CHAPTER XIV
THE LAST STAND OF THE GREYS
In a few more minutes the regiments destined to carry out the flankingmovements had tramped off in silence, keeping carefully to the lee ofthe rising ground in order to conceal their advance from the keen eyesof Twala's scouts.
Half an hour or more was allowed to elapse between the setting out ofthe horns or wings of the army before any stir was made by the Greysand their supporting regiment, known as the Buffaloes, which formed itschest, and were destined to bear the brunt of the battle.
Both of these regiments were almost perfectly fresh, and of fullstrength, the Greys having been in reserve in the morning, and havinglost but a small number of men in sweeping back that part of the attackwhich had proved successful in breaking the line of defence, on theoccasion when I charged with them and was stunned for my pains. As forthe Buffaloes, they had formed the third line of defence on the left,and since the attacking force at that point had not succeeded inbreaking through the second, they had scarcely come into action at all.
Infadoos, who was a wary old general, and knew the absolute importanceof keeping up the spirits of his men on the eve of such a desperateencounter, employed the pause in addressing his own regiment, theGreys, in poetical language: explaining to them the honour that theywere receiving in being put thus in the forefront of the battle, and inhaving the great white warrior from the Stars to fight with them intheir ranks; and promising large rewards of cattle and promotion to allwho survived in the event of Ignosi's arms being successful.
I looked down the long lines of waving black plumes and stern facesbeneath them, and sighed to think that within one short hour most, ifnot all, of those magnificent veteran warriors, not a man of whom wasunder forty years of age, would be laid dead or dying in the dust. Itcould not be otherwise; they were being condemned, with that wiserecklessness of human life which marks the great general, and oftensaves his forces and attains his ends, to certain slaughter, in orderto give their cause and the remainder of the army a chance of success.They were foredoomed to die, and they knew the truth. It was to betheir task to engage regiment after regiment of Twala's army on thenarrow strip of green beneath us, till they were exterminated or tillthe wings found a favourable opportunity for their onslaught. And yetthey never hesitated, nor could I detect a sign of fear upon the faceof a single warrior. There they were--going to certain death, about toquit the blessed light of day for ever, and yet able to contemplatetheir doom without a tremor. Even at that moment I could not helpcontrasting their state of mind with my own, which was far fromcomfortable, and breathing a sigh of envy and admiration. Never beforehad I seen such an absolute devotion to the idea of duty, and such acomplete indifference to its bitter fruits.
"Behold your king!" ended old Infadoos, pointing to Ignosi; "go fightand fall for him, as is the duty of brave men, and cursed and shamefulfor ever be the name of him who shrinks from death for his king, or whoturns his back to the foe. Behold your king, chiefs, captains, andsoldiers! Now do your homage to the sacred Snake, and then follow on,that Incubu and I may show you a road to the heart of Twala's host."
There was a moment's pause, then suddenly a murmur arose from theserried phalanxes before us, a sound like the distant whisper of thesea, caused by the gentle tapping of the handles of six thousand spearsagainst their holders' shields. Slowly it swelled, till its growingvolume deepened and widened into a roar of rolling noise, that echoedlike thunder against the mountains, and filled the air with heavy wavesof sound. Then it decreased, and by faint degrees died away intonothing, and suddenly out crashed the royal salute.
Ignosi, I thought to myself, might well be a proud man that day, for noRoman emperor ever had such a salutation from gladiators "about to die."
Ignosi acknowledged this magnificent act of homage by lifting hisbattle-axe, and then the Greys filed off in a triple-line formation,each line containing about one thousand fighting men, exclusive ofofficers. When the last companies had advanced some five hundred yards,Ignosi put himself at the head of the Buffaloes, which regiment wasdrawn up in a similar three-fold formation, and gave the word to march,and off we went, I, needless to say, uttering the most heartfeltprayers that I might emerge from that entertainment with a whole skin.Many a queer position have I found myself in, but never before in onequite so unpleasant as the present, or one in which my chance of comingoff safe was smaller.
