o the displeasure of the King; and, now
that the Great Great One was sore pressed by his enemies, I desired to
wield a spear in defence of him. On this matter, too, Lalusini, whom I
saw from time to time, was of the same mind as myself, though at that
time she would not open her mind to me freely, bidding me, with a smile,
to be still and wait.

Soon Sifadu, having his plans ready, called a council of the Bapongqolo
to make known to the clan at large what he expected of it. The warriors
came, several hundreds of them, in full war adornments, and fully armed,
and Sifadu addressed them in a long speech. He recalled how it was that
they came to be there, living the life of exiles and outcasts. He
reminded them of their relatives slain, their houses stamped flat, their
cattle seized to swell the herds of Dingane. The miserable cheat, Tola,
whose bones lay broken and scattered around the nest of the black ants,
in which they had put him to a just death, was only the mouthpiece of
Dingane; the real oppressor was the King himself. Now, would they put
themselves beneath the foot of such a King as that when they might
obtain revenge for their wrongs, and at the same time lead a quiet life
by doing _konza_ to one who had promised them immunity and reward if
they aided him now? But they must do this quickly for their own sakes,
for their former oppressor with what remained of his army would be upon
them in their retreat immediately.

Thus spoke Sifadu, but his words, and the words of others who argued in
like manner, were not received as he intended. By more than half of
those assembled they were received in silence. The old instinct of
trained and disciplined warriors rendered these averse to turning
against the King, especially so great a king as Dingane. Besides, it
was by no means certain that even a combination of both forces against
him would be attended with success. Then, too, they could not bring
themselves to enter into alliance with the Amabuna.

Then I spoke. I pointed out that there were several hundreds of us--all
good fighting-men--that if we all went in to offer our spears to the
King, he, being pressed by enemies, would right gladly receive us. So
should we all regain our place in the nation, and be outlaws no longer.

As I went on, the murmurs of assent which greeted my words grew into
shouts. The people had long been tired of their runaway state, and here
was a chance to set themselves right. T