stand upright, and then, as I turned the corner, amazement was my
portion, and a growl escaped me, which boded ill for him who had caused
it, for I had run right against the body of a man.

He grappled with me in a moment, seizing my wrist before I could bury my
assegai in his body, and speaking quickly and eagerly. We were
perilously near the edge of the chasm, for in my advance I had borne him
backward. Then, as suddenly, my grasp of him relaxed, and his of me;
for, in the fast lightening dimness of dawn, I recognised the face of my
faithful slave, Jambula, the Xosa.

CHAPTER TEN.

THE FAITH OF A SLAVE.

"Greeting, my father," he exclaimed, when we had stared at each other
for a moment in silence. "_Au_! but it is well that none of those who
come on behind me were in my place now."

"Who come on behind thee? What meanest thou, fool, leading those who
pursue thee to my hiding-place?"

"Nay, father; I came to warn thee, for this place is known to them, and
from one point yonder"--and he pointed upward and across the chasm--"it
can be seen into. Then they will surround it by day and by night, for
none will venture in by so narrow a way as this, and the choice before
us will be a leap into yon depth, or death by hunger and thirst, or on
the stake of impalement, which is even now reared outside the King's
Great Place."

I looked at Jambula somewhat suspiciously, for a thought had come into
my mind: What if he were meaning to betray me? What if he had been
offered life, and even honour, to decoy me forth, so that my pursuers
might pounce upon me, with the alternative of death in torments should
he fail? Who could be trusted? On whose faith could one set entire
belief?

"Let us go hence, my father, and that immediately," he said, "for we
must find a safer refuge than this. The mist is still upon the
mountains, but at any moment it may roll back. Here is food that will
last us some little time."

He picked up a bundle which lay on the ground. It contained a quantity
of grain, stamped and prepared as for _amasi_. For arms he had a broad
assegai and three or four casting ones, and a great short-handled
knob-stick, which he had brought especially for me, when he should find
me.

Whatever my suspicions, it was clear I could not remain in that place
for ever. Jambula leading the way, we retraced the perilous cliff path,
and stood outside upon the mountain once more. At first I kept a sharp
look-out,