That was all I told them, since it is not wise to confuse natives by giving too many orders.  One thing I added, however—­that they must conquer or they must die.  There was no mercy for them; it was a case of death or victory.  Their spokesman—­for these people always find a spokesman—­answered that they thanked me for my advice; that they understood, and that they would do their best.  Then they lifted their spears to me in salute.  A wild lot of men they looked in the moonlight as they departed to take shelter behind the rocks and trees and wait.

That waiting was long, and I confess that before the end it got upon my nerves.  I began to think of all sorts of things, such as whether I should live to see the sun rise again; also I reflected upon the legitimacy of this remarkable enterprise.  What right had I to involve myself in a quarrel between these savages?

Why had I come here?  To gain cattle as a trader?  No, for I was not at all sure that I would take them if gained.  Because Saduko had twitted me with faithlessness to my words?  Yes, to a certain extent; but that was by no means the whole reason.  I had been moved by the recital of the cruel wrongs inflicted upon Saduko and his tribe by this Bangu, and therefore had not been loath to associate myself with his attempted vengeance upon a wicked murderer.  Well, that was sound enough so far as it went; but now a new consideration suggested itself to me.  Those wrongs had been worked many years ago; probably most of the men who had aided and abetted them by now were dead or very aged, and it was their sons upon whom the vengeance would be wreaked.

What right had I to assist in visiting the sins of the fathers upon the sons?  Frankly I could not say.  The thing seemed to me to be a part of the problem of life, neither less nor more.  So I shrugged my shoulders sadly and consoled myself by reflecting that very likely the issue would go against me, and that my own existence would pay the price of the venture and expound its moral.  This consideration soothed my conscience somewhat, for when a man backs his actions with the risk of his life, right or wrong, at any rate he plays no coward’s part.

The time went by very slowly and nothing happened.  The waning moon shone brightly in a clear sky, and as there was no wind the silence seemed peculiarly intense.  Save for the laugh of an occasional hyena and now and again for a sound which I took for the coughing of a distant lion, there was no stir between sleeping earth and moonlit heaven in which little clouds floated beneath the pale stars.

At length I thought that I heard a noise, a kind of murmur far away.  It grew, it developed.

It sounded like a thousand sticks tapping upon something hard, very faintly.  It continued to grow, and I knew the sound for that of the beating hoofs of animals galloping.  Then there were isolated noises, very faint and thin; they might be shouts; then something that I could not mistake—­shots fired at a distance.  So the business was afoot; the cattle were moving, Saduko and my hunter were firing.  There was nothing for it but to wait.