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第45章

child of storm-第45章

小说: child of storm 字数: 每页3500字

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as I was concerned personally; I went off on this latter point。

〃If you show affection as you did towards Mameena to…day; Zikali; I pray
my Spirit that you may cherish none for me;〃 I said。

He shook his great head pityingly as he answered:

〃Did you never love a lamb and kill it afterwards when you were hungry;
or when it grew into a ram and butted you; or when it drove away your
other sheep; so that they fell into the hands of thieves?  Now; I am
very hungry for the fall of the House of Senzangakona; and the lamb;
Mameena; having grown big; nearly laid me on my back to…day within the
reach of the slayer's spear。  Also; she was hunting my sheep; Saduko;
into an evil net whence he could never have escaped。  So; somewhat
against my will; I was driven to tell the truth of that lamb and her
tricks。〃

〃I daresay;〃 I exclaimed; 〃but; at any rate; she is done with; so what
is the use of talking about her?〃

〃Ah! Macumazahn; she is done with; or so you think; though that is a
strange saying for a white man who believes in much that we do not know;
but at least her work remains; and it has been a great work。  Consider
now。  Umbelazi and most of the princes; and thousands upon thousands of
the Zulus; whom I; the Dwande; hate; dead; dead!  _Mameena's work_;
Macumazahn!  Panda's hand grown strengthless with sorrow and his eyes
blind with tears。  _Mameena's work_; Macumazahn!  Cetewayo; king in all
but name; Cetewayo; who shall bring the House of Senzangakona to the
dust。  _Mameena's work_; Macumazahn!  Oh! a mighty work。  Surely she has
lived a great and worthy life; and she died a great and worthy death! 
And how well she did it!  Had you eyes to see her take the poison which
I gave hera good poison; was it not?between her kisses; Macumazahn?〃

〃I believe it was your work; and not hers;〃 I blurted out; ignoring his
mocking questions。  〃You pulled the strings; you were the wind that
caused the grass to bend till the fire caught it and set the town in
flamesthe town of your foes。〃

〃How clever you are; Macumazahn!  If your wits grow so sharp; one day
they will cut your throat; as; indeed; they have nearly done several
times already。  Yes; yes; I know how to pull strings till the trap
falls; and to blow grass until the flame catches it; and how to puff at
that flame until it burns the House of Kings。  And yet this trap would
have fallen without me; only then it might have snared other rats; and
this grass would have caught fire if I had not blown; only then it might
have burnt another House。  I did not make these forces; Macumazahn; I
did but guide them towards a great end; for which the White House 'that
is; the English' should thank me one day。〃  He brooded a while; then
went on: 〃But what need is there to talk to you of these matters;
Macumazahn; seeing that in a time to come you will have your share in
them and see them for yourself?  After they are finished; then we will
talk。〃

〃I do not wish to talk of them;〃 I answered。  〃I have said so already。 
But for what other purpose did you take the trouble to come here?〃

〃Oh; to bid you farewell for a little while; Macumazahn。  Also to tell
you that Panda; or rather Cetewayo; for now Panda is but his Voice;
since the Head must go where the Feet carry it; has spared Saduko at the
prayer of Nandie and banished him from the land; giving him his cattle
and any people who care to go with him to wherever he may choose to live
from henceforth。  At least; Cetewayo says it was at Nandie's prayer; and
at mine and yours; but what he means is that; after all that has
happened; he thought it wise that Saduko should die of himself。〃

〃Do you mean that he should kill himself; Zikali?〃

〃No; no; I mean that his own idhlozi; his Spirit; should be left to kill
him; which it will do in time。  You see; Macumazahn; Saduko is now
living with a ghost; which he calls the ghost of Umbelazi; whom he
betrayed。〃

〃Is that your way of saying he is mad; Zikali?〃

〃Oh; yes; he lives with a ghost; or the ghost lives in him; or he is
madcall it which you will。  The mad have a way of living with ghosts;
and ghosts have a way of sharing their food with the mad。  Now you
understand everything; do you not?〃

〃Of course;〃 I answered; 〃it is as plain as the sun。〃

〃Oh! did I not say you were clever; Macumazahn; you who know where
madness ends and ghosts begin; and why they are just the same thing? 
Well; the sun is no longer plain。  Look; it has sunk; and you would be
on your road who wish to be far from Nodwengu before morning。  You will
pass the plain of Endondakusuka; will you not; and cross the Tugela by
the drift?  Have a look round; Macumazahn; and see if you can recognise
any old friends。  Umbezi; the knave and traitor; for instance; or some
of the princes。  If so; I should like to send them a message。  What! 
You cannot wait?  Well; then; here is a little present for you; some of
my own work。  Open it when it is light again; Macumazahn; it may serve
to remind you of the strange little tale of Mameena with the Heart of
Fire。  I wonder where she is now?  Sometimes; sometimes〃  And he
rolled his great eyes about him and sniffed at the air like a hound。 
〃Farewell till we meet again。  Farewell; Macumazahn。  Oh! if you had
only run away with Mameena; how different things might have been
to…day!〃

I jumped up and fled from that terrible old dwarf; whom I verily
believe No; where is the good of my saying what I believe?  I fled
from him; leaving him seated on the stone in the shadows; and as I fled;
out of the darkness behind me there arose the sound of his loud and
eerie laughter。

