Marie

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It ceded "the place called Port Natal, together with all the land
annexed--that is to say, from Tugela to the Umzimvubu River westward,
and from the sea to the north"--to the Boers, "for their everlasting
property." At the king's request, as the deed was written in English by
Mr. Owen, I translated it to him, and afterwards the lad Halstead
translated it also, being called in to do so when I had finished.

This was done that my rendering might be checked, and the fact impressed
all the Boers very favourably. It showed them that the king desired to
understand exactly what he was to sign, which would not have been the
case had he intended any trick or proposed to cheat them afterwards.
From that moment forward Retief and his people had no further doubts as
to Dingaan's good faith in this matter, and foolishly relaxed all
precautions against treachery.

When the translating was finished, the commandant asked the king if he
would sign the paper then and there. He answered, "No; he would sign it
on the following morning, before the commission returned to Natal." It
was then that Retief inquired of Dingaan, through Thomas Halstead,
whether it was a true story which he had heard, that the Boer called
Pereira, who had been staying with him, and whom the Zulus knew by the
name of "Two-faces," had again asked him, Dingaan, to have me, Allan
Quatermain, whom they called Macumazahn, killed. Dingaan laughed and
answered:

"Yes, that is true enough, for he hates this Macumazahn. But let the
little white Son of George have no fear, since my heart is soft towards
him, and I swear by the head of the Black One that he shall come to no
harm in Zululand. Is he not my guest, as you are?"

He then went on to say that if the commandant wished it, he would have
"Two-faces" seized and killed because he had dared to ask for my life.
Retief answered that he would look into that matter himself, and after
Thomas Halstead had confirmed the king's story as to Pereira's conduct,
he rose and said good-bye to Dingaan.

Of this matter of Hernan Pereira, Retief said little as we went back to
the camp outside the Kraal, though the little that he did say showed his
deep anger. When we arrived at the camp, however, he sent for Pereira
and Marais and several of the older Boers. I remember that among these
were Gerrit Bothma, Senior, Hendrik Labuschagne and Matthys Pretorius,
Senior, all of them persons of standing and judgment. I also was
ordered to be present. When Pereira arrived, Retief charged him openly
with having plotted my murder, and asked him what he had to say. Of
course, his answer was a flat denial, and an accusation against me of
having invented the tale because we had been at enmity over a maiden
whom I had since married.

"Then, Mynheer Pereira," said Retief, "as Allan Quatermain here has won
the maiden who is now his wife, it would seem that his cause of enmity
must have ceased, whereas yours may well have remained. However, I have
no time to try cases of the sort now. But I warn you that this one will
be looked into later on when we get back to Natal, whither I shall take
you with me, and that meanwhile an eye is kept on you and what you do.
Also I warn you that I have evidence for all that I say. Now be so good
as to go, and to keep out of my sight as much as possible, for I do not
like a man whom these Kaffirs name 'Two-faces.' As for you, friend
Henri Marais, I tell you that you would do well to associate yourself
less with one whose name is under so dark a cloud, although he may be
your own nephew, whom all know you love blindly."

So far as I recollect neither of them made any answer to this direct
speech. They simply turned and went away. But on the next morning,
that of the fatal 6th of February, when I chanced to meet the Commandant
Retief as he was riding through the camp making arrangements for our
departure to Natal, he pulled up his horse and said:

"Allan, Hernan Pereira has gone, and Henri Marais with him, and for my
part I am not sorry, for doubtless we shall meet again, in this world or
the next, and find out all the truth. Here, read this, and give it back
to me afterwards"; and he threw me a paper and rode on.

I opened the folded sheet and read as follows:

"To the Commandant Retief, Governor of the Emigrant Boers,

"Mynheer Commandant,

"I will not stay here, where such foul accusations are laid on me by
black Kaffirs and the Englishman, Allan Quatermain, who, like all his
race, is an enemy of us Boers, and, although you do not know it, a
traitor who is plotting great harm against you with the Zulus.
Therefore I leave you, but am ready to meet every charge at the right
time before a proper Court. My uncle, Henri Marais, comes with me, as
he feels that his honour is also touched. Moreover, he has heard that
his daughter, Marie, is in danger from the Zulus, and returns to protect
her, which he who is called her husband neglects to do. Allan
Quatermain, the Englishman, who is the friend of Dingaan, can explain
what I mean, for he knows more about the Zulu plans than I do, as you
will find out before the end."

