"
Then he took one of his bags and from it selected a certain packet
wrapped in a dried leaf, out of which he shook some grey powder. Seizing
the kid, which seemed to be almost dead, he made an incision in its
throat over the wound, and into it rubbed some of this powder. Next he
spat upon more of the powder, thus turning it into a paste, and opening
the kid's mouth, thrust it down its throat, at the same time muttering
an invocation or spell.
"Now we must wait," he said, letting the kid fall upon the ground, where
it lay to all appearance dead.
"Is that powder any good?" asked Dorcas rather aimlessly.
"Yes, it is very good, Lady; a medicine of power of which I alone
have the secret, a magic medicine. See, I will show you. Except the
_immamba_, the ring-snake that puffs out its head, this one is the most
deadly in our country. Yet I do not fear it. Look!"
Leaning forward, he seized the puff-adder, and drawing it from beneath
the fork, suffered it to strike him upon the breast, after which he
deliberately killed it with a stone. Then he took some of the grey
powder and rubbed it into the punctures; also put more of it into his
mouth, which he swallowed.
"Oh!" exclaimed Dorcas, "he will die," and some of the Christian Kaffirs
echoed her remark.
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