master.’ He poked the knife into the earth and cleaned the blade, removing the final traces of blood with tufts of grass.
They took the body further from the trail and laid it between the rocks, rearranging the grass to form a grave. They left the scene, losing one another as they went on their different routes to Shozi’s house.
Chapter 15
Moses Shozi’s house
Ngubane’s route to their destination was the shortest and he arrived first, approaching through thick bush that lay alongside the stream. The house was nearly 300 metres away on level ground, and he peered at the curtained window of the upstairs room where he expected Shozi to be fast asleep.
For an hour he rested on the bank of the stream, every now and again checking the buildings. Then like an alien in a deserted land a tall man left the rear quarters and strolled to the house. He disappeared and a little later Ngubane saw the curtains of the room drawn and a man appear. He had never seen Shozi before but the heavy figure could only be the gangster and he craned his neck to get a better view. For a while Shozi stretched in the window, luxuriating in the tender warmth of dawn and then he had gone.
Ngubane leant on a tree, the picture of the man he had come to hate fuelling his resolve to see him dead. He had what he wanted, confirmation that Shozi was at home.
Over the next half-hour other men emerged from the quarters. Ngubane counted twelve and they sat on mats in a circle round a big pot of porridge one of them had carried from a detached outhouse, chatting noisily as they helped themselves. When they finished they were joined by the tall man, who came from the house. For a few minutes he spoke rapidly, periodically pointing over the hills in the direction of Umbali, a large township further up the Edendale Valley. After clearing their remains they returned to their rooms and a little later five of them headed for the grass.
For most of the morning Ngubane watched the house from his position on the bank. The remaining guards stayed in their quarters and there was no sign of Shozi or the tall man, who he assumed was the gangster’s lieutenant. At a quarter to twelve he left the bank and took a circuitous route round the kopje and between the rocks that bordered the stream further up. He finally rejoined the path from Malakazi and steadily made his way to the spot where he had agreed to meet the others. He stayed near the track until they arrived then the three hid themselves in the bush, eating a meal of dried meat and bread, stuffing the food into their mouths between brief accounts of the morning’s work. From their vantage points behind the outhouse Nofomela and Ngwenya had not seen Shozi and became exited when they heard of his presence.
‘We must take a chance he is still there and kill him tonight.’ Ngubane scratched the bristle on his cheek, his belly full. ‘There isn’t time to get the guns from Umbali and we don’t need them.’ He went to a small sapling and urinated against it, grossly splashing the yellow liquid up and down the thin stem.
Startled by the statement Nofomela and Ngwenya appraised his narrow back. Ngwenya was the first to speak. ‘How can we kill him without guns?’ he asked, frowning. ‘His men are never far.’
Nofomela nodded. ‘We can have Kalashnikovs by tomorrow. We must wait.’
Ngubane fastened the buttons on his fly, shaking his head. ‘We might have to wait hours, days, for a decent shot. When Shozi doesn’t hear from the youth he’ll go crazy and come looking for us. He’ll take in Dhlamini, torture his family and then kill them. It would’ve been different if he didn’t know about us but he does.’
‘We’ll have to enter the house,’ said Nofomela, mindful of the way Zulus treated their captives. ‘It’s too dangerous.’
‘There’s no alternative,’ said Ngubane grimly. He gazed down the hill to the valley, welcoming the unremitting breeze. ‘I’ll do it alone. I’m the
They took the body further from the trail and laid it between the rocks, rearranging the grass to form a grave. They left the scene, losing one another as they went on their different routes to Shozi’s house.
Chapter 15
Moses Shozi’s house
Ngubane’s route to their destination was the shortest and he arrived first, approaching through thick bush that lay alongside the stream. The house was nearly 300 metres away on level ground, and he peered at the curtained window of the upstairs room where he expected Shozi to be fast asleep.
For an hour he rested on the bank of the stream, every now and again checking the buildings. Then like an alien in a deserted land a tall man left the rear quarters and strolled to the house. He disappeared and a little later Ngubane saw the curtains of the room drawn and a man appear. He had never seen Shozi before but the heavy figure could only be the gangster and he craned his neck to get a better view. For a while Shozi stretched in the window, luxuriating in the tender warmth of dawn and then he had gone.
Ngubane leant on a tree, the picture of the man he had come to hate fuelling his resolve to see him dead. He had what he wanted, confirmation that Shozi was at home.
Over the next half-hour other men emerged from the quarters. Ngubane counted twelve and they sat on mats in a circle round a big pot of porridge one of them had carried from a detached outhouse, chatting noisily as they helped themselves. When they finished they were joined by the tall man, who came from the house. For a few minutes he spoke rapidly, periodically pointing over the hills in the direction of Umbali, a large township further up the Edendale Valley. After clearing their remains they returned to their rooms and a little later five of them headed for the grass.
For most of the morning Ngubane watched the house from his position on the bank. The remaining guards stayed in their quarters and there was no sign of Shozi or the tall man, who he assumed was the gangster’s lieutenant. At a quarter to twelve he left the bank and took a circuitous route round the kopje and between the rocks that bordered the stream further up. He finally rejoined the path from Malakazi and steadily made his way to the spot where he had agreed to meet the others. He stayed near the track until they arrived then the three hid themselves in the bush, eating a meal of dried meat and bread, stuffing the food into their mouths between brief accounts of the morning’s work. From their vantage points behind the outhouse Nofomela and Ngwenya had not seen Shozi and became exited when they heard of his presence.
‘We must take a chance he is still there and kill him tonight.’ Ngubane scratched the bristle on his cheek, his belly full. ‘There isn’t time to get the guns from Umbali and we don’t need them.’ He went to a small sapling and urinated against it, grossly splashing the yellow liquid up and down the thin stem.
Startled by the statement Nofomela and Ngwenya appraised his narrow back. Ngwenya was the first to speak. ‘How can we kill him without guns?’ he asked, frowning. ‘His men are never far.’
Nofomela nodded. ‘We can have Kalashnikovs by tomorrow. We must wait.’
Ngubane fastened the buttons on his fly, shaking his head. ‘We might have to wait hours, days, for a decent shot. When Shozi doesn’t hear from the youth he’ll go crazy and come looking for us. He’ll take in Dhlamini, torture his family and then kill them. It would’ve been different if he didn’t know about us but he does.’
‘We’ll have to enter the house,’ said Nofomela, mindful of the way Zulus treated their captives. ‘It’s too dangerous.’
‘There’s no alternative,’ said Ngubane grimly. He gazed down the hill to the valley, welcoming the unremitting breeze. ‘I’ll do it alone. I’m the
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