ed bands of enemies should still be lurking about;
yet, as I was nearly starving, in any event I could not have waited. So
I devoured great portions of the animal raw, as I walked, carrying the
remainder with me. Then a great weariness came upon me, and, crawling
into a hole among the rocks, I slept until the next sun was very high.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

A WILD AND DESPERATE SCHEME.

"Not until I was clear of the mountains did I dare to travel daring the
light of day, for it seemed certain we had not entirely stamped out
those _abatagati_. Now and then I could see them in small parties
creeping warily about the mountainside, and though I was well armed, yet
I was but one man and they were many. So by day I lay in some safe
hiding-place and rested, travelling only at night. _Whau_! but I liked
it not. Those great mountain ranges seemed full of ghosts and the
whispers of wizard voices in the darkness. But I had got rid of my
enemy Gungana, who was ever striving to turn the King's ear against me,
and it seemed that now things would go well. So I sang softly to my
guardian serpent as I stepped through that shadowy place, and my heart
felt strong again.

"At length I came in sight of Ekupumuleni, lying fair and proud in its
immense circle, and I loved the sight, for it spake to me of all that
makes the life of a warrior glad--of our nation's greatness, of the
mustering of _impis_, of the war dance and the beer-drinking, of our
tales and songs round the fires on cold nights, of adventure and of
love. I stretched out my hands to the kraal Ekupumuleni, and I cried
aloud the praises of the Black Elephant who sat therein.

"As I drew near I met no one at first, for our herds were all feeding on
the other side. Then I came upon a group of old _amakehla_ who had just
sat down to take snuff, and among them was my father, Ntelani, who, as I
have said, loved me not overmuch. And when he saw me he cried out in
astonishment, bringing his hand to his mouth and spilling the snuff from
his spoon.

"`Ha, it is his ghost!' he said; `for was he not killed?'

"`No ghost is it, my father,' I answered, sitting down among them. `I
was not killed, but lost myself in the pursuit. The calf of the cow has
come home again.'

"Then they questioned me, but I parried all their answers, telling them
nothing, for I had determined to keep what I had seen for the ears of
the King first, though I was not sure whether I ought not to bury