Even before they passed the small gate of the inner fence it was easy for me to see that this royal pair were not upon the best of terms, for each of them tried to get through it first, to show his right of precedence. The result was somewhat ludicrous, for they jammed in the gateway. Here, however, Umbelazi’s greater weight told, for, putting out his strength, he squeezed his brother into the reeds of the fence, and won through a foot or so in front of him.
“You grow too fat, my brother,” I heard Cetewayo say, and saw him scowl as he spoke. “If I had held an assegai in my hand you would have been cut.”
“I know it, my brother,” answered Umbelazi, with a good-humoured laugh, “but I knew also that none may appear before the King armed. Had it been otherwise, I would rather have followed after you.”
Now, at this hint of Umbelazi’s, that he would not trust his brother behind his back with a spear, although it seemed to be conveyed in jest, I saw Panda shift uneasily on his seat, while Cetewayo scowled even more ominously than before. However, no further words passed between them, and, walking up to the King side by side, they saluted him with raised hands, calling out “Baba!”–that is, Father.
“Greeting, my children,” said Panda, adding hastily, for he foresaw a quarrel as to which of them should take the seat of honour on his right: “Sit there in front of me, both of you, and, Macumazahn, do you come hither,” and he pointed to the coveted place. “I am a little deaf in my left ear this morning.”
So these brothers sat themselves down in front of the King; nor were they, I think, grieved to find this way out of their rivalry; but first they shook hands with me, for I knew them both, though not well, and even in this small matter the old trouble arose, since there was some difficulty as to which of them should first offer me his hand. Ultimately, I remember, Cetewayo won this trick.
When these preliminaries were finished, Panda addressed the princes, saying:
“My sons, I have sent for you to ask your counsel upon a certain matter–not a large matter, but one that may grow.” And he paused to take snuff, whereon both of them ejaculated:
“We hear you, Father.”
“Well, my sons, the matter is that of Saduko, the son of Matiwane, chief of the Amangwane, whom Bangu, chief of the Amakoba, ate up years ago by leave of Him who went before me. Now, this Bangu, as you know, has for some time been a thorn in my foot–a thorn that caused it to fester–and yet I did not wish to make war on him. So I spoke a word in the ear of Saduko, saying, ‘He is yours, if you can kill him; and his cattle are yours.’ Well, Saduko is not dull. With the help of this white man, Macumazahn, our friend from of old, he has killed Bangu and taken his cattle, and already my foot is beginning to heal.”
“We have heard it,” said Cetewayo.
“It was a great deed,” added Umbelazi, a more generous critic.
“Yes,” continued Panda, “I, too, think it was a great deed, seeing that Saduko had but a small regiment of wanderers to back him–”
“Nay,” interrupted Cetewayo, “it was not those eaters of rats who won him the day, it was the wisdom of this Macumazahn.”
“Macumazahn’s wisdom would have been of little use without the courage of Saduko and his rats,” commented Umbelazi, and from this moment I saw that the two brothers were taking sides for and against Saduko, as they did upon every other matter, not because they cared for the right of whatever was in question, but because they wished to oppose each other.
“Quite so,” went on the King; “I agree with both of you, my sons. But the point is this: I think Saduko a man of promise, and one who should be advanced that he may learn to love us all, especially as his House has suffered wrong from our House, since He-who-is-gone listened to the evil counsel of Bangu, and allowed him to kill out Matiwane’s tribe without just cause. Therefore, in order to wipe away this stain and bind Saduko to us, I think it well to re-establish Saduko in the chieftainship of the Amangwane, with the lands that his father held, and to give him also the chieftainship of the Amakoba, of whom it seems that the women and children, with some of the men, remain, although he already holds their cattle which he has captured in war.”