Books: Nada the Lily

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"That is yet to do," thought Umslopogaas.

"Who is this Mopo?" asked the headman.

"An evildoer, whose house the king has eaten up--man, woman, and
child," answered the captain.

CHAPTER XV

THE DEATH OF THE KING'S SLAYERS

When Umslopogaas heard these words his heart was heavy, and a great
anger burned in his breast, for he thought that I, Mopo, was dead with
the rest of his house, and he loved me. But he said nothing; only,
watching till none were looking, he slipped past the backs of the
captains and won the door of the hut. Soon he was clear of the kraal,
and, running swiftly, crossed the river and came to the Ghost
Mountain. Meanwhile, the captain asked the headman of the kraal if he
knew anything of such a youth as him for whom they sought. The headman
told the captain of Galazi the Wolf, but the captain said that this
could not be the lad, for Galazi had dwelt many moons upon the Ghost
Mountain.

"There is another youth," said the headman; "a stranger, fierce,
strong and tall, with eyes that shine like spears. He is in the hut
now; he sits yonder in the shadow."

The captain rose and looked into the shadow, but Umslopogaas was gone.

"Now this youth is fled," said the headman, "and yet none saw him fly!
Perhaps he also is a wizard! Indeed, I have heard that now there are
two of them upon the Ghost Mountain, and that they hunt there at night
with the ghost-wolves, but I do not know if it is true."

"Now I am minded to kill you," said the captain in wrath, "because you
have suffered this youth to escape me. Without doubt it is
Umslopogaas, son of Mopo."

"It is no fault of mine," said the headmen. "These young men are
wizards, who can pass hither and thither at will. But I say this to
you, captain of the king, if you will go on the Ghost Mountain, you
must go there alone with your soldiers, for none in these parts dare
to tread upon that mountain."

"Yet I shall dare to-morrow," said the captain. "We grow brave at the
kraal of Chaka. There men do not fear spears or ghosts or wild beasts
or magic, but they fear the king's word alone. The sun sets--give us
food. To-morrow we will search the mountain."

Thus, my father, did this captain speak in his folly,--he who should
never see another sun.

Now Umslopogaas reached the mountain, and when he had passed the
forest--of which he had learned every secret way--the darkness
gathered, and the wolves awoke in the darkness and drew near howling.
Umslopogaas howled in answer, and presently that great wolf Deathgrip
came to him. Umslopogaas saw him and called him by his name; but,
behold! the brute did not know him, and flew at him, growling. Then
Umslopogaas remembered that the she-wolf's skin was not bound about
his shoulders, and therefore it was that the wolf Deathgrip knew him
not. For though in the daytime, when the wolves slept, he might pass
to and fro without the skin, at night it was not so. He had not
brought the skin, because he dared not wear it in the sight of the men
of the kraal, lest they should know him for one of the Wolf-Brethren,
and it had not been his plan to seek the mountain again that night,
but rather on the morrow. Now Umslopogaas knew that his danger was
great indeed. He beat back Deathgrip with his kerrie, but others were
behind him, for the wolves gathered fast. Then he bounded away towards
the cave, for he was so swift of foot that the wolves could not catch
him, though they pressed him hard, and once the teeth of one of them
tore his moocha. Never before did he run so fast, and in the end he
reached the cave and rolled the rock to, and as he did so the wolves
dashed themselves against it. Then he clad himself in the hide of the
she-wolf, and, pushing aside the stone, came out. And, lo! the eyes of
the wolves were opened, and they knew him for one of the brethren who
ruled over them, and slunk away at his bidding.

Now Umslopogaas sat himself down at the mouth of the cave waiting for
Galazi, and he thought. Presently Galazi came, and in few words
Umslopogaas told him all his tale.

"You have run a great risk, my brother," said Galazi. "What now?"

"This," said Umslopogaas: "these people of ours are hungry for the
flesh of men; let us feed them full on the soldiers of Chaka, who sit
yonder at the kraal seeking my life. I would take vengeance for Mopo,
my father, and all my brethren who are dead, and for my mothers, the
wives of Mopo. What say you?"

Galazi laughed aloud. "That will be merry, my brother," he said. "I
weary of hunting beasts, let us hunt men to-night."

"Ay, to-night," said Umslopogaas, nodding. "I long to look upon that
captain as a maid longs for her lover's kiss. But first let us rest
and eat, for the night is young; then, Galazi, summon our impi."

So they rested and ate, and afterwards went out armed, and Galazi
howled to the wolves, and they came in tens and twenties till all were
gathered together. Galazi moved among them, shaking the Watcher, as
they sat upon their haunches, and followed him with their fiery eyes.

