er as her father?" I asked, for I
wanted to see to what length his accommodating morality would stretch.

"As her father--well, of course, Macumazahn, as her father I am sorry,
because it will mean talk, will it not, as the Masapo business
did? Still, there is this to be said for Mameena," he added, with a
brightening face, "she always runs away up the tree, not down. When she
got rid of Masapo--I mean when Masapo was killed for his witchcraft--she
married Saduko, who was a bigger man--Saduko, whom she would not marry
when Masapo was the bigger man. And now, when she has got rid of Saduko,
she enters the hut of Umbelazi, who will one day be King of the Zulus,
the biggest man in all the world, which means that she will be the
biggest woman, for remember, Macumazahn, she will walk round and round
that great Umbelazi till whatever way he looks he will see her and no
one else. Oh, she will grow great, and carry up her poor old father
in the blanket on her back. Oh, the sun still shines behind the cloud,
Macumazahn, so let us make the best of the cloud, since we know that it
will break out presently."

"Yes, Umbezi; but other things besides the sun break out from clouds
sometimes--lightning, for instance; lightning which kills."

"You speak ill-omened words, Macumazahn; words that take away my
appetite, which is generally excellent at this hour. Well, if Mameena is
bad it is not my fault, for I brought her up to be good. After all,"
he added with an outburst of petulance, "why do you scold me when it is
your fault? If you had run away with the girl when you might have done
so, there would have been none of this trouble."

"Perhaps not," I answered; "only then I am sure I should have been dead
to-day, as I think that all who have to do with her will be ere long.
And now, Umbezi, I wish you a good breakfast."

On the following morning, Saduko returned and was told the news by
Nandie, whom I had carefully avoided. On this occasion, however, I was
forced to be present, as the person to whom the sinful Mameena had sent
her farewell message. It was a very painful experience, of which I do
not remember all the details. For a while after he learned the truth
Saduko sat still as a stone, staring in front of him, with a face that
seemed to have become suddenly old. Then he turned upon Umbezi, and in a
few terrible words accused him of having arranged the matter in order to
advance his own fortunes at the price of his daughter's di