ef as I remembered that Nangeza's
voice had been sunk to the lowest of whispers. Only the last words had
been uttered aloud, and these, if absurd, were not perilous. Gungana,
as the commander of my own regiment, would be a natural object of
emulation; nor was my love's ambition to see me a leader of men the less
natural.

"`Hail, _Izintombi_ [Maidens]!' I cried, with a loud laugh. `You do
well thus to greet Nangeza. For I intend to _lobola_ for all three of
you, as well as for her. Then will she be your _Inkosikazi_ indeed.'

"`Has the King already granted you the head-ring, Untuswa?' asked one of
the two sisters, when the screams of laughter with which they heard my
remark had subsided.

"`You cannot _lobola_ for all of us,' said the other girl; `for am I not
Ntelani's "sister"?'

[Sister or Cousin means `related.' The impediment of `consanguinity' is
respected with extraordinary rigour, and no Zulu will marry even the
most distant cousin, or any girl whom there may be reason to suspect of
sharing the very faintest strain of his blood.]

"`_Whau_! that is the more the pity,' I said. `As things are, I meant
to have sent _lobola_ for all three of you, although I am but poor. For
how could I make choice of one or two where all are so perfect?'

"This I said in order to keep the good word of their tongues, lest they
might whisper abroad evil concerning Nangeza and myself, for even then,
_Nkose_, I knew that the surest way to a woman's heart was to tickle her
ears with soft and pleasant speech.

"`_Yau_! Only hear him!' they cried. `The son of Ntelani has found his
tongue. Forget not, then, when the Great Great One allows thee to
_tunga_. Forget not, then, thy word. Fare thee well now, Untuswa--also
his _Inkosikazi_!'

"And away they sped, laughing and singing. Not until the sound of their
voices had died out did I again speak.

"`I had rather we had not met these, Nangeza,' I said. `What if they
chatter?'

"`That they will not do. They know you are in the King's favour,
Untuswa; besides, you are a famous fighter, and no girl among us would
do anything to injure you. But this place is too open. Come, I know of
a better.'

"We plunged into the most tangled recesses of the bush, and here, where
the boughs met overhead, with creepers trailing in long lines like the
white beards of old men, we rested. But our talk was of love, not of
the weighty plan wherein life was the stake, about which we h