The Globe-republican., 1890-09-03

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''LET Us GO AND sEE," SAID THE OLD
the iniquities of misspent life weigh
ing 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
| a flash of lightning, 1 don't know from
which storm, struck the ground within
| thirty PAGES of me. That was enough
for me, l fairly took to my heels, and as
1 went I heard old linda ba-zimbi's dry
chuckle of amusement.
climbed the hill till came to where
the chief was sitting with his Indunas,
and sat down near to him. I looked at
the mans face and saw that he was in
tenseiy anxious for his sons safety, and
by no means confident of his powers to
resist the magic of Indaba-zimbi. He
was talking in q low voice to the Induna
next to him. I affected to take no no.
tice and to be concentrating my atten-
ton on the novel scene before me; but
in those days 1 had very quick ears. and
caught the drift of the conversation.
''Hearken!' the chief was saying, ''if
the magic of Indaba-zimbi prevails
against my son 1 will endure him no
more! OF this l am sure, that when no
has slain my son he will Stay me, me
also, and make himself chief in my
place. l 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' ear, look
ing at the assegai in his hand as he whis
pered.
GOOD, my father, good" said the In
duna. presently. 1T shall be done to-
night, if the lightning does not do it
first"
"A bad lookout for old Indaba-
zimbi,' 1 said to myself. They mean
to kill him. Then thought no more
Of the matter for awhile, the scene be-
fore me was too tremendous.
The two storms were rapidly rushing
together. Between them was gulf of
blue sky, and from time to time flashes
of binding light passed across the
gulf, leaping from cloud to cloud. re-
member that they reminded me of the
story of the heather Jove and his
thunderbolts. The storm that was
shaped like giant and ringed with the
glory of the sinking sun made an ex-
cellent Jove, and am sure that the
bolts which leapt from it could not
have been surpassed even in mytho-
logical times Oddly enough, as yet the
flashes were not followed by thunder.
A deadly stiffness lay upon the place;
the cattle stood silently on the hill
side; even the natives were awed to
silence. Dark shadows crept along the
bosom of the hills, the river to the
right and left was hidden in wreaths of
cloud, but before US and beyond the
combatants it shone like line of silver
beneath the narrow space of open sky.
Now the Western tempest was scrawled
all over with the lines of intolerable
light while the inky head of the cloud
giant to the east was continually suf-
fused with white and deadly glow
that came and went in pulses, as
though blood OF flame was being |
pumped into it from the heart of the |
storm.
The silence deepened and deepened.
the shadows grew blacker and blacker;
then suddenly all nature began to moan |
beneath the breath of an icy .Iind. On
came the wind; the smooth surface of |
the river was rufied by into little
waves. the tall grass bowed low before
it, and in its wake came the Kissing
sound of furious rain.
All! the storms had met From each
there burst an awful dazzling blaze +
Of light, and now the hill on which we
sat rocked in the noise Of the following
thunder. The light went out Of the sky,
fell suddenly on the land, but
aot for long. Presently the whole land
'cape grew vivid in the flashes; it ap-
,eared and disappeared, now every thing
vas visible for miles. now even the men
It my side vanished in the blackness.
The thunder rolled and cracked and
,ealedlike the trump doom, whirlwinds
ore round. lifting dust and even stones
Ugh into the air, and in low, continu-
JUS undertone came the hiss of the rush.
ng rain.
Iput my hand before my eyes to shield
hem from the terrible glare, and looked I
'eneath it towards the lists of iron
tones. As fash followed fash from