CHAPTER XVIII
THE SLAYING OF REZU
At last we were on the plain, the bemused remnant of Rezu's army stilldoubling before us like a mob of game pursued by wild dogs. Here wehalted to re-form our ranks; it seemed to me, although still she spokeno word, that some order reached me from the gleaming Ayesha thatI should do this. The business took twenty minutes or so, and then,numbering about two thousand five hundred strong, for the rest hadfallen in the fight of the square, we advanced again.
Now there came that dusk which often precedes the rising of the sun, andthrough it I could see that the battle was not yet over, since gatheredin front of us was still a force about equal to our own. Ayesha pointedtowards it with her wand and we leapt forward to the attack. Here themen of Rezu stood awaiting us, for they seemed to overcome their terrorwith the approach of day.
The battle was fierce, a very strange battle in that dim, uncertainlight, which scarcely showed us friend from foe. Indeed I am not surethat we should have won it, since Ayesha was no longer visible to giveour Amahagger confidence, and as the courage of the Rezuites increased,so theirs seemed to lessen with the passing of the night.
Fortunately, however, just as the issue hung doubtful, there was ashout to our left and looking, I made out the tall shape of Goroko, thewitch-doctor, with the other Zulu, followed by his two hundred and fiftymen, and leaping on to the flank of the line of Rezu.
That settled the business. The enemy crumpled up and melted, and justthen the first lights of dawn appeared in the sky. I looked about me forAyesha, but she had gone, where to I knew not, though at the moment Ifeared that she must have been killed in the melee.
Then I gave up looking and thinking, since now or never was the timefor action. Signalling and shouting to those hatchet-faced Amahagger toadvance, accompanied by Umslopogaas with Goroko who had joined us, andHans, I sprang forward to give them an example, which, to be just tothem, they took.
"This is the mound on which Red-Beard should be," cried Hans as we faceda little slope.
I ran up it and through the gloom which precedes the actual dawn, saw agroup of men gathered round something, as people collect about a streetaccident.
"Red-Beard on the stone. They are killing him," screeched Hans again.
It was so; at least several white-robed priests were bending over aprostrate figure with knives in their hands, while behind stood the hugefellow whom I took to be Rezu, staring towards the east as though hewere waiting for the rim of the sun to appear before he gave some order.At that very moment it did appear, just a thin edge of bright light onthe horizon, and he turned, shouting the order.
Too late! For we were on them. Umslopogaas cut down one of the priestswith his axe, and the men about me dealt with the others, while Hanswith a couple of sweeps of his long knife, severed the cords with whichRobertson was tied.
The poor man who in the growing light I could see was raving mad, sprangup, calling out something in Scotch about "the deil." Seizing a greatspear which had fallen from the hand of one of the priests, he rushedfuriously at the giant who had given the order, and with a yell droveit at his heart. I saw the spear snap, from which I concluded that thisman, whom rightly I took to be Rezu, wore some kind of armour.
Next instant the axe he held, a great weapon, flashed aloft and downwent Robertson before its awful stroke, stone dead, for as we found outafterwards, he was cloven almost in two. At the sight of the death ofmy poor friend rage took hold of me. In my hand was a double-barrelledrifle, an Express loaded with hollow-pointed bullets. I covered thegiant and let drive, first with one barrel and then with the other, andwhat is more, distinctly I heard both bullets strike upon him.
Yet he did not fall. He rocked a little, that is all, then turned andmarched off towards a hut, that whereof Hans had told me, which stoodabout fifty yards away.
"Leave him to me," shouted Umslopogaas. "Steel cuts where bullets cannotpierce," and with a bound like to that of a buck, the great Zulu leaptaway after him.
I think that Rezu meant to enter the hut for some purpose of his own,but Umslopogaas was too hard upon his tracks. At any rate he ran past itand down the other slope of the little hill on to the plain behind wherethe remnants of his army were trying to re-form. There in front of themthe giant turned and stood at bay.
Umslopogaas halted also, waiting for us to come up, since, cunning oldwarrior as he was, he feared lest should he begin the fight before thathappened, the horde of them would fall on him. Thirty seconds laterwe arrived and found him standing still with bent body, small shieldadvanced and the great axe raised as though in the act of striking, awondrous picture outlined as it was against the swiftly rising-sun.
Some ten paces away stood the giant leaning on the axe he bore, whichwas not unlike to that with which woodmen fell big trees. He was an evilman to see and at this, my first full sight of him, I likened him inmy mind to Goliath whom David overthrew. Huge he was and hairy, withdeep-set, piercing eyes and a great hooked nose. His face seemed thinand ancient also, when with a motion of the great head, he tossed hislong locks back from about it, but his limbs were those of a Herculesand his movements full of a youthful vigour. Moreover his aspect as awhole was that of a devil rather than of a man; indeed the sight of itsickened me.
