the problem,' Jim remarked as he and Louisa made the final inspection of the laager's defences before turning in for the night.
Although it seemed apparent that the Nguni imp is had been shattered and would not return, Jim was taking no chances. He set his sentries at nightfall and the next morning they stood to their guns in the dawn.
Sweet heavens!' Jim exclaimed, as the light strengthened. They have
returned!' He seized Louisa's arm and pointed out to her the rows of shadowy figures squatting just out of musket shot beyond the barricades of the laager.
'Who are they?' she whispered, though in her heart she knew the answer well.
'Who else but the Nguni?' he told her grimly.
'I had thought it was over, the killing and the fighting. God grant that it was enough.'
'We shall soon find out,' he said, and called for Tegwane. 'Hail them!' he ordered the old man. 'Tell them that I will send our lightning down upon them as I did to Manatasee.'
Tegwane climbed shakily on to the side of the wagon, and called across the open grassland. A voice answered him from among the gathered Nguni, and a long shouted exchange followed.
'What do they want?' Jim demanded impatiently. 'Do they not know that their queen is dead and their imp is shattered?'
'They know it well,' Tegwane said. 'They have seen her head carried upon the assegai as they fled the battlefield, and her fiery spirit passing in the night sky as she travelled to meet her forefathers.'
'Then what is it they want?'
'They want to speak with the wizard who struck down their queen with his lightning.'
'A parley,' Jim explained to Louisa. 'It seems that these are some of the survivors of the battle.'
'Talk to them, Jim,' she urged. 'Perhaps you can prevent any more bloodshed. Anything is better than that.'
Jim turned back to Tegwane. 'Tell their and una their leader, that he must come into the laager alone and unarmed. I will not harm him.'
He came dressed in a simple kilt of leather strips, without headdress or weapons. He was a fine-looking man in his middle years, with the body and limbs of a warrior and a handsome moon face the chocolate colour of freshly hewn mabanga wood. As soon as he entered the laager he recognized Jim. He must have seen him upon the battlefield. He went down on one knee, an attitude of respect, clapping his hands and chanting praises: 'Mightiest of warriors! Invincible wizard who comes out of the great waters! Devourer of imp is Slayer of Manatasee! Greater than all of her fathers!'
'Tell him that I see him, and that he may approach me,' Jim ordered. He realized the significance and importance of this delegation, and assumed a dignified manner and haughty expression. The and una went down on all fours and crawled towards him. He took Jim's right foot and
maced it on his own bowed head. Jim was taken by surprise and almost lost his balance, but he recovered swiftly.
'Great white bull elephant,' the md una chanted, 'young in years but mighty in power and wisdom, grant me mercy.'
From his father and his uncle Jim had learned enough of African protocol to know how to conduct himself. 'Your worthless life is mine,' he said. 'Mine to take or spare. Why should I not send you on the same road through the sky as the one on which I sent Manatasee?'
'I am a child without a father or mother. I am an orphan. You have taken my children from me.'
'What is he talking about?' Jim demanded angrily of Tegwane. 'We killed no children.'
The and una heard his tone and realized he had given offence. He pressed his face into the dirt. When he answered Tegwane's questions his voice was hoarse with dust. Jim used the opportunity to remove his foot from the and una head: standing on one leg was uncomfortable and undignified.
At last Tegwane turned back to Jim. 'He was Manatasee's keeper of the royal herds. He calls the cattle his children. He begs you either to kill him, or to allow him the honour of becoming your keeper of the herds.'
Jim stared at the man in astonishment. 'He wants to work for me as my chief herdsman?'
'He says he has lived with the herds since he was a child. He knows each animal by name, which bull covered their dams. He knows each one's age and temper. He knows the remedy and the treatment for every disease to which the herds are prone. With his own assegai he has killed five lions who were attacking the animals. What is more...' Tegwane paused to draw breath.
