When the herd Zinti had heard this talk he crept away, heading straightfor the farm, but his foot was so bad, and he was so weak from want offood, that he could only travel at the pace of a lame ox, now hoppingupon one leg and now crawling upon his knees. In this fashion it wasthat at length, about half-past eight in the morning, he reached thehouse, or rather the hut of Sihamba, for she had sent him out, andtherefore to her, after the Kaffir fashion, he went to make report. Now,when he came to Sihamba, he greeted her and asked for a little food,which she gave him. Then he began to tell his story, beginning asnatives do at the first of it, which in his case were all the wanderingsof the cow which he had followed, so that although she hurried him much,many minutes went by before he came to that part of the tale which toldof what he had heard in the wood some eight hours before.
So soon as he began to speak of this, Sihamba stopped him, and callingto a man who lingered near, she bade him bring to her Jan's famous younghorse, the roan _schimmel_, bridled but not saddled. Now this horse wasthe finest in the whole district, for his sire was the famous stallionwhich the Government imported from England, where it won all the races,and his dam the swiftest and most enduring mare in the breeding herds atthe Paarl. What Jan gave for him as a yearling I never learned, becausehe was afraid to tell me; but I know that we were short of money fortwo years after he bought him. Yet in the end that _schimmel_ proved thecheapest thing for which ever a man paid gold.
Well, the Kaffir hesitated, for, as might be guessed, Jan was very proudof this horse, and none rode it save himself, but Sihamba sprang up andspoke to him so fiercely that at last he obeyed her, since, although shewas small in stature, all feared the magic of Sihamba, and would do herbidding. Nor had he far to go, for the _schimmel_ did not run wild uponthe veldt, but was fed and kept in a stable, where a slave groomed himevery morning. Thus it came about that before Zinti had finished histale, the horse was standing before Sihamba bridled but not saddled,arching his neck and striking the ground with his hoof, for he was proudand full of corn and eager to be away.
"Oh! fool," said Sihamba to Zinti, "why did not you begin with thispart of your story? Now, to save five from death and one from dishonour,there is but a short hour left and twenty long miles to cover in it. Ho!man, help me to mount this horse."
The slave put down his hand, and setting her foot in it, the littlewoman sprang on to the back of the great stallion, which knew and lovedher as a dog might do, for she had tended it day and night when it wasill from the sickness we call "thick head," and without doubt had savedits life by her skill. Then, gripping its shoulders with her knees,Sihamba shook the reins and called aloud to the _schimmel_, wavingthe black rod she always carried in her hand, so that the fiery beast,having plunged once, leapt away like an antelope, and in another minutewas nothing but a speck racing towards the mountains.