d at once as his wife, the Princess Nandie, who carried
a fine baby boy in her arms. Rising, I saluted Nandie and offered her my
camp-stool, which she looked at suspiciously and declined, preferring to
seat herself on the ground after the native fashion. So I took it back
again, and after I had sat down on it, not before, stretched out my hand
to Saduko, who by this time was quite humble and polite.

Well, we talked away, and by degrees, without seeming too much
interested in them, I was furnished with a list of all the advancements
which it had pleased Panda to heap upon Saduko during the past year. In
their way they were remarkable enough, for it was much as though some
penniless country gentleman in England had been promoted in that short
space of time to be one of the premier peers of the kingdom and endowed
with great offices and estates. When he had finished the count of them
he paused, evidently waiting for me to congratulate him. But all I said
was:

"By the Heavens above I am sorry for you, Saduko! How many enemies
you must have made! What a long way there will be for you to fall one
night!"--a remark at which the quiet Nandie broke into a low laugh that
I think pleased her husband even less than my sarcasm. "Well," I went
on, "I see that you have got a baby, which is much better than all these
titles. May I look at it, Inkosazana?"

Of course she was delighted, and we proceeded to inspect the baby,
which evidently she loved more than anything on earth. Whilst we were
examining the child and chatting about it, Saduko sitting by meanwhile
in the sulks, who on earth should appear but Mameena and her fat and
sullen-looking husband, the chief Masapo.

"Oh, Macumazahn," she said, appearing to notice no one else, "how
pleased I am to see you after a whole long year!"

I stared at her and my jaw dropped. Then I recovered myself, thinking
she must have made a mistake and meant to say "week."

"Twelve moons," she went on, "and, Macumazahn, not one of them has gone
by but I have thought of you several times and wondered if we should
ever meet again. Where have you been all this while?"

"In many places," I answered; "amongst others at the Black Kloof, where
I called upon the dwarf, Zikali, and lost my looking-glass."

"The Nyanga, Zikali! Oh, how often have I wished to see him. But, of
course, I cannot, for I am told he will not receive any women."

"I don't know, I am sure," I replied, "but you might try; perha