g the corpses.
When he was near enough he stopped and said in a kind of Arabic which I
could understand,

"I greet you, Strangers, in the name of her I serve. I see that I am
just in time, but this does not surprise me, since she said that it
would be so. You seem to have done very well with these dogs," and
he prodded a dead Amahagger with his sandalled foot. "Yes, very well
indeed. You must be great warriors."

Then he paused and we stared at each other.

CHAPTER XI

THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN WALL

"These do not seem to be friends of yours," I said, pointing to the
fallen. "And yet," I added, nodding towards the spearmen who were now
emerging from the gully, "they are very like your friends."

"Puppies from the same litter are often alike, yet when they grow up
sometimes they fight each other," replied Father Christmas blandly.
"At least these come to save and not to kill you. Look! they kill the
others!" and he pointed to them making an end of some of the wounded
men. "But who are these?" and he glanced with evident astonishment,
first at the fearsome-looking Umslopogaas and then at the grotesque
Hans. "Nay, answer not, you must be weary and need rest. Afterwards we
can talk."

"Well, as a matter of fact we have not yet breakfasted," I replied.
"Also I have business to attend to here," and I glanced at our wounded.

The old fellow nodded and went to speak to the captains of his force,
doubtless as to the pursuit of the enemy, for presently I saw a company
spring forward on their tracks. Then, assisted by Hans and the remaining
Zulus, of whom one was Goroko, I turned to attend to our own people.
The task proved lighter than I expected, since the badly injured man
was dead or dying and the hurts of the two others were in their legs
and comparatively slight, such as Goroko could doctor in his own native
fashion.

After this, taking Hans to guard my back, I went down to the stream and
washed myself. Then I returned and ate, wondering the while that I could
do so with appetite after the terrible dangers which we had passed.
Still, we had passed them, and Robertson, Umslopogaas with three of his
men, I and Hans were quite unharmed, a fact for which I returned thanks
in silence but sincerely enough to Providence.

Hans also returned thanks in his own fashion, after he had filled
himself, not before, and lit his corn-cob pipe. But Robertson made no
remark; indeed, when he had satisfied his natural cravings, he ro