Part 15 (1/2)
”Only this, Saduko,” replied U like a reed ”I did no more than any other father would have done Masapo is a very powerful chief, one ill be a good stick for e Mameena declared that she wished to marry him--”
”He lies!” screeched the ”Old Cow” ”What Mae with any Zulu in the land, so I suppose she is looking after a white man,” and she leered in my direction ”She said, however, that if her father wished to hter and obey hie, let it be on his head and not on hers”
”Would you also stick your claws into e cut across the back with the light dancing-stick which he still held in his hand, whereon she fled away screeching and cursing him
”Oh, Saduko,” he went on, ”let not your ears be poisoned by these falsehoods Ma of the sort, or if she did it was not to hter had consented to take Masapo as her husband his people drove a hundred and twenty of the most beautiful cattle over the hill, and would you have had me refuse them, Saduko? I am sure that when you have seen theht to accept such a splendid lobola in return for one sharp-tongued girl Reh you had promised a hundred head, that is less by twenty, at the tiet theuess Moreover,” he added with a last, desperate, iuers who called here told me that both you and Macumazahn had been killed by certain evil-doers in the mountains There, I have spoken, and, Saduko, if you now have cattle, why, onperhaps, but a much better worker in the field Come and drink a sup of beer, and I will send for her”
”Stop talking about your other daughter and your beer and listen to ai which he had thrown to the ground so oreater chief than the boar Masapo Has Masapo such a bodyguard as these Eaters-up-of-Enemies?” and he jerked his thuho stood listening behind us
”Has Masapo as many cattle as I have, whereof those which you see are but a tithe brought as a lobola gift to the father of her who had been promised to me as wife? Is Masapo Panda's friend? I think that I have heard otherwise Has Masapo just conquered a countless tribe by his courage and his wit? Is Masapo young and of high blood, or is he but an old, low-born boar of the mountains?
”You do not answer, Uain Were it not for Macumazahn here, whom I do not desire to mix up with my quarrels, I would bid my men take you and beat you to death with the handles of their spears, and then go on and serve the Boar in the sas must wait a little while, especially as I have other matters to attend to first Yet the day is not far off when I will attend to them also
Therefore my counsel to you, Cheat, is to e to fall upon a spear, unless you would learn how it feels to be brayed with sticks like a green hide until none can know that you were once a man Send now and tell my words to Masapo the Boar And to Mameena say that soon I will come to take her with spears and not with cattle Do you understand? Oh! I see that you do, since already you ith fear like a woman Then farewell to you till that day when I return with the sticks, O Umbezi the cheat and the liar, U, Saduko stalked away
I was about to follow in a great hurry, having had enough of this very unpleasant scene, when poor old U at me and claspedin his terror, ”O Macumazana, if ever I have been a friend to you, help h the tricks of that hter oftrouble upon hter and a powerful chief had appeared with a hundred and twenty head of such beautiful cattle, you would have given her to hih he is of , especially as she did not mind who only cares for place and wealth?”
”I think not,” I answered; ”but then it is not our custoot; in this as in other matters you white men are mad and, Macumazahn, to tell you the truth, I believe it is you she really cares for; she said as much to me once or twice Well, why did you not take her ahen I was not looking? We could have settled matters afterwards, and I should have been free of her witcheries and not up to my neck in this hole as I a, Uot Oh! why can I not remember that you are _quite_ mad and therefore that it h you were sane Well, at least you are that tiger Saduko's friend, which again shows that you must be very mad, for most people would sooner try to milk a cow buffalo than walk hand in hand with him Don't you see, Macumazahn, that he reen hide? Ugh! to beat h! And what is more, that unless you prevent him, he will certainly do it, perhaps to-h!”
”Yes, I see, Umbezi, and I think that he _will_ do it But what I do not see is how I arow into his heart and behaved badly to him, Umbezi”
”I never proht a hundred cattle, then I ht promise”
”Well, he has wiped out the Amakoba, the enemies of his House, and there are the hundred cattle whereof he has many more, and now it is too late for you to keep your share of the bargain So I think you must make yourself as co, Umbezi, which I would not share for all the cattle in Zululand”
”Truly you are not one froroaned poor U up: ”But perhaps Panda will kill hiu in a time of peace
Oh Macumazahn, can you not persuade Panda to kill him? If so, I now have more cattle than I really want--”
”Impossible,” I answered ”Panda is his friend, and between ourselves I may tell you that he ate up the A hears of it he will call to Saduko to sit in his shadow and reat, one of his councillors, probably with power of life and death over little people like you and Masapo”
”Then it is finished,” said Umbezi faintly, ”and I will try to die like a man But to be brayed like a hide! And with thin sticks! Oh!” he added, grinding his teeth, ”if only I can get hold of Mameena I will not leave much of that pretty hair of hers upon her head I will tie her hands and shut her up with the 'Old Coho loves her as a meer-cat loves a mouse No; I will kill her There--do you hear, Macu to help me, I will kill Mameena, and you won't like that, for I ah to run aith her as she wished”
”If you touch Mameena,” I said, ”be certain, my friend, that Saduko's sticks and your skin will not be far apart, for I will report you to Panda myself as an unnatural evil-doer Now hearken to hter, on this point being et her I think hebeen married before What you have to do is to try to buy her back froet her by bloodshed--which youMasapo to put her away
Then, if he knew that you were trying to do this, I think that Saduko ht leave his sticks uncut for a while”
”I will try I will indeed, Macumazahn I will try very hard It is true Masapo is an obstinate pig; still, if he knows that his own life is at stake, he rown rich and great, Maht help me Oh, I thank you, Macumazahn; you are indeed the prop of my hut, and it and all in it are yours Farewell, farewell, Macuo But hy did you not run aith Mameena, and save , Umbezi, ”Eater-up-of-Elephants,” parted for a while, and never did I know him in a more chastened frame of mind, except once, as I shall tell
CHAPTER VIII THE KING'S DAUGHTER