CHAPTER XXVIII
THE COMING OF THE IMPI
Sihamba had not very long to wait, for on the evening of the fifthday from the starting of the messengers they came back at great speed,having run so fast that they could scarcely speak for want of breath,and telling her that a Zulu impi, numbering more than three thousandspears, was advancing upon the Umpondwana to destroy them. It seemedthat long before the king's oxen had been found mixed with her herd ithad been reported to Dingaan that Sihamba had stolen them, which was notaltogether strange, seeing that Swart Piet travelled with the impi. Asshe suspected, he had caused the oxen to be stolen, and now he had fixedthe deed upon her, knowing well that Dingaan only sought a pretext todestroy her tribe, with which the Zulus had an ancient quarrel.
Now there was but one thing to be done--to make ready their defence, so,without more ado, Sihamba summoned her council and told them that a Zuluimpi was at hand to eat them up because of the white cattle that hadbeen placed among the herds. Then the councillors wrung their hands, andsome of them shed tears even, although they were aged men, for the nameof the Zulus struck terror to their hearts, and they expected nothingless than death for themselves, their wives, and their children.
"It is best that we should fly while there is yet time," said thecaptain of the council.
"There is no time," answered Sihamba; "the impi will be here by dawn andwill cut you up upon the plain."
"What then shall we do?" they asked; "we who are already dead."
"Do?" she cried. "You shall fight as your fathers fought before you, andbeat back these dogs of Dingaan. If you will but be brave, what have youto fear from them? You have water, you have food, you have spears, andeven the Zulus have not wings like eagles with which to fly over yourwalls of cliff. Let them come, and if you will but obey me, I promiseyou that they shall return again to make report to the 'Elephant' manyfewer than they left his kraal."
So the Umpondwana made ready to fight, not because they loved it, butbecause they must, for they knew that no humbleness would help them inface of the spears of Dingaan. The cattle were driven into the centrekraal, and great supplies of grass and green corn were cut to feed them.Except for one manhole the pass leading to the top of the mountain wasclosed, and the schanzes, or walls, which protected the mouth of theriver that welled from the hillside between the eastern ridges werestrengthened and garrisoned. Here, as Sihamba knew, was their weakplace, for this river flowed out beneath the impregnable precipices ofrock, and to it they must look for their main supply of water, since,although the spring upon the tableland, if husbanded, would suffice fora supply to the tribe, it was not sufficient for the cattle. It was forthis reason that Sihamba wished to turn the kine loose and let the Zuluscapture them if they would, for she knew that then they could never takethe mountain or harm a hair of the head of one of its inhabitants. Butthe Umpondwana were greedy, and would not consent to the loss of theircattle, forgetting that cattle are of no value to dead men. They saidthat they could very well defend the schanzes which surrounded thesource of the river, and that from it sufficient water could be carriedto keep the beasts alive, even if the siege were long.
"As you will," answered Sihamba shortly, "but see that you do defendthem when the Zulu warriors leap upon the walls, for if you fail thenyou will lose cattle and life together."
All this time, according to her daily custom, Suzanne had been seatedin her chair of rock upon the highest point of the precipice looking forthat help which never came. Presently, as she watched with sad eyes, faraway upon the plain she saw a cloud of dust in which moved and shonethe sheen of spears. Now she climbed down from her seat, and ran to seekSihamba, whom she found surrounded by her councillors.
"What is it, Swallow?" asked the little chieftainess looking up, thoughalready she had guessed the answer.
Suzanne told her, adding, "Who can it be that travels towards themountain with so great a force?"
"Lady Swallow," said Sihamba gravely, "it is an army of the Zulus sentby Dingaan to destroy us, and with them marches Bull-Head." And she toldher of the trick of the cattle and of what the messengers had seen.
Suzanne heard, and her face grew white as the goatskin cloak she wore.
"Then at last the long story is at an end," she faltered, for she knewthe terrible prowess of the Zulus, and how none could stand before theironslaught.
"Yes, of that impi there is an end," answered Sihamba proudly, "if thesechildren of mine will but take heart and fight as their fathers fought.Fear not, Lady Swallow, nothing that has not wings can storm themountain of Umpondwana."
But for all that she could say Suzanne still felt much afraid, which wasnot strange, for she knew that the heart was out of these soldiersof Sihamba, and knew, moreover, that a Zulu army did not dare to bedefeated, for which reason it must either take the mountain or fighttill it was destroyed.
Now all was confusion; the horns blew and women wailed, while thecaptains of the Umpondwana issued their commands, and the men piled upstones upon the brink of the precipice to roll down upon the foe, anddrove the herds of cattle into the great kraal upon the tableland.
Marching quickly, the impi drew near and the defenders could see thatit numbered about four thousand spears and was composed of two separateregiments. At a distance of a mile it halted and throwing out horns orwings surrounded the mountain, up the slopes of which it advanced in athin circle, much as beaters do who are driving game to a certain point.As the circle drew nearer to the cliffs, it thickened, having lessground to cover, though still there was a gap here and there.
Presently those who were watching saw a man dart through one of thesegaps and run up hill at great speed, followed by Zulu soldiers, whotried to kill him. But he was the swifter of foot, moreover he knew thepath, so that before they could come up with him he reached the greatstone walls which were built about the source of the river, and wasdragged over them by the defenders.
A while later this man appeared upon the top of the mountain and provedto be none other than Zinti, who had returned from his errand, and,having news to tell, risked his life to pass through the impi beforethe stronghold was altogether surrounded. Sihamba received him at once,Suzanne standing at her side, and bade him be brief for she had littletime to listen to long stories.
