ut
over one temple. He further owned to the loosening of a couple of
teeth. In short his countenance presented an aspect that would not have
endeared him to those of the opposite sex on sight, say his cousins whom
he had left behind. But he had held his own like a man, and of his
pluck there could be no question at all; and I own that he had gone up
very considerably in my estimation since the time of our earlier
acquaintance.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

MAJENDWA'S KRAAL.

A large, well-built Zulu kraal is to my mind a picturesque and
symmetrical object with its perfect double circle of ring fences
enclosing the yellow domes of the grass huts, and the large open space
in the centre, dappled with many coloured cattle, or alive with the dark
forms of its inhabitants. Such a kraal was that of the chief, Majendwa.
It lay deep down in a large basin-like hollow; an amphitheatre, as it
were, sparsely bushed and surrounded by high, terrace-like cliffs. On
one side these rose up to a tall cone of considerable height.

The valley bottom and the slopes of the hills were covered with grazing
herds, all sleek and round and shining, for the grass was abundant, and
rains had been plentiful in these highlands.

"That looks promising," I remarked to Falkner, as we gazed around upon
this land of plenty. "I hope to take back a good few of these with us."

"By Jove, yes," he said. "I say, I wonder if there's anything to shoot
among those cliffs over there."

"Not very much. An odd reebok or klipspringer is about all you'd get.
However, we can try later on. Hallo! That looks uncommonly like
Majendwa himself."

Two tall Zulus were stalking along a path which should converge with
ours a little way ahead. We had ridden on, leaving the waggons to
follow, and the sound of their creaking and jolting was even now borne
to our ears behind, as they wound down the rocky track which led into
the hollow from that side, together with an occasional driving shout.

"Is it?" said Falkner, looking up with some curiosity. "By Jingo, he's
a fine-looking chap for a nigger, anyway."

"Thought you'd worn through that `nigger' string of yours, Falkner," I
said. "Don't play on it for the benefit of Majendwa, that's all."

I may have seen as fine, but I never saw a finer specimen of a Zulu than
Majendwa. Tall and straight, and for his age marvellously free from
that corpulence which seems to come upon nearly all Zulus of rank or
birth in mi