mischief
if left behind: and yet it was almost as bad having him, for he eyed the
two Zulus with a sort of resentful contempt, more than once expressing a
desire to knock their qualified heads together.

Even as Jan Boom had said, the damage proved to be very slight; but
Magebe, an old man and avaricious, set to work to make the most of it.
Half his crop was ruined and so forth. I must pay him two oxen.

Of course I had no intention of doing anything of the sort, so we
adjourned to the waggons again to talk it over. There the discussion
became long and heated, notwithstanding the fact that I opened it by
filling them up with a great deal of black coffee and sugar. Nonguza,
who did most of the talking, and I felt sure would claim the lion's
share of the spoil whatever it might be, was especially curt and
offensive. I got sick of it at last.

"Here," I said, spreading a new green blanket on the ground, and piling
upon it a couple of big butcher knives--which Zulus dearly love--some
strings of black and white beads, a few brass buttons and a goodly
length of roll tobacco. "This is more than twice the damage my oxen
have done. So now, Magebe, take it, and I will send one of my drivers
with these two," pointing to the two young Zulus who had explained
matters, "and he will bring back the oxen."

But Magebe objected that this was not enough, no, not nearly enough.

"There it is. Take it or leave it. If you leave it, then we leave the
Zulu country--walk out of it, for we cannot drag our waggons. Then,
when the Great Great One--he who sits at Undini--is called upon to make
good the loss of two spans of oxen, two waggons and the whole of their
contents--to the Englishmen whose oxen were taken--were taken by
Nonguza, the induna whom he sent to keep order here on the boundary,
what will he say, that Lion--what will he do? Tell me that. What will
he do?"

"I know nothing of your oxen, Umlungu," said Nonguza, sullenly. "It is
not I who have taken them."

"Not you? Ha! When an induna of the King is present, is he greater
than only the head of a kraal--a large kraal certainly--or is he less?
Tell me that, Nonguza?"

It was a good game of bluff to play, and I was about at the end of my
patience. I held trumps and I knew my hand, for I knew perfectly on
what errand this chief was there. Now he turned and gave an order to
those who had lately been threatening us, and I knew that the game was
won. Yet even then,