CHAPTER XII
WHAT THE COW SHOWED ZINTI
Twelve days passed, and one morning when I went out to feed thechickens, I saw the red Kaffir with the scar on his face seated beyondthe _stoep_ taking snuff.
"What is it?" I asked.
"A letter," he answered, giving me a paper.
I took it into the house, where the others were gathered for breakfast,and as before Ralph read it. It was to this effect:
"Well-beloved Heer Botmar,--I have received your honoured letter, and Ithink that the unchristian spirit which it shows cannot be pleasing toour Lord. Still, as I seek peace and not war, I take no offence, norshall I come near your place to provoke the shedding of the blood ofmen. I love your daughter, but if she rejects me for another, I havenothing more to say, except that I hope she may be happy in the life shehas chosen. For me, I am leaving this part of the country, and if you,Heer Botmar, like to buy my farm, I shall be happy to sell it to you ata fair price; or perhaps the Heer Kenzie will buy it to live on after heis married; if so, he can write to me by this messenger. Farewell."
Now, when they heard this letter, the others looked more happy; but formy part I shook my head, seeing guile in it, since the tone of it wastoo humble for Swart Piet. There was no answer to it, and the messengerwent away, but not, as I learned, before he had seen Sihamba. It seemsthat the medicine which she gave him had cured his child, for which hewas so grateful that he drove her down a cow in payment, a fine beast,but very wild, for handling was strange to it; moreover, it had beenbut just separated from its calf. Still, although she questioned himclosely, the man would tell Sihamba but little of the place where helived, and nothing of the road to it.
Here I will stop to show how great was the cunning of this woman, andyet how simple the means whereby she obtained the most of her knowledge.She desired to learn about this hiding-place, since she was sure that itwas one of the secret haunts of Swart-Piet, but when she asked him themessenger grew deaf and blind, and she could find no one else who knewanything of the matter. Still she was certain that the cow which hadbeen brought to her would show the way to its home, if there wereanybody to follow it thither and make report of the path.
Now when Sihamba had been robbed and sentenced to death by Swart Piet,the most of her servants and people who lived with her had been takenby him as slaves. Still two or three had escaped, either then orafterwards, and settled about in the neighbourhood of the farm wherethey knew that their mistress dwelt. From among these people, who stilldid her service, she chose a young man named Zinti, who, although hewas supposed to be stupid, was still very clever about many things,especially the remembering of any path that he had once trodden, and ofevery _kopje_, stream, or pan by which it could traced. This youth shebade to herd the cow which had been given her, telling him to follow itwhithersoever it should wander, even if it led him a ten days' journey,and when he saw that it had reached home, to return himself withoutbeing seen, and to give to her an exact report of the road which it hadtravelled.
Now all happened as Sihamba expected, for on the first day that the cowwas turned out, watched by the lad, who was provided with food and ablanket, so soon as it had filled itself it started straight over thehills, running at times, and at times stopping to graze, till night cameon. Then it lay down for a while and its herd beside it, for he hadtied his wrist to its tail with a rimpi lest it should escape in thedarkness.
At the first breaking of the light the cow rose, filled itself withgrass and started forward on its homeward path, followed by Zinti. Forthree days they travelled thus, the herd milking the cow from time totime when its udder was full. On the evening of the third day, however,the beast would not lie down, but walked forward all night, lowing nowand again, by which Zinti, who found it difficult to keep it in sightbecause of the darkness, guessed that it must be near its home. So itproved indeed, for when the sun rose Zinti saw a kraal before himhidden away in a secret valley of the mountains over which they had beentravelling. Still following the cow, though at a distance, he moveddown towards the kraal and hid himself in a patch of bush. Presently thecattle were let out to graze, and the cow rushed to them lowing loudly,till a certain calf came to it, which it made much of and suckled, forit was its own calf.
