n--

Just the faintest suspicion of a tinkling sound. His quick ears caught
it. At any other time he would have swerved and with the rapidity of a
snake would have glided and disappeared among the granite boulders.
Now, however, he stood his ground.

Three mounted men--white men--dashed from the cover, with revolvers
drawn. Pukele dropped his weapons and held forth his arms.

"Fire not, Amakiwa!" he said, in his own tongue. "I was seeking for
such as ye."

But the mounted volunteers, for such they were, understood next to
nothing of that tongue. They only saw before them, a native, a savage,
a rebel, fully armed, with rifle and assegais, and in war-gear.

Pukele being a native, and having such an important communication to
make as that a refugee white woman was under his charge whom he desired
to place under theirs, it was not in him to make it in three words, nor
would these have understood him if he had. He, however, stood waiting
for their answer. A fourth trooper dashed from the bush.

"What are you waiting for, you blanked idiots?" he yelled. "Here's a
bloody nigger, ain't there? Well, then--Remember Hollingworth's!"

With the words he discharged his revolver almost point-blank into
Pukele's chest. Another echoing the vengeful shout, "Remember
Hollingworth's!" fired his into the body of the faithful protector of
the only survivor of Hollingworth's, which slowly sank to the earth,
then toppled forward on its face.

The troopers looked upon the slain man with hate and execration. They,
be it remembered, had looked upon the bodies of their own countrymen and
women and children, lying stark under all the circumstances of a hideous
and bloody death. Then the first man who had fired, dismounted and
seized the dead warrior's weapons, administering a savage kick to the
now motionless corpse. So Pukele met with his reward.

"Get into cover again. There may be more of 'em!" he enjoined. And
scarcely had they done so than the rest of the troop--for which these
had been acting as flying scouts--having heard the firing, came hurrying
up.

The affair was reported. Those in command jocosely remarking that it
seemed a devil of a waste of ammunition to fire two shots into one
nigger, who was neither fighting nor running away. Orders were given to
keep a sharp look-out ahead, in case the slain man should be one of the
scouts of an impi, and the troop moved on. It was, in fact, a relief
troop which had b