'Enough.' Jim stopped him hastily. 'I believe what he says, but what of these others?' He pointed at the other files of squatting figures outside the laager. 'Who are they?'
'They are his herders. Like him they have been dedicated to the care of the royal cattle since childhood. Without the herds their lives are without purpose.'
They, too, are offering themselves?' Jim was having difficulty grasping the extent of his good fortune.
Every one of them wishes to become your man.'
What do they expect from me ?'
They expect you to kill them if they err or fail in their duties,' egwane assured him. 'Manatasee would have done so.'
That is not exactly what I meant,' Jim said in English, and Tegwane looked baffled. He went on quickly: 'What do they expect in return for their work?'
'The sunshine of your pleasure,' said Tegwane. 'As I do.'
Jim pulled his ear thoughtfully, and the and una rolled his head to watch his face, worried that their request would be denied and that the white wizard would strike him down as he had the queen. Jim was considering the expense of adding the and una and fifty or sixty of his comrades to the strength of his already numerous crew. However, there seemed to be no additional cost that he could fathom. From what Tegwane had told him he knew these herders would live on the blood and milk of the herds, and the venison that fell to his gun. He was sure he could expect a most extraordinary level of loyalty and dedication in return. These were skilled cattlemen and fearless spearmen. He would find himself at the head of his own tribe of warriors. With the Hottentot musketeers and the Nguni spearmen he need fear nothing in this wild and savage land. He would be a king. 'What is this man's name?' he asked Tegwane.
'He is called Inkunzi, for he is the bull of all the royal herds.'
'Tell Inkunzi that I look with favour on his request. He and his men are now my men. Their lives are in my hands.'
'BayeteV Inkunzi shouted with joy when he heard this. 'You are my master and my sun.' Once again he placed Jim's right foot upon his head, and his men seeing this, knew they had been accepted.
They rose to their feet, drummed on their shields with their assegais, and shouted together, -Bayetel We are your men! You are our sun!'
'Tell them that the sun can warm a man, but it can also burn him to death,' Jim warned them solemnly. Then he turned to Louisa and explained to her what had just taken place.
Louisa looked upon this fearsome band of warriors, and remembered how, only days before, they had come singing to the laager. 'Can you trust them, Jim? Should you not disarm them?'
'I know the traditions of these people. Once they have sworn their allegiance I will trust them with my life.'
'And mine,' she pointed out softly.
The next day Jim made an observation of the noon passage of the sun, and plotted their position on his father's chart. 'According to my reckoning we are only a few degrees south of the latitude of the Courtney trading post at Nativity Bay. By my calculations, it should be less than a thousand leagues to the east, three months' travel. It is possible that we might encounter one of our ships there, or at least find a message from my family under the mail stones.'
'Is that where we are going next, Jim?' Louisa asked. He looked up from the parchment of the chart and raised an eyebrow. 'Unless you have a better suggestion?'
'No.' She shook her head. 'That will suit me as well as any other.'
The following morning they broke camp. Inkunzi and his herders brought in the captured royal herds, and Jim watched with interest as they loaded the ivory. The rawhide harness they used was simple, but had obviously been perfected by the Nguni to fit over the heavy hump and be secured behind the front legs. The loads of ivory were counterbalanced to hang comfortably but securely on each side of the beast's back, allowing it freedom of movement. Inkunzi and his men matched the weight of each load to the size and strength of the animal that would carry it. The cattle seemed unaware of their burden as they moved along at the leisurely pace set by the herders, grazing contentedly as they spread out like a river in flood across the veld. By the time the entire herd was on the move they covered several leagues.
Jim took a compass bearing along the line of march, and pointed out to Inkunzi a landmark on the horizon to head for. Inkunzi himself stalked along at the head of his herds, wrapped in his leather cloak with his assegai and his black war shield slung on his back. He played on a reed flute as he went, a sweet but monotonous tune, and the cattle followed him like faithful hounds. The wagon train brought up the rear guard
