There was a profound silence up in that lofty eyrie, and the long-continued strain they had been subjected to made them more liable to the sad influence of the surroundings. In the dim light Laura could see the blanketed figure of the Zulu chief, seated like a stone image on the ledge overhanging the deep ravine, and as she watched the blurred outline minute after minute without seeing any movement, she began at first to speculate on his reflections; but this train of thought rapidly melted into a vague uneasiness, giving way again to a feeling of superstition. Her breath came quicker, and to still her fears she moved softly out on to the ledge and laid a timid hand on the bowed shoulder of the immovable savage.
He turned his head quickly at the touch, his eyes gleaming.
“I was afraid,” she whispered, shuddering, and sat down near him, while he, after a steady look around, gravely took snuff.
“Much dark,” he growled in broken English. “Inkosikasi not like. Sit here; sleep—no!” and leaning over, he gently touched the lip of the precipice with his assegai.
“It is very deep,” she whispered. “What did you see down there in the dark that you looked so steadily.”
He shook his head. “Still,” he said; “listen.”
Drawing his blanket more closely round him, he became motionless as before, his sombre eyes fixed on the gloomy depths and his ears alert, while she, feeling a little comforted by the presence of this watchful figure, turned her white face to the brilliant stars.
In the cave Webster was recovering his strength in a profound sleep, while behind him the lean Gaika, stretched at length in the narrow tunnel, kept doggedly on guard, his position being the safest but the most trying, from the cramped surroundings and intense gloom.
The post of danger, however, was on the eye, where Hume sat barring the only possible way of approach to the unknown enemy who had struck down Webster. Fully two thousand feet below him was the wide valley, hidden now by the blackness of night, and showing its depth only by one tiny point of red where a fire blazed in some kraal. To him there rose soft sounds, the lowing of cattle, the cry of wild animals, a song of natives, intermingled, and subdued by distance. There was a sense of companionship in the sounds, showing as they did the presence of living creatures near that lonely height; but they did not appeal to his stern nature. He sat with a grim purpose, his rifle cocked, his ears bent to detect some other noise, and his mind fixed only on the one purpose of defending his position. In this mysterious being, who had dogged their footsteps, whose every visit had put them to a severe trial, he knew he had to deal with someone not only possessed of extraordinary cunning, but who had a secret knowledge of his name and his mission. He would not sound the dangerous depth of speculation about the identity of the unknown, but sat on, determined and watchful.
So they continued at their several posts well into the night until the wind rose, poured into the ravine, and as on the previous night, went moaning into the ear of the cave, and through the narrow tunnel.