A shadow slid over her. She looked up and saw the sweeping vultures which were now rapidly drawing in their spirals over where she lay. She knew what that meant. One of them swooped so close that she felt the wind of its wings, and heard the horrible skur-r-r-r of the pinions. The bird alighted on a stone a few yards off, and began to preen the vermin from its filthy feathers.
Drawing the dead child under her arm, Madilenda crept backwards on her hands and knees in the direction of the river. From the ledge on which she had been lying, a steep slope of about twenty yards, which ended in an abrupt drop of a few feet where the water had undermined the bank, led to the swirling torrent. Down this slope she slowly and painfully crept. When she reached it, the undermined bank gave way under her, and she dropped like a stone into the water. One dull splash, scarcely to be heard over the growling of the flood, and Madilenda slept in the soft and merciful arms of Death.
Note. When a native woman marries, her husband presents her with a heifer, which is thereupon considered a sacred animal. It may never be slaughtered, under any circumstances, and should it die untimely, such is regarded as a token of evil fortune. The hairs of the tail are thought to have peculiarly protective properties for members of the “house,” in respect of illness. This animal is known as the “ubulunga.”
Chapter Seven.
The Imishologu.
There is no bird in any last year’s nest.