was sharp-tongued and
evil-tempered, while the other by her conduct had incurred suspicion,
and the King would gladly be rid of them both. So he won great praise
from the King for ridding him of these two, and the people felt grateful
to him in that he had denounced no one else. As for myself, _Nkose_, I
rejoiced greatly; for Shushungani hated me, and was ever talking into
the King's ear against me."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

THE PROPHECY OF MASUKA.

"After this the King gave orders that we should break up camp and resume
our march, and, _Nkose_, it was something to see this immense company of
people moving onward thus, day after day, in order to found a new
nation. _Impis_ were thrown out to right and to left, to ensure that no
enemy might take us unawares; for the arm of Tshaka was long, and we
could not say for certain that we were beyond the reach of it even then.
In front, too, was a strong _impi_ despatched, and this I often
accompanied. But we found no enemy, no one to strike, for the terror of
our name had gone ahead of us, and when the tribes in our path saw the
great herds of game fleeing past them, they cried:

"`_Ou_! the tread of the Great Elephant already rumbles on the earth.
The hunting dogs of the Zulu draw near...' And all fled in fear to the
rocks and caves of the mountains. However, we seized what they had
left, and laid waste their kraals and passed on, for we should have
gained nothing by hunting these rats out of their holes.

"These enormous herds of game, too, kept us abundantly in food--eland
and quagga and gnu, every species was there--so that we had little need
to kill our own cattle. Besides, it afforded us much sport, and kept us
active; for not always such harmless and timid game as buck did we seek.
In those days, _Nkose_, we thought no more of slaying a lion with
spears than you white people do of shooting it with a gun; and in
hunting lions the King took an especial delight, and more than once have
I seen Umzilikazi slay with his own spears, and all unaided, the largest
and fiercest of lions. In this sport he would often have me to
accompany him, and, indeed, on one occasion it would have gone hard with
me, in my rashness and anxiety to show my valour under the very eyes of
the Great Great One. For I had been overthrown by the rush of a wounded
and furious lion, and would certainly have been dead had not the King
sprang to the beast's side and stabbed him to the heart with his