any height; and did not the King
promise you his dark-handled assegai? What is the history of Umzilikazi
himself?'

"`Speak low, girl, or speak not of these things at all,' I whispered
warningly. `One word of such talk falling upon other ears would
certainly cost both of us our lives.'

"But, in truth, I was amazed, bewildered, the while more in love with
her than ever, on account of this bold and scheming talk.

"`What, then?' she answered. `The King may have us killed, but he
cannot prevent us from loving each other. Come now, Untuswa, and let us
love each other while we may.'

"_Au, Nkose_, who shall put grey hair upon--a cool brain into--a young
head? The place was lonely, and my good dog would keep watch. And so
Nangeza and I loved each other, and not until darkness had fallen did we
separate from each other's arms and wend by different ways back to the
camp.

"But we had both incurred the death penalty. For the stern and rigorous
law of Tshaka had as yet undergone no relaxation, and even Umzilikazi
himself would hardly have dared to pardon a breach thereof. Yet, such
is the hot-blooded rashness of youth, this, though the first, was
destined to be by no means the last time we should incur that awful
penalty."

CHAPTER THREE.

THE BASUTU KRAALS.

"Shortly after this an _impi_ was sent out against some strong Basutu
kraals which lay in our path, and whose inhabitants, our scouts had
reported, were arming for resistance. Little they knew that they had to
contend against a whole nation. They imagined, doubtless, that they
only had to deal with a small _impi_ of Tshaka's which had crossed the
Ewahlamba range.

"`Go now, Untuswa,' said the King. `Here, it may be, you may win your
head-ring.'

"And this, _Nkose_, was in my mind. So we set forth, about fifteen
hundred strong, for the King would not send too large a force, in order
to keep us in practice for real hand-to-hand fighting on something like
even terms. Masipele was our head _induna_, and under him was Gungana,
a man of whom I was not over-fond, nor did he like me, whom he deemed
was ever too near the ear of the King.

"We started at dawn, and after marching about a quarter of a day, came
in sight of the Basutu kraals, standing upon an open plain, beneath a
low, round-topped range of hills. There were three of these kraals, but
it was in the largest that all the fighting men had gathered. This was
surrounded by a very high and