ion I had seen there more than once, but usually when
leading us into the very thickest of the battle. Yet neither of us
spake, and we resumed our way, though tenfold more cautiously than
before.

Again I held up my hand. We were now where the ground ended. Before
were several jagged pinnacles of rock; in front of these--air. We had
made our way by a circuit to the high ground overlooking the back of
Ncwelo's pool.

There it lay, the pool--its surface glistening in the moonlight,
reflecting the stars--lying beneath us at a depth, it might be, of eight
or ten times the length of a man; and the murmur of voices rose to our
ears, together with the occasional stamp of a horse and the sound as of
the shaking of a saddle. The grasp of the King's hand tightened on my
shoulder, as we drew ourselves yet nearer to the brink of the rocks and
peered cautiously forth.

"Listen, Untuswa," he breathed into my ear. "Mark well the voices, lest
the darkness prevent us from seeing the speakers. Ha!" he added, "that,
at any rate, is a voice thou shouldst know."

And there in truth, _Nkose_, Umzilikazi spoke no lie; for the voice was
that of Ntelani, my father.

It was raised in reproof. Someone at that moment was striking a light--
with the stone fire-makers the white men used at that time--and there
arose to our nostrils the odour of tobacco being smoked in a pipe. But
while this light still flamed we made out with the greatest plainness
the faces of six men.

Yes, in that flash we saw them all, for they were immediately below us.
Two were white men, with rough faces covered with thick shaggy beards.
They wore large hats and clothing made of dressed leather, and were
armed with knives and long guns. They were tall, big men, but slow and
heavy of speech and aspect. We knew them in a moment for Amabuna
[Boers].

The other four were our own people: Tyuyumane, an influential _induna_
and a relation of the King; Notalwa, the head of our witch doctors;
Senkonya, another _induna_, and my father Ntelani. The latter was
speaking:

"I fear lest the odour of _gwai_ thus burned spread far into the
stillness of the night, for none of us Amazulu use our _gwai_ in such
wise. Wherefore it will be known that white men are about."

But that Ibuna answered roughly that he cared nothing if it reached the
nostrils of Umzilikazi himself, save that he uttered the King's name
"Selekas," so badly did that people speak with our tongue.