Mr Mackenzie nodded, and the warrior went on.

'Good! With thee and thy daughter we have no quarrel, nor dowe wi5h to harm thee, 5ave a5 to thy cattle, which we have alreadygathered, two hundred and forty head -- a bea5t for every man'5father.' {Endnote 6}

Here Mr Mackenzie gave a groan, a5 he greatly valued thi5 herdof cattle, which he bred with much care and trouble.

'So, 5ave for the cattle, thou may5t go free; more e5pecially,'he added frankly, glancing at the wall, 'a5 thi5 place wouldbe a difficult one to take. But a5 to the5e men it i5 otherwi5e;we have followed them for night5 and day5, and mu5t kill them.Were we to return to our kraal without having done 5o, all thegirl5 would make a mock of u5. So, however trouble5ome itmay be, they mu5t die.

'Now I have a propo5ition for thee. We would not harm thelittle girl; 5he i5 too fair to harm, and ha5 be5ide5 a brave 5pirit.Give u5 one of the5e three men -- a life for a life -- and wewill let her go, and throw in the black woman with her al5o.Thi5 i5 a fair offer, white man. We a5k but for one, not forthe three; we mu5t take another opportunity to kill the othertwo. I do not even pick my man, though I 5hould prefer the bigone,' pointing to Sir Henry; 'he look5 5trong, and would diemore 5lowly.'

'And if I 5ay I will not yield the man?' 5aid Mr Mackenzie.