CHAPTER TEN.
THE FAITH OF A SLAVE.
"Greeting, my father," he exclaimed, when we had stared at each otherfor a moment in silence. "_Au_! but it is well that none of those whocome on behind me were in my place now."
"Who come on behind thee? What meanest thou, fool, leading those whopursue thee to my hiding-place?"
"Nay, father; I came to warn thee, for this place is known to them, andfrom one point yonder"--and he pointed upward and across the chasm--"itcan be seen into. Then they will surround it by day and by night, fornone will venture in by so narrow a way as this, and the choice beforeus will be a leap into yon depth, or death by hunger and thirst, or onthe stake of impalement, which is even now reared outside the King'sGreat Place."
I looked at Jambula somewhat suspiciously, for a thought had come intomy mind: What if he were meaning to betray me? What if he had beenoffered life, and even honour, to decoy me forth, so that my pursuersmight pounce upon me, with the alternative of death in torments shouldhe fail? Who could be trusted? On whose faith could one set entirebelief?
"Let us go hence, my father, and that immediately," he said, "for wemust find a safer refuge than this. The mist is still upon themountains, but at any moment it may roll back. Here is food that willlast us some little time."
He picked up a bundle which lay on the ground. It contained a quantityof grain, stamped and prepared as for _amasi_. For arms he had a broadassegai and three or four casting ones, and a great short-handledknob-stick, which he had brought especially for me, when he should findme.
Whatever my suspicions, it was clear I could not remain in that placefor ever. Jambula leading the way, we retraced the perilous cliff path,and stood outside upon the mountain once more. At first I kept a sharplook-out, but soon my suspicions were entirely lulled, and I was able toappreciate the fidelity of my slave, who had sought me out with theresolve to share my peril in the day of my downfall and flight.
We kept on along the summit of the mountain range in complete silence,for a man's voice travels far in those quiet solitudes. Then, as thesun rose, the mist rolled higher and higher up the slope, and there onthe further side lay the open country.
It was flat, or gently rolling, and now the dew lay upon it like thesunlight on the points of the waves of the sea. Here and there, likemoving dots, we could see herds of game browsing, and the tall necks ofgiraffes stalking among the flat tops of the mimosas. It was a fair andgladsome sight, _Nkose_, and for us who had to traverse it, promised, atany rate, no scarcity of food.
But just then our eyes lighted upon that which was by no means agladsome sight--and this was a moving body of armed men. They hadevidently come through the mountains by the Place of the Three Rifts,and were now moving along the base in such wise that did we descend fromwhere we were now we should walk right into the midst of them. We couldmake out nearly a hundred of them. Well for us was it that the mistlifted when it did.
This was not the _impi_ I had seen the night before. Jambula said thatnumbered half the strength of this. Our chances began to look small.We were between two search parties; and, for all we knew, a third mightbe sweeping along the summit of the range.
As we lay carefully concealed, watching the movements of this _impi_, wetook counsel, Jambula and I. There would be look-outs posted at somepoint on the mountains, and anyone moving over the flat, open countrybeyond could not escape observation. We must wait until night--that wascertain.
We watched the _impi_ in front of us, and presently saw it halt. It wassignalling to someone above and behind it. Ha! Just as we thought.Another search party was coming along the summit.
We could see it now, but it was still a long way off. We were on higherground, amid rocks and broken boulders. We made out about three scoreof men.
Our eminence was a small peak rising but a trifling height from thesummit of the range. Should they pass without searching this we weresafe, for, crouching behind the rocks, none could see us from but ashort way off. Should they search, why, then, we must die fighting, forneither of us had any mind to writhe upon the stake of impalement.
We lay behind the rocks and gripped our weapons, for it was now too lateto fly. On they came, till nearly abreast of our position. Then theyhalted, looking upward. Would they come?
Now we could just catch what the leader was saying--
"There is no hiding-place there, and we have travelled fast and far.And see. Yonder buck, with her fawn, would not be feeding there sopeacefully were any man near. No! We had better hurry on."
Then we saw a new sight, and one for which we were entirely unprepared.Quite close to us, peacefully and unconcernedly, was grazing a buck, ofthe kind you white people call "pheebok," and beside her a little fawn,skipping and whisking its white tail as it gazed open-eyed at the_impi_. The other men seemed to agree with what their leader had said.They looked towards our hiding-place, then at the bucks, then theypassed on their way.