Then followed the signatures of Hernan Pereira and Henri Marais.

I put the letter in my pocket, wondering what might be its precise
meaning, and in particular that of the absurd and undefined charge of
treachery against myself. It seemed to me that Pereira had left us
because he was afraid of something--either that he might be placed upon
his trial or of some ultimate catastrophe in which he would be involved.
Marais probably had gone with him for the same reason that a bit of
iron follows a magnet, because he never could resist the attraction of
this evil man, his relative by birth. Or perhaps he had learned from
him the story of his daughter's danger, upon which I had already acted,
and really was anxious about her safety. For it must always be
remembered that Marais loved Marie passionately, however ill the reader
of this history may think that he behaved to her. She was his darling,
the apple of his eye, and her great offence in his sight was that she
cared for me more than she did for him. That is one of the reasons why
he hated me as much as he loved her.

Almost before I had finished reading this letter, the order came that we
were to go in a body to bid farewell to Dingaan, leaving our arms piled
beneath the two milk trees at the gate of the town. Most of our
after-riders were commanded to accompany us--I think because Retief
wished to make as big a show as possible to impress the Zulus. A few of
these Hottentots, however, were told to stay behind that they might
collect the horses, that were knee-haltered and grazing at a distance,
and saddle them up. Among these was Hans, for, as it chanced, I saw and
sent him with the others, so that I might be sure that my own horses
would be found and made ready for the journey.

Just as we were starting, I met the lad William Wood, who had come down
from the Mission huts, where he lived with Mr. Owen, and was wandering
about with an anxious face.

"How are you, William?" I asked.

"Not very well, Mr. Quatermain," he answered. "The fact is," he added
with a burst of confidence, "I feel queerly about you all. The Kaffirs
have told me that something is going to happen to you, and I think you
ought to know it. I daren't say any more," and he vanished into the
crowd.

At that moment I caught sight of Retief riding to and fro and shouting
out orders. Going to him, I caught him by the sleeve, saying:

"Commandant, listen to me."

"Well, what is it now, nephew? " he asked absently.

I told him what Wood had said, adding that I also was uneasy; I did not
know why.

"Oh!" he answered with impatience, "this is all hailstones and burnt
grass" (meaning that the one would melt and the other blow away, or in
our English idiom, stuff and rubbish). "Why are you always trying to
scare me with your fancies, Allan? Dingaan is our friend, not our
enemy. So let us take the gifts that fortune gives us and be thankful.
Come, march."

This he said about eight o'clock in the morning.

We strolled through the gates of the Great Kraal, most of the Boers,
who, as usual, had piled their arms under the two milk trees, lounging
along in knots of four or five, laughing and chatting as they went. I
have often thought since, that although every one of them there, except
myself, was doomed within an hour to have taken the dreadful step from
time into eternity, it seems strange that advancing fate should have
thrown no shadow on their hearts. On the contrary, they were quite gay,
being extremely pleased at the successful issue of their mission and the
prospect of an immediate return to their wives and children. Even
Retief was gay, for I heard him joking with his companions about myself
and my "white-bread-week," or honeymoon, which, he said, was drawing
very near.

As we went, I noticed that most of the regiments who had performed the
great military dances before us on the previous day were gone. Two,
however, remained--the Ischlangu Inhlope, that is the "White Shields,"
who were a corps of veterans wearing the ring on their heads, and the
Ischlangu Umnyama, that is the "Black Shields," who were all of them
young men without rings. The "White Shields" were ranged along the
fence of the great open place to our left, and the "Black Shields" were
similarly placed to our right, each regiment numbering about fifteen
hundred men. Except for their kerries and dancing-sticks they were
unarmed.

Presently we reached the head of the dancing ground, and found Dingaan
seated in his chair with two of his great indunas, Umhlela and Tambusa,
squatting on either side of him. Behind him, standing in and about the
entrance to the labyrinth through which the king had come, were other
indunas and captains. On arriving in front of Dingaan we saluted him,
and he acknowledged the salutation with pleasant words and smiles. Then
Retief, two or three of the other Boers, Thomas Halstead and I went
forward, whereon the treaty was produced again and identified as the
same document that we had seen on the previous day.