By the time that we reached the edge of the plateau the Greys werealready half-way down the slope ending in the tongue of grass land thatran up into the bend of the mountain, something as the frog of ahorse's foot runs up into the shoe. The excitement in Twala's camp onthe plain beyond was very great, and regiment after regiment wasstarting forward at a long swinging trot in order to reach the root ofthe tongue of land before the attacking force could emerge into theplain of Loo.
This tongue, which was some four hundred yards in depth, even at itsroot or widest part was not more than six hundred and fifty pacesacross, while at its tip it scarcely measured ninety. The Greys, who,in passing down the side of the hill and on to the tip of the tongue,had formed into a column, on reaching the spot where it broadened outagain, reassumed their triple-line formation, and halted dead.
Then we--that is, the Buffaloes--moved down the tip of the tongue andtook our stand in reserve, about one hundred yards behind the last lineof the Greys, and on slightly higher ground. Meanwhile we had leisureto observe Twala's entire force, which evidently had been reinforcedsince the morning attack, and could not now, notwithstanding theirlosses, number less than forty thousand, moving swiftly up towards us.But as they drew near the root of the tongue they hesitated, havingdiscovered that only one regiment could advance into the gorge at atime, and that there, some seventy yards from the mouth of it,unassailable except in front, on account of the high walls ofboulder-strewn ground on each side, stood the famous regiment of Greys,the pride and glory of the Kukuana army, ready to hold the way againsttheir power as the three Romans once held the bridge against thousands.
They hesitated, and finally stopped their advance; there was noeagerness to cross spears with these three grim ranks of warriors whostood so firm and ready. Presently, however, a tall general, wearingthe customary head-dress of nodding ostrich plumes, appeared, attendedby a group of chiefs and orderlies, being, I thought, none other thanTwala himself. He gave an order, and the first regiment, raising ashout, charged up towards the Greys, who remained perfectly still andsilent till the attacking troops were within forty yards, and a volleyof _tollas_, or throwing-knives, came rattling among their ranks.
Then suddenly with a bound and a roar, they sprang forward withuplifted spears, and the regiment met in deadly strife. Next second theroll of the meeting shields came to our ears like the sound of thunder,and the plain seemed to be alive with flashes of light reflected fromthe shimmering spears. To and fro swung the surging mass of struggling,stabbing humanity, but not for long. Suddenly the attacking lines beganto grow thinner, and then with a slow, long heave the Greys passed overthem, just as a great wave heaves up its bulk and passes over a sunkenridge. It was done; that regiment was completely destroyed, but theGreys had but two lines left now; a third of their number were dead.
Closing up shoulder to shoulder, once more they halted in silence andawaited attack; and I was rejoiced to catch sight of Sir Henry's yellowbeard as he moved to and fro arranging the ranks. So he was yet alive!
Meanwhile we moved on to the ground of the encounter, which wascumbered by about four thousand prostrate human beings, dead, dying,and wounded, and literally stained red with blood. Ignosi issued anorder, which was rapidly passed down the ranks, to the effect that noneof the enemy's wounded were to be killed, and so far as we could seethis command was scrupulously carried out. It would have been ashocking sight, if we had found time to think of such things.
But now a second regiment, distinguished by white plumes, kilts, andshields, was moving to the attack of the two thousand remaining Greys,who stood wa
iting in the same ominous silence as before, till the foewas within forty yards or so, when they hurled themselves withirresistible force upon them. Again there came the awful roll of themeeting shields, and as we watched the tragedy repeated itself.
But this time the issue was left longer in doubt; indeed, it seemed forawhile almost impossible that the Greys should again prevail. Theattacking regiment, which was formed of young men, fought with theutmost fury, and at first seemed by sheer weight to be driving theveterans back. The slaughter was truly awful, hundreds falling everyminute; and from among the shouts of the warriors and the groans of thedying, set to the music of clashing spears, came a continuous hissingundertone of "_S'gee, s'gee_," the note of triumph of each victor as hepassed his assegai through and through the body of his fallen foe.
