Three days later, without further adventure, they arrived at the kraal of the principal chief. It was a large village, and a great number of cattle were grazing in the neighbourhood. The natives had a sullen appearance, but exhibited no active hostility. Mr Harvey formed his waggons in a laager a few hundred yards outside the village, and then, accompanied by the boys, proceeded to the chief's abode. They were at once conducted to his presence. He was seated in a hut of bee-hive form, rather larger than those which surrounded it. When the white men crawled in through the door, which like all in native structures was not more than three feet high, they were at first unable to see, so dark was the interior. The chief uttered the usual words of welcome. "I have a complaint to make, chief," Mr Harvey said, "against some of your people. They attacked my two friends and some of my followers when out hunting. Fortunately they were repulsed, with the loss of some fifteen of their number, but that does not make the attack upon them any the less inexcusable." "That is bad," the chief said; "how does my friend, the white trader, know that they were my men?" "They were inside your territory anyhow," Mr Harvey said. "It was upon the third day after I had left the Matabele." "It must have been a party of Matabele," the chief said; "they often come into my territory to steal cattle; they are bad men--my people are very good." "I can't prove that they were your people," Mr Harvey said, "whatever I may think; but I warn you, chief, that if there is any repetition of the attack while we are in your country you will have no more traders here. Those who attacked us have learned that we can defend ourselves, and that they are more likely to get death than plunder out of the attempt." CHAPTER FOURTEEN. TRAPPED IN A DEFILE. "What do you think of affairs?" Dick asked Mr Harvey, as, on leaving the chief's hut, they walked back to their waggons. "For the moment I think we are perfectly safe; the chief would not venture to attack us while we are in his village. In the first place it would put a stop to all trade, and in the second, far as we are from the frontier, he would not feel safe were a massacre to take place in his village. He knows well enough that were a dozen white men to come out to avenge such a deed, with a few waggon-loads of goods to offer to his neighbours as pay for their assistance, he and his tribe would be exterminated. When we are once on our way again we must beware. The feeling among the tribe at the loss they have sustained must be very bitter, although they may repress all outward exhibition of it to us, and if they attack us just as we are on the line between their land and their neighbour's they can deny all knowledge of it. However, they shall not catch us asleep." "I see the men have put the waggons in laager," Tom said.