I partly understood. I had heard strange tales of certain men
among the whites who taught that a great, though invisible, King sat
above the blue of the sky, and caused the sun to shine and the rain to
fall; whose might was such that beside it the might of Tshaka himself
was less than the might of a child. This, then, must be one of them.
Yet--the strange ceremonies we had witnessed?

"Wherefore, then, wert thou making _muti_ yonder, beneath the rock, O
father of the red _muti_ cloak? To what end was this?" I asked.

"To the end that all good might fall upon your King, and his people, and
his land. With that object and intention were we making _muti_, as ye
call it, children of this nation," he answered, looking us fearlessly in
the eyes.

And there was that about his glance which satisfied me that we might
safely eat meat with him; nor did the ceremony which he and the other
went through before partaking of it, and which was very like what we had
seen during their strange act of sacrifice, avail to destroy this
assurance. And, indeed, when, having finished, we rose up, to proceed
at once to the presence of the Great Great One, we left nothing behind
us but bones; for Mgwali had a fine appetite--nor came I far behind him
in that way--and a quarter of buck is not quite too much among four men.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note 1. From Untuswa's description, it seems certain that he and his
brother were witnessing an open-air celebration of Mass; and the strange
white man would appear to have been a travelling missionary-priest of
French nationality--probably a Jesuit.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

THE WHITE ISANUSI.

We were not far from Kwa'zingwenya, _Nkose_, when this meeting took
place, and as we came in among the people on the outskirts of the great
kraal the excitement was intense. All gazed curiously to see whom we
had brought with us, and we could hear the cries of wonder which broke
forth from the people as they beheld a white man. Yet, though they
gazed in astonishment, they did not draw near and crowd around us to
gaze, for such is not our custom as regards strangers.

Now, this white man and he who attended him, bearing their burdens,
walked on contentedly by our sides, and as we entered the gates of
Kwa'zingwenya I sent a message to the King, reporting the strange
discovery we had made. Then, having taken the strangers to my own hut,
where my wives