I said “Yes” as cheerfully as I could, though I felt anything but cheerful, and we parted, for, of course, the Commandant Retief had much to occupy him.

Then I went and told Marie what I had promised.  Somewhat to my surprise she said that she thought I had acted wisely.

“If you stayed here,” she added, “perhaps some new quarrel would arise between you and my father which might make bitterness afterwards.  Also, dear, it would be foolish for you to offend the Commandant Retief, who will be the great man in this country, and who is very fond of you.  After all, Allan, we shall only be separated for a little while, and when that is done we have the rest of our lives to spend together.  As for me, do not be afraid, for you know I will never marry anyone but you—­no, not to save myself from death.”

So I left her somewhat comforted, knowing how sound was her judgment, and went off to make my preparations for the expedition to Sikonyela’s country.

All this conversation with Retief I have set down in full, as nearly as I can remember it, because of its fateful consequences.  Ah! if I could have foreseen; if only I could have foreseen!

CHAPTER XVI

THE COUNCIL

Two days later we started to recover Dingaan’s cattle, sixty or seventy of us, all well armed and mounted.  With us went two of Dingaan’s captains and a number of Zulus, perhaps a hundred, who were to drive the cattle if we recovered them.  As I could speak their language I was more or less in command of this Zulu contingent, and managed to make myself very useful in that capacity.  Also, during the month or so of our absence, by continually conversing with them, I perfected myself considerably in my knowledge of their beautiful but difficult tongue.

Now it is not my intention to write down the details of this expedition, during which there was no fighting and nothing serious happened.  We arrived in due course at Sikonyela’s and stated our errand.  When he saw how numerous and well armed we were, and that behind us was all the might of the Zulu army, that wily old rascal thought it well to surrender the stolen cattle without further to-do, and with these some horses which he had lifted from the Boers.  So, having received them, we delivered them over to the Zulu captains, with instructions to drive them carefully to Umgungundhlovu.  The commandant sent a message by these men to the effect that, having fulfilled his part of the compact, he would wait upon Dingaan as soon as possible in order to conclude the treaty about the land.

This business finished, Retief took me and a number of the Boers to visit other bodies of the emigrant Dutch who were beyond the Drakensberg, in what is now the Transvaal territory.  This occupied a long time, as these Boers were widely scattered, and at each camp we had to stop for several days while Retief explained everything to its leaders.  Also he arranged with them to come down into Natal, so as to be ready to people it as soon as he received the formal cession of the country from Dingaan.  Indeed, most of them began to trek at once, although jealousies between the various commandants caused some of the bands, luckily for themselves, to remain on the farther side of the mountains.