For long we lay, not daring to move, scarcely to breathe. But we saw nomore of the searchers, and at last the sun went down, and the grey ofevening blotted out the world.
"A vow, Jambula," I whispered, as we travelled down the mountain side inthe darkness. "Never again--no, not even if starving, will I slay abuck of that species--male or female, young or old--for it seems thatour snakes have taken that form to watch over us," And Jambula assented.
Now as we travelled onward Jambula told me of much that had happenedsince my flight. Knowing by the uproar within the _isigodhlo_ that myplan had failed, he was about to start and warn my kraal according to myorders, when he saw me leap the fence and disappear into the darkness.He, like myself, had not reckoned on the chance of my escape, and hisfirst impulse had been to follow me. But he remembered my orders, and,running at full speed, he warned my people and saw them all take flightbefore following on my track. Not too soon, either, had they done so,for, looking back as he fled, he had seen from far the smoke from myblazing kraals mounting to the heavens, which proved that the slayershad been there. He thought, and indeed so did I, that there was littleprobability of my people eventually escaping; but at any rate, they hada warning and a start, which was something.
That night we got down the mountain side without any trouble, and bydawn were far out over the open country. Yet not for a moment did werelax our caution. But the land was covered with patches and clumps offorest, some large, some small, and by keeping within these we couldtravel in concealment. We were able, moreover, to kill game, and thiswe did but sparingly, immediately burying what we did not need lest thecloud of vultures that would gather overhead should mark our locality tothose who came after.
Now Jambula, as we began to hunt, made mock of our Zulu casting-spears.The broad-headed _umkonto_--ah, that, he said, was good for its ownpurpose; but the _umgcula_, or casting-spear, with its stiff, awkwardhandle terminating in a knob, was a poor sort of weapon for killing gameat any distance, or with any accuracy of aim. So he cut staves andfashioned long slender hafts running to a point, as the Amaxosa havetheir spear-hafts, and to these he bound the lighter blades he had withhim, and--_Whau_! with these he could slay a buck half as far again as Icould with our own.
Thus we journeyed on from day to day, seeing no man, for that belt ofcountry to the south had been well cleared by our people and was kept asa hunting-ground. Not yet, either, had I unfolded to Jambula the aim ofour wanderings.
We had come to a large wide river, and having crossed it, we lay by fora day or two on the further side, intending, if we could, to slay abuffalo and make shields of its hide, for we had come away without ourshields. This river-bank was high and broken up into great rifts withearthen sides all filled and covered with trees and creepers. It was aplace where a man might lie concealed for ever, and escape discoveryeven though a thousand were in quest of him, and it suited our purposewell.
It happened that on the second morning after our arrival here, Jambulahad gone forth early to spy out where buffal
o might be found; but I,feeling weary, elected to rest throughout the heat of the day. When Iawoke the sun was already high, and again I slept. On awaking thesecond time the sun was on the decline. Rising, I went forth, but ofJambula there was no sign.
We had chosen for our hiding-place a crack in the ground that branchedsideways from one of the great rifts of which I have made mention, andthis was roofed in with trees as the roof of a hut. Then I heard thatwhich brought me to an attitude of intense listening. It was the deepmurmur of voices, and it seemed to come from the river-bed.
Here the trees and bush grew thick to a cliff of earth about six timesthe height of a man, over which they hung in a thick tangle. Quickly Igained this point, and peering through, this is what I saw:
Right underneath was a stony space, between the base of the cliff andthe flowing of the broad swift current, and this space was full of armedmen.
They were our own people. I knew most of them by sight. But one amongthem was not armed, and at that moment several of them were engaged inbinding the wrists of this one, far apart, to the ends of a pole. Thenthe man was stretched upon his back, two or three of them grasping thecentre of the pole, and thus drawing his arms high above his head. Hisfeet had already been treated in like fashion. And in this man, thusmade ready for I knew too well what, I recognised my slave and faithfulfollower, Jambula.
Over him now was bending the leader of the _impi_, speaking in a stern,decisive tone.
"Say now, thou dog, where lies hidden thy master, or I rip thee as thouliest." And the broad assegai quivered in the speaker's hand.
"Does ever a dog betray his master?" was the sullen reply. "A man may,but a dog, never."