"I will be brief," Zinti answered. "Lady, as you bade me I crossed themountains by the road of which you told me. It is a good road for men onfoot or horseback, but waggons could not travel it. Having reachedthe plain on the further side I followed the bank of the river, tillsuddenly I came in sight of thirty waggons drawn up in a laager upon aknoll of ground, and among the waggons I saw Boers with their wives andchildren. I tried to go up to speak to them, but a young Boer, seeingme, shot at me with his gun, so I thought it safer to lie hid. Atnightfall, however, I met the driver of one of the waggons, a Kaffirman, at some distance from the laager, where he was watching by a pitmade to catch bucks, and fell into talk with him. He told me that thiswas a party of the Boers who had trekked from Cape Colony, and weretaking possession of Natal, and that there were other such partiesscattered about the country. He said that in this party there werefive-and-twenty men with women and children, but he did not know thenames of any of them. Also he told me that he meant to run away, as heheard that Dingaan was going to attack the white people, and was surethat if he did so they would be eaten up, for these Boers, thinkingthemselves quite safe, had grown very careless, and neither made theirlaager as strong as it should be nor set any watch at night. Havinglearned this I returned at once to make report to you, nor did I cometoo quickly, for the Zulus nearly caught me as I passed their ranks.I saw Bull-Head as I ran; he is riding a brown horse, and seems quiterecovered from his wound."
"How far is the Boer laager from this place?" asked Sihamba beforeSuzanne could speak.
"Lady, a man on a good horse could reach it in seven hours, nor is itpossible to mistake the way. After crossing the plain you enter thegorge by the saw-edged rock yonder, and follow its windings acr
oss themountains till you come out the other side, where the river runs down tothe flat country. Then you can keep along the bank of the river as I didwhen I went, or if you wish to go more quickly you must head for a largewhite-topped hill, or koppie, which can be seen from the mountains, andwhen you come to it you will find the Boer laager upon the knoll at itsfoot, but near to the banks of the river, which winds round it."
"Oh! let us go; let us go quickly," said Suzanne springing to her feet,for the thought even of seeing a white man again made her drunk withhope.
"Alas! sister," answered Sihamba sadly, "an hour ago we might have gone,or rather you might have gone, mounted on the great _schimmel_, butnow--look," and she pointed to where the Zulus clustered like bees alongthe banks of the river by which the path ran. "See," she added, "thereis but one road out of this stronghold, for nowhere else can thesurest-footed climber in the world descend its cliffs, no, not with arope to help him, and that road is thick with Zulu spears; moreover, acertain man whom you do not wish to see waits for you upon it."
Suzanne looked. "Too late," she moaned. "Oh! surely my God has forsakenme! Within six hours of safety and doomed to perish here; oh! surely myGod has forsaken me!" and she burst out weeping in the bitterness of herdisappointed hope.
"Say not so," answered Sihamba gently, "for I think that the Great onewhom you worship will save you yet."
As she spoke a messenger arrived saying that the Zulus had sent forwardheralds who desired to speak with her, and that these heralds waitedwithin earshot of the first wall.
"I will come," said Sihamba, and she passed down the cleft and throughthe man hole into the fortifications which were built about the sourceof the river. But she would not allow Suzanne to accompany her.
When she reached the outer wall she climbed it and stood upon it, forSihamba was a woman who knew no fear, and there, about forty paces away,she saw three great Zulus standing, and with them him whom she dreadedmore than all the Zulus on the earth--Piet Van Vooren himself. When theZulu captains caught sight of her upon the wall, they jeered aloud andasked whether this was indeed Sihamba Ngenyanga, or if a she-monkey hadbeen sent to talk with them.
"I am Sihamba," she answered quietly, "or I am a monkey, as it mayplease you, though the white man with you can tell you what I am."
"I can," said Piet with a laugh. "You are a witch and a thief, and thefate that I promised you long ago is with you at last."
"Murderer," mocked Sihamba in answer, "I see Death standing behind you,and with him shadows of the Fear to come. But I would speak with thesechiefs and not with an outcast half-breed. Tell me, chiefs, why do youcome up against my stronghold with so great a force?"
"Because that 'Elephant whose tread shakes the earth,' our master,Dingaan the king, has sent us," answered the spokesman of the captains.
"Say, now, on what errand, chief?"
"On this errand; to take your stronghold and cattle, to burn your kraal,and to kill your people, all of them save the marriageable girls andsuch children as are old enough to travel, who must be brought with thecattle to Dingaan. But you yourself and the white woman who is calledSwallow who rules with you are to be handed over to Bull-Head here to dowith as he will, for that is the bargain between him and the king."
"And why are these things to come upon us who have done no wrong?" askedSihamba.
"Why, little woman!" answered the chief, "because you have dared tosteal cattle from the king's herd, even the royal white cattle; yes, andthey have been traced to your mountain and seen among your oxen."
"It is true that the cattle are here," said Sihamba, "but it is not truethat we have stolen them, seeing that they were lifted by the white man,Bull-Head, and mixed up with our herds to bring us into trouble with theking."
"A fit tale for the king's ears," replied the captain, laughing. "Why itwas Bull-Head who told the king of the theft; but let that pass. Dingaanthe king is merciful, and he makes you this offer through my mouth: Ifyou will return the cattle together with all your own by way of fine,and hand over your councillors and head men to be killed, then he willgrant the rest their lives. But all the young men and the girls mustcome with me to pass into the service of the king, the married womenand the children going where they will. Perhaps Bull-Head here willtake them with yourself and White Swallow. What is your word, littlechieftainess?"
"My word is that we will have none of such mercy. It is better that weshould die together, but I tell you, men of Dingaan, that these rockswill be white with your bones before ever you drive our cattle andmaidens back to Dingaan."
"As you will, little chieftainess. We captains of the Zulus have heardmany such proud words in our time, but ah! where are those who spokethem? Ask the jackals and the vultures, little chieftainess."