Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-21
NEwYoRx. HkAnp
meet her with lifted shields and crouchns

meet her with lifted shields and crouchins
bodies
Hail. cried their leader. I'm the name
of the Great Elephant. of Dingaan the
King. hail to thee, Princess of the Heav-
ems, Holder Of the Spirit of Nomkubul-
wanna.
Rachel rode on. taking no notice.
marveling who Nomkubulwana. whose
spirit she was supposed to enshrine.
might be. Afterward she discovered that
it was only another name for the 1nko-
saZana- yZoOla. that mysterious white
ghost believed by this people to control
their destines. with whom it had pleased
them to identify her. AS her horse left
the wide river and set foot upon dry land.
every man of the 1000 soldiers, who We're
watching. as it seemed to her, with WON
der and awe. began to beat his oNhide
shield with the handle of his spear They
beat very softly at first. producing n
sound like the distant murmur of the sea,
then harder and harder till its volume
grew to a mighty roar. impossible to de-
scribe. sound like the sound of thunder
that echoed along the water and from
hill to hill. The mighty noise sank and
died away as 1T had begun. and for a
moment there was silence Then at some
signal every spear flashed aloft in the
sunlight. and from every throat came the
royal salute--Bayete. 1t was a tremen-
dous and most imposing welcome. so
tremendous that Rachel could no longer
doubt that this people regarded her as a
being apart. and above the other white
folk whom they knew.
At the time. however. she had little
space for such thoughts. since the mare
she rode. terrified by the tumult. bucked
and SHE'D SO violently that she could
scarcely keep her seat She was a good
rider, which was fortunate for her, since.
had she been ignominiously thrown upon
such occasion. her prestige must have
suffered. if indeed it were not destroyed.
AS it proved. 1t was greatly enhanced by
vI,,1,,
day had never even seen horse. which
was considered by all of them to be a
dangerous if not magical beast. That
a woman could remain seated such a
wild animal when it sprang into the air,
and swerved from side to side. struck
them. therefore as something marvellous
ana out OF experience. proof indeed tina
she was not as others are.
She uueted the mare. and rode on be-
tween the white shielded ranks. who their
like bronze statues watching her with
wondering eyes. When at length they
were passed. the captains and a guard of
about fifty men ran ahead OF her Then
she came. and after her Tamboosa. lead
Ing the white OK. followed by another
guard. which in turn was followed by the
entire regiment. Thus royalty escorted.
asking no questions, and speaking no
word did Rachel make her entry into
Zululand Only in her heart she wonder
ed whittier she was going. and how that
strange journey would end wondered.
too how it would fare with her father and
her mother till she returned to them.
Well might she wonder.
When she had ridden thus for about two
hours an incident occurred which showed
her how great and indeed how dreadful
was the eminence on which she had been
set among these people. Suddenly some
cattle, frightened by the approach of the
impi. rushed through It toward their
kraal. and a bull that was with them.
seeing this unaccustomed appartion OF
white woman mounted on strange AMI
NAL. put down its head and charged her
furiouSly. She saw it coming. and by
pulling the mare on to its launches.
avoided its rush. Now at the time she
was riding on path which ran along til.
edge OF a little rock-strewn donga not
more than eight or ten feet deep. but
steep sided. Into this donga the bull
which had shut it's eyes to charge after
the fashion of its kind. plunged headlons.
and as it CHANGED struck its horns against
a stone. twisting and dislocatins the neck,
so that ii lay there still and dead
(To be continued tomorrow