Go to Panda and confide my suspicions to him? He was far too anxious

and busy about great matters to listen to me, and if he did, would only

laugh at this tale of a petty flirtation. No, there was nothing to be

done except sit still and wait. Very possibly I was mistaken, after all,

and things would smooth themselves out, as they generally do.

Meanwhile the "reviewing," or whatever it may have been, was in

progress, and I was busy with my own affairs, making hay while the sun

shone. So great were the crowds of people who came up to Nodwengu that

in a week I had sold everything I had to sell in the two wagons, that

were mostly laden with cloth, beads, knives and so forth. Moreover, the

prices I got were splendid, since the buyers bid against each other, and

before I was cleared out I had collected quite a herd of cattle, also

a quantity of ivory. These I sent on to Natal with one of the wagons,

remaining behind myself with the other, partly because Panda asked me

to do so--for now and again he would seek my advice on sundry

questions--and partly from curiosity.

There was plenty to be curious about up at Nodwengu just then, since

no one was sure that civil war would not break out between the princes

Cetewayo and Umbelazi, whose factions were present in force.

It was averted for the time, however, by Umbelazi keeping away from the

great gathering under pretext of being sick, and leaving Saduko and some

others to watch his interests. Also the rival regiments were not allowed

to approach the town at the same time. So that public cloud passed over,

to the enormous relief of everyone, especially of Panda the King. As to

the private cloud whereof this history tells, it was otherwise.

As the tribes came up to the Great Place they were reviewed and sent

away, since it was impossible to feed so vast a multitude as would have

collected had they all remained. Thus the Amasomi, a small people who

were amongst the first to arrive, soon left. Only, for some reason which

I never quite understood, Masapo, Mameena and a few of Masapo's children

and headmen were detained there; though perhaps, if she had chosen,

Mameena could have given an explanation.

Well, things began to happen. Sundry personages were taken ill, and

some of them died suddenly; and soon it was noted that all these people

either lived near to where Masapo's family was lodged or had at some

time or other been on bad terms with him. Thus Saduko himself was taken

ill, or said he was; at any rate, he vanished from public gaze for three

days, and reappeared looking very sorry for himself, though I could not

observe that he had lost strength or weight. These catastrophes I pass

over, however, in order to come to the greatest of them, which is one of

the turning points of this chronicle.




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