_Hamba!_ (go)----" and seizing the fat old ruffian by the scruff of his
neck, he flung him backwards with such violence that he rolled over and
over down the little slope.
Hadden laughed, and passed on towards the stream where he proposed to
bathe. Just as he reached it, he caught sight of Maputa riding along the
footpath, his head-ring covered with mud, his lips purple and his black
face livid with rage.
"There goes an angry man," he said to himself. "Now, how would it
be----" and he looked upwards like one seeking an inspiration. It seemed
to come; perhaps the devil finding it open whispered in his ear, at any
rate--in a few seconds his plan was formed, and he was walking through
the bush to meet Maputa.
"Go in peace, Chief," he said; "they seem to have treated you roughly up
yonder. Having no power to interfere, I came away for I could not bear
the sight. It is indeed shameful that an old and venerable man of rank
should be struck into the dirt, and beaten by a soldier drunk with
beer."
"Shameful, White Man!" gasped Maputa; "your words are true indeed.
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