royal Amawombe
regiment.

"Watcher-by-Night," he said, "I have news that the great battle between
my sons will take place within a few days. Therefore I am sending down
this, my own royal regiment, under the command of Maputa the skilled in
war to spy out the battle, and I pray that you will go with it, that
you may give to the General Maputa and to the captains the help of
your wisdom. Now these are my orders to you, Maputa, and to you, O
captains--that you take no part in the fight unless you should see that
the Elephant, my son Umbelazi, is fallen into a pit, and that then you
shall drag him out if you can and save him alive. Now repeat my words to
me."

So they repeated the words, speaking with one voice.

"Your answer, O Macumazana," he said when they had spoken.

"O King, I have told you that I will go--though I do not like war--and I
will keep my promise," I replied.

"Then make ready, Macumazahn, and be back here within an hour, for the
regiment marches ere noon."

So I went up to my wagons and handed them over to the care of some men
whom Panda had sent to take charge of them. Also Scowl and I saddled our
horses, for this faithful fellow insisted upon accompanying me, although
I advised him to stay behind, and got out our rifles and as much
ammunition as we could possibly need, and with them a few other
necessaries. These things done, we rode back to the gathering-place,
taking farewell of the wagons with a sad heart, since I, for one, never
expected to see them again.

As we went I saw that the regiment of the Amawombe, picked men every one
of them, all fifty years of age or over, nearly four thousand strong,
was marshalled on the dancing-ground, where they stood company
by company. A magnificent sight they were, with their white
fighting-shields, their gleaming spears, their otter-skin caps, their
kilts and armlets of white bulls' tails, and the snowy egret plumes
which they wore upon their brows. We rode to the head of them, where I
saw Maputa, and as I came they greeted me with a cheer of welcome, for
in those days a white man was a power in the land. Moreover, as I have
said, the Zulus knew and liked me well. Also the fact that I was to
watch, or perchance to fight with them, put a good heart into the
Amawombe.

There we stood until the lads, several hundreds of them, who bore
the mats and cooking vessels and drove the cattle that were to be
our commissariat, had wended away in a long line. Then