The Dickinson press., 1890-03-22

WAAIe AldAs ot1lu 4uuaOtb-AAu1OAy UCCkOu.
ing away vigorously. "Look now at my
cloud-child."
Hooked; the eastern storm had spread
itself from earth to sky, and in shape
resembled an enormous man. There
was its head, its shoulders, and its legs;
yes, it was like huge giant travelling
across the heavens. The light of the
setting sun escaping from beneath the
lower edge of the western storm shot
across the intervening space in sheet
of splendor, and, lighting up the ad-
vancing figure, wrapped its middle in
hues of glory, too wonderful to be de-
scribed; but beneath and above this
glowing belt his feet and head were
black as jet. Presently, as I watched,
IN awful flash of light shot from the
head of the cloud and circled it about as
though with a crown of living fire and
vanished.
"Aha," chuckled old Indaba-zimbi,
my little boy is putting on his mans
ring" and he tapped the green ring on
his own head, which natives assume
when they reach certain age and dig
nifty. "Now, white man, unless you are
bigger wizard than either of us you
had better clear off, for the fire fight is
about to begin"
Thought this sound advice.
Good luck go with you, my black
UNCLE" l said. II hope you don't feel
tho iniquities of a misspent life weighing
on you at the last"
"You look after yourself, and think of
your own sins, young man." he an
swered, with grim smile, and taking a
pinch of snuff, and at that very moment
flash of lightning, 1 don't know from
which storm, struck the ground within
thirty PAGES of me. That was enough
for me. fairly took to my heels, and
as went heard old Indaba-zimbi's dry
chuckle of amusement.
I Iclimbed the hill till I came tc where
the chief was sitting with his Indunas,
and sat down near to him. I looked ut
the mans face and saw that he was in
tensely anxious for his sons safety, and
by no means confident of his powers to
resist the magic of Indaba-zimbi. He
III ~ AOW NO1CC W lllG
next to him.
"Hearken!' the chief was saying, "if
the magic of Indaba-zimbi prevails
against my son, will endure him 10
more. Of this am sure, that when he
has slain my son he will slay me, me
also, and make himself chief in my place.
fear Indaba-zimbi. On!'
"Black one," answered the Induna,
wizards die as dogs die, and, once dead,
dogs bark no more"
"And once Dead" said the chief, "wiz-
ards work no more spells," and he bent
and whispered in the Induna's ear, look
ing at the assegai in his hand as he whis-
pered.
"Good, my father, good!' said the In
duna, presently. "It shall be done to-
night, if the lightning does not do it
first"
"A bad lookout for old Indaba-zimbi, !"
said to myself. "They mean to kill
him." Then I thought no more Of the
matter for a while-the scene before me
was too tremendous.
The two storms were rapidly rushing
together.
The silence deepened and deepened,
the shadows grew blacker and blacker,
then suddenly all nature began to moan
beneath the breath of an icy wind. On
came the wind; tho smooth surface OF
the river was ruffled by it into little
waves, the tall grass bowed low before it,
and in it's wake came the kissing sound
of furious rain.
Ahl the storms had met. From eacf
there burst an awful dazzling blaze oi
light, and now the hill on which we sal
rocked in the noise of the following
thunder. The light went out of the sky
darkness fell suddenly on the land, bu
not for long. Presently the whole land
scape grew vivid in the flashes; it ap
peared and disappeared; now every
thing was visible for miles, now ever
the men at my side vanished in the
blackness.
Suddenly the thunder and lightning
ceased for minute, and everything
grew black. and. except for the rain, 81.
lent.
"Itis over, one way or the other, chief. y
called out into the darkness.
"Wait, white man, wait, answered the
chief in a voice thick with anxiety and
fear
Hardly were the words out of his mouth
when the heavens were lit up again till
they literally seemed to flame. There
were the men, not four PAGES apart. A
great flash fell between them; Isaw them
stagger beneath the shock. Indaba-zimbi
recovered himself first-at any rate, when
the next flash came he was standing bolt
upright, pointing with his assegai to.
wards his enemy. The chiefs son was
still on his legs, but he was staggering
like drunken man, and the assegai had
fallen from his hand.
Darkness, then again a flash, more
fearful, if possible, than any that had
gone before. To me it seemed to come
from the east, right over the head OF
Indaba-zimbi Next instant I saw the
chiefs son wrapped, as it were, in the
heart of it. Then the thunder pealed,
the rain burst ogllf us like torrent, and
saw no more.
The worst of the storm was done, but
for while the darkness was so dense
that we could not move, nor, indeed,
was I inclined to leave the safety of the
hillside where the lightning was never
known to strike and venture down to
the ironstone. Occasionally there still
came flashes, but, search as we would,
we could see no trace of either of the
wizards. For my part, I believed that
they were both dead. Now the clouds
slowly rolled away down the course OF
the river, and with it went the rain; and
now the stars shone out in their wake.
"Let us go and see," said the old chief,
rising and shaking the water from his
hair. "The fire fight has ended, let us
go and see who has conquered"
rose and followed him, dripping as
though I had swum a hundred yards
with my clothes on, and after me came
all the people of the kraal.
We reached the spot; even in that
light I could see where the ironstone
| had been split and fused by the thunder