The Induna's Wife

by Bertram Mitford

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

  A HARD ORDEAL.

  "Waken, Untuswa!"

  The whisper was soft, so, too, was the touch, yet I sprang to my feet,grasping my spear. But at the same moment my grasp on it relaxed, forbefore me stood Lalusini.

  Wearied with the hard fierce fighting of the day, I had crept into asecure hiding-place beneath a rock overhung with all manner ofundergrowth, and had slept soundly. Yet my dreams had been full ofwarring and battle, and now my great assegai was clotted and foul withblood, and more than one deep gash on body or limb felt stiff andsmarting.

  But all thought of myself seemed at an end as I looked at Lalusini.There was a hard fierce look upon her face such as I had never seenthere before, and in it I saw a strong likeness to Dingane.

  "The time has come, Untuswa," she said shortly. "Take thy spear, lookwell to its point, and follow me."

  "That I will gladly do, Lalusini," I answered. "But, as we travel, tellme, what work is before me now?"

  "One stroke of thy broad spear--the King's Assegai--ha, ha! it is wellnamed--it will be a royal weapon indeed! One stroke of thy broad spearand we shall be great together, great even as I have often predicted tothee. Come! Let us hasten."

  There was an eager fierceness in her tone and manner that kept memarvelling; however, I would see what her plan was.

  She led the way--not speaking. We passed beneath spreading foresttrees, where the thick undergrowth impeded our advance, and the silenceof the shade was only broken by the call of birds. It seemed as thoughmen's feet had never trodden here; yet I knew the spot, for this was oneof the very refuges I had at first thought of running for myself.

  "There," said Lalusini, in a quick, fierce whisper, pointing with herhand. "Strike hard and true. So shall we be great together."

  I went forward. In front was a low cliff, hanging over as though it hadintended to form a cave, but was not quite sure of its own mind. Underthe shelter thus formed, just screened from view in front by a densegrowth of scrub lay the form of a man.

  Cautiously I peered through the bushes, then put them aside. The form,which was turned away from me, did not stir. Noiselessly I steppedbeside it, and then as I bent down to gaze into the face, I could hardlyforbear a start. It was the face of Dingane--the face of the King.

  Yes; it was the Great Great One himself. He was sound asleep, his headpillowed on one hand, interposed between it and the rock. But how camehe here, he who moved armed men in their countless might--he before whomthe nations trembled and hid their heads--how came he here, in hidingand alone?

  But was he alone? It seemed so, for I could descry no sign--no sound ofthe presence of men. And while I thus gazed, again that soft whisperbreathed into my ear, "Strike, and strike hard! So shall we be greattogether!"

  Strike! Nothing could have been easier. The large form lay therewithout movement, the heave of the breast, above the heart, turnedtowards me as though inviting the stroke. Yet, as I gazed, the noblemajesty on the countenance of the sleeping King seemed to paralyse myarm. One blow, and Lalusini, by her sorcery, aided by my own warriorprowess, might set me upon Dingane's seat. Yet, I could not do it.

  Then I thought the sleeper stirred.

  "He wakes," I whispered, withdrawing again behind the bushes. Lalusinifollowed me.

  "And art thou so weak, Untuswa?" she said. "_Au_! For this have Ilaboured, for this have I plotted and exercised my magic until it wasnearly too much forme. Yet not all for greatness, but for revenge. Theblood of Tshaka the Mighty flowed over the spear of Dingane; now shallthe blood of Dingane flow over thy spear!"

  Still I moved not, and she went on:

  "The blood of that Mighty One from whom I am sprang, and who caused meto learn my magic that through it vengeance might fall, shall it not beavenged? The time has come for which I have waited and striven. Nowgo, and make an end of it, Untuswa, so shall we be great together; elsecanst thou be great alone--or small--with no help from me."

  Now I nerved myself. That which she seemed to threaten looked tooterrible, for in truth, by her I was as one bewitched.

  "Go, Untuswa. My _muti_ is upon him. He will not waken too readily,"she whispered, in her sweetest of tones, gently pushing me towards thecave once more.

  Again I parted the bushes and peered through; again I stood over thesleeping King. A great white shield lay almost beneath him, and twobroad assegais had slid from his relaxed grasp. I raised my spear--No,I could not do it.

  Had he been awake, and standing up, the deed would be an easy one atthat moment; but alone, deserted, and asleep--no, I could not thus slayhim.

  And then I thought of the favour he had shown me, even to allowing methe chance of escaping to the Bapongqolo, what time Tambusa and Umhlelahad striven to compass my death. I thought how he had spared me, sparedthe Bapongqolo, and had raised me to honour when all men trembled at hisfrown; and now that he lay here, a deserted fugitive, I could not turnagainst him. His life lay within my hand, yet I could not take it. No,not to win greatness for myself; not even to retain Lalusini's love.

  "Farewell, Untuswa!" came that soft whisper behind me. "Farewell; wemay meet no more."

  She stepped swiftly through the belt of bushes. For a moment I stoodstupidly gazing after her, then I followed. But she had disappeared. Icalled her, I searched for her. All in vain.