"Let me shoot him," I cried to Umslopogaas, for I had reloaded the rifleas I ran.
"Nay, Watcher-by-Night," answered the Zulu without moving his head,"rifle has had its chance and failed. Now let us see what axe can do. IfI cannot kill this man, I will be borne hence feet first who shall havemade a long journey for nothing."
Then the giant began to talk in a low, rumbling voice that reverberatedfrom the slope of the little hill behind us.
"Who are you?" he asked, speaking in the same tongue that the Amahaggeruse, "who dare to come face to face with Rezu? Black hound, do you notknow that I cannot be slain who have lived a year for every week of yourlife's days, and set my foot upon the necks of men by thousands. Haveyou not seen the spear shatter and the iron balls melt upon my breastlike rain-drops, and would you try to bring me down with that toy youcarry? My army is defeated--I know it. But what matters that when I canget me more? Because the sacrifice was not completed and the white queenwas not wed, therefore my army was defeated by the magic of Lulala, theWhite Witch who dwells in the tombs. But _I_ am not defeated who cannotbe slain until I show my back, and then only by a certain axe which longago has rusted into dust."
Now of this long speech Umslopogaas understood nothing, so I answeredfor him, briefly enough, but to the point, for there flashed into mymind all Ayesha's tale about an axe.
"A certain axe!" I cried. "Aye, a certain axe! Well, look at that whichis held by the Black One, the captain who is named Slaughterer, theancient axe whose title is Chieftainess, because if so she wills, shetakes the lives of all. Look at it well, Rezu, Giant and Wizard, andsay whether it is not that which your forefather lost, that which isdestined to bring you to your doom?"
Thus I spoke, very loudly that all might hear, slowly also, pausingbetween each word because I wished to give time for the light tostrengthen, seeing as I did that the rays of the rising sun struck uponthe face of the giant, whereas the eyes of Umslopogaas were less dazzledby it.
Rezu heard, and stared at the axe which Umslopogaas held aloft, causingit to quiver slightly by an imperceptible motion of his arm. As hestared I saw his hideous face change, and that on it for the first timegathered a look of something resembling fear. Also his followers behindhim who were also studying the axe, began to murmur together.
For here I should say that as though by common consent the battle hadbeen stayed; we no longer attacked and the enemy no longer ran. They,or whose who were left of them, stood still as though they felt that thereal and ultimate issue of the fight depended upon the forthcoming duelbetween these two champions, though of that issue they had littledoubt since, as I learned afterwards, they believed their king to beinvulnerable.
For quite a while Rezu went on stari
ng. Then he said aloud as if he werethinking to himself.
"It is like, very like. The horn haft is the same; the pointed gouge isthe same; the blade shaped like the young moon is the same. Almost couldI think that before me shook the ancient holy axe. Nay, the gods havetaken that back long ago and this is but a trick of the witch, Lulala ofthe Caves."
Thus he spoke, but still for a moment hesitated.
"Umslopogaas," I said in the deep silence that followed, "hear me."
"I hear you," he answered without turning his head or moving his arms."What counsel, Watcher-by-Night?"
"This, Slaughterer. Strike not at that man's face and breast, for thereI think he is protected by witchcraft or by armour. Get behind him andstrike at his back. Do you understand?"
"Nay, Macumazahn, I understand not. Yet I will do your bidding becauseyou are wiser than I and utter no empty words. Now be still."
Then Umslopogaas threw the axe into the air and caught it as it fell,and as he did so began to chant his own praises Zulu fashion.
"Oho!" he said, "I am the child of the Lion, the Black-maned Lion, whoseclaws never loosened of their prey. I am the Wolf-king, he who huntedwith the wolves upon the Witch-mountain with my brother, Bearer ofthe Club named Watcher-of-the-Fords, I am he who slew him called theUnconquered, Chief of the People of the Axe, he who bore the ancient Axebefore me; I am he who smote the Halakazi tribe in their caves and wonme Nada the Lily to wife. I am he who took to the King Dingaan a giftthat he loved little, and afterward with Mopo, my foster-sire, hurledthis Dingaan down to death. I am the Royal One, named Bulalio theSlaughterer, named Woodpecker, named Umhlopekazi the Captain, beforewhom never yet man has stood in fair and open fight. Now, thou WizardRezu, now thou Giant, now thou Ghost-man, come on against me and beforethe sun has risen by a hand's breadth, all those who watch shall seewhich of us is better at the game of war. Come on, then! Come on, forI say that my blood boils over and my feet grow cold. Come on, thougrinning dog, thou monster grown fat with eating the flesh of men, thouhook-beaked vulture, thou old, grey-whiskered wolf!"
