“‘Thou art an isanusi indeed!’ went on Umzilikazi, taking snuff. ‘Thou hast rid the people of two pestilent witches, whose spells have robbed me of one of my bravest fighters. Five cows shalt thou have, old man, to start thee as one of ourselves. Now go.’
“And all the people shouted aloud in praise of the justice and generosity of the King.
“Now, it failed not to be whispered abroad that the naming of the two royal women was a pre-concerted thing, else had even a witch-doctor not dared to name one of the royal House, and, indeed, I at the time believed it. But afterwards I knew it was not so, and that no word had passed, the real truth being that Masuka, since his instalment among us, had made himself all eyes and ears and no tongue. Thus he had divined that Umzilikazi desired not the naming of warriors at the witch-findings, and was displeased with his own izanusi for denouncing such; further, that the woman Shushungani was sharp-tongued and evil-tempered, while the other by her conduct had incurred suspicion, and the King would gladly be rid of them both. So he won great praise from the King for ridding him of these two, and the people felt grateful to him in that he had denounced no one else. As for myself, Nkose, I rejoiced greatly; for Shushungani hated me, and was ever talking into the King’s ear against me.”
Chapter Eight.
The Prophecy of Masuka.
“After this the King gave orders that we should break up camp and resume our march, and, Nkose, it was something to see this immense company of people moving onward thus, day after day, in order to found a new nation. Impis were thrown out to right and to left, to ensure that no enemy might take us unawares; for the arm of Tshaka was long, and we could not say for certain that we were beyond the reach of it even then. In front, too, was a strong impi despatched, and this I often accompanied. But we found no enemy, no one to strike, for the terror of our name had gone ahead of us, and when the tribes in our path saw the great herds of game fleeing past them, they cried:
“‘Ou! the tread of the Great Elephant already rumbles on the earth. The hunting dogs of the Zulu draw near...’ And all fled in fear to the rocks and caves of the mountains. However, we seized what they had left, and laid waste their kraals and passed on, for we should have gained nothing by hunting these rats out of their holes.
“These enormous herds of game, too, kept us abundantly in food—eland and quagga and gnu, every species was there—so that we had little need to kill our own cattle. Besides, it afforded us much sport, and kept us active; for not always such harmless and timid game as buck did we seek. In those days, Nkose, we thought no more of slaying a lion with spears than you white people do of shooting it with a gun; and in hunting lions the King took an especial delight, and more than once have I seen Umzilikazi slay with his own spears, and all unaided, the largest and fiercest of lions. In this sport he would often have me to accompany him, and, indeed, on one occasion it would have gone hard with me, in my rashness and anxiety to show my valour under the very eyes of the Great Great One. For I had been overthrown by the rush of a wounded and furious lion, and would certainly have been dead had not the King sprang to the beast’s side and stabbed him to the heart with his own hand. Then he laughed, and again reproached me with my lack of judgment and due cautiousness. Au! but he was a King indeed!