"We do not hunt game to-night, little people," he cried, "but men, and
you love the flesh of men."

Now all the wolves howled as though they understood. Then the pack
divided itself as was its custom, the she-wolves following
Umslopogaas, the dog-wolves following Galazi, and in silence they
moved swiftly down towards the plain. They came to the river and swam
it, and there, eight spear throws away, on the farther side of the
river stood the kraal. Now the Wolf-Brethren took counsel together,
and Galazi, with the dog-wolves, went to the north gate, and
Umslopogaas with the she-wolves to the south gate. They reached them
safely and in silence, for at the bidding of the brethren the wolves
ceased from their howlings. The gates were stopped with thorns, but
the brethren pulled out the thorns and made a passage. As they did
this it chanced that certain dogs in the kraal heard the sound of the
stirred boughs, and awakening, caught the smell of the wolves that
were with Umslopogaas, for the wind blew from that quarter. These dogs
ran out barking, and presently they came to the south gate of the
kraal, and flew at Umslopogaas, who pulled away the thorns. Now when
the wolves saw the dogs they could be restrained no longer, but sprang
on them and tore them to fragments, and the sound of their worrying
came to the ears of the soldiers of Chaka and of the dwellers in the
kraal, so that they sprang from sleep, snatching their arms. And as
they came out of the huts they saw in the moonlight a man wearing a
wolf's hide rushing across the empty cattle kraal, for the grass was
long and the cattle were out at graze, and with him countless wolves,
black and grey. Then they cried aloud in terror, saying that the
ghosts were on them, and turned to flee to the north gate of the
kraal. But, behold! here also they met a man clad in a wolf's skin
only, and with him countless wolves, black and grey.

Now, some flung themselves to earth screaming in their fear, and some
strove to run away, but the greater part of the soldiers, and with
them many of the men of the kraal, came together in knots, being
minded to die like men at teeth of the ghosts, and that though they
shook with fear. Then Umslopogaas howled aloud, and howled Galazi, and
they flung themselves upon the soldiers and the people of the kraal,
and with them came the wolves. Then a crying and a baying rose up to
heaven as the grey wolves leaped and bit and tore. Little they heeded
the spears and kerries of the soldiers. Some were killed, but the rest
did not stay. Presently the knots of men broke up, and to each man
wolves hung by twos and threes, dragging him to earth. Some few fled,
indeed, but the wolves hunted them by gaze and scent, and pulled them
down before they passed the gates of the kraal.

The Wolf-Brethren also ravened with the rest. Busy was the Watcher,
and many bowed beneath him, and often the spear of Umslopogaas flashed
in the moonlight. It was finished; none were left living in that
kraal, and the wolves growled sullenly as they took their fill, they
who had been hungry for many days. Now the brethren met, and laughed
in their wolf joy, because they had slaughtered those who were sent
out to slaughter. They called to the wolves, bidding them search the
huts, and the wolves entered the huts as dogs enter a thicket, and
killed those who lurked there, or drove them forth to be slain
without. Presently a man, great and tall, sprang from the last of the
huts, where he had hidden himself, and the wolves outside rushed on
him to drag him down. But Umslopogaas beat them back, for he had seen
the face of the man: it was that captain whom Chaka had sent out to
kill him. He beat them back, and stalked up to the captain, saying:
"Greeting to you, captain of the king! Now tell us what is your errand
here, beneath the shadow of her who sits in stone?" And he pointed
with his spear to the Grey Witch on the Ghost Mountain, on which the
moon shone bright.

Now the captain had a great heart, though he had hidden from the
wolves, and answered boldly:--

"What is that to you, wizard? Your ghost wolves had made an end of my
errand. Let them make an end of me also."

"Be not in haste, captain," said Umslopogaas. "Say, did you not seek a
certain youth, the son of Mopo?"

"That is so," answered the captain. "I sought one youth, and I have
found many evil spirits." And he looked at the wolves tearing their
prey, and shuddered.

"Say, captain," quoth Umslopogaas, drawing back his hood of wolf's
hide so that the moonlight fell upon his face, "is this the face of
that youth whom you sought?"

"It is the face," answered the captain, astonished.

"Ay," laughed Umslopogaas, "it is the face. Fool! I knew your errand
and heard your words, and thus have I answered them." And he pointed
to the dead. "Now choose, and swiftly. Will you run for your life
against my wolves? Will you do battle for your life against these
four?" And he pointed to Greysnout and to Blackfang, to Blood and to
Deathgrip, who watched him with slavering lips; "or will you stand
face to face with me, and if I am slain, with him who bears the club,
and with whom I rule this people black and grey?"

