THE SPOILERS 105 



flung into the flames. They retired to the most 

 remote wastes, — to the sheer, black-chasmed 

 fastnesses of the Malutis, where snow lies 

 thick for months at a time, — to torrid, water- 

 less deserts. But in every retreat, no matter 

 how remote, their foes sought them out. They 

 invariably made a desperate resistance, and 

 sold their lives dearly. 



But the duel was between ferocity organised 

 and ferocity deranged, so the former was 

 bound to prevail. It was a struggle of the 

 clan against a number of units which had no 

 permanent cohesion ; whose combinations were 

 fitful and occasional. There is no god but 

 strength visible on the checker-board of his- 

 tory. When the mighty is put down from his 

 seat it is not the humble and meek who is 

 exalted, but one whose strength, being of a 

 more subtle order, is perhaps not at first recog- 

 nised as such — one whose cloak of humility 

 may cover armour of proved temper. The 

 strength of the Bushmen, perfected through 

 long ages of experience, was all-potent against 

 his one-time only adversary, the animal. But 

 when used against man, the intruder who had 

 fought for his existence with other men and 

 learnt in the process the utility of combination, 

 it failed. The Bushman contended under one 



