irmed them in the conviction that at length they had arrived within
measurable distance of the spot where, according to the account given by
the former, the ruins of ancient Ophir still existed in recognisable
form. The exception referred to consisted in the fact that whereas,
according to Menzies, the Makolo nation, upon whose territory they had
now entered, were exceedingly jealous of all intrusion--Menzies himself
having escaped a frightful death at their hands by the very skin of his
teeth--they had thus far met with no molestation whatever; which,
however, might possibly be accounted for by the fact that thus far they
had seen no natives.

But this state of affairs was not to last much longer; for on the third
day of their resumed trek, by which time they had reached a somewhat
rugged, well-wooded stretch of country, watered by numerous streams,
upon surmounting a ridge they sighted a native village, some three miles
ahead, surrounded by well-cultivated fields which, upon their nearer
approach, the travellers found to consist chiefly of maize and tobacco,
with here and there a patch of sugar cane, or a small fruit orchard.
Soon afterwards they encountered a large herd of cattle in charge of
about a dozen native lads, one of whom, upon sighting the strangers,
took to his heels and ran, as though for his life, to an eminence at no
great distance, where, placing his hands funnelwise to his mouth, he
began to shout, in a peculiar, high-pitched tone of voice, a brief
communication of some sort to some unseen person or persons. At the
same time one of the other lads, after intently scrutinising the
newcomers for several minutes, advanced cautiously toward them and
finally halted--evidently holding himself ready to bolt at the slightest
suspicious sign--and, raising his sheaf of assagais in his right hand by
way of salute, shouted the single word:

"_Bietu_!"

The word was evidently a variant of the Zulu _Biete_, the form of
salutation addressed to a great chief, and, so construing it, Mafuta at
once placed his shield and weapons in the wagon and, advancing rapidly,
proceeded to address the lad in good Zulu. The stranger, however,
although it was evident that he caught the meaning of a word here and
there, seemed unable to grasp the sense of Mafuta's communication in its
entirety, whereupon the latter made a second attempt, this time using a
sort of dialect or corruption of the true Zulu tongue; and was now more
suc