CHAPTER XIII
THE SCHIMMEL'S FIRST RACE
So hard did Sihamba ride, and so swift and untiring proved the horse,to whose strength her light weight was as nothing, that, the veldtover which they travelled being flat and free from stones or holes, shereached the mouth of Tiger's Nek, twenty miles away, in very few minutesover the hour of time. But the Nek itself was a mile or more in length,and for aught she knew we might already be taken in Black Piet's trap,and she but riding to share our fate. Still she did not stay, butthough it panted like a blacksmith's bellows, and its feet stumbled withweariness among the stones of the Nek, she urged on the _schimmel_ at agallop. Now she turned the corner, and the off-saddling place was beforeher. Swiftly and fearfully Sihamba glanced around, but seeing no signsof us, she uttered a cry of joy and shook the reins, for she knew thatshe had not ridden in vain. Then a voice from the rocks called out:
"It is the witch-doctoress, Sihamba, who rides to warn them. Kill herswiftly." With the voice came a sound of guns and of bullets screamingpast her, one of which shattered the wand she carried in her hand,numbing her arm. Nor was that all, for men sprang up across the furtherend of the off-saddling place, where the path was narrow, to bar herway, and they held spears in their hands. But Sihamba never heeded themen or the spears, for she rode straight at them and through them, andso soon was she gone that, although six or seven assegais were hurledat her, only one of them struck the horse, wounding it slightly in theshoulder.
A few minutes later, three perhaps, or five, just as the four of us withour Kaffir servants were riding quietly up to the mouth of the Nek, wesaw a great horse thundering towards us, black with sweat and fleckedwith foam, its shoulder bloody, its eyes staring, its red nostrilsagape, and perched upon its bare back a little woman who swayed fromside to side as though with weariness, holding in her hand a shatteredwand.
"Allemachter!" cried Jan. "It is Sihamba, and the witch rides my roan_schimmel_!"
By this time Sihamba herself was upon us. "Back," she screamed as shecame, "death waits you in the pass;" whereon, compelled to it as it wereby the weight of the words and the face of she who spoke them, we turnedour horses' heads and galloped after the _schimmel_ for the half of amile or more till we were safe in the open veldt.
Then of a sudden the horse stopped, whether of its own accord or becauseits rider pulled upon the reins I know not. At the least it stood theretrembling like a reed and Sihamba lay upon its back clinging to themane, and as she lay I saw blood running down her legs, for her skin waschafed to the flesh beneath. Ralph sprang to her and lifted her to theground and Suzanne made her take a draught of peach brandy from Jan'sflask, which brought the life to her face again.
"Now," she said, "if you have it to spare, give the _schimmel_ yondera drink of that stuff, for he has saved all your lives and I think heneeds it."
"That is a wise word," said Jan, and he bade Ralph and the Kaffirs pourthe rest of the spirit down the horse's throat, which they did, thereby,as I believe, saving its life, for until it had swallowed it the beastlooked as though its heart were about to burst.
"Now," said Jan, "why do you ride my best horse to death in thisfashion?"
"Have I not told you, father of Swallow," she answered, "that it wasto save you from death? But a few minutes over an hour ago, fifteenperhaps, a word was spoken to me at your stead yonder and now I am here,seven leagues away, having ridden faster than I wish to ride again,or than any other horse in this country can travel with a man upon itsback."
"To save us from death! What death?" asked Jan astounded.
"Death at the hands of Swart Piet and his Kaffir tribesmen for the threeof you and the two slaves, and for the fourth, the lady Swallow there,a love which she does not seek, the love of the murderer of her father,her mother, and her chosen."
Now we stared at each other; only Suzanne ran to Sihamba, and puttingher arms about her, she kissed her.
"Nay," said the little woman smiling, "nay, Swallow, I do but repay toyou one-hundredth part of my debt, and all the rest is owing still."
Then she told her story in few words, and when it was done, havingfirst looked to see that Swart Piet and his men were not coming, at thebidding of Jan we all knelt down upon the veldt and thanked the Almightyfor our deliverance. Only Sihamba did not kneel, for she was a heathen,and worshipped no one unless it were Suzanne.
"You should pray to the horse, too," she said, "for had it not been forhis legs, I could never have reached you in time."
"Peace, Sihamba," I answered, "it is God who made the horse's legs, asGod put it into your mind to use them;" but I said no more, though atany other time I should have rated her well for her heathen folly.
