guest to whom he had given safe-conduct,
and to stain the king's doorposts with his blood, thereby
defiling his house and showing him to the white people as a
murderer of one of them whom he had promised to protect.
Macumazahn, do _you_ say how he shall die, and I will have it
done."

"I do not wish him to die," I answered, "I think that he and
those with him were drunk. Let him go, O King."

"Aye, Macumazahn, I will let him go. See now, we are in the
centre of the cattle-kraal, and to the eastern gate is as far as
to the isigodhlo. Let this man have a start of ten spears'
length and run to the eastern gate, as he would have made
Macumazahn run to the king's house, and let his companions, those
who would have hunted Macumazahn, hunt him.

"If he wins through to the gate he can go on to the Government in
Natal and tell them of the cruelty of the Zulus. Only then, let
those who hunted him be brought before me for trial and perhaps
we shall see how _they_ can run."

Now the poor wretch caught hold of my hand, begging me to
intercede for him, but soldiers who had come up dragged him away
and, having measured the distance allowed him, set him on a mark
made upon the ground. Presently at a word off he sped like an
arrow, and after him went his friends, ten or more of them. I
think they caught him just by the gate doubling like a hare, or
so the shouts of laughter from the watching regiment told me, for
myself I would not look.

"That dog ate his own stomach," said Cetewayo grimly, thereby
indicating in native fashion that the biter had been bit or the
engineer hoist with his petard. "It is long since there has been
a war in the land, and some of these young soldiers who have
never used an assegai save to skin an ox or cut the head from a
chicken, shout too loud and leap too high. Now they will be
quieter, and while you stay here you may walk where you will in
safety, Macumazahn," he added thoughtfully.

Then dismissing the matter from his mind, as we white people
dismiss any trivial incident in a morning stroll, he talked for a
few minutes to the commanding officer of the regiment that was
drilling, who ran up to make some report to him, and walked back
towards the isigodhlo, beckoning me to follow with Goza.

After waiting for a little while outside the gate in the
surrounding fence, a body-servant ordered us to enter, which we
did to find the king seated on the shady side of his big hut
quite alone. At