Part 23 (1/2)

”I a because I must For awhether it would be safe to bolt through it and take refuge with Zikali No, it was not safe, since Zikali sat there in his hut pulling the strings and probably h that before I could find him one of those broad spears would findto be done except submit Still I did call out in a loud voice-

”Farewell, Zikali I leave you without a present againstat Ulundi When we ain I will talk all this matter over with you”

There was no answer, and as Goza took the opportunity to say that he disliked the noise of shouting extres that he afterwards regretted, I becauard of Zulus, heavy-hearted and filled with fears both for myself and those I left behindon the sunlit plain beyond withoutany one A couple of miles further on we came to a small stream where Goza announced ould halt to eat So we ate of cold toasted meat which one of the men produced from a basket he carried, unpalatable food but better than nothing Just as we had finished I looked up and saw the soldier to who s packed with s, also my thick overcoat,of tobacco, a spare pipe and a box of wax matches Moreover, the un that could be used for ball, together with two bags of cartridges Practically nothing belonging to otten

I asked his He replied the doctress Noht him the horse saddled to carry them He did not knoho saddled the horse as he had seen no one but No which she hid away In answer to further questions, he said that Noe It was-

”I bid farewell to Macuood fortune till we ain Let him not be afraid in the battle, for even if he is hurt it will not be to death, since those go with him whom he cannot see, and protect him with their shi+elds Say to Macu what I said in the night and that what seeood fortune and tell hiarments to be cleansed ater, but that I have been careful to find his little box with the whitemore from this soldier, as either very stupid, or chose to appear so; nor indeed did I dare to put direct questions about the cart and those who travelled in it

Soon we ain, for Goza would not allowthat I should escape on it Nor would he let uns lest I should ohts in the late afternoon On this beautiful spot we found a kraal situated where afterwards a istracy was built e conquered the country, whence there is one of the finest views in Zululand There was no one in the kraal except two old woet out of theed dames, however, or others ere hidden, had made ready for our arrival, since a calf lay skinned and prepared for cooking, and by it big gourds filled with Kaffir beer and ”maas” or curdled milk

In due course we ate of these provisions, and after we had finished I gave Goza a stiff tot of brandy, of which Nohtfully sent a bottle withliquor ood deal of information out of him Thus I learned that certain deue, had been lish Govern whether he should accede to theht The Great Council of the nation was summoned to attend at Ulundi within a few days, when the iathered, or, as we should say, reater than any that Chaka had ever led

I asked him what I had to do with this business, that I, a peaceful traveller and an old friend of the Zulus, should be ed off to Ulundi He replied he did not knoas not in the council of the High Ones, but he thought that Cetewayo the king wished to see ht send er to the white people I asked hi knew that I was in the country, to which he replied that Zikali had told hi, he did not knohereon he, Goza, was sent at once to fetch et no more out of him

I wondered if it would be worth while to make hiave up the idea To begin with, his h brandy toaway here in the heart of Zululand, it would not help Ansob or Heda and I should probably be cut off and killed before I could get out of the country So I abandoned the plan and went to sleep instead

NextUlundi that evening if the Ivuna and Black Uh they were high, ere able to cross them, I seated on the horse which two of the Zulus led Next we trah the terrible Bekameezi Valley, a hot and desolate place which the Zulus swear is haunted So unhealthy is this valley, which is the hoame, that whole kraals full of people who have tried to cultivate the rich land, have died in it of fever, or fled away leaving their crops unreaped Now no man dwells there After this we clih land of Mahlabatini, and having eaten, pushed on once reat hill-encircled plain of Ulundi which may be called the cradle of the Zulu race as, politically speaking, it was destined to be its coffin On the ridge to the west once stood the nobaacona, the father of Chaka the Lion Nearer to the White Uu, which once I kneell, while on the slope of the hills of the north-east stood the town of Ulundi in which Cetewayo dwelt, bathed in the lights of sunset

Indeed it and all the vast plain were red as though with blood, red as they were destined to be on the co day of the last battle of the Zulus

CHAPTER XIII

CETEWAYO

It was dark when at last we reached the Ulundi kraal, for the growingand was only aware, by the sound of voices and the continual challenging, that ere passing through great nuate and I was taken to a hut where I at once flungso weary that I could not atte uest-hut, Goza appeared and said that the king co that I ry”

So off ent across the great cattle kraal where a regi with a fierce intensity which showed they knew that they were out for more than exercise About the sides of the kraal also stood hundreds of soldiers, all of the and, it seeround and even juuht of me, whereon a tall, truculent fellow called out-

”What does a white man at Ulundi at such a time, when even John Dunn dare not colish general across the Tugela That will settle this long talk about peace or war”

Others of a like mind echoed this kind proposal, with the result that presently a score or so of the their sticks, since they ht not carry arms in the royal kraal Goza did his best to keep them off, but ept aside like a feather, or rather knocked over, for I saw his in the air

”Youurative way Then so his teeth in his assailant's heel, he grew silent for a while

The truculent blackguard, as about six feet three high and had a mouth like a wolf's throat, arrived in front ofto kill you, White Man”