Part 32 (1/2)
Now, understanding at last, Uan to babble excuses, yes, and to declare that all his tale was false His fat cheeks fell in, he sank to his knees
But Cetewayo only spat towards the ed, and looked round him till his eye fell upon Saduko
”Saduko,” he said, ”take away this slayer of the Prince, who boasts that he is red with my own blood, and when he is dead cast him into the river from that rock on which he says he stabbed Panda's son”
Saduko looked round him wildly and hesitated
”Take him away,” thundered Cetewayo, ”and return ere dark to n fro theed hi with theain As he passed by me he called to me, for Mameena's sake, to save him; but I could only shake iven to him as to the fate of traitors
It ht from the history of Saul and David, but I can only answer that it happened Circuedy, that is all What David's exact uess those of Cetewayo, who, although he could make war upon his brother to secure the throne, did not think it wise to let it go abroad that the royal bloodthat I was a witness of the Prince's death, he ell aware that Uratiate hiic incident had its sequel It seems--to his honour, be it said--that Saduko refused to be the executioner of his father-in-law, Uht him back a prisoner to Cetewayo
When the Prince learned that his direct order, spoken in the accustomed and fearful fore was, or seereat My own conviction is that he was only seeking a cause of quarrel against Saduko, who, he thought, was a very powerful man, ould probably treat him, should opportunity arise, as he had treated Umbelazi, and perhaps now that the most of Panda's sons were dead, except hio, who had fled into Natal, ht even in future days aspire to the throne as the husband of the King's daughter Still, he was afraid or did not think it politic at once to put out of his path this ions, who had played so important a part in the battle Therefore he ordered hiu, that the whole , who still ruled the land, though henceforth only in na that I, too, ht be needed
So, having no choice, I went, it being fated that I should see the end of the drama
CHAPTER XV MAMEENA CLAIMS THE KISS
When I reached Nodwengu I was taken ill and laid up in ht What my exact sickness was I do not know, for I had no doctor at hand to tell me, as even the ue, exposure and excitement, and complicated with fearful headache--caused, I presume, by the blohich I received in the battle--were its principal syet better, Scowl and some Zulu friends who came to see me informed me that the whole land was in a fearful state of disorder, and that U hunted out and killed It seeested by some of the Usutu that I should share their fate, but on this point Panda was firm
Indeed, he appears to have said publicly that whoever lifted a spear against ainst him, and would be the cause of a near So the Usutu leftfor a while, and thought it wisest to be content hat they had won
Indeed, they had won everything, for Ceteas now supreai--and his father but a cipher Although he remained the ”Head” of the nation, Ceteas publicly declared to be its ”Feet,”
and strength was in these active ”Feet,” not in the bowed and sleeping ”Head” In fact, so little poas left to Panda that he could not protect his own household Thus one day I heard a great tu apparently fro what it was afterwards, was told that Cetewayo had co's wife, as ”umtakati”, or a witch More, in spite of his father's prayers and tears, he had caused her to be put to death before his eyes--a dreadful and a savage deed At this distance of time I cannot remember whether Nomantshali was the mother of Umbelazi or of one of the other fallen princes[]
[--On re-reading this history it coa, as er than Umbelazi --A Q]
A few days later, when I was up and about again, although I had not ventured into the kraal, Panda sent a er to ratulated ht have happened to others, I was to have no fear forthat not a hair of my head should be harmed, in these words:
”Had I wished to kill Watcher-by-Night because he fought against ht to kill you also, ainst his ith your own regiood tidings that the Prince, my enemy, was dead of a broken heart Moreover, I wish to have no quarrel with the White House [the English] on account of Macumazahn, so tell hier said further that Saduko, the husband of the King's daughter, Nandie, and Umbelazi's chief induna, was to be put upon his trial on the ether with Mahter of Umbezi, and that my presence was desired at this trial
I asked as the charge against them He replied that, so far as Saduko was concerned, there were two: first, that he had stirred up civil war in the land, and, secondly, that having pushed on Uht in whichhi--a very heinous offence in the eyes of Zulus, to whatever party they ainst Mameena there were three counts of indictment First, that it was she who had poisoned Saduko's child and others, not Masapo, her first husband, who had suffered for that crime Secondly, that she had deserted Saduko, her second husband, and gone to live with another man, namely, the late Prince Umbelazi Thirdly, that she was a witch, who had enmeshed Umbelazi in the web of her sorceries and thereby caused him to aspire to the succession to the throne, to which he had no right, andfor the dead, to be heard in every kraal in Zululand
”With three such pitfalls in her narrow path, Mameena will have to walk carefully if she would escape them all,” I said
”Yes, Inkoosi, especially as the pitfalls are dug from side to side of the path and have a pointed stake set at the bottoood as dead, as she deserves to be, ithout doubt is the greatest uhed, for soh why she should escape when so many better people had perished because of her I did not know; and the er went on:
”The Black One [that is, Panda] sent me to tell Saduko that he would be allowed to see you, Macumazahn, before the trial, if he wished, for he knew that you had been a friend of his, and thought that you ive evidence in his favour”