At the foot of it someone--I forget who--wrote in Dutch, "De merk van
Koning Dingaan" [that is, The mark of King Dingaan.] In the space left
between the words "merk" and "van" Dingaan made a cross with a pen that
was given to him, Thomas Halstead holding his hand and showing him what
to do.

After this, three of his indunas, or great councillors, who were named
Nwara, Yuliwana and Manondo, testified as witnesses for the Zulus, and
M. Oosthuyzen, A. C. Greyling and B. J. Liebenberg, who were standing
nearest to Retief, as witnesses for the Boers.

This done, Dingaan ordered one of his isibongos, or praisers, to run to
and fro in front of the regiments and others there assembled, and
proclaim that he had granted Natal to the Boers to be their property for
ever, information which the Zulus received with shouts. Then Dingaan
asked Retief if he would not eat, and large trenchers of boiled beef
were brought out and handed round. This, however, the Boers refused,
saying they had already breakfasted. Thereon the king said that at
least they must drink, and pots of twala, or Kaffir beer, were handed
round, of which all the Boers partook.

While they were drinking, Dingaan gave Retief a message to the Dutch
farmers, to the effect that he hoped they would soon come and occupy
Natal, which henceforth was their country. Also, black-hearted villain
that he was, that they would have a pleasant journey home. Next he
ordered the two regiments to dance and sing war songs, in order to amuse
his guests.

This they began to do, drawing nearer as they danced.

It was at this moment that a Zulu appeared, pushing his way through the
captains who were gathered at the gate of the labyrinth, and delivered
some message to one of the indunas, who in turn passed it on to the
king.

"Ow! is it so?" said the king with a troubled look. Then his glance
fell on me as though by accident, and he added: "Macumazahn, one of my
wives is taken very ill suddenly, and says she must have some of the
medicine of the white men before they go away. Now, you tell me that
you are a new-married man, so I can trust you with my wives. I pray you
to go and find out what medicine it is that she needs, for you can speak
our tongue."

I hesitated, then translated what he had said to Retief.

"You had best go, nephew," said the commandant; "but come back quickly,
for we ride at once."

Still I hesitated, not liking this business; whereon the king began to
grow angry.

"What!" he said, "do you white men refuse me this little favour, when I
have just given you so much--you who have wonderful medicines that can
cure the sick?"

"Go, Allan, go," said Retief, when he understood his words, "or he will
grow cross and everything may be undone."

So, having no choice, I went through the gateway into the labyrinth.

Next moment men pounced on me, and before I could utter a word a cloth
was thrown over my mouth and tied tight behind my head.

I was a prisoner and gagged.

CHAPTER XIX

DEPART IN PEACE

A tall Kaffir, one of the king's household guards, who carried an
assegai, came up to me and whispered:

"Hearken, little Son of George. The king would save you, if he can,
because you are not Dutch, but English. Yet, know that if you try to
cry out, if you even struggle, you die," and he lifted the assegai so as
to be ready to plunge it through my heart.

Now I understood, and a cold sweat broke out all over me. My companions
were to be murdered, every one! Oh! gladly would I have given my life
to warn them. But alas! I could not, for the cloth upon my mouth was so
thick that no sound could pass it.

One of the Zulus inserted a stick between the reeds of the fence.
Working it to and fro sideways, he made an opening just in a line with
my eyes--out of cruelty, I suppose, for now I must see everything.

For some time--ten minutes, I dare say--the dancing and beer-drinking
went on. Then Dingaan rose from his chair and shook the hand of Retief
warmly, bidding him "Hamba gachle," that is, Depart gently, or in peace.
He retreated towards the gate of the labyrinth, and as he went the
Boers took off their hats, waving them in the air and cheering him. He
was almost through it, and I began to breathe again.

Doubtless I was mistaken. After all, no treachery was intended.

In the very opening of the gate Dingaan turned, however, and said two
words in Zulu which mean:

"Seize them!"

Instantly the warriors, who had now danced quite close and were waiting
for these words, rushed upon the Boers. I heard Thomas Halstead call
out in English:

"We are done for," and then add in Zulu, "Let me speak to the king!"

Dingaan heard also, and waved his hand to show that he refused to
listen, and as he did so shouted thrice :

"Bulala abatagati!" that is, Slay the wizards!

