perilous escapes, he
felt that he had found a friend. In the hands of this savage chieftain,
surrounded by his armed host, he felt perfectly safe. Whatever the
errand of destruction upon which this formidable force was engaged, in
the presence of the man he had succoured twice in the hour of danger and
difficulty he felt no distrust, no misgiving.

The astonishment of the onlookers at this strange and unexpected
recognition knew no bounds. They bent eagerly forward, with many a
smothered "_whou_!" of amazement. But the frank, open, impulsive way in
which Gerard had greeted their chief had made the best of impressions,
for the Zulu in those days was not without his share of real chivalrous
feeling, and the complete absence of any lingering distrust on the part
of their prisoner--or guest--appealed powerfully to them. His rifle lay
on the ground exactly where he had placed it. Not one of them would
pick it up, lest the act might be construed into one of distrust, of
disarming him, so to say.

"Sit here, Jeriji," said the chief, motioning him to a place at his
side. "Did you come into the Zulu country all alone to kill alligators,
or to pay me a visit?" he went on, with a comical smile, as Gerard
promptly acted upon the invitation.

"Neither the one nor the other, Sobuza. But, first tell me, are you and
your men out against--my countrymen?"

"Not so," said the chief. "We are not at war with the English."

"I am glad of that. Now listen. You asked me why I came into your
country. I did not come into it; I was brought into it."

"Brought into it?" repeated the chief in some astonishment. "By whom?"

"By Ingonyama's people. Those, who call themselves Igazipuza."

"_Hau_! Igazipuza!"

The astonishment, emphatic and unfeigned, with which his statement was
echoed, not by the chief only, but by the whole group, might well strike
Gerard.

"You know him--you know them?" he said.

A humorous flash flitted across each dark face, the corners of every
mouth turned down grimly. Sobuza proceeded to take snuff.

"Tell us about it," he said. "Begin at the very beginning, Jeriji, for
this is no light matter."

Then Gerard began his tale--from the very outset of their enforced visit
to the fastness of that redoubtable clan, throughout the period during
which their condition had become one of open and undisguised captivity,
down to his own headlong dash for liberty and succour, their untiring
and persistent p