og that has scented game. He turned his head
eagerly here and there, as though trying the air, seemed to get the
scent for which he was seeking, and then looked square into the eyes of
a man in the ranks, who visibly quailed beneath his gaze. Then,
sniffing again, the witch doctor suddenly sprang forward, thrust his
face close to that of the man who seemed to have incurred his suspicion,
and, after a momentary pause, as though to make quite sure of what he
suspected, stepped back a pace, and, stretching forth the wand in his
hand, lightly touched the unfortunate warrior on the breast with it.

Instantly the man's comrades to right and left of him seized the unhappy
wight by the arms and led him forward unresisting to within about ten
paces of the king. For a moment the king regarded the supposed culprit
with a cold, frowning stare: then he turned toward where the Slayers
were drawn up and nodded, upon which a pair of them stepped forward and
stationed themselves, the bangwan-bearer in front and the knife-bearer
behind the doomed man, who stood with his hands clenched by his sides,
his comrades having, at the king's nod, taken from him his spear and
shield and laid them at His Majesty's feet. Then, as I saw the right
arms of the executioners raised to strike, I shut my eyes. A moment
later I heard the dull sound of a blow, followed by the thud of a
falling body; and when I opened my eyes the first victim of the
diabolical rite of "smelling out" lay stretched out upon his face, dead,
with skull cloven and a bangwan wound that must have cut his heart in
twain. It was a sickening sight; but there was one redeeming feature
about it, the mode of death was at least merciful, for the Slayers had
done their work so well and so quickly that the unhappy man must have
died instantly, with perhaps scarcely a pang to mark his dissolution.
He was a mere nobody, just a common soldier from the ranks, who had
probably never harboured in his simple heart a single thought disloyal
to the king; but Machenga was cunning enough to realise that a certain
number of such unconsidered and inconspicuous victims must be sacrificed
if he would avoid attracting undue attention to the fact that the
holocaust included all those whose death advantaged him either
pecuniarily or as the gratification of his revenge.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

I KILL MACHENGA, AND AM EXPELLED FROM MASHONALAND.

After the fall of the first victim the dreadful work proc