tywayo, the present king, too leaves him alone and to him he pays no
tribute."

Whilst I was about to ask Hans from whom he had collected all this
information, suddenly I heard sounds, and looking up, saw three tall men
clad in full herald's dress rushing towards us at great speed.

"Here come some chips from the Axe," said Hans, and promptly bolted into
the waggon.

I did not bolt because there was no time to do so without loss of
dignity, but, although I wished I had my rifle with me, just sat still
upon my stool and with great deliberation lighted my pipe, taking not
the slightest notice of the three savage-looking fellows.

These, who I noted carried axes instead of assegais, rushed straight at
me with the axes raised in such a fashion that anyone unacquainted with
the habits of Zulu warriors of the old school, might have thought that
they intended nothing short of murder.

As I expected, however, within about six feet of me they halted suddenly
and stood there still as statues. For my part I went on lighting my pipe
as though I did not see them and when at length I was obliged to lift my
head, surveyed them with an air of mild interest.

Then I took a little book out of my pocket, it was my favourite copy of
the Ingoldsby Legends--and began to read.

The passage which caught my eye, if "axe" be substituted for "knife" was
not inappropriate. It was from "The Nurse's Story," and runs,

"But, oh! what a thing 'tis to see and to know
That the bare knife is raised in the hand of the foe,
Without hope to repel or to ward off the blow!"

This proceeding of mine astonished them a good deal who felt that they
had, so to speak, missed fire. At last the soldier in the middle said,

"Are you blind, White Man?"

"No, Black Fellow," I answered, "but I am short-sighted. Would you be so
good as to stand out of my light?" a remark which puzzled them so much
that all three drew back a few paces.

When I had read a little further I came to the following lines,

"'Tis plain,
As anatomists tell us, that never again,
Shall life revisit the foully slain
When once they've been cut through the jugular vein."

In my circumstances at that moment this statement seemed altogether too
suggestive, so I shut up the book and remarked,

"If you are wanderers who want food, as I judge by your being so thin,
I am sorry that I have little meat, but my servants will give y