Books: Nada the Lily

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"I cannot tell you," she answered, hanging her head; "but I have no
heart that way. I only seek to be left alone."

Now Umslopogaas thought awhile and spoke. "Do you not know then, Nada,
why it is that I have made this war, and why the people of the
Halakazi are dead and scattered and their cattle the prize of my arm?
I will tell you: I am come here to win you, whom I knew only by report
as the Lily maid, the fairest of women, to be a wife to Dingaan. The
reason that I began this war was to win you and make my peace with
Dingaan, and now I have carried it through to the end."

Now when she heard these words, Nada the Lily trembled and wept, and,
sinking to the earth, she clasped the knees of Umslopogaas in
supplication: "Oh, do not this cruel thing by me, your sister," she
prayed; "take rather that great axe and make an end of me, and of the
beauty which has wrought so much woe, and most of all to me who wear
it! Would that I had not moved my head behind the shield, but had
suffered the axe to fall upon it. To this end I was dressed as a man,
that I might meet the fate of a man. Ah! a curse be on my woman's
weakness that snatched me from death to give me up to shame!"

Thus she prayed to Umslopogaas in her low sweet voice, and his heart
was shaken in him, though, indeed, he did not now purpose to give Nada
to Dingaan, as Baleka was given to Chaka, perhaps in the end to meet
the fate of Baleka.

"There are many, Nada," he said, "who would think it no misfortune
that they should be given as a wife to the first of chiefs."

"Then I am not of their number," she answered; "nay, I will die first,
by my own hand if need be."

Now Umslopogaas wondered how it came about that Nada looked upon
marriage thus, but he did not speak of the matter; he said only, "Tell
me then, Nada, how I can deliver myself of this charge. I must go to
Dingaan as I promised our father Mopo, and what shall I say to Dingaan
when he asks for the Lily whom I went out to pluck and whom his heart
desires? What shall I say to save myself alive from the wrath of
Dingaan?"

Then Nada thought and answered, "You shall say this, my brother. You
shall tell him that the Lily, being clothed in the war-dress of a
warrior, fell by chance in the fray. See, now, none of your people
know that you have found me; they are thinking of other things than
maids in the hour of their victory. This, then, is my plan: we will
search now by the starlight till we find the body of a fair maid, for,
doubtless, some were killed by hazard in the fight, and on her we will
set a warrior's dress, and lay by her the corpse of one of your own
men. To-morrow, at the light, you shall take the captains of your
soldiers and, having laid the body of the girl in the dark of the
cave, you shall show it to them hurriedly, and tell them that this was
the Lily, slain by one of your own people, whom in your wrath you slew
also. They will not look long on so common a sight, and if by hazard
they see the maid, and think her not so very fair, they will deem that
it is death which has robbed her of her comeliness. So the tale which
you must tell to Dingaan shall be built up firmly, and Dingaan shall
believe it to be true."

"And how shall this be, Nada?" asked Umslopogaas. "How shall this be
when men see you among the captives and know you by your beauty? Are
there, then, two such Lilies in the land?"

"I shall not be known, for I shall not be seen, Umslopogaas. You must
set me free to-night. I will wander hence disguised as a youth and
covered with a blanket, and if any meet me, who shall say that I am
the Lily?"

"And where will you wander, Nada? to your death? Must we, then, meet
after so many years to part again for ever?"

"Where was it that you said you lived, my brother? Beneath the shade
of a Ghost Mountain, that men may know by a shape of stone which is
fashioned like an old woman frozen into stone, was it not? Tell me of
the road thither."

So Umslopogaas told her the road, and she listened silently.

"Good," she said. "I am strong and my feet are swift; perhaps they may
serve to bring me so far, and perhaps, if I win the shadow of that
mountain, you will find me a hut to hide in, Umslopogaas, my brother."

"Surely it shall be so, my sister," answered Umslopogaas, "and yet the
way is long and many dangers lie in the path of a maid journeying
alone, without food or shelter," and as he spoke Umslopogaas thought
of Zinita his wife, for he guessed that she would not love Nada,
although she was only his sister.

"Still, it must be travelled, and the dangers must be braved," she
answered, smiling. "Alas! there is no other way."

