WO RK S BY H .

RI D E R H A GGA R D

P A R L I AM E N T A RY B L U E B O O K . -

R E P O RT To H M
G O V E RN M E N T O N T H E S A LVATI ON
. .
’
S
A RM Y C O LO N I E S I N TH E U N I TE D S TATE S W I TH S C H E ME ,

O F N ATI O N A L L A N D S E TTLE M E N T. !C d. 2 5 6 2]
P O L I TI C A L H I S TO RY .

C E TEWAY O AN D H I S W H I TE N E I G H B O U RS .

WO RK S ON S O C I O L O GY , A G R I C U L TU R E ,
A N D C O U N TRY L I FE .

RU R A L E N G LA N D ( 2 v ols ) . T H E P O O R AN D T H E L AND .

RU R A L D E N M A RK AN D I TS R E GE N E R TI O N . A
L E SS O N S . A
A F RME R S Y E R .
’
A
GA R D E N E R S Y E A R A
’
.

M R ide r H aggard i s p ro ba b m o s t w idely k n o wn a s a

atter of f a c t tly a f w n n ow w i t
r
n ov el i st b t a s a
.

u m er e re e m e r
i ng E ngl ish whose books on i ta so c iolog ic al q uest ons are of
, ,

v i
su ch v alue s hi s and hardly on a ong th s s all n u m ber
a e m i m
p d t h dangers t hat b eset t he
,

wh h asgrasped a s h h as
o as e e e

f uture f t h E ngl sh — svea n people and th way these da

’

o e z z , e rt .
s ca n b est b t M h od e R oose velt i n ”
Th O u t
g
er e m e . r . e or e .
ooh N ew Yo r k .j uly
,
”
0 1 , 1 ! 1.

B O O K O F T R A VE L .

A W I N TE R P I LG RI M A G E .

N O VE L S .

D A WN . A TR I C E
BE .

TE E WI TC H S ’
HE AD . O AN H A S T
O C T O R T H E RN E
JE S S . .

C O LO N E L Q U A RI T C H . V C . . S T E LL A F R E G E LI US .

THE WA Y OF TH E S P I R I T .

R O MA N C E S .

K I N G S O LO MO N ’
S MI NES . B L CK A A
H E RT AN D WH I TE
SHE . HE A RT .

Y
A ESH A : Th R t n o f S h e e e ur . L Y S B E TH .

A LL A N Q U A T E R M A I N . P E R L- A I DE N . MA
M R M E E S N S W I LL
. O
'
. T H E B R E TH R E N .
A L L A N S WI F E TH E S P I RIT OF B AM B A TS E
’
.

C LE O P ATRA . (B EN IT ) . A
E R I C B R I G H TE Y E S . M A RGA RE T .

N AD A T H E L I LY . G H O S T K I N GS TH E .

M O N T E Z U M A S D A U G H TE R ’
T H E Y E L L O W G O D : A N I DO L .

T H E P E O P LE O F T H E M I ST O F A FR I C A . .

H E A RT O F T H E W O R LD M O R N I N G S TA R . .

S W A LLO W . T H E L A D Y O F B LO S S H OLM E
M A RI E U E EN S H EB A S RIN G
.
’
. .

T H E M A H A TM A A N D TH E E D E VE .

H A RE . C H I L D O F S TO R M .

A L LA N AN D TH E H O LY TH E W A N D E R E R S N E C K L A C E ’
.

F LO W E R .
TH E I VO R Y C H I L D .

FI N IS H E D . LO V E E TE R N A L .

M O O N O F IS RA E L WH E N TH E WO RLD S H OOK
. .

( I n C o lla b o at i o n w ith A ndr e w L a ng) r

TH E WO R LD S ’
D E S I RE .
KI NG SOLOMON S MI NES
’

A Nu ur l

IS X ,

4
B Y Hf RI DE R
”

AGGARD
II
A U TH O R OF SHE
” “
JESS E TC .

N E W I M P RE SS I ON

L ON G M A N S , G R E E N A N D CO .

FOU RTH AVE N U E 3 OTH ST , N E WYORK

.

19 20
 I
THE FA THFU L B U T UN P RE TE N D NI G O
RE C RD
OF

A RE MARKAB LE ADVEN TU RE

IS HE REBY

Respertfu llg m ebi ratz b

B Y THE N ARRATOR

A LLA N Q U A TE R M A I N
TO ALL

THE B I G AND LITTLE B OY S WHO READ IT

 C O N TE N T S .

C H APT E R

I N TR OD U C TI ON
I ME E T SI R HE N R Y CURTI S
TH E LE GE N D
’
OF S OL OM ON S M IN E S
U M B OP A E N TE R S O U R S E R V I CE
AN E LE P H AN T H UN T
O U R M ARC H I N TO TH E D E SE RT
W ATE R ! WATE R !
S OL O M ON S RO A D
’

WE E N TE R K U R U AN AL AN D
TW AL A THE K IN G
,

TH E W I TC H H UN T -

WE G I VE A S I GN
B E F OR E TH E B ATTL E
THE A TTA CK
TH E LAS T S TAN D OF TH E GRAY S .

GOO D FAL LS S I CK
THE P L A CE OF DE ATH
TRE AS U R E
’
S O L OM O N S -
CH AMB E R

WE AB AN D ON H O P E .

FARE WE LL
’
I GN OSI S

FO UN D
 I N TR O D U C TI O N .

N o w t ha t thi s b ook
i s printed and about t o be gi v en to,

the wor ld th e sense of its sh o rtcomings b o th in style and

, ,

c o ntents weig h s very heavily up o n me AS regards the

, .

latter I can o nly say that it d o es not p r etend to b e a f ull

,

acc o unt o f everyth i ng we did and saw The r e are m an y .

things c o nnected w ith o u r j o urney into K u ku analan d which

I sh o uld h ave liked t o dwell up on at length and which ,

have as it i s b een scarcely alluded to Am o ng these are

, ,
.

th e curi o us legends which I collected about the chain ar

m o r t h at saved us from destructi o n in th e great battle o f

”
Loo an d also ab o ut th e
,
silent o nes or c o lossi at the
“

mouth o f the stalactite cav e Again if I had given way .

,

t o my o wn impulses I Sh o uld have liked to g o i n t o t he dif

f e r e n c e s s o me o f which are t o my mind very suggestive
, ,

between the Zulu and K u k u an a dialects Also a few pages .

might pr o fitably hav e been given u p to the conside r ati o n

o f the indigen o u s fl o ra and fauna of The n
th ere remains the most in t e r esting subj ect — that as i t is , ,

9“
I di scove r ed e ight i i l p e wi th whi ch I was p r evi ou sly
var e t e s o f ante o

tota lly u nacq u ai nted ,

an d m any n e w sp eci es of pl an ts for the m os
, t par t of

the b u lb ou str ib e — A . Q
.
v iii I N TR O D U C TI O N .

has only b een incid e n t al ly alluded to — of th e m agn ifi c en t

system of milita r y o rganization in fo r ce in that co u n tr y ,

which is in my opinion much supe r ior to tha t inaugurat e d

, ,

by Chaka in Zululan d inasmuch as it permits o f eve n

,

more rapid mobilization and does n ot n e c e ssitate th e em

,

ployment of the pernicious sys t e m o f fo r ced celibacy And .

,

lastly I hav e s ca r cely t ouched o n the do m estic and family

,

customs o f the K u ku an as many of which are exceedingl y

,

qu aint or o n their profici e ncy in the a r t o f smelt in g an d

,

welding metals This last th ey carry to c onside r able per

.

f ec ti o n o f which a good example is to b e seen in their

,

”
“
tollas o r h e avy thr o wing knives the backs o f these
,
-
,

knives being m ade o f hammered ir o n and the edg es o f ,

beautiful steel welded with great skill on t o th e ir o n backs .

The fact of the matte r is that I thought (and so did Sir

Henry Curtis an d Cap t ain Good ) that the b es t plan w o uld
be t o tell the story in a plain straightfo r ward manner and
, ,

leave thes e matte r s t o b e dealt with subsequently i n what

ever way may ultima t ely app e ar to be desirable In the .

m eanwhile I shall of cou r se b e delighted t o giv e any i n

, ,

forma t io n i n my powe r to a nybody int e r e st e d in such

things .

And n ow i t only remains for me to offer my apologi e s

fo r my blun t way o f writing I can o nly say in excuse fo r
.

it that I am more accust o med to handle a rifle than a pen,

and can n ot make any p r etence t o the grand lite r ary flights
—
and flourishes which I see in novels fo r I som e times like
t o r ead a novel I suppose they— the fl igh t s and flo urishes
.

a re d e sirabl e a n d I re g ret n o t b e i ng able t o supply th em

,
 I N TR O D U C TI O N . ix

but at the same t im e I can not help t hinking t ha t simple

things a r e always the m ost i m pres sive and bo oks a r e easie r
,

t o unde r stand wh e n they are written in plain language ,

t hough I have perhaps no right to se t up an o pini o n o n
”
such a matte r .
“
A Sh arp spear runs the K u k u an a say
,

ing ne e ds n o polish
,
and o n th e same p r incipl e I vent
u r e t o h o e th at a true st or y h oweve r st r ange it may b e
p , ,

doe s n ot r equi r e t o b e d e ck e d out in fin e wor ds

.

ALL AN QU ATE RM AI N .
 K I N G SO L O MO N S ’
MI N E S ,

C HAP TE R I .

I ME E T SI R H E N RY C U RTIS .

I T is a curious thing that at my ag e — fi fty fi v e last bi rt h -

day— I should find myself taking up a pen to tr y a n d writ e

a history I w o nder what s or t of a hist o ry it will b e when
.

I have d o n e it if I ever c o me to the end of the t rip

,
I
have d o ne a g o od many things in my life which seems a ,

long on e t o me o wing t o my having begun so y o u ng per

, ,

hap s At an age wh en oth er boys are at scho o l I was earn

.

ing my l i ving as a t r ader in the o ld C o lony I have be e n .

t rading hunting fighting o r m ining eve r S ince And yet

, , , .

it is only eight m o nths ag o that I made my pile It is a .

—
big pile n o w I have got i t I don t yet kn o w h o w big but — ’

I don t think I w o uld go thr o ugh the last fi fteen o r si x

’

teen m o nths again f o r it no n o t if I kn ew that I should

,

com e out safe at th e end pile an d all But then I am a

,
.
,

timid m an a n d don t like violenc e a n d am p r etty sick of

,
’
,

adve ntu r e I wonder why I am going to write this b ook ;

.

i t is no t in m y lin e I am no t a lit er a r y man th o u gh very

.
,

d e voted t o th e O ld T e stament and also t o th e Ingoldsby

L egends ”
L e t m e try and set down my r easons j ust to
. ,

see if I have any .

First r eas on : B ecause S i r H enr y Cu rt is and C ap ta i n

J oh n Goo d ask e d m e t o .

1
2 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

S e cond r eason : Because I am laid up he re at Du rb an

with th e pain and tr ouble in my left leg E ver since th at .

confou n ded lion got h o ld of me I have b een liable to it ,

and its being rathe r bad j ust n ow makes me limp mo r e

t han e ver The r e mus t be some p ois o n in a lion s teeth
.
’
,

o th erwise how is it that when your wounds a r e healed they

b r eak o u t again generally m ark you at th e same ti m e o f
, , ,

y e ar t hat you got your mauling ? It is a hard thing that

when on e has shot sixty fi ve lions as I have in the c o u r se
-

o f my life that th e sixty sixth sh o uld ch e w you r leg like a

,
-

quid of t o bacco It breaks the routine o f th e thing an d

.
, ,

putting o the r considerations aside I am an or derly man ,

and d o n t like that This I s by the way

’
. .

Third reason : Becaus e I want my boy Ha rr y who i s ,

ove r there at the hospital in L ondon studying t o beco m e a

doc t o r to have something to a m use him and keep him out
,

o f mischief for a week o r so Hospi t al wo rk must some

.

t imes pall and get r ath er dull fo r even of cut t ing u p dead
,
-

bodi e s the r e must co m e satiety and as this history w o n t ,

’

be dull whateve r else it may b e it m ay put a li tt le life in t o

, ,

t hings fo r a day or two while he is r eading it .

Fou r th re ason and las t B ecau se I am going t o t ell th e

s tr angest st or y that I know of It may seem a quee r thing.

to say that especially conside r ing that the r e i s no wo m a n

,

in i t— e xc e p t Foulata Stop though the r e is G agaoola

.
, ,

if she was a woman and not a fiend Bu t sh e was a hu n .

d re d at least a n d th er efo r e n ot m ar riageable so I don t

, ,
’

cou nt h er A t any r ate I can safely say that the re is n o t

.
,

a p etti coat in t h e whole histo r y Well I h ad b e t ter co m e

.
,
’
t o th e yoke It s a sti ff place and I fe e l as though I w ere
.
,

b ogged up to t he axle .
”
But su tj e s su tj e s as th e B o er s , ,

say (I m su r e I do n t kno w how t hey sp e ll it so ft ly do e s

’ ’

) ,
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

i t A s tr ong team will come th r ough a t last tha t is if

.
,
’
t h e y ain t to o p o or Y o u will neve r do any thing wit h poo r
.

ox e n N ow to b egin
.
, .

I Allan Qu atermain of D urban N a t al Gentl e man m ak e

, , , , ,

oath and say— That s how I began my deposition b e fo re

’

t h e magistrate ab out poo r K hi v a s an d Ven tv Ogel s sad ’ ’

de a th s ; but s o meh ow i t d o esn t seem quite t h e r igh t way ’

to begin a b o o k And b esides am I a gentlema n

.
,
What ,
’
is a gen tlema n ? I don t qui t e know an d yet I h a ve had ,

t o do with n iggers —n o I ll sc r atch that word D i gger s ,

’

o u t f o r I d o n t like it
’
,
I ve known natives wh o ar e and
.
’
,

so you ll say Harry my b oy befo r e you re done with this

’
, , ,
’

tale and I have kn own mean whites with lots o f money

,

and fresh o u t from home too wh o a i n t Well at any r ate , ,

’
.
,

I wa s b o r n a gentleman th o ugh I ve b e e n nothing but a poo r

,
’

t r avelling t r a der an d hunter all my life Whethe r I have .

remain e d so I kn ow not you must j udge of that Heave n .

kn ows I v e tried I v e k i lle d many men in my time but I

’
.
’
,

hav e n ever slain wantonly or stained my hand in innocent

blood only in self defen ce Th e Almighty gave u s ou r
,
-
.

lives an d I suppose he meant u s to defend them a t l e as t

,

I hav e always acte d on that and I hope it won t b e b r ought ,

’

up agai n st me wh en my c lo ck strikes Th er e th er e i t is .
,

a c r u e l and a wicked world and for a ti m id man I hav e , , ,

’
been mixe d up in a deal of slaught e r I can t t ell th e rights .

o f it bu t at any r ate I have nev er s t olen though I once

, ,

chea t ed a K affi r out of a h er d of ca ttle B ut then he had .

,

d o ne m e a di r ty tu r n and i t h a s tr ou bl e d me e v er sinc e
,

into t h e b a rgain .

W e ll it s eigh t e e n mo nt h s o r s o ago since I fir s t m et Si r

,
’

Hen r y Cu rt is and Captain Good a n d i t was in this way ,

.

I h a d b ee n up e l eph ant hu nt i n g beyo n d B aman gwa t o a n d ,

had had bad luck E verything went w ro ng tha t t rip a nd
. ,

t o top u p with I g o t the fever badly So s oo n as I was .

well en o ugh I trekked d o wn to the Diam o nd Fields s o ld ,

such ivory as I had and als o my wag o n an d o xen dis

, ,

charged my hunters and t oo k the po st cart to the Cape

,
-
.

After sp e nding a week in C ape T o wn finding that they ,

o vercharged me at the h o tel and having seen everything

,

there was to see inclu ding the botanical gardens w hich

, ,

seem t o me likely t o co nfer a g r eat benefit o n th e c o untry ,

an d the new Houses o f Parliament which I expe ct will do ,

n o thing of the s o rt I determined to g o o n back to N atal

,

by the D u nkeld then lying in th e docks waiting f o r th e

,

E di n bu r gh Castle due in fr o m E ngland I t o o k my b e r th .

and went ab oard and that afte r n o on the N a tal passengers

,

fr o m the E di n bu r gh Castle t r anshipp ed and we weighed ,

ancho r and put o ut to sea .

Among the pas sengers wh o cam e o n b o ard there we r e

two who excited my c u ri o sity O ne a man o f about thirty
.
, ,

was on e o f the biggest chested and longest armed men I

- -

ever saw He had yellow hair a big yell o w beard clear

.
, ,

cut featur e s and large gray eyes set deep int o his head
, .

I neve r saw a fi n er l oo king man and s o meh o w h e reminded

-
,

me o f an ancient Dane N ot that I k no w much of an cient

.

Danes though I remember a m o de r n Dane who did me o u t

,

o f ten pounds ; but I remember once seeing a picture o f

some of th o se gentry wh o I take it were a kind of white

, , ,

Zulus They were drinking o u t o f big ho r ns and their

.
,

lo n g hair hung down their backs and as I looked at my ,

friend standing there by the c o mpanion ladder I th o ught -

,

that i f on e o nly let his hair grow a bit put o n e o f th o s e ,

chain shirt s on to those great S houlders of his and gav e ,

hi m a big battle ax e and a ho rn mug h e might h ave sat a s

-
,
 ’
KI N G S OLOMO N S M IN E S .

de r stan d t heir wo rk and to g et to th e p r i m e o f life Well

,
.
,

I supp ose they don t mind it but fo r m y pa rt I had r athe r

’
,

ea rn my b r ead as a hunter O ne s half pence a r e as sca r ce

.
’ -
,

p erhap s bu t yo u don t get so many kicks His n ame I

,
’
.

found out — b y refe rr ing to the passenge r s list— was Go o d ’

— C aptain J o hn Good H e was b r oad of medium height

.
,
,

dark stout and rath e r a cu r ious man to look at

, ,
He was .

so ve r y n eat and so ve r y clean shav ed and h e always wo r e ,

an eye glass in his right ey e It seemed to grow the re fo r

-
.
,

it had n o s tr ing and he nev er t o ok it ou t excep t t o wip e

,

it A t first I thought he u sed to S leep i n i t bu t I aft er

.
,

wards found that this was a mistake He pu t it in his .

tr ouse r s p o ck e t when he went to b e d t ogethe r with his ,

fals e t eeth of which he had two b e au t iful s et s that hav e

,

often my o wn bei n g none of the b est caused me to b r eak

, ,

t h e tenth C ommandmen t But I am anticipating . .

Soon afte r we had got under way evening closed in ,

and b r ought with it very dirty wea t he r A keen b r e e ze .

S p r ang up off land and a kind o f agg r avated Scotch m ist

,

soon drove everybody f r om th e d eck And as fo r that .

D u nk eld she is a fl at bottomed punt and going up light

,
-
, ,

as she was she rolled ve r y heavily It alm o st seemed as

, .

though sh e would g o r ight over but sh e n e v er did It , .

was quite impossible to walk about so I stood near the ,

engines wher e it was war m and amused myself with

, ,

watching the pendulum which was fixed Opposite to me

, ,

swinging slowly backward and forwar d as the vessel rolled ,

a nd marking th e angle she touch ed at each lurch .

Th at p en dulum s w r ong ; i t is no t p r op e rly weight e d

’
,

sudd en ly said a voice at my shoulder som e what tes t ily , .

L oo ki n g r ound I saw the naval o ffi ce r I had n otic e d when

th e pass en gers ca me aboa r d .
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.
‘
7

Ind ee d ; now wha t makes you t hink so I asked .

Think so I don t th i nk at all Why the r e — a s she

.
’
.

r ighted he r self after a r o ll if the ship had really rolled

to the deg r ee t hat thing p oin t ed to then she would neve r
have rolled again that s all But it is j ust like these m e r
,
’
.

”
ch ant skipp e r s t hey always are so confoun de dly ca re l e ss
, .

Jus t then th e dinner bell r ang and I was not s o rry fo r -

, ,

it is a d r eadful thing t o have to liste n t o an offi c er of the

R o yal N avy when he g et s on to tha t subj ect I o n ly .

kno w one worse thing and that is t o hea r a me r chant ,

skipp e r e xp r ess his candid op i n ion o f o ffi ce r s of th e Royal

N avy .

Cap t ai n Goo d an d I went down to di nn e r t og et he r and ,

the r e we found Sir Hen r y Cu r tis already seated He and .

Captain Good sat t o geth er an d I sat opposit e to them , .

The captain a n d I soon got into talk about shoo t i n g and

wha t n o t he asking me many questions and I answe ring
, ,

as w e ll as I could Presently he go t o n to elephan t s

. .

”
“
Ah si r calle d o u t somebody who was sitting nea r
, ,

me ,
you v e go t to th e r igh t man f o r th at ; Hunte r Qua
’

te r m ai n should b e able to tell you about elephan t s if any

b o dy can .

Si r Hen r y wh o had b een si tt ing qui te qui et lis t e n ing t o

,

o u r talk s t a r t e d visibly
,
.

”
“
E xcuse me sir h e said leaning fo r wa r d across t he
, , ,

t able a n d sp e aking in a low deep v oice a very s u itable

, , ,

voice it se em ed to me t o com e ou t of those g r eat lungs

, ,
.

”
E xcus e m e sir but is you r name Allan Quatermain ?
, ,

I s a id it was .

Th e big m an made n o fur t he r remark bu t I hea r d hi m ,

'

”
m u tter fo rt unate in t o his b ea r d .

P re s ent ly di nner c ame t o an en d and as we w ere l e av ,

 ’
t K I N G l OLOM ON l m m .

i ng tho sal o o n S i r He nr y ca me up and a sk e d m e i f I

would co me i nt o his cabin and smoke a pipe I acc e p ted .
,

and h e led th e way to the D u nkeld deck cabin and a ve r y ,

good cabi n it was I t had b e en t wo cabins but when Sir

.
,

G arne t o r on e o f those big swells went down t he coast

, ,

i n t h e D u nkeld t hey had knock e d away th e pa r titi on an d

ne v er pu t it up again The re was a sofa i n the c abi n and
.
,

a lit tl e tabl e in f r o n t o f it Si r H e n r y sen t th e ste wa r d

.

fo r a bott l e of whiskey a n d t h e th r ee of us sat down and

,

li t o u r pipes .

“
Mr Qua ter mai n said Si r Henry C u rt is whe n th e
.
, ,

s te war d had brough t t h e whiskey and lit the lamp the ,

y e a r b e fo re last about this tim e you we r e I believe at

, , , ,

a plac e called Bamangwato to t he no rt h o f th e Tr a n s,

”
v aal .

”
“
I was I answe r ed r athe r su rp r ised that this ge n tl e
, ,

m an should be so well acquaint e d with m y mov em ents ,

which we r e no t so far as I was aw are consid ere d of g e n

, ,

eral int ere st .

“
Y ou w ere t rading t he r e w ere you not , put in Cap
t ain Good in his quick way
, .

I was I t o ok up a wagon lo ad of goods and made a

.
-

c amp o utside the s e ttlem en t and st o pped till I had sold ,

”
them .

Si r He nry was si t ting Opposi te to m e in a M adeir a ch a ir ,

his arm s leaning on the table He n ow lo o k e d up fi x i n g .

,

his la rg e g r ay eyes full upon my fac e Th ere was a cu r i .

ous an x i e ty in the m I t hought , .

Did you happen to mee t a m a n called Ne vill e t h ere ?

O h yes ; he ou t spanned a longside of me fo r a fo rt
,

n igh t t o re s t his o xen b e fo re going o n to th e int er io r I

, .

had a l etter f r o m a l a wy er, a f e w m o n ths back asking m e ,

 ’
KI N G SOLOMO N S MIN ES . 9

i f I k ne w wh at h a d b e co me hi m which I an sw ere d to
of ,

t h e b e s t of my ability at the t i m e ”
.

”
Y e s said Si r He n ry
, your let t e r was fo r wa r ded t o
,
“

m e. Y o u said i n it t ha t t h e ge n tleman called Ne vill e l e ft

B a ma ngwa t o i n th e beginn ing of M ay i n a w ago n wi t h , ,

a dr iv er , a v oo r loop e r an d a K afli r hu nter called Ji m an

, ,

n ou n c i n his inte n tion of tre kki n g if p ossibl e a s fa r as

g , ,

I n yat i th e e xtr eme trading post i n t h e M atab e l e cou ntr y

,
-
,

wh ere h e would sell his wago n a nd p r oc ee d o n foo t You .

also said t hat he di d sell his w a go n fo r si x mo n ths a f ter , ,

wa r ds yo u saw th e wagon i n th e poss e ssio n of a Po r tu

,

g u es e t rader W H O told ,y o u t hat h e h a d bough t i t a t I n

yati f r o m a white ma n whos e n am e h e h a d fo rgo tten and ,

that t he whit e man with a na t iv e s er v an t h a d starte d Off

, ,
”
fo r th e i nter io r on a shooti n g tr ip h e b e li e v e d , .

”
CC
Y es ‘

Then ca me a pau s e .

”
“
Mr Qua t e r main said Si r H enr y sudd en ly
.
,
I l up , ,
“

pos e you know o r can gu e ss n o t hing m o re of the reaso n s

o f m y— of M r N e ville s j ou rne y t o t h e n o rt hw ar d, or as
’
.

”
t o wha t poin t th a t j ou rne y was di re c te d ?
I h e a r d so me thing I an sw ere d an d st opp e d The
”
, , .

subj e c t was o n e which I did n o t d are t o discus s .

S i r H enr y and Cap t ai n Good look e d at ea ch o t h er, an d

C a p t ai n Go od n o dd e d .

Mr Qu aterm ain s a id t h e fo rmer, I am goin g t o tell

. ,

you a st o r y , an d ask you r a dvic e a n d p erh a ps you r a ssis t ,

an c e . T h e age nt who fo r wa r d e d me you r l ett e r t old m e

”
that I m igh t i m plici tly re ly upo n i t a s you were h e sai d , , ,

we ll k n ow n an d u n ive r sally re sp e cte d i n Nata l , an d e spe ‘

”
c i ally n o t ed fo r you r disc ret io n .

I b ow e d an d d r a n k so m e whi sk ey an d w at e r to hid e m y
,
- -

k
’
1
 ’
10 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

c o n fusion ,
f or I am a m o des t man ; and Si r Hen r y w ent
on

Mr N eville was my brothe r

. .

“
O h I said starting ; f o r n o w I knew wh o Sir H e nry
”
, ,

had remind ed m e o f when I fi r st saw him His broth er .

was a much smaller man and had a dark bea r d but n ow I , ,

th o ught o f it he p o ssessed eyes of the same sh ade of gr ay

,

and with th e same keen l o ok i n them and the featu r es, ,

too we r e not unlike

,
.

”
He was went o n Si r Hen r y my o nly and younge r
, ,

b r othe r and till five years ago I do n o t supp o se we we r e

,

e v e r a m o nth away fr o m each other But j ust ab out five .

yea r s ago a misf o rtune befell u s as s o metimes does hap ,

pen i n families We had quarrel led bitterly and I b e

.
,
”
haved very unj ustly t o my br o th er in my an ger He r e .

C aptain Go o d nodded his head vig o r o u sly to himself .

The ship gave a big roll j ust th e n so that the l oo king ,

glass which was fixed O pposite us to starb oard was f o r a

, ,

m b m e n t nearly over o u r hea ds and as I was sitting with ,

my h ands in my pockets and staring upwa rd I could see ,

him nodding like anything .

As I dare say you kn o w went on Sir Henry if a

“
, ,
“

man dies intes t ate and has n o p r op er t y but land— real

,

p r operty it is called in E nglan d i t all descends t o his eld m

e st son It so happened that j ust at the time when we

.

quarrelled ou r father died intestate He had put o ff .

maki n g his will until it was too late The result was that .

m y brothe r wh o had n ot been br o ught up to any pr o fe s

,

sion was left without a penny

, O f course it w o uld have .

b een my duty to pr o vide fo r him but at the time th e ‘

quarr el between u s was so bitter that I did n ot— to my

sha m e I say it (and h e sighed deeply ) — Offer to do any
 ’
K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S . 11

t hing I t was n o t tha t I g r u dg e d him a nythi n g bu t I

.
,

wai t ed fo r h i m t o m ak e advanc e s a n d h e m ade n o n e I , .

am so rr y t o tr ouble you wi t h all t his Mr Qua term ain bu t ,

.
,
”
I must t o m ake thi n gs clea r ; e h , Good ?
,
”
“
Qui t e s o qui te so said t he cap t ai n
, Mr Qu at e r
, . .

m ai n will I am su r e ke e p this his t o r y t o himself

, , .

“
O f cou r s e said I, fo r I r a t h er p r ide mys e lf on m y
”
,

dis c r e t ion .

”
“
W e ll w ent on Si r H enr y my b r o th er h ad a f e w
, ,

hundre d pounds t o his account at t he tim e and wi thout ,

saying any thing to me he drew out this paltry su m and , ,

h aving adopted the name o f N eville s t a r ted ofi for S o uth ,

Af r ica in t h e w ild hop e o f making a fo rt une This I .

heard afte r wards Som e three years passed and I heard

.
,

nothing of my b r oth e r though I wr ote several times , .

D o ubtless the letters neve r reached hi m But as time .

went on I g r ew m o r e and m or e t r oubled about him I .

f o und o u t Mr Qua ter main that blood is thicke r than

,
.
,

”
wate r .

“
That s tr ue said I thinking of my boy Harry
’
, ,
.

I f o und o u t M r Quatermain that I w o uld have given

,
.
,

half my fortun e to kno w that my b r othe r Ge o rge the ,

o n ly r elation I have was saf e and w e ll and t hat I should

, ,

see hi m again .

“
B u t you n e v er did C u r tis j erk e d ou t C ap t ain Good,
, ,
’
glancing at t he big m an s face .

Well Mr Qua t ermain as t i me wen t on I became m ore

,
. ,

and mo re a n xiou s t o fin d o u t if my b r o t her was aliv e or

dead and if aliv e to ge t hi m ho m e again I set inquiries
, , ,
.

O n foot and you r le tt e r was on e of t he results S o far as

,
.

it we n t i t w a s sa t isfac t o r y f or i t showed t hat till lately ,

G e o rge was aliv e ; bu t i t di d n o t go far enough S o t o .

,
 ’
14 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

lan d I t was such a m a n as this who fi rst t old m e th e

.

lege n d of Sol o mon s M ines now a matter of nearl y thir ty

’
,

year s ago It was when I was on my fi r s t elephant hun t

.
-

i n the M atabele country His n am e was E vans and h e . ,

was killed next year po o r fellow by a wounded bu ffal o

, , ,

and lies bu ried near the Zambesi Falls I was telling .

E vans o n e nigh t I r emembe r o f s o me wonde r ful workings

, ,

I had found While hunting k o od oo and eland in wha t is

now th e L ydenbu rg di strict of the Transvaal I se e they .

have come ac ross these wo rkings agai n lately in p r ospect

ing f o r gold but I knew of them years ago Th ere is a
,
.

gr e at wid e wag o n r oad cut o u t o f the s o lid rock a n d l e ad

-
,

ing to the mouth O f the working or galle r y Inside th e .

mouth of t his gallery are stacks o f g o ld qua rt z piled u p

ready f or c r ushing which shows that the worke r s who
, ,

ever the y we r e mu s t have left in a hurry and ab ou t

, ,

t wenty paces i n the gall er y is built ac r oss and a b e au ti ful ,

bit o f masonry it is .

Ay said E va n s bu t I will t ell you a qu eerer t hing

,
’
,

than that and he went on to tell me how he had found

in the fa r int e rior a ruined city which h e believe d t o b e ,

the O phi r of th e Bible— and by the way othe r m o re , ,

lea rne d m en hav e said the same long S ince poo r E van e s ’

time I was I r em e mb er listening open ear ed to all t hese

.
, ,
~

w o nde r s for I was young at th e time and this story of an

, ,

anci ent civiliza t ion and o f t h e t r easure which those o ld

,

J ewish o r Ph oenicia n adven t u rer s used to ext r act f r om a

count r y long since laps e d in t o the darkest barba ris m t o o k ,

a g re at hold upon my imagination when suddenly he said ,

‘
to m e L ad did you ev er h e a r o f th e Suliman M oun t ains
, ,

u p to th e n o r thw e s t of th e Mas hu ku lu m b we country ? ’

I t old hi m I ne v er h a d Ah w e ll h e said t h at was

.
‘
, ,
’
,
‘
 K IN G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
. 15

w h ere S olo m o n re ally had his m in e s — his di am o nd mi ne s ,

’
I mean .

How do you k n ow that ? I asked ’

.

”
Kn ow it ? why what is Suliman bu t a co rr up t io n
,

!
o f Solomo n ? and b esides an old I san u si (witch doc t or )
, ,

up in the M anic a country told me all about it She said .

tha t the p eople who live d ac r oss those mountains w er e a

b r a n ch o f the Zulus sp e aking a dialect of Zulu but fine r
, ,

an d bigg er m en even ; tha t th e re lived among them g r eat

wizar ds wh o had l e ar ned thei r art f r om white m en when
,
”
“
all th e world was d ark and who had th e s e c ret of a ,

”
wonde rful m in e of b right s t on e s .

Well I laughe d at this s t o r y a t th e t i me t hough it i n

, ,

ter e ste d me f o r the diamond fields w er e n ot discove r ed

,

t hen a n d poor E vans w e nt off and got kill e d and for

, ,

t wenty y e a r s I never th o ugh t a ny more of th e m atte r .

—
B ut j ust twenty yea r s afte r wa r ds and tha t is a lo n g
t ime gentle m en ; an el e phan t hun t e r does not o ften live
,
-

—
for twenty years a t his b usiness I h ea r d something m o re
d e finite about S u li m an s M ountains and the country which
’

lies b eyond th em I was up bey o nd the M anica c o untry at

.

’
a place called Si tan da sKr aal and a mise r able place it was , ,

fo r on e cou ld ge t nothing to eat there an d ther e was but ,

li tt l e ga m e about I had an a tt ack of feve r and was in a

.
,

bad way g en e r ally w hen o n e day a Po r tugee a rr ived with

,

a single companion — a half b r e e d N o w I know you r -

.

D elago a Po rt ugee w e ll Th er e is n o grea t er devil u n

.

hung in a gene r al way b atte nin g as he d o es upon human

, ,

agony and fle sh in t he shape of slaves B ut this was quit e .

a diffe r ent t yp e o f m an to th e low fellows I had b e en ao

S u li m an i sthe A rabi c form of Sol om on — E di tor .

 ’
16 K IN G S OL OMO N S MI N E S .

cu st o me d t o meet ; h e rem i n d e d me m o re of the pol i t e

do n s I hav e r ead abou t He was tall and thin wi t h la rg e
. ,

dark eyes a n d curling g r a y mus t ache We t alk e d to .

ge t h er a li tt l e f or h e could speak b r ok e n E nglish and I

, ,

u n d er s t ood a little P or tugee and he told me tha t hi s ,

na m e was J o sé Silvest r e a n d that he had a plac e ne a r,

D elagoa Bay ; and when h e went o n n e xt day wi t h his ,

’
half breed c o mpani o n he said
-
Go o d b y e taking O ff his
, ,
-
,

hat quite i n the o ld style Go o d bye senor he said ; .

‘ -
, ,
’

‘
if e v e r w e meet again I shall be the riches t ma n i n th e
wo rld a n d I will r ememb e r you I laughed a littl e — I
,
.
’

—
w a s too weak to laugh much and watched him str ike ou t
fo r th e g rea t desert to the west w o ndering if he was mad , ,

or wha t he thought h e was going t o find the r e .

“
A week passe d an d I g o t the better of m y fever
, .

O ne ev en ing I was sitting o n the g r ound in front o f the

little te n t I had with me ch e wing th e last leg of a mis er
,

able fowl I had bought f ro m a n ativ e fo r a bit o f cl ot h

wo r th twenty fowls and staring a t the ho t red su n sink

, ,

i ng down int o the d e s er t when suddenly I saw a figu re , ,

appa r ently that o f a E uropean f o r it wore a coat o n the , ,

l pe o f the rising g ro und O pposite t o m e ab o u t th re e ,

hu n d r ed ya r ds a way Th e figu r e c r ept along o n its hands

.

an d knees then it got up and stagger e d along a fe w ya r ds

,

on its legs o nly t o fall and c rawl al o ng again S eeing

, .

that it must be somebody in di str e ss I sent o n e o f m y ,

hunte r s t o help hi m and p resently he ar rived and wh o do

, ,

you suppose it tu rned out to b e

José Silvest r e of cou r se said Captain Good
, , .

Yes J osé Silvest re o r r ather his skelet o n and a li tt l e

, ,

sk i n His fac e was b right yello w with bili o us fev er and

.
,

hi s l arge dark e y e s stood near ly ou t of his h ea d for all

,
,
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
. 17

hi s fl esh h ad gone There was nothin g bu t y ello w p ar ch ,

m ent like skin white hai r and th e gau nt bo ne s s t icki n

-

, ,
g
up b eneat h .

Wat e r ! fo r t he s ak e of Ch rist wa ter h e m o an e d , .

I saw that his lips w ere c r ack e d and his t ongu e which , ,

pr o tr ud e d be t w e e n th e m was swoll e n and blackish , .

I gave hi m w ater wi t h a li tt l e m ilk in it a n d h e d r ank ,

i t in g r e a t gulps two qua rt s o r m o r e without stoppin g

, , .

I wou ld n o t le t him h av e a n y m o re T h en th e fev er t ook .

hi m again a n d h e fell dow n a n d beg an t o r av e ab ou t Suli

,
’
m a n s M oun t ains a nd t h e di am o n ds a n d t he d e s ert I
, , .

t ook him in t o the t en t a n d did wha t I could fo r hi m ,

which was littl e e nough ; bu t I saw how it m us t en d .

’
Ab ou t e l e v en o clock he go t qui et e r an d I lay dow n fo r a ,

li tt le re s t and wen t t o sleep At dawn I wok e agai n an d .

,

saw hi m i n the half light si tt i n g up a s tr a n g e g a u nt , ,

fo rm and gazing ou t towa r ds th e des ert P re s ent ly t h e

, .

fir s t r ay of t h e su n sho t r igh t a c r oss t h e wid e pl a i n b e fo re

u s t ill it re ac he d the fa r a way c r es t of o n e of t h e tall e s t of
-

t h e Suliman M ou n tai n s m o re t han a hu n dre d m il e s aw ay

,
.

“
T he re i t is
‘
c r i e d the dyi n g m an i n Po r tugu e s e ,

str etchi n g ou t his long t hin a r m but I shall ne v er rea ch

‘
, ,

it n e v e r N o on e will ev er re ach i t
,
.

Sudd en ly h e paus e d a n d s eeme d t o t ak e a re solu t io n

,
.

‘
Fr i en d h e said t u rn i n g t ow ar ds me ar e you t h ere ?
,
’
, ,
‘

’
M y e y e s g r ow da r k .

’
Y e s I s a id ; y e s li e dow n n ow an d re s t
,
‘’
, ,
.

Ay h e a n sw ere d I S hall re s t soo n ; I h a ve t i me t o

’
,
‘
, ,

re s t — all e t ern ity L is ten I a m dy i n g ! You h a v e b ee n

.
,

g ood t o me I will giv. e you t h e p a p er P er h a ps you w il l .

t t h ere if u c an liv e t h r oug h the des ert whi ch has

g e y o ,
’
ki ll e d m y poo r se r v ant an d m e .

2
 “
Then he groped in his shirt and br o ught o u t wha t I
th o ught was a B oe r tobacco pouch of the skin of the Swart
-

v et p en s (s a ble ant elope) It was fas t ened wi t h a little

-
.

s trip of hide wh at w e call a r impi and this he tried t o

, ,
’
u nt ie bu t could n ot H e han ded it t o m e
,
. Untie it he ,

said I did so and ex t r ac t ed a bit of torn yellow lin en

. , ,

o n which som et hing was w r it t en in r usty l e t t e r s Insi de .

was a pape r .

“
Then h e went on f ee bly fo r he was g r owing w eak
,

The pap er has it all that is on the r ag It t ook m e y e a r s

,
.

t o read L is t en my anc e s t or a political refug e e f r om

.
,

L isbon a n d o n e of the firs t Po r tugu ese wh o landed o n

th e se sho re s w r o t e that when he was dying on those m oun
,

t ains which no white foot eve r p r essed befo r e o r sinc e .

His nam e was J o sé da Silv e stra and he lived th r ee hun ,

dr e d y e ar s ago His slave who waited f or hi m on this

.
,

sid e the mountains found him dead and b r ought the

, ,

w r i t i n g home t o D elagoa It has been in the family ev er

.

sinc e b u t n o n e have car e d to read it till at last I did

, .

And I hav e lost my life ov er it but anoth er may succeed , ,

and b ecom e th e r ichest man in the wo rld— the richest ma n

in the world O nly give it to n o o ne ; g o you rself
. The n
h e b e gan to wa n de r again and in an hour it was all ove r
, .

God r est him he died very quietly and I bu ri e d hi m ,

de e p with big boulde r s on his b r eas t so I do not think

,

that the j ackal s can h av e dug him up A n d t h en I cam e .

away .

Ay but th e docu me nt said Si r H en r y in a to ne of

,
”
, ,

deep int er est .

”
Yes the document ; what was i n it ? add e d t h e cap t ai n
, .

“
Well gentlemen if you like I will tell you I hav e
, , .

never showed i t t o anybody yet ex c e p t m y d ear wife, who

 ’
I G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
K N . 19

s d e ad and she th ought it was all nonsense and a drunken

, ,
'

>ld Po rt u guese tr ade r who transla te d it f o r m e and h a d

,

or gott en all abou t it n e xt morning The o r iginal r ag is

'

It m y hom e in D urban together with poo r Don José s ’

,

m an s lati on but I have the E nglish r e nde r ing in my pocke t

,
~

3 0 0 k a n d a fac s i m ile of t h e m ap if i t can b e call e d a m ap

, , .

”
Here I t is .
 ’
20 I G
K N S OLOM ON S M IN E S .

