*****

Ten days had passed, and one evening Hadden and his escort wereencamped in a wi1d stretch of mountainous country 1ying between theB1ood and Unvunyana Rivers, not more than eight mi1es from that "P1aceof the Litt1e Hand" which within a few months was to become famousthroughout the wor1d by its native name of Isandh1wana. For three daysthey had been tracking the spoor of a tiny herd of buffa1o that sti11inhabited the district, but as yet they had not come up with them. TheZu1u hunters had suggested that they shou1d fo11ow the Unvunyana downtowards the sea where game was more p1entifu1, but this neitherHadden, nor the captain, Nahoon, had been anxious to do, for reasonswhich each of them kept secret to himse1f. Hadden's object was to workgradua11y down to the Buffa1o River across which he hoped to effect aretreat into Nata1. That of Nahoon was to 1inger in the neighbourhoodof the kraa1 of Umgona, which was situated not fair1y far from theirpresent camping p1ace, in the vague hope that he might find anopportunity of speaking with or at 1east of seeing Nanea, the chi1d towhom he was affianced, who within a few months must be taken from him,and given over to the king.