Profoundly perplexed, and quite unable to decide which of these two, Bimbane or Anuti, was telling me the truth, I rode slowly and thoughtfully back to the palace, and, surrendering Prince to the care of ’Mfuni, sought the privacy of my own apartments, anxious to think over quietly and free from all distraction what I had heard, in the hope of being able to arrive at some definite conclusion with regard to the matter. Also, I was anxious to learn whether there was any foundation for Anuti’s suggestion that Bimbane was probably aware of his meeting with me, and of what had passed between us, believing that if such were indeed the case the queen would assuredly betray her knowledge either by her speech or in her manner. But although I had scarcely been back long enough to bathe and change into the garments which I usually wore indoors when I was invited to join the queen in her apartments, I could detect nothing in either her manner of greeting me or in her subsequent speech to indicate that she had the least suspicion that I had spent nearly two hours in her husband’s company. There was not the slightest shade of difference in her cordiality of manner toward me, not the faintest suggestion of uneasiness or anxiety; and as for her conversation, after informing me that she had received information from the mine to the effect that a large consignment of the shining stones might be expected shortly, she proceeded to question me with regard to the details of my past life—of which she appeared to possess a quite extraordinary general knowledge—and finally referred, in a perfectly natural manner, to little Nell Lestrange, asking whether I still adhered to my original intention of endeavouring to find the child. And upon my assuring her that I certainly did, she asserted that she possessed the power to help me very materially in my search, and was perfectly willing to afford me that help, if I cared to avail myself of it; to which I replied that I would gladly do so, and would feel infinitely obliged and grateful for it. Whereupon she offered to show me, there and then, the road which I must follow, upon leaving Masakisale, in order to reach the place where the lost child might be found.
To one who thought somewhat slowly, as I generally do, this seemed to be rather rushing matters, and, with Anuti’s warning fresh in my mind, I hesitated for just the fraction of a second, wondering whether perchance this might not be some subtle scheme on Bimbane’s part to get me into her power; but the friendly, ingenuous look in her eyes, as I glanced into them, disarmed my momentary suspicion, and a few seconds later, animated by the intensity of my desire to learn what I might regarding poor Nell’s whereabouts, I found myself stretched at full length upon the divan, with the little, shrivelled, decrepit figure of the queen bending over me as, in obedience to her command, I stared intently at the jewel on her right thumb, which she held within a few inches of my eyes.
For perhaps a minute I gazed at the wonderful flashing and changing colours of the stone, which seemed to be something between a diamond and an opal; and then, suddenly, I seemed to be mounted on Prince and journeying back along the road by which we had reached Masakisale, with Piet and ’Mfuni beside me and the wagon in the rear. We seemed to be passing the spot where I had buried the remains of the unhappy Siluce, and in my dream we turned aside to examine the grave, and assured ourselves that it had not been disturbed. Back, mile after mile, we travelled until we reached a certain mountain that I remembered perfectly well, and here we abandoned the route by which we had formerly travelled, striking eastward round the southern side of the mountain, and following for several days a stream that led south-eastward. Then, abandoning that stream, and still journeying south-eastward, we “struck” another stream that finally led us to a broad river which I somehow knew to be the Zambezi. Along the left bank of this great river we seemed to journey for several days, carefully noting the natural features of the country as we went, and especially some very fine falls—which were not, however, the famous Victoria Falls, discovered by Livingstone—and shortly afterward we reached a drift which enabled us to cross the river; and here we turned our backs upon it and followed upstream a smaller river discharging into it. And thus we seemed to go, day after day and week after week, until two months were past, when suddenly, toward the close of a certain day, I seemed to find myself in the midst of surroundings that I dimly remembered having seen before; and presently it dawned upon me that I was looking upon the plain which Mafuta, the Basuto nyanga, had shown me in the vision wherein I had been permitted a brief glimpse of Nell Lestrange. Yes, that was the place, without a doubt; and as I stood gazing in wonder at it a Kafir at my side, who had come from I know not where, informed me, in reply to a question, that the place was named Umgungundhlovu, and that it was the Great Place of Dingaan, the king of the Zulu nation. And therewith, as the man’s words fixed themselves in my memory, the vision faded; and, opening my eyes, I found myself staring into those of Bimbane, who was still bending over me.
