"Is it the will of the
king that an impi should be gathered to eat up this upstart? Such was
the command of the one who is gone, given, as it were, with his last
breath."
"Nay, Mopo, that is not my will. If no impi can be found by thee to
wipe away the Halakazi and bring one whom I desire to delight my eyes,
then surely none can be found to eat up this Slaughterer and his
people. Moreover, Bulalio, chief of the People of the Axe, has not
offended against me, but against an elephant whose trumpetings are
done. Now this is my will, Mopo, my servant: that thou shouldst take
with thee a few men only and go gently to this Bulalio, and say to
him: 'A greater Elephant stalks through the land than he who has gone
to sleep, and it has come to his ears--that thou, Chief of the People
of the Axe, dost pay no tribute, and hast said that, because of the
death of a certain Mopo, thou wilt have nothing to do with him whose
shadow lies upon the land. Now one Mopo is sent to thee, Slaughterer,
to know if this tale is true, for, if it be true, then shalt thou
learn the weight of the hoof of that Elephant who trumpets in the
kraal of Umgugundhlovu. Think, then, and weigh thy words before thou
dost answer, Slaughterer.'"
Now I, Mopo, heard the commands of the king and pondered them in my
mind, for I knew well that it was the design of Dingaan to be rid of
me for a space that he might find time to plot my overthrow, and that
he cared little for this matter of a petty chief, who, living far
away, had dared to defy Chaka.
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