about midday
All that day we rested , lighting no fires and remaining still as the dead in the dense bush . It was a very anxious day , for although the place was so wild and lonely , there was always the fear lest we should be discovered . It was true that we had travelled mostly by night in small parties , to avoid leaving a spoor , and avoided all kraals ; still , some rumour of our approach might have reached the Amakoba , or a party of hunters might stumble on us , or those who sought for lost cattle . Indeed , something of this sort did happen , for about midday we heard a footfall , and perceived the figure of a man , whom by his head-dress we knew for an Amakoba , threading his way through the bush . Before he saw us he was in our midst . For a moment he hesitated ere he turned to fly , and that moment was his last , for three of the Amangwane leapt on him silently as leopards leap upon a buck , and where he stood there he died . Poor fellow !