“Well, Chia’gnosi,” said she, with a smile that, even on her withered features, I somehow thought very sweet and engaging, “you have slept long. Have you seen aught?”
“Yes,” said I, rising to my feet. “I have seen the way from this place to the spot where my friend’s little daughter may be found; and I thank you most heartily for granting me the vision. It is very wonderful, and I wish that I possessed the power to gain such information by means of self-induced dreams. I suppose the power lies in that ring, does it not?”
“Nay,” answered Bimbane, quickly placing her right hand behind her, “the power is in myself; the ring is but a means, and any bright thing would do as well.” (And then I suddenly remembered the bright disk by means of which Mafuta, the Basuto nyanga, had produced the vision that I had witnessed in his hut.)
“And wish not for any such power, my friend,” continued the queen, seating herself upon the divan from which I had risen; “for while the information so gained is sometimes useful, it is more often of a distressing nature, and many times have I thus learned that those whom I deemed my stanch friends were really secret enemies, industriously plotting evil against me. One is far happier without such knowledge, therefore I make use of my gift as seldom as possible. And now, go, Chia’gnosi, for the exercise of my power has rendered me very weary, and I must rest. But come to me again to-morrow; for although my magic has enabled me to learn much of what happens in the world outside Bandokolo, there are many things which I have never been able to understand until now, when you have explained them to me, and I wish to learn all I can while you are here to teach me.”
I retreated to my own apartments more puzzled than ever as to the true character of the queen; for while I could not help feeling that Anuti was perfectly sincere in his denunciation of her, the more I saw of her the more convinced did I become that there was some frightful misunderstanding somewhere, and that she was in reality a true, tender-hearted, generously disposed woman. Finally, I called for Prince, and took a long ride up the valley, seeking for light; but none came, and when about sunset I returned to the palace, I was as much befogged as ever.
When on the following day I was again summoned to the queen’s apartments, I found her full of schemes for the better government of the Bandokolo and the improvement in general of the condition of the people; and upon these schemes she expressed herself anxious to have my opinion, as well as any suggestions which I might see fit to offer. Now, I felt that I was altogether top young to set myself up as an authority upon so abstruse a subject as statesmanship; yet I was not quite destitute of ideas, or the inclination to express them when they happened to be strong and well-defined, consequently it was not long before we were so deeply engrossed in conversation as to be practically oblivious of everything else. Hence I was greatly astonished, not to say chagrined, when after about an hour’s animated and exceedingly interesting conversation I suddenly became conscious that I had been asleep—for a second or two only, it seemed to me, for when wakefulness returned the queen was still speaking, and I gathered from her speech that I could not have missed more than, at the most, half a dozen unimportant words. I was profoundly annoyed with myself, for if there is one thing upon which I especially pride myself it is my courtesy to women, let them be young or old, rich or poor, and I felt that in permitting myself to lose consciousness, even though it were but for a second, I had been guilty of a piece of gross discourtesy to a woman whom I was daily growing to respect and esteem more profoundly. Respect and esteem! Nay, those were cold words in which to express the feeling with which I was rapidly coming to regard this much vilified, much misunderstood woman; admiration was a word much nearer the truth: and I sincerely hoped that my momentary involuntary lapse of attention had escaped her notice. I presently believed that it had, for when I ventured to look at her I perceived that she was staring into vacancy, as people are apt to do sometimes when they are expressing their views on a subject upon which they feel very deeply.
We conversed together for nearly three hours that morning, and when at length the queen dismissed me the last shred of suspicion raised in my mind against her by Anuti had vanished, and in its stead I was conscious of a feeling of exalted, romantic devotion, such as the knights errant of old must have felt when they went forth to perform some deed of desperate gallantry in honour of the women who had won their admiration.