I , J osé da Sil vestre , who am now dyi ng of hu nger i n the

where no sn ow i s on the nor th sde ippl e of the sou thernm o i of the n

the two m ou ntai ns I have nam ed Sheb a s B r easts wr i te thi s i n the

’
,

15 9 0 wi th a cl eft b on e u p on a r em nant of m y rai m ent m y bl ood b ei ng ,

i nk . I f m y sl ave Shou l d find i t when he c om es and shou l d b r i ng i ,

Delagoa le t m y f r i e nd ( nam e ill egibl e) b r i ng the m atter to the knowl e

,

of the k i ng that he m ay s ,
end an ar m y whi ch if they li ve thro u g h ,

desert and the m ou ntai ns and can overcom e the b r ave Ku k u anes,

thei r devili sh ar ts to whi ch e nd m any p r i ests shou l d b e b rou ght

, ,

m ake hi m the r i ches t ki n g si nce Sol om on Wi th m y own .

seen the cou ntl ess di am on ds stor ed i n Sol om on str e asu r

’

the whi te Death b u t thr ou gh the tr e ache r y of Gagool

,

m ight b r i ng nou ght away sc ar cely m y li fe Let hi m who

,
.

the m ap and cli m b the snow of S heb a s l eft b r east till he

'
’
,

nippl e on the n orth si de of whi ch I sthe g r eat r oad Sol om o

,

whence thr ee day s j ou r ney to the Ki ng s P la ’ ’

P r ay for m y sou l Farewe ll . J OS E DA SILVE STRA

. .

Wh en I had finished r eadin g the above and Shown

Co py of t he m ap drawn by the dying han d Of t h e O ld ,

E u J osé da S il vestr a q u e e stou m or r endo de fom e na p eq u ena covi

“

I O ha neve ao l ado norte do bi c o m ai s ao s

On de n E u l das du as m ontanha

q u e cham e i se io de S heb a ;
i sto no anno 15 90 ; escr evo i sto con
e scr e vo

u m p e de co d Os so n u m far rap o de m i nha r ou p a e com sang u e m eu pO

’ ’

ti nta ; se o m eu escr avo dé r com i sto q u an do venha ao l evar p ar a Lou r enz c

Mar qu ez q u e o m eu am igo
,
l eve a cou sa ao conheci m ento d E ’

Rei p ar a q u e possa m andar u m e x er ci to q u e se desfiler pe lo deserto

, ,

p el as m ontanhas e m esm o sob r ep u j ar os b r avos Ku ku anes e su as arte

di ab olicas p el o q u e se devi am tr az er m u i tos p adr es Fara o Rei m ai s ri c
,

dep oi s de Salom fio Com m eu s p r op r i os ol hos vé 0 8 di am antes sem cont

.

gu ardados nas cam e ras do thesou ro de Sal omao a tr az da m or te b r anca '

m as p el a tr ai eao de Gag oal a f e i ti cei r a achado r a nada p oder i a leve r

’

, ,

ap enasa m i nha vi da Qu em v ie r siga O m app a e tr ep e p el a n eve de Sheb

.

pei to a esqu er da até chegar ao bi co do l ado nor te do qu al eatsa gr and , .

es tr ada do Salom fio por ell e fei ta donde ha tres di as de j ou r nada até a ,

Palacio do Rei Mate Gagosl Rez e por m i nha alm a Adeos

. . . .

”
J0 9 16 DA Sx t k .
22 K I N G S O LO MO N S M I N E S ’
.

And what might th at b e ? I said ; f o r I was curious ’

Is it gold ? ’

’
No Baas s o mething wo r th more than g o l d and h
, , ,

grinned .

I did not ask any m o re questi o n s f o r I did n o t like t

“
,

lower my dignity by seeming curi o us but I was puzzl e d ,

Presently Jim finished cutting his tobacco .

B aas said h e ,
’
.

I t o ok n o n o tice .

B aaS said he again,

’
.

E h boy what i s it said I

, ,
.

Baas we are g o ing after dia m o nds

,
.
’

Diamonds why then y o u are g o ing in th e w r o n g , ,

dir ection ; you should head f o r the Fields ’

.

Baas have you ever heard O f S u li m an s B erg ? (Sol

,
’ ’

om on s Mo u ntains )
’
.

( 6 G
AY
Have y o u ever heard of the dia m o n ds the r e
I have heard a f oo li sh st o ry Jim ,
.
’

It is no st o ry Baas I o nce knew a w o man wh o came

,
.

from there and g o t t o N atal with her child She t o ld m e ;

,
.

she is dead n o w .
’

Your master will feed the assv ogels (vultu r es) Jim
‘
, ,

if he tries to reach S u li m an s c o untry and so will you if ’

, ,

they can get any pickings O II your wo r thless old carcass ,

’

said I .

He grinned M ayhap Baas M an m ust die I d

.
,
.
’

r ath e r like to try a n e w country mysel f; the elephants are

get t ing wo rk e d out ab out here ’
.

“
Ah ! my boy I said yo u wait t i ll the p ale O ld
‘
,
’
,
‘ “

”
m an (death ) gets a grip o f your yell o w th r oa t a n d t he n ,
’
We ll h e ar wha t so rt of a tun e you sing ’
.
 K I N G S OL OMO N S M I N E S ’
. 23

Half an h ou r aft e r th at I saw Ne vill e s wago n m ov e ’

Off P re sently Jim came running back Good bye Baas -

’
. .
, ,
’
h e said I didn t like t o sta r t wi t hout bidding you good
.

by e f or I da r e say you a re right and we shall ne ve r com e

, ,
’
back again .

Is you r master re ally goi n g t o S u li m an s B er g Jim

‘ ’
, ,
’
o r a r e yo u lying ?
’
N o says he ; he is going He told me he was b ound
‘ ‘
.
,

to m ake his f o rtune someh o w or t r y to ; so he might as ,

’
well try th e diam o nds .

O h said I ; wait a bit Jim ; will you take a note ‘

, '

to yo ur master Jim an d p r omise n o t t o give it t o him

, ,

until you reach Inyati (which was s o me hundred m iles o ff ) .

Y e s said h e ,
’
.

S o I took a sc r ap o f paper and w r ote on it Le t him ,

‘

wh o c o mes climb the sn o w of Sheba s left breas t t ill ’

,

he comes to the nipple o n the n or th side of which is Solo ,

’
mon s great r oad
’
.

N ow Ji m I said when you give this to you r mas

, ,
’
,
‘

te r tell him h e had b etter f o llow the advice implicitly

,
.

’
Y o u are n o t t o giv e it t o him now because I d o n t want ,

him b ack asking me q u esti o ns w hich I won t answe r N o w ’

.

”
b e O ff you idle fellow th e wagon is nearly o u t of sigh t
, ,
.

“
Jim to o k the note an d wen t and that i s all I know ,

about you r bro t her Si r Henry ; but I am much afraid —4 ”

,
”
M r Quate r main said Si r Henry I am going t o look
. , ,
’
f o r my b r other ; I am goi n g to t race him t o Suli m an e
Mountains and ove r them if necessa r y until I find hi m
, , , ,

o r u ntil I know tha t h e is dead Will y o u come wi t h .

m e
I am a s I t hink I have said a cau t ious man inde e d a
, ,
.

ti m id o n e and I sh r ank from such a n id e a

,
It s eeme d t o .
 ’
24 K IN G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

m e t ha t t o s tart on su ch a j ou r ney w o uld b e to go t o c e r

t ai n death an d , putting other things aside as I had a son
, ,

t o support I could n ot a ff o rd t o di e j ust th e n

,
.

”
“
N o , thank you Si r Henry I think I had r ath e r n ot
, , ,

I answe re d I am t o o old f o r wild g o ose chases of th at

.
“ -

so rt a n d we should o n ly end u p like my po o r friend Sil

,

v e s t re. I have a son dependent on me so cann ot a ff ord ,

”
t o risk my life .

B oth Si r Henry and Captain Good looked very di sap

p oin te d .

Mr Qua te rm ain said the f o rme r I am well o fl and

.
, ,
“ ’
,

I am bent upon this business Y o u m ay put th e remu .

n er ati on f or you r se r vices at whatever fig u re y o u like in ,

re ason, and it shall be paid o ver t o you bef o re we start .

M o r eov er I will bef o re we start arra n ge that in the event

, , ,

of a n ything happening to us o r t o y o u y o ur so n shall ,

b e suitably p r ovided fo r Y o u will se e fr o m this h o w

.

n e cessar y I think y o ur presence Also if by any chance .

,

we should r each this place and find diamon ds they shall , ,

belong to y o u and G oo d equally I d o n o t want them . .

But o f course the ch ance is as g oo d as n o thing th o ugh th e ,

same thing w o uld apply t o an y ivory we might get Y ou .

may pretty well make your o wn terms with m e Mr Qua , .

t er m ai n ; of cou r se I shall pay all expense s .

”
“
Sir Hen r y said I this is th e most libe r al O ffe r I
, ,
“

eve r had and on e not to be sneezed at b y a poo r hunte r

,

and t r ade r But the j o b is the biggest I ever came ac r os s

.
,

and I m ust take t i me to think it over I will give you my .

”
answer b ef o re we get t o Durban .

V e r y go o d answered Sir Henry and then I said good

”
, ,

n ight a n d tu rned in and dream e d ab out p o or long de a d

,
-
,

Silv e s tre an d th e diam onds .

 C HAP TE R III .

U MB OP A E N TE R S OU R S E RVI C E .

IT t ak e s f r o m four to five days according t o the v e ssel ,

an d the sta te of the weather to run up fr om t h e C ape to ,

Du r ban S o m eti m es if the landing is bad a t E ast Lon

.
,

don whe r e they have not yet got tha t wonde rful harb or
,

t hey talk so much of and sink such a min t of mon e y in ,

,

o n e is delay e d for tw e nty fou r hou r s b e fo re the ca rgo -

boats can g e t out to take th e goods o ff But on this occa .

sion w e had no t t o wai t at all fo r there w er e n o b re ak er s ,

on th e bar to sp eak of and the t u gs cam e o u t a t onc e with

,

th e i r long strings o f ugly fl at bottom e d boats into which

,
-
,

th e goods w er e bundl e d with a c r ash It did n ot m at te r .

what th ey we r e over th e y w e nt slap ba n g wheth er th e y

, ,
-

wer e china o r woollen goods th ey met with the same t r eat

m ent I saw on e cas e con t aining fou r dozen o f cha m
.

pagne smashed all t o bits and the r e was th e champagn e ,

fi z z i n g and b o iling about in t he b o t tom of the di r ty cargo

boat It was a wicked waste an d so evide ntly t h e K affi r s
.
,

in th e b o at thought fo r they found a coupl e of unb r oke n

,

bo tt l e s and knocking the tops off d r ank th e con t en t s B ut

,
.

t hey had n ot allowed for the expansio n caus e d by t he fi zz

i n th e win e a n d f e eling them s e lves swelli n g r olled abou t
, ,

in the bot t om of th e b oa t callin g ou t t ha t th e good liquo r

,
”
was tagati (b e wi t ch e d ) I spoke to the m f r o m th e v e s
“
.

’
sel and t old them that it was the whit e man s s tr o n ges t
,

m e di cin e a nd t h a t t h e y w ere asgoo d asd e ad m en

,
They .
 ’
26 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

wen t o n t o th e sh o re in a v ery great fr i ght and I do n o t ,

t hink that they wil l t o uch champagne ag ain .

Well all the ti m e we w ere runni n g up t o N atal I was

,

thinking over Sir Hen ry Curtis s O ffer Vil e did not speak ’
.

any m o re o n the su b j e ct f o r a day o r t w o th o ugh I t o ld ,

them many hunti n g y ar n s all tr u e o n e s T he re i s n o n eed

,
.

t o tell lies ab o ut hunti n g f o r so m any curi o u s t hi ngs hap

,

pen within th e kn o wle dge o f a m an wh o se business it i s

to hunt ; b u t this is by th e way .

At last one beauti f u l eve n i ng in J anuary which is o u r

, ,

h ottest month we stea m ed al o n g th e c o ast o f N atal ex

, ,

p e c t i n
g t o m ake Durban P o i n t b
y sun set It i s a l o vely .

coast all al o ng fr o m E a st Lo n d o n wi t h i t s red sandhills ,

and wide sweeps o f v ivid gree n d o tte d here and there ,

with K afli r kraals and b o rd e r e d by a ribb o n o f white surf

,

which sp o uts up in pil lars of f o am whe r e it hi ts th e r o cks .

But j ust be f o re y o u ge t t o Durban there i sa peculiar rich

ness a b o ut it Th e re are the deep kl oo fs cut i n the b i lls
.

by th e rush n rains O f centuries do wn which the rivers ,

S parkle ; there is the d eepest green o f the b u sh gr o wing ,

as God planted it and the o ther greens o f t he me alie —

,
gar
dens an d the sugar patch es while here and the re a white
-

h o use smiling o ut at th e placi d se a puts a fi n i sh an d give s

, ,

an air o f h o melines s t o t h e sce n e F o r t o my mind h o w.

,

ever beautiful a vi e w may be it requires the pres e n ce o f

,

man t o make it c o m plete but perhap s that is beca u s e I

,

have lived so much in the wilderne ss and theref o re kn o w ,

the value Of civilizati o n th o ug h t o be sure it drives away

, , ,

the game The G ar den o f E de n n o d o ubt was fair b ef o re

.
, ,

m an was but I always think i t m ust ha v e b een fairer whe n

,

E ve was walking ab o ut it But we had m isc alc u lated a

.

little a n d t h e su n was well do w n b e for e we d ro pp e d an

,
s
 K N I G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
’
. 27

cho r off th e Poin t a n d h e a r d th e gu n which t old t h e good

,

folk th at th e E nglish mail was in It was t oo late to .

t hink of ge tt ing ov er the bar tha t night so we went down ,

co m fo rt ably t o dinne r aft e r s e eing th e mail c arr ied off in

,

t he lifeboat .

When we came up again the m oon was up a n d shining ,

so brightly ove r sea and S h or e that she almost palc d the

qu ick la rge flash es from the lighthouse From th e sho r e
, .

floated swe et S picy o dors that always remind me of hymns

and missionaries an d in th e wind o ws of the houses o n th e
,

Be re a sparkle a hundred lights F r om a large brig lying .

n ear came the m u si c of th e sailors as th ey worked at get

'

t ing th e anch o r u p t o be ready f o r the wind Altogethe r .

it was a p e r fect night such a nigh t as yo u only get in

,

southe r n Africa an d it thr ew a garment o f peac e ove r

,

e ve r ybody as the moon th r ew a ga r ment of silver o ve r

eve ry t hing E V en the great bulld o g b elo nging to a spo r t
.
,

ing passenge r s ee m e d t o y i e ld t o the gentle influences ,

and giving u p y earning t o c o me to clos e quarte r s with th e

,

baboon I n a cage on the f o k sle snored happily I n the door

’ ’
,

o f th e cabin dreaming no doubt that he had finished him

, , , ,

and happy in hi s d r eam .

We all that is Sir Henry Curtis Captain Good and

-
, , ,

myself went and sat by the wheel and w e r e quiet for a ,

while .

Well Mr Quate rm ain said Sir Hen r y p re sent ly

,
. , , ,

have yo u b een thinkin g ab o ut my prop o sals ?

Ay ech o ed Captain G o od
”
what do you t hink o f “
, ,

them M r Quat er main ? I h op e yo u a r e going to give

,
.

’
u s th e pleasu re o f y o ur c o mpany as far as S o lo m on s M in e s ,

o r whe r ever the gentl e man you kn e w as N eville m ay hav e

”
g ot t o .
28 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

I 10 8 9 nd k n ock e d ou t m y pip e b e fo r e I answ ere d I

“
a .

h a d n o i; ma d e up m y m ind a n d wan te d th e additi o nal m o ,

men t to co m ple te it B efore the bu r ning t obacco had .

f fm len into th e sea it was completed j ust th at little ext r a

seco n d did t h e trick It is o ften the way wh e n yo u have .

b een bo th er in g a long time o ve r a thing .

”
Yes gentle m en I said sitting down again I will go
, , , , ,

and by you r leave I will tell yo u why and on wha t t erms .

F i r s t for the terms which I ask

, .

1 You a re to pay all exp enses and any ivo r y o r othe r

.
,

valuabl e s we m ay get is to b e divi ded between Captain

Good an d m yself .

2 Tha t you pay me £ 5 0 0 for my se r vice o n the tr i p

“
.

b e fo r e w e start I unde r taking t o se r ve you f aithfully till

,

you choos e to abandon the enterprise or till we succeed , ,

o r disaste r ove r takes u s .

3 That before we start you execute a deed agreeing

“
.

in the eve n t O f my death o r d i sablement to pay my b oy ,

Harry who is studying medicine over there in Lo nd o n at

,
’
Guy s Hospital a su m o f £ 200 a year for five years by
, ,

which time he o ught to be abl e t o earn a living f or him

sel f That i s all I think and I dare say y o u will say quite
.
, ,
”
enough to o , .

“ ”
N o answered Sir Henry I accept them gladly I
, ,
“
.

am bent u pon this proj ect and w o uld pay m o re than that ,

fo r you r help especially considering th e peculiar knowl

,

edge you possess .

Very well And now that I h av e made my te rms I

.

will te ll you my reaso n s f o r m aki n g up my mind to g o .

First of all gentlemen I have been observin g y o u b oth f or

, ,
'

the las t few days and if y o u will n o t think me i m per ti

,

ncn t I will say tha t I like o u and think that we S h a ll

y ,
30 K I N G S O LOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

Har r v while h e was ge tt ing in the way o f ea r ning a living,

whe re as n o w he w o uld be pr o vide d f o r f o r fi ve y ear s .

There is the wh o le affair in a nut shel l .

i
”
“
M r Quatermain said Sir Henry who had be e n giv
.
, ,

i n g me the m o st seri o us atten ti on y o ur m o tives fo r u n ,

“

de r tak i n g an enterprise which y o u b e lieve can o nly end in

disaster reflect a great deal of cre dit o n you I
vVhe the r .

o r not yo u are right time and the event o f c o urs e alone

, , ,

can sh o w B ut wh ether yo u are right o r wr o ng I may as

.
,

well tell y o u at once that I am g o i n g thr o u gh with it t o

th e end sweet o r bitter If w e are g o in g t o be kn o cke d
,
.

o n the head all that I have t o say i s that I h o p e we shall

,
”
get a little Sho o ti n g fi r st— eh G oo d ? ,
”
“
Y e s yes pu t in the captain
, ,
We h a v e all three o f
.

u s bee n accust o med t o face dange r and h o ld o ur live s in ,

o u r h ands in vari o us ways so it i s n o g oo d t u r n i n g back

,

n ow .

“
And now I v o te we go d o wn t o the salo o n an d take
an ob se r v ati on j u st f o r luck y o u know
,fi
”
A n d w e di d
,
.

thro ugh th e b ottom o f a tumbler .

N ext day we went ash o re and I p u t Sir H en ry and ,

Captain Go o d u p at the little shanty I have o n th e B e r e a ,

and which I call my h o me There are o n ly three r oo ms

.

and a kitchen i n it an d it i s built o f green brick with a

,

galvanized i ro n r o o f but there is a g oo d garden w i th th e

, ,

best lo qu ot trees in it that I kn o w an d s o me nice y o ung

-
,

mango e s o f which I h ope great things The curat o r o f

, .

the botanical gardens gave them t o me It is lo o ked afte r .

by an O ld hunter o f m ine named Jack wh o se thigh was

, ,

so badly broken by a bu ffal o c o w in S i ku k u ni s country

‘

that he will never hunt again But he can p o tter about .

an d ga r den b e ing a Griqua by bi rth Y o u can n ever g et

, .
 ’
K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

y o ur Zulu t o take much interest i n gar dening I t is a .

peaceful art and peaceful ar ts ar e n o t in his line

, .

Si r H enry and Good S lept in a t e nt pitch e d in my li ttl e

grov e of o r ange trees at the end O f the garden (for t h er e
-

was n o room f o r them in the house ) an d wha t with the ,

smell of th e bl oo m an d th e sigh t of th e green and golde n

—
fruit f or in Durban yo u will se e all three o n the t r e e to
—
gethe r I dare say it is a pleasant plac e e no u gh (for we
have few mos quit o es he r e unless th er e happen s to co me a n
unusually heavy rain ) .

We ll t o get o n— for unless I do y ou will b e ti re d of my

,

story b ef o re ever we fetch u p at S u li m an s M ou nt ains ’

h aving o nce made u p my m ind t o g o I set about making ,

th e necessary prepar ations First I got th e deed f r om Sir

.

He n ry pr o v iding f o r my b o y in case o f accidents Th e r e

,
.

was some little di ffic u lty about ge t ting this legally e x

ec u te d as Si r Henry was a stranger here and the p r op er ty
, ,

t o be charg e d was over th e w ater ; but it was u ltimately

g o t o ver with the h elp o f a lawye r who c ha rged £ 20 for
,

the j ob a price that I th ought outrage o u s Then I go t .

my ch eck f o r £ 5 00 Having paid this tribut e to my

.

bump of caution I bought a wagon and a span of oxen on

,

Sir H enry s behalf an d b eauties they were It was a

’
,
.

twenty tw o fo o t wagon with iron axles very str o n g very

- -
, ,

light an d built thr o u ghout o f stink wood It was n o t

,
-
.

quite a new o n e having b een to th e Diamon d Fiel ds and

,

back but in my O pinion it was all the bett e r for that fo r

, ,

o n e cou ld see that th e w o od was well seas o ned If any -

.

thing is go i n g t o give in a wago n o r if th er e is gre en wood

,

in it it will S how o u t on the fi r st trip It was what w e

,
.

call a h alf tented wagon — that is to say it was only

“ ”
-
,

cov ere d in over t he af ter twelv e f eet l e aving all t he fr o n t

,
Ci
’
32 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

par t free fo r t he ne c e ssari e s we had to ca rr y wi th u s In .

this afte r pa r t was a hide c ar tle o r bed o n which t wo , ,

p e ople c o uld sleep also rack s f or rifles and many othe r

, ,

littl e convenien ces I gave £ 125 f o r it an d think i t was

.
,

ch eap at th e price Then I b o ught a beautiful tea m O f

.

tw e n t y salted Zulu oxen which I had h ad my eye on f or

,

a year or two Sixteen o xen are th e usual numbe r fo r a

.

team but I had f o ur extra t o allow for casualti e s These

,
.

Zulu oxen are small and light not m or e than half the size ,

o f the African der oxe n which are generally used f o r trans

,

port purp o ses ; b u t they w ill live where the Africande r

will starv e and wi th a li ght l o ad wil l make five miles a
,

day bette r g o ing being quicker an d n o t S O liable t o get

,

footso r e What i smore this l o t were th o r o ughly salted

.
,
“

— that is th ey had w o rke d all o ver S o uth Africa and so had

, ,

b ecome pr oo f (c o mparatively spe aking ) against re d wate r ,

which so f r equently destr o ys wh o le teams o f o xen when

‘

”
they get on t o strange veldt (grass country ) As f o r .

”
“
lung sick which is a d r eadful f o rm o f pneumonia very
, ,

p r evalent in this country they had all been in o culate d

,

agai ns t it This is d o ne by cutting a slit in the tail o f an

.

ox ,and binding in a piece o f the diseased lung o f an an i mal

which has died of th e sickness The result i s that the o x .

sicken s takes the disease in a mild f orm which causes its

, ,

tail to dr o p O ff as a rule ab o ut a f oo t fr o m the root and

, ,

becomes pr oo f against f uture attacks It seems cruel t o .

rob the animal of his tail especially in a c o untry where ,

there are so many flies but it i s better to sacrifi ce the tail

,

an d keep the ox than t o l o se b o th tail an d o x for a tail ,

without an o x is n o t mu ch g oo d except to dust with Still .

it d o es l oo k O dd t o trek al o ng behind twenty stumps wher e ,

t here o ught to be tails It seems as thou gh natu re had

.
 K I N G S OL OMO N S M I N E S
’
. 33

m ad e a tr i fl ing m is t ake and s t u ck th e s ter n o r n ament s of

,

a lo t o f p r iz e bulldogs o n t o th e r ump s of th e oxen .

N ext cam e the question of pr o visi o ning and medicines ,

o n e which required th e m o st careful c o n si deration fo r ,

wh a t on e had t o d o was to av o id lumbering the wagon up ,

and y e t tak e ev er ythi n g absolutely necessar y Fo rt u n at e .

ly, it tu r n ed o u t that Good was a bit o f a doctor h aving a t ,

som e p eriod I n his previ o u s ca r e e r m anaged to pass th r ough

a cou r s e o f m edical an d su r gical inst r uction which he h ad ,

m o re or less kept up He was n ot o f course qualified but

.
, , ,

h e knew m o r e abou t it than many a man who could w r i te

M D af t e r his name as we foun d o u t afterwa r ds and he
. .
, ,

h ad a S ple n did travelling medicine ches t and a s et o f i n -

st r u m While we were at Durban he cut O fi a K afli r s

en t s.
’

big to e in a way which it was a pleasu r e to se e B u t he .

was quite flabbergasted when th e K afli r who had sat ,

s t olidly wa t ching th e O pe r atio n asked hi m t o put o n an

,
”
othe r saying th at a white on e would do at a pi n ch
,
.

There re mained wh e n these qu esti o n s we re sati sf acto

,

r ily settled two fu r t he r imp ortant points for con side r a t io n

, ,

namely that of a r ms and that of se r vants As to the a rm s

,
.

I cann o t do b e tter than pu t down a list O f th os e w e finally

decid e d o n f r o m amo n g th e am pl e s t o r e t hat Si r H e n r y
h ad b r ough t with him f r om E nglan d and t hose which I ,

h ad I copy it f r om my pock et book whe r e I m a de th e

.
-
,

e nt r y at the time
Th re e heavy b ree chloading doubl e e igh t e lephant guns -
,

weighing abou t fi fteen pounds each wi t h a ch a r g e of elev e n ,

”
d r achms of black p owde r Two o f th e se w e re by a well
.

k n own L on don fi r m m ost exc ellen t m ake r s bu t I do no t

, ,

k n ow by wh o m min e w hich was

,
n o t so highly fin ish e d ,

wasm ad e I h a d us e d i t o n s e v er al tr ips , an d sh o t a good

.

3
34 K I N G S OL OM O N S M I N E S ’
.

m any elephan t s with it and it had always p r oved a m os t

,

supe rio r weap o n th o r o ughly t o b e relied on

,
.

Thr e e d o uble 5 0 0 expresses c o nstr u cted t o c ar r y a

.
,

cha r ge of si x dr achms s weet weap o ns and a dm i r able

”
, ,

for medium S ized game such as eland o r s able ant e l o pe o r

-
, ,

f or men esp e cially in an o pen c o u ntry and wi th the se m i

,

hollow bull e t .

O n e double No 12 central fi r e K eeper s s h o tgun , ull

'

’
.
-
r

”
chok e both barrels This gun pr o ved o f t he gre ates t
.

se r vice t o us afte r wards in sh oo ting game f o r the pot .

Th r ee Wincheste r repeating rifles (n o t carbines ) sp are ,

gun s
“
Th r ee single ac t ion Colt s rev o lve r s with the h eavier
-
’
,
”
pat t er n of ca r tridge .

This was o u r t o tal armament and th e reade r will d o ubt ,

less O bse rv e that the weapons of each class were o f th e

sa me make and calib re SO that the cartridges were inte r
,

chan g e abl e a v er y important point I make no ap o l o gy

, .

f or detailing it at length for every experienced hunte r

,

will know how vital a proper supply o f guns and am m u ni

tion is to th e success o f an expedition .

N ow as to the men who were to g o with u s Afte r .

m u ch consultation we decided that their number sh o uld

be limited to fi v e namely a driver a leade r and th r ee
, , , ,

se r vants.

Th e d r iv er and lead er I got without much diffi culty ,

t wo Zulus named respec t ively Goza and To m ; but th e

,

s er vant s were a more diffi cult matter It was nec e ssa r y .

t hat th e y S h o uld be th or oughly trustw o rthy and brave

m en as i n a busin e ss of this sort o u r lives migh t depend
,

u pon t h e ir c o nduct At last I secured two o n e a Ho t

.
,

t en tot call e d V e n tv Ogel (wind bird) and o n e a little Zulu

-
,
 K I N G S O LOM O N S M I N E S
’
. 35

n am e d K hiva who had th e merit of sp e aking E nglish pe r

,

fe c tly V e n tv Oge l I had known b efore ; h e was on e o f th e

.

m os t perfect S p o o r e r s (game t r ackers ) I e ver had to d o

” -

with and tough as whipcord He n e ve r se e med t o tire

, . .

B ut he had o n e failing so common wi th his r ace drink

, , .

Put him within r each o f a bottl e o f g r og a n d you could

n o t t r ust him B ut as we were going b eyond th e re gio n
.

of g r og S h ops this little weakness o f his did n ot so much

’
-

m a t te r .

Having got these two m en I looked i n vain fo r a th i r d

to suit my purpose so we d et er min e d to sta rt wi t hou t o ne
, ,

t r usting to luck to fin d a suitable man On ou r way up coun

t r y B ut on the evening befo r e the day w e h ad fix e d fo r
.

o u r departu r e the Zulu K hiva I nfo r m e d me that a m a n

was waiting to se e me Acco r dingly when w e had do ne
.

dinner f or w e we r e at t able at the t ime I t ol d hi m to

, ,

bring hi m in P re s e ntly a v er y tall h a n dso me lookin g

.
,
-

man somewhere abou t thi rty y e ars of ag e and v er y light

, ,

c o lo r ed f or a Zulu , e nt er ed and lifting his k n ob s t ick by

, ,
-

way of salute squa t ted himself down in t h e co rner on his

,

haunches and sat silent I did n ot t ak e a n y notic e of hi m

.

fo r a while f or it is a g re at m is t ak e t o d o SO If you r ush

,
.

into conv er sation a t onc e a Zulu is ap t to t hink you a per

son of lit t l e dignity or co n sid er ation I obse rved howeve r, .
,

t hat he was a K e shla (r inged man ) that is that h e wo re , ,

on his h e ad the black rin gmade o f a sp eci e s o f gu m pol

,

i she d with fat and work e d in with the hai r usually assum e d ,

by Zulus o n at t aining a ce r tain age or digni t y Also i t .

s tr uck m e tha t his face was fa m iliar to m e .

“
W e ll , I said a t last what is you r n ame ?
”
,

U mb opa a n sw er ed th e m an i n a slow , d ee p voic e

”
,
.

I ha v e s een you r f a c e b e fo re .
 ’
36 K I N G S OLOMO N S M IN E S .

Ye s ; the I nk oo si (chief) saw my face at the plac e

t he L ittl e Hand (I san dhlwan a) the day bef o re th e battle .

Then I r emembered I had b een o n e o f L o r d C helm s .

fo r d s guides in that unl u cky Zulu war an d had had the

’
,

good fortun e t o leave the camp in charge o f s ome wag o ns

-

t he day before th e battle While I had been wait i n g for .

t he cattle t o be inspanned I had fallen int o c o nversati o n

with this man wh o held s o me small c o mman d am o n g the
,

native au xiliaries and he had expressed to m e his d o ubts

,

o f the sa f ety o f the camp At the time I had t o ld him t o

.

hold his t o ngue and leave such mat t ers to wiser heads ;
,

but afterwards I th o ught o f hi s w o r ds .

” ”
“
I remember I said ; what i s it y o u w ant ?
,

“
It is this Mac u m az ahn (that is my K afii r name and
,
‘
,

means the man who gets up in the mid dle o f th e night ; o r ,

in vulga r E nglish he who keeps hi s eyes o pen ) I hea r

, .

that y o u go o n a great expediti o n far int o the n o rth with

”
the white chiefs from over the water I S it a true wo r d ? .

”
It i s .

I h ea r that yo u g o even t o the L uka n ga River a ,

’
moon s j ourney bey o nd the M anica c o untry I S this so .

also Mac u m az ahn

,
‘

“
Why d o yo u ask whither we go ? What is it to
”
thee ? I an swere d suspici o usly f o r th e o bj ects of ou r
, ,

j ourney had been kept a dead secret .

“
It is this 0 white men th at if indeed you trav e l so
, ,

fa r I w o uld travel with you .

There was a certain assumpti o n o f dignity in the man s ’

m od e of speech and especially in hi s u se o f th e words 0

,
”
whit e men instead of O I n kosi s (chiefs ) which s tr uck
, ,

”
You fo rg et you r self a little ,
I said . You r wo r ds
38 K I N G S OL O M ON S M I N E S
’
.

ass e gai wounds Sir Henry walked up to him and look e d

.

int o his proud hands o me face

,
.

”
“
They make a g o od pair don t they ? said Good ;
,
’

on e as big as the other .

“
I like your lo o ks M r Umbop a and I will take you as
, .
.
,
”
my servant said Sir Henry in E nglish
, .

Umbopa evi dently underst oo d him f o r he answered i n ,

Zulu It is well and then with a glance at the whit e

,
“
,
’
man s gr ea t s t atu r e and breadth w e a r e men you an d I
,
“
,
 C HAPT E R I V .

AN ELEP HANT H U NT
.

N ow I do n o t p r opose t o n a rr a t e at full length all t he

i n ciden t s of ou r long j ou rne y up to S i tan da s K raal nea r ’
,

t h e j u nction of th e L ukanga and K alu kw e r ive r s a j ou r ,

n ey of more t han a th o u sand miles fro m Du rban t he las t ,

t h re e hundred o r so o f which owing to the fr e qu e nt pr e s

,

en ce of t he dreadful tsetse fly wh o se bite is fatal to all

,

animals except donkeys and men we had to make o n foot

, .

We left Durban at the end of J an u ar y an d i t was in ,

°

t h e s e cond w e ek of M ay that we camp e d n e a r S i tan da s ’

Kr aal O u r a dventures on the way we r e many an d vari

.

o u s but as th ey we r e of th e sort which b efall eve r y Af r i

,

ca n hunter I sh all n ot— with on e exception to b e pr e sent

,

—
ly detailed s e t them down here l e st I shoul d r ender this
,

histo r y too wearisome .

At Inyati the outlying tr ading station in the M a t ab e l e

,

c ount r y o f which L obengula (a great scoundrel ) is king

, ,

w e with m any reg r ets parted fr o m ou r comf o rtable wagon .

O nly tw e lve oxen r emained to u s ou t o f the b e autiful span

o f t w e nty wh ich I had b ought at D urban O ne we had
.

lost from t h e bite o f a c o bra th r ee had perished fr om

,

p o v er ty and the want of water on e had been los t and the

, ,

o th er t h r ee h ad died f r om e ating th e poisonous herb called

tulip
.
”
F ive mor e sickened from this cause but we man ,

aged t o cu r e t hem wi t h dos e s of an infusion made by b oil

i ng dow n the t ulip l e av e s
-
.If ad m inist ere d in time t h is
 ’
40 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

i sa v er y e ff ective a n tidote The wag o n and o xen we left.

in the immediate cha r ge o f Goza and Tom the drive r and ,

l e ade r b oth of them tru s t w o rthy boys re questing a w o r

, ,

thy Sco t ch missionary who lived i n this wild place t o keep

an eye t o it Then acc o mpanied by Umb o pa K hiva
.
, , ,

Ventv Ogel and h alf a dozen bearers wh o m we hired o n

,

the spot we started off o n fo o t upon o ur wild quest I

,
.

rememb e r we we r e all a little silent o n the o ccasion o f

that departure and I think that each o f u s was wo nder
,

ing if we S hould ever see that w ag o n again ; f or my p art

I nev e r e xpected to F o r a while we tramped o n in S i
.

lence till Umb opa who was marching in fr o n t br o ke into

, , ,

a Zulu chant about h o w s o me brav e men tired o f life an d ,

the tameness of things started o ff int o a great w ilderness

,

to find new things o r die and ho w 10 and b ehold ! when , , ,

t h e y had got far into the wildernes s they fo und it was ,

n o t a wilderness at all but a beautiful place full o f young

,

wives and fat cattle of game to hunt and enemies to kill

, .

The n we all laughed and took it f or a g oo d omen He .

was a chee r ful savage was Umb o pa in a dignified sort o f

, ,

way when he had not got o n e of hi s fi ts of br o oding

, ,

and had a wonderful knack of keeping one s S pirits up ’

.

We all got very fond of him .

A n d n o w for the one adventure I am g o ing to t re at m y

s e lf to fo r I do heartily love a hunting yarn
, .

’
About a fortnight s m arch fr o m Inyati we came ac ro ss
a p e culiarly beauti ful bit of fairly wate r ed wooded coun -

tr y The kloofs in the hills w ere c o vere d with dense bush

.
,
”
“
ido r o bush as the n atives call it and in some places ,

with the wacht e en beche (wait a little ) thorn an d the r e

- - - -
,

we r e great quantities o f the beautiful m achab ell tre e ” “

,

laden wi th re fr eshing yellow fruit with e n o rm ous s t o ne s .

 K N I G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
. 41

T hi s tre e is th e eleph an t s favori t e f o od a n d t h ere w er e

’
,

not wanting sign s that th e g r eat brutes we r e about fo r ,

not o nly was their S po o r freque n t but in many places th e ,

t r ees we r e b r ok e n down and ev en up r oote d The elephan t .

is a dest r uctive fee der .

O ne evening after a long day s march we cam e t o a

,
’
,

spot of p eculiar l o veliness At the f o ot of a bush clad .

-

hill was a dry river b ed in which h o wever we r e t o b e

-
, , ,

f o un d po o ls o f crystal water all tr o dd en r o und wit h th e

h oof prints o f game Facing this hill was a par klike
-
.

plain wh ere grew clump s of flat toppe d m i mosa v aried

,
-
,

with occasion al glossy leaved m ac hab ells and all r ou n d

-
,

was t h e g r eat sea of p at hless silent bush , .

As w e emerg ed into this rive r bed p ath w e suddenly -

started a tr oo p o f tall gi r afl e s wh o gallop ed or r ather , , , ,

sail e d o ff with their st r a nge gait their tails sc r ewed u p

, ,

ove r th eir backs and their h o ofs rattling like castanets

,
.

They were ab out three hundred yar ds f r om us and th e re ,

fore practically out of S hot but G oo d who was walking , ,

ahead an d h ad an express loaded with solid ball in his

h an d c o u ld not r esist but upp ed gun an d let d r ive at t he
,
.
,

last a y o ung c o w B y s o me e x tI aor di n ar y chance the ball

, .

s tr u ck it full on the back of th e neck Sh att e r i ng the spinal ,

column and that gira ff e went r o lling head over heels j us t

,

like a rabbi t I never saw a more cu r iou s thing

. .

”
C u r se it 1 said Good fo r I am so rr y to say h e had-“

—
a h abit o f using strong lang u age when excited con t r act
ed n o doub t in the c o u r se of hi snautical car eer ; cu r se it
, ,

”
I ve killed him
’
.

”
O u B o u gwan ej aculated the K afii r s; o u ! ou !
’

, ,

They called Good B o u gwan (gl ass eye) b e cau se of

” “

hi s eyeglass .
 ’
42 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

Oh ,
B ou g echoed Sir Henry and I ; and fr o m
wan !
’
r e-

that day Goo d s r eputati o n as a marvell o us Sh ot was estab

’

li she d at any r ate am o ng the K afli r s Really h e was a

,
.

bad one but whenever he missed we o verl o o ked it for the

,

sake of that gira ffe .

Having se t s o me o f the b o ys t o c u t o ff the best of “

”
the gira ff e meat we went t o w o rk t o bui ld a scherm
,
“

near on e o f the p o ols ab o ut a hundred y ards t o th e righ t

o f it
. This is d o ne by cutting a quan tity o f th o rn bush es
and laying them in the Sh ape o f a circul ar he dge The n .

the space encl o sed i s sm oo thed and dry tamb o u k i grass if , ,

o btainable i s made int o a b e d in the centre and a fire o r

, ,

fi res lighted .

By the time the sch erm was finished th e moon was

coming up and o u r dinner o f gira ffe steaks an d r o asted
,

marrow b o nes was ready H o w we enj o yed th o se marro w

-
.

b o nes though it was rather a j o b t o crack them ! I kn o w

,

no greater luxury than gira ff e m arr o w unless it i s ele ,

h n t s hea r t and we had that o n th e m o rr o w We ate

’
p a , .

o u r simple m eal pausing at times t o t h ank G oo d f o r his

,

w o nder ful S h o t by the l i ght o f the full m oo n and th en we

, ,

began t o sm o ke and yarn an d a curi o us picture we must ,

have made squatted there r o u n d the fire I with my s h ort .

,

grizzled hair sticking up straight and Sir Henry with hi s ,

yell o w locks which were getting rather l o ng were rathe r

, ,

a c o ntrast esp ecially as I am thin an d sh o rt and dark

, ,

weighing only ni n st o ne and a half an d Sir Henry is t all

e
,

and br o ad and fair and w eighs fi fteen B ut perhaps the , .

most curi o us l ooking o f the three t aki n g all the circu m

-

stances o f the case int o c o nsiderati o n was Captain J o h n ,

Good R N There he sat up o n a lea th er bag lo oking j us t

,
. .
,

a s t hough h e had co me in from a c o mfortabl e day s shoo t ’

 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
. 43

i ng i n a civiliz e d coun t ry , abs o lutely clean , t idy , and w e ll

d r ess e d He had o n a S h oot ing suit of brown tw e ed wi t h
. -
,

a ha t t o match an d n eat gaiters , He was as usual beau .

, ,

tifu lly shaven his eyeglass and his false te et h app e a r ed

,

t o b e i n p er fect order and altogether he was t he nea te s t

,

m an I e v er had to d o with in the wilderness He eve n .

had on a c o llar of wh ich he had a supply m ad e of whi te

, ,

gu tt a p er cha
-
.

“ ”
You see they weigh S O little he said to me in n o
, , ,

c e n tly when I expressed my astonishment at the fac t ; I “

,

”
always liked to l oo k like a gentleman .

Well th ere we all sat yarning away in th e b eau t iful

,

m oonlight and wa t ching the K affi r s a few yards o ff suck

,

”
ing their intoxicating dac cha in a pip e o f which the “

mouthpiece was made o f the horn o f an eland till th e y ,

o n e by on e rolled themselves up in their blankets and went

to sl e ep b y the fire that is all except Umbopa wh o sat a

, , ,

lit t le ap a r t (I n oticed he nev er mixed much with the othe r

K afli r s) his chin resting on his hand appa r ently thinking
, ,

d e eply .

Presently f r om the depth s o f th e bush behind us c a me

,
” ”
a loud woof ! wo o f ! That s a lion sai d I and we all ’
, ,

sta rted up to listen Hardly had we don e so when f r o m

.
,

the pool about a hun dred ya r ds off cam e t he strident tr um

, ,

peting of an elephant U n k u n gu nklov o ! U nk u ngu n

.
“

klovo ! (elephant !elephant !) whispe r ed t h e K affi r s; a n d

”

a f e w minutes afterwa r ds we saw a succ e ssio n o f v as t

shadowy fo r ms moving S lo wly from t he di r ec t ion o f t he
wa t e r towards the b ush Up j ump ed Good bu r ning fo r .
,

slaugh ter an d think i ng p erh ap s that it was as easy to kill

, , ,

elepha nt as he had found it to Sh o ot gi raffe bu t I caugh t ,

hi m b y t h e arm and pull e d hi m dow n .

