Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1888-11-15
CHAPTER VIII.

aThe impi formed up Alas an hour be-
fore it had been stronger by a third than it
was now Then Nala detached two hundred
men to collect and attend to the injured, and
at my suggestion issued q stringent order
that none Of the elemy's wounded, and above
ali no women and children, were to be killed,
rs is the savage custom among African ma
tives On the contrary, they were TO be al
lowed to send word to their women that they
might come in 10 nurse them, and fear moth
ng for Nala made war upon Wambe the
tvrant, and not on the MatuSu tribe Then
we started with some four hundred men for
the chiefs kraal Very soon we were there.
1t was. as | have said, placed against the
mountain side, but within the fortified lines,
and did not cover more than an acre and
half of ground altogether Outside was a
tidy reed fence. within which, realty ar
ranged in semicircular line, stood the huts
Of the chiefs principal wives. Maiwa of
course. knew every inch of the kraal, for she
had lived in it, and led us straight to the
entrance. We peeped through the gateway.
Not a soul was TO be seen. There were the
huts, and there was the clear open space,
floored with a concrete Of lime, on which the
sun beat iiercely, but nobody could we see or
hear.
THE iaekal has gone to earth said
Maiwa He VIII be in the cave behind his
hut, ard she pointed with her spear towards
another small and semicircular enclosure,
over which large hut was visible that had
the cliff itself for background ! stared at
this fence. By George, it was truel it was
entirely made Of tusks of ivory planted in
the ground, with their points bending out
ward The smaller ones, though none were
small, were placed nearest TO the cliff on
either side, but they gradually increased in
size till they eliminated in two enormous
tusks, which set up SO that their points met
something in the shape Of an inverted V,
forming the gateway TO the hut. | was
dumfounded with delight, and, indeed,
where is the elephant hunter who would not
be if he suddenly saw five or six hundred
picked tusks set up in a row, and only wait
ing for him to take them awayi OF course
the stuff was what is known as black ivory;
that is, the exterior of the tuslls had become
black from years or perphaps centuries of
exposure to wind and weather; but | was
certain that it would be none the worse for
that Forgetting the danger of the proceed
ING, actually ran, in my excitement, right
across the open space, and, drawing my
knife, scratched vigorously at one Of the
great tusks to see how deep the damage was.
As thought, it wa ;-u,h. g. there beneath
Inc black covering CLEANED The pure white
ivory. ! could hay T. p. ,ed ior joy. for |
lear that | am very mercenary OF heart,
when suddenly heard the faint echo of a
cry for assistance. 'Helpr screamed a voice
IN the SiSutu dialect from somewhere beyond
The hut-'help! they are numbering me-
knew the voice. 1t was John Every's
un, what a selfish brute was IL for the mo-
ment that miserable ivory had driven the
recollection Of him out of my head and now
perhaps it was too late.
"Nala, Maiwa and the soldiers had now
come up. They, too, had heard the voice,
and interpreted its tone, though they had
not caught the words.
This wayn cried Maiwa: and we started
at a run, passing round the hut of Wambe.
Behind was the narrow entrance to a cave.
We rushed through it, needless Of the danger
q an ambush, and this was what we saw,
though very confusedly at first, owing to the
gloom:
In the center of the cave and with eitser
ena secured to the floor by strong stakes, was
huge double springed lion trap fringed with
s,hail' and grinning teeth. 1t was set, and
beyond the trap, indeed almost over it, a ter
rioie struggle was in progress. A naked, or