haps one hour after
sundown, perhaps two, perhaps three, Nombe will lead you, dressed
in a certain fashion, from this hut. See now, outside of it
there is a tongue of rock up which you may climb unnoted by the
little path that runs between those big stones. Look,' and he
showed me the place through the door-hole. 'The path ends on a
flat boulder at the end of the rock. There you will take your
stand, holding in your right hand a little assegai which will be
given to you. Nombe will not accompany you to the rock, but she
will crouch between the stones at the head of the path and
perhaps from time to time whisper to you what to do. Thus when
she tells you, you must throw the little spear into the air, so
that it falls among a number of men gathered in debate who will
be seated about twenty paces from the rock. For the rest you are
to stand quite still, saying nothing and showing no alarm
whatever you may hear or see. Among the men before you may be
your friend, Macumazahn, but you must not appear to recognize
him, and if he speaks to you, you must make no answer. Even if
he should seem to shoot at you, do not be afraid. Do you
understand? If so, repeat what I have told you.' I obeyed him
and asked what would happen if I did not do these things, or some
of them.

"He answered, 'You will be killed, Nombe will be killed, the lord
Mauriti your lover will be killed, and your friend Macumazahn
will be killed. Perhaps even I shall be killed and we will talk
the matter over in the land of ghosts.'

"On hearing this I said I would do my best to carry out his
orders, and after making me repeat them once more, he went away.
Later, Nombe dressed me up as you saw me, Mr. Quatermain, put
some glittering powder into my hair and touched me beneath the
eyes with a dark kind of pigment. Also she gave me the little
spear and made me practise standing quite still with it raised in
my right hand, telling me that when I heard her say the word
'Throw,' I was to cast it into the air. Then the moon rose and
we heard men talking at a distance. At last some one came to the
hut and whispered to Nombe, who led me out to the little path
between the rocks.

"This must have been nearly two hours after I heard the men begin
to talk--"

"Excuse me," I interrupted, "but where was Nombe all those two
hours?"

"With me. She never left my side, Mr. Quatermain, and while I
was on the rock she was crouched within three paces of me bet