ver yet devised; and this evil-doer,
being a coward and no warrior, had caught eagerly at a chance of saving
his own forfeited life. So now he greeted the Amabuna, saying that
Tyuyumane and the other traitors were behind him, and would be up in a
very short time, for that now the deed was done, and the sun might soon
blacken his face for a dead King.

But while he was yet speaking, one of the servants of the Amabuna caught
sight of the gleam of a spotted shield in the bushes, and cried aloud
his discovery. And then, further concealment being useless, our
warriors rose in masses, and poured forward upon the Amabuna, still in
complete silence, for all shouting had been strictly forbidden, lest it
should travel to the ears of those with the wagons and the herds, who,
being warned, might escape.

When they saw how entirely they were hemmed in, the thought of the
Amabuna was no longer to dismount, but to fight their way through. They
discharged their long guns into the thick of our on-rushing warriors,
many of whom fell; and then, using them as clubs, strove to hew their
way through the ranks of our shields.

But their horses were utterly terrified, and plunging and squealing,
were almost beyond control. The leader of the Amabuna, whom I
recognised as one of the two who had taken part in the _indaba_ at the
pool, was a mighty man in battle. He swept his clubbed gun, hither and
thither, and men seemed to fall before him like grass before an
advancing fire. But, as fast as they swept down our warriors, others
would rise in their places. A line of spear-points barred the way at
every turn, and soon the horses, disembowelled, hamstrung, were of no
further use, as they sank down, uttering wild screams of agony and
terror; and their riders, thus dismounted, were struck by countless
spears the moment they touched the ground. _Hau, Nkose_! In far less
time than I have taken to say these words those Amabuna and their
servants were all dead men. Even their horses were cut to pieces; for
when we "see red," we Amazulu spare no living thing.

All, did I say? _Hau_! I should have said all, save one; for the
leader of those, our enemies, who was a strong, fearless man, a fine
fighter, had somehow or other succeeded in breaking through our lines.
He was mounted on a powerful horse, which was wounded: we could see
that. We could see also that the man was wounded, for he swayed in his
saddle as he rode, and seemed to keep his