Farewell, my
children!"
"Farewell, father," they answered, "go warily, lest we be left like
cattle without a herdsman, wandering and desolate."
Then Umslopogaas crept into the hole, taking no shield, but holding
Groan-Maker before him, and at his heels crept Galazi. When he had
covered the length of six spears he stretched out his hand, and, as he
trusted to do, he found the feet of that man who had gone before and
died in the place. Then Umslopogaas the way did this: he put his head
beneath the dead man's legs and thrust himself onward till all the
body was on his back, and there he held it with one hand, gripping its
two wrists in his hand. Then he crawled forward a little space and saw
that he was coming to the inner mouth of the burrow, but that the
shadow was deep there because of a great mass of rock which lay before
the burrow shutting out the light. "This is well for me," thought
Umslopogaas, "for now they will not know the dead from the living. I
may yet look upon the son again." Now he heard the Halakazi soldiers
talking without.
"The Zulu rats do not love this run," said one, "they fear the rat-
catcher's stick. This is good sport," and a man laughed.
Then Umslopogaas pushed himself forward as swiftly as he could,
holding the dead man on his back, and suddenly came out of the hole
into the open place in the dark shadow of the great rock.
Pages:
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341