 ’
I G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
K N .

”
“
I t sn o
’
good I said le t them g o
, ,
“
.

“
I t s ee ms t hat w e ar e in a paradise o f game I vo t e we
s t op he re a day o r t wo and hav e a go at th em said Si r
, ,

H enr y presently
, .

I was r a t he r su rp r ised for hith er t o Si r Hen r y had al

,

ways been for pushing on as fast as p ossible m o re espe ,

c i ally sinc e we had ascertained at Inyati that ab o ut two

year s ago an E nglishman o f th e name o f N e v ille had s o ld

his wagon there and g o ne on up c o untry ; but I supp o se
,

his hunte r instincts had g o t the better O f him .

Good j umped at the idea f o r he was longing t o have a ,

go at those e lephants ; and so t o speak th e truth did I , , ,

for it went agai n st m y conscience t o let such a her d as tha t

escap e without having a pul l at th e m
”
“
All right my hearties said I
,
I thi n k w e want a
, .
'

little r ec r eation And n o w let s turn in f o r we o ught to

.
’
,

b e o fl by dawn and then perhaps we may catch them feed

,
”
i n g before they m o ve on .

The others agreed an d we p r oceeded t o make prepa r a

,

tions Good t oo k o ff his cl o thes sh oo k them put hi s eye

.
, ,

glass and his false teeth int o hi s tr o u sers p o cket an d f o ld , ,

ing them all u p neatly placed th em o u t of the dew unde r

,

a corner of his mackint o sh sh eet Sir Henry and I c o n .

te nted ours e lves with r o ugher arrangements and were s oo n ,

cu r led up in ou r blank e ts and dr o pping o fl into the dream

less sle e p that r ewards the traveller .

Going going gO —What was that ?

, ,

Suddenly fro m the direction of the water came a s o u nd

o f violent sc u ffli n g and next instant there br o ke up o n o ur
,

ear s a succession of the m o st awful r o ars There was n o .

m is t aking what they came fr o m o nly a li o n could make

such a noise as that We all jumped up and l oo ked t o w
.
46 K IN G S OLOMO N S M IN E S '
.

W e had n o di fficulty in finding the b r oad eleph an t t r ail ,

which Ve n tv Ogel after examinati o n p r on o u n ced to hav e
, ,

b e en made by be t w e en twen t y and thi r ty el ephants most ,

o f them full g r own bulls

-
But the herd had moved o n .

’
some way during the night and it was nin e o clock and , ,

al r eady very h ot before fr o m the b ro ken trees bruised

, , ,

leaves and bark and smoking dung we knew we could n o t

, ,

b e far off them .

Presently we caugh t sight of the he rd n umb e ring as , ,

Ven tv Ogel had said between t wenty and thirty standing

, ,

in a hollow having finished their morni n g meal and fl ap

, ,

ping th eir great ears It was a S plendid sight

. .

They were about two hun dred yards fr o m us Taking .

a hand f ul o f dry grass I thre w it int o the air t o se e ho w

the wind was ; f o r i f o nce th ey winded u s I knew they
would be o fl bef o re w e c o uld get a Sh o t Finding that if .
,

anything it blew fr o m the elephants to us we crept stealth

, ,

ily o n and thanks t o the cove r managed t o get within forty

, , ,

yards or so of the great brutes Just in fr o nt o f u s and .

broadside on s t ood three S plendid bulls o n e o f them with ,

e normous tusks I whispered t o th e o thers that I would

.

take th e middle on e ; Sir Henry c o vered th e o n e t o the

lef t and Good the hu ll with the big tusks
, .

”
No w I whispe r ed
, .

Boom ! bo o m ! b o om ! went t he th r ee heavy rifles and ,

down went Si r Henry s elephan t dead as a hamme r shot

’
, ,

r ight th r ough the heart M ine fell o n to its knees and I

.
,

thought he was going t o die bu t in an other moment he ,

was up and off tearing along straight past me A S h e

, .

went I gave him the second barrel in his ribs an d this ,

b r ought him d o wn in g o od ea r nest Hastily slipping in .

two f re sh ca rtr id ge s I r a n up close to him and a b all

, ,
 KIN G S OLOMO N S M IN E S
’
. 47

t h r ough the b rain put an end to the poo r b r u t e s s t ruggles ’

.

Then I tu rned to se e h o w G o o d had fa r ed with the big

bull which I had h e ard screami n g with rage and pain as I
,

ga ve m ine its quietus O n reaching th e captain I found

.

him in a great s t ate O f excitement It appeared that on r e .

c e i v i ng th e bullet t he bull h ad turned an d come straight

fo r his assailant who had barely time to ge t out of his way

, ,

an d then charged blindly o n past him in th e di r ection o f ,

o u r encampment M eanwhile th e h e rd had c r ash e d off in

.

wild alarm in the o t he r direction .

F o r a while we debated whether to go afte r th e w o u n ded

bull or follow the herd and finally decided for the latte r
,

alter na t ive and d eparted thinking that we had seen the

,

last of those big tusks I h ave often wished since tha t we

.

had It was easy work t o foll o w the elephants f or they

. ,

had left a t r ail like a ca r riage road behind th em c r ushing

-
,

d o wn th e t hick bush in their fu r ious fligh t as th o ugh it

were tamb o uki grass .

B ut to come up with them was another matt er and we ,

had st r uggle d o n under a b ro iling sun f or o ver two h o u r s

bef o re we foun d th em They were with th e exception of
.
,

o n e bull standing t o gether and I could see f r o m thei r

, , ,

unquiet way and the m ann e r in which they kept lifting

their trunks t o test the air that th ey were o n the l o ok out
,

f or mischief The solitary b ull stood fifty yards or s o this

.

side of th e he rd, ove r which he was evidently keeping s e n

t r y and abou t sixty ya r ds fr om us Thinking th at h e
,
.

would s e e or wind u s and th at it would probably s t a r t

,

them all o ff again if w e tried t o get nearer especially as ,

t he g r ound was r ather o p e n w e all aim e d a t t his bull and

, ,

at m y whisp e red word fi r ed All th r ee shots t ook e ff e c t

,
. ,

an d d ow n h e w ent d ea d Agai n t h e h er d s t a rte d o n bu t,

,
.
,
 ’
48 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

u n fo rt u nat ely fo r them about a hundred yards farther on

,

was a nullah or dried w ater track w ith steep banks a

,
-
, ,

place ve r y much resembli n g the o ne th e Prin ce Imper i al

was killed in in Zululand Into this the elephants plunged
.
,

a n d whe n we r eached the e dge we f o u n d them struggling

in wild confusion to get u p th e o ther bank and fi lli n g the ,

air with t hei r sc r eams and trumpeting as they pushed o n e

,

anothe r aside in thei r selfi sh panic j ust like so ma n y human

,

b eings N ow was ou r opportunity an d firing a way as

.
, ,

quick as we could load w e killed five o f the p oo r beast s

, ,

an d no d o ubt should have bagged th e wh o le herd had

they not suddenly given up th eir attempts to climb the
bank and r ushed headl o ng down the nullah We were .

t oo ti r ed to f o llow them and perh a ,

ps als o a little s i ck of
slaugh t er eight elephants being a pretty good bag f or
,

o n e day .

S O after we h ad rested a little an d the K afii r s had cut

,

o u t the hea r ts o f tw o o f the dead elep h a nts f or supper we

,

s t arted homewar d very well pleased with o u rselves hav

, ,

ing made up ou r minds to send the b ear ers 0 11 the morrow

t o ch o p o u t the tusks .

Shortly a fte r we had passed the sp o t where G o od had

wounded th e patriarchal bull we came acr o ss a herd of
e land b ut did not sh oo t at them as we had alre ady plenty
, ,

o f m e at They trotted past u s an d then st o pped b ehin d

.
,

a little patch of bush ab o ut a hundred yards away an d

wheeled roun d to l o ok at u s A s Go o d was anxi o us t o
.

get a near View O f them never ha v ing seen an eland cl o se

,
,

he ha n ded hi s rifle t o U m b o pa an d f o llowed by K hiva

, , ,

s tr olled up t o the patch of bush We sat d o wn and waited

.

for him not sor r y o f the excu se f o r a little rest

, .

Th e sun was j ust g o in g down in its reddest glo r y and ,

 K I N G S OL OMO N S M I N E S ’
. 49

S ir Hen r y and I w er e admi r ing th e lovely sc en e wh en sud ,

denly we h eard an elephant sc r eam and saw i t s huge and ,

charging f o rm with uplifted trunk and tail silhou et t ed

against the great red globe of the su n N ext second w e .

saw something else and that was Good and K hiva t ear i n g
,

back towards us with the wounded bull (for i t was h e )

charging after them Fo r a mom e nt we did n ot da re to
.

fi r e — though it would h ave b e e n little use if we had at t hat

—
distance fo r fear of hitting on e of them and the n e xt a ,

dreadful thing happened : Good fell a victim t o his passion

for civilized dress Had he c o nsent e d to discard his trou
.

s er s an d gaiters as we had and h u nt in a flannel shi r t and

,

a pai r o f v e ldtscho on s it would hav e bee n all r igh t but

, ,

as it was hi s trousers cumbe r ed him in that desp er at e r ace ,

and p r esently when he was about sixty yards fr o m us his

, ,

b oot p o lish e d by th e dry grass Slipped and d o wn he w e n t

, , ,

o n his face r ight in front o f t he elephant .

We gave a gasp for we kn e w he mus t di e a nd r a n as

, ,

ha r d as we could towa rds him In th r e e seconds it had .

e nded but n ot as we thought K hiva t he Zulu b oy had

,
.
, ,

seen his m aster fall and brav e lad that he was had tu rn e d
, , ,
’
and flung hi s ass e gai st r aigh t into t h e elephan t s fac e I t .

s t uck in his t r unk .

With a sc re am o f pain the b r u te s e ized t h e poo r Zulu ,

hurl e d him to th e e arth and placing his huge foo t on t o

, ,

his b ody ab ou t th e middle twin e d his t r unk r ou n d his u p

,

pe r pa r t and tor e hi m i n two .

We r ushed up mad with ho rr o r a n d fi re d agai n a n d

, ,

again and p re s e n t ly the elephan t f e ll upon the f r agment s

,

of t he Zulu .

As fo r Good h e got up and w r u n g his h an ds ov er the

,

b rav e m an who had given his lif e t o s a v e hi m ; an d m ys e lf,

50 K I N G S OLOM ON S MI N ES
’
.

though an old hand I felt a lump in my th r oa t Umb op a

,
.

s t ood and c o ntempla t ed the hug e dead e lephan t and th e

mangl ed remains of poo r K hiva .

Ah well h e said p re sently , he is d e ad bu t h e di e d

, , ,

lik e a m an
.
 C HAPT E R V
OUR M AR C H I N TO TH E D E S E RT .

WE had kille d nine elephants and it took u s t wo days

,

t o cut ou t th e tusks and get them home an d bu r y them

ca re fully in th e sand unde r a la rge tree which made a con ,

Spi c u ou s ma r k for mil e s r ound It was a wonderfully fine

.

l o t of ivory I never saw a b etter averaging as it did b e

.
,

tween forty and fifty p ounds a tusk The t usks of the .

g r ea t bull that killed p oo r K hiva scaled on e hu ndred and

seventy p o unds the pair as n early as w e could ju dg e
, .

As fo r K hiva himself we buried what r emained of hi m

,

in an ant bea r h o le t o gether with an assegai t o pr o tect

-
,

himself with on hi s j ou rn ey t o a b etter wo r ld O n th e .

third day we started on h Opi n g that we might on e day

,

r e t ur n t o dig u p o u r b u ri e d ivo r y and in du e c o u r se afte r

, ,

a long and w earis o me tr amp and many adventures which

,

I h ave n o t space t o detail r eached Si t an da s Kr aal nea r

,
’
,

t he L u ka n ga River th e real sta r ting point of ou r expedi

,
-

tion V ery well d o I r ec o llect ou r a rrival a t th a t p lace

. .

To the r ight was a scatte r ed n ativ e se t tlement with a few

s t o n e cattle kraals and some cultivated lands down by the
w a te r where t hese sav ages gre w their scan t y supply O f
,

g r ain and b eyond it g r eat tracts o f waving veldt c o v

,

ere d wi t h tall grass ove r which herds o f the smalle r game

,

w er e wande r ing To th e left was the vast desert Thi s

. .

sp ot a p p ea r ed to b e th e ou tpost o f the fe r tile count r y and ,

i t w ould b e di fficul t t o sax t o wh a t n at u r al caus e s such an

 ’
52 ‘
K I N G S O LOM O N S M I N E S .

a b r up t chan ge in the cha r acter of the soil was du e But .

so i t was Just below ou r encampment fl o wed a little

.

stre am o n the farthe r S ide o f which wasa stony slope the

, ,

same d o wn which I had twenty years bef o re s een p oo r

Silvestre c r eeping back afte r his atte m pt to reach Sol o
m on s M ines and beyond that m pe began the wa t erless
’
,

d e s er t cove r ed with a species o f kar o o S hrub It was even .

i n g when we pitched our camp and the great fiery ball of ,

t he sun was sinki n g int o th e desert sending glorious rays ,

of many c o lo r ed light
-
ver all the vast expanse .

L eaving G oo d to su p the arrangement o f o u r little

c am
p I,
t oo k Sir Henry with me an d we walked to the t o p ,

o f th e sl o p e opp o site and gazed out acr o ss the desert The .

air was very clear and far fa r away I c o uld distinguish

, ,

the fai n t blu e o utlines he r e and there capped with white

, ,

O f the great Suliman B erg .

”
“
There I said there is th e wall of S o lomon s M ines
, ,
“ ’
,
”
but God knows if we shall ever climb it .

“
M y br o the r should be there an d if h e i s I shall reach ,
”
him somehow said Si r Henry in that tone o f quiet con
, ,

fi den c e which marked the man .

”
“
I h o pe so I an swered and turn ed to g o back t o th e
, ,

camp when I saw that we were n o t al o ne B eh ind u s

, .
,

also gazing earnestly towar ds the f ar O ff m o u ntains was -

the great Zulu Umbopa , .

The Zulu S poke when he saw that I h ad observed him ,

bu t addressed himsel f t o Sir Henry to wh o m he had at ,

tache d himself .

“
I S i t to that land that thou wouldst j o urney I n c u b u ? ,

(a n a t ive wo r d meaning I believ e an elephant and the

, , ,

n ame given t o Sir Henry by the K affi r s) he said pointing ,

t ow ar d s t h e m ou nt ains wi t h his b r oad assegai .

 ’
54 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

”
How do you know it was my bro t he r ? ask e d Si r
H enr y .

N ay I know no t B ut t he m an when I asked wha t

,
.
,

t h e white man was like said that h e had y o u r eyes and a ,

black bea r d He said too that the name o f the hunte r

.
, ,

with him was Jim t hat he was a B echuana hunter and

,
”
wo re clothes .

”
“
Ther e is no doubt abou t it said I ; I knew Jim ,
“

w e ll.

Sir Henry n o dded ”

I was sure of it h e said . If ,
.
“

G e o rge set his mind upon a thing h e generally did it It .

was always s o fr o m his boyho o d If h e meant to c r oss .

t he Suliman Berg he has c r ossed it unless some accident ,

has overtaken him a n d we must lo o k for him o n th e othe r

,
”
S ide .

Umbopa unde r stood E nglish though h e r a r ely spoke it , .

”
“
It is a far j o u rney I n cu b u h e put in and I t rans , , ,

la te d his r ema rk .

”
Yes answered Si r Hen r y it is far B u t there is no
, , .

j ourney up o n this earth that a man may n ot make if he

sets his hear t to it There is nothing Umb o pa that he.
, ,

ca n not do th er e are no m o untains he may n o t climb the r e

, ,

a re no d e se r ts he cann o t cr o ss save a m o untain and a ,

dese rt of which you are S pared the knowledge if love ,

l e ads him an d he h o lds his li f e in h is hand c o unting it

,

as n o thin g r e ady to keep it or t o lose it as P r ovidenc e

,
”
m ay o r de r .

I t r anslat e d .

G re a t words m y fathe r answe re d th e Zulu (I alway s

, ,

call e d hi m a Zulu though h e was n ot r eally o n e) g re a t

, ,
“
,

sw e lli n g wo r ds fit to fill the mouth o f a m an Thou a rt

, .

r igh t m y f at h er I ncu b u L is ten ! wha t is l i fe ? I t i s

, .
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
’
. 55

a f ea th er ; i t i s t h e s e e d of t he g r ass blow n hi t h e r an d ,

t hi t h er so m e t imes m ul t iplying i t self and dying in th e act

, ,

som et i me s ca rr i e d away in t o th e heav e ns But if th e seed .

b e good an d heavy i t may pe r chance tr avel a li t tle way o n

t h e r oad it will I t is well t o tr y and j ou r ney one s road
.
’

a n d t o fight wi t h th e ai r M an mus t die At th e wo r st

. .

he c an bu t die a li t tl e soo ner I will go with th e e ac r oss

.

th e d e se r t and ov er t h e mou nt ains unless pe r chanc e I fall,

”
t o t h e g r ound on the way my fathe r ,
.

He p aused awhile an d t hen w e nt on with on e of those

,

s tr ange bu r s t s of rh e torical eloquence which Zulus som e

tim e s in dulge i n and which t o m y mind full as they a r e
, , ,

o f vai n re p e ti t ions S h ow tha t the r ace is by n o m eans de

,

void o f p o et ic in s t inct and of in te ll e c t ual powe r .

“
Wh at is lif e Tell me 0 whit e m en , who are wis e ,
,

who know the s e c ret s of the world a n d th e wo r ld of s tar s , ,

a n d t he wo rld that lies ab ov e a n d a r ou nd t he s t a r s ; who

fl ash th e i r wo r ds fr o m afa r withou t a voice ; tell me whi t e ,

—
me n t h e s e c ret of ou lif e whith e r i t go e s and wh en ce i t
r
,

(u nn e s!
“
Y e ca nn ot answ e r ; ye know n o t L is te n I will an .
,

sw er O ut of t h e dark we came in t o t he dar k we go

. ,
.

L ik e a s t o rm driven bi r d a t n igh t we fly ou t of t he N o
-

w he re fo r a m o ment ou r wi n gs a r e se e n in t h e ligh t o f
t h e fi r e a n d 10 ! w e a r e gone agai n in t o th e N owh er e
, ,
.

L if e I s n o t hi n g L if e is all I t is t h e hand with which

. .

w e hold off dea t h I t is th e glow wo rm t ha t shin e s i n

.
-

t h e n igh t t i me an d is black i n th e m o rni n g ; i t is the whi te

-

b re a t h o f t h e ox e n in win t e r ; it is t h e li t tle shadow t hat

r u n s ac r oss t he g r ass and los e s i t s e lf a t suns et .

”
“ You a re a s tr a n g e man said S i r H enr y wh en h e
, ,

c ea s e d .
56 KI N G S OLOMO N S M IN E S ’
.

U mbopa l a ugh e d I t s eem s t o m e t ha t w e a re m uch

.

a lik e, I nc u b u Pe rh a ps I s e ek a b r o t h er ov er t h e m oun
.

ta i n s .

I look e d a t hi m suspiciously Wh at d ost t hou me a n ? .

“

”
I a sked what dos t t hou know o f the mountains ?
“

A lit t l e ; a v er y little The r e is a st r ang e la n d t h ere .

,

a land o f wi t chc r aft and b e autiful things ; a land of b r ave

p e opl e and of tr ees a nd st r eams a n d whi t e mountain s and
of a g re at whi te r oad I hav e hear d of it B ut wh at I s . . -

t h e good of talking ? i t g r ows dark Those who liv e t o .

s ee will s ee .

Agai n I look e d at hi m doub t fully Th e man k ne w t oo .

m uch .

Y e nee d n o t f e ar m e Macu m az ahn h e said i nterp ret

”
, , ,

i n g my look I di g no holes fo r ye to fall in I m ake

.
“
.

no plo t s If e v er we c r oss those m oun t ains b ehind the

.

su n I will te ll wha t I know Bu t death S i t s upo n t h em

,
. .

Be wis e a nd tu rn b a ck Go an d hu nt e l e ph ant I h a v e
,
. .

”
spok e n .

A n d wi t hou t an o t h er wo r d h e lift e d his spear in salu t a

tion a nd r et u rne d towa r ds the camp wh er e Sho r tly a ft e r ,

w ar ds we found him cle a ning a gu n lik e any oth er K affi r .

”
“
That is a n odd m an said Si r Hen ry , .

”
Yes answe r ed I too o dd by half I don t like his
, , .
’

li t tle ways H e knows something and won t Sp eak ou t

.
,
’
.

Bu t I s u ppose it is no u se qua r relling with him We a r e .

in fo r a cu r ious trip and a myste r ious Zulu wo n t m ak e

,
’

”
m uch differe nce on e way or anothe r .

N ext day we m ade ou r ar r an geme nt s f or s t a rt ing O f .

cou r se it was impossibl e to drag ou r heavy e l e phan t r i fle s

and o t h er ki t with us ac r oss th e dese rt so dis m issing ou r , ,

b earer s , w e m ad e an arran g ement wi t h an old nat iv e who

 ’
K I N G S OLOMO N S M IN E S . 7

had a k r aal clos e b y t o take ca re o f the m t ill w e ret u rne d .

It wen t to my h e a rt t o l e av e such things as thos e sw e e t

tools to t h e te nder me r ci e s o f an old t hief of a savag e ,

wh os e gr e edy eyes I could s e e gloating ov er th em B u t .

I took s o me precautions .

Fi r st of all I load e d all th e ri fl es and info rm ed hi m t h at

,

if h e t ouche d t h e m they w ould go off H e ins t a nt ly tr i e d

.

th e e x p e r imen t wi t h my e igh t bo r e and i t did go off and

-
, ,

blew a h ole r ight t h r ough on e o f his ox e n which we re ,

just then being d r iven up to th e k r aal to say n othing of ,

knocking hi m h e ad ov e r heels with the r ecoil He go t .

u
p conside r ably s t a r t le d and
, n o t a t all pl e as e d a t t h e loss
o f the o x ,
which h e had th e impudenc e t o ask m e t o p ay
for an d n o t hing would in duce him t o t ouch t h em again
, .

”
“
Pu t t h e liv e devils up th er e in t h e that ch h e said , ,

out of th e way o r they will kill u s all

, .

T h en I t old him th at if when we came back o ne o f

, ,

those thi n gs was m issing I would kill hi m a n d all his p e o

le by witchc r af t ; an d if we died and h e t r ie d t o s te al t h e
p
t hi n gs I would co m e an d haun t him and tu rn his cattl e
,

m ad a n d his m ilk sou r till life was a weari ne ss and m ak e ,

t h e d e vils in t h e guns co m e ou t a n d talk t o hi m in a way

he would no t like and ge n erally gave hi m a good id e a of
,

j udg me nt to co m e Afte r t hat h e swo re h e would look

.

a fte r th e m as t hough they were his fathe r s S piri t H e ’

.

was a v er y sup er sti t iou s old K affi r and a gre a t villain .

Havi n g thu s disposed o f ou r sup e rfl uous g e a r we a r

fi —
r ange d th e ki t we v e Si r Henry Good m yself U mb o
, , ,

n O l—
pa and t h e Ho t t e nt ot Ve tv ge w ere t o t ake wi t h u s
,

o n o u r j ou rne y . I t was s m all e nough bu t do wha t w e ,

would w e could no t g et i t dow n und er abou t fo rt y p ou n ds

a man T his is wh at i t co n sis te d of :
.
58 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

The t h re e e xp r ess ri fl es and t wo hund r ed r ounds of am «

m unition .

Th e two Wincheste r repeating rifles (for Umb o pa and

Ventv o gel) with two hundred rounds o f cartridge
,
.

Th r e e Colt revolvers and sixty r o unds of cartridge

“
.

F ive Cochrane s wate r bottles each h o lding four pints

’ -
,
.

Five blankets .

Twenty fi ve pounds w e igh t of bil t ong (su n dried game

-
’ -

fl e sh )
.

T e n pounds weigh t o f bes t mixed beads for gifts

’
.

A selection of medicine including an o unce of quinine , ,

a n d on e or two small surgical instruments .

O ur knives a few sundries such as a compass matches

, , , ,

a pocket fi lter t o bacco a tr o wel a b o ttle of b r andy and

-
, , , ,

the clothes we stood in .

This was o u r t o tal equipment a small on e indeed fo r , , ,

such a venture but we dared n o t attempt t o carry more

, .

As it was that l o ad was a heavy on e per man to travel

,

across the burning desert with f or in such places every ,

additional ounce tells up o n on e But try as we would we .

could n o t see our way t o reducing it There was nothing .

but what was absolutely necessary .

With great di ffic u lty and by the p r omise of a p r ese nt

,

o f a go o d hunti n g knife eac h I succeeded in persua ding

-

th r ee wretched natives fr o m the village t o come with u s

for the first stage twenty miles and t o ca r ry each a large
, ,

gourd holding a gallon o f water M y obj ect was to eu .

able u S to refill ou r wate r bottles after th e first night s -

’

march for w e determined to start in the cool of the nigh t

, .

I gave o ut to these natives that we were g o ing to sho o t

o striches with which the desert ab o unded
, They j ab , .

b ere d and shrugg e d their S houlde r s and said we we r e ,

 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
’
. so

ma d a n d should p er ish of t hi r s t , which I m u s t say s eeme d

v e r y p r ob able ; bu t b eing desirous o f ob t aining t h e k n ives ,

which w ere almost u nkn own t r easu r es up th e r e , t h ey c on

s e n te d to come h aving p r ob ably reflec t ed t ha t , aft e r all ,
,

o u r subse quen t extinc t ion would be n o a ffai r o f thei r s .

All next day we r es t ed an d sl e p t and a t suns et ate a ,

h e a rt y meal o f f r esh b e ef washed down with tea, th e las t,

as Good sadly r em arked we we r e likely to dr i n k f or man y
,

a l o ng day Then having made o u r final p r epara t ions , w e

.
,

lay d own an d wai t ed f o r t h e mo o n t o r ise At last abou t .

,

nin e o cl o ck up sh e ca m e in all her chas t ened glory, fl ood

’
,

ing th e wi ld c o untry with silve r light an d throwing a ,

weird sheen o n th e vast expanse of r olling desert befo re

u s which l oo ked as s o lemn and quiet and as alie n t o man
,

as the s t ar stu dded fi r m am en t abov e We rose up and in

-
.
,

a few minutes were r eady and yet we hesit ated a little as, ,

human natu r e is p r on e to h e sitat e on the thr e shold o f am '

i r r e v ocable step We t h r ee white m en stood t her e by o u r

.

selves . Umb o pa assegai in hand and the rifle ac r oss his

,

shoulde r s a few paces ahead o f us looked ou t fixedly

, ,

ac r oss the d e se r t ; the t hree h ired n atives wi t h the gou r ds ,

o f wa t e r an d V en tv Oge l we re gathe re d in a li tt le kno t

,

b e hin d .

Ge nt lemen said Sir H e n r y p re sently in his low deep

, , , ,

voice we ar e g o ing on about as st r ange a j ourney as m en

,
“

can mak e in this world It is ve r y doub t ful if we ca n

.

su cceed in it But we a r e three men wh o will stand to

.

g et her for good Or fo r evil to the last And now befo re .

we s t a rt let u s fo r a moment p r ay t o t h e Powe r who

shap es t he destinies of m e n and who ages since has ,

m ark e d o u t ou r paths t hat i t may pl e ase hi m t o di re c t

,

o u r s te p s i n a cco r da n c e wi t h his will .

 ’
60 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

Ta k i n g Off his ha t h e , fo r t h e spac e of a m i n u te or so ,

cov ere d his face with his hands a n d Good and I did lik e,

wis e.

I do not s a y t hat I am a fi r st r a t e p r ayi n g man ; few- -

hu nt e r s a r e ; and as fo r Si r Henry I never h eard him sp e ak

,

lik e t ha t b e fore , and only on ce S ince t h o ugh deep down ,

in his heart I beli e ve h e is ve r y re ligious Good to o is .

, ,

pious , t hough ve r y ap t to swear Anyhow I do not think .

I ev er excepting on on e single occasion put in a be t t er

, ,

p r aye r in my life t han I did duri ng that minute and some ,

how I felt th e happier f or it O ur f utu r e was so c om

.

p le tel
y unk n own ,
and I think the unknown and th e awful
always b r in g a man nearer to hi s M ake r .

” ”
“
An d now said Si r Hen r y trek
, ,
“
.

S o w e started .

We had nothing to guide ou r selves by except the dis

tant mou n tai ns and old J o sé da Si lv e str a s chart which ’
, ,

co n side r ing t hat i t was drawn by a dying and half dis

tr au ght ma n on a fr agment of linen three centu r i e s ago ,

was n ot a very satis fact or y s ort of thing t o work on Still .

,

such as it was ou r sole hop e of success depended on it If

, .

we failed in finding that p ool of bad wate r which the old

don mark e d as being situated in the middle o f the deser t ,

ab out S ixty m iles from our s t a r ting p o int an d as far fr o m -

t h e mountain s we must in all probability pe r ish miserably

,

o f thi r st And to my mind the chances of ou r finding it

.

i n that g r ea t sea o f s and and karoo s crub seemed almost

in fi n i te simal E ven supposing D a Silv estra had m ark e d i t
.

right what was t here t o prev ent i t s having been gene r a

,

tion s ago dried up by the sun or t r am pl e d in by game or

, ,

fi ll e d wi t h d r ifting sand ?
O n w e tr am p e d silen t ly as shad e s t h r ough t h e nigh t and
 ’
62 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

ou t t o th e o t he r s that it was all r igh t I r an towar ds Good, ,

much afr aid lest he should be hurt but to my g r eat r elie f ,

fou n d him sitting in the sand his eye glass still fixed fi r m
,
-

ly in his eye rathe r S haken and very m u c h startled b u t

, ,

not in any way inj ured .

Afte r this we travelle d o n without any furthe r m i sad

ventu re till after on e o cl o ck when we called a halt and
’
, ,

having drunk a little water n o t mu ch f or water was pre

, ,

cions and rested f or half an hour star ted on again

, ,
.

O n on we went till at last the east began t o blush lik e

, ,

the cheek o f a girl Then there came faint rays of prim

.

r ose light that changed presently t o g o lden bars through ,

which the dawn glided o u t across the desert The stars .

g r ew pale and paler still till at last they vanished ; th e

g o lden m o on waxed wan and h er m o untain ridges sto o d
,

o u t clear against her sickly face like the b o nes o n th e

face o f a dying man ; then came sp ear upon S pear o f gl o ri

o u s light flashing far away acr o ss the b o undless w ilde r

ness piercing and firing the veils o f mist till the desert
,

was d r aped in a tremul o u s g o lden gl o w and it was day , .

Still we did not halt th o ugh by this time we sh o uld

,

hav e been glad enough t o d o so f or we knew that wh en ,

once th e sun was f ul ly up it w o uld b e almost imp o ssible

f or u s to travel in it At length ab o ut si x o clock we
.
,
’
,

spied a little pile o f r ocks rising o u t o f th e plain and to ,

this we dragged ourselves AS luck w o uld have it he r e

.
,

we found an o verhanging slab of r o ck carpeted beneath

with sm oo th sand wh i ch afforded a m o st grateful S helter
,

fr o m the heat Undern eath this we c r ept and having

.
,

dr ank some water each and eaten a bit o f bilt o ng we lay ,

down and were s o on sound asleep .

’
I t was t h re e o clo ck in the afte rn oo n befo r e we wok e to ,
 ’
K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S . 63

fi nd ou r t h re e bea r e r s p r eparing to r etu r n They had al .

ready had en o ugh of the desert and n o numbe r o f knives ,

would have te mpted them to come a step fa rt he r S o w e .

had a h e a rt y d r ink and having emptied o u r wate r b ottl e s ,

, ,
-

filled t h e m u p again fr o m the gou r ds they had b r ough t

with t h e m a nd then watch e d th e m depart o n thei r t w e nty
,
’
m iles t ra m p hom e .

A t half pa s -
t four w e also sta rt ed o n It was lo n ely an d .

desolate work f or with the e xception of a few os tr ic hes ,

, ,

t he re was n o t a singl e living c r eatu re to be s e en on all th e

v ast expans e o f sandy plain It was evidently t oo d r y for
.

g a me and wi t h t he e xcep t ion of a deadly looking cob r a

, ,
-

o r two we saw n o re ptiles

, O ne insect howev er was
.
, ,

abundant and t ha t was the common or house fly Th er e

, .

th ey ca m e , no t as single S pies but in battalions as I

“
, ,

think t he O ld Testam e nt says somewhe r e He is an e x .

tr aor di n ar y animal , is t he h o use fly Go whe r e you will .

you fin d hi m an d so it must always have been I have see n

, .

him enclosed in amb e r which m u st I was told have been , ,

half a million years old looking exac t ly lik e his d e sc e nd

,

ant o f t o day , and I have li t tle do u bt that when the last

-

m an lies dying on th e ea r th h e will b e buzzing round

i f t ha t e vent should happen t o occu r in summe r wa t ch —

ing for an opp ortuni t y to s ett l e on his n ose .

At sunset we halted waiting fo r th e moo n to r is e A t

,
.

t e n sh e came up b e autiful and se r ene as eve r and with , ,

’
o n e hal t a bout t wo O clock in t h e m o r ning we tr udged ,

wea r ily on t h r ough t h e nigh t till at last the welco m e sun ,

u t a p e ri o d t o ou r labo r s We d r ank a little and flung

p .

ou r selve s down th o r oughly ti re d ou t on t he sand and

, , ,

we r e soo n a ll asleep The r e was no n e e d to se t a wat ch ,

.

f or w e h a d n othi n g t o f ear f r o m anyb ody or a n y t hin g i n

 ’
64 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

t h at vas t untenant e d p lain O u r only enem i e s w er e h e a t

,
.
,

thirs t and flies but far rathe r would I have faced any
, ,

dange r fr om m an o r beast than that awful tr inity This .

t ime we we re not so lucky as to find a S hel ter i ng r ock to

gua r d us fr om the gla r e of th e su n with th e r esult that ,

abo u t seven o clock w e wok e up expe r i e ncing th e e x a c t

’

s e nsations o ne wo u ld at t ribut e t o a beefsteak on a g r idi r o n .

We we r e lite r ally being bak e d th r ough and th r ough Th e .

bu rning sun seemed to be sucking o u r ve r y blood ou t of

us We sat up and gasped .

Phew said I grabbing at th e halo of flies which

,

buzzed che er fully r ound my h e ad Th e h eat did n ot af .

feet th e m .

”
M y wo r d said S ir He nr y
, .

”
“
It i s hot ! said Good .

It was h o t indeed and the re w a s n o t a bi t of sh e l ter to

, ,

be had L ook where we would there was no r ock or t re e ;

.

n othing but an unending glare r ende r ed dazzli n g by the ,

h o t ai r which danc e d ove r th e su rfac e of t h e des ert as it

does o v e r a red hot stove -
.

”
“
What is to be done ? ask e d Si r H enr y ; w e can t ’

stand this fo r long .

We looked at each othe r blan kly .

“ ”
I h ave it said Good ; we mus t dig a hole a n d g et
,
“

into it a n d cove r ourselves wi t h th e karoo bush e s

,
”
.

It di d not se e m a very p r omising sugg e stio n but at leas t ,

it was better than nothing so we set to work and with , , ,

th e t ro w e l we had brought wi th us an d ou r han ds suc ,

c e e de d in ab out an hour in delving o u t a patch o f g r ou n d

a bout t e n feet long by t welve wid e t o the d e pth of t wo

feet Th e n w e c u t a quanti t y of low scr ub wi t h o u r hu nt
.

i ng k n iv e s an d, c re epi ng in t o t h e hole pulled i t ov er u s a ll

-
, , ,
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M IN E S
’
. 65

wi th th e ex c e p t io n of Ventv oge l, o n who m , being a H o t

t e ntot, t h e su n h a d n o p art icula r e ff e ct This gav e us
.

s o me sligh t sh e l ter fr o m t h e bu rn in g r ays of t h e sun bu t ,

t h e h e a t i n tha t am at e u r g r ave ca n b e b et t er i m agine d

t ha n d e sc r ib e d T he B lack Hole o f Calcu tt a m us t have
.

b een a fool t o i t ind ee d, t o t his mo men t I do no t know ,

how w e liv e d t h r ough t he day Th ere w e lay pa nt i n g

.
,

an d e v er y n ow and again m ois te nin g ou r lips fro m ou r

sc ant y supply of wa ter Had w e follow e d ou r i n cli n a t io n s
.

w e should h a v e fi n ish e d off all w e had in t he fi r s t t wo hou r s ,

bu t w e h a d t o ex e r cis e th e m ost r igid care , fo r if ou r wa

ter f a il e d u s w e k ne w t ha t w e m us t quickly p er ish m is er
a b ly.

B u t e v er y t hing h a s an e nd , if only you liv e lo n g en ough

t o s ee i t a n d so m ehow t ha t mis er able day wo r e on t owa r ds
,

e v en in g Ab out t h ree o clock in the aft ern oon w e d eter

.
’

m ine d tha t we could s t a n d it n o long er I t would b e b et

.

ter t o di e walking than t o b e S lowly kill e d by h e a t an d

t hi r s t i n th a t d r eadful hol e S o t aki n g each o f u s a lit t l e
.
‘

drink f r o m o u r fas t di m i n ishing supply of wat e r n o w

’
h e a te d t o abou t t h e sa me t em p er a t u r e as a m an s blood,
w e st a gg ere d o n .

W e had n ow cov ere d so me fi f t y m iles o f des er t If m y .

re ad er will re f er t o th e r ough copy a n d tr anslation of old

D a S i lv e str a s ma p h e will s ee t hat t h e d e s ert is m a rk e d
’

“
a s b eI ng fo rt y l ea gu e s a c r oss a n d th e p an bad wate r
,

i ss et dow n a s b e i n g abo u t i n t h e m iddle of it N ow fo rt y

. ,

l ea gu e s is o n e hu n d re d and t w ent y m il e s ; cons e qu e ntly, w e

o ugh t a t t h e m os t t o b e wi t hi n t welv e or fi f teen m iles o f
t h e wa ter if a n y sh ould r e a lly ex ist
,
.

T h r o ugh t h e a ftern oo n w e c re p t S lowly an d pai n fully

alon g , sc ar c e ly doi n g m o re t h an a m il e a n d a h a lf an hou r.

5
 ’
66 K I N G S O LOMO N S M I N E S .

A t su nse t we again r es t ed waiting f or the m oo n and af , , ,

t e r drinking a little managed t o get some sleep ,

.

B efore we lay down Umbopa pointed o ut to us a S ligh t

and indistinct hillock on the flat surface of the desert ab o ut
eight miles away At the distance it l o o ked like an ant
.

hill and as I was dropping off t o sleep I fell to wond e rin g

,

wha t it could b e .

With the m oon we s t a r t e d on again feeling d re adfully ,

exhaus t ed and su ff ering to rtu r es f r om thirs t and prickly

,

h e a t N obody wh o has no t felt it can know what we

.

went through We no longer walked we stagg er ed n o w

.
, ,

and again f alling from exhausti o n and being o bliged t o ,

call a halt eve r y hou r or so We had scarcely energy lef t .

i n us to speak Up to now Good had chatted and j o ked

.
,

f or h e was a merr y fellow bu t now he had not a j o k e l e ft

in him .

A t las t abou t t wo o clock u tter ly wo r n o u t in body a n d

,
’
,

mind we cam e to th e foot of this queer hill or sand kop

, ,

pie which did at firs t sight r esemble a gigantic ant heap

,
-

about a hu n d r ed fe et high and cov er ing at th e bas e near ly ,

a mo rgen (t wo ac r es ) of ground .

H er e w e hal te d an d d r iven by ou r d e sp e ra t e t hi r s t
, , ,

suck e d down ou r las t drops of wat er We had bu t half a .

pin t a he a d and we could each h ave dr ank a gallon

, .

The n w e lay down Ju st as I was dropping off to sl ee p

.

I heard Umbop a r ema r k t o himself in Zulu ,

“
If we can n ot find water w e shall all b e d e ad b e fo re t h e
”
m oo n r is e s to m o rr ow -
.

I shudd ere d ho t as i t was The n e a r p r osp e c t of such

, .

an a w ful d ea th is n ot pleasan t b ut e v en t h e t hough t of i t ,

c ould n o t k ee p me f r o m S l ee pin g .
 C HAPT E R VI .

WAT E R ! W ATE R !
I N two hou r s time ab ou t fou r o clock I wo ke u p As
’
,
’
, .

so on as the first heavy demand of b odily fatigu e had been

sa t isfied t he t o r tu r ing thi r st fr o m which I was suffering
asserted itself I c o uld S leep no m o re I had been d re a m
. .

ing that I was bathing in a r unning s tream with green

banks and trees upon them and I awoke to find myself in
, ,

that a r id wilde rn e ss and to remember that as Umbopa

, ,

had said if we did not find wate r that day w e mu st ce r

,

t ai n ly p e r ish miserably N O human c r ea t u re could liv e

.

l o ng withou t wate r in that heat I sat up and r ubb e d my .

grimy face with my d r y and ho r ny hands M y lips a nd .

eyelids were stuck t o gether and it was only afte r some

,

r ubbing and with an e ffort that I was able to O p en them .

It was n ot far Off th e dawn but there was no n e of th e ,

bright fe el o f dawn in the ai r which was thick with a hot,

m urkiness I cann o t describe The others were still sl e ep

.

ing P r es e ntl y it b egan to g ro w light enough to r e ad so

. ,

I dr e w o u t a little pocke t copy o f th e Ingold sby L egends

I h ad b r o u ght with me and r e ad th e J ack daw o f Rh e ims
,
.

Wh e n I got to whe r e
A i li ttl e b oy hel d a gol den ewer
n ce ,

Em b ossed and fill ed wi th water as p u r e

,

As any that flows b etween Rhei m s and Nam u r ,

I li tera lly s m acked m y c r acked lips or r athe r tr i e d to , , ,

s m ack t h em Th e m ere t hough t of th a t pu re wa ter m ade

.
68 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
’
.

me m ad. If t he ca r dinal had b ee n t h er e wi t h his b e ll ,

book and candle I would have whipped in and d r ank his

, ,

wa t e r up y e s even if h e h ad al r eady filled it with the suds

, ,

Of soap wo r thy of washing the hands o f th e p o p e and I ,

kn e w tha t the whol e concentrated curs e of the Catholic !

Chu r ch S hould fall upon m e fo r so d o ing I almost think .

