ight, his legs were curved, or bowed,
his forehead low and retreating, the part of the head behind the ears
being very massive. The ears themselves were enormous, and the mouth
very large; the nose flattened, and the lips thick. He wore the usual
set of small buttons let into the flesh, but they were of virgin gold;
and a panther skin was attached by a golden clasp round the waist,
falling like a Highland kilt. A number of small objects of glass,
beads, and ivory hung down from his waist, making a rattle as he walked.
Bound his ankles, wrists, and the fleshy part of the arm were circles
of copper. He carried no arms, but held in his hand a stick, also of
gold, about a foot long, and his teeth were filed, giving an appearance
of savage ferocity to his repulsive face. The white men rose, and some
additional skins being brought, the three chiefs, Umhleswa, the
missionary, and the soldier, seated themselves, the warriors squatting
in a circle around.

"The white chiefs are not traders, but like gold," said the savage,
after a prolonged stare. "They seek some fallen huts, formerly made by
their white fathers?" asked he, speaking in the Zulu tongue.

"Achmet Ben Arif spoke truly when he told you so, Umhleswa," was the
reply.

"The white chiefs saw the fallen house at Sofala. In the mountains at
Gorongoza are caves; the traders of the Zambesi built the house, the
worshippers of the white man's God lived at Gorongoza. There are no
other remains of them."

"And the stone tablets on the mountain?" eagerly asked the missionary.

The lips of the savage parted, showing the sharp filed teeth. "They are
the graves of those who served the white man's god."

"And no other ruined huts are here?"

"None. Let the white chiefs hunt with my warriors, they are welcome;
the elephant and the rhinoceros are in plenty. The Zambesi is not far
distant, when they are tired of the hunt."

The missionary was terribly disappointed, for the chief's face bore on
it a look of truthfulness. There was no reason for doubting him, and he
did not do so.

"Umhleswa would see the chiefs hunt himself. Cattle were carried away
from his kraal last night. The robbers were three in number, and are
panthers. My scouts are out on the spoor: will the white men join my
braves this day?"

"Willingly," replied the missionary, who at once explained what had
passed to the soldier. Tired of a week's inactivity, the latter was
enchanted at the chan