Then Umslopogaas summoned Galazi the Wolf and told him all this story,
for Galazi was the only man whom he could trust. The Wolf listened in
silence, marvelling the while at the beauty of Nada, as the starlight
showed it. When everything was told, he said only that he no longer
wondered that the people of the Halakazi had defied Dingaan and
brought death upon themselves for the sake of this maid. Still, to be
plain, his heart thought ill of the matter, for death was not done
with yet: there before them shone the Star of Death, and he pointed to
the Lily.

Now Nada trembled at his words of evil omen, and the Slaughterer grew
angry, but Galazi would neither add to them nor take away from them.
"I have spoken that which my heart hears," he answered.

Then they rose and went to search among the dead for a girl who would
suit their purpose; soon they found one, a tall and fair maiden, and
Galazi bore her in his arms to the great cave. Here in the cave were
none but the dead, and, tossed hither and thither in their last sleep,
they looked awful in the glare of the torches.

"They sleep sound," said the Lily, gazing on them; "rest is sweet."

"We shall soon win it, maiden," answered Galazi, and again Nada
trembled.

Then, having arrayed her in the dress of a warrior, and put a shield
and spear by her, they laid down the body of the girl in a dark place
in the cave, and, finding a dead warrior of the People of the Axe,
placed him beside her. Now they left the cave, and, pretending that
they visited the sentries, Umslopogaas and Galazi passed from spot to
spot, while the Lily walked after them like a guard, hiding her face
with a shield, holding a spear in her hand, and having with her a bag
of corn and dried flesh.

So they passed on, till at length they came to the entrance in the
mountain side. The stones that had blocked it were pulled down so as
to allow those of the Halakazi to fly who had been spared at the
entreaty of Nada, but there were guards by the entrance to watch that
none came back. Umslopogaas challenged them, and they saluted him, but
he saw that they were worn out with battle and journeying, and knew
little of what they saw or said. Then he, Galazi, and Nada and passed
through the opening on to the plain beyond.

Here the Slaughterer and the Lily bade each other farewell, while
Galazi watched, and presently the Wolf saw Umslopogaas return as one
who is heavy at heart, and caught sight of the Lily skimming across
the plain lightly like a swallow.

"I do not know when we two shall meet again," said Umslopogaas so soon
as she had melted into the shadows of the night.

"May you never meet," answered Galazi, "for I am sure that if you meet
that sister of yours will bring death on many more than those who now
lie low because of her loveliness. She is a Star of Death, and when
she sets the sky shall be blood red."

Umslopogaas did not answer, but walked slowly through the archway in
the mountain side.

"How is this, chief?" said he who was captain of the guard. "Three
went out, but only two return."

"Fool!" answered Umslopogaas. "Are you drunk with Halakazi beer, or
blind with sleep? Two went out, and two return. I sent him who was
with us back to the camp."

"So be it, father," said the captain. "Two went out, and two return.
All is well!"

CHAPTER XXVII

THE STAMPING OF THE FIRE

On the morrow the impi awoke refreshed with sleep, and, after they had
eaten, Umslopogaas mustered them. Alas! nearly half of those who had
seen the sun of yesterday would wake no more forever. The Slaughterer
mustered them and thanked them for that which they had done, winning
fame and cattle. They were merry, recking little of those who were
dead, and sang his praises and the praises of Galazi in a loud song.
When the song was ended Umslopogaas spoke to them again, saying that
the victory was great, and the cattle they had won were countless. Yet
something was lacking--she was lacking whom he came to seek to be a
gift to Dingaan the king, and for whose sake this war was made. Where
now was the Lily? Yesterday she had been here, clad in a moocha like a
man and bearing a shield; this he knew from the captives. Where, then,
was she now?

Then all the soldiers said that they had seen nothing of her. When
they had done, Galazi spoke a word, as was agreed between him and
Umslopogaas. He said that when they stormed the cave he had seen a man
run at a warrior in the cave to kill him. Then as he came, he who was
about to be slain threw down the shield and cried for mercy, and
Galazi knew that this was no warrior of the Halakazi, but a very
beautiful girl. So he called to the man to let her alone and not to
touch her, for the order was that no women should be killed. But the
soldier, being made with the lust of fight, shouted that maid or man
she should die, and slew her. Thereon, he--Galazi--in his wrath ran up
and smote the man with the Watcher and killed him also, and he prayed
that he had done no wrong.

"You have done well, my brother," said Umslopogaas. "Come now, some of
you, and let us look at this dead girl. Perhaps it is the Lily, and if
so that is unlucky for us, for I do not know what tale we shall tell
to Dingaan of the matter."

