Part 37 (1/2)
”What is the use of lying tothat I shall find out the truth before long?”
”Then, Macumazahn, wait till you do find it out, and may it please you,”
he replied, and went off to speak with his people at a distance
All that night I heard theed into newhad happened Probably Dingaan's armies had destroyed all the Boers, and, if so, oh! what had become of Marie? Was she dead, or had she perhaps been taken prisoner, as Dingaan had told ht I knew she undhlovu, as I was travelling to Natal
Thecame at last, and that day, about noon, we reached a ford of the Tugela which luckily was quite passable Here Ka that his e that I was to give frolish in Natal It was to this effect: That he, Dingaan, had killed the Boers who came to visit him because he found out that they were traitors to their chief, and therefore not worthy to live But that he loved the Sons of George, ere true-hearted people, and therefore had nothing to fear froed them to come and see him at his Great Place, where he would talk matters over with thee if I lish people, but, of course, I could not say whether they would accept Dingaan's invitation to Uht have acquired such a bad name that they would prefer not to come there without an army
Then, before Kambula had tied , though after the battle of Blood River I saw hiela I rode forward for half a ren to the water, fearing lest the Zulus should follow and take e Seeing no signs of them, I halted, a desolate creature in a desolate country which I did not knoondering what I should do and whither I should ride Then it was that there happened one of the strangest experiences of all my adventurous life
As I sat dejectedly upon my horse, which was also dejected, amidst some tumbled rocks that at a distant period in the world's history had forreat river, I heard a voice which seemed familiar to me say:
”Baas, is that _you_, baas?”
I looked round and could see no one, so, thinking that I had been deceived by ination, I held ain, ”are you dead or are you alive? Because, if you are dead, I don't want to have anything to do with spooks until I aed”
Now I answered, ”Who is it that speaks, and whence?” though, really, as I could see no one, I thought that I must be demented
The next moment my horse snorted and shi+ed violently, and no wonder, for out of a great ant-bear hole not five paces away appeared a yellow face croith black wool, in which was set a broken feather I looked at the face and the face looked at ht that _you_ were killed with the others”
”And I thought that _you_ were killed with the others, baas Are you sure that you are alive?”
”What are you doing there, you old fool?” I asked
”Hiding from the Zulus, baas I heard the the river, and went to ground like a jackal I have had enough of Zulus”
”Coed, a thin and bedraggled creature, with nothing left on him but the upper part of a pair of old trousers, but still Hans, undoubtedly Hans He ran totears of joy and stuttering:
”Oh, baas, to think that I should find you ere dead, alive, and find ain will I doubt about the Big Man in the sky of whom your reverend father is so fond For after I had tried all our own spirits, and even those ofbut trouble, I said the prayer that the reverend taught us, asking for ry Then I looked out of the hole and there you were Have you anything to eat about you, baas?”
As it chanced, in ainst eave it to hi off the tough one he licked his fingers and his lips and stood still staring at me
”Tell me your story,” I repeated
”Baas, I went to fetch the horses with the others, and ours had strayed
I got up a tree to look for the the Boers; so knowing that presently they would kill us, too, I stopped in that tree, hiding myself as well as I could in a stork's nest Well, they caaied all the other Totties, and stood undertheir breath, for one of ood run But they never saw h I was nearly sick from fear on the top of them Indeed, I was sick, but into the nest