Now Zinti's errand was done, but still he lay hid in the bush a while,thinking that he might learn some more, and lying thus he fell asleep,for he was weary with travel. When he woke the sun was high, and heheard women talking to each other close by him, as they laboured attheir task of cutting wands, such as are used for the making of huts.He rose to run away, then thought better of it and sat down again,remembering that should he be found, it would be easy to tell them thathe was a wanderer who had lost his path. Presently one of the womenasked:
"For whom does Bull-Head build this fine new hut in the secret krantzyonder?"
Now Zinti opened his ears wide, for he knew that this was the name whichthe natives had given to Swart Piet, taking it from his round head andfierce eye, according to their custom when they note any peculiarity ina man.
"I do not know," answered a second woman, who was young and very pretty,"unless he means to bring another wife here; if so, she must be achief's daughter, since men do not build such huts for girls of commonblood."
"Perhaps," said the other; "but then I think that he has stolen her fromher father without payment; else he would not wish to hide her away inthe secret krantz. Well, let her come, for we women must work hard herewhere there are so few men, and many hoes clean a field quickly."
"For my part I think there are enough of us already," said the younggirl, looking troubled, for she was Swart Piet's last Kaffir wife, anddid not desire to be supplanted by a new favourite. "But be silent, Ihear Bull-Head coming on his horse," and she began to work very hard atcutting the wands.
A few minutes later Zinti saw Swart Piet himself ride up to the women,who saluted him, calling him "Chief" and "Husband."
"You are idle," he said, eyeing them angrily.
"These wands are tough to cut, husband," murmured the young woman inexcuse.
"Still you must cut them quicker, girl," he answered, "if you would notlearn how one of them feels upon your back. It will go hard with all ofyou if the big hut is not finished in seven days from now."
"We will do our best," said the girl, "but who is to dwell in the hutwhen it is done?"
"Not you, be sure of that," he answered, roughly, "nor any black woman,for I am weary of you, one and all. Listen: I go to-morrow with myservants to fetch a chieftainess, a white lady, to rule over you, but ifany of you speak a word of her presence here you will pay for it, for Ishall turn you away to starve. Do you understand?"
"We hear you, husband," they replied, somewhat sullenly, for now theyunderstood that this new wife would be a mistress, and not a sister tothem.
"Then be careful that you do not forget my words, and--hearken--so soonas you have cut a full load of hut-poles, let two of you carry them upto the krantz yonder, where they are wanted, but be careful that no onesees you going in or coming out."
"We hear you, husband," they said again, whereon Swart Piet turned androde away.
Now, although Zinti was said to be foolish, chiefly, as I think, becausehe could not, or would not, work, yet in many ways he was cleverer thanmost Kaffirs, and especially always did he desire to see new places, themore so if they chanced to be secret places. Therefore, when he heardSwart Piet command the women to carry the rods for the hidden krantz, hedetermined that he would follow them, and this he did so skilfully thatthey neither heard nor saw him. At first he wondered whither they couldbe going, for they walked straight to the foot of what seemed to be anunclimbable wall of rock more than a hundred feet high. On the face ofthis rock, however, shrubs grew here and there like the bristles on theback of a hog, and having first glanced round to see that no one waswatching them, the women climbed to one of these shrubs, which wasrooted in the cliff about the height of a man above the level of theground, and vanished so quic
kly that Zinti, who as watching, rubbed hiseyes in wonder. After waiting a while, however, he followed in theirsteps to find that behind the shrub was a narrow cleft or crack such asare often to be seen in cliffs, and that down this cleft ran a pathwaywhich twisted and turned in the rock, growing broader as it went, tillat last it ended in the hidden krantz. This krantz was a very beautifulspot about three morgen, or six English acres, in extent, and walled allround with impassable cliffs. Down the face of one of these cliffs fella waterfall forming a deep pool, out of which a stream ran, and on thebanks of this stream the new hut was being built in such a position thatthe heat of the sun could strike it but little.
