du. "Ha. I have an idea! Bring him along."

They flung themselves upon Tola, whose wild howling was completely
drowned by the ferocious yells of the crowd. But as they were dragging
him roughly over the ground Sifadu interposed.

"_Gahle_, brothers. Do not bruise him. The ants like their meat
uninjured."

Amid roars of delight the miserable wretch was dragged to the place of
torment. Already some had knocked the top off the ants' nest, and were
stirring it with sticks to infuriate the insects. Right over the nest
grew a long bough a little more than the height of a tall man from the
ground. Now Sifadu's idea took shape.

A wedge of wood was inserted between the victim's teeth. This had the
effect of holding his jaws wide open, nor by any effort could he
dislodge the gag. Then his ankles being strongly bound together, he was
hoisted up to the branch above, and left hanging by the feet, so that
his head and gaping mouth just touched the broken top of the ant heap.
Then as he writhed and twisted and howled in his agony--for the
infuriated insects swarmed all over him--into his nostrils, mouth,
severed ears, everywhere--the Bapongqolo crowded around gloating over
his torments, and shouting into his ears the names of those whom he
himself had doomed to a like torment. It was long indeed before he
died, but though I have seen many a terrible form of death, never did I
see any man suffer as did this one. And yet, _Nkose_, it was just that
he should, for had not he himself been the means of dooming many
innocent persons to that very death? Wherefore the revenge of the
refugees was a meet and a just one.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

THE BAPONGQOLO RETURN.

Notwithstanding that I, and I alone, had brought to him his bitterest
enemy to be dealt with, Sifadu's manner towards me became, as time went
on, more and more one of suspicion and distrust. He feared lest I
should desire the chieftainship of this refugee clan; for by this time I
was as completely one of themselves as he was, and he thought, perhaps
rightly, that a man who had once commanded the fighting force of a great
warrior nation was not likely to be content to remain for ever a mere
nobody.

But this attitude taken up by Sifadu compelled me to do the very thing
which he desired least, and that in self-defence. I laboured to create
a following, and before I had been many moons among them I had attached
fully half the outlaws to myself. Further, I knew