crocodile spirits,' announced the old man, with disdain.
'If you are not hungry, then tell me, chieftain, when did your daughters and your grandchildren last eat?'
The old man's defiance wavered. He looked back at his people, and his voice was low as he replied with simple dignity, 'They are starving.'
'I can see that,' Jim said grimly.
'Jim, we must fetch food for them from the wagons,' Louisa burst out.
'It will need more than our few fish and loaves to feed this multitude. Then, when they have eaten our pantry bare, we will starve with them,' Jim answered, and turned in the saddle to survey the herds of game that were scattered across the plains in every direction. 'They are starving in
the midst of plenty. Their hunting skills and crude weapons will not bring down a single head of game from all this multitude,' he said, then looked back at the old man. 'I will use my witchcraft not to destroy your people but to feed them.'
They left him standing and rode out across the plain. Jim picked out a herd of cow-like wildebeest, strange-looking creatures with fringes of dark mane and lunate horns, their legs too thin for their robust bodies. These were the fools of the veld, and they gambolled ahead of Bakkat and Zama as they rode in a wide circle to surround them and drive them back towards Jim and Louisa. When the herd leaders were almost within gunshot, they sensed the danger and put down their ugly heads. Snorting and kicking up their heels they ran in earnest. Drumfire and Trueheart came up on them easily. Riding in close and shooting from the saddle Jim dropped a beast with a shot from each of his guns, and Louisa brought down another with the little French rifle. They roped the carcasses by the heels and dragged them behind the horses to where the old man was squatting in the grass.
He rose to his feet. When he realized what they had brought him, he cried out to his followers, in a quavering voice, 'Meat! The devils have brought us meat! Come quickly, and bring the children.'
Timidly one old woman crept forward, while the others hung back. The two old people started work on the carcasses, using the blade of the throwing spear as a butcher's knife. When the rest of the band saw that they were not being molested by the white devils they came swarming forward to the feast.
Louisa laughed aloud to see mothers hacking off lumps of raw meat, and chewing it to a pulp before spitting it into the mouths of their children, like mother birds feeding their chicks. When their first hunger was appeased, they built fires to roast and smoke the rest of the kill. Jim and Louisa hunted again, bringing in more prime game to provide enough smoked meat to feed even this number of mouths for some months.
Very soon the little tribe lost all fear and became so trusting that they no longer skittered away when Louisa walked among them. They even allowed her to pick up and dandle the little ones. Then the women clustered around her, touched her hair and stroked her pale skin with awe.
Jim and Bakkat sat with the old man and questioned him. 'What People are you?'
'We are of the Lozi, but our totem is the Bakwato.'
'How are you called, great chieftain of the Bakwato?' Jim asked.
'Tegwane, and in truth I am but a very small chief,' he replied. The
tegwane was the little fish- eating brown stork with a feathered topknot that frequented every stream and river pool.
'Where do you come from?' The old man pointed to the north. 'Where are the young warriors of your tribe?'
'Slain by the Nguni,' Tegwane said, 'fighting to save their families. Now I am trying to find a place where the women and children will be safe, but I fear the killers are not far behind us.'
'Tell me about these Nguni,' Jim invited. 'I have heard the name spoken with fear and awe, but I have never seen them, nor met any man who has.'
'They are killer devils,' Tegwane replied. 'They come swiftly as cloud shadows the plain, and they slaughter every living soul in their path.'
Tell me all you know of them. What do they look like?'
'The warriors are big men built like ironwood trees. They wear black vulture feathers in their headdress. They have rattles on their wrists and ankles so their legions make the sound of the wind when they come.'
'What of their weapons?'
They carry black shields of dried ox-hide, and they scorn the throwing spear. They like to come close with the short stabbing assegai. The wound from that blade is so wide and deep that it sucks the blood from the victim like a river as they pluck out the steel.'
'Where do they come from?'
'No man knows, but some say from a land far to the north. They travel with great herds of plundered cattle, and they send their cohorts ahead to slaughter all in their path.'
'Who is their king?'
'They have no king, but a queen. Her name is Manatasee. I have never seen her, but they say she is crueller and more warlike than any of her warriors.' He looked fearfully to the horizon. 'I must take my people on to escape her. Her warriors cannot be far behind us now. Perhaps if we cross the river they may not follow us.'
They left Tegwane and his women working over the fires to smoke the rest of the meat, and rode back to the wagons. That night, as they ate their dinner by the glow of the campfire under a canopy of glittering stars, they discussed the predicament of the little tribe of refugees. Louisa proposed to return next morning with their meagre chest of medicines, and bags of flour and salt.
'If you give them all we have, what will happen to us?' Jim asked reasonably.
'Just for the children?' she tried again, although she knew he was right and it was a forlorn hope that he might agree.
'Child or grown, we cannot take an entire tribe under our wing. We have provided them with food sufficient to see them to the river and beyond. This is a cruel land. Like us, they have to fend for themselves or perish.'
She did not come to his wagon that night, and he missed her. Although they were still as chaste as brother and sister, he had become accustomed to her presence in the night. When he woke she was already working at the campfire. During this hiatus on the river bank, their hens had been allowed out of their coop on the back of the wagon to forage. In gratitude they had produced half a dozen eggs. Louisa made an omelette for his breakfast, and served it without a smile, making her disapproval obvious.
'I had a dream last night,' she told him.
He suppressed a sigh. He was learning to make room in his life for her dreams. Tell me.'
'I dreamed that something terrible happened to our friends, the Bakwato.'
'You do not yield without a fight, do you?' he asked. She only smiled at him once they were riding back towards where they had left the small group of fugitives. During the ride he tried to think of other good reasons to dissuade her from taking on the role of benefactor and protector of the seventy starvelings, but he bided his time before he returned to the contest of wills.
The drifting smoke from the fires on which the meat was curing guided them the last league. As they crested the rise they reined in with surprise. Tegwane's encampment was not as they had last seen it. Dust mingled with the smoke of the fires to veil the scene, but many tiny figures were scurrying in and out of the low cloud. Jim pulled his telescope out of its case. After one glance through the lens he exclaimed, 'Sweet Jesus, the Nguni have found them already!'
'I knew it!' Louisa cried. 'I told you something terrible had happened, didn't I?'
She spurred forward and he had to ride hard to catch her. He grabbed Trueheart's rein and brought them to a halt. 'Wait! We must have a care. We don't know what we are riding into.'
'They are killing our friends!'
'The old man and his tribe are probably dead already and we do not want to join them.' Quickly he explained to Bakkat and Zama what he planned.
Fortunately the wagons were not far behind them. He gave orders to Zama to ride back and warn Smallboy and his men to stand on guard,
and to bring all the oxen, spare horses and other animals into the centre of the laager.
'When they have secured the camp bring Smallboy and two of the other drivers back here, fast as you like! Bring two muskets for each man. Fill the bullet bags with goose-shot, and bring extra powder flasks.'
The smooth bores were quicker to reload than the rifles. A handful of goose-shot fired at close range would spread widely and might bring down more than one enemy with each discharge.
Although Louisa fretted and argued to go immediately to the rescue of the little band of refugees, he made her wait until Zama brought up the reinforcements of men and weapons. 'They will be here within the hour,' he assured her.
'By then the Bakwato will all be wiped out.'
She wanted to take the telescope from his hand, but he would not give it to her. 'It's better that you do not watch this.'
Through the lens he could see the sparkle of steel blades in the sunlight, waving war-shields and dancing feathered headdresses. Even his flesh crawled with horror as he saw a naked Bakwato woman run out of the dust clouds clutching an infant to her breast. She was