While he was taking note of these and other things Zinti saw some ofthose who were working at the hut leave it and start to walk towards thecleft. So having learnt everything that he could he thought it was timeto go, and slipped away back to the bush, and thence homewards by theroad which the cow had shown him.
Now, it chanced that as he went Zinti pierced his foot with a largethorn so that he was only able to travel slowly. On the fifth night ofhis journey he limped into a wood to sleep, which wood grew not muchmore than two hours on horseback from our farm. When he had been asleepfor some hours he woke up, for all his food was done, and he could notrest well because of his hunger, and was astonished to see the light ofa fire among the trees at some distance from him. Towards this fire hecrept, thinking that there were herds or travellers who would give himfood, but when he came to it he did not ask for any, since the firstthing he saw was Swart Piet himself walking up and down in front of thefire, while at some distance from it lay a number of his men asleep intheir karosses. Presently another man appeared slipping through the treetrunks, and coming to Swart Piet saluted him.
"Tell me what you have found out," he said.
"This, Baas," answered the man; "I went down to Heer Botmar's place andbegged a bowlful of meal there, pretending that I was a stranger on ajourney to court a girl at a distant kraal. The slaves gave me mealand some flesh with it, and I learned in talk with them that the HeerBotmar, his vrouw, his daughter Suzanne and the young Englishman,Heer Kenzie, all rode away yesterday to the christening party of thefirst-born of the Heer Roozen, who lives about five hours on horsebackto the north yonder. I learned also that it is arranged for them toleave the Heer Roozen to-morrow at dawn, and to travel homewards bythe Tiger's Nek, in which they will off-saddle about two hours beforemid-day, for I forgot to say that they have two servants with them tosee to their horses."
"That makes six in all," said Swart Piet, "of whom two are women,whereas we are twenty. Yes, it is very good, nothing could be better,for I know the off-saddling place by the stream in Tiger's Nek, and itis a nice place for men to hide behind the rocks and trees. Listennow for the plan, and be sure you understand it. When these people areoff-saddled and eating their food, you Kaffirs will fall on them--withthe spear and the kerry alone, mind--and they will come to their end."
"Does the master mean that we are to kill them?" asked the mandoubtfully.
"Yes," answered Swart Piet, with some hesitation. "I do not want tokill them indeed, but I see no other way, except as regards the girl, ofcourse, who must be saved. These people are to be attacked and robbedby Kaffirs, for it must never be known that I had a hand in it, andyou brutes of Kaffirs always kill. Therefore, they must die, alas!especially the Englishman, though so far as I am concerned I shouldbe glad to spare the others if I could, but it cannot be done withoutthrowing suspicion upon me. As for the girl, if she is harmed the livesof all of you pay for it. You will throw a kaross over her head, andbring her to the place which I will tell you of to-morrow, where I shallcome upon you with some men and seem to rescue her. Do you understand,and do you think the plan good?"
"I understand, and I think the plan good--for you--and yet, Baas, thereis one thing that I have not told you which may mar it."
"What is it?"
"This: When I was down there at the Heer Botmar's place, I saw thewitch-doctoress Sihamba, who has a hut upon the farm. I was some wayoff, but I think that she recognised me, as she might well do seeingthat it was I who set the rope about her neck when you wished to hangher. Now if she did know me all your plans may be in vain, for thatwoman has the Sight and she will guess them. Even when the cord wasround her she laughed at me and told me that I should die soon, butthat she would live for years, and therefore I fear her more than anyoneliving."
"She laughed at you, did she?" said Swart Piet; "well, I laugh at her,for neither she nor anyone who breathes shall stand between me and thisgirl, who has preferred the suit of another man to mine."
"Ah, master!" said the Kaffir, with admiration, "you are a great one,for when a fruit pleases you, you do not wait for it to drop into yourlap, you pluck it."
"Yes," said Swart Piet, striking his breast with pride, "if I desire afruit I pluck it as my father did before me. But now go you and sleep,for to-morrow you will need all your wit and strength."