CHAPTER XX
THE OMEN OF THE WHITE SWALLOW
Now Sigwe and two of his captains walked to where the diviners stood andtook counsel with them, speaking low and earnestly. Then he returned andsaid:
"Sihamba, Walker-by-Moonlight, and you, Lady Swallow, listen to me. Awonderful thing has come to pass in the kraal of Sigwe this day, sucha thing as our fathers have not known. You see that my host is gatheredyonder: well, to-morrow they start to make war upon these very Endwandweof whom you have spoken because of a deadly insult which they have putupon me and my house. Therefore, according to custom, this morning thesoldiers were assembled at dawn to be doctored and that the divinersmight search out the omens of the war. So the diviners searched, and shewho was chosen among them ate the medicine and sank into the witch sleephere before us all. Yes, this one," and he pointed to a tall woman withdreamy eyes who was bedizened with bones and snakeskins.
"Now in her sleep she spoke, and we hung upon her words, for we knewthat they would be the words of omen. Sihamba, these were the words, asall can testify:
"'Thus say the spirits of your fathers, and thus speaks the Snake ofyour tribe. Unless a _White Swallow_ guide your footsteps in the warwith the Men of the Mountains you shall perish and your impis shall bescattered, but if a _White Swallow_ flies before your spears than butlittle of your blood shall be shed, and you shall return with honour andwith one whom you seek. Only the Swallow shall not return with you, forif she set her face southward, then, Sigwe, woe to you and your armies.'
"Sihamba, these were the words of the dreamer. Scarcely was she awakeagain, while we wondered at their strangeness, and asked her questionsof their meaning, which she could not answer, for here the wisdom ofthe wisest was at fault, lo! you rode over the hill, and with you abeautiful white woman whose name you say is Swallow. Yes, this is theWhite Swallow who shall fly in front of my regiments, bringing me honourand good fortune in the war, and therefore, Sihamba, your prayer isgranted, though not all of it, for you shall go northward and notsouthward, and among your own people I will leave you and the Swallowwith you, and for her sake I will spare your people, the people ofUmpondwana, although they are subject to my foe, the Endwandwe, and ofthe same blood. Moreover, while you are among us all honour shall bedone to you and the Swallow, and of the cattle we capture a tenth partshall be the Swallow's. Still, I tell you this, that had it not been forthe omen of the diviner I would have refused your prayer and deliveredyou and the Swallow over to Bull-Head, for with him I have swornfriendship long ago. But now the face of things is changed, and shouldhe come with a hundred men armed with guns yet I will protect you fromhim, and the Swallow also; yes, though oaths must be broken to do it."
When they heard this saying, Suzanne and Sihamba looked at each other indismay.
"Alas!" said Suzanne, "it seems that we do but change one prison foranother, for now we must be borne away to the far north to do battlewith this Kaffir chief, and there be left among your people, so thatnone will know what has become of us, and the heart of Ralph will breakwith doubt and sorrow; yes, and those of my parents also."
"It is bad," answered Sihamba, "but had not yonder diviner dreamed thatdream of a swallow, it would have been worse. Better is it to travel inall honour with the impis of Sigwe than to be dragged back by Bull-Headto his secret kraal--I to be done to death there and you to the choiceof which you know. For the rest we must take our chance and escape whenthe time comes, and meanwhile we will send a message to the stead."
Now Suzanne heard her, and sat upon the horse thinking, for her troublewas sore; still, she could see no way out of the net which had meshedher. As she thought, a man who was herding cattle on the mountainsran up to the chief and saluted him, saying that five men, one of themwhite, rode towards his kraal. When Suzanne heard this she hesitated nomore, but cried out to the chief Sigwe, speaking in the Kaffir tongue,which she knew well:
"Chief Sigwe, swear to me that you will not suffer Bull-Head so much asto touch me or my sister Sihamba, and that while we dwell with you youwill treat us with all honour, and I, who am named Swallow, yes, I,the White Swallow of the diviner's dream, will lead your armies to thenorthern land, bringing you the good fortune which is mine to give toothers, though myself I know it not."
"I swear by the spirits of my fathers, lady," answered Sigwe, "and thesemy counsellors and headmen swear it also."
"Yes," echoed the counsellors, "we swear it, all of it, and while oneof us is left alive the oath shall be fulfilled, O White Bird of goodomen."