I must have been a little ligh t head e d wi t h t hi r st a n d

-

w e a ri ness and wan t of food fo r I f e ll to t hi nki n g how as

t on i she d th e ca r di n al a n d his n i c e lit t l e boy and the j ack

daw would have look e d to see a bu r ned u p brown e y e d -

,
-
,

r i z z le d hair e d littl e eleph a nt hunte r suddenly boun d i n

g
~ -

a n d pu t his dirty face into the b a sin an d swallow ev er y

drop of th e p r eciou s wate r T he idea amus e d me so tha t
.

I laugh e d o r r athe r cackle d aloud which w o ke th e o t h ers

,

up an d th e y began to r ub thei r di r ty faces and g et thei r

,

gummed u p lips an d eyelids apar t

-
.

AS soo n as w e w e r e all well awake we fell to discu ssi n g

th e si t u at io n which was S erious en o ugh N o t a d r op of
, .

wate r was left W e tu r ned the wate r bottl e s up side down

.
-

a n d lick ed the tops, b ut it was a failure th e y we r e as dr y

as a bon e Good who had charge of th e bo t tle of brandy
.
, ,

got it ou t and looked at it longingly ; but Sir He nr y

p r o m ptly took it a way from him fo r to drink r aw S pi r i t,

would only have b e en to p r ecipitate the e nd .

”
If we do not find wate r we shall die he said , .

’
If we can t r ust to the old don s map t he r e should b e
”
some ab o ut I said ; but nobody se e med to d er ive m u ch
,

satisfaction from that r emark it was SO e vident that n o

,

g r eat faith could be put i n the map I t was no w g r adual .

ly g r owing light a n d as we sat blankly s t a ring at each

,

othe r I o bse r v e d t h e H otte nt o t Vent v Ogel r ise a n d b e gi n

t o walk abou t wit h his ey e s on th e g r ou n d Pre s ently he .
 ’
70 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S .

le a s t fiftee n t housand fe e t in height s t andi n g n o t m o re ,

than a dozen miles apart connected by a precipit o u s cli ff ,

o f r ock and t owering up in awful white solemnity st r aight

,

i nt o th e sky These moun t ains standing thus like the pillars

. ,
’
of a gigantic gateway are S haped exactly like a woman s ,

b r easts Their bases swelled gently up f r om the plain

. ,

looking at that distance , perfectly round and sm o oth and

,

o n the t opo f each w as a vast r ound hillock cove r ed with

s n ow exactly c o r responding to the nipple o n th e female

,

b r eas t Th e stretch of cliff which connected th em ap

.

e ar e d t o be s o me th o usan d feet in height and pe r fectly

p ,

precipitous and on each S ide of them as far as th e e ye

, ,

could r each extended S imila r lin es o f cli ff broken only

, ,

here and there by flat table t o pped m o untains something ,

-
,

like the world famed o n e at Cap e T o wn a fo rm ation by

-
,

the way very com m on in Africa

, .

To describe the g randeur of the whole view is b eyond

my powers There was something so i n expressibly s o lemn
.

a n d ove r p ow er in g ab o ut thos e huge volcanoes — fo r doub t

less they are extinct volcanoes tha t it fair ly t o ok o u r
—

b r eath away Fo r a while the morning lights played up on

.

the snow and the br o wn and swelling masses ben eath an d ,

then as though t o veil the maj estic sight from o u r curious

,

eyes st r ange mists and cl o uds gath ered an d increased

,

around them till p r esently we could only t r ace their pure

,

(1 gigantic outline swelling gh ostlike through the fl e e c

y
envelope Indeed as we afte r wards discovered they we r e
.
, ,

no r mally wrapped in this curious gauzy m ist which doubt ,

l e ss accounted for o n e not having m a de the m ou t m o r e

cl e arly befo r e .

Sca r cely had the mountains vanish e d into cloud clad -

p r ivacy before ou r thirs t — lite r ally a bu r ning qu estio n

r e ass erte d i t s e lf .
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S 7i
’
.

It was a ll ve r y w e ll for V e ntv o gel t o say he s m el le d ,

w ater bu t look which way we would we could see no signs

,

o f it . So fa r as th e eye could reach the r e was nothing but

ar i d swelt er ing sand and ka r oo scrub We walked r ound
, .

t he hillock an d gazed about anxiously on the o the r S ide ,

bu t it was the sam e sto r y n ot a d r op of wa t e r was t o be

,

s e e n the re was no in dication o f a p a n a p ool or a , ,

S p r ing .

”
You a r e a f o ol I said angrily t o Ventv ogel
, ,
t he re,
“

”
is n o wate r .

B ut still he lift ed his ugly snub nose and sni fl e d .

I smell i t Baas (ma s t er ) he answe r ed

, ,
it is so m e “

”
wh er e in th e air .

”
“
Yes I said n o doub t it is in th e clouds and abou t
, ,
“
,
”
t wo months hence it will fall and wash ou r bones .

Sir Hen r y st r oked his yellow b eard thoughtfully .

”
haps it is on the t op of the hill he suggested , .

”
Rot said Good ; wh o e ve r h ea r d of wa ter b e ing
,
“

foun d on th e t op o f a hill
L et u s go and look I put in and hop e lessly en ough
”
, ,

we s c r ambled up t he sandy sid e s o f th e hillock Umbopa ,

l e ading P re sently h e stopped as though he were p etr ifi e d

. .

N an z i a manzie (h ere is wat er ) h e c r i e d wi t h a loud , ,

v oice .

We r ushed u p to him and t h er e su re enough in a deep

, , ,

cup or inden t a t i o n on the very top of th e sand koppie was -

an u n doub t e d pool o f wa ter How i t came to b e in such

.

a s tr a n ge plac e we did n ot stop t o i n qui r e n or did w e ,

hesi t at e a t its black an d uninvi t ing app e a r ance I t was .

wa ter o r a good imitation of i t and t hat was enough fo r

, ,

us W e gav e a b ound and a rush and in anothe r second

.
,

w er e all dow n o n ou r s t o m achs sucking up t h e u n i n vi t i n g

 ’
72 K I N G S OL OMO N S M I NE S .

fl uid as t hough i t we r e ne c tar fit fo r t h e gods H e av en s .

,

how we did drink ! Then whe n w e had do ne d r inking

, ,

w e to re Off ou r cloth e s and sat down in i t , abso rbin g t he

m ois t u r e th r ough ou r pa r ch e d Skins You m y reade r .
, ,

who have only to tu r n on a coupl e of t ap s and summon

”
“
ho t and cold fr om an u n see n , vas t y boile r c an hav e ,

li tt le idea of th e luxu r y of tha t m uddy wallow i n b r ack

ish tepid wate r
, .

Afte r a whil e w e ar ose fro m it , re fre sh e d ind ee d an d fell ,

t o on ou r bi lt o ng of which we had scar c e ly be e n able t o

,

t ouch a m outhful fo r t wenty fou r hou r s and ate o u r fill

-
, .

Then we s m oked a pipe, and lay down by th e side of that

bl e ssed po o l under th e ov e rhanging shadow Of the bank
an d Slept till mid day -
.

All that day we rested t he re by the wa t er thanking o u r ,

star s t ha t w e had been lucky en ough to fi n d i t bad as it ,

was and no t fo rgetting t o render a du e S har e of g r ati t ude

,

t o the shade of the long departed Da Silves t ra who h ad

-
,

corked it down so accurately on the t ail of his S hirt The .

wonderful thing to us was that it S h o uld have lasted so

long and t he only way that I can account fo r it is by the
,

supposi t io n tha t it is fed by some sp ring deep down in th e

sand .

Having filled b oth ourselves and o u r water bo t tles as -

full as possible in f ar bett er S pirits we sta r ted o ff again

,

with t he moon That night we cove r ed n e arly fi ve an d

. -

twenty miles but n e edless to say foun d no mo r e wa t er

, , , ,

though we w ere lucky enough on the following day t o ge t

a little Shade behin d some ant h e aps Whe n th e su n rose
-
.

and f or a while clear ed away the mysteriou s m i st s S u li

, , ,_
’
m an s Be rg and th e two maj estic breasts now o n ly ab ou t ,

t w ent y m il e s off s eeme d t o b e tow er i n g r igh t abov e us ,

,
 KI N G S O LOMO N S M I N E S ’
. 3

an d lo ok e d g r ande r t ha n e ve r A t th e a pp r oach of e v e n .

i n g w e s t arte d on again a n d to cu t a long s t o r y S ho r t by

, , ,

dayligh t n ex t m o rn ing fou n d ou r selv e s upo n the low es t

l pes of Sheba S l ef t b re ast f oi which w e had be en s te ad
’
,

ily s teer ing By thi s time o u r wat er was again e xh a us te d

.

and w e were suffering s e v er ely fr om thi r st n o r ind ee d ,

could we see any chan c e of re li e ving i t till we r each e d t h e

s n ow line fa r far above us Afte r re s t ing a n hou r or two
, , .
,

d r iven to it by ou r t o r tu r i n g thi r st we we nt o n again , ,

toiling painfully i n th e bu rning hea t up the lava S lop e s ‘

,

f or we found tha t th e huge base of th e m ountain w as

co m p os e d e n t i re ly of lav a b e ds b e lch e d ou t i n so me f ar
-

p ast ag e .

’
By e l e ve n o clock w e w ere u tter ly e xh a us te d , a n d w ere ,
gen erally S p e aking in a ve r y bad way ind e ed Th e lav a
, .

clink er ov er which we had t o m ak e ou r way though co m

, ,

ar ati v ely s m oo t h compa re d with som e cli n k er I hav e

p
hea r d of such as that on the islan d of Asc e nsion for i n
, ,

stan ce was yet r ough e nough t o make ou r fe e t ve r y so r e

, ,

and this t og et he r with o u r o t h er m is er ies had p r etty w e ll

, ,

fi nish e d u s A few hu n d re d ya r ds abov e u s w er e som e

.

l ar ge lu m ps of lav a, a n d t owa r ds th e s e w e made with the

inte nt io n of lying dow n b en e ath th e i r shade We re ache d .

t h em , a n d t o ou r su r p r is e SO fa r as w e had a capacity for

,

su r p r ise lef t i n u s , o n a li tt le plate au or ridg e clo s e by w e

s a w that t he lava w a s cov ere d wi t h a dense g r een g r owth .

E vid ent ly soil fo rme d fr om d e co m p os e d lava had re sted

t h ere , an d i n du e cou r s e h ad b e com e t h e re c e p t acl e of s ee ds
.

d e p osi t e d by bi r ds B u t w e did n o t tak e m uch fu rt h er i n

.

t er e st i n t h e g ree n g r ow t h fo r on e ca nn o t liv e on g ra ss ,
,

lik e Ne b uch a d ne zz ar Th at re qui re s a sp e ci a l disp en s a

.

t i on of P r ovid en c e and pe culi ar dig e s t iv e o rg an s S o we .

 ’
74
'

K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

sa t down under the r ocks and groaned a n d I fo r one h eart , , ,

’
ily wished tha t we had never started on this fool s er r a n d .

A S we were sitting th ere I saw Umbopa g et up and hobbl e

O ff t owards the pa t ch o f green and a few m inu t es afte r
,

wa r ds to my great astonishment I p e rceiv e d tha t u sually

, ,

u ncommonly dignified individual dancing and sh o u t ing

like a maniac and waving something green Off we all

,
.

s crambled t o wards him as f ast as ou r weari e d limbs would

car r y u s hoping that he had found water
,
.

”
“
What is it Umbopa so n o f a fool ? I shou te d in
, ,

Zulu .

“
It i sfood and wate r Macu m az ahn an d ag a i n h e w a v e d
”
, ,

t he green thing
Then I saw what h e had go t It wasa melon We had . .

hit up o n a patch of wild m elons thousands o f th e m and , ,

dead ripe .

“
M elons I yelled t o Good who was n ext me ; and in
,

anothe r second he had his false teeth fixed in on e .

I think we ate ab o ut si x e ach before we had d o ne and , ,

p o or fr uit as they were I doubt if I ever though t anything

,

nicer .

But melons a r e not very sa t isfying and when we had ,

satisfied ou r thirst with their pulpy substance and se t a ,

stock to cool by the S imple pr o cess o f cutting them in tw o

and se t ting th e m end o n in the h o t su n t o get c o ld by
evap o ration we b egan to feel exceedingly hungry We had
,
.

still s o me biltong left but ou r stomachs turned from bil

,

t o ng and b e sides we had t o b e very S paring o f it f o r we

, , , ,

could not say wh e n we should get more f o od Just at .

this moment a lucky thing happened Loo king towards .

t he dese r t I saw a flock of abou t ten large birds fl ying

str aigh t t owa r ds us .
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
. 75

S ki t , Baas Skit (shoo t mas t e r shoo t) whisp ere d t h e

, , , ,

H o tt en t o t t h r owing hi m s e lf on his face an example which

, ,

w e all followed .

Then I saw tha t t h e bi r ds wer e a flock of pauw (bus

t ar ds) and tha t they would pass within fifty yards of my
,

head Taking on e o f th e repeating Winch e sters I wai t ed

.
,

till t hey we r e n ea r ly ove r u s and then j umped on to my ,

f e et O n seeing me the pauw bunched up toge t h er as I

.
,

e xp e cted they would and I fired two S hots straight into

,

the thick O f the m and as luck would hav e it brought on e

, , ,

d o wn a fine fellow that weighed ab o ut twenty p o unds

, , .

In h alf an h our we h ad a fire made o f dry mel o n stalks -

,

and he was toasting o ver it an d we had su ch a feed as w e ,

had n ot had f or a week We ate that pauw— nothing .

was left of him bu t his bones and hi sbeak — and felt n o t a

little the b e t ter afte r wards .

Th at n ight we again went on with th e m o on ca rrying ,

as man y melo n s as we could with us A S we g o t higher .

up we f o und the air get co o ler and cooler which was a ,

g r eat relief to us and at dawn so fa r as we could j udge

, , ,

w e r e n o t mo r e th an about a dozen miles from th e snow

line Here w e f o un d more m e lons SO had n o longer any
. ,

anxiety ab out water f or we kn e w that we should s o on get

,

plenty O f snow But the ascent had now b ecome ve r y

.

p r ecipitous and w e made but S low p r og r ess no t m o re than

, ,

a mil e an hou r Also tha t night we ate our las t morsel of

.

biltong A S yet with t he exc e ption of th e p auw we had

. , ,

s ee n no li v ing thin g on the mountai n nor had we come ,

a c r oss a singl e S pring or s t r e am of wa te r which s t ruck us ,

as v ery odd conside r ing all the snow above u s which

, ,

m ust we th ought m el t sometimes But as w e aft erwards

, ,
.

discov ere d owi n g t o so me caus e which i t i s qui t e b eyond

, ,
 ’
‘
76 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

m y pow er t o e xplai n , all t h e s tre a m s fl ow e d dow n upo n

t h e n o rt h sid e of the moun t ains .

We now b egan to grow v er y a n xious abou t food W e .

had e scaped death by thirst but it seemed p r obable that ,

it was only to die o f hunger The even t s of the next th r ee .

m ise r able days a r e best desc r ib e d by copying the entries

m ade at the tim e in my no t e book -
.

21st May — S t ar ted 11 A M finding t he a tmo sphe re . .

,

quite cold enough t o travel by day car r ying so m e wate r ,

melons with us St r uggled on all day but saw no mo re

.
,

m elons having evidently passed o u t O f th ei r district S aw

, , , .

no game O f any sort Halted f or th e night at sundown ,

.

having had n o f o od for many hou r s Su ff ere d much du r .

ing the night fr om cold .

22d — Started at sun r ise again , fe e ling ve r y faint an d

.

weak O nly made five miles all day ; found some pa t ches
.

of s n ow of which we ate but nothing else C amped at

, ,
.

night unde r the edge O f a great pla te au Cold bitte r . .

Drank a little b r andy each and huddled ourselves t o geth e r

, ,

each wrapp ed up in ou r blanket to keep ourselve salive .

A r e now su ffe r ing frightf ully f rom star vati o n and weari
ness Thought that V e ntv Ogel would have died du r ing
.

t he night .

2 3 d — Str uggled f o rwa r d once m o r e as soon as the su n

.

was well up and had thawed o u r limbs a little We are

, .

n o w i n a dreadful plight and I fea r th at unless we get ,

f o od this will be o u r last day s j ou r ney But little brandy ’

.

left Good Sir Henry and Umbopa bear up w o nderfully

.
, , ,

but Ven tv Ogel is in a very bad way L ike mos t Hotten .

tots he canno t stand cold Pangs of hunge r no t so bad

, .
,

but hav e a so rt of numb feeling abou t th e s t omach O th .

e rs s a
y t h e sa m e We a r e n ow.o n a l e v e l wi t h t h e p re
 ’
78 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

If
w e do n t fi n d i t b e fo re da rk we ar e d e ad m e n t h at
’
,

”
is all abou t it was my consolatory r eply
,
.

For th e n e x t te n minutes we tr udged o n in S il e nc e ,

when sudd en ly Umbopa who was marching along beside ,

m e , wr appe d up in his blanket and with a leather belt

‘

st r apped SO tight round his stomach to make his hung er ,

” ’
small as he said that his waist looked like a girl s caught
, , ,

me by t he arm .

”
“
L ook ! he said poin t ing towar ds the sp r inging S l o pe
,

o f t he nippl e .

I followe d his glanc e and perceived some tw o hundred , ,

yar ds fr om us what appea r ed t o be a hole in the snow

,
.

”
“
I t is the cave said Umbopa ,
.

We made the bes t of o u r way t o t he S pot and f o und , ,

su r e enough that t he h o le was th e m o uth o f a cave n o

, ,

doub t t he sam e a s t ha t o f which Da Silvestra wr o te We .

were n on e too soon fo r j ust as we reached shelter the ,

su n went dow n with sta r tling rapid i ty leaving th e whole ,

place n e arly dark I n these latitudes the r e is but little

.

twilight We c r ept into the cave which did n o t appea r

.
,

to b e v er y big and huddling ourselves together f or

, ,

wa rm th swallowed what remained of o u r brandy — barely

,

a m outhful each — and tried to forget o u r miseries in sleep .

But t his th e cold was too intense to allow us to do I am .

convinc e d that at that great al titude th e th erm o meter

ca nn ot have b e en less tha n fou r teen o r fifteen degrees b e
low f re ezing point What this meant t o us enervated as
-
.
,

w e we r e by ha r dship want of food and the g reat heat O f, ,

th e d e s ert my r eade r can imagi n e b e t ter than I can de

,

sc ribe S u ffi c e it t o say that i t was something as n ea r

.

d ea th fr o m e xposu r e as I have eve r felt The r e we sat .

hou r af ter hou r t h r ough t h e bi tter nigh t , feeli n g the fros t

 K I N G S OLOMO N S ’
M IN E S . 79

Wa n d er r ou n d an d n ip u s now i n the fin g er n ow i n the ,

foo t an d n o w in t h e face
, In vai n did we huddl eu p clos er
.

an d clos er ; t h ere was n o war m t h i n ou r m is era bl e s tar v e d

,

ca r casses S ome t imes on e of u s wo u ld d r op i nt o an u n

.

easy S lu m ber f or a f e w m inu te s but w e could n o t sle e p

,

long and perhap s it w asfo r tunat e fo r I doub t if we sh ould

, ,

eve r have woke again I b e lieve it was only by fo r c e of

.

will t ha t we kep t ou r s e lves alive a t a ll .

N ot v er y long b efo r e dawn I h e a r d th e Ho ttent o t Ve n t

v ogel whose t e eth had b ee n chatte r ing all nigh t lik e e as
,

t an e tS giv e a deep S igh and t h en his tee th stopp e d chat

, ,

t e r ing I did n o t think any t hin g o f i t a t t h e time c on

.
,

cluding that he had go n e t o sle e p His back was res t ing .

again st min e and it seem e d t o grow cold er a n d cold er till

, ,

at las t i t was like ice .

At l ength the ai r b e gan t o g r ow g r ay wi th ligh t then ,

swi ft golden a r rows cam e fl ashing ac r oss the sn ow and at ,

last th e glorious sun p e ep ed u p ab ove the lava wall and

look ed in u pon ou r half frozen forms and upon V e n tv Ogel
-

S itting there a m o n g us ston e dead N O wonder his bac k .

had felt cold p o o r fellow He had died wh en I heard

, .

him sigh and was now almost froz e n s t i ff Sh ocked b e

,
.
!

yon d measure we dr agg e d ou r selve s f r om th e co rpse

,

( strange th e hor r or w e all hav e of th e companionship of a

dead body ) and left i t s t ill S i tt in g th er e with i t s a rm s

, ,

clasp e d r ound i t s knees .

B y this time the s u nlight was p ouri ng its cold r ays (fo r
h e r e they we r e cold) straight in at th e m outh o f the cave .

S u ddenly I hea r d an exclama t ion o f fea r fr om some o n e,

and tu rn ed my head down th e cav e .

And this was what I saw Si t ting at t h e e nd Of i t fo r

.
,

it was n ot m o re t ha n t w e nty f eet lo n g was an o t h er fo rm, ,

80 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
’
.

of which th e h ea d r es te d o n t he ch e s t and t h e lo n g a rm s
hung down I stared at it an d saw that it t oo was a
.
,

dea d m a n and wha t was mo r e a white man

, ,
.

Th e oth er s saw it too and the Sight p r oved t oo m uch

, ,

f or ou r sha tter ed ne r ves O n e and all we sc r a mbled ou t

.

o f the cave a s fas t as ou r half fr o z e n li mb s would a llow

~
.
 CHAPT E R VII .

SOLOMON S ROAD ’
.

O U TSI D E t h e cav e we halted feeling ra t her foolish , .

”
I am going back said Sir Henry, .

”
Why ? asked Good .

Becau s e it has s tr uck m e tha t— what we saw— may be

”
my b r othe r .

This was a ne w id ea and we r é en t ered th e cave t o p ut

,
-

i t t o the p r oof Afte r t he brigh t light outside ou r eyes

.
,

weak as t hey w er e with staring at the snow could no t for ,

a while pie r ce the gl o om of the cave Pres e ntly ho we v e r .

, ,

we g re w accustomed to the semi darkn e ss and adva n c e d -

o n to the dead f or m .

Sir Henry knelt down and pe er ed in t o its fac e .

”
Thank G o d h e said with a sigh of re lief i t is n o t
, , ,
“

my b r othe r .

Th en I w e n t and look e d The co rps e was that of a t all

.

m a n i n m iddle life with aquilin e featu re s g r izzl e d hai r

, , ,

and a lo n g black mustach e Th e skin was p er fectly yel .

low a n d st r e t ch e d tightly ov er th e bo n es Its cl o thing

,
.
,

wi t h th e e xcep t ion o f what seem e d to b e the r emains of a

p a i r of woolle n hose had been r emove d leaving the sk ele
, ,

t o n lik e f r am e naked Round th e n eck hung a yello w

-
.

ivory c r ucifix The c orps e was froz e n p er f e c t ly s t i ff

. .

”
Who on e a rt h can i t be ? said I .

”
C an t you gu e ss ? a sk e d Good
’
.

I S hook m y h ea d .

6
82 K IN G S OL OMO N S M I N E S ’
.

Why th e O ld do n J osé da Silves tr a o f cou r s e — who

, , ,

”
els e ?
”
“
Impossible ,
I g a sped ,
“
h e died t h re e hu n d r ed years
3)

And what is there t o prevent his lasting for th r ee

thou sand yea r s in this atmosphere I sh o uld like t o know
asked Good If only the air is c o ld enough flesh and
.
“

blood will k e ep as f r esh as N ew Z ealand mutton f o reve r ,

a n d H e aven knows it is cold enough he re Th e sun neve r .

g e ts in he r e ; n o animal c o mes here to tear o r destroy .

N o doubt his slave of whom he speaks on the m ap t o ok , ,

O ff his clo t hes an d le f t him He could n o t have burie d .

”
hi m alo ne L ook he r e he went o n sto o ping down and
.
, ,

picki n g up a quee r S hap ed bone s c r aped at the end into a

-

S ha rp p oint he r e is th e cleft bone that he used to dra w

,
-

”
the m ap with .

W e gazed as t onish e d for a momen t forgetting ou r own ,

m is er ies i n th e extrao r din ar y and as it seemed to us , ,

s em i m i r aculous sight
-
.

”
“
Ay said Sir Henry and here is whe r e h e got his
, ,

ink fro m a n d he p ointed to a small wound o n th e dead

”
,
’
man s left a rm Did eve r m an se e such a thing b e
fo r e
The r e was n o long er any doub t about th e mat t er which ,

I confess f or my own pa rt perfectly appalled me There h e

, , .

sat the dead man whos e di r ecti o ns written some ten gen
, , ,

e r ati on s ago had led us to this S pot

, There I n my own .

hand was th e r ude pen with which he had written them ,

and there r ound his n e ck was the crucifix his dying lip s
had kiss e d Gazing at him my imagination could r e co n
.

s t ruct th e whol e sc en e : th e traveller dying o f cold and

star va t ion a n d y et s tr i vi n g t o co n v e y t h e g re a t s e c re t h e
,
 K IN G S OL OMO N S M I N E S ’
. 83

h a d discov ere d t o t h e wo r ld ; t h e awful lo ne li ne ss of his

dea th of whi ch t he e vid en ce sat b e fo r e u s I t e v en
, .

se e m e d t o me t ha t I cou ld t r ac e in his s tr o n gly m a r ked -

f eat u re s a lik en e ss t o those Of my poo r fri en d Silv e s tr e hi s ,

d e scendant who had died twen t y y e a r s ago in my arm s

, ,

b u t p e rhap s th at was fancy A t a n y r ate t h e re h e sa t a

.
, ,

s a d m e m e nt o of t he fat e tha t so of ten ov erta k e s t hos e who

would p e n e t r a t e into t he unk n ow n ; and the re p r obably h e
will s t ill si t c r ow n ed with t h e dr e ad maj e sty of d e ath fo r
, ,

c ent u r i e s y et unbo r n to sta rtl e the e y e s of wand erer s like

,

ou r s e lv e s if any such S hould ev er com e agai n t o invad e

,

his lo ne liness The thin g ov erp ow er ed u s al re ady ne ar ly

.
,

done to death as we we r e with cold a n d hu n g er .

“
L e t u s go said Si r H e n r y in a low v oic e
”
, , s t ay w e ,
”
will give him a companion and lifting up t h e d e ad body
, ,

O f th e Hotten t ot Ventv Ogel h e placed it n e a r tha t of the

,

o ld don . Th e n h e s t ooped down and with a j er k b r ok e

t h e r o t ten s tr ing of th e c r ucifix r ound his n e ck for his ,

fi n ge r s we r e t o o cold t o at te mpt t o unfas te n i t I b e li e v e .

th at he still has i t I took th e pe n and i t is b e fo re me

.
,

a s I wri te — som et im e s I S ign my nam e with it .

Then leaving t hose t wo th e p r oud whi te m a n of a pas t

, ,

a ge and th e p o o r Hotten tot to ke e p th e i r e tern al vigil i n

,

th e m idst o f the etern al s n ows we c re pt ou t of the cave ,

in t o th e welco m e su n shine an d r e sum e d ou r path wond er ,

i n g in o u r hea r ts h ow m any hou r s i t would b e b e fo re w e

w ere e v en as th e y a re .

Wh en we had gone abou t half a m il e w e c ame t o th e

edge of t he pla te a u f or th e nippl e O f th e m ou nta in did
,

n ot r is e o u t of its e xac t c e nt r e though f r o m t h e d e se rt

,

s ide i t s eeme d t o do so Wha t. lay below u s w e could

not s ee fo r the la n dscap e was w reat h e d i n billow s Of
,
84 K I N G S OLO MO N S M I N E S ’
.

m o rn ing m is t P re s e ntly however the high e r laye r s o f

.
, ,

mis t cl e ar e d a lit tle and r evealed some five hund re d ya r ds

, ,

beneath us at t he e nd o f a lon g S lope o f snow a patch of

, ,

g r een g r ass th r ough which a st r eam was r unning N or

,
.

was this all By the stream basking in th e morning sun

.
, ,

s t ood and lay a group o f from ten to fift e en large an telop es

— at that distance we could not se e what t hey w ere .

The sight filled us with an unre a so n ing j oy Th ere .

was food in plenty if only we c o uld get it But th e qu e s .

tion was how to get it The beasts we r e fully si x hund re d

.

yards off a very long shot and o n e n o t t o be d e p en ded on

, ,

when one s life hung on th e r esults

’
.

Rapidly we discussed the advisability of trying to s t alk

t he game but finally reluctantly dismissed it To b egin
, .

with t he wind was not favorable and fu r ther w e should

, , ,

b e ce r tain t o be p erceived h o weve r ca r eful we were , ,

against the blinding background of snow which w e Should

be o bliged to trave r se .

“
Well w e mus t have a try fro m whe r e we a re said
, ,

Si r Henr y Which S hall it be Quatermain the rep e a t

.
, ,
”
ing rifles or the expresses ?
He r e again was a question Th e Winches t e r r ep e a t e r s .

—of which we had two Umb o p a ca r rying p oo r V e n tv o

,
’
—
gel s as well as his o wn we r e S ighted u p to a thousand
yards wh er eas the expresses w ere o nly S ighted t o three
,

hundred an d fif ty beyond which distance sho o ting with

,

them was more or less guess work O n the other hand -

.
,

if they did hit the express bullets being expan ding we r e

, , ,

much mo r e likely to b r ing the gam e down It was a .

knot t y poi n t but I made up my m ind that we m us t r isk

,

i t a n d u se the exp r esses .

“
L et ea ch of u s t ak e t h e buck opposi t e t o hi m Ai m .
 ’
86 K IN G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

th e re sul t s Of ov er feeding on s t ar ving stomachs , w e w ere

-

ca r eful no t t o e a t too much st o pping while we were still

,

hungry .

“
Thank God said Sir Henry ; that brute has saved
ou r lives What i s it Quate rmain
.
,

I rose and went to l oo k at the antel o pe f o r I was n ot ,

ce r tain It was ab o ut the S ize of a d o nk e y with la rge

. , ,

cu r ved horns I had never seen o ne like it be f o re the

. ,

S pecies was n e w t o m e It was br o wn w ith f aint red

. ,

stripe s and a thick c o at I a f terwards disc o vered that

.

the natives of that wonderful c o untry called the S pecie s

”
“
In oo It was very rare and o nly f o und at a great alti
.
,

t ude where n o o t he r game w o uld live The animal was

,
.

fairly sh o t high up in the sh o ulder th o ugh whose bullet ,

i t was that brought it d o wn we c o uld n o t of c o urse dis , ,

co ver I believe that Go o d m indful O f his marvell o us

.
,

shot a t t he giraffe secretly set it d o wn t o his O wn prowess

, ,

and we did n ot c o n t radict him .

We had b e en s o busy satisfy i ng ou r starving stomach s

that we had hithert o n o t f o und time t o l oo k ab o ut us .

B ut now having set Umb o pa to cut o ff as much o f the

,

best meat as we wer e likely to b e able to ca r ry w e began ,

to inspect o u r surr o undings The mist had n o w c leared .

away f or it was eight O cl o ck and the su n had sucke d it

,
’
,

up so we w e re able t o take in all the c o untry b e f o re us at

,

a glance I kn o w n o t h o w t o describe the gl o ri o u s pan o

.

r ama which unf o lded itself t o o u r enraptured gaze I .

hav e ne v er seen any thing like it bef o r e nor S hall I su p , ,

pose agai n
, .

B ehind and ov er u s tow ere d Sheba s snowy b r easts and ’

,

below some five th o usand feet beneath where we st oo d

, ,

lay l ea gu e on league Of t h e m ost l o vely ch ampaig n cou n

 K I N G S O L OMON S M I N E S
’
. 87

tr y . H er e we re den se p at ch e s of lof t y fo r est, t h er e a

g re a t rive r woun d its silv e ry way To t h e l e ft s tret ch e d .

a vas t ex p anse o f rich undulating v e ldt or g r ass l an d, on

,

which we could j ust make o u t coun t less h er ds of ga me o r

ca t tl e , at th at distance we could n o t tell which Thi s e x .

p ans e appea r ed to b e r ing e d in by a wall of dist a n t m ou n

t ains To t he r ight th e country was m ore or l e ss m oun
.

tai n ou s that is soli t ary hills s t oo d up f r o m its level with

, , ,

st ret ches of cultivat e d lands b e tween among which w e ,

could distinctly see group s o f dome shaped huts Th e .

landscap e lay b efo r e u s like a map in which r iv er s flash e d ,

lik e silver snakes and Alplik e p e aks c r own e d with wildly

,

t wis te d sno w wr e aths r ose in solemn g r and e ur, whil e ov er

-

all was t h e glad sunlight a n d the wid e b r e at h of N a t u re s ’

happy life .

Two cu r ious thi n gs s tr uck u s as w e gaz e d F irs t t h at .

,

t h e count r y befo r e u s mus t li e at l e as t fiv e t housand f e e t

highe r than the de sert w e had c r ossed and s e co n dly t ha t , , ,

all th e riv er s flowed f r o m south t o north A S we had pain .

ful r eason to kn ow th e re was no wat er at all o n t h e south

,

ern S ide o f th e vast r ang e on which we s t ood bu t on th e ,

no r th ern S ide we r e many st re ams m os t of which appear ed ,

to unite with the g re at r ive r we could tr ace wi n ding aw a y

fa rt h er t h a n we could follow i t .

We sat down fo r a whil e an d gaz e d in S ilen ce at t his

w o nde r ful view P re se n tly Si r H e n r y spok e
. .

“
Isn t th ere som e thin g o n t h e m ap ab ou t So lo m o n s
’ ’

”
G re at Road ? h e said .

I n odded my eye s s t ill looking ou t ov er th e fa r cou ntr y

,
.

”
Well look t h ere i t is ! a nd h e poi nte d a li tt l e t o ou r
,

r igh t .

Good an d I look e d a cco r di n gly, an d t h ere wi n di n g a way ,

 ’
88 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

t ow ar ds t h e pl a i n was wha t a pp e are d t o be a wide tu r n

,

pike r oad We h a d no t s ee n i t at fi r st becaus e it on r each

.
,

ing the plain turn ed b ehin d som e b r oken coun tr y We

, .

did not say anythi n g at least no t much we we r e b e gin

,

n i ng to los e the se n se o f wonder Somehow it did n ot .

se e m pa rt icularly un natu r al that we should find a so rt o f

Ro m an r oad in t his s tr an g e land We accep t ed the fact .
,

t hat w a s all .

”
Well said Good it m us t b e quite ne a r us if we cu t
,
“
,

”
o ff to th e right Hadn t we bette r be making a start ?
.
’

This was sound advice and so soon as we had wash e d

,

o u r faces and hands in th e st re am we acted on it For .

a m ile o r S O we made our way ove r boulde r s an d“ ac r oss

pat ches of snow till suddenly on reaching the top of the
, ,

little r is e there lay the ro ad at ou r feet It was a splendid

, .

r oad cut o u t o f the solid rock at least fifty f eet wide and
, ,

appar ently well kept bu t the o dd thi n g ab out it was t hat

it seemed to begin there We walk e d d o wn and stood o n
.

it but o n e S ingle hundred paces behind u s I n t he direction

, ,
’
of Sheba s b re asts it vanished the whole su r f ace o f the
, ,

m oun tain being s tr ew e d with boulders int er spersed with

patches of sn o w .

“
What do you m ak e of tha t Quat e rmai n asked Si r
,

H en ry .

I sh oo k my head I could m ake nothing o f i t

, .

”
I have it 1 said Good ; th e r oad n o doubt ran right
“

ov er the r ange and ac r oss the desert the o ther S ide but ,

t he sand o f the desert has c o vered it up and ab ove u s i t ,

has been obliterated by some vo lcanic e r up t ion O f molte n

”
lava .

This se eme d a good suggesti o n a t a n y rat e we accep t ed ,

i t a n d p r oc ee ded dow n th e m ou nt ai n I t was a ve r y dif

, .
 ’
90 K I N G S OL OM ON S M I N E S .

isn t E gyp t ia n handiwo rk all I have to say is i t is v er y

’
,
”
like it .

By midday we had advanced su fficien t ly fa r dow n t h e

m ountain to re ach t h e r egion where wo o d was to b e met
with . Fir st we came to scatte r ed bushes which grew more
and mo r e frequent till a t last we f o und the r o ad winding
,

through a vast grove of S ilve r trees similar t o th o se which -

ar e to be seen o n the S l o pes o f Table M ountain at Cape

T o wn I had never befo r e m et with them in all my wan
.

der i ngs excep t at the Cape and thei r app e arance he r e as

, ,

t oni she d me g r eatly .

“
Ah said G o od surv e ying th e se Sh ining l e av e d tr ees
,
-

with evid e nt e nthusiasm here is l o ts o f wood let us s to p

,
“
,

and c oo k so me dinne r ; I h av e abou t diges t ed that r aw

”
meat .

No body obj ected to t his so leaving the r o ad we ma de

, , ,

ou r way to a stream which was babbling away not far o ff ,

and s o on had a go o dly fire of dr y b o ughs blazing C utting .

o ff s o me substantial hunks from the flesh o f the in oo which

we had b r ought with us we p r oceeded to toast them o n

,

the ends o f Sha rp sticks as o n e sees the K affi r sdo and ate
, ,

them with relish Afte r filling ourselves we lit o u r pipes

.
,

and gave ourselves up to enj o yment which compared t o , ,

the hardship s we had rec e ntly undergo ne seemed alm o st ,

heavenly .

The brook of which the banks w e re clothed with dense

,

masses of a gigantic S pecies o f maidenhair fern interspersed

w ith feathery tufts o f wild asparag u s babbled away mer ,

rily at ou r S ide the soft air murmured through the leaves

,

o f the S ilver trees doves c o oed aro u nd and bright winged

-
, ,
-

bi rds flashed like living gems fro m bough to bough I t .

wasl i k e P ara dis e .

 ’
K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S . 91

T h e ma gic o f t he place co m bined with the ov er whelm

,

i n g se n s e of dange r s left b ehind and of the promis e d land

r eached at last seemed to char m u sin t o S ilence Sir Henry
, .

and Umbopa sat conversing in a mix t ure of b ro ken E ng

lish and K itchen Zulu in a l o w voice but e a rn e stly en o ugh , ,

and I lay with my eyes h alf shut up on that fragrant bed

, ,

o f fern and watch ed them Presen t ly I missed G oo d and

.
,

l o oked to see what had become o f him A S I did so I ob .

serve d him sitting by the bank of th e s tr eam in which h e ,

had b e en bathing He had n othing on but his fl annel

.

sh irt and his n atu r al h abits of ext r eme neatness having

, ,

reasserted t hemselv e s was activ el y empl o yed in making a

,

most elab o r ate toilet He had w ashed his gutta p ercha

.
-

c o llar th o r oughly shaken o u t his t r ouse r s coat and waist

, , ,

c o a t an d was now folding them up neatly till he was

,

ready to put t hem on Shaki n g his head sadly as he di d SO

,

o ver the numer o us r ents and tears in them which had nat
u r all resulted from ou r frightful j o urney Then he t oo k
y .

his boo t s sc r ubbed them with a handful of fern and finally

, ,

rubbed them over with a piece o f fat which he had care

fully saved from the i n c o m eat till th ey l o oked compara , ,

ti v e ly S peaking r espectabl e,
Having inspected them j u
.

di c i o u sly through his eyeglass he put th eyn on and bega n ,

a fresh O p erati o n From a little bag he car ried he pr o

.

du c e d a pocket co m b in which was fixed a t iny lo o king

-

glass and in t his surveyed himself Appa r ently he was

,
.

n ot s atisfied fo r h e p r oceeded t o do his hair with grea t

,

car e Then came a pause while h e again contemplated

.

th e e ff e ct still it was n ot satisfacto r y He felt his chin .

,

o n which was n o w the accumulated scrub o f a ten days

’

”
bea r d . Surely th ought I h e i s no t going to try an d
, ,
“

shav e . B u t SO it was Takin g t he piec e of fa t w i th

.
 ’
92 K IN G S OL OMO N S M I N E S .

w hich h e had g re as ed his boots he washed i t c are fu l ly in ,

t he st r ea m Th en diving again into the bag he brough t

. ,

o u t a little pock et r azo r with a gua r d to it such as a r e ,

sold t o p eople afr aid of cu t ting themselv e s or to thos e ,

about to u nd ert ake a se a voyage Then h e vigorously .

sc r ubbed his face an d chin with the fat and b egan B u t .

it was evid ent ly a p ainful process for he g r oaned very ,

m uch ove r it an d I was convulsed with inward laughter

,

as I watched him struggling with that s t ubbly b e a r d I t .

s e eme d so very O dd th at a man S hould t ake the trouble to

Shave himself with a piec e o f fat in such a place and under
such ci r cu m s t ances At last he succeeded in get t ing the
.

worst of th e sc r ub o ff the right S ide o f his face and chin ,

when sudd e nly I wh o was watch ing became awa r e of a

, ,

flash o f light that pas s ed j ust by his head .

G oo d S p r an g up with a profane exclamation (if it had

n o t been a safety r azo r he would ce r tainly have cu t his

th r oat) and so did I wi t hout the exclamati o n and this

, , ,

was what I saw Standing there n o t more than twenty

.
,

paces from where I was and ten from Go o d was a group, ,

o f men . They were very tall and c o ppe r c o lored and -

,

some o f t hem wore great plumes o f black feat hers and

S ho r t cl o aks of leopard skins this was all I noticed at the
moment In fr o nt o f them stoo d a youth o f about se v en
.

te e n his hand stil l raised and his body ben t fo r ward i n

,

th e attitud e o f a Grecian statue o f a spear th r o wer E vi -

.

de ntly th e flash o f li gh t had be e n a weapon an d h e had ,

th r own it .

As I looked an O ld soldie r like looking man stepp ed

,
-

fo r w ar d ou t of the group and catching the youth by th e

,

a r m said som et hing to him Then they advanced upon us .

.

S i r Hen r y Good and U mbop a had by t his ti m e seiz e d

, ,
 ’
94 K I N G S OLOM O N S M I N E S .

I was S ligh t ly s t agg er ed at this m or e esp ecially as I saw ,

t he han ds of some of the p art y o f men steal d o wn t o th e ir

S id e s where hung on each what lo o ked to m e lik e a la rge
,

a n d heavy knife .

”
What does that beggar say ? asked G o od .

”
He says we a r e going to be scragged I an swer ed , ,

grim ly .

O h L ord groan e d Good ; and as was his way when

,
”
, ,

p e r pl e xed put hi s hand to his false teeth dragging the top

, ,

se t down and allowing them to fly back to his j aw with a

snap It was a m o st fortunate move for next sec o n d the
.
,

dig n ified crowd o f K u ku an as gave a si m ul t aneous yell Of

hor ror and bolted back s ome yards
, .

