"Oh, well, well, Macumazahn. For is she not the head lady of the
Amasomi? There is nothing wrong with her--nothing at all, except that as
yet she has no child; also that--," and he paused.
"That what?" I asked.
"That she hates the very sight of her husband, Masapo, and says that
she would rather be married to a baboon--yes, to a baboon--than to him,
which gives him offence, after he has paid so many cattle for her.
But what of this, Macumazahn? There is always a grain missing upon
the finest head of corn. Nothing is quite perfect in the world,
Macumazahn, and if Mameena does not chance to love her husband--" and he
shrugged his shoulders and drank some "squareface."
"Of course it does not matter in the least, Umbezi, except to Mameena
and her husband, who no doubt will settle down in time, now that Saduko
is married to a princess of the Zulu House."
"I hope so, Macumazahn, but, to tell the truth, I wish you had brought
more guns, for I live amongst a terrible lot of people. Masapo, who is
furious with Mameena because she will have none of him, and therefore
with me, as though I could control Mameena; Mameena, who is mad with
Masapo, and therefore with me, because I gave her in marriage to him;
Saduko, who foams at the mouth at the name of Masapo, because he has
married Mameena, whom, it is said, he still loves, and therefore at me,
because I am her father and did my best to settle her in the world. Oh,
give me some more of that fire-water, Macumazahn, for it makes me forget
all these things, and especially that my guardian spirit made me the
father of Mameena, with whom you would not run away when you might have
done so. Oh, Macumazahn, why did you not run away with Mameena, and turn
her into a quiet white woman who ties herself up in sacks, sings songs
to the 'Great-Great' in the sky--[that is, hymns to the Power above
us]--and never thinks of any man who is not her husband?"
"Because if I had done so, Umbezi, I should have ceased to be a quiet
white man. Yes, yes, my friend, I should have been in some such place as
yours to-day, and that is the last thing that I wish. And now, Umbezi,
you have had quite enough 'squareface,' so I will take the bottle away
with me. Good-night."
On the following morning I trekked very early from Umbezi's
kraal--before he was up indeed, for the "squareface" made him sleep
sound. My destination was Nodwengu, Panda's Great Place, where I hoped
to do some trading, but, as I was in no particular hurry, my plan was
to go round by Masapo's, and see for myself how it fared between him and
Mameena. Indeed, I reached the borders of the Amasomi territory, whereof
Masapo was chief, by evening, and camped there. But with the night came
reflection, and reflection told me that I should do well to keep clear
of Mameena and her domestic complications, if she had any. So I changed
my mind, and next morning trekked on to Nodwengu by the only route
that my guides reported to be practicable, one which took me a long way
round.