rath followed them
as they were hurried away to the pool of death. Indeed, such a rain of
blows and kicks fell upon them from those through whose midst they were
dragged that it seemed doubtful whether most of them would ever reach
the alligators alive. For, _Nkose_, although in dead silence and pitied
by all, Hlatusa had gone through these same people to his doom, he was
one of ourselves, and a brave fighter; but these were of an inferior and
conquered race, and withal miserable cowards, wherefore our people could
not restrain their hatred and contempt.

"Hold!" roared the King, before the slayers had quite dragged these dogs
outside the kraal, and at his voice again silence fell upon the throng.
"Hold! After feeding upon the flesh of a brave man I will not that my
alligators be poisoned with such carrion as this. There may yet be more
royal meat for them," he put in, in a lower tone, and with a savage and
deadly sneer. Then, raising his voice, "Let these dogs be taken up to
yonder hill and burnt."

A roar of delight broke from all, mingled with shouts of _bonga_ as to
the King's justice and wisdom. And none were more pleased, I thought,
than the slayers, men of fierce and savage mind, who, from constantly
meting out torture and death, loved their occupation the more the
farther they pursued it.

For awhile there was silence. Away upon a round-topped hillock, within
sight of all, the slayers were collecting great piles of dry wood, and
upon these the condemned slaves were flung, bound. Then amid the fierce
roar and crackle of the flames wild tortured shrieks burst from those
who writhed there and burned, and to the people the shrieks were the
pleasantest of sounds, for the terror of the Red Death had strangely
fastened upon all minds, and they could not but hold that these who thus
died had in some way brought the curse of it upon them.

Again upon the stillness arose a long roll of thunder--this time loud
and near, for the great cloud which had been lying low down upon the
further sky was now towering huge and black, almost above the very spot
where burned those wretches, and the pointed flash which followed seemed
to dart in and out of the smoke which rose from the crackling wood pile.
The multitude, watching, began to murmur about an omen.

"Talk we now of this thing of evil," said Umzilikazi, at last. "Thou,
Lalusini, art a pestilent witch. For long hast thou been among us. For
long has thy greatnes