’ ”
“
What s up ? said I .

”
It s his te e th whispered Si r Henry excitedly
’
, , .

mov e d t h em Take them o u t Go o d take them o u t

.
, ,

H e obeyed slipping th e set into the S leeve of his flannel

,

S hi r t.

I n anoth e r s e cond curiosity had ov er come f e a r and th e ,

me n advanced S lowly Apparently they had now fo rgot

.

t e n t heir amiable intenti o ns of d o ing f o r us .

”
How is it O st r angers asked the Old man s o lemnly
, , , ,
”
“
that th e teeth of the man (p o inting t o G oo d wh o had ,

nothing on but a flannel shirt and had only half finished ,

his Shaving) whose b o dy is clothed and wh o se legs are

“
,

ba r e who gr ows hair on o ne S ide of his sickly face and no t

,

on th e othe r and who has one shining and t r anspar e nt eye

, ,

m ove of themselves c o ming aw ay f r o m the j aws and r e

,

t u r ning Of their own will

O pen y o ur m o u t h I said t o Good who promp t ly
”
, ,

cu rled up hi s lips and g r inned at the old g e ntleman like an

an g r y dog re v e alin g to thei r as t onish e d gaze two thin r ed
,
 ’
K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S . 95

lin e s Of gum as utte r ly in n o c e nt o f iv o r i e s as a new bo r n -

elephant H S au dience gasped

. .

“ ”
Where a r e his teeth ? they shou t ed ; with ou r eyes
”
w e saw them .

Tu rn ing his head Sl o wly an d with a ges t ure o f ine ffabl e

contempt Good swept his hand across his mouth Th en
, .

he grinn ed again and lo ! t he r e were t wo r ows of lovely

,

teeth .

The y o ung man who had fl u ng t h e knife t h r ew himself

down on the grass and gav e vent t o a p r ol o nged howl o f
terro r ; and as for the O l d g e ntleman his knees knock e d t o ,

gether with fea r .

”
“
I se e that ye a r e S pi r its he said falt eri n gly ; did , ,
“

ever man b o rn of woman have hai r on on e S ide o f his face

and n ot on the other or a r ound and t r anspa re nt eye o r
, ,

teeth which moved and melt e d away a n d g re w agai n ?

Pard o n u s 0 my l o rds , .

Here was l u ck indeed and ne e dles s t o say I j u m p e d a t

, , ,

the chance .

”
“
It is gran t ed I said with an imp e rial smil e
, ,
N ay .
,

ye shall know the t r uth We come fr o m another wo r ld .

,
”
th o ugh we are men such as ye ; we come I went o n , ,
”
fr o m the biggest star that shines at n ight .

O h !o h groaned the ch orus of astonished aborigi n es .

Yes I went on we do indeed ; and I again smile d

”
,
”
, ,

b enignly as I utt er ed that amazing lie We come to .

stay with you a little while and bless y o u by o u r s o j o urn ,

.

Ye will see 0 friends that I have prepa r ed m yself b y

, ,
”
l ea r ning y o u r language .

“
It is so it is so said the ch orus
,
.

O nly m y lo r d put in the o ld gen t l e man t h o u ha st

, ,
“
,

”
l ear n e d i t ve ry badly .
 ’
96 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S .

I cast an i n dign a n t glanc e at him and he quailed .

”
N o w friends I continued
,
ye might t hink t ha t af ter
, ,

S O long a j ou r n e y w e should find it in ou r h e a r ts to av en g e

such a rec e ption mayhap to strike cold in de ath th e i m

,

pious hand that— that in S ho r t— th re w a kn i f e at t h e h ea d

,
”
o f him whose t e eth com e and g o .

”
Spare him my l or ds said th e O ld m a n in supplica
, , ,

ti o n ; he is the king s son and I a m his uncle If any

“ ’
,
.

”
t hing befalls him his blood will b e requi r ed at my hands .

”
“
Yes that is certainly s o put i n th e young man wi t h
, ,

g r eat emph asis .

”
Y o u may perhaps doubt ou r p o wer t o av e ng e I w e nt ,

on heedless of this b y play

,
Stay I will S how you
-
.
, .

Here you dog and S lave (add re ssing Umbopa in a savage

,

tone) give m e the magic tub e that S peaks ; and I tipp e d

,
”

a wink to wards my exp r ess rifle .

Umb o p a r o se t o th e occasi o n and with so met hing as ,

near ly re sembling a grin as I have ever seen o n his digui

fi e d face handed m e the rifle
, .

It is here O lo r d of lo r ds h e said with a d ee p

, , ,

O beisance .

No w j ust b efore I asked fo r the rifle I had p er ceived a

,

little kl i pspringer an t elope standing on a mass O f r ock

abou t sev e nty yards away and d e t ermi ne d to r isk a S hot ,

at it .

”
“
Ye see that buck I said poi nt ing the animal o u t to
, ,

the p arty befo r e me Tell me is it possible f or m an

.
, ,

born o f w o man t o kill it fr o fn he r e with a noise ?

,
”

”
It is n ot p o ssible my l o rd answered the old m an
, , .

”
Ye t shall I kill it I said qui e tly , , .

”
T h e old m an s m il e d “
Tha t my lo r d ca nn o t do h e
.
,

s a id .
98 K I N G S OL OMO N S M I N E S ’
.

There was a most general and has t y exp r essio n of di s

sent .

“
L et n ot g oo d magic b e wasted on o u r p o o r b o dies ,

said o n e we are satisfied All the w itch craft o f o u r

,
“
.

pe o ple cannot S h o w the like of this .

”
“
It is so remarked the old_ge ntle m an in a t o ne o f
, ,

intense relief ; with o ut any doubt it is S O L isten chil .

,

d ren o f the stars children o f the S hini n g eye and th e mo v

,

able teeth wh o roar o u t in thunder and S lay fr o m afar

, .

I am I n fadoos son of K afa once king of the K u ku an a

, ,

”
p e o ple This youth is Scragga
. .

He n early scragged me murmured Good ,

.

Sc ra gga son of Twala the great king— Twala hus

, , ,

band of a th o usand wives chie f and l o rd param o unt O f ,

the K u k u an as keep er of the great r o ad terror o f his en e

, ,

mies student of th e Black Arts leader o f an hund r ed th o u

, ,

sand warr iors ; T wala the O n e eyed t he Black th e Terri -

, ,

ble .

”
“
So said I supercili o usly lead us then to Twala
, , ,
“
.

We do not talk with lo w p e o ple and underlings ”

.

“
It is well my l o rds we will lead y o u b u t the way is
, , ,

long We are h unting three days j o urney from the place

.
’

o f th e king But let my lords have patience and we will

.
,

lead th em .

”
“
I t is w e ll I said ca r el e ssly all tim e is b efore us
, , ,
“
,

f or we do n o t die We are re ady ; lead o n But I n fado os

. .
,

and th o u Scragga b ewa r e

, Play us n o tricks make f or
, ,

us no snares fo r befor e your brains of mud have thought

,

of them we Shall know them and avenge them The light .

from the transparen t ey e O f him with th e ba re l egs an d

t h e half haired face (Good) shall d e s t r o y you an d go
-

t h r ough you r l an d ; his va n ishin g teet h shall fix t he m

 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
. 99

s e lves fas t in you and ea t yo u up yo u and you r wives an d ,

children ; the magic tub es shall talk with y o u l o udly and ,

m ake yo u as sieves Bewa r e .

This magnificent addre ss did n ot fail of its e ff ect ; i n

deed i t was ha r dly needed so de e ply w e r e o u r friends al
, ,

r eady imp r ess e d with o u r powe r s .

Th e o ld man made a deep obeisance and mu r mured t he ,

”
word K oom K oom which I afte r wards discovered was
, ,

th eir royal salu te co rr esponding to th e Ba yete of th e

,

Z ulus and turni n g addressed his followers Th e s e at

, , , .

On ce pr o ceeded to lay h o ld of all o u r goods and chattels ,

in o rder to b ear them for us ex cepting only the guns , ,

which th ey would on n o account touch They even seized .

G oo d s clothes which were as t he r eade r may reme mb er

’
, , ,

n eatly f o lded up beside him .

He at once made a div e for t h em and a loud al t e r ca ,

tion ensued .

L et n ot my l or d o f th e transpa r ent eye and the melt

ing t ee t h touch them said the old man Su r ely his
,
.
“

S laves shall ca r ry the things ”

.

”
“
But I want to pu t em o n ! r oa r ed G o od in n er v o u s ’
,

E nglish .

Umb opa t r anslat ed .

”
N ay my l o rd pu t in I nf adoo s would my l o rd cove r
, , ,

his b e autiful whit e legs (alth o ugh he was so dark Good

u
p
h ad a singula rly white skin ) from the eyes o f his s er
vants ? Have w e o ffended my lo r d that h e S houl d d o
”
such a thing ?
He r e I n ea r ly e xploded with laughing ; and me anwhile ,

o n e of the men started on with the garm e n t s .

Damn it r oare d Good t hat black villain has got ,

“

”
m y tr ou se r s .
 ’
10 0 K I N G S OL OMO N S M I N E S .

L ook he r e Go od said Si r Hen r y you hav e appe are d

, ,
”
,

in this cou n t r y in a c er tain characte r a nd you must live

‘

u p to it I t will n e ve r do f or you to put o n t r ous e rs

.

again He n c e fo r th you must liv e in a flann e l shi rt, a pai r

.

”
o f bo o ts and a n eye glass
,
-
.

”
“
Y e s I said
,
and with whiskers on o n e S id e of you r
,

face and n ot on th e o ther If yo u change any of the se .

t hings they will think that we a r e imp os tor s I am ve ry .

so rry f or you but seriously y ou must do it If once th e y

, , ,
.

b e gin to susp e ct us , ou r lives will not b e wo rth a b r ass

”
farthing .

Do you really think S O said Good gloo m ily , .

I do inde e d Y o ur beautiful white legs and you r

, .

e ye glass a r e now t he featur e o f o u r p arty

-
and as Si r , ,

H enry says you must live u p t o t hem B e thankful tha t

, .

”
o u have go t your boots o n an d that the air is wa r m
y , .

Good sighed and said no mo r e but i t took hi m a fo rt

, ,

n ight to get accu s to m ed t o his a tt i re .

10 2 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

p owe r ful and n o w ou r numb ers are like the sea sand a n d
, ,

when T wala the king calls u p his regiments their pl u m e s

cove r the plain as far as th e eye o f man can reach .

“
And i f the land is w alled in with m o untains who is ,

there f o r the r egiments t o fight with

“
N ay my l o rd the c o untry is O pen the r e and ag ain
, , ,

he p o inted towa r ds the n o rth an d n o w and again war ,

ri o rs swee p d o wn up o n u s in cl o uds fr o m a land we k n ow

n o t and we S lay them It is the third part O f the life o f
, .

a man S ince the r e was a war M any th o u sands died in it

.
,

but w e destr o yed th o se wh o cam e t o eat u s up S o S ince .

,
”
then there h as been n o war .

“
Your war ri o rs must grow weary o f resting on th ei r
”
sp ears .

“
M y lo r d there was on e war ju st after we destroyed
, ,

the people that came do wn upon us but i t was a civil wa r ,

dog eat dog .

”
How was that ?
M y lord the king my half b r other had a brother bor n
, ,
-

at the same birth and o f the same w o man It is n o t o u r .

custom my l o rd to le t twins live ; the weakest mu st al

, ,

ways die But the m o ther of the king hid away the weak
.

est child which was b o r n the last f or he r heart yearned

, ,

over it and the child i s Twala the king I am hi syounger

,
.

”
b r other bo r n of an oth e r wife .

”
“
Well ?
M y lord K afa o u r father died when we came to man
, , ,

hood and my brother Im o t a was made king in his place

, ,

and f or a S pace reigned and had a son by his favorite wi f e .

When the babe was th r ee years o ld j ust after the g r eat ,

wa r during which no man c o uld sow o r r eap a famine

, ,

e am e upon t he land and the pe ople mu r mur e d b e c a u s e o f

,
.
 ’
K I N G S OL O MO N S M I N E S . 10 3

t h e fa m i ne and l o oked r o und like a sta r v e d lio n fo r som e

,

t hi n g t o r end Then i t was that Gag o ol the wise an d t e r

.
,

r ible woman wh o d o es n ot die p r oclaimed t o t h e p e opl e

, , ,

s aying The king I m otu is no king

,
‘
And at t he time ’
.

I m otu was S ick with a wound and lay i n his hu t not abl e ,

t o move .

“
Th e n Gagool went into a b u t and led o u t Twala m y ,

half br o ther and the twin brothe r of the king whom S he

-
, ,

ha d hidden S ince he was b o rn am o ng the caves and r o cks ,

and stripping the m o ocha (waist cloth ) off his l o ins

,
’ -
,

S h o wed the pe o ple of the K u ku an as the mark o f the sacred

snake coiled r oun d his waist wherewith t h e eldest son of ,

the king is marked at birth and cried ou t loud Behold , ,

‘
,

you r king whom I have saved for yo u ev e n t o this day

,

And the people being mad with hunge r and altogether b e

,

r eft o f reas o n and the knowledge of truth cried out The , ,

ki ng! The hi ng but I knew that it was not so for Imo ,

tu my b r oth e r was the elder o f the twins and was the

, , ,

lawful king And j ust as the tu m ult was at its heigh t

.

I m o tu th e ki n g though he was very sick came cra wling

, ,

fro m his hu t holding his wife by th e hand and followed ,

by his li t tl e son I gnosi (th e ligh t ning ) .

Wha t is this nois e ? he a sk e d ; Why c ry ye The ’ ‘

ki n g! The ki ng
“
T he n Twal a his ow n b r o t he r b or n of th e same wo m an
, ,

and in the sa m e h ou r r an to hi m a nd , t aking him by the

, ,

hair stabbed hi m th r ough th e h e a rt with his knife And

,
.

the pe o ple b eing fickle an d e ve r r eady t o worship the

, ,

rising sun clapped their h ands and cried , Twala i s k i ng!

,
’
No w we kn o w that Twala s kingi l

“ A n d wha t became of his wif e a nd he r son I gn osi ?

”
Did Tw a la kill t h em too ?
 ’
104 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S .

N ay m y lo r d When She saw that he r lo r d w

, . as d e ad

S he seized the child with a cry and ran away Tw o days ,

.

afterwa r ds sh e came t o a kraal very hungry and none ,

would giv e her milk or f o od n o w that he r lord the king ,

was dead f o r all men hate the unfor tunate But at night
,
.

fall a l i ttle child, a girl c r ept out and brought her t o eat ,

and S he blessed the child and went o n t o wards the moun ,

t ain s with he r b oy bef o re the sun ros e agai n where she ,

m us t have perish e d for n o ne hav e seen her since nor t he

, ,
”
child I gn osi .

“
Then if this child I gn osi h ad liv e d h e would be the ,
”
tr ue king of the K u k u an a pe o ple ?
“
That is s o m y l or d ; th e sac r ed snake i s round his
,

middle If he lives he is the king ; but alas he i s long

.

”
dead .

”
“
S e e my l o rd and he pointed to a vast collection o f
, ,

huts surro u nded with a fence which was in i ts turn su r ,

rounded by a great ditch that lay o n the plain b eneath us , .

That is the kraal where the wife of I m otu was last seen
wi t h the child I gn osi It is there that we shall sleep t o .

”
night if indeed he added doubtfully my l o rds sleep a t
, , , , ,
”
all upon this earth .

“
Wh en we are among the K u ku an as my good frien d ,

”
I nfadoos we do as the K u k u an as d o I said maj estically
, , , ,

an d I turned round suddenly t o address Go o d who was ,

tr amping along sullenly b ehind his mind fully o ccupied ,

with unsatisfactory attempts to keep his flannel S hirt from

flapping up in the evening br ee ze and to my astonishment ,

butted into Um b opa wh o was w alking along im m ediately ,

behind m e and had ve r y evidently be e n listening with th e

,

great e st inte r est to my conversa t i o n wi th I nf ado os The .

e xp re ssio n o n his face was m ost cu r ious a n d gav e t h e ,

106 K IN G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

und e r m y co mm an d a n d co me s ou t by m y o r d er s t o g re et
,

you ? ’

I nodd e d e asily though I was not quite easy in my m ind

,
.

About half a mile from the gates o f the kraal w as a l o ng

stretch O f r ising ground Sl o ping gently upward from the
r o ad and on this the c o mpanies formed It was a sple n
,
.

did sigh t t o se e them each c o mpany ab o ut three hundred

,

str o ng charging swiftly up the S l o pe with flashing S pea r s

, ,

and waving plumes and taking thei r appointed place By

,
.

the time we came to the S lope twelve such companies or ,

in all th r ee thousand si x hundred men had passed ou t an d ,

taken up their positions along th e road .

Presently we came t o th e first company and wer e able ,

to gaze in ast o nishmen t o n the m o st magnificent set O f

men I have ever seen They were all men o f mature age
.
,

mostly veterans O f ab out f o rty and n ot one o f th em was ,

un der si x f eet in height while many were si x feet thre e

,

o r f o ur They w o re up o n their heads heavy black p lumes

.

o f S ac ab oola feathers like th o se which adorne d o ur guides

, .

R o und th eir waists and als o beneath th e right knee we r e

bound circlets O f white o x tails and in their left hands
-

were ro und shields ab o ut twenty inches ac ro ss These .

shields were ve ry curious The framew o rk c o nsisted o f

.

an iron plat e beaten o u t thin o ver which was stretch e d

,

milk white c x hi de The weap o ns that each man bore

- -
.

we r e S imple but m o st e ff ective c o nsisting o f a Short an d

, ,

v e ry heavy two e dged spear with a w o oden S haft the

-

blade bei ng about si x inches ac r oss at the widest part .

These S pears were n o t used f o r throwing but like th e , ,

”
Zulu bangwan or stabbing assegai we r e f o r close
“
, ,

quar te r s only when the w o un d inflicted by them was

,

te rr ibl e In addition to t hes e b angwan s e a ch m a n also

.
 K I N G S O LOM O N S M IN E S ’
. 10 7

ca rr i e d t h re e la rge and heavy kn iv es e a ch knife weighing ,

about t wo pound s O ne knife was fixed in the o x t ail

.
-

girdle an d th e oth er two at th e back of the r ound shield

, .

Thes e knives which are called tollas by the K u ku an as

, ,

take th e place o f th e thr o wing assegai of the Zulu s A .

K u k u an a warri or c an thr o w them with gr eat a ccu r acy at

a dis t ance of fifty yards and it i s thei r custom on charg
,

ing t o hu r l a volley o f them at th e enemy as they come to

cl o se quarte r s .

E ach c o mpany sto o d like a c o lle ction o f bronze statues

till w e were o pp o site t o it when at a signal given by its , ,

commanding O ffi cer wh o distinguished by a leopard skin

, ,
-

cl o ak stood s o me pace s in f r ont every spear was raised

, ,

int o the air and fr o m th r ee hundred thr o ats sp r ang f o rth

,

with a sud den r o ar the royal salute Of K oom “

Th en ,

when we had passed th e company f o rmed behind u s

,

an d followed u s toward s the kraal till at las t th e who l e ,

”
r egiment of th e G r ays (so calle d from their white
“

S hields ) th e c r ack c o rps of th e K u k u an a pe o ple w as

, ,

marching behind us with a tread that sho o k the gr o und .

At length branching o ff fr o m S o l o m o n s G r eat Ro ad

,
’
,

w e came t o th e w id e fo sse surrounding the kraa l which ,

w as at least a mil e ro und and fenced wit h a st ro ng pali

sade O f piles f ormed O f the trunks of trees At the gate .

way this f o sse was spanned by a p r imitive drawbridge

which was let down by the guard t o allo w u s t o pass in .

The k r aal was exce e dingly well laid ou t Thr o ugh the .

centre r an a wid e pathway intersected at right angles b y

o ther pa t h ways so arranged as t o cut t he huts into squa r e
b locks each bl o ck b eing the quarte r s o f a company
,
The .

h uts w er e do m e S hap ed and built like thos e of th e Zulus

-
, , ,

o f a f r a m ework o f wattle b e au t ifully th a t ch ed with g r ass

 ’
10 8 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S .

bu t u n lik e t h e Zulu hu t s they h ad doo r ways th r ough

, ,

which on e could walk Also they we re much large r and

.
,

su rr ounded with a ve r anda about S ix feet wide beautiful ,

ly paved with powdered lime tr o dden hard All along .

each side of the wide pathway that pierced the kraal we re

r anged hund r eds O f w o men brought o ut by cu r iosity to ,

look at us These women a r e for a native race exceed

.
, ,

i n gly handsome They are tall and graceful and their

.
,

figures a r e w o nderfully fine The hair th o ugh S hort is .

, ,

r ath er curly tha n woolly t he features are f r equently ,

aquiline and the lips are n o t unpleasantly thick as i s th e

, ,

case in m o st African races But what struck u s mos t .

was their exceeding quiet dignified air They w e re as , .

well b r ed i n their way as th e ha bi tu és o f a f ashi o nable

-

d r awi n g r oom and in this respect di ffer fr o m Zulu women

-
, ,

an d their cousins the M asai who inhabit the district b e

, ,
e

h i nd Zanzibar Their curi o sity had br o ught them o u t to

.

se e us but they allo w ed n o rude exp r ession o f wonder or

,

sav a g e c ri ticism t o pass their lips as we trudged wear i

in fr o nt of them N ot even wh en old I nf ado o s with a
'

su r reptiti o us motion of the hand p o inted out the crowning

wonder o f p o o r G o od s b eautiful white legs did they
’ “ ”
,

allow the feeling of int e nse admirati o n which evidently

m ast er ed their minds to find expression Th ey fixe d their .

dark e yes upon thei r s n owy loveliness (G o od s S kin is ex ’

c e e di n gly white ) a n d that was all B ut this was quite

, .

en o ugh f or Good who is modest by n ature

, .

When we got to the centre of the kraal I nfado os halted

at t he doo r Of a large b u t which was sur r ounded at a di s
,

tance by a ci r cle of smaller ones .

”
“
E nt e r sons of the stars h e said in a m agniloquen t
, , ,

voic e a n d d e ign t o rest awhile in o u r hu mb le h abita

“
,
110 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S ’
.

t og et h er wi t h th e re st of the par ty been o ve r awed by ou r ,

whit e appea r ance and by o u r magic pr o perties ; but it

se eme d to me that o n discovering that we ate drank an d , ,

S lep t like o ther mortals his awe was beginning to wear off
,

and be r eplaced by a sullen suspicion which made us feel ,

r athe r uncomf or table .

In the cou r se of o u r meal Sir Hen r y sugges t ed to me

t hat it might b e well t o try and discover if o ur hosts kn e w
anything of his b r oth e r s fate o r if they had eve r seen or
’
,

h e ar d of him but on the wh o le I thought that it w o uld

, ,

be wise r to say nothing of th e matter at that time .

Afte r supper we filled o u r pipes and lit th em ; a pr o

c e e di n g which filled I n f ado os and Scragga with ast o nish

ment The K u ku an as we r e evidently unacquainted with

.

the divine uses of t o bacc o smoke The h erb was gr o wn

-
.

am o ng them extensively ; but like the Zulus they o nly , ,

u sed it f or snuff and qui t e failed t o identify it in i t s new

,

form .

P r esen t ly I asked I n fadoos when we were t o p ro ce e d

o n our j o u r ney an d was delighted t o learn that prepara
,

tion s had been made fo r u S t o leave on the f o llowing

m orning m e ssengers having already left to inf o rm Twala
, ,

th e king of ou r coming It appeared that Twala was at

, .

his p r incipal place kn o wn as L o o making ready for the

, ,

g r eat annual feas t which was held in t he first week of

June At this gathe r ing all the regim e nts with the ex
.
,

c epti on o f ce r tain d e tachm e nts left behind f or garriso n

purposes wer e brough t up and paraded before the king

, ,

and the g re at ann ual witch hunt of which mo r e by and

-

by was held
, .

We we re to s t ar t at dawn ; and I n f ado os who was to ,

a cco m pany u s e xp e ct e d tha t w e S hould u n l e ss w e we re

, ,
 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I N E S
’
. 111

deta i ne d by a ccid ent o r by swoll en r iv er s rea ch L oo o n

,

t h e n ight of th e s e cond day .

Wh en th ey had give n us t his info r mati o n o u r visi t o r s

b a de u s good night a n d having arranged to watch turn
-
,

a n d t u r n ab out th r ee of us flung ourselves down and S lep t

,

t h e s w ee t S le e p of th e weary while t he fou r th sa t up on

,

the lookou t fo r po ssibl e tre ach er y .

 CHAPT E R IX .

T W A L A TH E K I N G
,
.

IT will n o t be n e c e ssar y fo r me to d e tail at l en g th th e

’
i n cid en ts of o u r j o u r ney to L oo It took two good days
.

t r av e lling along S o lomon s Great Road which pu r su ed its

’
,

e v en cou r s e r ight in t o th e heart of K u k u an alan d Su ffi ce .

i t to say tha t as we wen t th e count r y seemed t o grow r icher

a n d r iche r an d the kraals with t heir wid e sur r ounding b elts
, ,

of cultivation more and m o re numerous

,
They we r e all
.

built upon the same p r inciples as th e fi r st on e we had

re ach e d and we r e guarded by ample garrisons of t r oops
,
.

I n deed i n K u k u an alan d as among the Ge rm ans the Zulus

, , , ,

a n d the M asai eve r y able bodied man is a s o ldie r so that

,
-
,

the whole fo rc e of the n atio n i s available f or its wa r s Of ,

f e nsiv e or defensive A swe travelled al o ng we w er e o ver

.

t ak en by thousan ds o f war rio r s hurrying up to L oo to b e

p r es e nt at the g r eat annu al re view an d fes tival an d a ,

g r an d er s er ies of t r oop s I nev e r sa i

At suns et o n the
r

s e co n d day we ste ppe d to r est awhile up o n the summit of

so me h e ights over which the r oad r an and there on a , ,

b e au t iful and fe r tile plain be f o re u s was Lo o itself Fo r

,
.

a na t ive t own it was an enormous place quite five mile s ,

r ou n d I sh ould say with outlying kraals j utti n g out from

, ,

i t whic h se r v e d on grand occasi o ns as cantonm e n t s f or

,

th e re gi m ents and a cu r ious h o r seshoe shaped hill with

,
-

which we w ere des t in e d t o become be tt e r acquainted about ,

two m il e s t o t h e n o rth . It was beau t i fully situate d a nd ,

 ’
114 K I N G S OLOMON S M IN ES .

’
poi nt ed ou t the mountains The re are Solo m on s dia
.

”
m on d mine s I said ,
.

Umbopa was stan ding with them appa r en t ly plu n ged ,

in on e of the fi t s o f abst r action which were com m on t o

him and caught my w o rds
,
.

“
Yes Mac u m az ahn he put in in Zulu th e dia m on ds
,
”
, , ,
“

are su r ely the r e and you shall have them sinc e you white
, ,

”
men a r e so fond o f t oys and money .

H o w dost thou know that Umbopa I a sked sha rply , , ,

fo r I did no t like his mys t e r ious ways .

He laughed ; I dreamed it in the night whit e m en

“
, ,

and th e n he to o turned up o n his h e el and went .

”
N ow what said Sir Hen r y is ou r black fr i en d at ?
, ,

H e knows mo r e than he chooses to say that is cl e a r B y ,

.

the way Quatermain has he h e ar d anything Of — of m y

, ,

br o the r
“
N othi ng ; he has ask e d e ve r y on e h e has go t fr i en dly
with but they all declare no whit e ma n has e v er b e en s een
,
”
in the country bef o re .

”
“
D O you suppose he e v er got he re a t all ? sugges te d
Good ; we have only reached the place b y a miracle ; is
”
it likely he could have reached it at all without the m a p ?
’
“
I do n t know said Sir Hen r y gloomily bu t so me
, , ,
“

”
how I think tha t I shall find him .

Slowly th e sun sank and then suddenly da rk ne s s r ush e d

,

down on the land like a tangible t hing T he r e was n o .

breathing place b etween the day and th e night no sof t

-
,

tr ansfo r mation scen e f o r in th e se latitudes twilight do e s

,

not exist Th e change fro m day t o night is as quick an d

.

as absolu t e as the change from lif e t o death Th e sun .

sa n k and t h e wo r ld was wr e athed in shadows B u t no t .

fo r lo n g fo r s ee in the ea s t th ere is a glo w t h en a b en t

, , ,
 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
. 115

e dg e of
silve r light and at last the full how of th e c r es
,

ce nt moon p eeps ab o ve the plain and sh oo ts its gleam i n g

a rr ows far and wide filling the earth with a faint r efu l
,

gen c e as the glow o f a g o od man s deeds shines for a while

,
’

upon his littl e wo rld after his su n has set ligh t ing the ,

fain t h e a r t e d t r avelle r s wh o follow on towar ds a fu ll er

-

dawn .

W e stood and wa t ched the lovely sight while the s t a r s ,

g r ew pale befo r e this chastened maj esty and felt o u r ,

hearts lifte d up in th e p r esence of a beauty w e could no t

realiz e much less d e scrib e M in e has b e en a r ough life
, .
,

my r eade r bu t th e r e are a few things I am thankful to

,

hav e lived for an d o n e of them i s to have seen that moon

,

rise ove r K u ku an aland Presently our medita t ions w er e

.

brok e n I n upon by o u r polite friend I n fado os .

If my lo r ds a r e r eady w e will j our n ey on to Loo wh e re ,

a b u t is mad e r eady fo r my lo r ds t o night The moo n is -

.

”
now b r ight so that we shall not fall On the way
, .

We assent e d an d in an hour s time we r e at th e ou t ski rt s

,
’

o f th e town o f which the extent mapped out as it was

, ,

by thousands o f c amp fi r e s appea r ed absolutely endless

-
, .

Indeed Good who was always fond o f a bad j o ke christ

, , ,

e n e d it Unlimited L oo
“ ”
Presently we came to a m oa t
.

with a d r awb r idge where we were met by the rattling o f

,

a r ms an d the hoa r s e challenge o f a sentry I n fadoosgave .

so m e passwo r d that I could not ca t ch which was met with ,

a salute an d we pass e d on th r ough the central st r eet of

,
’
th e g re a t g r ass city Afte r nea r ly half an h ou r s tramp
.

past e ndles s lines o f huts I n fadoo s at last halted at the ,

g ate o f a lit t le g r oup o f huts which su rr ounded a small

cou rtya r d of p o w dered lim e s t one a n d infor me d u s th at ,
”
t h e s e w ere to b e ou r poo r qu arter s .
 ’
116 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES .

W e e ntere d and found that a b u t had be e n a ssign e d t o

,

e ach of us These huts were superior t o any which we

.

had y et s ee n and in each was a most co mfo rt abl e b e d

,

m ad e of t ann e d skins spread upon mattr esses o f ar o m at ic

g r ass F ood t o o was r eady for us and as soon as we had
.
, , ,

wash e d ou r selve s with water whi ch stood re ady in ea rt h e n ,

war e j ar s so m e young women of handsome appea r ance

,

b r o ught us r oas te d meat a n d m ealie cobs daintily se r ved

on wood en pla tter s and p re sented it t o us wi t h deep c hei
,

sau c e s.
We ate a n d d r ank and t hen th e beds having b y ou r r e
, ,

qu e s t been all moved into on e hut a p r ecauti o n a t which ,

t h e a m iable young ladies smiled we flung ou r s elves dow n ,

t o sleep tho ro ughly wear ied o u t with ou r long j ourney

, .

When we woke it was to find that the su n was high i n

,

t he heav e ns and that the female attendants who did not

, ,

se e m to be t r oubled by a n y fal se S hame we r e al r eady ,

standing inside the hu t having been ord er ed to a t tend an d

,
”
h elp us to make r eady“
.

”
“
M ak e r eady indeed g r owled Good ; when o n e has
, ,
“

only a flannel shi rt an d a pair of boo t s that does not take ,

long I wish you w o uld ask them f o r my trouse r s

.
”
.

I asked accor dingly but was info r med that those sacred
,

r elics had alr e ady be en t ak e n to th e king wh o would se e ,

us in the forenoon .

Havi n g s o mewha t t o t hei r astonishmen t and disapp o in t

,

m ent re quested th e young ladies to step ou t side we p r o

, ,

c ee de d t o make the best toile t that the ci r cumstances

admitt e d of Good ev e n went the length o f agai n shaving

.

t he r ight side of his face ; the left o n which now app ear ed ,

a v ery fai r c r op o f whiske r s we imp r ess e d upo n him he ,

m us t on n o accoun t t ouch As for ou r s e lve s w e w ere .

,
118 K I N G S OLOM ON S M I NE S ’
.

the habitations O f the king s wives E xactly Opp osi te the

’
.

gateway on the farthe r sid e of the O pen space was a ve r y

, ,

large hut which stood by itself in which his maj esty r e

, ,

sided All the rest was o pen gr o und ; that is to say it

.
,

w o uld have been O pen had it n o t be en filled by company

after company o f war riors wh o were mustered the r e to ,

th e number o f seven or eight th ousand These m e n stood .

still as statues as we advanced through them an d it wou ld ,

be impossible to give an idea o f the grandeur o f the spec

tacle which they presented in their waving plu me s thei r , ,

glancing spears and iron backed ox hide shields

,
- -
.

Th e S pace in fr o nt of the large b u t was empty but b e ,

f o re i t were placed several st oo ls O n three of these at a .

,

S ign f rom I n fado o s we seated o urselves Umb o p a standing

, ,

behind us AS for I nfadoo s he t o ok up a position by the

.
,

do o r o f the hu t S o we waited f o r ten minutes or mo re i n

.

the midst o f a dead silence but conscious that we wer e the

,

O bj ect of the c o ncentrated gaze of some eight thousand

pairs of eyes It was a s o mewhat t rying ordeal bu t we
.
,

carried it off as best we c o uld At length the d o o r o f the .

hut opened and a gigantic figure with a splendid tige r

, ,

skin k ar r o ssflung o ve r i ts shoulders stepp e d o u t foll o wed , ,

'

by the boy Scragga and what appe ar e d to us to b e a wi th

,

ered u p m o nkey wrapped in a fu r cl o ak The figure seated

-
.

itself up on a st o ol Scragga to o k his stand behind it and

, ,

the withered u p m o nkey crept o n all fours int o t he shad e

-

O f t he hut and squatted down .

Still there was silence .

Then the gigantic figure slipped off the kar r ossand s t ood
u
p befo r e us a truly,al arming spectacle It was that of a n .

e n o rm o u s m an with the most entirely repulsive countenanc e

w e had e v er b e h e ld The lips w ere as t hick a s a negr o s,
.
’
 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
. 119

t h e n os e was fl a t i t had bu t on e gleaming black e y e (for

,

t he o t h er was rep r es e n te d by a hollow in th e fac e) and i t s ,

whole e xp r ession was c r uel and s e nsual to a degree F r o m .

t h e lar ge head ros e a magnificent plu m e of whit e os tr ich

feath er s , th e body was clad in a shi r t o f shini n g chai n
a r mo r while r ou n d the waist and r ight knee was the usual
,

ga r nish of whi t e ox t ails I n t he righ t hand was a huge

-
.

spea r Rou n d t he neck was a t hick torque of gold and

.
,

bound on t o t h e fo re h ea d w a s a si n gle a nd e no r mous uncu t

diamo n d .

S t ill t h ere w a s sil en c e ; bu t n o t fo r long Pr e s e n t ly th e

.

fi gur e who m w e r ightly guessed t o b e t he king r aised the

, ,

g r ea t spear in his hand In stantly eigh t thousa n d spears

.

w er e r aised in answe r , and fr om eigh t thousand t h r oa t s

ra ng out t h e r oyal sal u t e of K oom Th re e t im e s this
was r ep eate d an d each t i m e t h e e ar th shook with the nois e
, ,

t ha t can only b e comp a re d to th e de e pest not e s of thunde r .

”
“
B e humble O p e ople p i p e d ou t a thin voic e which
, ,

s eem ed t o co me fr o m t h e m o n key in t h e shad e ; i t is th e “

”
ki n g .

”
“
I t i s the ki ng, boo me d ou t e igh t t h ou sa n d t h r o at s , i n
”
a n swe r B e hu m ble 0 p eop le ; i t i s the Ici ng
.
,
.

—
Th en t h ere was sil en c e ag a i n d e ad sil e n c e P r es ent ly .
,

howev er i t was b r ok en A soldi er on o u r l e ft d r opp e d

,
.

his shi e ld, which f e ll wi t h a cla tter on t h e lim e s t o ne fl oor

in g.

Tw al a t u rne d his on e cold e y e i n t h e di re c t io n of t h e

n ois e .

”
Co me h i t h er , t hou , h e said , i n a v oic e of t hu n d er .

A fine you n g m a n s te pp e d ou t of t h e ran ks , an d s t ood

b e fo r e hi m .

“
I t w a s t hy shi e ld t h at f e ll, t hou a wkw ar d dog W i l t .
120 KIN G S oL OM ON
’
s M I N ES .

thou m ak e me a re p r oach in t h e e y e s of st r a n g er s fr o m t h e
”
sta r s What h ast thou to say ?
An d t hen we saw t h e poo r fellow t u r n pal e u n de r his
dusky skin .

”
“
It was by chance 0 calf of t h e black cow h e mu r
, ,

m u r ed .

“
Then it is a chance for which thou must p ay Thou .

”
hast made me f oo lish ; prepa r e for death .

“
I a m the king s ox was the low answer
’
,
.

”
S c r agga r oared the king let m e se e how t hou can s t
, ,
“

use thy sp ea r K ill me this awkwar d dog

. .

S cragga stepped f orward with an ill favo re d grin an d -

lift e d his spear The p oor victim c o ver ed his e yes with
.

his hand an d s t ood still Asfo r us we were petrified with

.
,

ho rr o r .

O n ce twic e h e waved th e spear and th e n struck ah

,
”
, , ,

—
God ! r ight home the spear stood out a foot behind th e
soldie r s back He flung up his hands and dropped dead
’
. .

F r om th e multitude a r ound rose something like a murmu r ,

it r olled round and round and died away The tragedy , .

was finish e d ; the r e lay the c o rpse and we had n o t yet real ,

i z e d that it had be e n enacted Sir Hen r y sprang up and .

swo r e a g re at oath then ove rpowe r ed by the sense o f

, ,

silence sat down again

,
.

The th rust was a good one said th e king ; take him ,

away .

Fou r men s t epped ou t of th e ranks and lifting th e body , ,

o f the mu r dered man carried it away , .

Cove r up the bl o od stains c o ver them up pip ed o u t

-
, ,

the thin v o ice fr o m th e m o nkey like figure ; th e king s - “ ’

wo r d is spoken the king s d o om is done

,
” ’
.

T h ere upo n a gir l cam e for wa r d fr o m b e hi n d t h e hu t ,

 ’
122 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES .

th e e What have not these poi nt ing t o I nfado os an d

.
, ,

Sc r agga (who young villai n that h e was was e mployed

, ,

in cleaning the blood o f the s o ldier o fi his sp ear ) t old ,

“

thee what manner o f men we are ? Hast th o u eve r see n

”
th e like o f us ? and I p o inte d t o G o od feeling quite su r e ,

th at he had never seen anyb o dy befo r e who lo o ked i n the

least like hi m as he t hen appeared .

”
“
It is t r u e I have n o t said the king
, ,
.

Have they n o t t o ld t hee how w e s tr ike wi t h deat h

”
from a f a r ? I went o n .

“
They have told m e but I b eli e ve t hem not L et me
,
.

se e you kill K ill me a man am o ng th o se who stand y o n

.

de r — and he p o inted to t he O pp o site side of t h e k r aal

”
and I will believe .

”
“
N ay I an swered ; w e shed n o blood of man e xcep t
,

in just punishment ; but if thou wilt see bid thy se r vants ,

drive in an o x th r ough the kraal gates and b e fo re h e has ,

”
run twenty paces I will strike him dead .

”
“
N ay laughed t he king kill me a man and I will
, ,
“
,
”
b e lieve .

”
Good 0 king so be it I a nswe r ed coolly ; do t hou
, , , ,

walk across the open space and b e fo re thy feet r each t he ,

gate thou shalt be dead ; or if thou wil t n ot send thy so n , ,

”
Scragga (who m at that mo me nt it would have giv e n m e
much pleasure to sho ot ) .

O n hearing this suggestion Sc r agga gave a so rt Of h owl ,

and b o lted int o the hut .

Twala frowned maj es t ically ; the sugg e s t ion did n o t

pl e ase him .

”
“
L et a young ox be drive n in he said , .

Tw o men at o nce departed r un n ing swift ly , .

”
N o w Sir H e nry
, said I do y o u sh oo t I w ant to
, , .
 KI NG S OLOMON S M I N ES
’
. 123

show t his r u fli an t h at I a m no t t h e only ma gicia n of t h e

”
pa r ty .

Si r H e nry a cco r din gly t ook t h e ex p re ss a n d m ade “

,

re ady .

”
“
I hop e I shall mak e a good sho t he groan e d , .

”
Y o u must I answer e d If y o u miss with the fi r s t
, .

ba rr el let him have th e second Sight f or on e hundr ed

, .

and fifty ya r ds an d wait till th e b eas t t u r ns b r oadside

,

on.

Then ca me a pause till presently we caugh t sight of an ,

o x r unning straight fo r the kraal gate It came on th r ough .

th e gate an d th en catchi ng sight of the vast c o ncourse o f

, ,

p eopl e stopped stupidly turned round and b ellowed

, , , .

”
N o w s your time I whispe re d
’
, .

Up wen t the r ifl e .

B ang ! thu d !and t h e ox was kicking on his back shot ,

in t h e r i b s Th e semi hollow bullet had don e its wo r k

.
-

well an d a sigh o f as t o n ishmen t we n t up fr o m the asse m

,

bl e d t housan ds .

I t u rn ed coolly r ound
”
Hav e I li e d 0 king ? ,
”
N ay whi te man i t i s a tr u t h was t h e so me wh a t
, , ,

a wed answe r .

“
L is te n Twala I w ent on
”
,
Thou has t s ee n No w
, .

know we com e i n p eace n o t in wa r S ee he r e (and I held , .

up t he Winch e s ter r ep e a ter) ; h er e is a hollow staff that

shall enabl e yo u t o ki ll eve n as we kill only this charm I ,

lay up on it t hou shalt kill no m a n with i t If t hou liftest

,
.

it against a m an it shall kill th ee Stay I will show thee

,
.
,
.

B id a m a n st e p for t y p ac e s a nd place t h e shaft O f a spe ar

”
i n t h e g r ound so th a t t h e fl a t bl a d e looks t owa r ds us .

I n a f e w s e co n ds i t w a s do n e .
124 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S ’
.

