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小说: nada the lily 字数: 每页4000字

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was hurt himself in so doing。 Now I looked at Chaka; who stood shaking

the little red spear; and thought swiftly; for the hour had come。



〃Help!〃 I cried; 〃one is slaying the King!〃



As I spoke the reed fence burst asunder; and through it plunged the

princes Umhlangana and Dingaan; as bulls plunge through a brake。



Then I pointed to Chaka with my withered hand; saying; 〃Behold your

king!〃



Now; from beneath the shelter of his kaross; each Prince drew out a

short stabbing spear; and plunged it into the body of Chaka the king。

Umhlangana smote him on the left shoulder; Dingaan struck him in the

right side。 Chaka dropped the little spear handled with the red wood

and looked round; and so royally that the princes; his brothers; grew

afraid and shrank away from him。



Twice he looked on each; then he spoke; saying: 〃What! do you slay me;

my brothersdogs of mine own house; whom I have fed? Do you slay me;

thinking to possess the land and to rule it? I tell you it shall not

be for long。 I hear a sound of running feetthe feet of a great white

people。 They shall stamp you flat; children of my father! They shall

rule the land that I have won; and you and your people shall be their

slaves!〃



Thus Chaka spoke while the blood ran down him to the ground; and again

he looked on them royally; like a buck at gaze。



〃Make an end; O ye who would be kings!〃 I cried; but their hearts had

turned to water and they could not。 Then I; Mopo; sprang forward and

picked from the ground that little assegai handled with the royal wood

the same assegai with which Chaka had murdered Unandi; his mother;

and Moosa; my son; and lifted it on high; and while I lifted it; my

father; once more; as when I was young; a red veil seemed to wave

before my eyes。



〃Wherefore wouldst thou kill me; Mopo?〃 said the king。



〃For the sake of Baleka; my sister; to whom I swore the deed; and of

all my kin;〃 I cried; and plunged the spear through him。 He sank down

upon the tanned ox…hide; and lay there dying。 Once more he spoke; and

once only; saying: 〃Would now that I had hearkened to the voice of

Nobela; who warned me against thee; thou dog!〃



Then he was silent for ever。 But I knelt over him and called in his

ear the names of all those of my blood who had died at his handsthe

names of Makedama; my father; of my mother; of Anadi my wife; of Moosa

my son; and all my other wives and children; and of Baleka my sister。

His eyes and ears were open; and I think; my father; that he saw and

understood; I think also that the hate upon my face as I shook my

withered hand before him was more fearful to him that the pain of

death。 At the least; he turned his head aside; shut his eyes; and

groaned。 Presently they opened again; and he was dead。



Thus then; my father; did Chaka the King; the greatest man who has

ever lived in Zululand; and the most evil; pass by my hand to those

kraals of the Inkosazana where no sleep is。 In blood he died as he had

lived in blood; for the climber at last falls with the tree; and in

the end the swimmer is borne away by the stream。 Now he trod that path

which had been beaten flat for him by the feet of people whom he had

slaughtered; many as the blades of grass upon a mountain…side; but it

is a lie to say; as some do; that he died a coward; praying for mercy。

Chaka died; as he had lived; a brave man。 Ou! my father; I know it;

for these eyes saw it and this hand let out his life。



Now he was dead and the regiment of the Bees drew near; nor could I

know how they would take this matter; for; though the Prince

Umhlangana was their general; yet all the soldiers loved the king;

because he had no equal in battle; and when he gave he gave with an

open hand。 I looked round; the princes stood like men amazed; the girl

had fled; the chief Umxamama was dead at the hands of dead Masilo; and

the old chief Inguazonca; who had killed Masilo; stood by; hurt and

wondering; there were no others in the kraal。



〃Awake; ye kings;〃 I cried to the brothers; 〃the impi is at the gates!

