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Page 55
"Very many."
"It seems," I said to the others, "that we are going to assist at a
gladiatorial show arranged regardless of expense."
Sir Henry shivered, and Good said he wished that we could get out of
it.
"Tell me," I asked Infadoos, "are we in danger?"
"I know not, my lords, I trust not; but do not seem afraid. If ye live
through the night all may go well with you. The soldiers murmur
against the king."
All this while we had been advancing steadily towards the centre of
the open space, in the midst of which were placed some stools. As we
proceeded we perceived another small party coming from the direction
of the royal hut.
"It is the king Twala, Scragga his son, and Gagool the old; and see,
with them are those who slay," said Infadoos, pointing to a little
group of about a dozen gigantic and savage-looking men, armed with
spears in one hand and heavy kerries in the other.
The king seated himself upon the centre stool, Gagool crouched at his
feet, and the others stood behind him.
"Greeting, white lords," Twala cried, as we came up; "be seated, waste
not precious time--the night is all too short for the deeds that must
be done. Ye come in a good hour, and shall see a glorious show. Look
round, white lords; look round," and he rolled his one wicked eye from
regiment to regiment. "Can the Stars show you such a sight as this?
See how they shake in their wickedness, all those who have evil in
their hearts and fear the judgment of 'Heaven above.'"
"/Begin! begin!/" piped Gagool, in her thin piercing voice; "the
hy�nas are hungry, they howl for food. /Begin! begin!/"
Then for a moment there was intense stillness, made horrible by a
presage of what was to come.
The king lifted his spear, and suddenly twenty thousand feet were
raised, as though they belonged to one man, and brought down with a
stamp upon the earth. This was repeated three times, causing the solid
ground to shake and tremble. Then from a far point of the circle a
solitary voice began a wailing song, of which the refrain ran
something as follows:--
"/What is the lot of man born of woman?/"
Back came the answer rolling out from every throat in that vast
company--
"/Death!/"
Gradually, however, the song was taken up by company after company,
till the whole armed multitude were singing it, and I could no longer
follow the words, except in so far as they appeared to represent
various phases of human passions, fears, and joys. Now it seemed to be
a love song, now a majestic swelling war chant, and last of all a
death dirge ending suddenly in one heart-breaking wail that went
echoing and rolling away in a volume of blood-curdling sound.
Again silence fell upon the place, and again it was broken by the king
lifting his hand. Instantly we heard a pattering of feet, and from out
of the masses of warriors strange and awful figures appeared running
towards us. As they drew near we saw that these were women, most of
them aged, for their white hair, ornamented with small bladders taken
from fish, streamed out behind them. Their faces were painted in
stripes of white and yellow; down their backs hung snake-skins, and
round their waists rattled circlets of human bones, while each held a
small forked wand in her shrivelled hand. In all there were ten of
them. When they arrived in front of us they halted, and one of them,
pointing with her wand towards the crouching figure of Gagool, cried
out--
"Mother, old mother, we are here."
"/Good! good! good!/" answered that aged Iniquity. "Are your eyes
keen, /Isanusis/ [witch doctresses], ye seers in dark places?"
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