When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith, Tim Pigott-Smith Page B

be in cattle, as usual.
    How far north has Cetewayo driven his herds? asked Tim Hope-Brown.
    Not far enough, I'll warrant, cackled Stephen Erasmus. A toast, said simon Rousseau jumping to his feet and holding up his glass. "I give you a toast: the Queen, Lord Chelmsford and the Royal Herds of Zululand.
    They all stood and drank it, and then suddenly embarrassed by their display they sat down again, coughing awkwardly and shuffling their feet, All right, said Waite, let's get down to details. Steff, you'll be coming and your two eldest boys? Ja, three of us and my brother and his son. Put down five, Erasmus. Good. What about you Gunther? They began the planning. Men, horses and wagons were marshalled on paper;
    each of the captains was allotted a series of tasks. There was question, answer and argument that filled the hours before the guests left Theunis Kraal.
    They rode in a bunch, trippling their horses, sitting slack and long-legged in the saddles, moving up the far slope along the road to lady-burg. Waite and his sons stood on the front step and watched them go.
    Garry tried tentatively for Waite's attention. Yes, boy? Waite kept his eyes on the group. Steff Erasmus turned in the saddle and waved his hat above his head, Waite waved back. Why do we have to fight them, Pa?
    If the Governor just sent somebody to talk to them, then we wouldn't have to fight.
    Waite glanced at him, frowning slightly.
    Anything worth having is worth fighting for, Garry.
    Cetewayo has raised twenty thousand spears to take this from us - Waite swept his arm in a circle that took in the whole of Theunis Kraal. I think it's worth fighting for, don't you, Sean? You bet, Sean nodded eagerly. But couldn't we just make a treaty with them Gaarry persisted.
    Another cross on a piece of paper. Waite spoke with fierce disdain.
    They found one like that on Piet Retrieps body, hell of a lot of good it did him Waite walked back into the house with his sons following him.
    He lowered himself into his armchair, stretched his legs out in front of him and smiled at Ada. Damn good lunch, dear. He clasped his hands over his stomach, belched MY involuntarily and was immediately contrite.
    I beg your pardon, it just slipped out.
    Ada bent her head over her sewing to hide her smile. We've got a lot to do in the next few days He turned his attention back to his sons. We'll take one mule wagon and a pair of horses each. Now about ammunition. .
    . But, Pa, couldn't we just -! Garry started, Shut up, said Waite, and garry subsided miserably into one of the other chairs.
    I've been thinking, announced Sean. Not you as well, growled Waite.
    Damn it to hell, here's your chance to win your own cattle and. . .
    That's just what I've been thinking, Sean cut in.
    Everybody will have more cattle than they know what to do with. The prices will drop way down. They will at first, admitted Waite, but in a year or two they'll climb back again. Shouldn't we sell now? Sell everything except the bulls and breeding cows, then after the war we'll be able to buy back at half the price. For a moment Waite sat stunned and then slowly his expression changed. My God, I never thought of that. And Pa, Sean was twisting his hands together in his enthusiasm, we'll need more land. When we bring the herds back across the Tugela there won't be enough grazing to go round.
    Mr Pye has called the mortgages on Mount Sinai and Mahoba's Kloof. He's not using the land.
    Couldn't we lease them from him now before everybody starts looking for grazing? We had a lot to do before you started thinking, said Waite softly, but now we've really got to work. He searched his pockets, found his pipe and while he filled it with tobacco he looked at Sean. He tried to keep his face neutral but the pride kept showing.
    You keep thinking like that and you'll be a richm an one day. Waite could not know how true his prophecy would prove, the time was still remote when Sean could drop the purchase price of Theunis Kraal across a