Now of this talisman I may as well say at once that I am no believer
in it or its precious influences. Therefore, although it was useful
sometimes, notably twice when Umslopogaas was concerned, I do not know
whether personally I should have done better or worse upon that journey
if I had thrown it into the pool.

It is true, however, that until quite the end of this history when
it became needful to do so to save another, I never made any further
attempt to remove it from my neck, not even when it rubbed a sore in my
skin, because I did not wish to offend the prejudices of Hans.

It is true, moreover, that this hideous ivory had a reputation which
stretched very far from the place where it was made and was regarded
with great reverence by all kinds of queer people, even by the Amahagger
themselves, of whom presently, as they say in pedigrees, a fact of which
I found sundry proofs. Indeed, I saw a first example of it when a little
while later I met that great warrior, Umslopogaas, Chief of the People
of the Axe.

For, after determining firmly, for reasons which I will set out, that
I would not visit this man, in the end I did so, although by then I
had given up any idea of journeying across the Zambesi to look for a
mysterious and non-existent witch-woman, as Zikali had suggested that I
should do. To begin with I knew that his talk was all rubbish and,
even if it were not, that at the bottom of it was some desire of the
Opener-of-Roads that I should make a path for him to travel towards an
indefinite but doubtless evil object of his own. Further, by this time
I had worn through that mood of mine which had caused me to yearn