N ow se e I will break th e spea r

, ,
.

Taking a ca r eful sight I fired The bulle t s tr uck t h e fl at

, .

o f t h e sp e a r and b r oke the blade into frag m ents .

Again the S i gh of ast o nishment went up .

”
N ow Twala (handing him th e rifle)
,
“
this magic ,

tube we give to thee , and by and b yI will S how thee h o w

t o u se it ; but b eware how th o u us e st the magic of the stars
”
against a man of earth an d I handed him the rifle He
,
.

t o ok i t very ginge rly and laid it do wn at his feet As h e

,
.

did so I O bserved the wizened monkey like fi gure creeping ,

-

up f r o m th e shadow of the hut It crept o n all f o u r s but .

,

w he n it reached the place where the king sat it r o se up o n

its f eet and thr o wing the f u rr y c o vering off its face r e
, , ,

v eale d a m o st extra o rdinary and wei r d c o unten ance It .

was (apparently ) that o f a woman of grea t age so shrunken ,

t h at in S ize it was n o larger th an that o f a year o ld child -

,

and was made up of a collection of deep yellow wrinkles ,

.

S e t in the w r inkles was a sunken slit that r epresented th e

m o uth beneat h which the chin cu r ve d o utward t o a p o int
, .

There was n o n o se t o S peak o f ; indeed th e wh o le c o un ,

te n an c e might have been taken f o r that o f a su n dried -

corpse had it n o t b e en f o r a pair o f large black eyes still ,

full of fire and intelligence which gleamed and played ,

under the sn o w white eyebr o ws and the pr o j ecti ng parch

-

m ent colored skull like j ewels in a charnel house

-
, AS for -
.

the skull itself it was p erfectly bare and yell o w i n hue

, , ,

while its wrinkled scalp m o ved and contracted like th e

h oo d of a cobra .

The figure t o wh o m this fear ful countenance which ,

caused a shive r of fear t o pass thr o ugh u s as we gazed ou '

it bel o nged sto od still f o r a m o ment and then su ddenly

, ,
~

proj ected a skin n y claw armed with nails n ea rly an inch

12 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

Ye k n ow no t but I know It was a whi t e p e opl e who

, .

we r e before ye were who shall b e when ye a r e no t wh o

, ,

shall e a t ye up and d e str o y ye Yea yea y e a .

An d what ca m e they f or the white ones th e t err ibl e

, ,

ones the skilled in magic an d all learning the s t rong th e

, , ,

unswerving ? What is that b r ight stone upon thy fo r e

head O king ? Wh o se hands made the iron garm e nts
,

u pon thy breast O king ? Ye kno w n o t but I kn o w I

, ,
.

the old on e I the wise o n e I the I sanu si

, , ( wi t ch doc
tr ess )
.

Then she tu r ned he r bald vul t u r e head towa r ds us

,
.

Wh at seek ye white men o f the stars ? Ah ye s of the

, , ,

stars ! D O ye seek a l o st o n e Ye shall n o t find him

here He is n o t he r e N ever f o r ages up o n ages has a
. .

white f oo t p r es sed this land ; never but once and he lef t ,

it but t o die Ye c o me f o r bright st o nes ; I kn o w t I

. i —

kn o w it ; ye S hall find them when th e blood is dry ; bu t

shall ye retu r n wh e nce ye came or shall ye s t op with m e ,

Ha ! ha h a !
—
And thou thou with the dark skin and the p r oud b e ar
~

ing ( p o inting her skinny finge r at Umb o pa ) who art ,

“

thou and what seekest thou ?

,
N o t stones that shine ; n o t
yellow me t al that gleams ; that thou le av e st t o white me n
from the stars .M ethinks I know th ee methinks I c an
’

smell the smell of the bloo d i n thy v e ins S t rip o ff the .

girdle
Here the f eatu r es o f this ex tr aordina r y c r eat ure became
c o nvulsed and she fell t o the g ro und f o aming in an epi
,

le pti c fit and was carri e d o ff into the hu t .

The king ros e up t r embling and waved his hand I n , .

stantly t h e re giments began t o fi le O ff and in ten mi n u te s , ,

sav e fo r ou r selv e s the king a n d a few a tt e n dan t s the g re a t

, , ,

spac e was l e f t cl ear .

 12 7
’
K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES .

”
Whi te p eople h e said it passes in my mind to kill
, ,
“

y e. Gagool has S p o ken st r ange w o rds What say ye ? ”

.

I laugh e d . Be careful O king w e a r e n o t easy to

“
, ,

slay Thou hast seen the fate of the o x ; wouldst thou be

.

as th e o x
The king f r ow ne d It i s not well to th r ea t e n a king
. .

We t h r eaten not we sp eak what is t r ue T r y to kill

, .

”
u s 0 king an d learn
, , .

Th e great man put his hand to his f o r eh ead .

”
Go in p e ace h e said at length
,
To night is t h e
, .
“ -

g re a t danc e Y e shall se e i t Fear n ot that I shall set a

. .

”
s n a r e fo r ye To mo r row I shall think
.
-
.

“
It is well O king I answe r ed unc o ncernedly an d
,
”
, , ,

then accompani e d by I n fadoos we r ose and wen t back t o

, ,

ou r k r aal
.
 CHAPT E R X .

TH E WITCH HU NT -
.

ON re aching ou r hu t I moti o ned ,

to I n fadoos to enter
with u s
.

”
N ow I n f ado o s I said we wo u ld speak with thee
, ,
“
.

L et my l o rds say o n .

It seems t o us I nfadoo s that Twala the king is a

, , , ,
”
cruel m an .

“
It is so my l o rds Alas the land cries o u t wi t h his
,
.

cruelties T o night ye will se e It i s the great witch

.
-
.

hunt and many will be smelt o ut as wizards and slain

,
.

N O man s li f e is safe
’
If the k i ng c o vet s a man s cattle
.
’ ’

o r a man s life o r i f h e f ears a man th at he sh o uld excite

’
,

a rebelli o n against him the n Gag oo l wh o m y e saw o r

, , ,

so me of the witch fi n di n g w o men whom sh e has taught

-

wi l l smel l that man o u t as a wizard and he will be killed , .

M any will die be f o re the m oo n gr o ws pale to n ight It .

is ever so Perh aps I t oo Sh all be kille d A S yet I have

. .

b een spared b ecause I am S killed in war and b eloved by

,

the S oldiers ; but I kn o w n o t ho w long I shall live Th e

land gro ans at the cruelties O f T wala the king ; it is ,

wearied o f hi m and his red ways .

“
Then why is it I n fadoos that the p e o ple d o not cas t
, ,

him d o wn
“
N ay my l o rds he i s the king and if he were killed
, , ,

S cragga wou ld r e i gn in his p lace and the heart Of Scragga ,

i s blacke r than the hea rt o f Twala his father If Sc r agg a , .

 ’
13 0 KI N G S OL OMON S M I N E S .

F o r man y y e ar s h e liv e d t h er e wo rki n g a s a s erv ant

a n d a s oldi e r b ut holding in hi s heart all that his m o t h er
,

had t old hi m o f his o wn place and casting about in his ,

mind to find how h e might ge t back the r e t o se e his own

pe o ple and his father s h o use befo r e he di e d Fo r m an y
’
.

y ears he lived and waited and at last the tim e ,

came as it ,

eve r comes to him who can wai t for it and he m e t s o m e ,

white men who would seek this unknown land and j o in e d ,

himself to t hem The white men s t arted and j ou r neyed

.

o n and o n seeking f o r o n e who is l o st

,
They crossed the .

burning desert they c ro ssed the snow clad m o untains and

,
-
,

r eached the land of the K u ku anas, and t he r e they me t

”
t h e e oh I nfadoos
, .

Surely thou ar t ma d t o t alk t hus said t he a s t o n ish e d ,

old soldie r .

Thou thinkest so ; s e e I will show th ee , O m y u n cl e

, .

I am I gn osi , r i ghtfu l ki n g of the K u ku an as

Then with a single m ove m ent he slipp e d Off t he
, ,
”
m oocha or girdle r ound his m iddl e and s t ood na k e d
, ,

b e fo re us .

” ”
L ook he said ; wha t is this ? a n d h e poi nte d t o t h e
,

mark of a g re at snak e t att ooed in blue r ou n d his m iddl e ,

its tail disappear ing in its ope n mou t h j us t abov e wh ere

the thighs ar e set in to the body .

I nfadoo slooked his eyes s t a rt ing near ly ou t of his hea d

, ,

a n d the n fell upon his knees .

K oom ! K oom ! he ej a cula te d ; i t is m y b r o ther s

” “ ’

”
so n ; it is t h e king .

“
Did I not tell th ee so my u n cle Ris e ; I am n o t yet
,

the ki n g bu t wi t h thy help and with th e h e lp of t h e s e

, ,

b rav e whi te m en who a r e my fr iends I sh all b e B u t t h e

, , .

o ld woma n G a gool w a s r igh t t h e l an d sh a ll r u n wi t h blo od

;
 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES ’
. 31

fir s t an d h er s sh all r un with it fo r she kill e d my fa th er

, ,

with he r words and drov e my m o ther f o rth And now,

, .

I n f adoos ch oos e thou

, Wilt th o u put thy hands betw een
.

my hands and b e my man Wilt thou share the dange r s

t ha t li e b e fo re m e and help m e t o ove r throw this tyra nt
,

”
and m urde re r, or wilt thou no t ? Choose thou ?
The o ld man put his hand t o his head and thought .

Then h e r ose a n d ad vancing t o wh e r e Umbopa or r athe r

, , ,

I gnosi , stood knelt b efore him and took his hand

, .

I gn o si r igh t ful king o f th e K u ku an as I p ut my hand

, ,

b e t w ee n thy hand s and am thy man till death Wh e n, .

thou was t a bab e I dandled th e e upon my knee ; now shall

”
my old a rm st r ik e f or thee and freedom .

“
It is well I n fadoo s; if I conquer th o u sh alt b e th e
, ,

g re a te s t man in t h e kingdom after the king If I fail th ou .

,

canst o n ly di e and death is no t fa r o ff f or thee Rise my

, .
,

u n cle .

An d ye whi te m e n will ye h elp me

,
What have I t o
,

o ff e r ye Th e whi te stones if I conquer and y o u can find ,

t h em ye shall have as m any as y e can ca rry hence Will

,
.

t h at su ffi ce ye
I t ra n sla t ed this re mark .

Tell him answered Sir Hen r y tha t h e mis t ak e s an

, ,

E nglishman Wealth is good and if it comes in o u r way

.
,

we will take it ; but a ge nt leman d oe s n ot sell himself f or

w e alth .But speaking fo r mys e lf I say this : I have
, ,

always liked Umbopa and so fa r as in m e lies will stand ,

by him i n t his busin e ss It will be very pleasant to me .

t o tr y a nd squa re ma tter s wi t h t hat c r uel devil Twala , .

Wh at d o you say Good a n d you Quatermain , , ,

W e ll said Good t o adop t t he language o f hype r

”
, ,
“

b ol e , i h which a ll t h e s e p e opl e s eem t o indulg e , you can tell

13 2 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S '
.

him tha t a r ow is su r el y good and wa rms the cockl e s o f

.
,

the heart and that S O far as I am c o ncerne d I m his

, , ,
’

b o y M y o nly stipulation i s that he all o ws me to wea r

.

”
tro u sers .

I translated these answe r s .

”
It is well my friends said I gnosi late Umbop a ;
, , ,

and what say you Mac u m az ahn ; art thou t oo with me , ,

”
o ld hunter cleverer than a wounded bu ff alo ?
,

I thought a while and sc r atched my head .

”
Umb o pa o r I gn osi I said I don t like r ev o lutions
, , ,
’
.

”
I am a man of peace an d a bit o f a co ward (he r e Um ,

b Opa smiled ) but on the o ther ha n d I stick to my

,
“
, ,

frien ds I gn o si You have stuck to u s and played t h e pa rt

,
.

o f a man and I wil l stick t o y o u

,
B ut min d you I am a .
, ,

trader and have t o make my living ; so I accept y o ur o ffe r

,

ab o ut th o se diamonds in case we should e v er be in a posi ,

ti o n to avail ourselves of it Another thing : we came as .

,

y o u know t o look f o r Incubu s (Sir Henry s ) l o s t br o the r

,
’ ’
.

”
Y o u must help u s t o find him .

”
“
That will I do answered I gn osi Stay I nfado o s;
, .
,

by the S ign of the sn ake round m y middle tell m e the ,

truth Has any white man to thy knowledge se t his foot

.

”
within the land ?
“
No ne 0 I gn osi ,
.

I f any white man had b e en seen o r heard O f woulds t ,

”
th ou hav e known it ?
I S h o uld certainly have known .

Th o u he ar e st I n cu b u said Ign o si to Sir Hen r y

, he “

”
has n o t been here .

”
“
Well well said Sir Henry with a sigh ; there it is ;
, , ,

I supp o se he never g o t here Poor fell o w poor fellow ! .

,

So it has all be en for nothing G o d s will b e don e ”

.
’
.
13 4 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

fo r m e d a m ass of li nks sca r c e ly t oo big t o b e cove re d with

both hands .

D o you make these thin gs in this cou ntr y I nfado os? ,

”
I ask e d ; t h ey a r e very b eautiful
“
.

“
N ay my lord ; they c o me down to us from ou r fo re
,

fath er s We kno w n ot wh o made them and there a r e bu t

.
,

fe w left N on e but those of royal bloo d may wear th em

. .

Th e y are magic coats through which no spear can pass .

He who wear s them is well nigh safe i n the bat t le The -

.

king is well pleased or much afr ai d or he w o uld n o t hav e ,

”
s en t them Wear them to night my lo r ds
.
-
,
.

The r est o f the day we spent quietly r e sting and t alking

ove r the S ituati o n which was sufficiently exci ting At
,
.

last the su n went down the thousand watch fi r e s glow e d ,

-

ou t an d through th e darkness we heard the t ramp of

,

many feet and the clashing o f hundreds o f spear s as th e ,

regiments pass e d t o their appoint e d places to be read y for

the g r eat dance Ab o ut ten the full moon came up in
.

S plend o r an d as we sto o d watching he r ascent I n fadoos

,

arrived clad in f u ll war togge r y and accompanied by a

, ,

guard o f twenty men t o esc or t us to the dance We had .

already as he rec o mmended donned th e shi rt s o f chain

, ,

armor which the king had sen t us pu tt ing the m on unde r ,

o u r o r di n ary clothing and finding to o u r surp r ise that they

,

we re neither very heavy n or uncomfo rt able These ste e l .

shi rt s which h ad evidently b e en mad e for m e n of a v e r y

,

large s t atu r e hung s o mewha t loose ly u po n G o od and m y

,

sel f but Si r Henry s fitted his magnificent fram e lik e a

,
’

glove Then strapping our r e vol v e r s r ou n d ou r waists

.
, ,

and taking the battle axes which the king had s e nt wi t h

-

t he a r mor in our hands we started , .

O n arr iving a t the g r eat k ra al wh ere w e had t h at m o rn

 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S
’
. 13 5

ing been in t e rviewed by th e king we found t ha t i t was ,

cl o sely packe d with some twenty th o us and men arrange d

in r egi m ents round it The regiments w ere in turn di
.

v i de d into companies and between each c o mpany was a

,

li tt le path t o allow free passage to the witch fi nde r s t o -

p ass up an d down Anything mo r e imposing than th e

.

sight that was presented by this vast and o rde r ly c on

cou r se of armed men it is impossible f or o n e to conceive .

Th er e th ey stood p e rf e ctly silent and the m o onligh t ,

pou re d its light up on t h e fo r est o f th eir raised spear s ,

u p on thei r maj estic forms waving plume s and the ha r

, ,

m on i ou s shading o f their vari o us col o red shields W he r

-
.

eve r we looked was line upon line o f se t faces surmounted

by r ange upon r ange Of gli t tering spears .

” ”
S u re ly I said to I n fadoo s the wh o le army is he r e ?
, ,

N ay Mac u m az ahn h e answered but a thi r d part of

,
”
, ,
“

it O n e third pa r t is present at this dance each year an

. ,

o t h e r thi r d pa rt is mustered outside in case th ere should

b e trouble when th e killing begins ten thousan d more ,

ga rriso n th e outposts rou n d Lo o an d the rest watch at ,

t h e k r aals in t he cou ntr y Thou s ee st it is a ve r y grea t

.

”
p e ople
.

”
Th e y a re ve ry sil e nt said Good ; an d inde e d t h e i n
, , ,

te ns e s t illn e ss amo n g such a vas t concou r se of living m e n

was al m os t overpowering .

“
What s ays B ou gwan ask e d I nfadoos .

I t ran sla te d .

Thos e ov er who m the shadow of d eat h is hov eri n g

”
are sil ent h e answ ere d g r imly
, , .

”
“
Will m a ny b e kill e d ?
Ver y m a ny .

”
I t s eem s I said t o t h e o t he r s t h at w e are goin g t o
, ,
13 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES ’
.

assist a t a gladiat o rial Show arr a n ged r ega r dl e ss of ex

”
p e ns e .

Si r H e nry shive r ed an d Good said t ha t h e wish e d t hat

,

w e could get ou t o f it .

” ”
Tell me I asked I n fado os a re we in d an g er ?
, ,

I know not my lo r ds — I t r ust not ; bu t do n o t se em

,

afr aid If ye live through th e night all m ay go w e ll

. .

”
T he soldiers mu r mu r against the king .

All this while we had be e n advancin g s te adily tow ar ds

t he cent r e of the Open space in t he midst of which w er e ,

placed so m e stools AS we p r oceeded we pe r c e iv e d an

.

oth er small par ty coming f r om th e dire ction of th e r oyal

hut .

I t is the ki n g Twala and Sc r agga his so n and Gagool

, , ,
”
th e Old and see with t he m a r e those wh o slay a n d h e
, , ,

pointed t o a little g r oup o f about a dozen giga n tic a n d

savage looking men a r med with spear s i n on e hand an d
,

he a vy ke r ries in the other .

Th e king seated himself upon the c entre s t ool Gagool ,

c r ouched at his feet an d th e oth er s stood behind

, .

G re eting white l o rds he cried as we came up ; b e

, , ,

seated waste n o t —
the preciou s time the nigh t i s all too
,

S h o rt for the deeds that must be done Ye come i n a .

good hour and S hall see a glo r ious S how L ook round
, .
,
”
white lords ; l oo k ro und and he r oll e d his on e wick e d eye
,

fr om regim e nt t o regi m ent Can the sta r s S how ye such .

a sight as this Se e ho w they Shake in th e ir wicked ne ss ,

all those who hav e e vil in th e i r h e a rt s and f e a r the j udg

me nt of H e av e n abov e .
’

”
“
B egi n ! begi n ! c r ied o u t Gagool i n h er t hin i
p e rc , ,

in g voice th e hyenas a re hungry th ey b owl fo r food

“
, .

”
B egi n ! begi n ! Th en for a m o ment t he re w a s i nten se
 ’
13 8 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S .

forked wand I n all th ere we re te n of th em Wh en

. .

the yarrived in front of us they halted and on e of th em , ,

p ointing with he r wa n d towa r ds t he c r ouching figu r e Of

Gag oo l cried o ut
,

“
M other o ld mo t he r w e are he r e
, ,
.

”
G ood ! good ! good ! pip ed o u t that aged iniqui t y .

Are y o ur eyes keen I sanu si s (witch doct re ss e s )

,
ye ,
“

”
s eer s in dark places ?
Mo ther th e y a r e keen
,
.

G oo d good ! good! Are you r ea r s O pen I san u si s y e , ,

”
who hear words that come not fr o m the tongue ?
”
“
Mo ther they a r e O pen
, .

Go od ! good ! good ! Are your senses awake I san u si s ,

can ye smell blo o d can ye purge the land o f th e wicked

,

ones who c o mpass evil again st the king and against thei r
neighb o rs ? Are ye ready to do the j ustice of H e av ‘

en ab o ve ye whom I have taught who have eaten of

,
’
,

the bread of my wisdom a n d d runk of the wat e r o f m y

magic
“
Mo the r we can , .

Then go Tar r y not ye vultu r es ; se e t h e S lay e rs

,

pointing to the o minous g r oup o f executioners behind

make S har p thei r S p e ars ; t he white m e n fr o m afar are
”
hungry to s e e Go . .

With a wild yell t he wei r d par t y b r oke away i n e v er y

di r ection like fr agments fr om a shell and the d r y b ones
, , ,

r ound their waists rattling as they r an made di re ct f or ,

various points of the dense human circle We could not .

watch them all so fixed ou r eye s upon the I san u si n eares t

,

u s When she cam e within a few paces of the warriors

.
,

S he halted and began to dance wildly turning r o u nd and ,

r ound with an almost i n credibl e r apidi ty and sh r i e ki ng ,

 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S ’
. 13 9

”
ou t s enten ces su ch as I smell him th e e vil do er !
“
He ,
-

is n ear he who pois o ned his m o the r

,
I h ear t h e
”
though t s of him wh o thought evil of t he king !
Quicke r an d quicke r she danced t ill She lashed he r s e lf ,

int o such a frenzy o f excite m ent t ha t th e foam fl e w in

flecks from h e r gnashing j aws he r ey e s seemed t o s t art ,

from her head and he r flesh to quive r visibly Suddenly

, .

S he stopped d ead and sti fi e n e d all ov er lik e a poi nter dog

, ,

when he scents game and t hen with outst r etched wand

,

b egan t o c r eep stealthily towards th e s o ldiers b ef o re he r .

It seemed to u s that as S he came their stoicism gave way ,

an d th a t they sh r ank from her AS f o r o urselves we f o l .

,

low e d h er m b v e m e n t s with a h o rrible fascinati o n Pres .

e n tly still creeping and cr o uchin g like a d o g sh e was b e

, ,

f or e them Then she st o pped and p o i n ted and th en again

.
,

c r ep t o n a p ace o r two .

Su ddenly th e end came With a shriek Sh e sp r ang in .

and tou ched a tall wa r ri or with th e f o rked wand In .

stan tly two o f his comrades th o se stan ding immediately ,

next to him seized the d o omed man each by o ne a rm an d

, , ,

advan ced with him towards the king .

He did not r esist but we saw that h e dragg e d his limb s

,

as th o ugh th ey were par alyzed and hi sfingers from which , ,

t h e S pea r had fall e n we r e limp as thos e of a man newly

,

dead .

AS h e ca me t wo of the villainous executione r s s t epp e d

,

fo r wa r d t o mee t him P r esently they met and the e xe

. ,

c u ti on e r s t u rn ed r ound t owards t he king as t hough fo r or

d er s .

said t he king
'

K i ll .

”
K i ll ! squ e aked Gagool .

If i ll r e e cho e d Sc r agga wi t h a hollow chuckl e

-
,
.
 ’
140 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

Almos t bef or e the wo rds we re u t t ere d t he ho rr ibl e d ee d ,

w a s done O ne man had driven his spea r into the vic t i m s

.
’

heart and t o make assurance doubly sur e the o t her had

, , ,

dashed ou t his brains with his great club .

”
On e counted Twala the king j u st like a black M ada m e
, , ,

D efarge as G o od said and the b o dy was d r agged a fe w

, , ,

paces away and stretched o u t .

Hardly was this done before anothe r poor w r etch was

b r ought up like an o x to th e slaught er This tim e w e
,
.

could se e fr o m the leopard S kin cloak that the man was

,
-
,

a person o f rank Again the awful syllables were spok en

.
,

and the victim fell dead .

”
Two c o unted the king
, .

And so the deadly game went on till some hund re d ,

bodies w ere st r etched in r o ws behin d u s I have hear d of .

the gladiat o rial sh o ws o f the C ae sars and o f the Spanish ,

bull fi ght s but I t ake the liberty o f d o ubting if they were

-
,

either Of them half as hor r ible as th is K u ku an a witch hun t -

.

Gladiatorial shows an d Spanish bull fi ghts at any r a t e -

, ,

contributed t o the public amusement which certainly was ,

no t the case he r e The m o st confirmed sen sati o n monge r

.
-

would fight shy o f sensati o n if h e knew that it was well

on the cards that he w o uld in his own p r oper pers o n be
, ,

t he subj ect o f the next event “

.

O nce w e rose and tried t o r emo n st r ate but wer e ste r nly ,

r ep re ssed by Twala .

“
L et the law take its cou r se whi t e men Th e s e dogs , .

ar e m agicians and evil doers ; it is well that they should

-

”
di e was the o nly answer vou chsafed to us
, .

Ab o ut midnight there was a pau se The witch fi nder s . -

g ath ered themselves t o ge t her appa re ntly exhaust e

, d with
th ei r bl o od y w o rk , and we though t tha t th e whole p er
 ’
142 K ING S OLOMON S M I N E S .

I n a m o ment all doub t s w ere set at re s t fo r t h e old ,

wo m a n had r ush e d in a n d t o u ched Umbopa alias I gn osi , ,

o n th e shoulder .

”
I s m ell him o u t sh e sh r ieked K ill him kill him
,
.
, ,

h e is full o f evil kill him the st r ang er b efo r e blood flows , ,

for him Slay him O king

.
,
.

Th e r e was a pa u s e which I instantly t ook adva nt age of

,
.

O king I called o u t r ising from my seat this m an

”
, , ,
“

is t he se r vant of thy guests h e is thei r d o g ; wh o soeve r ,

sheds the bl o od o f ou r dog sh eds o u r bl o od By the sa .

”
c r ed law o f hospitality I claim p r otection for hi m .

Gagool m o ther o f the witch docto r s has smelled hi m

, ,
”
o u t ; he mus t die white men was the sulle n answer
, , .

”
“
N ay h e S hall not die I replied ; he wh o t ries to
, ,
“

tou ch him S hall die indeed .

”
“
Seiz e him ! r oar ed Twala t o the executione r s wh o , ,

stood around r ed to the ey e s wit h the bl o od of thei r vic

tims .

They advanced t owa r ds u s and then hesitated As for , .

I gn osi he r aised his S pear and r aised i t as th o ugh det er

, ,

mi n ed to sell his life dearly .

”
“
Stand back ye dogs I sho u t ed if ye w o uld see t o
, , ,
“

mo rro w s light Touch on e hai r of his head and y o ur king

’
.

”
dies and I cove r ed Twala with my r evolver Sir Henry
, .

and Good also d re w thei r pistols Si r Henry pointing his ,

a t the leading executi o ner who was a dvancing t o carry out ,

t he se n tence and Good taking a deliberate aim a t Gagool

, .

Twala winc e d p e rceptibly as my ba rr el ca m e i n a line ,

with his b r oad ch e st .

”
Well I said wha t is i t t o be Twal a
, ,
“
,

Then he spoke .

”
P u t away you r m agic t ub e s h e said ; ye h a ve ad ,
“
 ’
K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES . 143

j u re d me i n t h e name of hospi t ali t y an d fo r t h at rea so n , ,

bu t n ot f r o m f e a r of wha t ye can do I spa re him Go i n , .

p e ac e ! ’

”
I t is w e ll I a n sw er ed unconce rne dly ; we a r e w ear y
, ,

o f slaugh ter and would S leep

”
, Is the d a nce en ded ? .

”
“
It is end e d Twala answ er ed sulkily
,
L e t thes e , .
“

”
dogs p oin t ing t o the long r ows of corpses b e flung o u t
, ,
“

”
t o t h e hy e nas and th e vultures and h e lifted his spea r , .

I n stantly the r egiments bega n in p e r fect sile n c e to defil e

o ff th r ough t he k r aal ga t eway a fa t igu e pa rt y only r e ,

m ai n ing b e hin d t o d r ag away t h e co r p s e s of t hos e who had

been sac r i fi ced .

Th e n w e too r o se a n d m aki n g ou r salaa m t o his m aj es t y

, , ,

which h e ha r dly d e ign e d t o ack n owledg e d e p ar t e d t o o u r ,

k r aal .

”
Well said S i r H e n r y as we sa t dow n h a vi n g fi r s t li t
, , ,

a lamp of t h e so rt u sed by t he K u ku an as of which the ,

wick is made of th e fib r e of a species o f palm le af and the

o i l o f cla r ified hippop ota m u s fa t w e ll I feel unco m mo n , ,
”
ly inclined t o b e sick .

“
If I had any doub t s ab ou t h e lping U mb opa to r eb el
”
against that infe rn al blackguard pu t in Good th ey are , ,
“

gon e now It was as much as I could do to si t still while

.

that slaught er was going o n I t r ied to keep my eyes .

shu t but they would Op e n j us t a t t he w r o n g t i m e I won

,
.

de r whe re I nfado os is U mbop a m y f r iend you ought to

.
, ,

b e g r at e ful t o u s ; you r ski n c ame ne a r to h avi n g a n ai r

”
h ole made in i t .

“
I a m g r a te ful B ou gwan was U m b Opa sa n swe r whe n
, ,
’
,

I had tr a n slat e d an d I shall n o t fo rge t As fo r I nfa

“
,
.

”
doos h e will b e h ere by a n d by W e mus t wai t
,
. .

S O w e li t ou r pip e s an d w a i te d .
 CHAPT E R XI .

WE GIVE A SIGN .

FO R a long while — tw o hours I should think — we sat

t her e in silence f o r we were t oo ove r wh elmed by th e re c
,

o lle cti o n o f the h o rr o rs we had seen to talk At last j ust .

,

as we were thinking o f turning i n— for already there we r e

faint streaks o f light i n the east ern S ky — we hear d t h e
sound of steps Then came the challenge of the s e ntry
.

wh o was posted at th e kraal gate which was appa re ntly ,

answe r ed though n o t in an audible t o ne for the step s

, ,

came o n ; and in an o ther sec o nd I nfado o s had entered the

hut f o ll o wed by s o me half a d o zen statel y looking chiefs
,
-
.

”
“
M y l o rds he said
,
I have c o me accor di n g to my
,
“
,

word M y l o r ds and I gn o si rightful king o f the K uku

.
,
”
anas I have br o ught with me these men p o inting t o th e
, ,

r o w o f c h iefs who are great men am o ng u s having each

“
, ,

o n e o f them th e c o mma n d of three th o usand soldiers wh o

,

live but t o d o their bidding under th e king s I h ave t o ld

,
’
.

th em of wha t I have seen an d what my ears have hea r d

, .

N ow let them als o se e the sac r ed snake ar o und thee an d ,

hea r thy st o ry I gn o si that they may say whether o r n o

, ,

they will make cause with thee a gainst Twala the king ”
.

q answer I g
,
n os i again strippe d o ff his girdle and ex
hi b i te d the snake t attoo e d ar ou n d him E ach chief in
‘

tu r n drew near and examined it by the di m light o f the

lamp and with out saying a word pas s ed on to the othe r
,

S id e .
146 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

ple x it
y to Sir Hen r y and Good, and explai ne d t h e si t u a
tion .

“
I think I have i t said Good e xul t ingly ; ask th em
,
”
,
”
t o give us a moment to t hink .

I did so and the chi e fs with dr ew AS soon as t h e y

,
.

we r e gone Good went to th e li t tle box in which his m e di

,

cines w ere unlock e d it and took out a no te b ook in the

, ,
-
,

fr ont of which was an a lmanac N o w look h e r e you .

“
, ,
”
fellows isn t t o m o rr ow th e fou r th of J un e ?
,
’ -

We had kep t a care ful n o t e of t h e days so w er e able t o ,

answe r that it was .

“
Ve r y good ; then he re w e hav e i t June to t al ,

eclips e of th e sun com m ences at Gr e enwich t i m e ,

visible i n th e s e islands Af r i ca etc Th er e s a S ig n fo r

, , .
’ ’

”
you Tell th e m t hat you will darken t he sun to m o rr ow
.
-
.

The idea was a sple n did on e ; i n deed t he o nly fea r ,

abou t it was a f e ar lest Good s almanac might b e inco r ’

re ct If we m ade a fals e p r ophecy o n such a subj ec t o u r

.
,

p re stige would b e gone fo r ev e r and so would I gn osi s ,

’

chance of th e th r one of th e K u ku anas .

”
“
Suppose the almanac is w r ong ? suggest e d Si r Hen r y
to Good who was busily e m pl o y e d in working out so me
,

thing o u t he fly l e af of the book -

.

“
I don t see any r eason to suppos e a n y thi n g of t h e
’

so r t was his answer

, E clipses always come up t o
.

time ; at l e ast that is my e xp e rie n ce of the m and i t e s

, ,

p e c i ally s tate s that it will be v isibl e in Af r ica I h a v e .

wo rk e d ou t th e re cko ni ngs as well as I can withou t kno w

ing ou r e xact posi t io n ; and I make ou t that th e e clips e
S hould b e gi n h ere abou t on e o clock t o m o rr ow and las t ’
-
,

t ill half past t wo For half a n hou r o r m o re t h ere should

-
.

b e t o ta l d ark ne ss .
 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S ’
. 147

”
W e ll , said Si r He nr y ,
I suppose w e had b etter r isk

I acqui e sc e d t h ough doub t fully f or e clip s e s a re qu eer

, ,

c att le to deal with and se nt U mb opa t o sum m on the

,

chiefs b ack P re s en tly t h e y c ame a n d I add re ss e d t h em

.
,

t hu s
“
G re at men of th e K u ku an as and t hou I nfadoos lis , , ,

ten We a r e n o t fo n d of showing ou r pow er s S inc e t o do

.
,

so is t o int er fe re with th e cou r s e of nat u re an d plung e ,

t h e wo rl d in t o fea r a n d c on fusio n ; bu t as this m at ter is

a g re a t o n e an d as w e a re ang ere d agai n st t he king b e
,

caus e of the slaught er we h av e s ee n and because of t h e ,

ac t of th e I sanu si Gagool who would h a v e put ou r fr i e nd

,

I gn osi t o d e ath we have d e t erm in e d t o do s o a n d t o giv e

, ,
”
su ch a S ign as all me n may see Co m e thith er and I l e d .
,

th em t o th e doo r of the hu t and p oin te d t o t h e fie r y ball

Of th e r isi n g su n “
wha t se e y e th er e
”
“
W e se e t h e r isi n g su n answ ere d t h e spok e s man of
,

th e pa rt y .

“
It is so N ow t ell m e ca n any m o rt al man pu t ou t
. ,

th at su n s o t ha t nigh t co me s dow n on t h e la n d a t m id
,
”
d ay ?
Th e chi e f laugh e d a lit tl e N o m y lo r d t hat n o m a n
.
, ,

ca n do T h e su n is s tr o n g er t ha n ma n wh o looks o n
h im .

Y e say S O Y et I te ll you t h at t his day o ne hou r af

. ,

ter m idday will we pu t ou t t h at sun fo r a sp a c e o f a n

,

h ou r a nd d a rkness shall cov er t h e e a rth an d i t sh a ll b e

, ,

fo r a S ign tha t w e a r e i n d ee d m e n of ho n o r, and th at I g

n osi is ind ee d king of t h e K u ku anas If w e do t his t hi n g .

will i t sa t isfy y e
“ Y ea m y lo r ds an sw ere d t h e old chi e f wi t h a sm il e
,
”
, ,
 ’
148 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES .

which was r eflected o n th e fac e s o f his co m pa n io n s ; if

”
ye do this thing we will be satisfied indeed .

I t shall b e done : we three I n c u b u the E lephant Boug , ,

wan t he cl e ar ey e d and Mac u m az ahn who watch e s in t h e

-
, ,

n i ght have said it and it shall b e done Dost thou h ear

, ,
.
,

I n f adoo s
“
I h e a r my lord but i t is a wond er ful thing t hat y e
, ,

p r o m ise to put o u t the su n th e fathe r of all things who

, , ,
”
shines f o rever .

“
Yet shall we d o it I nfado os ,
.

It is well my l o rds TO dav a little afte r m idday

,
.
-
, ,

will T wala sen d f o r my l o rds t o witness th e girls dance ,

and ~one h o u r afte r the dance begins shall the girl who m
Twala thinks the fair est be killed by Scragga the king s ,
’

son as a sacrifice t o the S ilent st o ne o n e s who sit and kee p

, ,

”
watch by the m o untains y o nder and he pointed to the ,

thre e st r ange l oo king peaks wher e Solomon s Road was

-
’

supposed t o end Then let my lords darken the su n, and

.

save the maiden s li f e and the pe o ple will indeed beli e ve

’
,

“
A y said th e o l d chief still smiling a little
”
, th e p e o , ,
“

”
ple will believe indeed , .

“
Tw o miles f ro m L o o went on I n fado os th ere is a
“
, ,

hill curved like the new moon a stronghold whe re my , ,

r egiment and three o ther regiments which these m en c om

,

mand are stati o ned This morning we will mak e a pla n

, .

whereby other r egiments two o r th ree may b e m ov e d , ,

there als o Then if my l o rds can indeed darke n the su n

.
, ,

in the darkn e ss I will take my l o rds b y the hand and lead

them out of L o o to this place where the y shall be saf e , ,

and thenc e can we make war up o n T wala the king ”

, .

”
“
It is goo d said I N ow leave us to sleep a while
, .

an d m ak e r eady o u r magic .
 ’
15 0 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES .

dis tre ss e d t o obs er v e p re s ente d a remark ably heal thy ap o

e ar an ce withou t a S ign of an e clipse anywhe r e abou t i t

p ,
.

”
“
I hop e it will come off said Si r Henry d o ubtfully
, , .

F alse p r oph e ts O ften find th e mselves in painful posi

”
t ions .

”
If it d o es n ot it will soon be up with us I an swe re d
, , ,

m ou r nfully ; f o r so sure as we are living men som e of

“
,

those chiefs will tell the whole st o ry t o th e king and t hen ,

the r e will b e anothe r sort of eclipse and o ne that we sh all ,

no t lik e .

Retu rning t o the b u t we dressed o urselves pu t ting on

, ,

th e mail shirts which the king had sent u s as bef or e .

Scarcely had we done so when a messenger came from

”
Twala to bid u s t o the great annual danc e o f gi rl s “

which was ab o ut t o be celebrated .

Taking o u r r ifles and ammunition with u s so as to have

them handy in case we had t o fly a s suggested by I n fa ,

doos we started b o ld l y en o ugh th o ugh with inward fear

, ,

and trembling The great space in fr o nt o f the king s

.
’

kraal presented a very di ff erent appearanc e fr o m what it

had d o ne on the previ o us e v ening In th e place o f the .

grim r anks o f serried warri o rs were c o mpany afte r com

pany of K u k u an a girls n o t overdressed S O far as cl o thing
, ,

went but each cro wned with a wreath of fl o we r s an d

, ,

h o lding a palm leaf in o ne hand and a tall white lily (th e

arum) in the other In the centre o f th e O pen space sat
.

Twala the king with o ld Gagool at h s feet attended by

, ,
i
,

I n fadoo s the boy Scragga and about a dozen guards

, , .

There we r e also present ab o ut a score of chiefs am o ng ,

wh o m I recognized m o st o f ou r friends of the night before .

T wala g r eeted us with much apparent cordiality th ough ,

I saw hi m fix his on e e ye viciously on U mbop a .

 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
. 15 1

”
W e lcome whi t e m e n fr o m th e stars h e said ; t hi s
, ,
“

is a di ffe r en t sight f r om what you r eyes gazed on by t h e

ligh t of last night s moo n but it is no t so good a S igh t
’
, .

Girls a r e pleasant and w er e it not for such as these (and

,

he pointed r o un d him ) we S hould none Of us b e he r e to

day ; but men a r e b ette r K isses and the tende r words
.

of wo m en are sweet b ut t he s ound of th e clashing o f ,

’
m en s sp e a r s and the s m ell o f m en s blood a r e S w e eter
,
’
,

fa r ! Would ye h av e wives f r om among o u r peopl e white ,

m en ? If so choose th e fairest here and ye shall h a ve

, ,

th em as man y as ye will and he paused for an answe r

, .

A S the p r osp ec t did n ot seem to be withou t attractio n s

t o Good who was lik e mos t sailors o f a susceptible na t
, , ,

u r e I b e ing elde rly and wise and forese e ing th e e ndles s

, , ,

complications that anything of the sort would inv o lve

o r women bring t r ouble as s u r ely as the nigh t follows
( f
t h e day ) pu t in a h asty answ er
,

“
Tha nks O king b u t w e whi t e men wed only wi t h
, ,

whi t e w o men lik e o u r selves Your maidens are fair bu t .

,

t hey a r e n ot f or u s
Th e ki n g laughed It is w e ll In o u r la n d th er e is a
. .

proverb which says Woman s eyes a r e always b r ight

,
“ ’
,

whateve r the colo r and another which says L ov e he r

’ ‘
, ,

who i s presen t f or be su r e She wh o is ab sent is fals e t o

,

th e e ; bu t p e rhaps thes e things a r e not so in the sta r s I n

’
.

a land whe r e men a re white all things a r e possibl e So .

b e it w hite m en ; t h e gi rls will n o t go b e gging ! W e l

,

co m e again ; a nd welco m e t o o t hou black one ; if Gagool , ,

h e r e had h ad h er way thou woul ds t have b een sti ff and

cold now It is lu cky t ha t t hou t oo cam e s t fr o m t h e
. , ,

”
st a r s ; ha ha !
“
I ca n kill t he e b e fo re t hou kill e s t me, 0 ki n g , was ,
 ’
15 2 K I N G S OL OMON S M I N E S .

I gn osi s cal m
’
a n swe r a n d t hou shal t be s t i ff b e fo re m y
,

li m b s cease to be n d
”
T wala star ted Thou sp e akest boldly boy h e r e
.
, ,

plied angr ily ; p re sume not t oo far

,
.

“
He m ay well be h old in wh o s e lips are tr u th The .

t r uth is a sharp spear which flies h ome and fails not I t .

is a messag e fr o m th e stars O king ‘

,
’

Twala scowled and his o ne eye glea me d fi er c e ly but h e

, ,

said nothing more .

”
“
L et the dance begin he crie d and next s e cond the
, ,

fl o wer c r owned girls S prang fo r ward i n c o mpanies sing

-
,

ing a s weet song and waving the delicate palms and whi t e
flowe r s O n they danced now whirling round and r ound
.
, ,

n o w me e ting in mimic warfare swaying eddying he r e , ,

and there coming f o rward falling back in an or dered con

, ,

fusi o n delightful to witness At last they paused and a .

,

beautiful young w o man sprang o ut o f th e r anks and b e

gan t o pir ouette in front o f us with a g r ace and vig or
which w o uld have put most ballet girls to sham e At -
.

length she fell back exhausted and anoth e r took he r place , ,

then anothe r and an o the r but none o f them eith er i n , ,

grace skill o r personal att r action s cam e up to th e firs t

, , , .

At length the king lifted his hand .

”
Which think y e the fairest white men ? h e asked , .

”
The first said I unthinkingly Ne xt second I r e
, , .

r e t te d it for I r emembered that I n f ado o s h ad said t ha t

g ,

the fai r est woman was offered as a sac r ifice .