"How does _that_ feel, and that, and that?" snarled the leader, bringinghis blade down to the broad breast of the Xosa, and inflicting two orthree deep gashes. "Ha! It will be through thee directly."
I knew this man well. He was a brave enough fighter, but a sub-chief ofsmall account, and not one of my own following. Could he capture me hisfame would be assured. But he had that yet to do.
"Oh, good for thee, Sivuma," I growled to myself. "Thou shalt feed thealligators for this when my day comes."
Seeing that Jambula was not to be frightened thus, Sivuma signed to theothers. Well I knew what should follow. From a small fire which hadbeen kindled among the stones they brought an assegai, whose blade hadbeen heated red-hot. This was placed against the inner part ofJambula's thigh. I could hear the hiss of the burning flesh, but thebrave Xosa never winced.
For long was the hot iron thus held, and when it began to cool anotherwas brought from the fire. The perspiration poured from Jambula's face,and his teeth were set with agony; but beyond a quiver of the limbs,which he could not control, he quailed not, nor did he speak.
"Well, dog?" at last cried Sivuma furiously. "Where is thy master?"
"Not from me will that news come, leader of Umzilikazi's hunting dogs,"replied this brave man, speaking in a quick hard voice in his agony.
"Ho! then shall the game continue; and there is much daylight before usyet," said Sivuma; and again he beckoned the torturers.
This time the red-hot blades were inserted between Jambula's toes.Still, beyond some slight writhing, he showed nothing of the horribletorment he suffered.
All of this, _Nkose_, I was obliged to witness--being helpless. Hadthere been but few men I had quickly been in their midst; but what canone man do against a hundred? I could have yielded, but this would nothave saved Jambula; for, in any case, death by torment was the doom ofthe man--slave or free--who had linked his lot with that of theattempted slayer of the King. But I promised myself a rich revenge onall concerned in this matter when my day should come; nor would myyielding up of myself now do aught to hasten this, that I could see.Besides, all this would I have endured myself rather than betrayUmzilikazi, in the days before he had broken faith with me; for it isthe duty of a man to suffer anything rather than betray his chief.
Now the torture had gone on a little longer, when I saw Jambula raisehis head.
"Cease now, I pray thee, my father!" he gasped. "I can bear no more. Iwill lead you to the hiding-place of Untuswa."
At that I started, _Nkose_. After all, this man was of an alien race--not one of us. He could not bear torture as the children of Zulu.
"Thou wilt, dog?" cried Sivuma, in delight. "And thou shalt. Fail,though, and for days shalt thou lie beneath the red-hot pang of theheated steel; ay, until thou diest."
"I will not fail, my father," groaned Jambula, as though weak andexhausted with the pain. "He is somewhat far from here; but you shalltake him. Then will the King, the Great Great One, give me my life?"
"Thy life? That I know not, but it may be," replied Sivuma, ready topromise anything in his eagerness.
I have said that Jambula's hands and feet were stretched far apart,being bound to poles. His feet were now cut loose, but his feet only.
"The forest growth is thick where we have to go," he said, "and howshall I pass through it bound thus?"
Sivuma looked at him a moment as though pondering. Then he gave orders,and they cut his hands loose.
But hardly had they done so when I saw through his plan. With the handthat was last loosened he grasped the end of the pole, and, whirling itaround, swept two men to the earth, finishing off by swinging it with ahollow thud hard against the side of Sivuma's head, bringing the leaderto his knees.
So rapid had been Jambula's movements, so unexpected withal, that beforethe warriors had quite understood what had happened, he had hewn his waythrough them; and, still holding the pole, had plunged to the water'sedge and sprang far out into the stream. But swift as he had been, hehad not been swift enough, for even as he leaped, quite half a dozenassegais out of the shower hurled at him transfixed his body; and as hestruck the water, and was immediately whirled away by the current, Iknew that the frame which the waters swept down was that of a dead man.
This, then, _Nkose_, was the end of Jambula, my slave and faithfulfollower, and his end was a noble one, and worthy of the bravest warriorwho ever lived, for he endured much horrible torture, and of himselfplunged into the embrace of death rather than betray his chief; andfurther, striking down in that death two or more of those who guardedhim armed; and if there exists a braver or more valiant form of deathfor a warrior than this, why, _Nkose_, I, who am now very old, havenever heard of it.
The Induna's Wife Page 11