Immediately a warrior stepped forward, and without a word, drove his great assegai through the hag’s body.
“I give you all one more chance,” roared the chief again, cutting short the howl of terror which went up. “Where is Ingonyama?”
“On The Tooth, father. On The Tooth!” eagerly yelled a whole chorus of voices.
“If this is a lie, then shall every one of you be even as she,” said the chief, sternly, pointing with his foot at the corpse of the one who had been ill-advised enough to protest ignorance.
“It is no lie, father!” they cried lustily. “He is there. It is no lie.”
“Ill will it be for yourselves if it is,” said Sobuza, darkly. “And now, witches, this nest of yours shall burn.”
Half a dozen warriors sprang eagerly forward, and in as many moments flames were bursting from the straw huts. Disappointed in their hopes of thus smoking out any fighting men who might have crept in there for shelter, the warriors amused themselves by spearing the dogs as they rushed forth, shouting with laughter as a whole cloud of assegais whizzed past some one more fortunate or more fleet than the rest, without transfixing him. But no further violence was offered to the women and children. The king’s sentence had gone forth only against such as should offer resistance, and did not include these.