Before we reached the gate of the kraal the moon went
out utterly, and from every quarter of the firmament
the stars rushed forth into the inky sky.
Holding each other by the hand we stumbled on through
the darkness.
BEFORE THE BATTLE
Luckily for us, Infadoos and the chiefs knew all the
paths of the great town perfectly, so that we passed
by side-ways unmolested, and notwithstanding the gloom
we made fair progress.
For an hour or more we journeyed on, till at length
the eclipse began to pass, and that edge of the moon
which had disappeared the first became again visible.
Suddenly, as we watched, there burst from it a silver
streak of light, accompanied by a wondrous ruddy glow,
which hung upon the blackness of the sky like a celestial
lamp, and a wild and lovely sight it was. In
another five minutes the stars began to fade, and
there was sufficient light to see our whereabouts.
We then discovered that we were clear of the town
of Loo, and approaching a large flat-topped hill,
measuring some two miles in circumference. This
hill, which is of a formation common in South Africa,
is not very high; indeed, its greatest elevation is
scarcely more than 200 feet, but it is shaped like
a horseshoe, and its sides are rather precipitous
and strewn with boulders. On the grass table-land
at its summit is ample camping-ground, which had been
utilised as a military cantonment of no mean strength.
Its ordinary garrison was one regiment of three thousand
men, but as we toiled up the steep side of the mountain
in the returning moonlight we perceived that there
were several of such regiments encamped there.
Reaching the table-land at last, we found crowds of
men roused from their sleep, shivering with fear and
huddled up together in the utmost consternation at
the natural phenomenon which they were witnessing.
Passing through these without a word, we gained a hut
in the centre of the ground, where we were astonished
to find two men waiting, laden with our few goods
and chattels, which of course we had been obliged
to leave behind in our hasty flight.
“I sent for them,” explained Infadoos;
“and also for these,” and he lifted up
Good’s long-lost trousers.
With an exclamation of rapturous delight Good sprang
at them, and instantly proceeded to put them on.
“Surely my lord will not hide his beautiful
white legs!” exclaimed Infadoos regretfully.
But Good persisted, and once only did the Kukuana
people get the chance of seeing his beautiful legs
again. Good is a very modest man. Henceforward
they had to satisfy their aesthetic longings with his
one whisker, his transparent eye, and his movable
teeth.
Still gazing with fond remembrance at Good’s
trousers, Infadoos next informed us that he had commanded
the regiments to muster so soon as the day broke,
in order to explain to them fully the origin and circumstances
of the rebellion which was decided on by the chiefs,
and to introduce to them the rightful heir to the
throne, Ignosi.