  Then I went back to the sleeping King. Him I would save at all events.I had helped in saving him during the battle yesterday, by holding backthe _impi_ of Nongalaza; to-day I would save him entirely by myself.Even now Lalusini might have gone to find those who would carry out herbidding readily enough.

  "Awaken, Great Great One!" I said, not too loud, lest others ears mightbe about. "Thy servant knows of a better sleeping-place than this."

  At first Dingane seemed to arouse himself but slowly. Then he sprangup, gripping his shield and spears.

  "Who art thou?" he cried, darting upon me his lion-like glance. "Ha!Untuswa, is it? Another traitor perhaps. How sayest thou, Untuswa?All, all are traitors."

  "No traitor am I, Black Elephant," I answered. "It is safer, however,for the lion of Zulu to make his lair elsewhere."

  In the glance which Dingane bent upon me was distrust, suspicion,contempt by turns, but no sign of fear.

  "What, Untuswa, and art thou faithful to me--thou, the wanderer--thouwho art not of us, while they whom my hand has fed have deserted me--have turned their spears against me? _Whau_! It cannot be."

  "Who am I to fill the ears of the Great Great One with words," Ianswered. "Yet, my father--wanderer or no wanderer--I know of no manwhom the Lion of Zulu may more safely trust."

  "What, then, are thy counsels, Untuswa?" said the King.

  "This, Lion. Hard by is a place known to none, where thou canst sitstill in safety until the army is collected again. It was badly routedin the more open plain, yet here in these fastnesses none will dareventure--not even the Amabuna--until the trumpeting of the Elephantshall scatter the traitors and rebels once more. Such is my counsel,Ruler of the Great."

  "I will even trust thee, Untuswa," said the King. "And now let us goforth."

  I picked up my shield and weapons, which, of course, I had let fall,being in the royal presence, and we took our way thence, I walking inadvance and spying carefully around to guard against possible surprise.

  For long we thus travelled, and when night came we sat and feasted uponthe meat of a young impala which I had killed by a lucky spear-cast; butwe slept away from any fire, and in a place of secure concealment. Onthe morrow we kept on our way once more, and by noon came to theresting-place I had designed for the King. This was a group of caves,somewhat high up among the rocks of the Lebombo range. Beneath, theslope fell away, bushy, but not too thickly so as to prevent us fromdescrying the approach of friend or foe, while on either side so strewnwith rocks and boulders was the base of the cliff that retreat would beeasy in the event of pursuit.

  "_Whau_, Untuswa!
" said the King, with a laugh in his eyes. "WhenTambusa would have broken a nest of wasps around thy kraal, thou wertturning thy wanderings to good account!"

  "That is so, Great Great One," I answered, recalling to mind the wordsof Sifadu--"The day might come when Dingane himself would be glad tojoin us." And strange it was that my enforced flight from the hate ofthe principal indunas should be the means of providing the King with aplace of refuge and concealment in the day of his downfall.

  So we rested there for many days, Dingane and I. Yes, this dreaded one,before whom all men and all nations had trembled, now treated me as afriend, so entirely does adversity draw the greater and the lessertogether. Yet never for a moment did I forget who it was that I thusforegathered with; never was there aught that was unbecoming in word ortone or action of mine towards the King--the real and true ruler of thegreat Zulu nation.

  Often would the thought of Lalusini return to me, of her purposedrevenge, which she intended to seize through me. This, then, was thatfor which she had plotted--this the means by which I was to becomegreat. Had I in refusing it acted the part of a fool? No, that couldnot be, for, _Nkose_, although I spared not such as would injure me orcould not keep faith, yet never did I lift hand against any who did wellby me. Wherefore now I rejoiced that I had not slain the King--had notslain a sleeping and helpless man at the bidding of a woman, even thoughthat woman were Lalusini.

  Sometimes a gloom would settle upon the mind of Dingane. His sun hadset, he would declare. The power of Zulu was a thing of the past, nowthat the nation was divided. But at such times I would say what I couldto cheer him, telling him portions of my own story, which, in truth, hadbeen wonderful. The army was scattered. Time was needed to collect it,and that time, I thought, had now arrived. I saw that everything was athand that the Great One might need, and then I prepared to depart.

  "I know not, Untuswa," he said, as I took leave of him. "But for thyfaithfulness these many days I might bethink me that soon thou shouldstreturn at the head of an _impi_ to earn the reward promised by Mpandeand the Amabuna to him who should deliver to them the real King--"

  But I interrupted; somewhat unbecomingly, I admit:

  "If that is thy thought, father, slay me as I stand," and dropping myweapons I advanced a pace or two.

  "Nay, nay, Untuswa," he said, "that is what I might have thought, notwhat I thought," replied the King gently. "Fare-thee-well, Untuswa, andmay success be thine. Fare-thee-well, Untuswa, my servant--Untuswa, myfriend."

  "_Bayete_!" I cried, with right hand aloft. Then I started upon myerrand, and more than ever did I rejoice that my spear had remainedbright in the face of the entreaties of Lalusini.