Then we consulted together as to what was to be done and decided to makeour way to the house by a longer path which ran through the open veldt,since we were sure that there, where is no cover, Swart Piet would notattack us. Ralph, it is true, was for going into the Nek and attackinghim, but, as Jan showed him, such an act would be madness, for theywere many, and we were few; moreover, they could have picked us off frombehind the shelter of the rocks. So we settled to leave him alone, andthat night came home safely, though not without trouble, for we carriedSihamba the most of the way, and after he grew stiff the _schimmel_could only travel at a walking pace. Very soon that horse recovered,however, for he was a good feeder, and lived to do still greaterservice, although for a while his legs were somewhat puffed and had tobe poulticed with cabbage leaves.
Now Jan and Ralph were mad against Swart Piet, and would have broughthim to justice. But this road of justice was full of stones andmud-holes, since the nearest land-drost, as we call a magistrate, liveda hundred miles off, and it would not have been easy to persuade Pietto appear and argue the case before him. Moreover, here again we had noevidence against the man except that of a simple black fellow, who wouldnever have been believed, for, in fact, no attack was made upon us,while that upon Sihamba might very well have been the work of some ofthe low Kaffirs that haunt the kloofs, runaway slaves, and other rascalswho desired to steal the fine horse upon which she rode. Also we learnedthat our enemy, acting through some agent, had sold his farm to astranger for a small sum of money, giving it out that he had no need ofthe land, as he was leaving this part of the country.
But if we saw Piet's face no more, we could still feel the weight ofhis hand, since from that time forward we began to suffer from thefts ofcattle and other troubles with the natives, which--so Sihamba learnedin her underground fashion--were instigated by him, working through hissavage tools, while he himself lay hidden far away and in safety. Alsohe did us another ill turn--for it was proved that his money was atthe bottom of it--by causing Ralph to be commandeered to serve on somedistant Kaffir expedition, out of which trouble we were obliged to buyhim, and at no small cost.
All these matters weighed upon us much, so much, indeed, that I wishedJan to trek from the Transkei and found a new home; but he would not,for he loved the place which he had built up brick by brick, and plantedtree by tree; nor would he consent to be driven out of it through fearof the wicked practices of Swart Piet. To one thing he did consent,however, and it was that Ralph and Suzanne should be married as soon aspossible, for he saw that until they were man and wife there would belittle peace for any of us. When they were spoken to on the matter,neither of them had anything to say against this plan; indeed, I believethat in their hearts, for the first and last time in their lives, theyblessed the name of Black Piet, whose evil-doing, as they thought, washurrying on their happiness.
Now it was settled that the matter of this marriage should be keptsecret for fear it should come to the ears of Van Vooren through hisspies, and stir him up to make a last attempt to steal away Suzanne.And, indeed, it did come to his ears, though how to this hour I donot know, unless, in spite of our warning, the _predicant_ who was toperform the ceremony, a good and easy man but one who loved gossip,blabbed of it on his journey to the farm, for he had a two days' ride toreach it.
/> It was the wish of all of us that we should continue to live togetherafter the marriage of Ralph and Suzanne, though not beneath the sameroof. Indeed, there would have been no room for another married pair inthat house, especially if children came to them, nor did I wish toshare the rule of a dwelling with my own daughter after she had takena husband, for such arrangements often end in bitterness and quarrels.Therefore Jan determined to build them a new house in a convenient spotnot far away, and it was agreed that during the two or three monthswhile this house was building Ralph and his wife should pay a visit to acousin of mine, who owned a very fine farm on the outskirts of the dorpwhich we used to visit from time to time to partake of _Nachtmahl_[*].This seemed wise to us for several reasons beyond that of the buildingof the new house. It is always best that young people should begin theirmarried life alone, as by nature they wish to do, and not under the eyesof those who have bred and nurtured them, for thus face to face, withnone to turn to, they grow more quickly accustomed to each other'sfaults and weaknesses, which, perhaps, they have not learned or takencount of before.
[*] That is, Holy Communion.
Moreover, in the case of Ralph and Suzanne we thought it safer thatthey should be absent for a while from their own district and theneighbourhood of Swart Piet, living in a peopled place where they couldnot be molested, although, not knowing the wickedness of his heart, wedid not believe it possible that he _would_ molest them when once theywere married. Indeed, there was some talk of their going to the dorpfor the wedding, and I wish that they had done so, for then much troublemight have been spared to us. But their minds were set against thisplan, for they desired to be married where they had met and lived solong, so we did not gainsay them.