"I fear ghosts, but of men I have no fear, though they be wizards,"
answered the captain.

"Good!" cried Umslopogaas, shaking his spear.

Then they rushed together, and that fray was fierce. For presently the
spear of Umslopogaas was broken in the shield of the captain and he
was left weaponless. Now Umslopogaas turned and fled swiftly, bounding
over the dead and the wolves who preyed upon them, and the captain
followed with uplifted spear, and mocked him as he came. Galazi also
wondered that Umslopogaas should fly from a single man. Hither and
thither fled Umslopogaas, and always his eyes were on the earth. Of a
sudden, Galazi, who watched, saw him sweep forward like a bird and
stoop to the ground. Then he wheeled round, and lo! there was an axe
in his hand. The captain rushed at him, and Umslopogaas smote as he
rushed, and the blade of the great spear that was lifted to pierce him
fell to the ground hewn from its haft. Again Umslopogaas smote: the
moon-shaped axe sank through the stout shield deep into the breast
beyond. Then the captain threw up his arms and fell to the earth.

"Ah!" cried Umslopogaas, "you sought a youth to slay him, and have
found an axe to be slain by it! Sleep softly, captain of Chaka."

Then Umslopogaas spoke to Galazi, saying: "My brother, I will fight no
more with the spear, but with the axe alone; it was to seek an axe
that I ran to and fro like a coward. But this is a poor thing! See,
the haft is split because of the greatness of my stroke! Now this is
my desire--to win that great axe of Jikiza, which is called Groan-
Maker, of which we have heard tell, so that axe and club may stand
together in the fray."

"That must be for another night," said Galazi. "We have not done so
ill for once. Now let us search for pots and corn, of which we stand
in need, and then to the mountain before dawn finds us."

Thus, then, did the Wolf-Brethren bring death on the impi of Chaka,
and this was but the first of many deaths that they wrought with the
help of the wolves. For ever they ravened through the land at night,
and, falling on those they hated, they ate them up, till their name
and the name of the ghost-wolves became terrible in the ears of men,
and the land was swept clean. But they found that the wolves would not
go abroad to worry everywhere. Thus, on a certain night, they set out
to fall upon the kraals of the People of the Axe, where dwelt the
chief Jikiza, who was named the Unconquered, and owned the axe Groan-
Maker, but when they neared the kraal the wolves turned back and fled.
Then Galazi remembered the dream that he had dreamed, in which the
Dead One in the cave had seemed to speak, telling him that there only
where the men-eaters had hunted in the past might the wolves hunt to-
day. So they returned home, but Umslopogaas set himself to find a plan
to win the axe.

CHAPTER XVI

UMSLOPOGAAS VENTURES OUT TO WIN THE AXE

Now many moons had gone by since Umslopogaas became a king of the
wolves, and he was a man full grown, a man fierce and tall and keen; a
slayer of men, fleet of foot and of valour unequalled, seeing by night
as well as by day. But he was not yet named the Slaughterer, and not
yet did he hold that iron chieftainess, the axe Groan-Maker. Still,
the desire to win the axe was foremost in his mind, for no woman had
entered there, who when she enters drives out all other desire--ay, my
father, even that of good weapons. At times, indeed, Umslopogaas would
lurk in the reeds by the river looking at the kraal of Jikiza the
Unconquered, and would watch the gates of his kraal, and once as he
lurked he saw a man great, broad and hairy, who bore upon his shoulder
a shining axe, hafted with the horn of a rhinoceros. After that his
greed for this axe entered into Umslopogaas more and more, till at
length he scarcely could sleep for thinking of it, and to Galazi he
spoke of little else, wearying him much with his talk, for Galazi
loved silence. But for all his longing he could find no means to win
it.

Now it befell that as Umslopogaas hid one evening in the reeds,
watching the kraal of Jikiza, he saw a maiden straight and fair, whose
skin shone like the copper anklets on her limbs. She walked slowly
towards the reeds where he lay hidden. Nor did she top at the brink of
the reeds; she entered them and sat herself down within a spear's
length of where Umslopogaas was seated, and at once began to weep,
speaking to herself as she wept.

"Would that the ghost-wolves might fall on him and all that is his,"
she sobbed, "ay, and on Masilo also! I would hound them on, even if I
myself must next know their fangs. Better to die by the teeth of the
wolves than to be sold to this fat pig of a Masilo. Oh! if I must wed
him, I will give him a knife for the bride's kiss. Oh! that I were a
lady of the ghost-wolves, there should be a picking of bones in the
kraal of Jikiza before the moon grows young again."

