But since the king was seated in the exact centre of the great square, there was still a space of nearly four hundred and fifty yards separating us when I passed through the line of warriors; therefore, for the moment, I could only take in the general effect of the group, and very imposing it was. For, with the exception of some half a dozen elders, every one of those chiefs was in the very prime of life, ringed of course, standing fully six feet in height, each one of them bearing the scars of many battles—as I perceived when I drew near—and evidently men who knew not the meaning of the word fear. And in every respect worthy of them was their king, whom, as I approached, I saw to be a man apparently of about thirty-five to forty years of age, splendidly proportioned, and probably quite as tall as the tallest of his chiefs, although I could only judge his height approximately, since he was sitting down. Unlike his warriors, however, he was naked, save for the usual mucha or apron of monkeys’ tails round his loins, and a superb leopard-skin kaross over his shoulders; and he was also unarmed, save for a bangwan or stabbing spear with an enormous blade, which he held carelessly across his knees as I approached. But I did not like the expression of his countenance, or indeed that of any of the Mashona, which seemed to me to be compounded of craftiness, treachery, and ferocious cruelty. Moreover, His Majesty seemed to be in anything but a good humour—perhaps I had kept him waiting rather too long; for as I approached near enough to note the expression upon his features I observed that his brows were contracted into a heavy frown, and there was a certain glitter in his eyes that I by no means liked. However, if he chanced to be striving to daunt me by his scowling looks it was important that he should be made to understand that he had by no means succeeded; therefore, walking slowly and with all the dignity I could assume, I marched straight up to him, and, looking him fearlessly in the eyes, halted about ten feet from him, and, giving him a military salute, remarked, in the Bantu tongue:
“Greeting, Lomalindela, King and Lord of the Mashona! I, Edward Laurence, one of the mighty English race, salute thee!”
“I see thee, white man of the unpronounceable name,” answered the king somewhat ungraciously. “Ye desired audience of me, and I have given it you; say now, therefore, why have ye come into my country, and what want ye now that I have permitted you to enter it?”
“Nay, O King,” I retorted, “beyond what you have already given me—namely, permission to hunt in your country—I want little or nothing, except permission to trade with your people. There is gold in Mashonaland, which is a metal that, so far as I have thus seen, ye have little use for; but among my own people it possesses a certain value: therefore have I come hither, bringing with me goods which I am prepared to barter for gold among your people, if they will. But if not, it matters not; I can buy ivory with those goods on my way back to mine own land. Also, I am seeking a young white ’ntombozaan who was stolen from among us some twenty-two moons ago, and carried off into the interior, whither I know not. I think she cannot have been brought so far as this; yet, who knows? Have you heard or seen aught of such an ’ntombozaan, O King?”
“I have not, white man, nor is she in Mashonaland, for otherwise I should have heard of it and seen her,” answered Lomalindela. “The few strangers who enter my country are brought to me, and I deal with them as I will. No, she has not been here; therefore that part of your errand is soon disposed of. And as to the other part of it, I will consider the matter at my leisure. Have ye aught else to say to me?”
“Merely to ask Your Majesty’s acceptance of certain gifts which I have brought with me. Is it the king’s pleasure that I produce them?” I blandly enquired.
An expression of covetousness flashed into the king’s eyes as he nodded and replied briefly:
“Yes, you may produce them.”
I beckoned to Piet, who, as my supposed body servant, had been permitted to enter the great square with me, and he at once stepped forward with the bundle containing the presents, which he laid at my feet. Then deliberately, and with as much ceremony as I could infuse into so commonplace an act, I unfastened the bundle, extracted the items of uniform one by one, unfolded them, and held them up for inspection. The king regarded each garment attentively and somewhat wonderingly as I held it up, but did not appear to be very profoundly impressed; and I began to fear that my great coup was about to miss fire. When, however, I came to the sword, drew it from its scabbard, flourished the glittering blade round my head, and made several cuts and points at an imaginary enemy, His Majesty sat upright in his chair and began to manifest a little more interest.
“Is that one of the white man’s fighting weapons?” he demanded, stretching forth his hand for it.