The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-12-05

gates you shall find food to satisfy your
hunger. Eat of it and begone, for if to-
morrow at the noon you are found with
in a spears throw of this kraal you and
those with you shall bide there forever
D Mouth of Dingaan the king!"
Now made rs though would depart,
then turning suddenly spoke once
more, saying:
"There were words in your message
to the Black One who is gone of a GER
tain man-nay, how was he named?-of
q certain Mopo"
"What of Mopo. O Mouth, whose eyes
are yelled? Mopo is dead. whose son !
was!''
"Ah!" said. eyes, Mopo is dead
that is. the Black One who is gone killed
certain Mopo. How came it, O Bula-
Ito, that you were his sonY
"Mopo is dead" quoth Umslopogaas
again. HE is dead with all his house,
his kraal is stamped fat, and that is
why l hated the Black One, and there
fore l hate Dingaan his brother, and
will be as are Mopo and the house of
Mopo before pay him tribute of sin
gle OK.
Now. my father. all this while had
spoken in feigned voice, but now |
spoke in my own voice, saying:
$50! Now you speak from your
heart, young man. and by digging l
have reached the root of the matter. It
is because of this dead dog of Mopo
that you defy the king"
Umslopogaas heard the voice and
shook no more with anger, but rather
with fear and wonder. He looked at
me hard, answering nothing.
''Have you hut near by, q Chief Blu
lalio, foe of Dingaan the king, where l,
the mouth OF the king. may speak with
you awhile apartp For | would learn
your message word by word that may
deliver it. Fear not. Slaughterer. to sit
alone with me in an empty hut. am
unarmed and old. and there is that in
your hand which should fear" and
pointed to the ak.
Now Umslopogaas, still shaking in his
limbs, answered. Follow me, o Mouth,
and you, Galazi, stay with these men,"
So followed Umslopogaas, and pres
emily we came to large hut. Now for
awhile it seemed dark in the hut, SO
waited till our eyes could search the
darkness. Then of a sudden threw the
blanket from my face.
tLook on me now, o Chief Bulalio, o
Slaughterer, who once was named Um-
slopogaas-look on me and say who am
l." Then he looked at me and his Jaw
fell.
Either you are Mopo, my father,
grown old-Mopo who is dead, or the
ghost of Mopo." he answered in a low
voice.
II am Mopo, your father, Umslopo-
gaas," said. "You have been long in
knowing me, who knew you from the
FIRST"
Then Umslopogaas cried aloud, but
yet softly. and letting fall the ak Groan
maker, he flung himself upon my breast
and wept there. And wept also
''Oh, my father" he said, II thought
that you were dead with the others,
and now you have come back to me;
and III would have lifted the az
against you in my folly. Oh, it is we'll
that have lived and not died, since
once more look upon your face-the
face that thought dead. but which yet
lives, though it be sorely changed, as
though by grief and years"
peace. Umslopogaas, my son." |
! said. u also deemed you dead in the
! lions mouth, though in truth it seemed
strange to me that any other man than
Umslopogaas could have wrought the
deeds which have heard of as done by
Bulalio, chief of the People of the Ak
aye, and thrown defiance in the teeth of
Chaka. But you are not dead, and l, l
am not dead. 1t was another Mopo
whom Chaka killed. slew Chaka:
Chaka did not slay me"
''And of Nada-what of NADIA, my
sister, he said.
| "Macropha your mother and NADIA
! your sister are dead, Umslopogaas.
They are dead at the hands of the peo-
| pie of the Halakazi, who dwell in Swa-
xiland.-
IL have heard of that people" he an
swered presently, land 50 has Galal the
Wolf, yonder. He has hate to satisfy
against them-they murdered his father.
Now have two, for they have murdered
my mother and my sister. All, NADIA,
my sisterl NADIA, my sister, and the
great man rocked himself to and fro in
his grief.
Now. my father. it came into my
thoughts to make the truth plain to Um-
slopogaas, and tell him that NADIA was
no sister of his and that he was no son
of mine, but rather of Chaka. And yet
did not, though now would that
had done so. For saw we'll how great
was the pride and how high was the
heart of Umslopogaas, and saw also
that if once he should learn that the
throne of Zululand was his by right
nothing could hold him back. for he
would swiftly break into open rebellion
against Dingaan the king, and in my
Judgment the time was not ripe for that.
Had known, indeed, but one short
year before that Umslopogaas still lived,
he had sat where Dingaan sat this day;
but did not know it, and the chance
Had o>Ono nv for avuhi1a Nnw Dinoaan