At length came the eve of the wedding day and with it the _predicant_,who arrived hungry and thirsty but running over with smiles andblessings. That night we all supped together and were full of joy, norwere Ralph and Suzanne the least joyous of us, though they said little,but sat gazing at each other across the table as though the moon hadstruck them.
Before I went to bed I had occasion to go out of the house for Iremembered that some linen which Suzanne was to take with her had beenleft drying upon bushes after the wash, and I feared that if it remainedthere the Kaffir women might steal it. This linen was spread at a littledistance from the house, near the huts where Sihamba lived, but I tookno lantern with me, for the moon was bright.
As I drew near the spot I thought that I heard a sound of chanting whichseemed to come from a little circle of mimosa trees that grew a spear'sthrow to my left, of chanting very low and sweet. Wondering who it wasthat sung thus, and why she sang--for the voice was that of a woman--Icrept to the nearest of the trees, keeping in its shadow, and peepedthrough the branches into the grassy space beyond, to perceive Sihambacrouched in the centre of the circle. She was seated upon a low stonein such fashion that her head and face shone strangely in the moonlight,while her body was hidden in the shadow. Before her, placed upon anotherstone, stood a large wooden bowl, such as the Kaffirs cut out of thetrunk of a tree, spending a month of labour, or more, upon the task,and into this bowl, which I could see was filled with water, for itreflected the moonrays, she was gazing earnestly, and, as she gazed,chanting that low, melancholy song whereof I could not understand themeaning.
Presently Sihamba ceased her singing, and turning from the bowl asthough she had seen in it something that frightened her, she covered hereyes with her hands and groaned aloud, muttering words in which the nameof Suzanne was mixed up, or of Swallow, as she called her. Now I guessedthat Sihamba was practising that magic of which she was said to be sogreat a mistress, although she denied always that she knew anything ofthe art. At first I made up my mind to call to her to cease from suchwickedness, which, as the Holy Book tells us, is a sin in the eyes ofthe Lord, and a cause of damnation to those who practise it. But I wascurious and longed greatly in my heart to know what it was that Sihambasaw in the bowl, and what it had to do with my daughter Suzanne. So Ichanged my mind, thereby making myself a partaker of the sin, and comingforward said instead:
"What is it that you do here by night, in this solitary place, Sihamba?"
Now although, as I suppose, she had neither seen nor heard me, for Icame up from behind her, Sihamba did not start or cry out as any otherwoman would have done; she did not even turn to look at me as sheanswered in a clear and steady voice:
"Now while she is still a girl I read the fate of Swallow and of thosewho love her according to my lore, O mother of Swallow. Look, I read itthere."
I looked and saw that the large bowl was filled to the brim with purewater. At the bottom of it lay some white sand, and on the sand wereplaced five pieces of broken looking-glass, all of which had been filedcarefully to a round shape. The largest of these pieces was of the sizeof a crown of English money. This lay in the exact centre of the bowl.Above it and almost touching its edge, was another piece the size of ahalf-crown, then to the right and left at a little distance, two morepieces of the size of a shilling, and below, but some way off, where thebowl began to curve, a very small piece not larger than a six-penny bit.
"Swallow," said Sihamba, pointing to the two largest of the fragments,"and husband of Swallow. There to the right and left father and motherof Swallow, and here at her feet, a long way off and very small,Sihamba, servant of Swallow, made all of them from the broken glass thatshows back the face, which she gave me, and set, as they must be set,like the stars in the Cross of the Skies."
Now I shivered a little, for in myself I was afraid of this woman'smagic, but to her I laughed and said roughly:
"What fool's plaything made of bits of broken glass is this that youhave here, Sihamba?"
"It is a plaything that will tell a story to those who can read it," sheanswered without anger, but like one who knows she speaks the truth.
"Make it tell its story to me, and I will believe you," I said laughingagain.
She shook her head and answered, "Lady, I cannot, for you have not theSight; but bring your husband here, and perhaps he will be able to readthe story, or some of it."
Now at this I grew angry, for it is not pleasant to a woman to hear thata man whom all know to be but a child compared to her can see things inwater which she is not able to see, even though the things are bornonly of the false magic of a witch-doctoress. Still, as at that momentI chanced to hear Jan seeking me, for he wondered where I had gone, Icalled to him and set out the matter, expecting that he would be veryangry and dismiss Sihamba, breaking up her magic bowl. But all the whilethat I talked to him the little woman sat, her chin resting upon herhand, looking into his face, and I think that she had some power overhim. At the least, he was not at all angry, although he said that I mustnot mention the business to the _predicant_, who was well known to bea prejudiced man. Then he asked Sihamba to show him the wonders of thebowl. Replying that she would if she might, and always keeping her eyesfixed upon his face, she bade him kneel down and look into the water insuch fashion that he did not shut the moonlight off from it, and to tellus what he saw.