I saw poor Halstead draw his knife and plunge it into a Zulu who was
near him. The man fell, and again he struck at another soldier, cutting
his throat. The Boers also drew their knives--those of them who had
time--and tried to defend themselves against these black devils, who
rushed on them in swarms. I heard afterwards that they succeeded in
killing six or eight of them and wounding perhaps a score. But it was
soon over, for what could men armed only with pocket-knives do against
such a multitude?

Presently, amidst a hideous tumult of shouts, groans, curses, prayers
for mercy, and Zulu battle cries, the Boers were all struck down--yes,
even the two little lads and the Hottentot servants. Then they were
dragged away, still living, by the soldiers, their heels trailing on the
ground, just as wounded worms or insects are dragged by the black ants.

Dingaan was standing by me now, laughing, his fat face working
nervously.

"Come, Son of George," he said, "and let us see the end of these
traitors to your sovereign."

Then I was pulled along to an eminence within the labyrinth, whence
there was a view of the surrounding country. Here we waited a little
while, listening to the tumult that grew more distant, till presently
the dreadful procession of death reappeared, coming round the fence of
the Great Kraal and heading straight for the Hill of Slaughter, Hloma
Amabutu. Soon its slopes were climbed, and there among the dark-leaved
bushes and the rocks the black soldiers butchered them, every one.

I saw and swooned away.

I believe that I remained senseless for many hours, though towards the
end of that time my swoon grew thin, as it were, and I heard a hollow
voice speaking over me in Zulu.

"I am glad that the little Son of George has been saved," said the
echoing voice, which I did not know, "for he has a great destiny and
will be useful to the black people in time to come." Then the voice
went on:

"O House of Senzangacona! now you have mixed your milk with blood, with
white blood. Of that bowl you shall drink to the dregs, and afterwards
must the bowl be shattered"; and the speaker laughed--a deep, dreadful
laugh that I was not to hear again for years.

I heard him go away, shuffling along like some great reptile, and then,
with an effort, opened my eyes. I was in a large hut, and the only
light in the hut came from a fire that burned in its centre, for it was
night time. A Zulu woman, young and good-looking, was bending over a
gourd near the fire, doing something to its contents. I spoke to her
light-headedly.

"O woman," I said, "is that a man who laughed over me?"

"Not altogether, Macumazahn," she answered in a pleasant voice. "That
was Zikali, the Mighty Magician, the Counsellor of Kings, the Opener of
Roads; he whose birth our grandfathers do not remember; he whose breath
causes the trees to be torn out by the roots; he whom Dingaan fears and
obeys."

"Did he cause the Boers to be killed?" I asked.

"Mayhap," she answered. "Who am I that I should know of such matters?"

"Are you the woman who was sick whom I was sent to visit?" I asked
again.

"Yes, Macumazahn, I was sick, but now I am well and you are sick, for so
things go round. Drink this," and she handed me a gourd of milk.

"How are you named?" I inquired as I took it.

"Naya is my name," she replied, "and I am your jailer. Don't think that
you can escape me, though, Macumazahn, for there are other jailers
without who carry spears. Drink."

So I drank and bethought me that the draught might be poisoned. Yet so
thirsty was I that I finished it, every drop.

"Now am I a dead man?" I asked, as I put down the gourd.

"No, no, Macumazahn," she who called herself Naya replied in a soft
voice; "not a dead man, only one who will sleep and forget."

Then I lost count of everything and slept--for how long I know not.

When I awoke again it was broad daylight; in fact, the sun stood high in
the heavens. Perhaps Naya had put some drug into my milk, or perhaps I
had simply slept. I do not know. At any rate, I was grateful for that
sleep, for without it I think that I should have gone mad. As it was,
when I remembered, which it took me some time to do, for a while I went
near to insanity.

I recollect lying there in that hut and wondering how the Almighty could
have permitted such a deed as I had seen done. How could it be
reconciled with any theory of a loving and merciful Father? Those poor
Boers, whatever their faults, and they had many, like the rest of us,
were in the main good and honest men according to their lights. Yet
they had been doomed to be thus brutally butchered at the nod of a
savage despot, their wives widowed, their children left fatherless, or,
as it proved in the end, in most cases murdered or orphaned!

The mystery was too great--great enough to throw off its balance the
mind of a young man who had witnessed such a fearsome scene as I have
described.

