That night Tuys and I arranged the details of the next day. We planned to take the wagonette and use it to transport Labotsibeni and Lomwazi to Portuguese territory. We would walk beside it with our rifles ready and protect the old queen with our lives. We both felt that the safest thing to do with Lomwazi would be to hide him inside and we spent some time arranging the vehicle so that he could be concealed within. Of course he would be found easily if the wagonette was searched, but we intended to prevent that, even if we had to fight off curious kaffirs. In high hopes that we had reached the end of the trail and that the coronation was at last in sight, we went to bed. Sugden and Crespinell were glad, too, since they had had their fill of Swaziland and wanted to go home. But our real troubles were only beginning. Tuys waked me roughly next morning before day-break. He was much excited, and I could see that he was fully dressed and had his rifle in his hand. "Get up! Get up at once, Owen!" he said hoarsely. "There is the devil to pay! War has broken out and there has been killing already!" I jumped out of bed and into my clothes in one motion. While I pulled them on he told me what had happened. "Some of Sebuza's indunas started for their kraals last night," he said. "They went by way of Zombode, and when they passed the little hill just before you reach the plain they were attacked by several score of Labotsibeni's warriors and every one of them was killed! It was cold-blooded murder. They must have been outnumbered about ten to one!" It seems that an induna and his men had lagged behind the others and had seen the ambush. From their description it was a most unexpected and brutal attack. Sebuza's indunas tried to put up a fight and resisted for a short time. Then the enemy overpowered them and stabbed them to death. So it was war after all! In spite of my efforts to prevent it, the question of who should be ruler of Swaziland was to be settled in the old-fashioned way. Tuys and I went to the royal kraal and found Tzaneen and Lochien already up. Thousands of warriors and scores of indunas were on guard and the whole place was in whirl of excitement. As we forced our way to the royal hut, Sebuza came marching in surrounded by his young indunas, all of whom were officers in his impis. The prince pushed by us into his mother's hut and a second later Lochien came out and beckoned us to enter. As soon as she saw us, Queen Tzaneen motioned us to her side. "It is war now," she said decisively. "There is no other way! Our indunas have been murdered and my warriors cannot be restrained. You white men did everything you could to keep peace, but Labotsibeni makes war against us and we cannot help ourselves. It is war!"