So in truth he did, for before his spear pierced it his heart was
broken.
Now, seeing that Cetewayo was in one of his soft moods, and that he
seemed to look upon me kindly, though I had fought against him, I
reflected that this would be a good opportunity to ask his leave to
depart. To tell the truth, my nerves were quite shattered with all I had
gone through, and I longed to be away from the sights and sounds of that
terrible battlefield, on and about which so many thousand people had
perished this fateful day, as I had seldom longed for anything before.
But while I was making up my mind as to the best way to approach him,
something happened which caused me to lose my chance.
Hearing a noise behind me, I looked round, to see a stout man arrayed
in a very fine war dress, and waving in one hand a gory spear and in the
other a head-plume of ostrich feathers, who was shouting out: "Give me audience of the son of the King! I have a song to sing to the
Prince. I have a tale to tell to the conqueror, Cetewayo."
I stared. I rubbed my eyes. It could not be--yes, it was--Umbezi,
"Eater-up-of-Elephants," the father of Mameena. In a few seconds,
without waiting for leave to approach, he had bounded through the line
of dead princes, stopping to kick one of them on the head and address
his poor clay in some words of shameful insult, and was prancing about
before Cetewayo, shouting his praises.
"Who is this umfokazana?" [that is, low fellow] growled the Prince. "Bid
him cease his noise and speak, lest he should be silent for ever."
"O Calf of the Black Cow, I am Umbezi, 'Eater-up-of-Elephants,' chief
captain of Saduko the Cunning, he who won you the battle, father of
Mameena the Beautiful, whom Saduko wed and whom the dead dog, Umbelazi,
stole away from him."
"Ah!" said Cetewayo, screwing up his eyes in a fashion he had when
he meant mischief, which among the Zulus caused him to be named the
"Bull-who-shuts-his-eyes-to-toss," "and what have you to tell me,
'Eater-up-of-Elephants' and father of Mameena, whom the dead dog,
Umbelazi, took away from your master, Saduko the Cunning?"
"This, O Mighty One; this, O Shaker of the Earth, that well am I named
'Eater-up-of-Elephants,' who have eaten up Indhlovu-ene-Sihlonti--the
Elephant himself."
Now Saduko seemed to awake from his brooding and started from his place;
but Cetewayo sharply bade him be silent, whereon Umbezi, the fool,
noting nothing, continued his tale.
"O Prince, I met Umbelazi in the battle, and when he saw me he fled from
me; yes, his heart grew soft as water at the sight of me, the warrior
whom he had wronged, whose daughter he had stolen."