So he knelt and looked, whispering presently that on the midmostpiece of glass there appeared the image of Suzanne, and on the othersrespectively those of Ralph, Jan himself, me his wife, and Sihamba. Iasked him what they were doing, but he could give me no clear answer, soI suppose that they were printed there like the heads on postage stamps,if indeed they existed anywhere except in Jan's brain, into whichSihamba had conjured them.
"What do you see more?" asked Sihamba.
"I see a shadow in the water," he answered, "a dark shadow, and--it islike the head of Swart Piet cut out of black paper--it spreads till italmost hides all the faces on the bits of glass. Almost, I say, butnot quite, for things are passing beneath the shadow which I cannotdistinguish. Now it shrinks quite small, and lies only over yourlikeness, Sihamba, which shows through it red--yes, and all the waterround it is red, and now there is nothing left;" and Jan rose palewith fright, and wiped his brow with a c
oloured pocket-handkerchief,muttering "Allemachter! this is magic indeed."
"Let me look," I said, and I looked for a long while and saw nothingexcept the five bits of glass. So I told Jan outright that he was a foolwhom any conjurer could play with, but he waited until I had done andthen asked Sihamba what the vision meant.
"Father of Swallow," she answered, "what I saw in the water mirror youhave seen, only I saw more than you did because my sight is keener. Youask me what it means, but I cannot tell you altogether, for such visionsare uncertain; they sum up the future but they do not show it all. This,however, is sure, that trouble waits us every one because of Swart Piet,for his shadow lay thick upon the image of each of us; only notethis, that while it cleared away from the rest, it remained upon mine,staining it blood-red, which means that while in the end you will escapehim, I shall die at his hands, or through him. Well, so be it, butmeanwhile this is my counsel--because of other things that I saw in thewater which I cannot describe, for in truth I know not rightly what theywere--that the marriage of the Swallow and her husband should be putoff, and that when they are married it should be at the dorp yonder, nothere."
Now when I heard this my anger overflowed like water in a boiling pot."What!" I cried, "when all is settled and the _predicant_ has ridden fortwo days to do the thing, is the marriage to be put off because forsooththis little black idiot declares that she sees things on bits of glassin a bowl, and because you, Jan, who ought to know better, take the liefrom her lips and make it your own? I say that I am mistress here andthat I will not allow it. If we are to be made fools of in this fashionby the peepings and mutterings of Kaffir witch-doctors we had bettergive up and die at once to go and live among the dead, whose business itis to peep and mutter. Our business is to dwell in the world and to faceits troubles and dangers until such time as it pleases God to call usout of the world, paying no heed to omens and magic and such like sinand folly. Let that come which will come, and let us meet it like menand women, giving glory to the Almighty for the ill as well as for thegood, since both ill and good come from His hands and are part of Hisplan. For my part I trust to Him who made us and who watches us, and Ifear not Swart Piet, and therefore chance what may the marriage shall goon."
"Good words," said Jan, "such as my heart approves of;" but he stillmopped his head with the coloured pocket-handkerchief and lookedtroubled as he added, "I pray you, wife, say nothing of this to anybody,and above all to the predicant, or he will put me out of the church as awizard."
"Yes, yes," said Sihamba, "good words, but the Sight is still the Sightfor those who have the power to see. Not that I wished you to see,indeed I did not wish it, nor did I think that you would be turned fromyour purpose by that which you have seen. Father and mother of Swallow,you are right, and now I will tell you the truth. What you beheld in thewater was nothing but a trick, a clever trick of the little doctoress,Sihamba, by the help of which and others like it, she earns her living,and imposes on the foolish, though she cannot impose upon you, who arewise, and have the Lord of the skies for a friend. So think no more ofit, and do not be angry with the little black monkey whose nature itis to play tricks;" and with a motion of her foot she upset the bowlof water, and collecting the pieces of mirror hid them away in her skinpouch.
Then we went, but as I passed through the thorn trees I turned andlooked at Sihamba, and lo! she was standing in the moonlight, her facelifted towards the sky, weeping softly and wringing her hands. Then forthe first time I felt a little afraid.