that soic controlled them as theychirrup on his part Then, in obedience to the sa over his body, butno attempt to strike him The hush of the silence was tense

The awed spectators, some of whom had seen instances of the Snake-Doctor'show soon the whitemadman, such as his tormentor-in-chief they knew to be at intervals

There is a period beyond which a state of tense apprehension cannot be kept up Until this was reached Wyvern underwent the tensest of its torments Instinctively he turned from side to side with every movement of the horrible reptiles, then, when he found hireat black mamba within a yard of his own the point of indifference was reached He felt capable of no further agony The sooner the fatal stroke was dealt the better

Then the Snake-Doctor began to call in his horrible lide, each oncecoils about the body and liasp went up from the entranced crowd What would be the next trial in store for the victi fearful beyond words, for, had not the Snake-Doctor clai serpents, a very writhe of panic ran through the riveted spectators The weird death-hiss broke upon the silence and down they went in scores before the assegais of the advancing ene abandonment of the novel spectacle had noiselessly rushed the in every direction They had been surprised by an ier than their own, now considerably stronger, if only thatinterest of their cruel entertainment had thron their weapons and shi+elds, and so were massacred in an absolutely defenceless state The din and horror was indescribable as the surprise beca, hacking; and the death-hiss vibrated upon the air, then the war-shout ”Usutu,”

and the flap of shi+elds in counter strife, as the assailed ed to effect so the earliest slain, and the denised head, were still ain the day

Wyvern, lying there, expecting ih now in a different form, suddenly became aware that his bonds had been cut

Stiff and bewildered he strove to rise, and found hi stupidly into the face of Mtezani, as bending over him

”Take this, Kulisani,” said the latter, in the excite down into the use of his native _sobriquet_, and thrusting a heavy, short-handled knob-kerrie into his hand ”Get away, quick, now-- into the bush--while there is time I can do no more for you”

They were al ranks, like a wave, beyond theht to spare for any consideration beyond that of repelling the attack

”But--what of U' Joe?” answered Wyvern ”Where is he? I cannot desert hi Zulu, io too--while there is ti his rude weapon he jumped up anddiscovered, several of his late tor with shouts in his pursuit

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

HUNTED

On, on through the forest shades the hunted man sped, the voices of his pursuers, like hounds upon a trail, sounding deep behind hi and otherwise athletic, he was in no condition for running, especially for keeping up a long chase, the chasers being wiry, untiring savages

The ground, too, becah and stony, and this taxed his powers still more His aim was to reach the rocks and holes on the Lebombo slopes; could he do so while yet at a fair distance froht look for hiht place

He set his teeth fir his wind like a trained sprinter The while, bitter thoughts surged through his mind; for it was bitter to die just then, tenfold so now that Lalante ithin his reach at last; now that a ht of Joe Fleetwood too, and wondered if he had et clear away and if so in what direction They had been separated by soun, and if the other's liberation had been effected in the saiven him to understand, why then it is probable that Fleetould head in the direction he hi the caves and krantzes around the spot where the object of their search lay hidden

The bush becaht and tore at his clothing, and now the voices of his pursuers, and the ferocious deep-toned hu very near They were sure of their prey What could a white ainst theht keep it up for a time, but sooner or later they would come up with him, probably utterly exhausted He was unar, steady trot--so as they ran

Wyvern gripped his short-handled knob-kerrie, wondering whether it was not tith should entirely leave hiht at all

His eneais at hihtest risk to the suddenly, to avoid a clump of _haak-doorn_, whose fish-hook-like thorns would have held him powerless, or at any rate so seriously have delayed hile, he beca across his path, together with a hideous snarl just behind To this, however, he paid no heed His enemy noas brotherhis head, however, for a glance back--he felt his footing fail, and then--the ground gave way beneath him Down he went, to the bottoa_

Yes--that was it Boughs and bushes, interlaced in thick profusion, all but shut out the light of Heaven from above He estimated he had fallen a matter of over twenty feet, but the slope of the side had saved his fall The place was, in fact, the exact counterpart of that into which the unfortunate Kafir had fallen with the puff-adder hanging to his leg, at Seven Kloofs Well, he would be utterly at thea fight for it than a rat in a trap

Bruised, half-stunned, he lay and listened Ah! they were co They would be on him in a moment The secret of his sudden disappearance would be only too obvious to their practised eyes His time had cos broke forth above

With it led volleys of excited exclamations in the Zulu voice, then the Usutu war-shout The claround above see, the war-shout would rise in deafening volu, but the sounds would seehty shout of triu was heard no more-- instead a hubbub of excited voices, and then Wyvern, partly owing to the tensity of his recent trial, partly owing to sheer exhaustion, subsided into a temporary unconsciousness

This is what had happened above The lion-cub which had run across Wyvern's path had strayed from its parent The latter, with another cub, bounded forward just as the fore like lightning upon the first, crushi+ng his head to fragments in her powerful jaws, and that with such suddenness as to leave hi to the rescue, shared the same fate, and then the whole lot ca e; yet, even for therown lioness--and this one was out of the ordinary large and powerful, and fighting for her cubs to boot--with nothing but assegais and sticks, was a very big feat indeed, and appealed to their sporting instincts farthe pursuit of one unarmed whitehither and thither with incredible agility so as to puzzle the infuriated beast, the while delivering a deft throith the lighter or casting assegai Another received fatal injuries, and tere badly torn, then one, with consu his opportunity, rushed in and drove his broad-bladed assegai right into the beast's heart; and that one was Mtezani, the son of Majendwa

A roar of applause and delight arose from the few left _Auf_ the son of Majendas a man indeed--they chorused Surely the trophies of the lioness were his The throws of their light assegai were as pin-pricks