“‘Nala,’ I said, ’this must stop.  That man is a fiend, but he must not be left to die there.  See thou to it.’

“’Nay,” answered Nala, ’let him taste of the food wherewith he hath fed so many; leave him till death shall find him.’

“‘That I will not,’ I answered.  ‘Let his end be swift; see thou to it.’

“‘As thou wilt, Macumazahn,’ answered the chief, with a shrug of the shoulders; ‘first let the white man and Maiwa be brought forth.’

“So the soldiers came forward and carried Every and the woman into the open air.  As the former was borne past his tormentor, the fallen chief, so cowardly was his wicked heart, actually prayed him to intercede for him, and save him from a fate which, but for our providential appearance, would have been Every’s own.

“So we went away, and in another moment one of the biggest villains on the earth troubled it no more.  Once in the fresh air Every recovered quickly.  I looked at him, and horror and sorrow pierced me through to see such a sight.  His face was the face of a man of sixty, though he was not yet forty, and his poor body was cut to pieces with stripes and scars, and other marks of the torments which Wambe had for years amused himself with inflicting on him.

“As soon as he recovered himself a little he struggled on to his knees, burst into a paroxysm of weeping, and clasping my legs with his emaciated arms, would have actually kissed my feet.

“‘What are you about, old fellow?’ I said, for I am not accustomed to that sort of thing, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

“‘Oh, God bless you?’ he moaned, ’God bless you!  If only you knew what I have gone through; and to think that you should have come to help me, and at the risk of your own life!  Well, you were always a true friend—­yes, yes, a true friend.’

“‘Bosh,’ I answered testily; ’I’m a trader, and I came after that ivory,’ and I pointed to the stockade of tusks.  ’Did you ever hear of an elephant-hunter who would not have risked his immortal soul for them, and much more his carcase?’

“But he took no notice of my explanations, and went on God blessing me as hard as ever, till at last I bethought me that a nip of brandy, of which I had a flask full, might steady his nerves a bit.  I gave it him, and was not disappointed in the result, for he brisked up wonderfully.  Then I hunted about in Wambe’s hut, and found a kaross to put over his poor bruised shoulders, and he was quite a man again.

“‘Now,’ I said, ’why did the late lamented Wambe want to put you in that trap?’

“’Because as soon as they heard that the fight was going against them, and that Maiwa was charging at the head of Nala’s impi, one of the women told Wambe that she had seen me write something on some leaves and give them to Maiwa before she went away to purify herself.  Then of course he guessed that I had to do with your seizing the koppie and holding it while the impi rushed the place from the mountain, so he determined to torture me to death before help could come.  Oh, heavens! what a mercy it is to hear English again.’