Part 6 (1/2)

'All right, Mackenzie,' I said, 'you can tell the ainst Flossie, only I stipulate that she shall be safely in this house before they kill me'

'Eh?' said Sir Henry and Good simultaneously 'That you don't'

'No, no,' said Mr Mackenzie 'I will have no man's blood upon hter should die this awful death, His will be done You are a brave man (which I am not by any o'

'If nothing else turns up I shall go,' I said decidedly

'This is an ionani, 'and we must think it over You shall have our answer at dawn'

'Very well, white e indifferently; 'only rerow into a flower, that is all, for I shall cut it with this,' and he touched the spear 'I should have thought that thou wouldst play a trick and attack us at night, but I know froirl that your men are down at the coast, and that thou hast but twenty h, 'to keep so sht, and good night to you also, other white men, whose eyelids I shall soon close once and for all At dawn thou wilt bring me word If not, reaas, who had all the while been standing behind hi him as it were, 'Open the door for me, fellow, quick now'

This was too much for the old chief's patience For the last ten , positively watering over the Masai Lygonani, and this he could not stand Placing his long hand on the Elave hiht hi his fierce countenance to within a few inches of the Masai's evil feather-fra voice:--

'Seest thou me?'

'Ay, fellow, I see thee'

'And seest thou this?' and he held Inkosi-kaas before his eyes

'Ay, fellow, I see the toy; what of it?'

'Thou Masai dog, thou boasting windbag, thou capturer of little girls, with this ”toy” will I hew thee limb from limb Well for thee that thou art a herald, or even noould I strew thy reat spear and laughed loud and long as he answered, 'I would that thou stoodst against o still laughing

'Thou shalt stand against aas, still in the saaas, of the blood of Chaka, of the people of the Aiment of the Nkomabakosi, as many have done before, and bow thyself to Inkosi-kaas, as ht shall the jackals laugh as they crunch thy ribs'

When the Lygonani had gone, one of us thought of opening the basket he had brought as a proof that Flossie was really their prisoner On lifting the lid it was found to contain a most lovely specimen of both bulb and flower of the Goya lily, which I have already described, in full bloom and quite uninjured, and as more a note in Flossie's childish hand written in pencil upon a greasy piece of paper that had been used to wrap up some food in:--

'Dearest Father and Mother,' ran the note, 'The Masai caught us ere co home with the lily I tried to escape but could not They killed Tom: the other man ran away They have not hurt nurse and ainst one of Mr Quater of the sort_ Do not let anybody give his life forto feast on three bullocks they have stolen and killed I have my pistol, and if no help comes by daill shoot myself They shall not kill me If so, rehtened, but I trust in God I dare not write anyto notice Goodbye--Flossie'

Scrawled across the outside of this was 'Love to Mr Quateret the lily'

When I read those words, written by that brave little girl in an hour of danger sufficiently near and horrible to have turned the brain of a strong man, I oept, and once more in my heart I vowed that she should not die while erly, quickly, alain I said that I would go, and again Mackenzie negatived it, and Curtis and Good, like the true o with me, and die back to back with me

'It is,' I said at last, 'absolutely necessary that an effort of so'

'Then let us attack them hat force we can muster, and take our chance,' said Sir Henry

'Ay, ay,' growled Uaas, in Zulu; 'spoken like a man, Incubu What is there to be afraid of? Two hundred and fifty Masai, forsooth! How many are we? The chief there [Mr Mackenzie] has twenty men, and thou, Macumazahn, hast five men, and there are also five white h Listen now, Macumazahn, thou who art very clever and old in war What says the maid? These men eat andwhom I hope to hen at daybreak? That he feared no attack because ere so few

Knowest thou the old kraal where the ; it is thus:' and he drew an oval on the floor; 'here is the big entrance, filled up with thorn bushes, and opening on to a steep rise

Why, Incubu, thou and I with axes will hold it against an hundred o Just as the light begins to glint upon the oxen's horns--not before, or it will be too dark, and not later, or they will be awakening and perceive us--let Bougwan creep round with ten men to the top end of the kraal, where the narrow entrance is Let them silently slay the sentry there so that he makes no sound, and stand ready Then, Incubu, let thee and me and one of the Askari--the one with the broad chest--he is a brave man--creep to the wide entrance that is filled with thorn bushes, and there also slay the sentry, and armed with battleaxes take our stand also one on each side of the pathway, and one a few paces beyond to deal with such as pass the twain at the gate It is there that the rush will come That will leave sixteen men Let these men be divided into two parties, with one of which shalt thou go, Macu man”

[Mr Mackenzie], and, all arht side of the kraal and one to the left; and when thou, Macuuns upon the sleepingvery careful not to hit the little wan at the far end and his tenover the wall, put the Masai there to the sword And it shall happen that, being yet heavy with food and sleep, and bewildered by the firing of the guns, the falling of wan, the soldiers shall rise and rush like wild game towards the thorn-stopped entrance, and there the bullets froh them, and there shall Incubu and the Askari and I wait for those who break across Such is my plan, Macumazahn; if thou hast a better, name it'

When he had done, I explained to the others such portions of his scheme as they had failed to understand, and they all joined with reatest adrae fashi+on, the finest general I ever knew After some discussion we deter the only one possible under the circu the best chance of success that such a forlorn hope would ad the enorreat

'Ah, old lion!' I said to Uaas, 'thou knowest how to lie in wait as well as how to bite, where to seize as well as where to hang on'