aal, which we
did not reach for some days as the absence of roads and the
flooded state of the rivers, also the need of sparing our horses,
caused us to travel very slowly, I met a Boer who I think was
concession hunting.

He told me that things were really serious in Zululand, so
serious that he thought there was a probability of immediate war
between the English and the Zulus. He said also that Cetewayo,
the Zulu king, had sent messengers to stir up the Basutos and
other tribes against the white men, with the result that Sekukuni
had already made a raid towards Pilgrim's Rest and Lydenburg.

I expressed surprise and asked innocently if he had done any
harm. The Boer replied he understood that they had stolen some
cattle, killed two white men, if not more, and burnt their house.
He added, however, that he was not sure whether the white men had
been killed by the Kaffirs or by other white men with whom they
had quarrelled. There was a rumour to this effect, and he
understood that the magistrate of Barberton had gone with some
mounted police and armed natives to investigate the matter.

Then we parted, as, having got his concession to which the king
Umbandine had put his mark when he was drunk on brandy that the
Boer himself had brought with him as a present, he was anxious to
be gone before he grew sober and revoked it. Indeed, he was in
so great a hurry that he never stopped to inquire what I was
doing in Swazi-Land, nor do I think he realized that I was not
alone. Certainly he was quite unaware that I had been mixed up
in these Basuto troubles. Still his story as to the
investigation concerning the deaths of Marnham and Rodd made me
uneasy, since I feared lest he should hear something on his
journey and put two and two together, though as a matter of fact
I don't think he ever did either of these things.

The Swazis told me much the same story as to the brewing Zulu
storm. In fact an old Induna or councillor, whom I knew,
informed me that Cetewayo had sent messengers to them, asking for
their help if it should come to fighting with the white men, but
that the king and councillors answered that they had always been
the Queen's children (which was not strictly true, as they were
never under English rule) and did not wish to "bite her feet if
she should have to fight with her hands." I replied that I hoped
they would always act up to these fine words, and changed the
subject.

Now once more the question