Next morning I opened the packet which he had given me; after wondering
once or twice whether I should not thrust it down an ant…bear hole as it
was。  But this; somehow; I could not find the heart to do; though now I
wish I had。  Inside; cut from the black core of the umzimbiti wood; with
just a little of the white sap left on it to mark the eyes; teeth and
nails; was a likeness of Mameena。  Of course; it was rudely executed;
but it wasor rather is; for I have it stilla wonderfully good
portrait of her; for whether Zikali was or was not a wizard; he was
certainly a good artist。  There she stands; her body a little bent; her
arms outstretched; her head held forward with the lips parted; just as
though she were about to embrace somebody; and in one of her hands; cut
also from the white sap of the umzimbiti; she grasps a human
heartSaduko's; I presume; or perhaps Umbelazi's。

Nor was this all; for the figure was wrapped in a woman's hair; which I
knew at once for that of Mameena; this hair being held in place by the
necklet of big blue beads she used to wear about her throat。

*    *    *    *    *

Some five years had gone by; during which many things had happened to me
that need not be recorded here; when one day I found myself in a rather
remote part of the Umvoti district of Natal; some miles to the east of a
mountain called the Eland's Kopje; whither I had gone to carry out a big
deal in mealies; over which; by the way; I lost a good bit of money。 
That has always been my fate when I plunged into commercial ventures。

One night my wagons; which were overloaded with these confounded
weevilly mealies; got stuck in the drift of a small tributary of the
Tugela that most inopportunely had come down in flood。  Just as darkness
fell I managed to get them up the bank in the midst of a pelting rain
that soaked me to the bone。  There seemed to be no prospect of lighting
a fire or of obtaining any decent food; so I was about to go to bed
supperless when a flash of lightning showed me a large kraal situated
upon a hillside about half a mile away; and an idea entered my mind。

〃Who is the headman of that kraal?〃 I asked of one of the Kafirs who had
collected round us in our trouble; as such idle fellows always do。

〃Tshoza; Inkoosi;〃 answered the man。

〃Tshoza!  Tshoza!〃 I said; for the name seemed familiar to me。  〃Who is
Tshoza?〃

〃Ikona 'I don't know'; Inkoosi。  He came from Zululand some years ago
with Saduko the Mad。〃

Then; of course; I remembered at once; and my mind flew back to the
night when old Tshoza; the brother of Matiwane; Saduko's father; had cut
out the cattle of the Bangu and we had fought the battle in the pass。

〃Oh!〃 I said; 〃is it so?  Then lead me to Tshoza; and I will give you a
'Scotchman。'〃 (That is; a two…shilling piece; so called because some
enterprising emigrant from Scotland passed off a vast number of them
among the simple natives of Natal as substitutes for half…crowns。)

Tempted by this liberal offerand it was very liberal; because I was
anxious to get to Tshoza's kraal before its inhabitants went to bedthe
meditative Kafir consented to guide me by a dark and devious path that
ran through bush and dripping fields of corn。  At length we arrivedfor
if the kraal was only half a mile away; the path to it covered fully two
milesand glad enough was I when we had waded the last stream and found
ourselves at its gate。

In response to the usual inquiries; conducted amid a chorus of yapping
dogs; I was informed that Tshoza did not live there; but somewhere else;
that he was too old to see anyone; that he had gone to sleep and could
not be disturbed; that he was dead and had been buried last week; and so
forth。

〃Look here; my friend;〃 I said at last to the fellow who was telling me
all these lies; 〃you go to Tshoza in his grave and say to him that if he
does not come out alive instantly; Macumazahn will deal with his cattle
as once he dealt with those of Bangu。〃

Impressed with the strangeness of this message; the man departed; and
presently; in the dim light of the rain…washed moon; I perceived a
little old man running towards me; for Tshoza; who was pretty ancient at
the beginning of this history; had not been made younger by a severe
wound at the battle of the Tugela and many other troubles。

〃Macumazahn;〃 he said; 〃is that really you?  Why; I heard that you were
dead long ago; yes; and sacrificed an ox for the welfare of your
Spirit。〃

〃And ate it afterwards; I'll be bound;〃 I answered。

〃Oh! it must be you;〃 he went on; 〃who cannot be deceived; for it is
true we ate that ox; combining the sacrifice to your Spirit with a
feast; for why should anything be wasted when one is poor?  Yes; yes; it
must be you; for who else would come creeping about a man's kraal at
night; except the Watcher…by…Night?  Enter; Macumazahn; and be welcome。〃

So I entered and ate a good meal while we talked over old times。

〃And now; where is Saduko?〃 I asked suddenly as I lit my pipe。

〃Saduko?〃 he answered; his face changing as he spoke。  〃Oh! of course he
is here。  You know I came away with him from Zululand。  Why?  Well; to
tell the truth; because after the part we had playedagainst my will;
Macumazahnat the battle of Endondakusuka; I thought it safer to be
away from a country where those who have worn their karosses inside out
find many enemies and few friends。〃

〃Quite so;〃 I said。  〃But about Saduko?〃

〃Oh; I told you; did I not?  He is in the next hut; and dying!〃

〃Dying!  What of; Tshoza?〃

〃I don't know;〃 he answered mysteriously; 〃but I think he must be

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