Then Sigwe gave an order, and at his bidding five hundred soldiers,the half of a regiment, ran up and formed a circle about Sihamba andSuzanne, who still sat upon the _schimmel_, white faced and wearied, herhair hanging down her back. Scarcely was the circle made when fromround the shoulder of the hill appeared Swart Piet and with him his fourafter-riders.
Seeing all the great array, he halted for a moment astonished, thencatching sight of Suzanne set up above the heads of the ring ofsoldiers, he rode straight to Sigwe, who, with his counsellors andguards, was standing outside the circle.
"Chief Sigwe," he said, "a wife of mine with her servant has escapedfrom me, and as I suspected taken refuge in your kraal, for I see hersitting yonder surrounded by your soldiers. Now, in the name of ourfriendship, I pray you hand them over to me that I may lead them back totheir duty."
"I give you greeting, Bull-Head," answered Sigwe courteously, "and Ithank you for your visit to my town; presently an ox shall be sent foryou to eat. As for this matter of the white lady and her companion it isone that we can inquire into at leisure. I hear that she is the daughterof the big Boer whom the natives of the coast name Thick-Arm; also thatyou murdered the lady's husband and carried her off by force to be yourwife instead of his. Now here, as you know, I am chief paramount, forhaving of our blood in your veins, you understand our customs, and,therefore, I must see justice done, especially as I do not wish to bringa quarrel with the white people upon our heads. So off-saddle a while,and to-morrow before I start upon a certain journey, I will summon mycounsellors and we will try the case."
Now by this time Swart Piet, who, as Sigwe had said, understood thecustoms of the Kaffirs, knew very well that the chief was makingexcuses, and would not surrender Suzanne to him. For a while he kepthimself calm, but when this knowledge came home to his mind hisreason left him, and he grew more than commonly mad with rage anddisappointment, for after all his crimes and toil Suzanne was now as farfrom him as ever. Springing from his horse, but still keeping the gun inhis hand, he ran up to the triple ring of soldiers, pausing only at thehedge of assegais which shone about it.
"Open," he said, "open, you red dogs!" but not a spear moved. Twice heran round the circle, then he stopped and cried, "Sihamba. Is Sihambahere?"
"Surely, Bull-Head," answered the little woman, walking forward fromwhere she stood behind the _schimmel_. "Where else should I be? Ipray you, soldiers, draw a little way but not far apart, that yonderhalf-breed may satisfy his eyes with the sight of me. So, a littleway, but not far, for I who know him like him best at a distance. Now,Bull-Head," she went on, "what is it that you wish to talk about--theEnglishman, Ralph Kenzie, the husband of Swallow yonder? You thought youkilled him. Well, it was not so; I lifted him living from the water,and I, who am a doctoress, tell you that his wound is of no account,and that soon he will be strong again and seeking a word with you,Half-breed. No, not of him? Then perhaps it is of your hidden krantz andthe new hut you built in it. Bah! I knew its secret long ago and--thathut has too wide a smoke-hole. Go back and ask him who guarded it ifthis is not true. What! Not of that either? Then would you speak of theride which we have taken? Ah! man, I thought at least that you were nocoward, and yet even when you had us in your hand, you did not dare toface the Red Water which two women swam on one tired horse. Look athim, soldiers, look at the brave cross-bred chief who dared not swim hishorse across one little stream."
Now while the soldiers laughed Swart Piet stamped upon the g
round,foaming with rage, for Sihamba's bitter words stuck in him like barbedassegais.
"Snake's wife, witch!" he screamed, "I will catch you yet, and then youshall learn how slowly a woman may die, yes, and her also, and she shalllearn other things, for if that husband of hers is not dead I willkill him before her eyes. I tell you I will follow you both throughall Africa and across the sea if needful; yes, whenever you lie down tosleep, you may be sure that Piet van Vooren is not far from you."
"Do you say so?" mocked Sihamba. "Well, now I think of it you have noluck face to face with me, Half-breed, and were I you, I should look theother way when you saw me coming, for I who have the Sight tell you thatwhen you behold the Walker-by-Moonlight for the last time, you will verysoon become a walker in the darkness for ever. Bah!" she went on, herclear voice rising to a cry. "Bastard, dog, thief, murderer that youare! I, Sihamba, who have met and beaten you in every pool of thestream, will beat you for the last time where the stream falls into thesea. Be not deceived, yonder Swallow never shall be yours; for many andmany a year after you are dead, your rival shall fold her close, andwhen men name your name they shall spit upon the ground. Nothing,nothing shall be yours, but shame and empty longing and black death, andafter it the woe of the wicked. Get you back to your secret krantz andyour Kaffir wives, Half-breed, and tell them the tale of your ride, andof how you did not dare to face the foam of the Red Water."
