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Page 66
He finished his discourse amidst a murmur of approbation. Then Ignosi
stepped forward and began to speak. Having reiterated all that
Infadoos his uncle had said, he concluded a powerful speech in these
words:--
"O chiefs, captains, soldiers, and people, ye have heard my words. Now
must ye make choice between me and him who sits upon my throne, the
uncle who killed his brother, and hunted his brother's child forth to
die in the cold and the night. That I am indeed the king these"--
pointing to the chiefs--"can tell you, for they have seen the snake
about my middle. If I were not the king, would these white men be on
my side with all their magic? Tremble, chiefs, captains, soldiers, and
people! Is not the darkness they have brought upon the land to
confound Twala and cover our flight, darkness even in the hour of the
full moon, yet before your eyes?"
"It is," answered the soldiers.
"I am the king; I say to you, I am the king," went on Ignosi, drawing
up his great stature to its full, and lifting his broad-bladed battle-
axe above his head. "If there be any man among you who says that it is
not so, let him stand forth and I will fight him now, and his blood
shall be a red token that I tell you true. Let him stand forth, I
say;" and he shook the great axe till it flashed in the sunlight.
As nobody seemed inclined to respond to this heroic version of "Dilly,
Dilly, come and be killed," our late henchman proceeded with his
address.
"I am indeed the king, and should ye stand by my side in the battle,
if I win the day ye shall go with me to victory and honour. I will
give you oxen and wives, and ye shall take place of all the regiments;
and if ye fall, I will fall with you.
"And behold, I give you this promise, that when I sit upon the seat of
my fathers, bloodshed shall cease in the land. No longer shall ye cry
for justice to find slaughter, no longer shall the witch-finder hunt
you out so that ye may be slain without a cause. No man shall die save
he who offends against the laws. The 'eating up' of your kraals shall
cease; each one of you shall sleep secure in his own hut and fear
naught, and justice shall walk blindfold throughout the land. Have ye
chosen, chiefs, captains, soldiers, and people?"
"We have chosen, O king," came back the answer.
"It is well. Turn your heads and see how Twala's messengers go forth
from the great town, east and west, and north and south, to gather a
mighty army to slay me and you, and these my friends and protectors.
To-morrow, or perchance the next day, he will come against us with all
who are faithful to him. Then I shall see the man who is indeed my
man, the man who fears not to die for his cause; and I tell you that
he shall not be forgotten in the time of spoil. I have spoken, O
chiefs, captains, soldiers, and people. Now go to your huts and make
you ready for war."
There was a pause, till presently one of the chiefs lifted his hand,
and out rolled the royal salute, "/Koom./" It was a sign that the
soldiers accepted Ignosi as their king. Then they marched off in
battalions.
Half an hour afterwards we held a council of war, at which all the
commanders of regiments were present. It was evident to us that before
very long we should be attacked in overwhelming force. Indeed, from
our point of vantage on the hill we could see troops mustering, and
runners going forth from Loo in every direction, doubtless to summon
soldiers to the king's assistance. We had on our side about twenty
thousand men, composed of seven of the best regiments in the country.
Twala, so Infadoos and the chiefs calculated, had at least thirty to
thirty-five thousand on whom he could rely at present assembled in
Loo, and they thought that by midday on the morrow he would be able to
gather another five thousand or more to his aid. It was, of course,
possible that some of his troops would desert and come over to us, but
it was not a contingency which could be reckoned on. Meanwhile, it was
clear that active preparations were being made by Twala to subdue us.
Already strong bodies of armed men were patrolling round and round the
foot of the hill, and there were other signs also of coming assault.
Infadoos and the chiefs, however, were of opinion that no attack would
take place that day, which would be devoted to preparation and to the
removal of every available means of the moral effect produced upon the
minds of the soldiery by the supposed magical darkening of the moon.
The onslaught would be on the morrow, they said, and they proved to be
right.
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