"

"I remember those words also, O King!" I said. "Is it the will of the
king that an impi should be gathered to eat up this upstart? Such was
the command of the one who is gone, given, as it were, with his last
breath."

"Nay, Mopo, that is not my will. If no impi can be found by thee to wipe
away the Halakazi and bring one whom I desire to delight my eyes, then
surely none can be found to eat up this Slaughterer and his people.
Moreover, Bulalio, chief of the People of the Axe, has not offended
against me, but against an elephant whose trumpetings are done. Now this
is my will, Mopo, my servant: that thou shouldst take with thee a few
men only and go gently to this Bulalio, and say to him: 'A greater
Elephant stalks through the land than he who has gone to sleep, and it
has come to his ears--that thou, Chief of the People of the Axe, dost
pay no tribute, and hast said that, because of the death of a certain
Mopo, thou wilt have nothing to do with him whose shadow lies upon the
land. Now one Mopo is sent to thee, Slaughterer, to know if this tale is
true, for, if it be true, then shalt thou learn the weight of the hoof
of that Elephant who trumpets in the kraal of Umgugundhlovu. Think,
then, and weigh thy words before thou dost answer, Slaughterer.'"

Now I, Mopo, heard the commands of the king and pondered them in my
mind, for I knew well that it was the design of Dingaan to be rid of me
for a space that he might find time to plot my overthrow, and that he
cared little for this matter of a petty chief, who, living far away, had
dared to defy Chaka. Yet I wished to go, for there had arisen in me a
great desire to see this Bulalio, who spoke of vengeance to be taken for
one Mopo, and whose deeds were such as the deeds of Umslopogaas would
have been, had Umslopogaas lived to look upon the light. Therefore I
answered:--

"I hear the king. The king's word shall be done, though, O King, thou
sendest a big man upon a little errand."

"Not so, Mopo," answered Dingaan. "My heart tells me that this chicken
of a Slaughterer will grow to a great cock if his comb is not cut
presently; and thou, Mopo, art versed in cutting combs, even of the
tallest."

"I hear the king," I answered again.

So, my father, it came about that on the morrow, taking with me but ten
chosen men, I, Mopo, started on my journey towards the Ghost Mountain,
and as I journeyed I thought much of how I had trod that path in bygone
days. Then, Macropha,