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By Root 3728 0

a pleasure of which no one had told him, for in the royal town there had been for some time an English lad named William Wood, twelve years old, whom King Dingane treated as a kind of pet, a precious curiosity who lived with the nearby missionaries but who had the run of the capital. This lad took Paulus under his protection, showing him the intricacies of the royal huts and even the forbidden quarters, vast in extent, in which the king's wives were sequestered.

At the end of the first day Paulus was exhausted but delighted: 'Father Tjaart, this is the best.' And memories of his parents' mutilation by the regiments of another king like Dingane were dulled.

On the second day Retief offered the king a surprise, calling upon his horsemen to go through their maneuvers. Into the vast arena, populated by at least four thousand Zulu warriors, came the Boer horsemen, two by two, rifles across their saddles, blank loadings in position. Slowly the horses circled the arena, came down the middle, performing convolutions and raising a stirring clatter. The warriors were entranced, for although they had danced with the oxen, their beautiful beasts had been slow and ponderous; these horses flowed with magic, leaping and twisting at command.

And then, again from a signal by Retief, which Dingane carefully noted, the horsemen broke into a gallop, formed one phalanx, dashed straight at the ebony armchair-throne and discharged their rifles. The effect was overwhelming, and so startled Dingane that he whispered to an attendant, 'These men are indeed wizards.'

William Wood overheard this remark, and as soon as the affair ended he sought out Tjaart and told him of the awful thing the king had said: 'He whispered that you were indeed wizards.'

'In a way we are,' Tjaart agreed.

'Ssssh! It means he's going to kill you.'

Tjaart frowned. 'What's your name again?'

'William Wood. I know Dingane. Mr. van Doorn , he's going to kill all of you.'

The boy's face was so woebegone that Tjaart felt he must inform Retief of the incident, but the commander laughed it off: 'One of the English missionaries said the same thing. But you must remember they're English. They're afraid of Kaffirs.'

But Tjaart was so impressed by William's warning that he suggested leaving the area that night, and he argued so persuasively that Retief might have ordered his people home had not King Dingane himself suddenly appeared: 'I want to ask two questions. First, is it true that your people have finally defeated Mzilikazi?'

'Yes,' Retief replied expansively. 'We killed five thousand of his men. Drove him right across the Limpopo.' He looked threateningly at Dingane, and added, 'A similar defeat awaits any king who opposes the will of God.'

'Who decides that the will of your God has been opposed?' the interpreter asked.

'We will know,' Retief said.

'My second question. Is it true that your Coloured people can ride horses the way you do?' Retief answered, 'Tomorrow you'll see. And as you watch them, remember that you might be given horses, too, once we move into our land.' Dingane nodded.

On Monday, February 5, the show was held, and although the Coloured riders lacked the military precision of the Boers, they rode with such joyous abandon that they more than compensated for the deficiency. William Wood, sitting near the king, heard him grumble to his advisers, 'If the Coloured can ride horses, so can the Zulu. We must keep careful watch on these wizards.'

When the performance ended, William hurried to the Voortrekkers, warning them for the second time: 'Dingane means to kill you either tonight or tomorrow.' But again Retief refused to heed the caution, pointing out: 'A treaty is to be signed in the morning. We'll leave immediately thereafter.'

'Too late,' the boy said, but Retief dismissed him, turning to Tjaart: 'What we might do, Tjaart, is for you to speed back to the Blaauwkrantz. Tell our people that we've been granted the land. Get them packed and ready to take possession before Dingane changes his mind.'

From a small leather pouch he brought forth the precious