Thus he changed in his fierce, boastful way, while his two remainingZulus clapped their hands and sentence by sentence echoed his words, andGoroko, the witch-doctor, muttered incantations behind him.
While he sang thus Umslopogaas began to stir. First only his head andshoulders moved gently, swaying from side to side like a reed shaken inthe wind or a snake about to strike. Then slowly he put out first onefoot and next the other and drew them back again, as a dancer might do,tempting Rezu to attack.
But the giant would not, his shield held before him, he stood still andwaited to see what this black warrior would do.
The snake struck. Umslopogaas darted in and let drive with the longaxe. Rezu raised his shield above his head and caught the blow. From theclank it made I knew that this shield which seemed to be of hide, waslined with iron. Rezu smote back, but before the blow could fall theZulu was out of his reach. This taught me how great was the giant'sstrength, for though the stroke was heavy, like the steel-hatted axe hebore, still when he saw that it had missed he checked the weapon in midair, which only a mighty man could have done.
Umslopogaas saw these things also and changed his tactics. His axe wassix or eight inches longer in the haft than that of Rezu, and thereforehe could reach where Rezu could not, for the giant was short-armed.He twisted it round in his hand so that the moon-shaped blade wasuppermost, and keeping it almost at full length, began to peck with thegouge-shaped point on the back at the head and arms of Rezu, that as Iknew was a favourite trick of his in fight from which he won his nameof "Woodpecker." Rezu defended his head with his shield as best he couldagainst the sharp points of steel which flashed all about him.
Twice it seemed to me that the Zulu's pecks went home upon the giant'sbreast, but if so they did no harm. Either Rezu's thick beard, or armourbeneath it stopped them from penetrating his body. Still he roaredout as though with pain, or fury, or both, and growing mad, charged atUmslopogaas and smote with all his strength.
The Zulu caught the blow upon his shield, through which it shore asthough the tough hide were paper. Stay the stroke it could not, yet itturned its direction, so that the falling axe slid past Umslopogaas'sshoulder, doing him no hurt. Next instant, before Rezu could strikeagain, the Zulu threw the severed shield into his face and seizing theaxe with both hands, leapt in and struck. It was a mighty blow, for Isaw the rhinoceros-horn handle of the famous axe bend like a drawn bow,and it went home with a dull thud full upon Rezu's breast. He shook, butno more. Evidently the razor edge of _Inkosikaas_ had failed to pierce.There was a sound as though a hollow tree had been smitten and somestrands of the long beard, shorn off, fell to the ground, but that wasall.
"_Tagati!_ (bewitched)," cried the watching Zulus. "That stroke shouldhave cut him in two!" while I thought to myself that this man knew howto make good armour.
Rezu laughed aloud, a bellowing kind of laugh, while Umslopogaas sprangback astonished.
"Is it thus!" he cried in Zulu. "Well, all wizards have some door bywhich their Spirit enters and departs. I must find the door, I must findthe door!"
So he spoke and with springing movements tried to get past Rezu, firstto the right and then to the left, all the while keeping out of reach.But Rezu ever turned and faced him, as he did so retreating step bystep down the slope of the little hill and striking whenever he found achance, but without avail, for always Umslopogaas was beyond his reach.Also the sunlight which now grew strong, dazzled him, or so I thought.Moreover he seemed to tire somewhat--or so I thought also.
At any rate he determined to make an end of the play, for with a swiftmotion, as Umslopogaas had done, he threw away his shield and graspingthe iron handle of his axe with both hands, charged the Zulu like abull. Umslopogaas leapt back out of reach. Then suddenly he turned andran up the rise. Yes, Bulalio the Slaughterer ran!
A roar of mockery went up from the sun-worshippers behind, while ourAmahagger laughed and Goroko and the two Zulus stared astonished andashamed. Only I read his mind aright and wondered what guile he hadconceived.
He ran, and Rezu ran after him, but never could he catch theswiftest-footed man in Zululand. To and fro he followed him, forUmslopogaas was taking a zig-zag path towards the crest of the slope,till at length Rezu stopped breathless. But Umslopogaas still rananother twenty yards or so until he reached the top of the slope andthere halted and wheeled round.
For ten seconds or more he stood drawing his breath in great gasps, and,looking at his face, I saw that it had become as the face of a wolf.His lips were drawn up into a terrible grin, showing the white teethbetween; his cheeks seemed to have fallen in and his eyes glared, whilethe skin over the hole in his forehead beat up and down.
