on the third morning from this night whereof the strange events havebeen described, an ox-waggon might have been seen outspanned on thehither side of those ranges of hills that were visible from the river.
these mountains, which although not high are very steep, form theouter barrier and defence of the kingdom of the amasuka. within fivehundred yards of where the waggon stood, however, a sheer cliffedgorge, fire-riven and water-hewn, pierced the range, and looking onit, owen knew it for the gorge of his dream. night and day the mouthof it was guarded by a company of armed soldiers, whose huts werebuilt high on outlook places in the mountains, whence their keen eyescould scan the vast expanses of plain. a full day before it reachedthem, they had seen the white-capped waggon crawling across the veldt,and swift runners had reported its advent to the king at his greatplace.
back came the word of the king that the white man, with the waggon andhis servant, were to be led on towards the great place at such speedas would bring him there in time for him to behold the last ceremonyof the feast of first-fruits; but, for the present, that the waggonitself and the oxen were to be left at the mouth of the gorge, incharge of a guard, who would be answerable for them.
now, on this morning the captain of the guard and his orderliesadvanced to the waggon and stood in front of it. they were splendidmen, armed with great spears and shields, and adorned with featherhead-dresses and all the wild finery of their regiment. owen descendedfrom the waggon and came to meet them, and so for a few moments theyremained, face to face, in silence. a strange contrast they presentedas they stood there; the bare-headed white man frail, delicate,spiritual of countenance, and the warriors great, grave, powerful, avery embodiment of the essence of untamed humanity, an incarnatepresentation of the spirit of savage warfare.
"how are you named, white man?" asked the captain.
"chief, i am named messenger.""the peace of the king be with you, messenger," said the captain,lifting his spear.
"the peace of god be with you, chief," answered owen, holding up hishands in blessing.
"who is god?" asked the captain.
"chief, he is the king i serve, and his word is between my lips.""then pass on, messenger of god, and deliver the word of god your kinginto the ears of my king, at his great place yonder. pass on ridingthe beast you have brought with you, for the way is rough; but yourwaggon, your oxen, and your servants, save this man only who is of thechildren of fire, must stay here in my keeping. fear not, messenger, iwill hold them safe.""i do not fear, chief, there is honour in your eyes."*****some hours later, owen, mounted on his mule, was riding through thegorge, a guard in front of and behind him, and with them carriers whohad been sent to bear his baggage. at his side walked his disciplejohn, and his face was sad.
"why are you still afraid?" asked owen.
"ah! father, because this is a place of fear. here in this valley menare led to die; presently you will see.""i have seen," answered owen. "yonder where we shall halt is a mount,and on that mount stands a tree; it is called the tree of death, andit stretches a thousand hands to heaven, praying for mercy that doesnot come, and from its boughs there hangs fruit, a fruit of dead men--yes, twenty of them hang there this day.""how know you these things, my father," asked the man amazed, "seeingthat i have never spoken to you of them?""nay," he answered, "god has spoken to me. my god and your god."another hour passed, and they were resting by the spring of water,near to the shadow of the dreadful tree, for in that gorge the sunburned fiercely. john counted the bodies that swung upon it, and againlooked fearfully at owen, for there were twenty of them.
"i desire to go up to that tree," owen said to the guard.
"as you will, messenger," answered their leader; "i have no orders toprevent you from so doing. still," he added with a solemn smile, "itis a place that few seek of their own will, and, because i like youwell, messenger, i pray it may never be my duty to lead you there ofthe king's will."then owen went up to the tree and john with him, only john would notpass beneath the shadow of its branches; but stood by wondering, whilehis master bound a handkerchief about his mouth.
"how did he know that the breath of the tree is poisonous?" johnwondered.
owen walked to the bole of the tree, and breaking off some of thefinger-like leaves of the creeper that twined about it, he pressedtheir milky juice into a little bottle that he had made ready. then hereturned quickly, for the sights and odours of the place were not tobe borne.
outside the circle of the branches he halted, and removed thehandkerchief from his mouth.
