e_, that there only remained for me one thing more
to do, yet, having done it, I found there remained another; and this
was, to effect a speedy and safe retreat from a position to which any
moment might bring an end--resulting in my own death and the destruction
of our nation. How was this to be effected? I dared not move or turn
ever so slightly lest the light, falling upon my face, should betray me.
To send these men away, and myself remain behind, might arouse their
suspicion, and, over and above these considerations, the real Mhlangana
might appear at any moment. Truly, _Nkose_, it required all the _muti_
that old Masuka, and the white _isanusi_, and Lalusini, and all the
greatest magicians the world ever saw, could devise to find me a way out
of that trap.

But while these thoughts were racing through my mind a confused murmur
rose among the group of warriors. A murmur of astonishment, even of a
little alarm. Their faces were turned skyward, seeming to look beyond
me as I stood; and, lo! the light had grown so dim that scarcely could I
distinguish their features, up till now so plainly visible.

"_Au_!" they cried. "The moon! The moon! It grows black!"

Now I turned also, deeming it safe to do so, yet with caution, and
covering half my face as though bringing my hand up in astonishment.
And what I beheld was indeed portentous.

Over the face of the moon a black curtain was spreading slowly, slowly--
veiling it not as a cloud veils it, but completely. While we had been
talking, we had not noticed the fading light. Now, as we looked, lo!
the half of the great golden ball was black. Higher, higher--farther,
farther, crept this curtain, till none was left but the outside rim.
All the rest of it was black. The world was in darkness.

Now, I had seen something of this kind before; but never before or since
have I seen the moon grow so utterly, so completely, black. It seemed
darker than the darkest night; yet, in reality, it was not so; but there
was a cold and wizard-like breathing in the night air, and even the
voices of the creatures of the waste were hushed. And heavy upon my
mind lay Lalusini's warning, and the words of her waking vision, uttered
before the King, and relating to the blackening of the moon and of the
feast which awaited the vultures. It was all plain enough now; ah, yes!
the vultures would soon have a gigantic feast, indeed; but--of whom
would it consist--of ourselves, or of the in