But perfect discipline and steady and unchanging valour can do wonders,and one veteran soldier is worth two young ones, as soon becameapparent in the present case. For just when we thought that it was allover with the Greys, and were preparing to take their place so soon asthey made room by being destroyed, I heard Sir Henry's deep voiceringing out through the din, and caught a glimpse of his circlingbattle-axe as he waved it high above his plumes. Then came a change;the Greys ceased to give; they stood still as a rock, against which thefurious waves of spearmen broke again and again, only to recoil.Presently they began to move once more--forward this time; as they hadno firearms there was no smoke, so we could see it all. Another minuteand the onslaught grew fainter.
"Ah, these are _men_, indeed; they will conquer again," called outIgnosi, who was grinding his teeth with excitement at my side. "See, itis done!"
Suddenly, like puffs of smoke from the mouth of a cannon, the attackingregiment broke away in flying groups, their white head-dressesstreaming behind them in the wind, and left their opponents victors,indeed, but, alas! no more a regiment. Of the gallant triple line,which forty minutes before had gone into action three thousand strong,there remained at most some six hundred blood-spattered men; the restwere under foot. And yet they cheered and waved their spears intriumph, and then, instead of falling back upon us as we expected, theyran forward, for a hundred yards or so, after the flying groups offoemen, took possession of a rising knoll of ground, and, resumingtheir triple formation, formed a threefold ring around its base. Andthere, thanks be to Heaven, standing on the top of the mound for aminute, I saw Sir Henry, apparently unharmed, and with him our oldfriend Infadoos. Then Twala's regiments rolled down upon the doomedband, and once more the battle closed in.
As those who read this history will probably long ago have gathered, Iam, to be honest, a bit of a coward, and certainly in no way given tofighting, though somehow it has often been my lot to get intounpleasant positions, and to be obliged to shed man's blood. But I havealways hated it, and kept my own blood as undiminished in quantity aspossible, sometimes by a judicious use of my heels. At this moment,however, for the first time in my life, I felt my bosom burn withmartial ardour. Warlike fragments from the "Ingoldsby Legends,"together with numbers of sanguinary verses in the Old Testament, sprangup in my brain like mushrooms in the dark; my blood, which hitherto hadbeen half-frozen with horror, went beating through my veins, and therecame upon me a savage desire to kill and spare not. I glanced round atthe serried ranks of warriors behind us, and somehow, all in aninstant, I began to wonder if my face looked like theirs. There theystood, the hands twitching, the lips apart, the fierce featuresinstinct with the hungry lust of battle, and in the eyes a look likethe glare of a bloodhound when after long pursuit he sights his quarry.
Only Ignosi's heart, to judge from his comparative self-possession,seemed, to all appearances, to beat as calmly as ever beneath hisleopard-skin cloak, though even _he_ still ground his teeth. I couldbear it no longer.
"Are we to stand here till we put out roots, Umbopa--Ignosi, Imean--while Twala swallows our brothers yonder?" I asked.
"Nay, Macumazahn," was the answer; "see, now is the ripe moment: let uspluck it."
As he spoke a fresh regiment rushed past the ring upon the littlemound, and wheeling round, attacked it from the hither side.
Then, lifting his battle-axe, Ignosi gave the signal to advance, and,screaming the wild Kukuana war-cry, the Buffaloes charged home with arush like the rush of the sea.
What followed immediately on this it is out of my power to tell. All Ican remember is an irregular yet ordered advance, that seemed to shakethe ground; a sudden change of front and forming up on the part of theregiment against which the charge was directed; then an awful shock, adull roar of voices, and a continuous flashing of spears, seen througha red mist of blood.
When my mind cleared I found myself standing inside the remnant of theGreys near the top of the mound, and just behind no less a person thanSir Henry himself. How I got there I had at the moment no idea, but SirHenry afterwards told me that I was borne up by the first furiouscharge of the Buffaloes almost to his feet, and then left, as they inturn were pressed back. Thereon he dashed out of the circle and draggedme into shelter.
