CHAPTER XXIII 
Paul maltreated—Rest—King Moremi the inquisitive—How the King and his 
tribe were baptized and the result—Native religion—I intrigue against 
Indala—About the Batowaana or Baros. 
Our difficulties regarding Paul and Styrman were not over 
yep for on the following day Mashabie came and demanded 
that they should be sent over to the council. For Styrman we 
feared little, as his principal fault lay in the fact that he knew 
how to speak the Matabele language, while by many tattoo 
marks characteristic of his tribe, that ornamented his body, 
and thanks to the statement of his innocence made by Chiki and 
his fellows, he should be able to convince the Batowaana in a cool 
moment of his harmlessness. The fact that he belonged to a 
tribe living near the western disputed borders of the Matabele, 
to whom as well as the Barotzi these people paid tribute to 
ensure themselves a peaceful existence, was all in his favour. 
With Paul, however, it was another matter. He had the large 
perforation in the lower lobe of his ears, a distinguishing mark, 
common to the Zulus and Matabele, who are a branch of the 
great Zulu nation, alike, inflicted on him as a child by his Zulu 
parents as a sign of their nationality. This mark alone under 
the circumstances was enough to ensure his death; therefore, 
although I allowed Styrman to go without a murmur, I refused 
Mashabie’s request that Paul should accompany him. Mashabie 
asserted that I would get him into disrepute with his king by 
this act, and that he deserved better treatment at my hands 
after he had saved our lives. I would not let Paul go, and told 
him to tell the king to come and fetch him himself if he wanted 
him. In the course of an hour Mashabie returned in a great 