There he stood, gathering himself together for some mighty effort.
"Run on!" shouted the spectators. "Run back to Kor, black dog!"
Umslopogaas knew that they were mocking him, but he took no heed, onlybent down and rubbed his sweating hand in the grit of the dry earth.Then he straightened himself and charged down on Rezu.
I, Allan Quatermain, have seen many things in battle, but never beforeor since did I see aught like to this charge. It was swift as that ofa lioness, so swift that the Zulu's feet scarcely seemed to touch theground. On he sped like a thrown spear, till, when within about a dozenfeet of Rezu who stood staring at him, he bent his frame almost doubleand leapt into the air.
Oh! what a leap was that. Surely he must have learnt it from the lion,or the spring-buck. High he rose and now I saw his purpose; it was toclear the tall shape of Rezu. Aye, and he cleared him with half a footto spare, and as he passed above, smote downwards with the axe so thatthe blow fell upon the back of Rezu's head. Moreover it went home thistime, for I saw the red blood stream and Rezu fell forward on his face.Umslopogaas landed far beyond him, ran a little way because he must,then wheeled round and charged again.
Rezu was rising, but before he gained his feet, the axe _Inkosikaas_thunde
red down where the neck joins the shoulder and sank in. Still, sogreat was his strength that Rezu found his feet and smote out wildly.But now his movements were slow and again Umslopogaas got behind him,smiting at his back. Once, twice, thrice, he smote, and at the thirdblow it seemed as though the massive spine were severed, for his weaponfell from Rezu's hand and slowly he sank down to the ground, and laythere, a huddled heap.
Believing that all was over I ran to where he lay with Umslopogaasstanding over him, as it seemed to me, utterly exhausted, for hesupported himself by the axe and tottered upon his feet. But Rezu wasnot yet dead. He opened his cavernous eyes and glared at the Zulu with alook of hellish hate.
"_Thou_ hast not conquered me, Black One," he gasped. "It is thine axewhich gave thee victory; the ancient, holy axe that once was mine untilthe woman stole it, yes, that and the craft of the Witch of the Caveswho told thee to smite where the Spirit of Life which I feared to enterwholly, had not kissed my flesh, and there only left me mortal. Wolf ofa black man, may we meet elsewhere and fight this fray again. Ah! wouldthat I could get these hands about thy throat and take thee with me downinto the Darkness. But Lulala wins if only for a while, since her fate,I think, shall be worse than mine. Ah! I see the magic beauty that sheboasts turn to shameful----"
Here of a sudden life left him and throwing his great arms wide, a lastbreath passed bubbling from his lips.
As I stooped to examine the man's huge and hairy carcase that to melooked only half human, with a thunder of feet our Amahagger rushed downupon us and thrusting me aside, fell upon the body of their ancient foelike hounds upon a helpless fox, and with hands and spears and knivesliterally tore and hacked it limb from limb, till no semblance ofhumanity remained.
It was impossible to stop them; indeed I was too outworn with laboursand emotions to make any such attempt. This I regret the more sinceI lost the opportunity of making an examination of the body of thistroll-like man, and of ascertaining what kind of armour it was he worebeneath that great beard of his, which was strong enough to stop mybullets, and even the razor edge of the axe _Inkosikaas_ driven with allthe might of the arms of the Zulu, Bulalio. For when I looked againat the sickening sight the giant was but scattered fragments and thearmour, whatever it might have been, was gone, rent to little pieces andcarried off, doubtless, by the Amahagger, perhaps to be divided betweenthem to serve as charms.
So of Rezu I know only that he was the hugest, most terrible-lookingman I have ever seen, one too who carried his vast strength very latein life, since from the aspect of his countenance I imagine that he musthave been nigh upon seventy years of age, though his supposed unnaturalantiquity of course was nothing but a fable put about by the natives fortheir own purposes.
Presently Umslopogaas seemed to recover from the kind of faint intowhich he had fallen and opening his eyes, looked about him. The firstperson they fell on was old Billali who stood stroking his white beardand contemplating the scene with an air which was at once philosophicand satisfied. This seemed to anger Umslopogaas, for he cried,
"I think it was you, ancient bag of words and sweeper of paths for thefeet of the great, who made a mock of me but now, when you thoughtthat I fled before the horns of yonder man-eating bull--" and he noddedtowards the fragments of what once had been Rezu. "Find now his axeand though I am weak and weary, I will wash away the insult with yourblood."
"What does this glorious black hero say, Watcher-by-Night?" askedBillali in his most courteous tones.
I told him word by word, whereon Billali lifted his hands in horror,turned and fled. Nor did I see him again until we arrived at Kor.
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