As for the fight that followed, who can describe it? Again and againthe multitudes surged against our momentarily lessening circle, andagain and again we beat them back.
"The stubborn spearmen still made good The dark impenetrable wood, Each stepping where his comrade stood The instant that he fell,"
as someone or other beautifully says.
It was a splendid thing to see those brave battalions come on timeafter time over the barriers of their dead, sometimes lifting corpsesbefore them to receive our spear-thrusts, only to leave their owncorpses to swell the rising piles. It was a gallant sight to see thatold warrior, Infadoos, as cool as though he were on parade, shoutingout orders, taunts, and even jests, to keep up the spirit of his fewremaining men, and then, as each charge rolled on, stepping forward towherever the fighting was thickest, to bear his share in its repulse.And yet more gallant was the vision of Sir Henry, whose ostrich plumeshad been shorn off by a spear thrust, so that his long yellow hairstreamed out in the breeze behind him. There he stood, the great Dane,for he was nothing else, his hands, his axe, and his armour all redwith blood, and none could live before his stroke. Time after time Isaw it sweeping down, as some great warrior ventured to give himbattle, and as he struck he shouted "_O-hoy! O-hoy!_" like hisBerserkir forefathers, and the blow went crashing through shield andspear, through head-dress, hair, and skull, till at last none would oftheir own will come near the great white "_umtagati_," the wizard, whokilled and failed not.
But suddenly there rose a cry of "_Twala, y' Twala_," and out of thepress sprang forward none other than the gigantic one-eyed kinghimself, also armed with battle-axe and shield, and clad in chainarmour.
"Where art thou, Incubu, thou white man, who slewest Scragga myson--see if thou canst slay me!" he shouted, and at the same timehurled a _tolla_ straight at Sir Henry, who fortunately saw it coming,and caught it on his shield, which it transfixed, remaining wedged inthe iron plate behind the hide.
Then, with a cry, Twala sprang forward straight at him, and with hisbattle-axe struck him such a blow upon the shield that the mere forceand shock of it brought Sir Henry, strong man as he is, down upon hisknees.
But at this time the matter went no further, for that instant thererose from the regiments pressing round us something like a shout ofdismay, and on looking up I saw the cause.
To the right and to the left the plain was alive with the plumes ofcharging warriors. The outflanking squadrons had come to our relief.The time could not have been better chosen. All Twala's army, as Ignosipredicted would be the case, had fixed their attention on the bloodystruggle which was raging round the remnant of the Greys and that ofthe Buffaloes, who were now carrying on a battle of their own at alittle distance, which two regiments had formed the chest of our army.It was not until our horns were about to close upon them that they haddreamed of their approach, for they believed these forces to be hiddenin reserve upon the crest of the moon-shaped hill. And now,
before theycould even assume a proper formation for defence, the outflanking_Impis_ had leapt, like greyhounds, on their flanks.
In five minutes the fate of the battle was decided. Taken on bothflanks, and dismayed at the awful slaughter inflicted upon them by theGreys and Buffaloes, Twala's regiments broke into flight, and soon thewhole plain between us and Loo was scattered with groups of runningsoldiers making good their retreat. As for the hosts that had sorecently surrounded us and the Buffaloes, they melted away as though bymagic, and presently we were left standing there like a rock from whichthe sea has retreated. But what a sight it was! Around us the dead anddying lay in heaped-up masses, and of the gallant Greys there remainedbut ninety-five men upon their feet. More than three thousand fourhundred had fallen in this one regiment, most of them never to riseagain.
"Men," said Infadoos calmly, as between the intervals of binding awound on his arm he surveyed what remained to him of his corps, "yehave kept up the reputation of your regiment, and this day's fightingwill be well spoken of by your children's children." Then he turnedround and shook Sir Henry Curtis by the hand. "Thou art a greatcaptain, Incubu," he said simply; "I have lived a long life amongwarriors, and have known many a brave one, yet have I never seen a manlike unto thee."
