her life.

"How did you come to this?" I asked.

"It was an impi of Chaka, Chief of the Zulus, that ate us up," she
answered. "They burst upon as at dawn this morning while we were asleep
in our huts. Yes, I woke up to hear the sound of killing. I was sleeping
by my husband, with him who lies there, and the children. We all ran
out. My husband had a spear and shield. He was a brave man. See! he died
bravely: he killed three of the Zulu devils before he himself was dead.
Then they caught me, and killed my children, and stabbed me till they
thought that I was dead. Afterwards, they went away. I don't know why
they came, but I think it was because our chief would not send men to
help Chaka against Zweete."

She stopped, gave a great cry, and died.

My sister wept at the sight, and I too was stirred by it. "Ah!" I
thought to myself, "the Great Spirit must be evil. If he is not evil
such things would not happen." That is how I thought then, my father;
now I think differently. I know that we had not found out the path of
the Great Spirit, that is all. I was a chicken in those days, my father;
afterwards I got used to such sights. They did not stir me any more, not
one whit. But then in the days of Chaka the rivers ran blood--yes, we
had to look at the water to see if it was clean before we drank. People
learned how to die then and not make a noise about it. What does it
matter? They would have been dead now anyway. It does not matter;
nothing matters, except being born. That is a mistake, my father.

We stopped at the kraal that night, but we could not sleep, for we heard
the Itongo, the ghosts of the dead people, moving about and calling to
each other. It was natural that they should do so; men were looking for
their wives, and mothers for their children. But we were afraid that
they might be angry with us for being there, so we clung together and
trembled in each other's arms. Koos also trembled, and from time to time
he howled loudly. But they did not seem to see us, and towards morning
their cries grew fainter.

When the first light came we rose and picked our way through the dead
down to the plain. Now we had an easy road to follow to Chaka's kraal,
for there was the spoor of the impi and of the cattle which they had
stolen, and sometimes we came to the body of a warrior who had been
killed because his wounds prevented him from marching farther. But now
I was doubtful whether it was wise for us to go to Chaka, for