o the fire which was burning within his heart. It seemed a direct
answer to lurid unspoken thoughts which had been surging through his
mind at the time of his surprise by the at first hostile party.

"Umlilwane is an obstinate man," he said at length. "What if he laughs
at the warning?"

"When a man sits inside his house and laughs while his house is burning,
what happens to him, Ixeshane?"

"He stands a fair chance of being burnt too. But listen, Ncanduku. You
have no quarrel against the _Inkosikazi_. [Literally Chieftainess. In
this instance `lady.'] Surely not a man of the House of Gaika would harm
her!"

The chief shook his head with a troubled expression.

"Let her go, too!" he said emphatically. "Let her go, too, and that as
soon as possible. When the red wave of war is rolling over the land,
there is no place where the delicate feet of white women may stand dry.
We are friends, Ixeshane. For your sake, and for that of the
_Inkosikazi_, tell Umlilwane to gather together his cattle and to go."

"We are friends, indeed, Ncanduku. But how long can we be so? If war
breaks out between our people how can I sit still? I cannot. I must
fight--must fight for my own race, and in defence of our property. How,
then, can we remain friends?"

"In war-time every man must do his duty," answered the Gaika. "He must
obey the word of his chief and fight for his race and colour."

"Truly spoken and well understood. And now a warning for a warning. If
I had the ears of your chiefs and _amapakati_ [Councillors] this is what
I should say: Do not be drawn into this war. Let the Gcalekas fight out
their own quarrel. They stand upon wholly different ground. If they
are vanquished--as, of course, they will be in the long run--the
Government will show them mercy, will treat them as a conquered people.
But you, and the other tribes within the colonial border, are British
subjects. Queen Victoria is your chief, not Kreli, not Sandili, not
Seyolo, not Ndimba--no man of the House of Gaika or Hlambi, but the
White Queen. If you make war upon the Colony the Government will treat
you as criminals, not as a conquered people, but as rebels against the
Queen, your chief. You will be shown no mercy. Your chiefs will very
likely be hung and your fighting men will be sent to the convict prisons
for many a long year. That when you are beaten. And how long can you
carry on the war? Things are not as they were. The countr