d I linger at all in the land of the Swazis, but came
on swiftly into the Zulu. Now, it was in my mind to go to Chaka and tell
him of my wrongs, asking that he would send an impi to make an end
of the Halakazi. But while I journeyed, finding food and shelter as I
might, I came one night to the kraal of an old man who knew Chaka, and
had known Siguyana, my grandfather, and to him, when I had stayed there
two days, I told my tale. But the old man counselled me against my plan,
saying that Chaka, the king, did not love to welcome new shoots sprung
from the royal stock, and would kill me; moreover, the man offered me a
place in his kraal. Now, I held that there was wisdom in his words, and
thought no more of standing before the king to cry for justice, for he
who cries to kings for justice sometimes finds death. Still, I would not
stay in the kraal of the old man, for he had sons to come after him who
looked on me with no liking; moreover, I wished to be a chief myself,
even if I lived alone. So I left the kraal by night and walked on, not
knowing where I should go.

"Now, on the third night, I came to a little kraal that stands on the
farther side of the river at the foot of the mountain. In front of the
kraal sat a very old woman basking in the rays of the setting sun. She
saw me, and spoke to me, saying, 'Young man, you are tall and strong and
swift of foot. Would you earn a famous weapon, a club, that destroys all
who stand before it?'

"I said that I wished to have such a club, and asked what I should do to
win it.

"'You shall do this,' said the old woman: 'to-morrow morning, at the
first light, you shall go up to yonder mountain,' and she pointed to
the mountain where you are now, stranger, on which the stone Witch sits
forever waiting for the world to die. 'Two-thirds of the way up the
mountain you will come to a path that is difficult to climb. You shall
climb the path and enter a gloomy forest. It is very dark in the forest,
but you must push through it till you come to an open place with a wall
of rock behind it. In the wall of rock is a cave, and in the cave you
will find the bones of a man. Bring down the bones in a bag, and I will
give you the club!'

"While she spoke thus people came out of the kraal and listened.

"'Do not heed her, young man,' they said, 'unless you are weary of life.
Do not heed her: she is crazy. The mountain is haunted; it is a place of
ghosts. Look at the stone Witch who sits upon