Swift; now stab that man!〃and I pointed to the old chief〃and leave

the matter to my wit。〃



Then Dingaan roused himself; and springing upon Inguazonca; the

brother of Unandi; smote him a great blow with his spear; so that he

sank down dead without a word。 Then again the princes stood silent and

amazed。



〃This one will tell no tales;〃 I cried; pointing at the fallen chief。



Now a rumour of the slaying had got abroad among the women; who had

heard cries and seen the flashing of spears above the fence; and from

the women it had come to the regiment of the Bees; who advanced to the

gates of the kraal singing。 Then of a sudden they ceased their singing

and rushed towards the hut in front of which we stood。



Then I ran to meet them; uttering cries of woe; holding in my hand the

little assegai of the king red with the king's blood; and spoke with

the captain's in the gate; saying:



〃Lament; ye captains and ye soldiers; weep and lament; for your father

is no more! He who nursed you is no more! The king is dead! now earth

and heaven will come together; for the king is dead!〃



〃How so; Mopo?〃 cried the leader of the Bees。 〃How is our father

dead?〃



〃He is dead by the hand of a wicked wanderer named Masilo; who; when

he was doomed to die by the king; snatched this assegai from the

king's hand and stabbed him; and afterwards; before he could be cut

down himself by us three; the princes and myself; he killed the chiefs

Inguazonca and Umxamama also。 Draw near and look on him who was the

king; it is the command of Dingaan and Umhlangana; the kings; that you

draw near and look on him who was the king; that his death at the hand

of Masilo may be told through all the land。〃



〃You are better at making of kings; Mopo; than at the saving of one

who was your king from the stroke of a wanderer;〃 said the leader of

the Bees; looking at me doubtfully。



But his words passed unheeded; for some of the captains went forward

to look on the Great One who was dead; and some; together with most of

the soldiers; ran this way and that; crying in their fear that now the

heaven and earth would come together; and the race of man would cease

to be; because Chaka; the king; was dead。



Now; my father; how shall I; whose days are few; tell you of all the

matters that happened after the dead of Chaka? Were I to speak of them

all they would fill many books of the white men; and; perhaps; some of

them are written down there。 For this reason it is; that I may be

brief; I have only spoken of a few of those events which befell in the

reign of Chaka; for my tale is not of the reign of Chaka; but of the

lives of a handful of people who lived in those days; and of whom I

and Umslopogaas alone are left aliveif; indeed; Umslopogaas; the son

of Chaka; is still living on the earth。 Therefore; in a few words I

will pass over all that came about after the fall of Chaka and till I

was sent down by Dingaan; the king; to summon him to surrender to the

king who was called the Slaughterer and who ruled the People of the

Axe。 Ah! would that I had known for certain that this was none other

than Umslopogaas; for then had Dingaan gone the way that Chaka went

and which Umhlangana followed; and Umslopogaas ruled the people of the

Zulus as their king。 But; alas! my wisdom failed me。 I paid no heed to

the voice of my heart which told me that this was Umslopogaas who sent

the message to Chaka threatening vengeance for one Mopo; and I knew

nothing till too late; surely; I thought; the man spoke of some other

Mopo。 For thus; my father; does destiny make fools of us men。 We think

that we can shape our fate; but it is fate that shapes us; and nothing

befalls except fate will it。 All things are a great pattern; my

father; drawn by the hand of the Umkulunkulu upon the cup whence he

drinks the water of his wisdom; and our lives; and what we do; and

what we do not do; are but a little bit of the pattern; which is so

big that only the eyes of Him who is above; the Umkulunkulu; can see

it all。 Even Chaka; the slayer of men; and all those he slew; are but

as a tiny grain of dust in the greatness of that pattern。 How; then;

can we be wise; my father; who are but the tools of wisdom? how can be

build who are but pebbles in a wall? how can we give life who are

babes in the womb of fate? or how can we slay who are but spears in

the hands of the slayer?



This came about; my father。 Matters were made straight in the land

after the death of Chaka。 At first people said that Masilo; the

stranger; had stabbed the king; then it was known that Mopo; the wise

man; the doctor and the body…servant of the king; had slain the king;

and that the two great bulls; his brothers Umhlangana and Dingaan;

children of Senzangacona; had also lifted spears against him。 But he

was dead; and earth and heaven had not come together; so what did it

matter

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