on the morrow at sundown all that remained of thomas owen was laid torest before the altar of the little church, nodwengo the king andhokosa lowering him into the grave, while john, his first disciple,read over him the burial service of the christians, which it had beenone of the dead man's last labours to translate into the language ofthe amasuka.
before the ceremony was finished, a soldier, carrying a spear in hishand, pushed his way through the dense and weeping crowd, and havingsaluted, whispered something into the ear of the king. nodwengostarted, and, with a last look of farewell at the face of his friend,left the chapel, accompanied by some of his generals who were present,muttering to hokosa that he was to follow when all was done.
accordingly, some few minutes later, he went and was admitted into thecouncil hut, where captains and messengers were to be seen arrivingand departing continuously.
"hokosa," said the king, "you have dealt treacherously with me in thepast, but i believe now that your heart is true; at the least i followthe commands of our dead master and trust you. listen: the outpostshave sighted an /impi/ of many regiments advancing towards the greatplace, though whether or no it be my own /impi/ returning victoriousfrom the war with my brother, i cannot say. there is this against it,however, that a messenger has but just arrived reporting that thegenerals have perceived the host of hafela encamped upon a ridge overagainst the gorge where they awaited him. if that be so, they canscarcely have given him battle, for the messenger is swift of foot andhas travelled night and day. yet how can this be the /impi/ of hafela,who, say the generals, is encamped upon the ridge?""he may have left the ridge, king, having been warned of the ambush.""it cannot be, for when the runner started his fires burned there andhis soldiers were gathered round them.""then perhaps his captains sit upon the ridge with some portion of hisstrength to deceive those who await him in the gorge; while, knowingthat here men are few, he himself swoops down on you with the mainbody of his /impi/.""at least we shall learn presently," answered the king; "but if it beas i fear and we are outwitted, what is there that we can do againstso many?"now one of the captains proposed that they should stay where they wereand hold the place.
"it is too large," answered the king, "they will burst the fences andbreak our line."another suggested that they should fly and, avoiding the regiments ofhafela in the darkness of the night, should travel swiftly in searchof the main army that had been sent to lie in ambush.
"what," said nodwengo, "leaving the aged and the women and children toperish, for how can we take such a multitude? no, i will have none ofthis plan."then hokosa spoke. "king," he said, "listen to my counsel: command nowthat all the women and the old men, taking with them such cattle andfood as are in the town, depart at once into the valley of death andcollect in the open space that lies beyond the tree of doom, near thespring of water that is there. the valley is narrow and the cliffs aresteep, and it may chance that by the help of heaven we shall be ableto hold it till the army returns to relieve us, to seek whichmessengers must be sent at once with these tidings.""the plan is good," said the king, though none had thought of it; "butso we shall lose the town.""towns can be rebuilt," answered hokosa, "but who may restore thelives of men?"as the words left his lips, a runner burst into the council, crying:
"king, the /impi/ is that of hafela, and the prince heads it inperson. already his outposts rest upon the plain of fire."then nodwengo rose and issued his orders, commanding that all theineffective population of the town, together with such food and cattleas could be gathered, should retreat at once into the valley of death.
by this time the four or five thousand soldiers who were left in thegreat place had been paraded on the open ground in front of the king'shouse, where they stood, still and silent, in the moonlight. nodwengoand the captains went out to them, and as they saw him come theylifted their spears like one man, giving him the royal salute of"king!" he held up his hand and addressed them.
"soldiers," he said, "we have been outwitted. my /impi/ is afar, andthat of hafela is at our gates. yonder in the valley, though we befew, we can defend ourselves till succour reaches us, which alreadymessengers have gone out to seek. but first we must give time for thewomen and children, the sick and the aged, to withdraw with food andcattle; and this we can do in one way only, by keeping hafela at baytill they have passed the archway, all of them. now, soldiers, for thesake of your own lives, of your honour and of those you love, swear tome, in the holy name which we have been taught to worship, that youwill fight out this great fight without fear or faltering.""we swear it in the holy name, and by your head, king," roared theregiments.
"then victory is already ours," answered nodwengo. "follow me,children of fire!" and shaking his great spear, he led the way towardsthat portion of the outer fence upon which hafela was advancing.
by now the town behind them was a scene of almost indescribable tumultand confusion, for the companies detailed to the task were clearingthe numberless huts of their occupants, and collecting women, childrenand oxen in thousands, preparatory to driving them into the defile.
panic had seized many of these poor creatures, who, in imagination,already saw themselves impaled upon the cruel spears of hafela'stroops, and indeed in not a few instances believed those who wereurging them forward to be the enemy. women shrieked and wrung theirhands, children wailed piteously, oxen lowed, and the infirm and agedvented their grief in groans and cries to heaven, or their ancientgod, for mercy. in truth, so difficult was the task of marshallingthis motley array at night, numbering as it did ten or twelve thousandsouls, that a full hour went by before the mob even began to move,slowly and uncertainly, towards the place of refuge, whereof theopening was so narrow that but few of them could pass it at a time.
meanwhile hafela was developing the attack. forming his great armyinto the shape of a wedge he raised his battle-cry and rushed down onthe first line of fortifications, which he stormed without difficulty,for they were defended by a few skirmishers only. next he attacked thesecond line, and carried it after heavy fighting, then hurled himselfupon the weakest point of the main fence of the vast kraal. here itwas that the fray began in earnest, for here nodwengo was waiting forhim. thrice the thousands rolled on in the face of a storm of spears,and thrice they fell back from the wide fence of thorns and the wallof stone behind it. by now the battle had raged for about an hour anda half, and it was reported to the king that the first of the womenand children had passed the archway into the valley, and that nearlyall of them were clear of the eastern gate of the town.
