Once she was outside of Owen's house, Noma did not tarry. First shereturned to Hokosa's kraal, where she had already learnt from his headwife, Zinti, and others the news of his betrayal of the plot ofHafela, of his conversion to the faith of the Christians, and of themarch of the /impi/ to ambush the prince. Here she took a littlespear, and rolling up in a skin blanket as much dried meat as shecould carry, she slipped unnoticed from the kraal. Her object was toescape from the Great Place, but this she did not try to do by any ofthe gates, knowing them to be guarded. Some months ago, before shestarted on her embassy, she had noted a weak spot in the fence, wheredogs had torn a hole through which they passed out to hunt at night.
To this spot she made her way under cover of the darkness--for thoughshe still greatly feared to be alone at night, her pressing needconquered her fears--and found that the hole was yet there, for a tallweed growing in its mouth had caused it to be overlooked by thosewhose duty it was to mend the fence. With her assegai she widened it alittle, then drew her lithe shape through it, and lying hidden tillthe guard had passed, climbed the two stone walls beyond. Once she wasfree of the town, she set her course by the stars and started forwardat a steady run.
"If my strength holds I shall yet be in time to warn him," shemuttered to herself. "Ah! friend Hokosa, this new madness of yours hasblunted your wits that once were sharp enough. You have set me free,and now you shall learn how I can use my freedom. Not for nothing haveI been your pupil, Hokosa the fox."Before the dawn broke Noma was thirty miles from the Great Place, andbefore the next dawn she was a hundred. At sunset on that second dayshe stood among mountains. To her right stretched a great defile, arugged place of rocks and bush, wherein she knew that the regiments ofthe king were hid in ambush. Perchance she was too late, perchance the/impi/ of Hafela had already passed to its doom in yonder gorge.
Swiftly she ran forward on to the trail which led to the gorge, tofind that it had been trodden by many feet and recently. Moving to andfro she searched the spoor with her eyes, then rose with a sigh ofjoy. It was old, and marked the passage of the great company of womenand children and their thousands of cattle which, in execution of theplot, had travelled this path some days before. Either the /impi/ hadnot yet arrived, or it had gone by some other road. Weary as she was,Noma followed the old spoor backwards. A mile or more away it crossedthe crest of a hog-backed mountain, from whose summit she searched theplain beyond, and not in vain, for there far beneath her twinkled thewatch-fires of the army of Hafela.
Three hours later a woman, footsore and utterly exhausted, staggeredinto the camp, and waving aside the spears that were lifted to stabher, demanded to be led to the prince. Presently she was there.
"Who is this woman?" asked the great warrior; for, haggard as she waswith travel, exhaustion, and the terror of her haunted loneliness, hedid not know her in the uncertain firelight.
"Hafela," she said, "I am Noma who was the wife of Hokosa, and forwhole nights and days I have journeyed as no woman ever journeyedbefore, to tell you of the treachery of Hokosa and to save you fromyour doom.""What treachery and what doom?" asked the prince.
"Before I answer you that question, Hafela, you must pay me the priceof my news.""Let me hear the price, Noma.""It is this, Prince: First, the head of Hokosa, who has divorced me,when you have caught him.""That I promise readily. What more?""Secondly, the place of your chief wife to-day; and a week hence, whenI shall have made you king, the name and state of Queen of the Peopleof Fire with all that hangs thereto.""You are ambitious, woman, and know well how to drive a bargain. Well,if you can ask, I can give, for I have ever loved you, and your mindis great as your body is beautiful. If through your help I shouldbecome King of the People of Fire, you shall be their Queen, I swearit by the spirits of my fathers and by my own head. And now--yourtidings.""These are they, Hafela. Hokosa has turned Christian and betrayed theplot to Nodwengo; and the great gorge yonder but three hours marchaway is ambushed. To-morrow you and your people would have been cutoff there had I not run so fast and far to warn you, after which the/impis/ of Nodwengo were commanded to follow your women and cattleover the mountain pass and capture them.""This is news indeed," said the prince. "Say now, how many regimentsare hidden in the gorge?""Eight.""Well, I have fourteen; so, being warned, there is little to fear. Iwill catch these rats in their own hole.""I have a better plan," said Noma; "it is this: leave six regimentsposted upon the brow of yonder hill and let them stay there. Then whenthe generals of Nodwengo see that they do not enter the gorge, theywill believe that the ambush is discovered, and, after waiting one dayor perhaps two, will move out to give battle, thinking that beforethem is all your strength. But command your regiments to run and notto fight, drawing the army of Nodwengo after them. Meanwhile, yes,this very night, you yourself with all the men that are left to youmust march upon the Great Place, which, though it be strong, can bestormed, for it is defended by less than five thousand soldiers.
There, having taken it, you shall slay Nodwengo, proclaiming yourselfking, and afterwards, by the help of the /impi/ that you leave herewhich will march onward to your succour, you can deal with yonderarmy.""A great scheme truly," said Hafela in admiration; "but how do I knowwhether all this tale is true, or whether you do but set a snare forme?""Bid scouts go out and creep into yonder gully," answered Noma, "andyou will see whether or no I have spoken falsely. For the rest, I amin your hands, and if I lie you can take my life in payment.""If I march upon the Great Place, it must be at midnight when none seeme go," said Hafela, "and what will you do then, Noma, who are tooweary to travel again so soon?""I will be borne in a litter till my strength comes back to me," sheanswered. "And now give me to eat and let me rest while I may."*****Five hours later, Hafela with the most of his army, a force ofsomething over twenty thousand men, was journeying swiftly but by acircuitous route towards the Great Place of the king. On the crest ofthe hill facing the gorge, as Noma had suggested, he left sixregiments with instructions to fly before Nodwengo's generals, andwhen they had led them far enough, to follow him as swiftly as theywere able. These orders, or rather the first part of them, th............