Now again the horn blew, and in the bright moonlight the slight figure of Noma could be seen advancing towards the stone.
Then Hokosa sprang from the wall and advanced also, till at the same moment they climbed upon the stone.
“Greeting, Hokosa,” said Noma, and she stretched out her hand to him.
By way of answer he placed his own behind his back, saying: “To your business, woman.” Yet his eyes searched her face—the face which in his folly he still loved; and thus it came about that he never saw sundry of the dead bodies, which lay in the shadow of the stone, begin to quicken into life, and inch by inch to arise, first to their knees and next to their feet. He never saw or heard them, yet, as the words left his lips, they sprang upon him from every side, holding him so that he could not move.
“Away with him!” cried Noma with a laugh of triumph; and at her command he was half-dragged and half-carried across the open space and thrust violently over a stone wall into the camp of Hafela.
Now Nodwengo and his soldiers saw what had happened, and with a shout of “Treachery!” some hundreds of them leapt into the plain and began to run towards the koppie to rescue their envoy.
Hokosa heard the shout, and wrenching himself round, beheld them.
“Back!” he cried in a clear, shrill voice. “Back! children of Nodwengo, and leave me to my fate, for the foe waits for you by thousands behind the wall!”
A soldier struck him across the mouth, bidding him be silent; but his warning had come to the ears of Nodwengo, causing him and his warriors to halt and begin a retreat. It was well that they did so, for seeing that they would not come on, from under the shelter of the wall and of every rock and stone soldiers jumped up by companies and charged, driving them back to their own schanse. But the king’s men had the start of them, and had taken shelter behind it, whence they greeted them with a volley of spears, killing ten and wounding twice as many more.
Now it was Hokosa’s turn to laugh, and laugh he did, saying:—