At this moment the Buffaloes began to march past our position on theroad to Loo, and as they went a message was brought to us from Ignosirequesting Infadoos, Sir Henry, and myself to join them. Accordingly,orders having been issued to the remaining ninety men of the Greys toemploy themselves in collecting the wounded, we joined Ignosi, whoinformed us that he was pressing on to Loo to complete the victory bycapturing Twala, if that should be possible. Before we had gone far,suddenly we discovered the figure of Good sitting on an ant-heap aboutone hundred paces from us. Close beside him was the body of a Kukuana.
"He must be wounded," said Sir Henry anxiously. As he made the remark,an untoward thing happened. The dead body of the Kukuana soldier, orrather what had appeared to be his dead body, suddenly sprang up,knocked Good head over heels off the ant-heap, and began to spear him.We rushed forward in terror, and as we drew near we saw the brawnywarrior making dig after dig at the prostrate Good, who at each prodjerked all his limbs into the air. Seeing us coming, the Kukuana gaveone final and most vicious dig, and with a shout of "Take that,wizard!" bolted away. Good did not move, and we concluded that our poorcomrade was done for. Sadly we came towards him, and were astonished tofind him pale and faint indeed, but with a serene smile upon his face,and his eyeglass still fixed in his eye.
"Capital armour this," he murmured, on catching sight of our facesbending over him. "How sold that beggar must have been," and then hefainted. On examination we discovered that he had been seriouslywounded in the leg by a _tolla_ in the course of the pursuit, but thatthe chain armour had prevented his last assailant's spear from doinganything more than bruise him badly. It was a merciful escape. Asnothing could be done for him at the moment, he was placed on one ofthe wicker shields used for the wounded, and carried along with us.
On arriving before the nearest gate of Loo we found one of ourregiments watching it in obedience to orders received from Ignosi. Theother regiments were in the same way guarding the different exits tothe town. The officer in command of this regiment saluted Ignosi asking, and informed him that Twala's army had taken refuge in the town,whither Twala himself had also escaped, but he thought that they werethoroughly demoralised, and would surrender. Thereupon Ignosi, aftertaking counsel with us, sent forward heralds to each gate ordering thedefenders to open, and promising on his royal word life and forgivenessto every soldier who laid down his arms, but saying that if they didnot do so before nightfall he would certainly burn the town and allwithin its gates. This message was not without its effect. Half an hourlater, amid the shouts and cheers of the Buffaloes, the bridge wasdropped across the fosse, and the gates upon the further side wereflung open.
Taking due precautions against treachery, we marched on into the town.All along the roadways stood thousands of dejected warriors, theirheads drooping, and their shields and spears at their feet, who, headedby their officers, saluted Ignosi as king as he passed. On we marched,straight to Twala's kraal. When we reached the great space, where a dayor two previously we had seen the review and the witch hunt, we foundit deserted. No, not quite deserted, for there, on the further side, infront of his hut, sat Twala himself, with but one attendant--Gagool.
It was a melancholy sight to see him seated, his battle-axe and shieldby his side, his chin upon his mailed breast, with but one old cronefor companion, and notwithstanding his crimes and misdeeds, a pang ofcompassion shot through me as I looked upon Twala thus "fallen from hishigh estate." Not a soldier of all his armies, not a courtier out ofthe hundreds who had cringed round him, not even a solitary wife,remained to share his fate or halve the bitterness of his fall. Poorsavage! he was learning the lesson which Fate teaches to most of us wholive long enough, that the eyes of mankind are blind to thediscredited, and that he who is defenceless and fallen finds fewfriends and little mercy. Nor, indeed, in this case did he deserve any.
Filing through the kraal gate, we marched across the open space towhere the ex-king sat. When within about fifty yards of him theregiment was halted, and accompanied only by a small guard we advancedtowards him, Gagool reviling us bitterly as we came. As we drew near,Twala, for the first time, lifted his plumed head, and fixed his oneeye, which seemed to flash with suppressed fury almost as brightly asthe great diamond bound round his forehead, upon his successfulrival--Ignosi.