"then it is time that we follow them," said the king, "for if we waithere until the warriors of hafela are among us, our retreat willbecome a rout and soon there will be none left to follow. let onecompany," and he named it, "hold the fence for a while to give us timeto withdraw, taking the wounded with us.""we hear you, king," said one of that company, "but our captain iskilled.""who among you will take over the command of these men and hold thebreach?" asked nodwengo of the group of officers about him.
"i, king," answered old hokosa, lifting his spear, "for i care notwhether i live or die.""go to, boaster!" cried another. "who among us cares whether he livesor dies when the king commands?""that we shall know to-morrow," said hokosa quietly, and the soldierslaughed at the retort.
"so be it," said the king, and while silently and swiftly he led offthe regiments, keeping in the shadow of the huts, hokosa and hishundred men posted themselves behind the weakened fence and wall. now,for the fourth time the attacking regiment came forward grimly, onthis occasion led by the prince himself. as they drew near, hokosaleapt upon the wall, and standing there in the bright moonlight whereall could see him, he called to them to halt. instinctively theyobeyed him.
"is it hafela whom i see yonder?" he asked.
"ah! it is i," answered the prince. "what would you with me, wizardand traitor?""this only, hafela: i would ask you what you seek here?""that which you promised me, hokosa, the crown of my father andcertain other things.""then get you back, hafela, for you shall never win them.. have iprophesied falsely to you at any time? not so--neither do i prophesyfalsely now. get you back whence you came, and your wolves with you,else shall you bide here for ever.""do you dare to call down evil on me, wizard?" shouted the princefuriously. "your wife is mine, and now i take your life also," andwith all his strength he hurled at him the great spear he held.
it hissed past hokosa's head, touching his ear, but he never flinchedfrom the steel.
"a poor cast, prince," he said laughing; "but so it must have been,for i am guarded by that which you cannot see. my wife you have, andshe shall be your ruin; my life you may take, but ere it leaves me,hafela, i shall see you dead and your army scattered. the messenger ispassed away, but his power has fallen upon me and i speak the truth toyou, o prince and warriors, who are--already dead."now a shriek of dismay and fury rose from the hundreds who heard thisprophesy of ill, for of hokosa and his magic they were terriblyafraid.
"kill him! kill the wizard!" they shouted, and a rain of spears rushedtowards him on the wall.
they rushed towards him, they passed above, below, around; but, ofthem all, not one touched him.
"did i not tell you that i was guarded by that which you cannot see?"hokosa asked contemptuously. then slowly he descended from the wallamidst a great silence.
"when men are scarce the tongue must play a part," he explained to hiscompanions, who stared at him wondering. "by now the king and thosewith him should have reached the eastern gate; whereas, had we foughtat once, hafela would be hard upon his heels, for we are few, and whocan hold a buffalo with a rope of grass? yet i think that i spoketruth when i told him that the garment of the messenger has fallenupon my shoulders, and that death awaits him and his companions, as itawaits me also and many of us. now, friends, be ready, for the bullcharges and soon we must feel his horns. this at least is left to you,to die gloriously."while he was still speaking the first files of the regiment rushedupon the fence, tearing aside the thorns with their hands till apassage was made through them. then they sprang upon the wall, thereto be met by the spears of hokosa and his men thrusting upward frombeneath its shelter. time after time they sprang, and time after timethey fell back dead or wounded, till at last, dashing forward in onedense column, they poured over the stones as the rising tide poursover the rocks on the sea-shore, driving the defenders before them bythe sheer weight of numbers.
"this game is played!" cried hokosa. "fly now to the eastern gate, forhere we can do nothing more."so they fled, those who survived of them, and after them came thethousands of the foe, sacking and firing the deserted town as theyadvanced.
hokosa and his men, or rather the half of them, reached the gate andpassed it in safety, barring it after them, and thereby delaying theattackers till they could burst their way through. now hundreds ofhuts were afire, and the flames spread swiftly, lighting up thecountry far and wide. in the glare of them, hokosa could see thatalready a full two-thirds of the crowd of fugitives had passed thenarrow arch; while nodwengo and the soldiers were drawn up incompanies upon the steep and rocky slope that led to it, protectingtheir retreat.
he advanced to the king and reported himself.
"so you have lived through it," said nodwengo.
"i shall die when my hour comes, and not before," hokosa answered. "wedid well yonder, and yet the most of us are alive to tell the tale,for i knew when and how to go. be ready, king, for the foe press usclose, and that mob behind us crawls onward like a snail."as he spoke the pursuers broke through the fence and gate of theburning town, and once more the fight began. they had the advantage ofnumbers; but nodwengo and his troops stood in a wide road upon higherground protected on either side by walls, and were, moreover, rested,not breathless and weary with travel like the men of hafela. slowly,fighting, every inch of the way, nodwengo was pushed back, and slowlythe long ant-like line of women and sick and cattle crept through theopening in the rock, till at length all of them were gone.
"it is time," said nodwengo, glancing behind him, "for our arms growweary."then he gave orders, and company by company the defending forcefollowed on the path of the fugitives, till at length amidst a roar ofrage and disappointment, the last of them vanished through the arch,hokosa among them, and the place was blocked with stones, above whichshone a hedge of spears.