Umslopogaas heard, and of a sudden reared himself up before the maid,
and he was great and wild to look on, and the she-wolf's fangs shone
upon his brow.

"The ghost-wolves are at hand, damsel," he said. "They are ever at
hand for those who need them."

Now the maid saw him and screamed faintly, then grew silent, wondering
at the greatness and the fierce eyes of the man who spoke to her.

"Who are you?" she asked. "I fear you not, whoever you are."

"There you are wrong, damsel, for all men fear me, and they have cause
to fear. I am one of the Wolf-Brethren, whose names have been told of;
I am a wizard of the Ghost Mountain. Take heed, now, lest I kill you.
It will be of little avail to call upon your people, for my feet are
fleeter than theirs."

"I have no wish to call upon my people, Wolf-Man," she answered. "And
for the rest, I am too young to kill."

"That is so, maiden," answered Umslopogaas, looking at her beauty.
"What were the words upon your lips as to Jikiza and a certain Masilo?
Were they not fierce words, such as my heart likes well?"

"It seems that you heard them," answered the girl. "What need to waste
breath in speaking them again?"

"No need, maiden. Now tell me your story; perhaps I may find a way to
help you."

"There is little to tell," she answered. "It is a small tale and a
common. My name is Zinita, and Jikiza the Unconquered is my step-
father. He married my mother, who is dead, but none of his blood is in
me. Now he would give me in marriage to a certain Masilo, a fat man
and an old, whom I hate, because Masilo offers many cattle for me."

"Is there, then, another whom you would wed, maiden?" asked
Umslopogaas.

"There is none," answered Zinita, looking him in the eyes.

"And is there no path by which you may escape from Masilo?"

"There is only one path, Wolf-Man--by death. If I die, I shall escape;
if Masilo dies, I shall escape; but to little end, for I shall be
given to another; but if Jikiza dies, then it will be well. What of
that wolf-people of yours, are they not hungry, Wolf-Man?"

"I cannot bring them here," answered Umslopogaas. "Is there no other
way?"

"There is another way," said Zinita, "if one can be found to try it."
And again she looked at him strangely, causing the blood to beat
within him. "Hearken! do you not know how our people are governed?
They are governed by him who holds the axe Groan-Maker. He that can
win the axe in war from the hand of him who holds it, shall be our
chief. But if he who holds the axe dies unconquered, then his son
takes his place and with it the axe. It has been thus, indeed, for
four generations, since he who held Groan-Maker has always been
unconquerable. But I have heard that the great-grandfather of Jikiza
won the axe from him who held it in his day; he won it by fraud. For
when the axe had fallen on him but lightly, he fell over, feigning
death. Then the owner of the axe laughed, and turned to walk away. But
the forefather of Jikiza sprang up behind him and pierced him through
with a spear, and thus he became chief of the People of the Axe.
Therefore, it is the custom of Jikiza to hew off the heads of those
whom he kills with the axe."

"Does he, then, slay many?" asked Umslopogaas.

"Of late years, few indeed," she said, "for none dare stand against
him--no, not with all to win. For, holding the axe Groan-Maker, he is
unconquerable, and to fight with him is sure death. Fifty-and-one have
tried in all, and before the hut of Jikiza there are piled fifty-and-
one white skulls. And know this, the axe must be won in fight; if it
is stolen or found, it has no virtue--nay, it brings shame and death
to him who holds it."

"How, then, may a man give battle to Jikiza?" he asked again.

"Thus: Once in every year, on the first day of the new moon of the
summer season, Jikiza holds a meeting of the headmen. Then he must
rise and challenge all or any to come forward and do battle with him
to win the axe and become chief in his place. Now if one comes
forward, they go into the cattle kraal, and there the matter is ended.
Afterwards, when the head is hewn from his foe, Jikiza goes back to
the meeting of the headmen, and they talk as before. All are free to
come to the meeting, and Jikiza must fight with them if they wish it,
whoever they be."

"Perhaps I shall be there," said Umslopogaas.

"After this meeting at the new moon, I am to be given in marriage to
Masilo," said the maid. "But should one conquer Jikiza, then he will
be chief, and can give me in marriage to whom he will."

Now Umslopogaas understood her meaning, and knew that he had found
favour in her sight; and the thought moved him a little, for women
were strange to him as yet.

"If perchance I should be there," he said, "and if perchance I should
win the iron chieftainess, the axe Groan-Maker, and rule over the
People of the Axe, you should not live far from the shadow of the axe
thenceforward, maid Zinita."