So the captains went with Umslopogaas and Galazi, and came to the spot
where the girl had been laid, and by her the man of the People of the
Axe.

"All is as the Wolf, my brother, has told," said Umslopogaas, waving
the torch in his hand over the two who lay dead. "Here, without a
doubt, lies she who was named the Lily, whom we came to win, and by
her that fool who slew her, slain himself by the blow of the Watcher.
An ill sight to see, and an ill tale for me to tell at the kraal of
Dingaan. Still, what is is, and cannot be altered; and this maid who
was the fairest of the fair is now none to lovely to look on. Let us
away!" And he turned swiftly, then spoke again, saying:--

"Bind up this dead girl in ox hides, cover her with salt, and let her
be brought with us." And they did so.

Then the captains said: "Surely it is so, my father; now it cannot be
altered, and Dingaan must miss his bride." So said they all except
that man who had been captain of the guard when Umslopogaas and Galazi
and another passed through the archway. This man, indeed, said
nothing, yet he was not without his thoughts. For it seemed to him
that he had seen three pass through the archway, and not two. It
seemed to him, moreover, that the kaross which the third wore had
slipped aside as she pressed past him, and that beneath it he had seen
the shape of a beautiful woman, and above it had caught the glint of a
woman's eye--an eye full and dark, like a buck's.

Also, this captain noted that Bulalio called none of the captives to
swear to the body of the Lily maid, and that he shook the torch to and
fro as he held it over her--he whose hand was of the steadiest. All of
this he kept in his mind, forgetting nothing.

Now it chanced afterwards, on the homeward march, my father, that
Umslopogaas had cause to speak angrily to this man, because he tried
to rob another of his share of the spoil of the Halakazi. He spoke
sharply to him, degrading him from his rank, and setting another over
him. Also he took cattle from the man, and gave them to him whom he
would have robbed.

And thereafter, though he was justly served, this man thought more and
more of the third who had passed through the arch of the cave and had
not returned, and who seemed to him to have a fair woman's shape, and
eyes which gleamed like those of a woman.

On that day, then, Umslopogaas began his march to the kraal
Umgugundhlovu, where Dingaan sat. But before he set his face
homewards, in the presence of the soldiers, he asked Galazi the Wolf
if he would come back with him, or if he desired to stay to be chief
of the Halakazi, as he was by right of birth and war. Then the Wolf
laughed, and answered that he had come out to seek for vengeance, and
not for the place of a chief, also that there were few of the Halakazi
people left over whom he might rule if he wished. Moreover, he added
this: that, like twin trees, they two blood-brethren had grown up side
by side till their roots were matted together, and that, were one of
them dug up and planted in Swazi soil, he feared lest both should
wither, or, at the last, that he, Galazi, would wither, who loved but
one man and certain wolves.

So Umslopogaas said no more of the chieftainship, but began his
journey. With him he brought a great number of cattle, to be a gift
for Dingaan, and a multitude of captives, young women and children,
for he would appease the heart of Dingaan, because he did not bring
her whom he sought--the Lily, flower of flowers. Yet, because he was
cautious and put little faith in the kindness of kings, Umslopogaas,
so soon as he reached the borders of Zululand, sent the best of the
cattle and the fairest of the maids and children on to the kraal of
the People of the Axe by the Ghost Mountain. And he who had been
captain of the guard but now was a common soldier noticed this also.

Now it chanced that on a certain morning I, Mopo, sat in the kraal
Umgugundhlovu in attendance on Dingaan. For still I waited on the
king, though he had spoken no word to me, good or bad, since the
yesterday, when I foretold to him that in the blood of the white men
whom he had betrayed grew the flower of his own death. For, my father,
it was on the morrow of the slaying of the Amaboona that Umslopogaas
came to the kraal Umgugundhlovu.

Now the mind of Dingaan was heavy, and he sought something to lighten
it. Presently he bethought himself of the white praying man, who had
come to the kraal seeking to teach us people of the Zulu to worship
other gods than the assegai and the king. Now this was a good man, but
no luck went with his teaching, which was hard to understand; and,
moreover, the indunas did not like it, because it seemed to set a
master over the master, and a king over the king, and to preach of
peace to those whose trade was war. Still, Dingaan sent for the white
man that he might dispute with him, for Dingaan thought that he
himself was the cleverest of all men.

