This was all I wanted to find out, so I said
nothing more, but gave up my mind to thought of my own position
and difficulties.
Here I was, ordered on pain of death to depart from Ulundi at the
dawn. And yet how could I obey without seeing Zikali and
learning from him what had happened to Anscombe and Heda, or at
any rate without communicating with him? Once more only did I
break silence, offering to give Goza a gun if he would take a
message from me to the great wizard. But with a shake of his big
head, he answered that to do so would mean death, and guns were
of no good to a dead man since, as I had shown myself that night,
they had no power to shoot a spirit.
This closed the business on which I need not have troubled to
enter, since an answer to all my questionings was at hand.
We reached the hut where Goza gave me over to the guard of
soldiers, telling their officer that none were to be permitted to
enter it save myself and that I was not to be to permitted to
come out of it until he, Goza, came to fetch me a little before
the dawn.
The officer asked if any one else was to be permitted to come
out, a question that surprised me, though vaguely, for I was
thinking of other things. Then Goza departed, remarking that he
hoped I should sleep better than he would, who "felt spirits in
his bones and did not wish to kiss them as I seemed to like to
do." I replied facetiously, thinking of the bottle of brandy,
that ere long I meant to feel them in my stomach, whereat he
shook his head again with the air of one whom nothing connected
with me could surprise, and vanished.
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