forth words which
had any man heard, I should have seen not another sun to set. For I was
mad. Not only had the King been making a mock of me all this time, but
now he had put forth his hand and taken her upon whom my heart was set.
I was young then, _Nkose_, and therefore a fool, and did not reason as I
should have done that there were other girls among the Amandebili as
good as Nangeza.

"`_Hau_! Do we not all lie beneath the foot of the Elephant, and his
tread is light!' I said, remembering myself. `Farewell, Sitele. The
Great Great One has chosen well.'

"And I walked away.

"But although I thus spoke before the child, I was full of rage in my
heart, and pondered over plans of deadly vengeance, wherein, of course,
I was a fool, as an angry man ever is. And he who ponders vengeance
against kings may well ponder also on the land of shadows and perpetual
sleep, for into it must he soon assuredly fall.

"As this was borne in upon my mind, I threw off my recklessness, and
went among my fellows and laughed and feasted. The _Tyay'igama_ dance
had been held before my return, so I missed that opportunity of making
my deeds known in the sight of all men. Yet what mattered it, since the
King still turned a deaf ear to my prayer, whatever brave acts I might
perform? And no more war expeditions were then sent forth, our time
being passed in hunting game and exploring the country far and wide.

"At last I saw Nangeza. She was walking in a long file of other girls
carrying bowls of the King's beer, for although he had taken her into
the _Isigodhlo_, Umzilikazi had not yet taken her to wife, though he
might at any moment do so. No speech dared I obtain with her, but she
understood my glance, and it would be hard but that I would find some
opportunity. And this at length occurred.

"She was hoeing a corn-patch bordered by thick bush which lay along the
stream. It was the middle of the day, and there were few people about;
wherefore I thought, `If I neglect to seize this opportunity when shall
I find another?' So, while the other girls who were with her had their
backs turned, I showed myself and beckoned her. She understood, and
after I had waited some time, she joined me.

"She was hurried and rather frightened, which was not in the least
surprising, for every moment she passed with me she was risking her
life. But I whispered to her the tale I had not told the King, namely,
how I had slain Gungana in purs