"Hail, O king!" he said, with bitter mockery; "thou who hast eaten ofmy bread, and now by the aid of the white man's magic hast seduced myregiments and defeated mine army, hail! What fate hast thou in storefor me, O king?"
"The fate thou gavest to my father, whose throne thou hast sat on thesemany years!" was the stern answer.
"It is good. I will show thee how to die, that thou mayest remember itagainst thine own time. See, the sun sinks in blood," and he pointedwith his battle-axe towards the setting orb; "it is well that my sunshould go down in its company. And now, O king! I am ready to die, butI crave the boon of the Kukuana royal House[1] to die fighting. Thoucanst not refuse it, or even those cowards who fled to-day will hold theeshamed."
"It is granted. Choose--with whom wilt thou fight? Myself I cannotfight with thee, for the king fights not except in war."
Twala's sombre eye ran up and down our ranks, and I felt, as for amoment it rested on myself, that the position had developed a newhorror. What if he chose to begin by fighting _me_? What chance shouldI have against a desperate savage six feet five high, and broad inproportion? I might as well commit suicide at once. Hastily I made upmy mind to decline the combat, even if I were hooted out of Kukuanalandas a consequence. It is, I think, better to be hooted than to bequartered with a battle-axe.
Presently Twala spoke.
"Incubu, what sayest thou, shall we end what we began to-day, or shallI call thee coward, white--even to the liver?"
"Nay," interposed Ignosi hastily; "thou shalt not fight with Incubu."
"Not if he is afraid," said Twala.
Unfortunately Sir Henry understood this remark, and the blood flamed upinto his cheeks.
"I will fight him," he said; "he shall see if I am afraid."
"For Heaven's sake," I entreated, "don't risk your life against that ofa desperate man. Anybody who saw you to-day will know that you arebrave enough."
"I will fight him," was the sullen answer. "No living man shall call mea coward. I am ready now!" and he stepped forward and lifted his axe.
I wrung my hands over this absurd piece of Quixotism; but if he wasdetermined on this deed, of course I could not stop him.
"Fight not, my white brother," said Ignosi, laying his handaffectionately on Sir Henry's arm; "thou hast fought enough, and ifaught befell thee at his hands it would cut my heart in twain."
"I will fight, Ignosi," was Sir Henry's answer.
"It is wel
l, Incubu; thou art a brave man. It will be a good fray.Behold, Twala, the Elephant is ready for thee."
The ex-king laughed savagely, and stepping forward faced Curtis. For amoment they stood thus, and the light of the sinking sun caught theirstalwart frames and clothed them both in fire. They were a well-matchedpair.
Then they began to circle round each other, their battle-axes raised.
Suddenly Sir Henry sprang forward and struck a fearful blow at Twala,who stepped to one side. So heavy was the stroke that the striker halfoverbalanced himself, a circumstance of which his antagonist took aprompt advantage. Circling his massive battle-axe round his head, hebrought it down with tremendous force. My heart jumped into my mouth; Ithought that the affair was already finished. But no; with a quickupward movement of the left arm Sir Henry interposed his shield betweenhimself and the axe, with the result that its outer edge was shornaway, the axe falling on his left shoulder, but not heavily enough todo any serious damage. In another moment Sir Henry got in a secondblow, which was also received by Twala upon his shield.
Then followed blow upon blow, that were, in turn, either received uponthe shields or avoided. The excitement grew intense; the regiment whichwas watching the encounter forgot its discipline, and, drawing near,shouted and groaned at every stroke. Just at this time, too, Good, whohad been laid upon the ground by me, recovered from his faint, and,sitting up, perceived what was going on. In an instant he was up, andcatching hold of my arm, hopped about from place to place on one leg,dragging me after him, and yelling encouragements to Sir Henry--
"Go it, old fellow!" he hallooed. "That was a good one! Give it himamidships," and so on.
