"Hail,O king!"he said,with bitter mockery;"thou who hast eaten of my bread,and now by the aid of the white man's magic hast seduced my regiments and defeated mine army,hail!what fate hast thou for me,O king?""The fate thou gavest to my father,whose throne thou hast sat on these many years!"was the stern answer.
"It is well.I will show thee how to die,that thou mayest remember it against thine own time.See,the sun sinks in blood,"and he pointed with his red battle-axe towards the fiery orb now going down;"it is well that my sun should sink with it.And now,O king!I am ready to die,but I crave the boon of the Kukuana royal house to die fighting.Thou canst not refuse it,or even those cowards who fled to-day will hold thee shamed.""It is granted.Choose -with whom wilt thou fight?Myself,Icannot fight with thee,for the king fights not except in war."Twala's sombre eye ran up and down our ranks,and I felt,as for a moment it rested on myself,that the position had developed a new horror.
What if he chose to begin by fighting me?What chance should I have against a desperate savage six feet five high,and broad in proportion?I might as well commit suicide at once.Hastily I made up my mind to decline the combat,even if I were hooted out of Kukuanaland as a consequence.It is,I think,better to be hooted than to be quartered with a battle-axe.
Presently he spoke.
"Incubu,what sayest thou,shall we end what we began to-day,or shall I call thee coward,white -even to the liver?""Nay,"interposed Ignosi,hastily;"thou shalt not fight with Incubu.""Not if he is afraid,"said Twala.
Unfortunately Sir Henry understood this remark,and the blood flamed up into his cheeks.
"I will fight him."he said;"he shall see if I am afraid.""For God's sake,"I entreated,"don't risk your life against that of a desperate man.Anybody who saw you to-day will know that you are not a coward.""I will fight him,"was the sullen answer."No living man shall call me a coward.I am ready now!"and he stepped forward and lifted his axe.
I wrung my hands over this absurd piece of Quixotism;but if he was determined on fighting,of course I could not stop him.
"Fight not,my white brother,"said Ignosi,laying his hand affectionately on Sir Henry's arm;"thou hast fought enough,and if aught befell thee at his hands it would cut my heart in twain.""I will fight,Ignosi,"was Sir Henry's answer.
"It is well,Incubu;thou art a brave man.It will be a good fight.
Behold.Twala,the Elephant is ready for thee,"The ex-king laughed savagely,and stepped forward and faced Curtis.
For a moment they stood thus,and the setting sun caught their stalwart frames and clothed them both in fire.They were a well-matched pair.
Then they began to circle round each other,their battle-axes raised.
Suddenly Sir Henry sprang forward and struck a fearful blow at Twala,who stepped to one side.So heavy was the stroke that the striker half overbalanced himself,a circumstance of which his antagonist took a prompt advantage.Circling his heavy battle-axe round his head he brought it down with tremendous force.My heart jumped into my mouth;I thought the affair was already finished.But no;with a quick upward movement of the left arm Sir Henry interposed his shield between himself and the axe,with the result that its outer edge was shorn clean off,the axe falling on his left shoulder,but not heavily enough to do any serious damage.
In another second Sir Henry got in another blow,which was also received by Twala upon his shield.Then followed blow upon blow,which were in turn,either received upon the shield or avoided.The excitement grew intense;the regiment which was watching the encounter forgot its discipline,and,drawing near,shouted and groaned at every stroke.Just at this time,too.
Good,who had been lad upon the ground by me,recovered from his faint,and.sitting up.perceived what was going on.In an instant he was up,and,catching hold of my arm,hopped about from place to place on one leg,dragging me after him,yelling out encouragements to Sir Henry -"Go it,old fellow!"he hallooed."That was a good one!Give it him amidships,"and so on.
Presently Sir Henry having caught a fresh stroke upon his shield,hit out with all his force.The stroke cut through Twala's shield and through the tough chain armor behind it,gashing him in the shoulder.With a yell of pain and fury Twala returned the stroke with interest,and,such was his strength,shore right through the rhinoceros-horn handle of his antagonist's battle-axe,strengthened as it was with bands of steel wounding Curtis in the face.
A cry of dismay rose from the Buffaloes as our hero's broad axe-head fell to the ground;and Twala,again raising his weapon,flew at him with a shout.I shut my eyes.When I opened them again,it was to see Sir Henry's shield lying on the ground,and Sir Henry himself with his great arms twined round Twala's middle.To and fro they swung,hugging each other like bears,straining with all their mighty muscles for dear life and dearer honor.