Now Van Vooren went mad indeed; so mad that, forgetting he was not onthe lonely veldt, he lifted his gun and fired straight at Sihamba. Buther eye was quick, and seeing the muzzle rise, she threw herself uponthe ground, so that the ball passed over her.
"Why, Half-breed, have you even forgotten how to shoot?" she called,springing to her feet again and mocking him. Then the voice of Sigwebroke in, for his anger was deep.
"One thing you have certainly forgotten, Bull-Head," he said, "thatthese two are my guests and wrapped in my kaross, and therefore fromthis hour we are enemies. Ho! men," he cried to his guard, "I spareBull-Head's life because once we were friends, therefore do not take hislife, but beat him and those with him out of my town with the shafts ofyour assegais, and if ever he sets foot within it again then use theirblades upon him."
At their chief's bidding the soldiers of the guard sprang forward,and, falling upon Van Vooren and those with him, they flogged them withsticks and the shafts of their spears until from head to foot they werenothing but blood and bruises, and thus they drove them out of the townof Sigwe back to the ford of the Red River.
When they were gone, Suzanne, who through it all had sat upon the horsewatching in silence, now urged him forward to where Sigwe stood, andsaid:
"Chief, I thank you for that deed, and now, I pray you, give us foodand a hut to rest in, for we are wet and hungry and worn out with longtravel."
So the guest masters led them into the fence of the town and gave themthe guest hut, the largest in the kraal, and the best food that theyhad--milk and meal and beef and eggs, as much as they would of it. The_schimmel_ also was fastened to a post in the little courtyard of thehut, and a Kaffir who once had served as groom to a white man, washedhim all over with warm water. Afterwards he was given a mash of meal toeat, and, later, when he was a little rested, his fill of good forage,which he ate gladly, for, though he was very tired and his legs weresomewhat swollen, otherwise he was none the worse for that great ride.
In the shelter of the hut Suzanne took off her clothes, remembering witha sort of wonder how she had put them on on the morning of her marriage,which now seemed years ago, and bathed herself with water. Then Sihambahaving given the garments to a waiting woman to wash, wrapped her in asoft kaross of fur, and after drinking some milk and eating a little,Suzanne laid herself down upon a mattress made of the husks of mealiecobs, and even as she thanked God Who had brought her safely through somany dangers past, and prayed Him to protect her in those that wereto come, and to comfort the heart of her husband in his sickness andaffliction, she fell asleep. When she saw her sleeping, but not before,Sihamba crept to her feet, for now that all was over she could scarcelywalk, and laying herself down there slept also.
All the rest of the day they slept, and all the night that followed,nor did they wake till sunrise of the next morning, when women of thehousehold of the chief knocked upon the door-board to ask if they neededaught. Then they rose feeling well and strong again except for thestiffness of their limbs, and Suzanne clothed herself in the garmentsthat the woman had washed, combing her dark hair with a Kaffir comb.Afterwards they ate heartily of the good food that was brought tothem, and left the hut to visit the _schimmel_, that they found almostrecovered and devouring Kaffir sugar-cane, though like themselves he wassomewhat stiff.
Presently, while they stroked and fondled him, a messenger came, sayingthat if it pleased the lady Swallow, the chief Sigwe would take counselwith her in the place of audience. So after a little while they went,and as they passed out of the kraal fence, Suzanne was received with achief's salute by the escort that was waiting for her. Then surroundingher and Sihamba, they led them to the place of audience, a circle ofground enclosed by a high double fence, and as Suzanne entered it oncemore all present there, including Sigwe himself, gave her the salute ofchiefs.
But though it was strange enough that such a thing should happen to awhite woman, at the time Suzanne took little notice of the salute oraught else, for there standing before her, looking much bewildered andvery weary, was none other than Zinti and with him Sihamba's horse, andalso that mule laden with goods, which they had abandoned in the woodnearly a hundred miles away, when they came face to face with VanVooren and his riders and turned to begin their long flight for life andliberty.