Whilst I was thus engaged several things happened.  I saw twenty natives being escorted towards us, doubtless the bearers who had been promised; also I saw many others, accompanied by other natives, flying from the village into the bush.  Lastly, a third messenger arrived, who announced that the Maria was sailing away, apparently in charge of a prize-crew, and that the man-of-war was putting about as though to accompany her.  Evidently she had no intention of effecting a landing upon what was, nominally at any rate, Portuguese territory.  Therefore, if anything was to be done, we must act at once.

Well, the end of it was that, like a fool, I accepted Stephen’s advice and did nothing, always the easiest course and generally that which leads to most trouble.  Ten minutes afterwards I changed my mind, but then it was too late; the Crocodile was out of signalling distance.  This was subsequent to a conversation with Hans.

“Baas,” said that worthy, in his leery fashion, “I think you have made a mistake.  You forget that these yellow devils in white robes who have run away will come back again, and that when you return from up country, they may be waiting for you.  Now if the English man-of-war had destroyed their town, and their slave-sheds, they might have gone somewhere else.  However,” he added, as an afterthought, glancing at the disfigured Hassan, “we have their captain, and of course you mean to hang him, Baas.  Or if you don’t like to, leave it to me.  I can hang men very well.  Once, when I was young, I helped the executioner at Cape Town.”

“Get out,” I said, but, nevertheless, I knew that Hans was right.

CHAPTER VI

THE SLAVE ROAD

The twenty bearers having arrived, in charge of five or six Arabs armed with guns, we went to inspect them, taking Hassan with us, also the hunters.  They were a likely lot of men, though rather thin and scared-looking, and evidently, as I could see from their physical appearance and varying methods of dressing the hair, members of different tribes.  Having delivered them, the Arabs, or rather one of them, entered into excited conversation with Hassan.  As Sammy was not at hand I do not know what was said, although I gathered that they were contemplating his rescue.  If so, they gave up the idea and began to run away as their companions had done.  One of them, however, a bolder fellow than the rest, turned and fired at me.  He missed by some yards, as I could tell from the sing of the bullet, for these Arabs are execrable shots.  Still his attempt at murder irritated me so much that I determined he should not go scot-free.  I was carrying the little rifle called “Intombi,” that with which, as Hans had reminded me, I shot the vultures at Dingaan’s kraal many years before.  Of course, I could have killed the man, but this I did not wish to do.  Or I could have shot him through the leg, but then we should have had to nurse him or leave him to die!  So I selected his right arm, which was outstretched as he fled, and at about fifty paces put a bullet through it just above the elbow.