For some days really I think that my reason hung just upon the edge of
that mental precipice. In the end, however, reflection and education,
of which I had a certain amount, thanks to my father, came to my aid. I
recalled that such massacres, often on an infinitely larger scale, had
happened a thousand times in history, and that still through them,
often, indeed, by means of them, civilisation has marched forward, and
mercy and peace have kissed each other over the bloody graves of the
victims.

Therefore even in my youth and inexperience I concluded that some
ineffable purpose was at work through this horror, and that the lives of
those poor men which had been thus sacrificed were necessary to that
purpose. This may appear a dreadful and fatalistic doctrine, but it is
one that is corroborated in Nature every day, and doubtless the
sufferers meet with their compensations in some other state. Indeed, if
it be not so, faith and all the religions are vain.

Or, of course, it may chance that such monstrous calamities happen, not
through the will of the merciful Power of which I have spoken, but in
its despite. Perhaps the devil of Scripture, at whom we are inclined to
smile, is still very real and active in this world of ours. Perhaps
from time to time some evil principle breaks into eruption, like the
prisoned forces of a volcano, bearing death and misery on its wings,
until in the end it must depart strengthless and overcome. Who can say?

The question is one that should be referred to the Archbishop of
Canterbury and the Pope of Rome in conclave, with the Lama of Thibet for
umpire in case they disagreed. I only try to put down the thoughts that
struck me so long ago as my mind renders them to-day. But very likely
they are not quite the same thoughts, for a full generation has gone by
me since then, and in that time the intelligence ripens as wine does in
a bottle.

Besides these general matters, I had questions of my own to consider
during those days of imprisonment--for instance, that of my own safety,
though of this, to be honest, I thought little. If I were going to be
killed, I was going to be killed, and there was an end. But my
knowledge of Dingaan told me that he had not massacred Retief and his
companions for nothing. This would be but the prelude to a larger
slaughter, for I had not forgotten what he said as to the sparing of
Marie and the other hints he gave me.

From all this I concluded, quite rightly as it proved, that some general
onslaught was being made upon the Boers, who probably would be swept out
to the last man. And to think that here I was, a prisoner in a Kaffir
kraal, with only a young woman as a jailer, and yet utterly unable to
escape to warn them. For round my hut lay a courtyard, and round it
again ran a reed fence about five feet six inches high. Whenever I
looked over this fence, by night or by day, I saw soldiers stationed at
intervals of about fifteen yards. There they stood like statues, their
broad spears in their hands, all looking inwards towards the fence.
There they stood--only at night their number was doubled. Clearly it
was not meant that I should escape.

A week went by thus--believe me, a very terrible week. During that time
my sole companion was the pretty young woman, Naya. We became friends
in a way and talked on a variety of subjects. Only, at the end of our
conversations I always found that I had gained no information whatsoever
about any matter of immediate interest. On such points as the history
of the Zulu and kindred tribes, or the character of Chaka, the great
king, or anything else that was remote she would discourse by the hour.
But when we came to current events, she dried up like water on a red-hot
brick. Still, Naya grew, or pretended to grow, quite attached to me.
She even suggested naively that I might do worse than marry her, which
she said Dingaan was quite ready to allow, as he was fond of me and
thought I should be useful in his country. When I told her that I was
already married, she shrugged her shining shoulders and asked with a
laugh that revealed her beautiful teeth:

"What does that matter? Cannot a man have more wives than one? And,
Macumazahn," she added, leaning forward and looking at me, "how do you
know that you have even one? You may be divorced or a widower by now."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I? I mean nothing; do not look at me so fiercely, Macumazahn. Surely
such things happen in the world, do they not?"

"Naya," I said, "you are two bad things--a bait and a spy--and you know
it."

"Perhaps I do, Macumazahn," she answered. "Am I to blame for that, if
my life is on it, especially when I really like you for yourself?"

"I don't know," I said. "Tell me, when am I going to get out of this
place?"

"How can I tell you, Macumazahn?" Naya replied, patting my hand in her
genial way, "but I think before long. When you are gone, Macumazahn,
remember me kindly sometimes, as I have really tried to make you as
comfortable as I could with a watcher staring through every straw in the
hut."

I said whatever seemed to be appropriate, and next morning my
deliverance came. While I was eating my breakfast in the courtyard at
the back of the hut, Naya thrust her handsome and pleasant face round
the corner and said that there was a messenger to see me from the king.
Leaving the rest of the meal unswallowed, I went to the doorway of the
yard and there found my old friend, Kambula.

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