"It is well, Wolf-Man, though some might not wish to dwell in that
shadow; but first you must win the axe. Many have tried, and all have
failed."

"Yet one must succeed at last," he said, "and so, farewell!" and he
leaped into the torrent of the river, and swam it with great strokes.

Now the maid Zinita watched him till he was gone, and love of him
entered into her heart--a love that was fierce and jealous and strong.
But as he wended to the Ghost Mountain Umslopogaas thought rather of
axe Groan-Maker than of Maid Zinita; for ever, at the bottom,
Umslopogaas loved war more than women, though this has been his fate,
that women have brought sorrow on his head.

Fifteen days must pass before the day of the new moon, and during this
time Umslopogaas thought much and said little. Still, he told Galazi
something of the tale, and that he was determined to do battle with
Jikiza the Unconquered for the axe Groan-Maker. Galazi said that he
would do well to let it be, and that it was better to stay with the
wolves than to go out seeking strange weapons. He said also that even
if he won the axe, the matter might not stay there, for he must take
the girl also, and his heart boded no good of women. It had been a
girl who poisoned his father in the kraals of the Halakazi. To all of
which Umslopogaas answered nothing, for his heart was set both on the
axe and the girl, but more on the first than the last.

So the time wore on, and at length came the day of the new moon. At
the dawn of that day Umslopogaas arose and clad himself in a moocha,
binding the she-wolf's skin round his middle beneath the moocha. In
his hand he took a stout fighting-shield, which he had made of buffalo
hide, and that same light moon-shaped axe with which he had slain the
captain of Chaka.

"A poor weapon with which to kill Jikiza the Unconquerable," said
Galazi, eyeing it askance.

"It shall serve my turn," answered Umslopogaas.

Now Umslopogaas ate, and then they moved together slowly down the
mountain and crossed the river by a ford, for he wished to save his
strength. On the farther side of the river Galazi hid himself in the
reeds, because his face was known, and there Umslopogaas bade him
farewell, not knowing if he should look upon him again. Afterwards he
walked up to the Great Place of Jikiza. Now when he reached the gates
of the kraal, he saw that many people were streaming through them, and
mingled with the people. Presently they came to the open space in
front of the huts of Jikiza, and there the headmen were gathered
together. In the centre of them, and before a heap of the skulls of
men which were piled up against his door-posts, sat Jikiza, a huge man,
a hairy and a proud, who glared about him rolling his eyes. Fastened
to his arm by a thong of leather was the great axe Groan-Maker, and
each man as he came up saluted the axe, calling it "Inkosikaas," or
chieftainess, but he did not salute Jikiza. Umslopogaas sat down with
the people in front of the councillors, and few took any notice of
him, except Zinita, who moved sullenly to and fro bearing gourds of
beer to the councillors. Near to Jikiza, on his right hand, sat a fat
man with small and twinkling eyes, who watched the maid Zinita
greedily.

"Yon man," thought Umslopogaas, "is Masilo. The better for blood-
letting will you be, Masilo."

Presently Jikiza spoke, rolling his eyes: "This is the matter before
you, councillors. I have settled it in my mind to give my step-
daughter Zinita in marriage to Masilo, but the marriage gift is not
yet agreed on. I demand a hundred head of cattle from Masilo, for the
maid is fair and straight, a proper maid, and, moreover, my daughter,
though not of my blood. But Masilo offers fifty head only, therefore I
ask you to settle it."

"We hear you, Lord of the Axe," answered one of the councillors, "but
first, O Unconquered, you must on this day of the year, according to
ancient custom, give public challenge to any man to fight you for the
Groan-Maker and for your place as chief of the People of the Axe."

"This is a wearisome thing," grumbled Jikiza. "Can I never have done
in it? Fifty-and-three have I slain in my youth without a wound, and
now for many years I have challenged, like a cock on a dunghill, and
none crow in answer."

"Ho, now! Is there any man who will come forward and do battle with
me, Jikiza, for the great axe Groan-Maker? To him who can win it, it
shall be, and with it the chieftainship of the People of the Axe."

Thus he spoke very fast, as a man gabbles a prayer to a spirit in whom
he has little faith, then turned once more to talk of the cattle of
Masilo and of the maid Zinita. But suddenly Umslopogaas stood up,
looking at him over the top of his war shield, and crying, "Here is
one, O Jikiza, who will do battle with you for the axe Groan-Maker and
for the chieftainship that is to him who holds the axe."

Now, all the people laughed, and Jikiza glared at him.

"Come forth from behind that big shield of yours," he said. "Come out
and tell me your name and lineage--you who would do battle with the
Unconquered for the ancient axe."

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