esent of
ceremony of one ox to their ruler. Now Sihamba noticed that while the
envoys were talking, their eyes wandered all about, taking note of every
thing, and especially of the number of the soldiers and of Suzanne, who
sat beside Sigwe during the _indaba_, or council.

"These are no true men," she thought to herself, and made a plan. In the
evening she visited the camp of the envoys who had heard already that
she was a famous doctoress, and offered her services to them for payment
should any of them chance to need the boon of her magic arts. They
laughed, answering that they wanted neither charms nor divinations, but
that she should see a certain young man, a servant in their train, who
was very sick with love and had bought philtres from every doctor in
their country without avail, wherewith to soften the heart of a girl
who would have nothing to do with him. When Sihamba, without seeming to
speak much of it, had drawn from them all that she wished to know of the
story of this man and girl, and with it other information, though they
won little enough from her, she took her leave, and so set her trap that
at night when all were asleep the young man came to consult her in a
place apart.

Now she looked at him and said at once, without suffering him to speak:

"Let me see. Your name is so-and-so, and you are in love with such a
girl, who turns away from you;" and she went on to tell him things which
he thought were known only to himself.

"Wonderful," he said, "wonderful! But say, lady doctoress, can you help
me, for my heart is water because of this girl?"

"It is difficult," she answered. "Do you know that when you come to
consult a wise woman you should keep your mind fixed upon the matter
about which you would take counsel with her from the first moment that
you set out to visit her until you stand in her presence? Now this you
have not done, for as you came you were thinking of other things; yes,
you were thinking about the ambush which is to be set for these people
in the pass yonder, and therefore I cannot see the girl's heart clear,
and do not quite know what medicine I should give you to soften it."

"It is true, lady," answered the stupid fellow, "that I was thinking
about the ambush of which I have heard some talk, though I do not know
who told you of it."

"Who told me? Why to my sight your thoughts are written on your face,
yes, they ran before you and reached me as I heard your footsteps. But
no