desired it, white
or black. There was a spot down in the Lumisana forest where twenty
times ten of such pieces were hidden. They were, in fact, hidden there
for U' Ben to take out when he pleased--upon certain conditions.

Upon certain conditions! Yes. Two hundred sovereigns made up a very
comfortable haul. There were two or three packages, the Zulu went on to
explain, that U' Ben was required to bring from a certain quarter for
Sapazani and one other. U' Ben had a waggon, and he had ridden loads
for them before. Had he not always been paid promptly and well? And
the trader answered unhesitatingly that he had. Yet he seemed in no
hurry to close with the offer. The other, as the way of his race is,
manifested no impatience.

"The money is there. It can be taken before anything is done," went on
Undhlawafa. "U' Ben's word is as certain as that the sun will rise.
The conditions will be fulfilled."

We have said that Ben Halse's record was not quite clear; that there
were dark hints whispered against him with regard to liquor-smuggling
and gun-running. As for the latter, whatever had been done in that line
had been done during the civil war in the country what time the Usutu
party and Sibepu were striving for the mastery. In common with all
others of his class and tradition, and with many others besides, he held
that if the natives chose to get up a fight among themselves that was
their look-out, and, in fact, so much the better, in that it would serve
the dual purpose of keeping down their numbers, and giving them the
opportunity of letting loose the spirit of Donnybrook upon _each other_;
wherefore if they wanted firearms for that purpose he had no scruple in
supplying the side that would pay the highest price. Now, however, the
case was different. Undhlawafa's "dark" talking was clear enough to
him. Such a bribe as two hundred pounds could only mean one thing, and
that was not liquor-smuggling.

"The load is there," went on the Zulu. "It is only for bringing it in--
the price. Is it not high enough?"

Still Ben Halse did not reply. Yes, the circumstances now were
different. The country was now fairly populated with whites, among them
hundreds of women and children. All of these he knew were virtually
sitting on the crater of a volcano, and he had often said so, only to be
derided as a scaremonger. He, however, knew that sooner or later the
eruption would take place.

As Undhlawafa had said,