"be of good cheer," he said to john, "and if it should chance that iam called away before my words come true, yet remember my words. itell you that this tree of death shall become the tree of life for allthe children of your people. look! there above you is its sign andpromise."john lifted his eyes, following the line of owen's outstretched hand,and saw this. high up upon the tree, and standing clear of all theother branches, was one straight, dead limb, and from this dead limbtwo arms projected at right angles, also dead and snapped off short.
had a carpenter fashioned a cross of wood and set it there, itsproportions could not have been more proper and exact. it was verystrange to find this symbol of the christian hope towering above thatplace of human terror, and stranger still was the purpose which itmust serve in a day to come.
owen and john returned to the guard in silence, and presently they setforward on their journey. at length, passing beneath a natural arch ofrock, they were out of the valley of death, and before them, not fivehundred paces away, appeared the fence of the great place.
this great place stood upon a high plateau, in the lap of thesurrounding hills, all of which were strongly fortified with schanses,pitfalls, and rough walls of stone. that plateau may have measuredfifteen miles in circumference, and the fence of the town itself wasabout four miles in circumference. within the fence and following itscurve, for it was round, stood thousands of dome-shaped huts carefullyset out in streets. within these again was a stout stockade of timber,enclosing a vast arena of trodden earth, large enough to contain allthe cattle of the people of fire in times of danger, and to serve as areview ground for their /impis/ in times of peace or festival.
at the outer gate of the kraal there was a halt, while the keepers ofthe gate despatched a messenger to their king to announce the adventof the white man. of this pause owen took advantage to array himselfin the surplice and hood which he had brought with him in readinessfor that hour. then he gave the mule to john to lead behind him.
"what do you, messenger?" asked the leader of the guard, astonished.
"i clothe myself in my war-dress," he answered.
"where then is your spear, messenger?""here," said owen, presenting to his eyes a crucifix of ivory, mostbeautifully carved.
"i perceive that you are of the family of wizards," said the man, andfell back.
now they entered the kraal and passed for three hundred yards or morethrough rows of huts, till they reached the gate of the stockade,which was opened to them. once within it, owen saw a wonderful sight,such a sight as few white men have seen. the ground of the enormousoval before him was not flat. either from natural accident or bydesign it sloped gently upwards, so that the spectator, standing bythe gate or at the head of it before the house of the king, could takein its whole expanse, and, if his sight were keen enough, could seeevery individual gathered there.
on the particular day of owen's arrival it was crowded with regiments,twelve of them, all dressed in their different uniforms and bearingshields to match, not one of which was less than 2500 strong. at thismoment the regiments were massed in deep lines, each battalion byitself, on either side of the broad roadway that ran straight up thekraal to where the king, his sons, his advisers and guards, togetherwith the company of wizards, were placed in front of the royal house.
there they stood in absolute silence, like tens of thousands of bronzestatues, and owen perceived that either they were resting or that theywere gathered thus to receive him. that the latter was the case soonbecame evident, for as he appeared, a white spot at the foot of theslope, countless heads turned and myriads of eyes fastened themselvesupon him. for an instant he was dismayed; there was somethingterrifying in this numberless multitude of warriors, and the thoughtof the task that he had undertaken crushed his spirit. then heremembered, and shaking off his fear and doubt, alone, save for hisdisciple john, holding the crucifix aloft, he walked slowly up thewide road towards the place where he guessed that the king must be.
his arm was weary ere ever he reached it, but at length he foundhimself standing before a thickset old man, who was clad in leopardskins and seated upon a stool of polished wood.
"it is the king," whispered john behind him.
"peace be to you," said owen, breaking the silence.
"the wish is good, may it be fulfilled," answered the king in a deepvoice, sighing as he said the words. "yet yours is a strangegreeting," he added. "whence came you, white man, how are you named,and what is your mission to me and to my people?""king, i come from beyond the sea; i am named messenger, and mymission is to deliver to you the saying of god, my king and--yours."at these words a gasp of astonishment went up from those who stoodwithin hearing, expecting as they did to see them rewarded by instantdeath. but umsuka only said:--"'my king and yours'? bold words, messenger. where then is this kingto whom i, umsuka, should bow the knee?""he is everywhere--in the heavens, on the earth, and below the earth.""if he is everywhere, then he is here. show me the likeness of thisking, messenger.""behold it," owen answered, thrusting forward the crucifix.
now all the great ones about the king stared at this figure of a dyingman crowned with thorns and hanging on a cross, and then drew up theirlips to laugh. but that laugh never left them; a sudden impulse, amysterious wave of feeling choked it in their throats. a sense of thestrangeness of the contrast between themselves in their armedmultitudes and this one white-robed man in his loneliness took hold ofthem, and with it another sense of something not far removed fromfear.
"a wizard indeed," they thought in their hearts, and what they thoughtthe king uttered.
