"The Gaikas are fools," he replied. "They have no quarrel with the English, yet they are clamouring for war. Their country is fertile and well watered, yet they want to throw it away with both hands. They are mad." "Will they fight, Josane?" "_Au_! Who can say for certain," said the old man with an expressive shrug of the shoulders. "Yet, was ever such a thing seen? The dog wags his tail. But in this case it is the tail that wags the dog." "How so, Josane?" "The chiefs of the Gaikas do not wish for war. The old men do not wish for it. But the young men--the boys--are eager for it. The women taunt them, they say; tell them they have forgotten how to be warriors. So the boys and the women clamour for war, and the chiefs and the old men give way. Thus the tail wags the dog. _Hau_!" "And what about the Gcalekas?" "The Gcalekas? It is this way, _Nkose_. If you shut up two bulls alone in the same kraal, if you put two scorpions into a mealie stamp, how long will it be before they fight? So it is with the Gcalekas and the Fingoes. The land is not large enough for both. The Gcalekas are ready for war." "And Kreli?" "The Great Chief is in one of his red moods," answered Josane, in a different tone to that which he had employed when speaking of the Gaikas. "He has a powerful witch-doctress. I know her. Was I not `smelt out' by her? Was I not `eaten up' at her `word'? The toad! The impostor! The jackal cat! The slimy fish! I know her. Ha!" [Eaten up: Idiom for the total sequestration of a person's possessions.] The old man's eyes glared and his tone rose to one of fierce excitement at the recollection of his wrongs. Eustace, accustomed to study his fellow-men, took careful note of the circumstance. Strange things happened. It might serve him in good stead one day. "The Gcalekas will fight," went on Josane. "Perhaps they are fighting now. Perhaps the _Baas_ will have some news to bring when he returns from Komgha. The telegraph is quick, but the voice of the bird in the air is quicker," he added with a meaning smile, which convinced his listener that he knew a great deal more than he chose to say. "The fire stick is even now in the thatch," went on the Kafir, after a few more puffs at his pipe. "There is a herald from the Great Chief among the Gaika kraals." "Hlangani?" "Hlangani. The Gaikas are listening to his `word,' and are lighting the war-fires. If he can obtain the ear of Sandili, his work is done. _Whau_, Ixeshane," he went on, slipping into the familiar name in his excitement. "You English are very weak people. You ought to arrest Matanzima, and several others, and send a strong Resident to Sandili, who should always keep his ear." "We can't do that, Josane. There are wheels within wheels and a power behind the throne. Well, we shall see what happens," he went on, rising as a hint to the other to depart.