Now the white man came, but his face was pale, because of that which
he had seen befall the Boers, for he was gentle and hated such sights.
The king bade him be seated and spoke to him saying:--

"The other day, O White Man, thou toldest me of a place of fire
whither those go after death who have done wickedly in life. Tell me
now of thy wisdom, do my fathers lie in that place?"

"How can I know, King," answered the prayer-doctor, "who may not judge
of the deeds of men? This I say only: that those who murder and rob
and oppress the innocent and bear false witness shall lie in that
place of fire."

"It seems that my fathers have done all these things, and if they are
in this place I would go there also, for I am minded to be with my
fathers at the last. Yet I think that I should find a way to escape if
ever I came there."

"How, King?"

Now Dingaan had set this trap for the prayer-doctor. In the centre of
that open space where he had caused the Boers to be fallen upon he had
built up a great pyre of wood--brushwood beneath, and on top of the
brushwood logs, and even whole trees. Perhaps, my father, there were
sixty full wagonloads of dry wood piled together there in the centre
of the place.

"Thou shalt see with thine eyes, White Man," he answered, and bidding
attendants set fire to the pile all round, he summoned that regiment
of young men which was left in the kraal. Maybe there were a thousand
and half a thousand of them--not more--the same that had slain the
Boers.

Now the fire began to burn fiercely, and the regiment filed in and
took its place in ranks. By the time that all had come, the pyre was
everywhere a sheet of raging flame, and, though we sat a hundred paces
from it, its heat was great when the wind turned our way.

"Now, Doctor of Prayers, is thy hot place hotter than yonder fire?"
said the king.

He answered that he did not know, but the fire was certainly hot.

"Then I will show thee how I will come out of it if ever I go to lie
in such a fire--ay, though it be ten times as big and fierce. Ho! my
children!" he cried to the soldiers, and, springing up, "You see
yonder fire. Run swiftly and stamp it flat with your feet. Where there
was fire let there be blackness and ashes."

Now the White Man lifted his hands and prayed Dingaan not to do this
thing that should be the death of many, but the king bade him be
silent. Then he turned his eyes upward and prayed to his gods. For a
moment also the soldiers looked on each other in doubt, for the fire
raged furiously, and spouts of flame shot high toward the heaven, and
above it and about it the hot air danced. But their captain called to
them loudly: "Great is the king! Hear the words of the king, who
honours you! Yesterday we ate up the Amaboona--it was nothing, they
were unarmed. There is a foe more worthy of our valour. Come, my
children, let us wash in the fire--we who are fiercer than the fire!
Great is the king who honours us!"

Thus he spoke and ran forward, and, with a roar, after him sprang the
soldiers, rank by rank. They were brave men indeed; moreover, they
knew that if death lay before them death also awaited him who lagged
behind, and it is far better to die with honour than ashamed. On they
went, as to the joy of battle, their captain leading them, and as they
went they sang the Ingomo, the war-chant of the Zulu. Now the captain
neared the raging fire; we saw him lift his shield to keep off its
heat. Then he was gone--he had sprung into the heart of the furnace,
and but little of him was ever found again. After him went the first
company. In they went, beating at the flames with their ox-hide
shields, stamping them out with their naked feet, tearing down the
burning logs and casting them aside. Not one man of that company
lived, my father; they fell down like moths which flutter through a
candle, and where they fell they perished. But after them came other
companies, and it was well for those in this fight who were last to
grapple with the foe. Now a great smoke was mixed with the flame, now
the flame grew less and less, and the smoke more and more; and now
blackened men, hairless, naked, and blistered, white with the
scorching of the fire, staggered out on the farther side of the
flames, falling to earth here and there. After them came others; now
there was no flame, only a great smoke in which men moved dimly; and
presently, my father, it was done: they had conquered the fire, and
that with but very little hurt to the last seven companies, though
every man had trodden it. How many perished?--nay, I know not, they
were never counted; but what between the dead and the injured that
regiment was at half strength till the king drafted more men into it.

"See, Doctor of Prayers," said Dingaan, with a laugh, "thus shall I
escape the fires of that land of which thou tellest, if such there be
indeed: I will bid my impis stamp them out."

Then the praying man went from the kraal saying that he would teach no
more among the Zulus, and afterwards he left the land. When he had
gone the burnt wood and the dead were cleared away, the injured were
doctored or killed according to their hurts, and those who had little
harm came before the king and praised him.

