hen they would skip first on one foot, then on another, as
if trying to avoid a carpeting of glowing coals. Or, "The fighting men
of the Ama-Gcaleka are thirsty. But they will soon have to drink.
Blood--plenty of blood--the drink of warriors--the drink that shall make
their hearts strong. _Hau_!" And at this they would feign to stab the
prisoner--bringing their blades near enough to have frightened a nervous
man out of his wits. Or again: "The ants are hungry. The black ants
are swarming for their food. It shall soon be theirs. Ha-ha! They
want it alive. They want eyes. They want brains. They want blood!
Ha-ha! The black, ants are swarming for their food." Here the savages
would squirm and wriggle as in imitation of a man being devoured alive
by insects. For this was an allusion to a highly popular barbarity
among these children of Nature; one not unfrequently meted out to those
who had incurred the envy or hostility of the chiefs and witch-doctors,
and had been "smelt out" accordingly.

When all were gathered within the open space the war chant ceased. The
great muster of excited barbarians had formed up into crescent rank and
now dropped into a squatting posture. To the open side of this,
escorted by about fifty warriors, the prisoner was marched.

As he passed through that sea of fierce eyes, all turned on him with a
bloodthirsty stare, between that great crowd of savage forms, squatted
around like tigers on the crouch, Eustace felt his pulses quicken. The
critical time had arrived.

Even at that perilous moment he took in the place and its surroundings.
He noted the faces of women, behind the dark serried ranks of the
warriors, peering eagerly at him. There were, however, but few, and
they wore a crushed and anxious look. He noted, further, that the huts
were of recent and hasty construction, and that the cattle inclosure was
small and scantily stocked. All this pointed to the conclusion that the
kraal was a temporary one. The bulk of the women and cattle would be
stowed away in some more secure hiding place. Only for a moment,
however, was he thus suffered to look around. His thoughts were quickly
diverted to a far more important consideration.

His guards had fallen back a few paces, leaving him standing alone. In
front, seated on the ground, was a group consisting of a dozen or
fourteen persons, all eyeing him narrowly. These he judged to be the
principal chiefs and councillors of the