CHAPTER XVI
Labotsibeni refuses to see me—Sugden and my men escape assassination—A fruitless conference—We flee to Lebombo—Oom Tuys turns up—We confer with Queen Tzaneen and Lochien—Five-and-ten-cent-store jewelry has persuasive powers—Sugden falls ill—We build his coffin—Sebuza returns from his sanctification.
Next morning I got up, pocketed my pride, and decided to call on Queen Labotsibeni. When I reached the entrance of the royal kraal I was met by Lomwazi. He was furtive in manner and did not look me in the eyes. His voice, as usual, was quite low, and for once his dramatic gestures were lacking.
I demanded to be allowed to see Labotsibeni. Lomwazi shook his head and spread out his hands deprecatingly.
"The queen will not see you, Nkoos," he said, "and she sends word that you are not to camp on the royal ground."
"But why won't she see me? I bring her presents and much gin," I protested. "She promised that I should attend the coronation of Prince Sebuza!"
"She is very, very old, but still she doesn't want to die," added the wily Lomwazi, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.
At last I understood. Lomwazi had let the cat out of the bag and the delay in the coronation of Sebuza explained itself. Tempted by the great price I had offered for the picture rights—five hundred cattle, five hundred gallons of gin, and five hundred pounds in gold—the old queen had overlooked the fact that Sebuza's accession to the throne meant her death. At the time I made the bargain with her, or with Lomwazi as her agent, she had consoled herself with the thought that the British Government would be able to save her life. Now she was afraid that the government might not be able to do so and wanted the coronation delayed indefinitely, or put off for good.
Labotsibeni and Lomwazi were in an uncomfortable position. They faced either the certainty of being sacrificed when Sebuza mounted the throne or the breaking of their contract with me. In addition, the sentiment of the people of Swaziland was against the old ruler and Lomwazi must have known it. Under Labotsibeni there had been more than twenty years of peace, and there had grown up a feeling that the nation was becoming decadent without a war, if only a little one against some inferior tribe. The British had backed the old queen in all her moves toward keeping peace within her borders, and the fighting men of Swaziland were unhappy at not having any opportunities to show their mettle. From the days of Ama-Swazi the Swazis had been a warlike people, and the bloodthirsty Buno had developed their ferocity by frequent raids and forays on neighboring tribes. The accession of Sebuza, young and warlike, made the Swazis feel that they would have a real leader again, and the fact that the crown prince was the son of Buno added to their desire for him to reign.
I had left Oom Tuys in Ermelo with the understanding that he would join us in Zombode. I began to wish he would show up, since I seemed to be butting my stubborn Boer head against a brick wall and my uncle was the one white man in all the Transvaal in whom old Labotsibeni placed her trust. I knew that she would not refuse to see him and there was a chance of his getting her to agree to the coronation.