arity and
bloodshed. And further and further into these "dark places" were they
themselves being forced.

They had induced their rescuers--or captors--to revisit the scene of the
battle, by holding out to them the possibility of finding more loot,
over looked or not thought worth bringing away by Mushad, their own
object being twofold--to bury their unfortunate friend, and to recover
if possible the precious specimens. As to the first, disappointment
befell them, for such high revel had been held by the carrion birds and
beasts that the remains of the doctor were undistinguishable from those
of any other victim of the hideous massacre. In the second matter they
were more fortunate. Most of the treasured collections had escaped
damage, and the Inswani warriors had stood round, some amused, some
jeering, at the spectacle of the two white men--who they had it from
Kumbelwa _could_ fight--eagerly repacking dried and pressed plants, or
striving to repair the broken wings of tiny beetles.

Haviland, with his knowledge of their language, had laid himself out to
try and gain their friendship, but they were not particularly
responsive; and here he was surprised, for, whereas some--Dumaliso
included--spoke pure Zulu, others only talked a kind of dialect of it,
introducing a great many words that were strange to him. Yet somehow
none of these men quite resembled the straight, clean-limbed,
aristocratic savage he had become familiar with in the realm of
Cetywayo. In physique many of them excelled him, but there was a hard,
brutal, aggressive look in their otherwise intelligent faces. Those of
them, too, who wore the head-ring wore it very large and thick, and, as
we have said, their shields and assegais were heavier and of a different
finish. He wondered whether these were an evolution of the original
Zulu, or if the Zulu up to date had receded from this type.

Day after day their weary march continued, and they began to estimate
they had covered close on four hundred miles. Four hundred weary miles
to be re-traversed, if they ever did return. But during the last few
days the face of the country had been improving. The climate was
cooler, and, as they had been gradually ascending, it was evident that
the home of these people lay amid healthy uplands. Great valleys opened
out, dotted with mimosa patches and baobab, and half a hundred varieties
of shrubbery. Game, too, was plentiful; but when our friends would have
va