“‘Is it Matupe?’
“‘It is not Matupe.’
“‘Is it Nangeza?’
“At these words, Nkose, and the pause that followed them, I was so startled that I nearly let fall the shield upon the royal head-ring, which would have meant my instant death. As it was, I found I was holding it in such wise as to allow the sun to scorch one of the King’s ears; but Umzilikazi was, fortunately, so interested in the witch-finding that he failed to notice it. Then, to my relief, the answer came:
“‘It is not Nangeza.’
“In this way old Masuka ran through a number of names, and the terror upon the countenances of the women named, for they were all women, until the answer came, was something to witness. Then he changed the form of question.
“‘Were there two in it?’
“‘There were two in it.’
“‘Was it Shushungani?’
“Such an exclamation of amazement broke from all, for Masuka had named one of the royal wives. It gathered in intensity as, after a longer pause than before, the answer came: