Then I forgot these scenic accessories in the sight of the man himself.
There he sat on a stool in front of his hut, quite unattended, and
wearing only a cloak of leopard skins open in front, for he was
unadorned with the usual hideous trappings of a witch-doctor, such as
snake-skins, human bones, bladders full of unholy compounds, and so
forth.
What a man he was, if indeed he could be called quite human. His
stature, though stout, was only that of a child; his head was enormous,
and from it plaited white hair fell down on to his shoulders. His eyes
were deep and sunken, his face was broad and very stern. Except for this
snow-white hair, however, he did not look ancient, for his flesh was
firm and plump, and the skin on his cheeks and neck unwrinkled, which
suggested to me that the story of his great antiquity was false. A man
who was over a hundred years old, for instance, surely could not boast
such a beautiful set of teeth, for even at that distance I could see
them gleaming. On the other hand, evidently middle age was far behind
him; indeed, from his appearance it was quite impossible to guess even
approximately the number of his years. There he sat, red in the red
light, perfectly still, and staring without a blink of his eyes at the
furious ball of the setting sun, as an eagle is said to be able to do.
Saduko advanced, and I walked after him. My stature is not great, and
I have never considered myself an imposing person, but somehow I do not
think that I ever felt more insignificant than on this occasion. The
tall and splendid native beside, or rather behind whom I walked, the
gloomy magnificence of the place, the blood-red light in which it was
bathed, and the solemn, solitary, little figure with wisdom stamped upon
its face before me, all tended to induce humility in a man not naturally
vain. I felt myself growing smaller and smaller, both in a moral and a
physical sense; I wished that my curiosity had not prompted me to seek
an interview with yonder uncanny being.
Well, it was too late to retreat; indeed, Saduko was already standing
before the dwarf and lifting his right arm above his head as he gave him
the salute of "Makosi!"[*] whereon, feeling that something was expected
of me, I took off my shabby cloth hat and bowed, then, remembering my
white man's pride, replaced it on my head.
[*--"Makosi", the plural of "Inkoosi", is the salute given
to Zulu wizards, because they are not one but many, since in
them (as in the possessed demoniac in the Bible) dwell an
unnumbered horde of spirits.--EDITOR.] The wizard suddenly seemed to become aware of our presence, for, ceasing
his contemplation of the sinking sun, he scanned us both with his slow,
thoughtful eyes, which somehow reminded me of those of a chameleon,
although they were not prominent, but, as I have said, sunken.