"New shields and headresses must be found for you, my children," said
Dingaan, for the shields were black and shrivelled, and of heads of
hair and plumes there were but few left among that regiment.

"Wow!" said Dingaan again, looking at the soldiers who still lived:
"shaving will be easy and cheap in that place of fire of which the
white man speaks."

Then he ordered beer to be brought to the men, for the heat had made
them thirsty.

Now though you may not guess it, my father, I have told you this tale
because it has something to do with my story; for scarcely had the
matter been ended when messengers came, saying that Bulalio, chief of
the People of the Axe, and his impi were without, having returned with
much spoil from the slaying of the Halakazi in Swaziland. Now when I
heard this my heart leapt for joy, seeing that I had feared greatly
for the fate of Umslopogaas, my fosterling. Dingaan also was very
glad, and, springing up, danced to and fro like a child.

"Now at last we have good tidings," he said, at once forgetting the
stamping of the fire, "and now shall my eyes behold that Lily whom my
hand has longed to pluck. Let Bulalio and his people enter swiftly."

For awhile there was silence; then from far away, without the high
fence of the great place, there came a sound of singing, and through
the gates of the kraal rushed two great men, wearing black plumes upon
their heads, having black shields in their left hands, and in their
right, one an axe and one a club; while about their shoulders were
bound wolf-skins. They ran low, neck and neck, with outstretched
shields and heads held forward, as a buck runs when he is hard pressed
by dogs, and no such running had been seen in the kraal Umgugundhlovu
as the running of the Wolf-Brethren. Half across the space they ran,
and halted suddenly, and, as they halted, the dead ashes of the fire
flew up before their feet in a little cloud.

"By my head! look, these come armed before me!" said Dingaan,
frowning, "and to do this is death. Now say who is that man, great and
fierce, who bears an axe aloft? Did I not know him dead I should say
it was the Black One, my brother, as he was in the days of the smiting
of Zwide: so was his head set on his shoulders and so he was wont to
look round, like a lion."

"I think that is Bulalio the Slaughterer, chief of the People of the
Axe, O King," I answered.

"And who is the other with him? He is a great man also. Never have I
seen such a pair!"

"I think that is Galazi the Wolf, he who is blood-brother to the
Slaughterer, and his general," I said again.

Now after these two came the soldiers of the People of the Axe, armed
with short sticks alone. Four by four they came, all holding their
heads low, and with black shields outstretched, and formed themselves
into companies behind the Wolf-Brethren, till all were there. Then,
after them, the crowd of the Halakazi slaves were driven in,--women,
boys, and maids, a great number--and they stood behind the ranks
huddled together like frightened calves.

"A gallant sight, truly!" said Dingaan, as he looked upon the
companies of black-plumed and shielded warriors. "I have no better
soldiers in my impis, and yet my eyes behold these for the first
time," and again he frowned.

Now suddenly Umslopogaas lifted his axe and started forward at full
speed, and after him thundered the companies. On they rushed, and
their plumes lay back upon the wind, till it seemed as though they
must stamp us flat. But when he was within ten paces of the king
Umslopogaas lifted Groan-Maker again, and Galazi held the Watcher on
high, and every man halted where he was, while once more the dust flew
up in clouds. They halted in long, unbroken lines, with outstretched
shields and heads held low; no man's head rose more than the length of
a dance kerrie from the earth. So they stood one minute, then, for the
third time, Umslopogaas lifted Groan-Maker, and in an instant every
man straightened himself, each shield was tossed on high, and from
every throat was roared the royal salute, "Bayete!"

"A pretty sight forsooth," quoth Dingaan; "but these soldiers are too
well drilled who have never done me service nor the Black One who was
before me, and this Slaughterer is too good a captain, I say. Come
hither, ye twain!" he cried aloud.

Then the Wolf-Brethren strode forward and stood before the king, and
for awhile they looked upon each other.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE LILY IS BROUGHT TO DINGAAN

"How are you named?" said Dingaan.

"We are named Bulalio the Slaughterer and Galazi the Wolf, O King,"
answered Umslopogaas.

"Was it thou who didst send a certain message to the Black One who is
dead, Bulalio?"

"Yea, O King, I sent a message, but from all I have heard, Masilo, my
messenger, gave more than the message, for he stabbed the Black One.
Masilo had an evil heart."

Now Dingaan winced, for he knew well that he himself and one Mopo had
stabbed the Black One, but he thought that this outland chief had not
heard the tale, so he said no more of the message.

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