When we had rested a while at the wagons the captured beasts were mustered, and on being counted were found to number a little over twelve hundred head, not reckoning animals that had been badly hurt in the flight, which we killed for beef.  It was a noble prize, truly, and, notwithstanding the wound in his thigh, which hurt him a good deal now that it had stiffened, Saduko stood up and surveyed them with glistening eyes.  No wonder, for he who had been so poor was now rich, and would remain so even after he had paid over whatever number of cows Umbezi chose to demand as the price of Mameena’s hand.  Moreover, he was sure, and I shared his confidence, that in these changed circumstances both that young woman and her father would look upon his suit with very favourable eyes.  He had, so to speak, succeeded to the title and the family estates by means of a lawsuit brought in the “Court of the Assegai,” and therefore there was hardly a father in Zululand who would shut his kraal gate upon him.  We forgot, both of us, the proverb that points out how numerous are the slips between the cup and the lip, which, by the way, is one that has its Zulu equivalents.  One of them, if I remember right at the moment, is:  “However loud the hen cackles, the housewife does not always get the egg.”

As it chanced, although Saduko’s hen was cackling very loudly just at this time, he was not destined to find the coveted egg.  But of that matter I will speak in its place.

I, too, looked at those cattle, wondering whether Saduko would remember our bargain, under which some six hundred head of them belonged to me.  Six hundred head!  Why, putting them at #5 apiece all round—­and as oxen were very scarce just at that time, they were worth quite as much, if not more—­that meant #3,000, a larger sum of money than I had ever owned at one time in all my life.  Truly the paths of violence were profitable!  But would he remember?  On the whole I thought probably not, since Kafirs are not fond of parting with cattle.

Well, I did him an injustice, for presently he turned and said, with something of an effort: 

“Macumazahn, half of all these belong to you, and truly you have earned them, for it was your cunning and good counsel that gained us the victory.  Now we will choose them beast by beast.”

So I chose a fine ox, then Saduko chose one; and so it went on till I had eight of my number driven out.  As the eighth was taken I turned to Saduko and said: 

“There, that will do.  These oxen I must have to replace those in my teams which died on the trek, but I want no more.”

“Wow!” said Saduko, and all those who stood with him, while one of them added—­I think it was old Tshoza: 

“He refuses six hundred cattle which are fairly his!  He must be mad!”

“No friends,” I answered, “I am not mad, but neither am I bad.  I accompanied Saduko on this raid because he is dear to me and stood by me once in the hour of danger.  But I do not love killing men with whom I have no quarrel, and I will not take the price of blood.”