you make a step forward. After that I
still hold six lives."

Looking back, I can hardly ever have gone through a more strained crisis
of tense excitement than that moment afforded. The great crescent of
ochre-smeared, infuriated savages seemed to shrink into itself, as
though concentrating for a decisive rush, and indeed I don't care to
think what the next moment might have brought forth had not a diversion
occurred.

Coming up the kloof at a swift canter were four mounted figures.
Police? No. Three of them were Kafirs, the fourth a white man.

"_Au_! _Namhlanje_!" went up from the crowd, and heads were turned to
watch the new arrivals.

Now "Namhlanje" was Brian's native name, which, meaning "to-day," had
been bestowed upon him as characterising his quick decisive way of doing
things, and when linked with it was uttered another name, Usivulele, I
began to think the crisis was past, for the name was that of one of the
Ndhlambe chiefs, whose influence was hardly inferior to that of Kuliso
himself.

Hostilities were suspended pending the arrival of these, and, as they
rode up, the threatening and tumultuous clamour was changed into
deep-toned salutations addressed to the chief.

The latter was a well-built elderly man, with no insignia of
chieftainship about him, not even the thick ivory armlet which he wore
just above the left elbow, for several of his followers wore this
adornment too. But the deference displayed towards him by this unruly
mob, that told its own tale. For such is the prestige and authority of
a tribal chief among the Amaxosa that if you have him on your side in
any dispute with his subjects, why, the matter is settled. That now
Usivulele was upon our side I had no doubt, seeing that Brian was riding
with him. The other two were old men with grizzled heads, and were
_amapakati_, or councillors. Way was at once made for the group, and a
rush to hold their horses as they dismounted.

"I see a chief," said Septimus Matterson in figurative greeting--he had
already put away his revolver, and so had I, with a feeling of relief it
would be impossible to exaggerate. "Now we can talk."

"My heart is very sore over what has happened, my friend," he went on.
"Yet he who has done this thing is a child, and he has done it by
accident. When a child does that for which a grown man would be killed,
he is not killed because he is only a child. He is not killed, but he
is punished. Is it not so?"