England -- Fiction; Magic -- Fiction; South Africa -- Fiction
The substance of the retainer’s explanation was as follows: When the
moon was getting low—vanishing, indeed, behind the “horned house”
yonder (the Dutch church with pinnacles on it), it occurred to him,
waiting on the verandah, that his master must be weary; and as most had
departed from the “dance” in the “tin house” (restaurant), evidently
made happy by the “twala” (drink), he entered into the tin house to
look for him, and found him overcome by sleep under the table, lying
next to the “Lion-who-threw-oxen-over-his-shoulder” (i.e., Jeremy), so
overcome by sleep, indeed, that it was quite impossible to conduct him
to the waggon. This being so, he (Mazooku) considered what was his duty
under the circumstances, and he came to the accurate conclusion that
the best thing to do was to put them into the white man’s bed, since he
knew that his master did not love the floor to lie on. Accordingly,
having discovered that this was a room of beds, he and another Zulu
entered, but were perplexed to find the beds already occupied by two
white men, who had lain down to rest with their clothes on. But, under
all these circumstances, he and the other Zulu, considering that their
first thought should be towards their own master, had taken the liberty
of lifting up the two white men, who were slumbering profoundly after
the “dance,” by the head and by the heels, and putting them out in the
sweet cool air of the night, leaving thus “made a place,” they then
conveyed first Ernest, and having removed his clothes, put him into one
bed, and next, in consideration of his undoubted greatness, they
ventured to take the “Lion-who, &c.,” himself, and put him in the
other. He was a very great man, the “Lion,” and his art of throwing
greater men over his shoulder could only be attributed to witchcraft.
He himself (Mazooku) had tried it on that morning with a Basutu, with
whom he had a slight difference of opinion, but the result had not been
all that could be desired, inasmuch as the Basutu had kicked him in the
stomach, and forced him to drop him.
Ernest laughed as heartily as his headache would allow at this story,
and in doing so woke up Jeremy, who at once clapped his hands to his
head and looked round; whereupon Mazooku, having saluted the awakened
“Lion-who, &c.,” with much fervour, and spilled a considerable quantity
of hot coffee over him in doing so, took his departure abashed, and at
length the two friends were left alone. Thereupon, rising from their
respective pallets, they took a step in all the glory of their undress
uniform into the middle of the little room, and, after the manner of
Englishmen, shook hands and called each other “old fellow.” Then they
went back to bed and began to converse.
“I say, old fellow, what on earth brought you out here?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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