“Speak, you fool, and in Zulu,” I said, for by now Umslopogaas had joined me.

“Baas,” he answered in that tongue, “a terrible thing has come about at the farm of Red-Beard yonder.  Yesterday afternoon at the time when people are in the habit of sleeping there till the sun grows less hot, a body of great men with fierce faces who carried big spears—­perhaps there were fifty of them, Baas—­crept up to the place through the long grass and growing crops, and attacked it.”

“Did you see them come?” I asked.

“No, Baas.  I was watching at a little distance as you bade me do and the sun being hot, I shut my eyes to keep out the glare of it, so that I did not see them until they had passed me and heard the noise.”

“You mean that you were asleep or drunk, Hans, but go on.”

“Baas, I do not know,” he answered shamefacedly, “but after that I climbed a tall tree with a kind of bush at the top of it” (I ascertained afterwards that this was a sort of leafy-crowned palm), “and from it I saw everything without being seen.”

“What did you see, Hans?” I asked him.

“I saw the big men run up and make a kind of circle round the village.  Then they shouted, and the people in the village came out to see what was the matter.  Thomaso and some of the men caught sight of them first and ran away fast into the hillside at the back where the trees grow, before the circle was complete.  Then the women and the children came out and the big men killed them with their spears—­all, all!”

“Good God!” I exclaimed.  “And what happened at the house and to the lady?”

“Baas, some of the men had surrounded that also and when she heard the noise the lady Sad-Eyes came out on to the stoep and with her came the two Zulus of the Axe who had been left sick but were now quite recovered.  A number of the big men ran as though to take her, but the two Zulus made a great fight in front of the little steps to the stoep, having their backs protected by the stoep, and killed six of them before they themselves were killed.  Also Sad-Eyes shot one with a pistol she carried, and wounded another so that the spear fell out of his hand.

“Then the rest fell on her and tied her up, setting her in a chair on the stoep where two remained to watch her.  They did her no hurt, Baas; indeed, they seemed to treat her as gently as they could.  Also they went into the house and there they caught that tall fat yellow girl who always smiles and is called Janee, she who waits upon the Lady Sad-Eyes, and brought her out to her.  I think they told her, Baas, that she must look after her mistress and that if she tried to run away she would be killed, for afterwards I saw Janee bring her food and other things.”

“And then, Hans?”

“Then, Baas, most of the great men rested a while, though some of them went through the store gathering such things as they liked, blankets, knives and iron cooking-pots, but they set fire to nothing, nor did they try to catch the cattle.  Also they took dry wood from the pile and lit big fires, eight or nine of them, and when the sun set they began to feast.”