"i perceive," he said, "that you are either mad, white man, or you area prince of wizards. mad you do not seem to be, for your eyes arecalm, therefore a wizard you must be. well, stand behind me: by-and-byi will hear your message and ask of you to show me your powers; butbefore then there are things which i must do. are the lads ready? ho,you, loose the bull!"at the command a line of soldiers moved from the right, forming itselfup in front of the king and his attendants, revealing a number ofyouths, of from sixteen to seventeen years of age, armed with sticksonly, who stood in companies outside a massive gate. presently thisgate was opened, and through it, with a mad bellow, rushed a wildbuffalo bull. on seeing them the brute halted, and for a few momentsstood pawing the earth and tearing it with its great horns. then itput down its head and charged. instead of making way for it, utteringa shrill whistling sound, the youths rushed at the beast, strikingwith their sticks.
another instant, and one of them appeared above the heads of hiscompanions, thrown high into the air, to be followed by a second and athird. now the animal was through the throng and carrying a poor boyon its horn, whence presently he fell dead; through and through theranks of the regiments it charged furiously backward and forward.
watching it fascinated, owen noted that it was a point of honour forno man to stir before its rush; there they stood, and if the bullgored them, there they fell. at length, exhausted and terrified, thebrute headed back straight up the lane where the main body of theyouths were waiting for it. now it was among them, and, reckless ofwounds or death, they swarmed about it like bees, seizing it by legs,nose, horns and tail, till with desperate efforts they dragged it tothe ground and beat the life out of it with their sticks. this done,they formed up before the king and saluted him.
"how many are killed?" he asked.
"eight in all," was the answer, "and fifteen gored.""a good bull," he said with a smile; "that of last year killed butfive. well, the lads fought him bravely. let the dead be buried, thehurt tended, or, if their harms are hopeless, slain, and to the restgive a double ration of beer. ho, now, fall back, men, and make aspace for the bees and the wasps to fight in."some orders were given and a great ring was formed, leaving an arenaclear that may have measured a hundred and fifty yards in diameter.
then suddenly, from opposite sides, the two regiments, known as thebees and the wasps respectively, rushed upon each other, utteringtheir war-cries.
"i put ten head of cattle on the bees; who wagers on the wasps?" criedthe king.
"i, lord," answered the prince hafela, stepping forward.
"you, prince!" said the king with a quick frown. "well, you are rightto back them, they are your own regiment. ah! they are at it."by this time the scene was that of a hell broken loose upon the earth.
the two regiments, numbering some 5000 men in all, had come together,and the roar of their meeting shields was like the roar of thunder.
they were armed with kerries only, and not with spears, for the fightwas supposed to be a mimic one; but these weapons they used with sucheffect that soon hundreds of them were down dead or with shatteredskulls and bruised limbs. fiercely they fought, while the whole armywatched, for their rivalry was keen and for many months they had knownthat they were to be pitted one against the other on this day.
fiercely they fought, while the captains cried their orders, and thedust rose up in clouds as they swung to and fro, breast thrustingagainst breast. at length the end came; the bees began to give, theyfell back ever more quickly till their retreat was a rout, and,leaving many stretched upon the ground, amid the mocking cries of thearmy they were driven to the fence, by touching which they obtainedpeace at the hands of their victors.
the king saw, and his somewhat heavy, quiet face grew alive with rage.
"search and see," he said, "if the captain of the bees is alive andunhurt."messengers went to do his bidding, and presently they returned,bringing with them a man of magnificent appearance and middle age,whose left arm had been broken by a blow from a kerry. with his righthand he saluted first the king, then the prince nodwengo, a kindly-faced, mild-eyed man, in whose command he was.
"what have you to say?" asked the king, in a cold voice of anger.
"know you that you have cost me ten head of the royal white cattle?""king, i have nothing to say," answered the captain calmly, "exceptthat my men are cowards.""that is certainly so," said the king. "let all the wounded among thembe carried away; and for you, captain, who turn my soldiers intocowards, you shall die a dog's death, hanging to-morrow on the tree ofdoom. as for your regiment, i banish it to the fever country, there tohunt elephants for three years, since it is not fit to fight withmen.""it is well," replied the captain, "since death is better than shame.
only king, i have done you good service in the past; i ask that it maybe presently and by the spear.""so be it," said the king.
"i crave his life, father," said the prince nodwengo; "he is myfriend.""a prince should not choose cowards for his friends," replied theking; "let him be killed, i say."then owen, who had been watching and listening, his heart sick withhorror, stood forward and said:--"king, in the name of him i serve, i conjure you to spare this man andthose others that are hurt, who have done no crime except to be drivenback by soldiers stronger than themselves.""messenger," answered the king, "i bear with you because you areignorant. know that, according to our customs, this crime is thegreatest of crimes, for here we show no mercy to the conquered.""yet you should do so," said owen, "seeing that you also must ere longbe conquered by death, and then how can you expect mercy who haveshown none?""let him be killed!" said the king.
"king!" cried owen once more, "do this deed, and i tell you thatbefore the sun is down great evil will overtake you.""do you threaten me, messenger? well, we will see. let him be killed,i say."then the man was led away; but, before he went he found time to thankowen and nodwengo the prince, and to call down good fortune upon them.