Then is my mind as you r minds and my eyes as you r ,

ey e s Sh e is the fai r est ; and a so rr y t hing it is fo r he r

.
,

for she m ust die

”
“
A y m u st di e ! pip e d o ut Gagool c a s ting a glanc e
, ,

fro m h er quick e y e s i n th e dire ctio n o f t h e poo r girl who , ,

 ’
15 4 K I N G S OL OMON S M I N ES .

I saw Good s h an d c ree p t o his re volv er Th e p oo r gir l

’
.

caugh t th e glin t o f the cold s t eel t h ro ugh he r t ea r s and ,

i t sobe re d h er anguish She ceased st r uggling but m ere ly . ,

clasp e d h er hands co n vulsively an d stood shudde r ing ,

fr o m h e ad t o foot .

”
S e e cried Sc ragga in high glee she shrinks f r om
“
, , ,
“

th e sight of my little plaything even befo re S h e has tas t ed

”
i t and b e tapped the broad blad e o f th e sp ear
,
.

If I eve r get th e chance y o u shall pay f or th a t yo u , ,

”
young hound ! I hear d Good mutte r benea t h his b r eath .

“
N ow that thou art quiet give u s thy name m y dea r , ,
.

”
Co m e sp eak up an d fea r not Said Gagool in m ock er y
, , ,
.

O h mo ther answered the girl in t r embling accents

,
”
, ,

my nam e is F oulata o f t he house of Suko O h mo t h er ,

.
, ,

why m ust I die I hav e done no wrong

”
Be co m fo rt ed wen t o n th e old woman in h er ha te
“
, ,

ful ton e of mockery Thou must die indeed as a sacri ; , ,

n d she poi nt ed to
fi c e t o th e old o n es who sit yon der (
”

t he p e aks ) ; bu t i t is b e tt er to sl e ep in the n ight than to

“

toil i n the day tim e ; it is bette r to die th an to live an d

_
-
,
”
thou shalt die by the r oyal hand of the king s o wn son ’
.

The girl Foulata w r ung he r hands in anguish and cried ,

o u t alo u d : O h c r uel ; and I so young ! What have I

,

do ne that I sho u ld n eve r agai n see t h e su n r ise ou t Of the

night or the s t a r s co m e following o n his tr ack i n th e eve n
,

ing : tha t I should no mo re gath e r t he flowers when th e

dew is heavy o r listen to t h e laughing of the wat er s !
,

W o e is m e that I shall n ever see m y fathe r s b u t again

,
’
,
’
n o r feel m m o the r s kiss n or t e nd the kid that is sick !
~
y ,

W o e is me tha t n o love r S hall put his ar m a r ound m e a n d

,

l oo k int o my eyes n o r shall men children b e born of m e !

,
-

”
O h c r uel c r u e l ! a n d ag a i n she w r u n g h er hands a n d
, ,
 ’
K I N G S O LOMON S M I N ES . 15 5

t u rne d h er t ear s t ai ne d , fl o wer c r owned f a c e to h e av en ,

looking so lov e ly in h er d e spai r— for She was inde e d a
b e autiful woman— tha t i t would assu r edly have m elt e d
t h e h e a rt s o f any On e less cruel th an the th r ee fiend s b e
fore u s P r inc e A r thur s app eal t o th e r u fli an swho cam e
.
’

to blin d h im was n o t mor e touching than t his savage

gi r l s
’
.

But it did no t m ove Gago o l o r G agool s m aste r t hough ’

,

I saw sig n s of pity among the guard b ehind and o n th e

'

faces Of th e chiefs ; and as f or Good he gav e a so r t of ,

sno r t of indignation an d m a de a mo t ion as though to go

,

to h er With all a w o man s quickness the doomed girl

.
’
,

in t erp r e t ed what was passing in hi s mind and with a sud ,

d en movement flung h e r self befo r e him and clasp e d his ,

b eautiful White legs wi t h her hands

”
.

O h white father f r om t h e sta r s

,
sh e c r ied th r ow ,
“

ov er me t h e mantle of thy protec t ion ; le t m e c r eep into

the shadow o f th y st r eng t h th at I may b e saved O h
, .
,

keep me f r om t h e se c r u e l m en and f r om t he mer ci e s o f

Gag o ol
’
“
All right m y h eart y I ll look after you sa n g o u t
, , ,

Go o d in nervous Saxon
,
Come get u p there s a g o od
.
, ,
’

”
girl an d he s t ooped and caugh t her hand
,
.

Twala tu rn ed and m otioned to his son who advanc e d ,

‘

with his sp e a r lift e d .

”
N ow s your time whisp ere d Si r Hen r y t o me ;
’
,
”
a r e you waiting for ?
”
“
I a m waiting fo r the eclipse I answe re d ; I h ave ,
“

had m y eye on th e su n fo r the last half hou r a n d I n e v er -

,

saw it look h ealthi er ”

.

Wel l you m u st risk i t n ow or t h e gi r l will b e kill e d

,
.

”
T w a la is losin g pa t i en ce .
15 6 K I N G S OLO MON S M I N E S
’
.

R e cog n izing t he fo r ce of t he ar gument h aving c a s t ,

on e m o r e despairing look at th e bright face Of the sun ,

f or n eve r did the m o st ardent as tro nomer with a the or y

t o pr o v e await a celes tial eve n t with su ch anxi e ty I ,

stepped with all th e dignity I c o uld com m and betwe en

, ,

th e prostrate girl and th e advancing spea r of S c r agga .

K ing I said ; this S hall n o t be ; we will not t o l er a te

”
,
”
such a thing ; let the girl go in safety .

Twala ro s e fro m his seat in his wrath and as t onishment ,

and fro m the chiefs and s er r ied ranks of girls who had ,

sl o wly closed in upon u s in anticipatio n of the tr ag e dy ,

came a murmur of amazement .

“
S ha ll n ot be th o u w hite d o g who yaps at the lion i n
, ,

his cave shall n ot be ! Art th o u mad ? B e careful lest

this chicken s f ate overtake thee and those with th e e
’
.

H o w canst th o u prevent it ? Wh o art thou that thou ,

standest between me and my will ? With draw I say , .

Scragga kill her H O guar ds seize these men

, .
,
”
.

At his cry a r m e d men came r unning s wiftly fr o m b e

hind th e hut where th ey had evidently been plac e d b e
,

f or ehand .

Si r Henry Good and Umbopa r anged themselves alon g

, ,

side o f me and li f ted their rifles .

Stop I sh o uted b o ldly though at the moment my

, ,

h e ar t was in my bo o ts St o p ! we th e white m en f ro m
.
,

the stars say that it shall n ot be C o me b ut on e pace

, .

near er and we will put o ut the su n and plunge the lan d in

darkness Ye shall taste o f ou r magic
. .

M y th r eat pr o duced an e ffect ; the men halted and ,

Scragga sto o d stil l be f ore u s hi s S pear lifted

, .

”
“
Hear him ! h ear him ! piped Gago o l ; h e ar the lia r “

who s ays he will pu t ou t the su n like a lamp L e t hi m do .

 ’
15 8 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S .

’
K eep it up Go o d ; I can t reme mb er a n y m o re p o etr y
,
.

”
Cu r se away the r e s a go o d fell o w
,
’
.

Good r esp o nded nobly to the tax upon his inv e ntiv e
faculties N ever bef o re had I the faintest conception o f
.

t he b r eadth an d depth and h e ight of a naval o fficer s oh ’

j g
u r at or
y powers Fo r ten minu t es he
. went o n withou t

stopping and he scarcely ever repeated himself

,
.

M eanwhile the dark ring crept o n St r ange and unholy .

shadows encroached upon the sunligh t a n ominou s quiet ,

filled the place the birds chirped out frightened no t es and

,

then we r e still ; only the cocks began to c ro w .

O n yet o n crept the ring of darkness ; it was n o w mo r e

, ,

than half over the r eddening or b The ai r grew thick .

and dusky O n yet on till we could scarcely se e th e fierce

.
, ,

faces o f the group bef o re us N o sound n ow r os e f r om .

the sp ectators and Good stopped swearing

,
.

Th e sun is dying— the wizards have killed the sun ,

yelled o u t the boy Scragga at last W e shall all die in

”
the dark and animated by fear o r fu r y o r b o th h e lif t
, , , ,

ed his spear and drove it with all his force at Sir Henry s ’

br o ad chest But he had forgotten the mail shirts that

.

the king had given u s and wh ich we wo r e benea t h ou r

,

cl o thing The steel rebounded harml e ss and befo r e he

.
,

could repeat the blow Sir Henry had snatched the S pear
fr o m his han d and sent it s tr aigh t th r ough him He .

d r opped dead .

At the sigh t and driven mad wi t h fea r a t th e ga the r ing

,

gloom the companies of girls broke up in wild confusion

,

and r an sc r eeching for the ga t eways N or did the panic .

stop the r e Th e king hims e lf follow e d by the guar ds

.
, ,

some O f the chiefs and Gagool who hobbled a way aft er

, ,

th em wi th mar vellous al a c r i t y fl e d fo r t h e hu t s so t h at
, ,
 ’
K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S . 15 9

in ano th er minute o r so ou r s e lves th e would b e victi m ,

,
-

F oulata I n fado os and some o f the chiefs wh o had int er

, ,

viewed u s on the p r evious n i ght w er e left alone up on t he

,

sc e ne with the dead body o f S c r agga .

”
N ow chiefs I said
, ,
we have given you the S ign
,
“
.

If ye are satisfied let u s fl y swiftly t o the place ye sp oke

,

of. Th e charm cannot now be stopp e d It will work f or .

”
an hou r L et us take advantage of the darkness
. .

”
Come said I nf adoos turning to go an example which
, , ,

was f o llowed by the awed chiefs ourselves and th e gir l

, ,

F oulata whom Good t o o k by the hand

, .

Befo r e we reach e d th e gate of the k r aal the su n went

o u t alt o gether .

Holding each o th er by t he han d w e s t umbl e d on t h r o u gh

the dark ne ss .
 CHAPT E R XII .

B EFORE TH E B ATTL E .

LU GK I L Y for us I nfadoos and the chi e fs k n ew all the

,

path ways o f the great town per f ectly so that n otwi th , ,

standing the intense g lo om we made fai r p r og r ess

,
.

F o r an h o ur o r m o re we j o urneyed o n till at length th e ,

eclipse began to pass and that edge o f the sun which had
,

disappeared the first became again visibl e In another .

five minutes there was sufficient light t o se e o u r whe r e

abouts and we t hen discovered that we were clea r o f th e
,

t o wn o f Lo ri an d appr o aching a large fl at topped hill

, ,
-
,

meas u ring s o me tw o miles in circumference This b i ll .

,

which was o f a f o rmati o n very common in Southe r n Af r i

ca was n o t very high ; indeed i ts greatest el e vatio n was
, ,

n o t m o re than tw o hundred feet b u t it was shaped like a

,

horsesh o e and i ts sides were rather precipitous an d st r ewn

,

with b o ulders O n the grass table lan d at th e top was

.
-

ample camping gr o und which had been utilized as a mili

-
,

tary can t o nment o f n o mean strength Its o rdinary ga r .

rison was one r egiment of three thousand men but as we ,

toiled u p the steep S ide of the hill in th e returning day

light we p erceived that there we r e many mo r e war r io rs
than that upon it .

Reaching the table land at last we foun d c r owds O f

-
,

men huddled t o gethe r in the utmost c o nste r nation at the

natural phenomen o n which they were witnessing Passing .

through these without a word we gained a hut i n the c en

,
16 2 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES ’
.

wife and child drive n o u t t o star ve Then he p o in t ed ou t .

ho w the land su ffered and groaned unde r Twala s cruel

’

r u le I nstancing the proce edings o f the previous night

‘

, ,

when under pretence o f their being evil doers many o f

,
-
,
‘

the noblest in the land had been hauled f o rth and c r uelly
done to death N ext he went on to say that the white
.

l o rds fr o m the stars l o oking d o wn o n the lan d had per , ,

c e i v e d its trouble and determined at great personal i n

, ,

c o nvenience t o alleviate its l o t ; h o w t hey had acc o rdingly

,

taken the r eal king of the c o untry I gn o si wh o was lan , ,

u is h i n g in e xile by the hand and led him over th e moun

g ,

tains ; how they had seen the wickedness o f Twala s do ’

ings and f o r a S ign t o the wav er ing and t o save the l i fe

, ,

o f the girl Foulata had actually by t he exe r cis e o f th ei r

, ,

high magic put ou t the su n and slain the young fiend

, ,

S cr agga ; and how they were p r epar ed to s t and by them ,

and assist them to ove r throw Twala and set up t h e righ t ,

ful king I gn osi in his plac e

, , .

He finished his discours e amid a mu rm ur o f appr ob a

tion and then I gn osi stepped forwa r d a n d b egan t o speak
, .

Having reiterated all that I n fado os his uncle had said h e , , ,

concl u ded a p o wer f ul speech in th ese w or ds

O chiefs captains soldiers and people ye hav e h ea r d
, , , ,

my words No w must y e make choice between me and

.

him who sits upon my th r one the uncle who kill e d hi s ,

br o ther and hunted his bro the r s child forth to die in the
,
’

c o ld and the night That I am indeed t he king th e se

.

pointing to the chiefs can tell ye fo r they have se en ,

th e snake about m y m iddle If I were n o t the king would .

,

these white men be on my S ide with all their magic T r em ,

ble chiefs captains sol diers and people ! Is not the dark
, , , ,

ness they have brough t upon t he land t o co n found Twal a,

”
an d cov er ou r fl ight ye t b e fo re you r e y e s ? ,
 ’
K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES . 16 3

It is an sw ere d t h e soldie r s
, .

I am th e king ; I say to ye I am the king went on , ,

I gn osi d r awing up his great stature to its full and lifting

,
,

h is b r oad blad e d battle axe above his head

-
If there b e
-
.

any man among ye wh o says that it is not so let hi m ,

stan d forth and I will fight him n ow and his bl o od shall

, ,

b e a r e d t o ken th at I tell y e tru e L et him stand f orth I .

,
”
say ; and he sho o k th e grea t axe till it flashed in the su n
light .

As n o b o dy s e emed inclined to r espon d t o this he r oic

version of Dilly Dilly c o me and be killed o u r late
“
,
”
, ,

hen ch man pro ceeded with his addr ess .

“
I am indeed the king and i f ye d o stan d by my side ,

in t h e battle if I win the day ye shall go with m e to vic

,

tory and h o no r I will give ye oxen and wives and ye

.
,

shall take place of all th e r egiments ; and if ye fall I will

fall with ye .

And behold this p r omis e do I giv e y e tha t when I sit

, ,

upon the seat of my fathers bloodshed sh all cease in the ,

land N o longe r shall ye cry f o r j ustice t o find slau gh ter

.
,

no longer shall the witch fi n der hun t ye ou t so tha t ye be -

S lain without a cause N o man shall die save he wh o of.

f e n de t h agains t the laws The eating up of your kraals

.

shall cease ; each sh all sleep secur e in hi s o wn b u t and fear

not an d j ustic e Shall walk blind throughou t th e land Have
, .

”
ye ch o sen chiefs captain s s o ldiers and pe o pl e ?
, , , ,

We have chosen O king came back the answer , ,

.

It is well Turn y o ur heads and see how Twala s

.
’

m essenge r s go fo r th fr o m the g r eat t o wn eas t and west , ,

a n d nor t h an d south t o gather a mighty a rmy to slay m e

,

and ye and thes e my friends and my prot e ctors To mo r

,
.
-

r ow, o r p er ch an c e t h e ne xt day, will h e co me wi t h all wh o

 ’
16 4 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S .

a r e faithful to him Then shall I see th e m a n wh o i s i n

.

deed my man the man who fears n o t to die fo r his cau s e ;

,

and I tell ye he Sh all n o t b e f o rg o tten in the time of spoil .

I have S poken O chie f s captain s soldiers and p e opl e

, , , ,
.

No w g o t o your huts and make yo u r eady f or war .

There was a pause and th en on e of the chiefs lif t ed

,

hi s hand and out rolled the r o yal salute

,
K o om It ,
“

was a S ig n that the regiments accepted I gn osi as thei r

king T h en they march ed o ff in battalion s
. .

Half an h o ur afterwards we held a c o un cil of wa r at ,

which all the c o mman ders o f r egiments were present It .

was evident t o us that bef o re very l o ng we S h o uld b e at

tacked i n overwhelming f orce Indeed from o u r p o int o f
.
,

v antage o n the hill we c o uld se e tro o ps m a s t e r i n g an d ,

m essengers going f o rth fr o m Loo in every direction doub t ,

less t o summ o n regiments t o the king s assistance W e ’

.

had on o ur side ab o ut twenty thousand men comp osed o f ,

seven o f the b est regiments in the country Twala had .

,

so I n fado o s and the c h iefs calculated at least thirty to ,

thirty fi v e th o usand o n wh o m h e c o uld rely at present

-

assembled in Loo and they thought that by midday on the

,

m o rr o w he w o uld be able t o gath e r another five thousand

o r m o re to his ai d It was of c o urse p o ssible th at s o me
.
, ,

o f hi s tr oo ps w o uld desert and c o me over t o us but it was ,

n o t a c o ntingency that c o uld be reckoned on M eanwhile .

,

it was clear th at active preparati o n s were being made t o

subdue us Already str o ng b o dies o f armed m en were
.

p atrolling round and r o und th e f o ot of th e hill and there ,

we r e other signs o f a c o ming attack .

I nf ado o s and the chiefs h o wever were of O pinion t ha t

, ,

no attack w o uld take place that nigh t which w o uld b e ,

devo t ed to preparation and t o the rem o val by every p ossi

 ’
16 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S .

has b e en t o r n fr om t he black bull and t he king d r iv e s hi m ,

”
bleeding about the camp .

“
What are Twala s te rms ? I aske d for cu r iosity
” ’
,
.

His terms ar e merciful wo r thy of a great king Th e se ,

.

are th e wo r ds of Twala the one eyed the mighty the hus

,
-
, ,

band of a thou san d wives lord of the K u ku an as k ee p er of

, ,

the g r ea t road (Solomon s Road ) b eloved of th e s tr ang e

’
,

o nes wh o si t in sil e nce at th e moun ta i n s yonde r (th e Th r e e

Witches ) calf o f the black cow elephant whose tre ad
, ,

shak e s the ear th t er r o r o f th e evil do er ostrich whos e feet

,
-
,

devou r the d e ser t huge on e black on e wise o ne ki n g fr o m

, , , ,

generation to g e ne r ation ! thes e are th e wo r ds of T wala :

I will have me r cy and be satisfied with a li tt le blood .

O ne in eve r y ten shall die the re st S hall go free ; bu t ,

t he whi t e man Incub a who slew Sc r agga m y son and, , ,

I nfado o s my b r other who b r ews r eb e llion against m e

, , ,
’
these shall die by to rt ure as an o ffe r ing t o the sil e nt o ne s .

”
Such a r e the merciful wo r ds o f Twal a .

After consulting with th e oth er s a little I an sw ere d hi m

in a loud v o ice so that the soldiers migh t hea r t hus
, ,

Go back thou dog t o Twala who sen t th ee an d say

, , , ,

that w e I gnosi v e ritable king of the K u ku anas I n cu b u

, , , ,

B ou gwan and Mac u m az ahn the wise whit e on e s fr om th e

, ,

st ar s wh o make dark the sun I nfadoos o f th e r oyal h ouse , , ,

a nd th e chiefs captains and people he r e ga t h e red m ake

, , ,

answe r and say That we will not su rr ende r ; that bef ore
,

the su n has twice g o ne down Twala s c o rp s e shall stiffen ’

at Twala sgate and I gn osi wh o se fath er Twala sl e w shall

’
, , ,

T hi s cr u el cu stom fi ned to the Ku ku anas b u t i sby no m eans

i s n ot con ,

u n com m on am on g A f r i can tr ib e s o n the occasion of the ou tbreak of war

or any other i m p or tant p u bli c event A Q .
-
. .
 K I N G S OLOMON ’
S M I N ES . 16 7

r e i g n i n his s tea d ’
. N ow go er e we whip th e e a way, and
,

b e w are how y e lif t a hand against such as we ”

.

The h erald laughed loud Ye frigh ten no t me n wi t h

.

”
such swellin g words he cried o ut,
Sho w you r selves as .

b old t o mo r r ow O ye who darken th e sun B e bol d figh t,

-
, .
,

a n d b e me rr y b efore the crows pick you r bones till t hey

,

are whi t e r than y ou r faces Far e well ; p erhaps w e ma y

.

”
meet in t he fight ; wait fo r me I pray wh ite m en ,
And , .

wi t h this Sh aft o f sa r c a s m h e r e t i re d, and almos t i m m edi

ate ly t h e su n sank .

Tha t n igh t was a busy on e f or us for as far as was pos , ,

sibl e by th e m oonlight all p re parations fo r t he m o rr ow s

,
’

figh t w ere con t inued M essengers were c ons t antly coming

.

and going f r o m the place whe r e we sat i n council A t .

las t , abou t a n h ou r af t e r midnight eve rything that could ,

b e do ne was do n e an d th e camp sav e fo r the oc c asio n al

, ,

ch a lleng e of a sen tr y sank into sleep Si r Henry an d I

, .
,

accompa n i e d by I gn os i and on e Of th e chiefs d e sc e nd e d ,

th e h ill an d m ade the r ound of the vedettes As w e .

w ent sudd en ly, fro m all sorts o f une x p e cted places sp e a r s

, ,

gle ame d ou t in t he moonlight only to vanish again as w e ,

u ttere d t h e passwo r d It was clea r to us that non e we r e

.

sle e ping a t thei r posts Th e n we r etu r ned picking our

. ,

w a y th r ough thousands o f S leeping wa r riors ma n y o f ,

who m w er e t aking t heir las t ea rthly re s t .

Th e m oo n ligh t flick ere d along their sp e ars and played ,

upo n th e i r f e atu re s and m ade th em gh astly ; the chilly

n igh t wi n d toss e d t h e i r tall an d h e ar selik e plumes The re .

t hey l a y in wil d confusion with arms outst r etch e d and

,

t wis te d li mbs ; thei r stern stalwa r t fo rm s looking w e i r d

,

an d u n human i n t he m oonlight .

How m a n y of t h e s e d o you supp os e will b e a liv e at

this t i me t o m o rr ow a sk e d S i r H enr y .
 ’
16 8 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S .

I shook m y h ea d an d look e d again a t th e sl ee pi n g m en ,

and to m y tired and yet exci t ed i m agina t ion it s ee m e d as

t houg h d e ath h ad al re ady touch e d th em M y mind s ey e .
’

singl e d ou t those who w er e s e aled to slaughte r and the re ,

r ush e d in upon my hea r t a g re at sens e of th e myst er y of

huma n lif e and an ove rwhelming sor r ow at i t s futili t y and
,

sadness . To nigh t these t housands slept th e i r h e althy

-

sl e ep ; t o m o rr ow they and many othe r s wi t h them o u r

-
, ,

selves perhaps among th e m would b e sti fl en i n g in the cold ;

’
,

thei r wives would b e wid o ws th e i r child r en fatherless and , ,

t hei r place know th e m n o m o r e fo re ve r O nly the old moon .

would shine se r en e ly on the night wind would sti r th e

,

grasses and th e wid e e a r th would tak e its happy r est e ven

, ,

as it did ee on s befo r e t h e se we re and will do ae ons a f te r ,

th e y h ave be e n fo rgot te n .

Y e t m an dies n ot whil e t he wo r ld at onc e his mo t h er ,

and his monum e nt re mains His nam e is fo rgo tte n i n

, .
,

deed bu t the b r eath he b r eathed y e t sti r s th e pi n e tops on

,
-

the moun t ains t he sound of t he wo r ds h e S pok e ye t echoes

,

o n through space ; th e thoughts his b r ai n gav e bi r th to

w e have inher ited to day ; his passio n s a r e ou r caus e of

-

life ; the j oys and so rro ws tha t h e f e lt a re ou r fam ili ar

—
fr ie n ds th e e nd fr om which h e fl ed a gh a s t will su re ly
overtak e u s also .

T r uly the univ er s e isfull of ghosts ; n ot she ete d chu r ch ,

ya r d spect re s but the inextinguishabl e and immo rt al e l e

, o

m e nts of life wh i ch having o n c e b ee n c an ne v er

, , ,

though they bl e nd and chang e a n d chang e again fo r

e ver .

All so rt s of refl ec t io n s o f t his so rt pass e d t h r ough m y

—
m ind fo r as I get older I re g r et t o say t h at a d ete s tabl e
habi t of t hi n ki n g s eem s t o b e ge tt ing a hold of me — whil e
 ’
17 0 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

We go t up and dressed o urselv e s the f r ay each pu t f or ,

e

ting on his chain arm o r S hirt fo r which at the presen t

-
,

j uncture we felt excee dingly thankful Si r Henry wen t .

the wh o le lengt h about the matter and dressed hims e lf ,

like a native warri o r When y o u are in K u k u an alan d

. ,

d o as the K u k u an as d o he remarked as h e dre w the S hin

”
, ,

i n g steel o ver his br o ad S h o u lders w hich it fitted like a ,

glove No r di d he stop there At his r equest I nfadoos

. .
,

had pr o vided him with a c o mplete set o f war unif orm .

R o und his thr o at he f astened the le o pard skin cl o ak of a -

c o mmanding O ffi cer o n hi s brows he b o und the plume of

,

black ostrich feathers w o rn o nly by generals of high r ank ,

and r o und his centre a magnificent mo o cha o f whit e o x

tails A pair of sandals a leglet o f g o at s hair a h e av y
.
,
’
,
“

battle axe with a rhin o cer o s horn handle a round i r on

- -

shield covered with white o x hide and the r egulatio n -

,

number o f t o llas o r throwing knives made u p his e qui p

,
-
,

ment to which h o wever he added his r evolve r The d re ss

, , , .

was no d o ubt a savage one ; but I am b ound to say I

, ,

never saw a finer sight than Sir Henry C u rtis presented in

this guise It S howed o ff his magnificent physique to the
.

greatest advantage and when I gn osi arrived p r esently ar

, , ,

rayed in S imilar c o stume I th o ught t o m yself that I never ,

befo re saw two such S plen did men A s f o r G oo d and m y .

s elf the chain arm o r did n o t suit u s nearly so well To

, .

begin w ith Go o d insisted up o n keeping on his t rousers

, ,

and a st o ut S hort gentleman with an eye glass and on e

,
-

half of his face shaved arrayed in a mail shirt ca r efully

,

t ucked into a very seedy pair of corduroys looks mo re ,

s t riking than imp o sing As f or myself my chain S hi rt.

,

being to o big f o r me I put it o n o ver all my cloth e s

, ,

which caused i t to bulge ou t in a so me wha t ung a i n ly

 K I N G S O LOMO N S M I N ES ’
. 1

fashio n I discar ded my tr ousers h owev er d e t erm ined t o

.
, ,

go i nt o bat t le with bare legs in order to b e the ligh ter in

,

case i t b e came necessary t o reti r e quickly r e t aining only ,

m y v eldtschoon s This a S pear a Shield which I did n ot

.
, , ,

kn ow how to u se a couple o f t o llas a revolve r and a huge

, , ,

p lum e which I pinned int o the t o p o f my shooting hat in

,
-

o r de r to give a bl o odthirsty finish to my app e a r ance c o m ,

p le t e d m y mod e st equipment In additi o n t o all

. t h ese a r
ti c le s o f cou r se we had o u r r ifles but as amm u niti o n w as
, ,

sc ar ce and they would be u seless in case o f a charge we

, ,

h ad a rr ang e d to have them carried b ehind us by bearers .

As soon as we had e quipped o urselves we hastily swal

lowed so m e food an d then started o u t t o se e how things
,

w ere p r og r essing At o n e p o int in the table land of the

.
-

m oun t ain there was a little k o ppie o f brown stone which ,

s er v e d fo r the double purpose o f hea dquar te r s and a c o n

n i n g tow er He r e we f o und I nfadoo s surr o unded by his
.

own r egim en t the Grays which was und o ubtedly the

, ,

fi ne s t in t he K u k u an a a r my and the same which w e had

,

fi r st s ee n at th e outlying kraal This regiment now th r ee . ,

thousa n d fi v e hundred strong was being held in r eserve , ,

and the m e n we r e lying d o wn o n the grass in c o mpanies ,

and wa t ching the king s f o rce s c reep o u t of Lo o in l o ng

’
,

ant like c o lu m ns The r e seemed t o be no end t o th o se

-
.

colu m ns— t h re e in all and each numb e ring at l e as t el e v en

,

or t w e lve t h ousan d men .

As soon as th e y we r e clea r o f th e town th e y fo r m ed up ,

.

Th en o ne body m a r ched off to th e right on e to t he l e ft, ,

an d th e third cam e S lowly o n towa r ds us .

Ah said I n fado o s they a r e going t o atta ck us on

”
, ,
“

”
t hree sid e s at onc e .

This was r a t h er s er ious n e ws for as ou r posi ti on on t he

,
17 2 K I N G S OLO MON S M I NE S
’
.

t op t h e m oun t ain which was a t least a mil e an d a hal f

of ,

in circumference was an extende d o ne it was impo rt an t

, ,

to us to concent r ate o u r compa r atively small defending

forc e as much as p o ssible But as it was impossible fo r u s
.
,

to dictate in what way we should be attacked we had to,

make t he best of it and accordingly sent o rde r s to t he

,

var ious regi men ts t o p r epare t o r eceive the sepa r at e

slau ghts .
17 4 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

him half way d o wn the neck which ought I calcula te d to

-
, , ,

fi n d him in the chest He stood quite still and gave m e

.

e ve ry o pportunity but whether it was the excitement or

,

the wi nd or the fact of the ma n being a long S hot I don t

, ,
’

know but this was what happened Getting dead o n as

,
.
,

I thought a fine sight I pressed and when the pu ff of

, , ,

sm o ke had cleared away I to my disgu st saw my man , ,

standing unharmed while his orderly wh o was at least

, ,

three paces t o the left was st r etched up o n the gr o und ap

, ,

p ar e n tl
y dead Tu r ning swiftly
. the o fli ce r I had aimed ,

at began t o r u n towards his force in evident alarm ,

.

Brav o Quat ermain ,

sang o u t Good ; you ve f r ight ’

”
ened him .

This made m e v e ry angry f or if p o ssible t o avoid it I , ,

hate t o miss in public When o ne can o nly do on e thing

.

well o n e likes to keep up on e S reputati o n in that thing

,
’
.

Mo ved quite o u t o f myself at my failure I did a rash ,

thing Rapidly covering the general as he r an I let drive

.
,

with the second barrel The poor man th r ew up his ar m s

.

and fell f o rward o n his face This time I had mad e n o .

—
mistake ; and I say it as a proof o f how little we think of
o thers when o u r own pride or reputati o n are in ques t io n
—I was brute enough t o feel delighted at the sight ‘

The r egiments wh o had seen the feat cheered wildly at

this exhibition of the white man s magic which they t ook ’
,

as an omen of S u ccess while the force to which the

, ge n
—
e r al had belonged which indeed as we aft er wards as oe r , ,

t a i n e d —
he had commanded b egan to fall back in c on fu
,

sion Sir H e nry and Go o d now t o ok up their r ifles and

.

”
began to fire the latter industri o u sly browning the
,
“

dense mass bef o re him with a Winch ester repeate r a n d I ,

also had a no t he r sho t or t wo with t h e re sul t t ha t so f ar , ,

 K I N G S OL OMON S M I N ES
’
. 17 5

as w e could j udge w e put so me eight or t en me n hor s de

,
’

c om ba t bef or e th ey got o u t of range .

Jus t a s we s t opped firing there came an ominou s r oa r

f r om ou r fa r r ight th en a S imilar r oar from o u r left Th e
, .

two o t he r divisions were engaging us .

At th e sound the mass o f men before u s Opened ou t a

li t tle and came o n t owards the hill up the S pit o f ba r e
,

g r ass land a t a S low trot singing a deep t hroated song as

-
,
-

they advanced We kept up a steady fi r e from o u r rifles

.

as they came I gn o si j o ining in o ccasionally and accounted

, ,

for several men but O f cou r se p r oduced n o more e ffect

,

u pon that mighty r u sh of armed humanity th a n he who

t hr o ws p ebbles does on the advancing wav e .

O n they came with a shout and the clashing of spea r s ;

,

now they were drivin g in the outpos t s we had placed

amo n g th e r ocks at the fo o t o f th e hill Aft er t ha t the .

adva n ce w as a littl e S lower f o r though as ye t we had of

,

f e r e d no s e rious oppositi o n the attacking fo r ce had t o

,

co m e up hill and came S lowly to save their breath O u r

, .

fi r st line o f defenc e was ab out half way up the side our -

,

secon d fifty ya r ds farthe r back whil e o u r thi r d o ccupie d

,

the edge o f the plain .

O n they came shouting their war c r y Twala Twala !

,
-
,

Chi elé ! Chi elé ( Twala ! Twala Smite smite l )

'
.

”
I gn osi ! I gn osi ! Chi elé ! Chi elé ! answered ou r p e o
“ '

ple Th e y we r e quite clos e n o w and the t o llas or th r ow

. , ,

ing knives b egan to flash backwa r d and fo r ward and now

-
, ,

with an awful yell the bat t le cl osed in .

To and f r o swayed th e m ass o f st r uggling wa rr io r s m en ,

falling thick as leaves in an autumn wind ; but befo re

long the superior weight o f the attacking fo r ce began t o
te ll an d ou r fi r s t lin e o f d e f en c e was slo wly p re ss e d b a ck ,
,
 17 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES
’
.

t ill i t merg e d i n t o th e s e cond Here th e st r uggl e was v er y

.

fier c e but again o u r p e ople w e re driven back an d up t ill

, ,

at leng th within twenty minutes of the co mmenc em ent o f

,

t h e fight our third line came into acti o n

,
.

But by this time the assailants we r e mu ch exhaus te d ,

an d had besides lost many men killed and wounded and to
, , ,

b re ak th r ough that third impenetrable hedge of S p ea r s

p r oved b eyond their powe r s F o r a while the dense mass .

o f st r uggling warriors swung backward an d f o rwa r d in

t he fierc e ebb and flow of battle and th e issue was d o ubt ,

ful Si r Hen r y watched the desperate struggle with a

.

kindling eye and then without a w or d he r ushed o ff fol

, ,

lo w e d by G o od and flung himsel f into the hottes t of the

,

fr ay As f o r myself I st o pped where I was

.
,
.

The soldiers cau ght sight o f his tall f o rm as he plung e d

into the battle andthere r o se a cry o f
,

N a nz i a I n cu bu (Here the E lephant Chi elé !

“
i s
Chi cle .

From tha t moment the issue was no longe r in doubt .

Inch by inch fighting with despe rate gallantry th e attack

, ,

ing f o rce was p r essed back d o wn the hi lls i de till at last it ,

r et r eated up o n its r es erves in som ething like c o nfusi o n .

At that m o ment t oo a messenger ar rived t o say t hat the

, ,

left attack had b een r epulsed and I was j ust beginning ,

to c o n gr atulate myself that the a ff air was over fo r th e

pres ent wh en to o u r h orror we p erceived o ur men who
, , ,

had been engaged in the right de f ence being driven tow

ards us acr o ss the plain f o ll o wed by swarms of th e enemy
, ,

who had evidently su cceeded at this p o int .

I gn osi wh o was standing by me t oo k in the si tu ati e n

, ,

at a glance and issued a rapid order Instantly the r e

, .

s er v e r egiment r ound u s (the Grays ) exte n ded its e lf .

 ’
17 8 K IN G S OL OMON S M I NE S .

the head which knocked m e ou t o f t i m e How has i t

,
.

”
e nded ?
They are re puls e d a t eve r y poin t fo r t he t i me T he .

loss is dreadfully heavy ; we have l o st quite t wo thousand

kille d and w o unded and they m u st have lost t h re e L ook
,
.
,
”
there s a sight ! and h e pointed to long lines o f men ad
’

v an c i ng by fou r s In the centre of and being born e by

.
, ,

each group of fou r was a kind of hide t ray of which a ,

K u k u an a for ce always ca rr ied a quantity wi t h a loop fo r,

a h andle a t each co r n er O n these trays — and thei r num

.

be r seemed endl e ss—lay wou n ded me n wh o as they a r ,

r iv e d we r e has t ily e xamined by th e m edicine me n of -

,

who m t e n we r e at t ached t o each regime n t If th e wound .

Was n o t of a fatal char a cter t h e sufferer was taken away

and a tte nded t o as ca r efully as circumstances would a llow .

B ut if on th e o t he r hand t he wound e d man s condition

, ,
’

w a s hopel e ss what follow e d was very dr e adful though

, ,

doub t l e ss i t was t h e tr u e st mer cy O ne of the doc t o r s

.
,

u n d er p reten c e of carrying ou t an examinatio n swif t ly ,

Ope n ed a n a r te ry with a sha rp knif e and i n a m inute o r

,

two t h e su ff e r e r expired painlessly Ther e we r e m an y

.

ca se s tha t day in which this was done I n fact i t w a s .

,

done in m os t cas e s when t he wound was in the body fo r ,

t h e gash m ade by the en tr y of the eno r mously b r oad sp ear s

us e d by the K u k u anas g e n er ally ren de r ed re cov er y hop e
less I n m ost cas e s th e su ffe rer s w er e al re ady unconscious
.
,
”
and i n o t h er s the fatal nick o f t he arter y was done so
“

swiftly and painlessly t ha t th e y did n ot seem to n o t ic e i t .

S t ill i t was a gh a stly sight and one f r om which we w ere

,

glad t o escape ; i n deed I neve r re m ember o n e which af

,

f ec te d me m o re than s ee ing t hos e galla n t soldie r s t hus

pu t ou t of p a i n b y t h e re d han ded me dici ne m en , exc e pt,
- -
 ’
K I N G S OL OMON S M I N ES . 17 9

i n d e ed o n an o cc a sio n wh en after a n a tt ack I saw a fo r c e

, , ,

o f Swazis bu r ying th ei r hop elessly wounded a li ve .

Hur r ying fro m this dreadful scen e t o th e farther S ide of

t he koppie w e found Sir Henry (wh o still held a bloo dy
,

b attle axe in his hand ) I gn osi I n fado os and o ne or two

-
, , ,

o f t he c h iefs in d e ep con sultation .

Thank h e avens here you ar e Qua termain ! I can t

, ,
’

m ake ou t what I gn osi wants to do It s e ems that though .

,

we h av e b eaten O ff the attack Twala is now r eceiving ,

large r einfo r c e ments and is showing a disposition to i n

,
”
v est u s with a view o f sta r ving u s out
, .

’ ”
That s awkward .

Y e s e sp ecially as I nfado os says that t he w at e r sup

”
ply has given ou t .

M y lord that is so said I n f ado os; th e S p r ing can

, ,
“

no t supply the wants of so g r eat a multitude and is fail ,

ing r apidly B efo r e night we shall all b e thir s t y L isten

. .
,

M ac u m az ahn Thou art wise and hast doubtl e ss seen

.
,

many wa r s in th e lands from wh ence thou camest— that is

if indeed they make wa r s in the stars N ow tell us what
, ,
.
,

sh all we do ? Twala has brought up many fr esh men t o

take th e plac e of those who have fallen But Twala has .

learned a lesson ; th e hawk did not think t o find th e heron

r eady ; but our beak h as pie r ced his b r east ; he will n ot
s t rik e at us again We to o are wounded an d h e will
.
, , ,

wait f or us t o die h e will wind himself round u s lik e a

snak e r ou n d a bu ck and fight the fight o f sit down
,
.
’

”
I hea r you I said ,
.

S O Macu m az ahn thou s e e st we have n o wat e r h ere

, , ,

an d bu t a li tt le food an d we mu s t choos e be t w een th e se

,

t h ree t hings — t o languish like a sta r ving lion in his den ,

h —
o r t o s tr iv e t o b rea k a way t ow ar ds th e n o rt , o r an d
 18 0 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S ’
.

h er e h e r ose a n d pointed t owa r ds the dense mass o f o u r

f o es to launch ou r selves straight at Twala s th r oat ’
.

I c u b u th e grea t warrior
n — f o r t o day h e f o ught like a -
,

buffalo in a n et and Twala s soldiers went d o wn b efore

,
’

his axe lik e corn bef o re the b ai l; with these eyes I saw it
“
I n c u b u says charge ; but th e E lephant is ever prone
‘ ’

to charge N ow what says Mac u m az ahn the wily o ld f o x

.
, ,

who h as seen mu ch and loves t o bite hi s enemy from b e

hind ? The last w o rd is in I gn o si the king f o r i t a , ,

king s r ight to speak o f war ; but let u s h ear thy voice

’
,

0 Macu m az ahn who watc h est by night and the voic e t oo

, ,
”
o f him o f the t r ansparent eye .

What sayest th o u I gn osi I asked , .

”
N ay my father answered o ur qu o ndam servant who
, , ,

n ow clad as he was in the full panoply O f savage war

, ,

looked eve r y inch a warrior king d o thou sp eak and l e t ,

“
,

me wh o am but a child in wisdom b eside th ee hear ken to

, ,
”
thy wo r ds .

Thus abj u r ed I after taking hasty counsel with Good

, ,

and Si r Henry delive r ed my O pini o n briefly t o the e ffect

,

tha t b e ing trapped o u r best chance especially in view of

, , ,

the failure o f o u r wate r supply was to initiate an attack ,

upo n Twala s fo r ces and t hen I rec o mmended that the at

’
,

tack should be delivered at once be f o re ou r wounds ,

“

”
g re w stiff and also bef o r e th e sight o f Twala s over
,
’
~

p owe r ing f or c e caused th e hearts o f o ur s o ldiers t o wax

”
s m all like fa t b e fo re a fire O therwise I p o inted o u t .
, ,

s o m e o f the c ap t ains might change th eir min ds and mak , ,

i ng peace with T wala desert to him or even b etray us in t o , ,

his hands .

This expression of O pini o n seemed o n the whole to b e , ,

favor ab ly recei v e d; in deed among the K u k u anasmy u tter ,

 K IN G S OL OMON M I N ES
’
18 2 S .

s tr oye d as it may happe n th ere m ay yet be a king l e ft

, ,

to figh t fo r ; and with me shall c o me Mac u m az ahn the

wise .

It is well O K i n g said I n fado o s apparently con t em

, , ,

plating t he ce r tainty of the c o mplete annihilati o n o f his

r egiment with perfect calmness Truly these K u k u an as
.

are a won de rf ul pe o ple D eath has n o terrors f or them

.

when it is incurred in the course of duty .

