“He lives! by the head of T’Chaka he lives!” roared the soldiers, stricken with mortal fear.

Then slowly and with the greatest dignity I gradually arose, stretched my arms, yawned like one awaking from heavy sleep, turned and looked upon them unconcernedly.  While I did so, I noticed that old Indaba-zimbi was almost fainting from exhaustion.  Beads of perspiration stood upon his brow, his limbs trembled, and his breast heaved.

As for the Zulus, they waited for no more.  With a howl of terror the whole regiment turned and fled across the rise, so that presently we were left alone with the dead, and the swooning child.

“How on earth did you do that, Indaba-zimbi?” I asked in amaze.

“Do not ask me, Macumazahn,” he gasped.  “You white men are very clever, but you don’t quite know everything.  There are men in the world who can make people believe they see things which they do not see.  Let us be going while we may, for when those Umtetwas have got over their fright, they will come back to loot the waggons, and then perhaps they will begin asking questions that I can’t answer.”

And here I may as well state that I never got any further information on this matter from old Indaba-zimbi.  But I have my theory, and here it is for whatever it may be worth.  I believe that Indaba-zimbi mesmerized the whole crowd of onlookers, myself included, making them believe that they saw the assegai in my heart, and the blood upon the blade.  The reader may smile and say, “Impossible;” but I would ask him how the Indian jugglers do their tricks unless it is by mesmerism.  The spectators seem to see the boy go under the basket and there pierced with daggers, they seem to see women in a trance supported in mid-air upon the point of a single sword.  In themselves these things are not possible, they violate the laws of nature, as those laws are known to us, and therefore must surely be illusion.  And so through the glamour thrown upon them by Indaba-zimbi’s will, that Zulu Impi seemed to see me transfixed with an assegai which never touched me.  At least, that is my theory; if any one has a better, let him adopt it.  The explanation lies between illusion and magic of a most imposing character, and I prefer to accept the first alternative.

CHAPTER VI

STELLA

I was not slow to take Indaba-zimbi’s hint.  About a hundred and fifty yards to the left of the laager was a little dell where I had hidden my horse, together with one belonging to the Boers, and my saddle and bridle.  Thither we went, I carrying the swooning Tota in my arms.  To our joy we found the horses safe, for the Zulus had not seen them.  Now, of course, they were our only means of locomotion, for the oxen had been sent away, and even had they been there we could not have found time to inspan them.  I laid Tota down, caught my horse, undid his knee halter, and saddled up.  As I was doing so a thought struck me, and I told Indaba-zimbi to run to the laager and see if he could find my double-barrelled gun and some powder and shot, for I had only my elephant “roer” and a few charges of powder and ball with me.