whereabouts, I found myself stretched at full length upon
the divan, with the little, shrivelled, decrepit figure of the queen
bending over me as, in obedience to her command, I stared intently at
the jewel on her right thumb, which she held within a few inches of my
eyes.

For perhaps a minute I gazed at the wonderful flashing and changing
colours of the stone, which seemed to be something between a diamond and
an opal; and then, suddenly, I seemed to be mounted on Prince and
journeying back along the road by which we had reached Masakisale, with
Piet and 'Mfuni beside me and the wagon in the rear. We seemed to be
passing the spot where I had buried the remains of the unhappy Siluce,
and in my dream we turned aside to examine the grave, and assured
ourselves that it had not been disturbed. Back, mile after mile, we
travelled until we reached a certain mountain that I remembered
perfectly well, and here we abandoned the route by which we had formerly
travelled, striking eastward round the southern side of the mountain,
and following for several days a stream that led south-eastward. Then,
abandoning that stream, and still journeying south-eastward, we "struck"
another stream that finally led us to a broad river which I somehow knew
to be the Zambezi. Along the left bank of this great river we seemed to
journey for several days, carefully noting the natural features of the
country as we went, and especially some very fine falls--which were not,
however, the famous Victoria Falls, discovered by Livingstone--and
shortly afterward we reached a drift which enabled us to cross the
river; and here we turned our backs upon it and followed upstream a
smaller river discharging into it. And thus we seemed to go, day after
day and week after week, until two months were past, when suddenly,
toward the close of a certain day, I seemed to find myself in the midst
of surroundings that I dimly remembered having seen before; and
presently it dawned upon me that I was looking upon the plain which
Mafuta, the Basuto nyanga, had shown me in the vision wherein I had been
permitted a brief glimpse of Nell Lestrange. Yes, that was the place,
without a doubt; and as I stood gazing in wonder at it a Kafir at my
side, who had come from I know not where, informed me, in reply to a
question, that the place was named Umgungundhlovu, and that it was the
Great Place of Dingaan, the king of the Zulu nation. And therewith, as
the man's words fixe