Presently Sir Henry, having caught a fresh stroke upon his shield, hitout with all his force. The blow cut through Twala's shield and throughthe tough chain armour behind it, gashing him in the shoulder. With ayell of pain and fury Twala returned the blow with interest, and, suchwas his strength, shore right through the rhinoceros' horn handle ofhis antagonists battle-axe, strengthened as it was with bands of steel,wounding Curtis in the face.
A cry of dismay rose from the Buffaloes as our hero's broad axe-headfell to the ground; and Twala, again raising his weapon, flew at himwith a shout. I shut my eyes. When I opened them again it was to seeSir Henry's shield lying on the ground, and Sir Henry himself with hisgreat arms twined round Twala's middle. To and fro they swung, huggingeach other like bears, straining with all their mighty muscles for dearlife, and dearer honour. With a supreme effort Twala swung theEnglishman clean off his feet, and down they came together, rollingover and over on the lime paving, Twala striking out at Curtis' headwith the battle-axe, and Sir Henry trying to drive the _tolla_ he haddrawn from his belt through Twala's armour.
It was a mighty struggle, and an awful thing to see.
"Get his axe!" yelled Good; and perhaps our champion heard him.
At any rate, dropping the _tolla_, he snatched at the axe, which wasfastened to Twala's wrist by a strip of buffalo hide, and still rollingover and over, they fought for it like wild cats, drawing their breathin heavy gasps. Suddenly the hide string burst, and then, with a greateffort, Sir Henry freed himself, the weapon remaining in his hand.Another second and he was upon his feet, the red blood streaming fromthe wound in his face, and so was Twala. Drawing the heavy _tolla_ fromhis belt, he reeled straight at Curtis and struck him in the breast.The stab came home true and strong, but whoever it was who made thatchain armour, he understood his art, for it withstood the steel. AgainTwala struck out with a savage yell, and again the sharp kniferebounded, and Sir Henry went staggering back. Once more Twala came on,and as he came our great Englishman gathered himself together, andswinging the big axe round his head with both hands, hit at him withall his force.
There was a shriek of excitement from a thousand throats, and, behold!Twala's head seemed to spring from his shoulders: then it fell and camerolling and bounding along the ground towards Ignosi, stopping just athis feet. For a second the corpse stood upright; then with a dull crashit came to the earth, and the gold torque from its neck rolled awayacross the pavement. As it did so Sir Henry, overpowered by faintnessand loss of blood, fell heavily across the body of the dead king.
In a second he was lifted up, and eager hands were pouring water on hisface. Another minute, and the grey eyes opened wide.
He was not dead.
Then I, just as the sun sank, stepping to where Twala's head lay in thedust, unloosed the diamond from the dead brows, and handed it to Ignosi.
"Take it," I said, "lawful king of the Kukuanas--king by birth andvictory."
Ignosi bound the diadem upon his brows. Then advancing, he placed hisfoot upon the broad chest of his headless foe and broke out into achant, or rather a paean of triumph, so beautiful, and yet so utterlysavage, that I despair of being able to give an adequate version of hiswords. Once I heard a scholar with a fine voice read aloud from theGreek poet Homer, and I remember that the sound of the rolling linesseemed to make my blood stand still. Ignosi's chant, uttered as it wasin a language as beautiful and sonorous as the old Greek, producedexactly the same effect on me, although I was exhausted with toil andmany emotions.
"Now," he began, "now our rebellion is swallowed up in victory, and ourevil-doing is justified by strength.
"In the morning the oppressors arose and stretched themselves; theybound on their harness and made them ready to war.
"They rose up and tossed their spears: the soldiers called to thecaptains, 'Come, lead us'--and the captains cried to the king, 'Directthou the battle.'
"They laughed in their pride, twenty thousand men, and yet a twentythousand.
"Their plumes covered the valleys as the plumes of a bird cover hernest; they shook their shields and shouted, yea, they shook theirshields in the sunlight; they lusted for battle and were glad.
"They came up against me; their strong ones ran swiftly to slay me;they cried, 'Ha! ha! he is as one already dead.'