For many days this work of trying to persuade or force the people to betray their king was continued, and, at last a woman was frightened into giving a clue, which resulted in taking prisoners three brothers, at whose kraal the king had slept the night before. “They were questioned,” says the interpreter, “but denied in the most solemn way that they knew anything about the king. We threatened to shoot them, but they said: ‘If you kill us we shall die innocently.’ This was about nine o’clock at night, a beautiful moonlight night, and the picture was rather an effective one. There were all our men sitting round at their fireplaces, our select tribunal facing the three men, who were calm and collected, whilst we, as a sort of inquisition, were trying to force them to divulge their secret. As a last resource we took one man and led him away blindfolded behind a bush, and then a rifle was fired off to make believe that he was shot. We then separated and blindfolded the remaining two, and said to one of them: ‘You saw your brother blindfolded and led away; we have shot him. Now we shall shoot you. You had better tell the truth.’ After a good deal of coaxing (?) one told us where the king had slept the night before, and which was about fifteen miles away, and also where he had seen him that very morning ... it was now eleven o’clock. Lord Gifford gave orders for our party to saddle up, which was smartly done, and we started off with the two brothers as guides. We left the one brother behind so as to keep on the screw, to make the two believe he had been shot. They took us over as ugly a piece of country as ever horse crossed, and at daybreak we surrounded the kraal. But disappointment was again in store for us, for our bird had flown about twelve hours previously.” The direction he had taken being pointed out, the party followed until they got within four or five miles of a kraal, where the king had halted for the day. Lord Gifford sent off a note addressed to Captain Maurice, saying he was on the track and hoped for speedy capture; and, finding the kraal could not be approached without his being seen, seems to have made up his mind to wait till nightfall. It is perhaps fortunate that this arrangement was not carried out, as, in the darkness and hurry of a night attack, it is possible that we might have had the additional wrong laid upon us of having shot the Zulu king. Amongst other patrols sent out to look for Cetshwayo was one under Major Marter, King’s Dragoon Guards, consisting of one squadron Dragoons, ten men Mounted Infantry and Lonsdale’s Horse, and one company Natal Native Contingent, their orders being to get on the king’s track and capture him, if possible, and to reconnoitre the Ngome Forest, and report if it could be traversed.