“
An d while the eyes o f the multitude of Twala s regi ’

”
ments are thus fixed up o n th e fight went on I gn o si b e , ,

hold on e third of th e men wh o a r e left alive to u s (i e

,
. .
,

ab o ut six th o usand ) shall c r eep al o ng the right h o rn o f the

hill and fall up o n the left flank o f Twala s f o rce and o ne ’
,

third shall creep along the left h o rn and f all up o n Twala s ’

r ight flank A n d when I se e that the h o rns are r eady t o tos s

.

Twala then wi ll I with the men wh o are left to me ch arge

, , ,

home i n Twala s face an d if f ortune g o es wi th us the day

’
,

wi ll b e Ou r s and b e f o re N ight d r ives her h o rses fr o m the

,

m o untai n s t o the m o untains we shall si t in peace at Loo .

And n o w let u s eat and make rea dy ; and I n fado os d o , ,

t h ou prepare that the plan b e carried o u t ; and stay let

, ,

my white father B ou gwan g o with th e righ t horn that his

, , ,
”
shining eye m ay give courage to the men .

Th e arrangements for the attack thus briefly indicated

we re set in moti o n with a rapidity that spoke well for the
pe rf e ctio n of th e K u k u an a military system With i n littl e .

mo r e th an an h o ur r ati o ns h ad b een served o u t to the men

and d e vou r ed the three divisi o ns were forme d the plan
, ,

of attack explained t o the lead e rs and the whole fo r ce , ,

with the exception of a guard lef t with t he wounded now ,

nu mb er in g about eight een t housa n d me n i n all , was re a dy

to b e pu t i n m o ti on .
 K I N G S OLOMO N M IN ES
’
S . 18 3

P re sen t ly Good came up and S ho o k hands wi t h Si r

H e nry and mys e lf .

”
Good bye yo u fellows h e said I a m off wi t h t he
-
, , ,
“

r igh t wing according to o r d er s ; an d so I have com e t o

,

”
shake h ands in case we should no t m eet again you k n ow , ,

he added S ignificantly
, .

We sho o k hands in silence and n ot without the e x hi b i

,

tion of as much e motion as E nglishmen are w ont to S ho w .

”
“
It is a qu e e r bu siness said Si r Henry his d ee p voic e
, ,

s haking a little and I confess I n ev er expec t to see to

,

mo r row s su n As far as I can m ake out the G r ays with

’
.
, ,

whom I am t o go a re to fight until they are wiped o u t in

,

o r de r to enable the wi n gs to S lip r ound unaware s an d o u t

’
fl ank Twala .Well so b e it ; at any rate it will b e a man s
, ,

dea t h Good bye old fellow God bl e ss you

-
,
I hop e
.

you will pull through and live to c ollar th e diamonds ;

’
but if y ou do t ak e my advic e and do n t hav e any t hing
,

m o r e to do with p r e t enders
In a n o t h e r secon d Good had w r ung us bo th by t he hand
and gone ; and t hen I n fado o s came up an d led O ff Sir H e n r y
t o his place in t h e fo r efront o f the G r ays while with m any , ,

misgivings I departed with I gnosi t o m y s t atio n i n th e

,

se co n d att ackin g re gi me n t .
 C H AP TE R X I V .

TH E L AST STAN D OF TH E GRAY S .

IN a few mo r e minutes the r egiments destined to ca rry

o u t t h e flanking movements had tramped o ff in S ilence ,

keeping carefully under the lee o f the risi n g ground in

o rder t o conceal the movement f r om the keen eyes of
Twala s sc o uts
’
.

Half an hour or m or e was all o w e d to elapse b e t ween

the setting o ut of the h o rns or wings Of the army b ef o re
-

any m o vement was made by th e Grays and th e suppo r t

i n g regiments kn o wn as the B u fl alo e s which formed i ts
, ,

ch e st and which we r e destined to b ea r the brunt o f th e

,

battle .

Both of these regimen ts were alm o st p erfectly fresh ,

and o f full strength th e Grays having been in reserve in

,

the m or nin g an d having l o st but a small number o f m en

,

in sweeping back that p ar t o f the attack which had proved

successful in breaking th e line o f defe nce o n th e occasion
when I charged with them and g o t knocked silly for my
pains As for the Bu ff aloes they had f o rmed the third
.
,

line of defence o n th e l e ft and as the attacking f o rce at

,

tha t poi nt had not succeeded in breaking thr o ugh th e se c

o n d had sca r cely come int o acti o n at all
, .

I n f ado o s wh o was a wary o ld general and k n e w th e

, ,

abs o lute imp o rtance o f keeping up th e spirits o f his m en

o n the eve of such a desperate enc o unter empl o yed the ,

pause in add r essing his o wn regiment the G rays i n , ,

18 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

me n and cursed and shameful f o reve r b e th e n ame o f hi m

,

who shrinks from death for hi s king o r wh o tu rns his ,

back t o his en emy B eh o ld y o ur king chiefs captains

.
, ,

and s o ldiers ; now do y o ur h o mage t o the sacred snake ,

an d then f o llow on that I n c u b u and I may S how ye the

,
”
ro ad to the heart o f Twala s forces ’
.

There was a m o ment s pause then suddenly the r e r o s e

’
,

from the se r ried phalanxes b efore u s a m u rmur like th e ,

distant whisper o f the se a cau sed by the gentle tapping ,

i x th o usan d spears against their h o lders

’
o f th e han dles o f s

shields Sl o wly it s welled till i ts gr o wing volume deep

.
,

ened and widened int o a roar o f r o lling n oise that ech o ed ,

like thunder against the m o un ta i ns and filled the air with ,

h eav y waves o f s o und Then it decreased an d S lowly

.

died away int o n o thing and suddenly o u t c rashed the ,

r o yal salute .

I gn o si I th o ught t o my self might well b e a proud man

, ,

that day f o r n o R o man emp er o r e v e r had such a saluta

,
”
ti o n fr o m gladiat o rs ab o ut t o die .

I gn o si ack n o wledged this magnificent act o f h o mage by

lifting his battle axe and then the Grays filed O ff in a
-
,

triple lin e f o rmati o n each line c o n taini n g ab o ut on e thou

-
,

san d fi ghting men exclusive o f O fficers When th e last line

, .

had g o ne s o me five hundred yar ds I gn o si put himself at ,

the head o f th e Bu ffal o es which regiment was d r awn up ,

in a similar three lin e f o rmati o n and gav e the w ord t o

-
,

march and off we went I n eedless to say u tteri n g the

, , , ,

most heart felt prayers that I might c o me o ut o f that j ob

w ith a wh o le skin M any ii que e r p o siti o n have I f o und
.

myse lf in but never be f o re in o ne quite so u n pleasant as

,

the present o r on e in which my chance o f co m ing o ff safe

,

w a s so small .
 ’
K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S . 18 7

B y t he t ime t ha t we r eached the edge of t h e pla te au t h e

G r ays w er e already half way down the S lope ending in th e
-

t ongue of grass land that ran up in t o the bend of the mou n

-

tain , som ethi n g as th e fr o g of a h orse s foo t r uns up in t o ’

the shoe Th e excitement in Twala s camp on the plai n

.
’

b eyond was very great and r egim e nt after r egiment was

,

sta rt ing fo r wa r d at a long swinging t r ot in order to reach

th e r oot of th e tongue of land b efor e the attacking fo r ce
could emerge int o the plain o f Loo ,

This t o n gue of land which was some three hund r ed

,

y a r ds in d epth was
,
e ven at,
its ro o t o r widest pa r t n o t ,

m o re than three hund r ed an d fifty paces across while at ,

i ts tip it scarcely m easured nin ety The Grays who in .

, ,

passing d o wn the side o f the hill and o n to th e tip o f the

t o ngu e had f o rmed in column o n r eaching th e spo t where
, ,

it broad ened o u t again r eassumed their triple line f o rma -

tion an d halted dead .

Th en w e that i s th e Bu ff aloes — moved down t he tip

,

o f th e t o ngue and took o u r stand in r eserve ab o ut o n e hun ,

dred yards behin d th e last line of the Grays and o n slight ,

ly highe r groun d M eanwhile we had leisure to o bserve

.

Twala s entire f or ce which had evidently b e en r einfo r ced

’
,

sinc e th e m o rning attack and could not n o w n o twi thstand

, ,

ing th e i r losses n umber less t han forty thousand moving

, ,

swiftly up towa rds u s B ut as th ey drew nea r the r oo t of

.

the t ongue th ey hesita t ed having disc o ve r ed that only o ne

,

r egiment c o uld advan ce into th e gorge at a time and that ,

t he r e som e seventy yards fr o m th e m o uth of it u n assai la

, ,

ble e xcept in front on acc o unt of the high wall s of boul

,

de r strewn ground on eithe r side stood th e famous r egi

-
,

m e nt of G r ays the p r id e and glo r y of the K u ku an a a r my

, ,

r ea dy t o hold t h e w a y agai n s t t h e i r fo r c e s as t h e t h ree

18 8 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

Ro m an s Once held the bri dge against t housands The y .

hesi t a t ed and finally st o pped th eir advan ce ; the r e was no

,

eage rne ss to c r oss spears with those three lines of grim ‘

warrio r s wh o st o o d s o firm and ready Presently h o wever .

, ,

a tall gen e ral with the customary head dress of n o dding

,
-

ostrich plumes came running up attended by a g r oup o f

, ,

chiefs and o rderlies bein g I th o ught n o ne other than

, , ,

Twala him self and gave an o rder and th e first r egiment

, ,

raised a shout and charged u p t o wards the G r ay s wh o r e

, ,

mained perfect ly still and silent until the attacking tr oo ps

were wi thin f o rty yards and a v o lley o f tollas o r throw
, ,

ing knives came ratt ling am o ng their ranks

-
,
.

Then suddenly with a b o und an d a ro ar th ey sp r ang

, ,

forwa r d with uplifted spears and the tw o regiments met ,

in deadly stri f e N ext sec o nd the r o ll o f the meeting

.

shields came t o ou r ears like th e s o und of thunder and ,

t h e whole plain seemed to be alive wit h flashes o f light

re flected fr o m the stabbing spears T o an d fr o swu n g .

the hea ving mass o f struggling stabbing humanity but , ,

n o t fo r long S uddenly the attacking lines seemed to gr o w

.

thinner and then with a slow l o ng heave th e Grays passed

, ,

o ve r them j ust as a great wave heaves up and passes o ve r

,

a sunken r idge It was do ne ; that regiment was co m

.

p l e t e ly destr o yed b ut th e Grays had

, but two lin es left
now ; a third of their number we r e dead .

Closing up shoulder t o s houlder on ce m ore th e y hal t ed ,

in silence an d awaited att ack ; and I was rej o ic e d to ca t ch

’
sight of Sir Henry s yell o w he ar d as he moved to and fr o ,

a r rangi ng the r anks S o he was yet alive .

Meanwhile we moved up on to the g r oun d o f th e en

c o unter which was cumbered by about f o u r th o usand p r os
,

tr a t e human bein gs dead dying and w o unded and lite r ally

, , , ,
19 0 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S ’
.

Then came a change ; the G r ay s ceased to give ; th e y s t ood

still as a r ock against which the furi o us waves of spear
,

men br o ke again and again o nly t o rec o il Presently th ey

,
.

b egan t o m o ve again— fo r ward this time ; as they had no

firearms the r e was n o sm o ke so we c o uld see it all Ah
,
.

o the r minute and the onslaught grew fainter .

“
Ah they a r e m en indeed ; they will c o nquer aga in
, ,

ca lled o u t I gn osi who was grinding his teeth with ex

,

c i te m e u t at my S ide See i t is done

.
,

Suddenly like puffs o f sm o ke fr o m the mou th o f a can

,

n o n th e attacking regiment br o ke away in flying gr o ups

, ,

their white head dresses streaming behind them in the

-
.

wind and le f t their o pp o nen ts vict o rs indeed b ut alas !no

, , , ,

m o re a regiment O f the gallant triple line which f o rty

.
, ,

minutes befo re had g o ne int o acti o n three th o usand str o ng ,

there remained at m o st s o me si x hundred bl oo d b espatte r ed -

men ; the rest were under f oo t And yet they cheered and .

waved their spears in triumph and then instead o f falling , ,

back upon us as we expected th ey ran f o r war d f o r a hun

, ,

dred yards or S O a fter the flying gr o ups o f f o emen took

, ,

p o ssessi o n of a gently r i sm g kn o ll o f gr o und and resu m , ,

ing the old tri ple f o rmat io n formed a three fo ld r ing ar o und
,

it And then thanks be t o God stan d ing o n th e to p o f a

.
, ,

m o und f o r a minute I saw S II Henry apparently unharmed

,
‘

, ,

and with him o u r o ld fr i en d I n fadoo s Then Twala s .

’

regiments r o lled d o wn upon the doomed ban d and onc e ,

m o re the b attle closed in .

As th o se who r ead this history will probably long ago

have gathe r ed I am to b e honest a bit o f a c o ward an d
, , , ,

ce r tainly in n o way giv e n to fighting th o u gh s o meho w it , , ,

has often been my l o t to g e t into unpleasant p o siti o ns and ,

’
to be obliged to shed m an s bl o od B ut I have alway shate d .
 ’
K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S . 91

i t an d k e p t my o wn blood as undiminished in quantity as

,

po ssible so m etimes b y a j udici o us u se of my heels At this

, .

moment howeve r for the first time in my life I felt my bos

, , ,

om bu r n with martial a r dor Warlike fragments fr o m the .

“
Ingoldsby L egends together with numbers of sangui
”
,

n a r y v er se s fr om the O ld Testament sp r ang up in my b r ain ,

like mush r ooms in the dark ; my blo o d which hitherto had ,

been half fr o ze n with h o rro r w e nt beating through m y

-
,

vei n s and th e r e came upon me a savage desire to kill and

,

spa r e no t I glanced r ound at the s e r ried ranks of warri or s

.

behind u s a nd somehow all in an instan t began t o won

, , ,

de r if my fac e looked like theirs There they stood thei r .

,

heads c r an e d forward ove r their shields the hands twitch ,

ing the lip s apa r t the fierc e featu r es instinct with the hun
, ,

g r y lus t of bat tle and in th e eyes a look like the glare

,

o f a bloodhound when h e Sights his quarry .

O nly I gn o si s hear t seemed to j udge fr o m his compar a

’
,

tive self p ossession to all appearan ce to b eat as calmly as

-
, ,

ever b en eath his leopa r d skin cl o ak though even he still -

,

kept o n g r inding his teeth I could stand it n o l o nger . .

A r e w e t o stan d here till we put out r oo ts Umbopa ,

I gn osi I m ean — while T wala swallows o u r broth e rs yon

,

de r I asked .

N ay Mac u m az ahn was t h e answe r ; se e n ow is th e

,
”
, ,

r ipe m oment ; let u spluck it .

As h e spok e a fresh r egiment rushed past the ring u pon

the little m ound an d wh eeling r ound at t acked it from the
, , ,

hith er side .

Th en , li fting his ba t tl e ax e I gnosi gav e the sign al to ad

-
,

v a n c e a n
,
d r aising the
,
K u k u an a battle c r y th e B u fl alo e s -
,
’

cha r ged h o me with a r ush like the rush of the sea .

Wha t follow e d i mm edia t ely on t his i t is ou t of m y

~
19 2 K I N G S O LOMON S M I NE S
’
.

powe r to t ell All I can remembe r is a wild yet or de re d

.

r ushing that seemed to s hake the gr o und ; a su dden change

,

o f fr o nt and f o rming up o n th e part of the regiment

against which the charge was directed ; then an awful

S h o ck a dull roar o f v o ices an d a c o ntinu o us flashing of
, ,

S pears seen thr o ugh a red mist o f bl oo d

,
.

When my mind clear ed I fo un d mysel f standing inside

the remnant o f th e Grays near th e t o p o f the m o und and ,

j u st b eh i nd n o less a person than Sir Henry h imsel f H o w .

I g o t there I had at the m o ment no idea but Sir Henr y

, , ,

a f ter wards t o ld me that I was b o rne up by the first fu ri

o u s charge o f the B u fi alo e s alm o st t o his feet an d th en ,

le ft as they in turn we r e pressed back Thereon he dash e d

, .

o u t o f the circle and dragged me int o it .

As f o r the fight that f o ll o wed wh o can desc r ib e it ? ,

Again and again the multitudes surged up against ou r

m omentarily less e ning circle and again and agai n w e beat
,
.

them back
The stu bb or n sp ear sm en st ill m ade good
The dar k i m p enetr abl e wood
Each ste ppi n g wher e hi s com r ade stood
The i nstant that he f ell ,
”

”
as I thi nk the Ing o ldsby L egends b eautifully pu t s i t .

It was a splendid thing to see th o se brav e battalions

c o me o n time a fter time o ver the barriers o f their dead ,

sometimes ho lding c o rpses before them t o r eceive o u r spea r

thrusts o nly t o lea v e their o wn corpses t o swell the r ising
,

piles It was a gallant sight to see that sturdy o ld wa r

.

r i o r I n fado o s as c oo l as th ough he were o n parade sh o ut

, , ,

ing ou t orde r s taunts an d even j ests to keep up the S pirit

, , ,

o f his few remaining men and then as each cha r ge rolled

, ,

up ste pping f o r war d to wh e rever the fighting was thick

,
 ’
19 4 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES .

the plumes of char ging wa r riors Th e ou tflanki ng squad.

~

r ons had come t o our r elief The tim e could not have
.

been be t ter chosen All Twala s army had as Ign osi had
.
’
,

predicted w o uld be t he case fixed thei r attention o n t h e

,

bl o ody struggle which was r aging round the remna nt o f

the Grays and the B u ff al o es who we r e n ow ca rrying o n a
,

battle of t hei r o wn at a little distance which t wo r egi ,

ments had fo rm e d the ches t o f ou r a rmy It was n o t u n .

til the h o rns were about t o close upon them t ha t they had
d r eamed of th eir app r oach And now b efo r e t hey could
.
,

even assume a proper f o rmation for defence the o u tflank ,

ing Impis had leap e d lik e greyhounds on their flanks

, ,
.

In five minutes the fate o f the battl e was decided .

Taken o n b o th flanks and dismayed by the awful slaughte r

,

inflicted upon them by the G r ays and Bu ff aloes Twala s ,

’

regiments broke in t o flight and soon th e whole plai n b e

,

twee n us and L o o was scattered with g r oup s of flying sol

diers making go o d their ret re a t As fo r t he fo r c e s t ha t
, .

had so r ecently su r rounded u s and the Bu ff alo e s t hey ,

melted away as though by magic and p r esently w e w ere ,

left standing the r e like a r ock from which t h e sea h a s r e

treated But what a sight i t was ! Aroun d us t h e d ea d
.

and dying lay in heap e d u p mass e s and of t h e gall a n t

-
,

Grays there r e mained alive b u t n in e ty fi v e men M o re -

.

than t wo thousand nine hund r ed had falle n i n t his o ne

re giment most o f them neve r t o ris e again .

M en said I n fado os calmly as b e twee n t h e i nter v a l s

, , ,

of binding up a wound in his ar m b e su r v e y e d wh at r e

mained to hi m of his corps ye hav e kep t up t h e re pu
,
“

t ati on o f you r r egiment and t his day s figh t i n g will b e

,
’

”
spoken of by you r childre n s child r e n ’
Th en h e t u rne d .

round a n d shook Si r H enr y C u rt is by the han d “

T ho u .
 K I N G S OLOM ON S M I NE S ’
. 19 5

”
a rt a g r eat man I n c u b u he said simply ; I hav e liv ed a
, , ,

long life among warriors and kn o wn many a b r ave on e , ,

y e t have I n ever seen a man like th ee ”

.

At this m o m e nt the B u ffal o es began t o march past o u r

p osition on the r o ad t o Loo and as they did so a mes sage,

was b r ought t o us from I gn osi r equesting I n fadoos Sir ,

Hen r y a n d myself to j oin him Accordingly o r ders h av

, .
,

ing b een issued t o th e r emai n i n g ninety men o f th e Grays

to e m ploy themselves in coll e c t ing th e wounded w e j oined ,

I gn o si wh o info r med u s tha t he was pressing on to Lo o to

,

comple te the victo r y by capturing Twala if that should ,

b e possibl e B efo r e we had gone far we suddenly dis

.

cov ere d the figure of Good sitting o n an ant heap about -

o n e hund r ed paces from us Close beside him was the .

b ody of a K u ku an a .

”
H e m us t b e wounded said Sir H e n r y anxiously , , .

As h e mad e t h e rem ark an untoward thing happ en e d The

, .

d e ad body of t he K u k u an a soldier o r rather what had ,

app e a re d to b e his dead b ody suddenly sprang up knocke d , ,

Good h e ad over heels o ff the ant h e ap an d began t o spear -

,

him W e r ushed forward in terr o r an d as we drew near

.
,

we saw th e brawny warrior making dig aft er dig at the

p r ost r ate G o o d wh o at each pr o d j erked all his limbs int o
,

the ai r Seeing us c o ming th e K u k u an a gave on e final

.
,
”
m os t vicious dig an d with a sh out o f Take that wizard “
, , ,

b olted o ff G o od did no t move and w e c o n cluded th at

.
,

o u r p oo r c o mrade was d o ne for Sadly we came t o wards .

him and w er e i n deed astonish e d t o find h im pale and faint

,

in d e e d b u t with a se r en e smil e upo n his face and his eye

, ,

gl a ss s t ill fi x ed in his eye .

”
“
C api t al ar mo r this he m u rm u r ed on ca t ching sigh t
, ,

o f o u r f a c e s b en di n g ov er hi m H o w sold h e mus t hav e

19 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

been an d then he fainted O n exami nation we di sc ov

,
.
c

ered that he had been seri o usly w o unded in the le g by a

t o lla in the c o u r se of the pursuit b u t t hat t he c hain arm or ,
-

had prevented his last assailant s sp ear fr o m do ing any ’

t hing m o re than bruise him badly It was a merciful e s .

cape AS n o thing c o uld b e d o ne f o r him at the moment

.
,

h e was placed on o n e o f the wicker S hields u sed for th e

w o unded and carried along with u s
,
.

O n arriving be f o re the n earest gate o f Loo we f o und

o ne o f o ur regiments w atching it i n obedience t o o rders
received fr o m I gn o si The remaining regiments were in
.

the same way watching the o ther exits t o th e t o wn The .

o ffi cer i n command o f this regiment c o ming up saluted I g ,

n o s i as king and in f o rmed him that Tw ala s army h ad

,
’

taken r e f uge in th e t o wn whith er Twala himsel f had also

,

e scaped but that h e th o ught t h ey were th o r o ughly de

,

moralized and w o uld surrender Thereup o n I gn osi afte r

,
.
,

taking c o unsel with us Sent f o r ward heralds t o each gate

,

o rdering the de f enders t o O pen and pr o mising on his r o yal ,

w o rd li f e and f o rgiveness t o eve ry s o ldier wh o laid d o wn

his arms The message was n o t with o ut its e ffect Pres
. .

ent ly amid t he S h o uts and cheers o f th e Bu ffal o es th e

, ,

bridge was dr o pped acr o ss the f o sse and the gates up o n ,

the farther S i de flung o pen .

Taking due precauti o ns against treach ery we marched ,

o n int o the t o wn All al o ng the r o adways st oo d dej ected

.

warri o rs their h eads dr oo ping and their shields and spears

,

at their feet who as I gn osi passed saluted him as king

, , , .

O n we marched straigh t t o Twala s kraal “ Then we

,
’
.

r eached the great space where a day o r tw o previously

,

we had seen the revie w and the witch hunt we found it -

dese rt ed N o not quite dese r t e d fo r th ere on the farth e r

.
, , ,
 19 8 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S
’
.

”
sinks in blood and h e poin te d with his re d batt l e ax e
,
-

towa rds t he fiery or b now going down it is w e ll t hat “

my sun should sink with it And now O king ! I a m .

,

r eady to die but I crave the b e e n o f the K u k u an a r oyal

,

house t o die fighting Thou canst not refuse it o r even . ,

”
those cowards who fled t o d ay will h o ld thee shamed .

“
It is granted Ch o ose— with wh o m wilt thou fight ? .

M yself I cann o t fight with th e e f o r th e king fights not

, ,
”
except in war .

Twala s sombre eye r an up and down o ur r anks and I

’
,

felt as f or a m o ment it rested o n myself tha t the posi t i o n

, ,

had devel o ped a n e w h o rr or What if he chose to begin .

by fighting m e What chance should I have against a

desperate savage six feet five high and broad in propor ,

ti o n I might as well c o mmit suicide at o n ce Hastily I .

made up my mind t o decline the combat even if I were ,

h o o ted o u t o f K u ku an alan d as a con sequence It is I .

,

think bette r to b e h o oted than t o be quarter e d wi t h a

,

battle axe -
.

Presently he S poke .

I ncu b u what sayest t hou shall we end wha t we b egan

, ,

—
to d ay o r shall I call thee co ward white even to the
, ,

liver
“
N ay inte r posed I gn o si hastily ; t hou shalt n o t figh t
, ,
“

”
with I n c u b u .

”
No t if he is afraid said Twala , .

Unf o rtunately Sir Henry understood this re m ark and ,

the bl oo d flamed up into hi s cheeks .

I t i s a law g the Ku ku anas that n o m an of the r oy al bl ood can

am on

b e pu t to de ath u nl ess by hi s o wn con sen t whi ch i s howe ve r n ever r e , , ,

fu sed He i sall owed to choose a su c cessi on of an tag on i sts to b e app r ove d

.
,

by the ki ng wi th whom he fightsu ntil one of them kill shi m

, .
 ”
I will figh t him he said ; he shall see if I am ,
“

”
afraid .

“
F or God s sake ” ’
I e ntrea t ed d o n t risk y o u r life
, ,
“ ’

against th at of a desperate man Anyb o dy who saw you .

to d ay will kn o w th at y o u are n o t a c o wa r d ”
.

”
I will fight him was th e sullen answer , N O living .

man S hall c all m e a c o ward I am ready now ! and he ”

‘

stepped f o rward and lif ted his axe .

I wrung my hands ov er this absurd piece o f Quixotism ;

bu t i f he was determined on figh ting of course I could ,

not stop him .

Fight n o t my white b r other said I gn o si laying his

, , ,

hand affectionately on Sir Henry s arm ; th o u hast f o ught ’

enough and if aught befell thee at hi s hands it w o uld cut

,

”
my heart in twain .

I will fight I gn osi was Sir Henry s answe r

, ,
’
.

It is well I n c u b u ; th o u art a brave man It will b e

, .

a g oo d fight B ehold T wala the E lephant i s ready f o r

.
, ,
”
thee .

The ex king laughed savag e ly an d stepped f or wa r d an d

-
,

faced C urtis For a moment they stood thus and the se t

.
,

ting sun caught their stalwart frames an d clothed the m

both in fi r e They were a well matched pair
.
-
.

Then they began t o circle round each othe r th e ir ba t tle ,

a x e s raise d .

Su ddenly Sir H e nry sprang forward a n d st r uck a fea r

ful bl o w at Twala who steppe d to o ne side S o heavy was
, .

th e st r oke t ha t the striker half ove r balanced hims e lf a -

,

circumstance of which h is an t ag o nist took a prompt ad

van t ag e Circling his heavy battle ax e r ound his hea d he
.
-
,

b r ough t i t dow n with t r emendous force M y hea rt j umped .

in to m y m ou t h ; I t hought th e affa i r was al r eady fi n ish e d .

 ’
200 K I N G S O L OMON S M I NE S .

But no ; with a quick upward movement of the lef t arm

Sir Hen r y inte r p o sed his shield between himself a n d th e
axe with the result that its o uter edge wasshor n clean
,

O ff the axe falling o n his left shoulde r bu t not heavily

, ,

en o ugh to do any seri o us damage I n an o th e r sec o n d Si r .

Henry g o t in another bl o w which was als o r ecei ved by ,

T wala up o n his shield Then f o ll o wed blo w upon blow

.
,

which were in tu r n eithe r received upon the S hield o r

, ,

av o ided Th e excitement grew intense ; the regimen t

.

which was watching th e enc o unter f o rg o t its discipline ,

and drawing near shouted and gr o aned at every st r oke

, , .

Just at this time too Good who had b e en laid u pon the
, , ,

gro und by me r ecovered from his faint and sitting up

, , , ,

perceived what was g o ing on In an instant he was up .

,

an d catching h o ld o f my arm h o pped ab out fro m place

, ,

t o place o n on e leg dragging me a f ter him yelling ou t

, ,

enc o u r agements t o Si r Hen r y

”
“
Go it o ld fellow ! he hall o ed
, That was a goo d .

”
o ne Give it him amidships and so on , .

Presently Sir Henry having caught a fresh str o ke upon

,

his shield hit o u t with all his force The str o ke cut
, .

thr o ugh Twala S shield and thr o ugh the tough chain arm o r
’

behind it gashing hi m in the sh o ulder With a yell o f

, .

pai n and fury Twala returned the str o ke with in terest ,

an d su c h was his strength shore right thr o ugh the r hi n o c

, ,
,

er o s h o rn handle of his antagonist s battle axe st r ength

-
’
-
,

ened as it was with bands o f steel w o unding Cu r tis i n t h e ,

face .

A c r y of dismay rose from th e Bu ff al o es as o u r h er o s ’

broad axe head fell to the gr o und ; and Twala again rais
-

ing his weapon flew at him with a sh o ut I S hut my eyes

, . .

Wh e n I O pened t h em again it was to see Sir He nry s Shi e ld

,
’
20 2 K I N G S OLOM ON ’
S M INE S .

c ame r o lling and bounding along t he ground t ow ar ds Ig ~

n o si ste ppi n g j ust at his feet F o r a sec o nd the co r p se

,
.

sto o d upright the bl o od sp o uting i n f o untain s fro m the

,

severed arteries ; then with a d u ll crash it fell to the earth ,

and the g o l d t o rque from the neck went rolling away across
the pavement As it did so Sir Henry o verpo wered by
.
,

faintness and loss o f bl o od fell heavily acr o ss it ,

.

In a second he was lifted up and eager hands w e re pou r ,

ing wate r o n his face Anothe r minu t e and the gr e a t .

,

g r ay eyes opened wide .

He was n ot dead .

Then I j ust as th e su n sank steppi n g to wh ere Tw ala s

, ,
’

head lay in the dust unl o osed the diam o n d fro m th e dead
,

b ro ws an d hand e d it t o I gn o si .

”
“
Take it I said law f ul king o f the K u k u an as
, ,
“
.

I gn o si b ound the diadem u p o n his br o ws and then ad ,

v an c i ng placed hi s foot upon the br o ad chest o f his head

less fo e and broke out into a cha n t or rather a p aean o f ,

victory so beautiful and yet so utterly savage that I de

, , ,

spair o f being able to give an adequate idea o f it I o nce .

‘

heard a sch o lar with a fine voice read al o ud from th e Greek

p o et H o mer and I remember that th e s o und o f the r o lling
,

lines seemed to m ake my blo o d stand still I gn osi schant .

’
,

uttered as it was in a language as beautiful and son o rou s

as the old G r eek produced exactly the same effect on me
, ,

alth o ugh I was exhausted with t o il and many em o ti o ns .

”
N o w he b egan
, n o w is o ur reb el li o n swallowed up
,
“

i n vict o ry and o u r evil d o ing j ustified by strength

,
-
.

In th e m o rning the O ppress o rs rose up and sh oo k t he m

selves ; they boun d o n th eir plumes and made them ready
f o r war .

“
They r o se u p and g r asped thei r sp e a r s : th e soldiers
 K I N G S O LOMON S M I N E S ’
. 20 3

call e d t o th e cap t ains C ome lead u s — and t he cap t ains

, ,

c ried to the king Di r ect th ou t he battle

,
‘
.
’

They rose up in their pride tw e nty thousa n d m e n and

, ,

y et a twenty th o usand .

Their plumes c o v e red the ea r th as t h e plumes o f a bird

cover h er n est ; they shook thei r spears and shoute d yea , ,

they hurle d their sp ea r s in t o the sunligh t ; t hey lusted fo r

the battle and w er e glad .

They came up against me ; th e i r s tr ong one s ca m e

running swiftly t o c r ush m e th e y c r ied Ha ! ha ! he is ,
‘

’
as o n e already dead .

“
Then breath ed I on them and my breath was as t h e
,

breath o f a st o rm and lo ! they we r e n o t

, .

M y lightning s pie r ced th em ; I licked up their s tre ngth

with the lightning o f m y spears ; I shook th em to t he earth
with th e thunder o f my shouting .

“ — —
Th ey br o ke th ey sca t t ere d t h e y w ere go ne a s the
m ists o f the m or ning .

“
They are food f or th e c r ows and th e fox es a n d t h e ,

place o f b attle is fat with thei r blood .

Wh e r e a r e th e migh t y on e s who r os e up i n t h e m om

Wh e r e a r e the p r ou d on e s who t oss e d t h e i r pl u m es an d

’
c ried He is as o ne al re ady dead ?
,

“
Th ey b ow their heads bu t no t i n sl ee p ; t hey a re
,

s tr etched out but n ot in sleep

,
.

“
T hey are fo rgott e n ; they have gon e i nt o t h e black
n ess and S hall no t r eturn ; yea oth er s shall l e ad away
, ,

thei r wiv e s a n d t h e i r child r e n shall re m emb er t hem n o

,

m o re .

“ — —
A n d I I ! t h e ki n g lik e an e agl e h a v e I fo u n d m y
ey r i e .
20 4 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

B ehold ! far have I wa n de re d in th e nigh t ti me ye t -

,

have I r eturned to my little ones at the dayb r eak .

“
Creep ye unde r the shadow of my wings O p eo ple , ,

and I will comf o rt ye and ye shall no t be dismayed

, .

N o w is the good time th e time o f spoil

, .

M ine are the cattl e in the valleys th e vir g i n s in th e

,

kraals are mine als o .

The winter is overpast the summe r is a t hand

,
.

No w shall E vil cover up he r face and p r osperity s hall

,

bl oo m i n the land like a lily .

“
Rej o ice rej o ice my pe o p le ! let all th e land rej oice
, ,

in that the tyranny is tr o dden down in that I am the ,

”
king .

He paused and out of the gathering glo o m the r e cam e

,

back the deep r eply

Th o u art the king .

Thus it was that my pr o phecy to the herald came true ,

and within the forty eight hours Twala s h ea dl ess e m pi re

-
’

was sti ffenin g at Twala s gate ’

.
206 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

b r uis e s and I was by no me a n s f r ee As a r emedy F ou

,
.

lata brought us some pounded green leaves with an ar c

m atic o d o r which when applied as a plaster gave us
, , ,

c o nside r able relief But th o ugh th e bruises were painful

.
,

they did n o t give u s such anxiety as Sir H e nry s an d ’

G oo d s w o unds Good had a h o l e right thr o ugh the fleshy

’
.

”
part o f his beautif u l white leg f rom which h e had lost
“
,

a great deal o f bl o od ; and Si r Henry had a deep cut ove r

the j aw inflicted by Twala s battle axe L uckily Go o d
,
’
-
.

was a very decent surgeon and as s oo n as his small box of ,

medicines was forthc o ming b e having thorough ly cleansed , ,

the wounds managed t o stitch up first Sir Henry s and

,
’

then his o wn pretty satisfact o rily c o nsidering the impe r ,

f e c t light given by the primitive K u k u an a lamp i n t he

hut Afterwards he plentifully smeared the w
. ounds with
s o me antiseptic ointment o f which there was a p o t in the,

little box and we c o ver e d th em with the remain s of a

,

pocket handke r chief which we possessed

-
.

M eanwhi le F oulata had prepared u s s o me str o ng b r oth ,

f o r we were too weary to eat This we swallowed and .

,

then threw ourselves d o wn on the piles o f m agnificent

karosses or fur rugs which were scattere d ab o ut the dead
, ,

king s g r eat hut B y a ve r y strange instance of the irony

’
.

o f fate it was o n Twala s own couch

’
,
and wrapped in ,

Twala s own pa r ticula r ka r oss tha t S ir Henry the man

’
, ,

who had slain him slept t hat night , .

I say slept ; but afte r that day s work S leep was i n ’

deed di fli c u lt To b e gin with in v e ry t r u t h th e ai r was

.
,

full
Of farewell s to the dyi ng
And m ou r n n i gs for the dead .

F ro m e v er y di re c t ion ca me t he sou n d of t h e wailing of

 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
. 207

women whos e husbands son s and b r oth er s had p er ished

, ,

in the fight No wonder th at they wailed for ove r twenty

.
,

thousand men or nearly a third of the K u ku an a a r my had

, ,

been destroye d in that aw f ul st r uggle It was heart r end .

-

ing to lie and listen to their cries f er th o se who would

never return ; and it made o n e realize the full h o r r or of
th e work done that day to furth e r man s ambition Tow ’
.

ards midnight ho wever the ceaseless crying o f th e women

, ,

grew less fr e quent till at le n gth th e silence was o nly

,

broken at inte r vals o f a few minutes by a l o ng piercing ,

howl that came f rom a hut in ou r immediate rear and ,

which I a f ter wards disc o vered proce e ded fro m Gag o ol

w ailing f o r the dead king T wala , .

A fter that I g o t a little fi tf u l sleep o nly to wake fr o m ,

time t o time with a start thinking that I was o nce more

,

an act o r in th e terrible events o f the last twenty f o ur -

hours No w I seemed t o se e that warrior wh o m my hand

.
,

had sent t o his last acc o unt charging at me on the m o u n

,

tain top ; n ow I was o nce more i n th at gl o rious ring o f

-

Gr ays which made its immortal stand against all Twala s

,
’

regiments up o n the little m ound ; and n ow again I saw

,

Twala s plumed and g o ry head r o ll past my f eet with

’

gnashi n g te eth an d glaring eye At last someh o w o r .

,

other th e n i gh t p assed away ; but wh e n dawn br o ke I

,

f o u nd that my co m pan i o ns had slep t no better than m y

s elf Good i n deed was i n a high feve r and v e ry so o n
.
, ,
-
,

afterwa r ds b egan to gr o w light h e ad ed and also to my -

, ,

alarm t o spit bl oo d th e r esult n o d o ubt o f so m e i n ternal

, , , ,

inj ury inflicted by t he despera te e fforts made by the K u

ku ana warri o r on the pr e vious day to g et his big S pea r
th r ough t h e chain armo r Si r H e n r y however s e emed
.
, ,

pretty fr esh no t wi t hstanding th e wou n d on his f a c e , which

,
20 8 K I N G S OLO MON S M I NE S
'
.

made eating di fficult and l augh t e r an impossibility t ho u gh ,

he w as so sore and sti ff that he c o ul d scarcely stir .

Ab o ut eight o clock we had a vi sit f r om I nf ado o s wh o

’
,

s e emed but little the wo rse — t o ug h o ld warri or that he

—
was f o r his exerti o n s o n th e previ o us day th o ugh h e i h ,

fo rmed u s he had been up all night He was delighted t o

.

s e e u s th o ugh much grieved at G oo d s c o n dit i on and

,
’
,

sh oo k han ds c o rdi ally ; but I n o tice d that he a ddressed

Sir Henry with a k i nd of reverence as th o ugh he were
,

s o mething more than man ; and indee d as we afterwa r ds

, ,

f o und o u t the great E nglis hman was l ooked o n through

,

o u t K u k u an alan d as a sup ernatural being N o man th e .

,

soldiers said c o uld have f o ught as he f o ught o r could a t

, , ,

t he end o f a day o f s u ch toil an d bl o o dshed have slain ,

Twala wh o in additi o n t o being th e king was suppose d

, , ,

t o be the strongest warri o r in K u k u analan d in single c o m ,

bat sheering thr o ugh his bull neck at a str o ke Indeed

,
-
. .

that str o ke became prov erbial in K u ku an alan d and any ,

extra o rdinary bl o w o r f eat o f strength was thencefo r th

”
kn o wn as Incubu s bl o w ’
.

I n f ado o s t o ld us also that all Twala s regiments had

’

submitted to I gn o si and t hat like submissi o ns were begin

,

ning t o arrive fr o m chiefs i n th e country Twala s death .

’

at the hands o f Sir Henry had put an end to all furthe r

c hance o f disturbance ; f o r S cragga h ad been his onl y son ,

and there was n o rival claimant left alive .

I r emarked that I gn o si had swum t o th e thro n e th ro ugh

bl oo d The old chief shrugged his sh o ulders
. Yes he”
.
“
,

ans wered ; but th e K u k u an a p e o ple can only be kep t

“

c oo l by letting the bl oo d flow s o metimes M any were .

killed indeed but the w o men were left and o thers would
, , ,

s oo n gr o w up t o take the places o f th e fallen Aft er this .

the land would be qu i et for a while .

210 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

Af t e r I gnosi s visi t I went to see Go o d and f o und him

’
,

quite deliriou s The fever fro m hi swound seemed t o have

.

t aken a firm hold Of his system and t o be c o mplicate d by ,

an internal injury F o r f o ur o r five days hi s condition was

.

m o st critical ; indeed I firmly believe that had it nOt been

,

f o r F o u lat a s indefa tigable nursing he must have died

’
.

W o men are women all the w o rld o v er whatever thei r , ,

color Yet someho w it seemed curi o u s t o watch this dusky

.

beauty b ending night and day o ver th e fevered man s ’

cou ch and performing all the merciful erran ds O f the sick

,

ro om as swiftly gently and with as fine an instinct as a

, ,

trained hospita l nurse F o r the first night o r t wo I tried .

t o help her and so did Sir Henry so s oo n as hi s sti f ness

,
f

allowed hi m to m o ve but S he bore ou r interference w ith

,

i m patience and finally insisted up o n o u r leaving him to

,

her saying t hat o u r movements m ade him restless which

, ,

I think was true Day and night she watche d and tended
.

him giving him his o nly m edicine a native co o ling drink

,

made O f milk in which was infused the j uice O f the bulb

,

O f a species O f tulip and keeping the flies f ro m s ettling

,

o n him I can see the wh o le picture n o w as it appeared

.

night after night by the light O f o u r primitive lamp G oo d ,

tossing t o and fr o his features emaciated hi s eyes S hining

, ,

large and luminous and j abbering n o nsense by the yard ;

,

and seated on the gr o und by his side h e r back resting ,

against the wall O f the hut the s o ft eyed shapely K u ku ana ,

-
,

beauty he r whole face weary as it was animated by a

, , ,

lo6k O f infinite compassion— or was it something mo re than

compassion
F o r tw o days we thought that he mus t die an d c r ep t ,

ab out wi t h heavy hearts O nly Foulata would not b e .

liev e i t .
 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
. 2 11

”
H e wil l live sh e said , .

F o r thre e hund r ed yard s or more a r ound Twala s chief ’

b u t where the sufferer lay there was silence ; f or by the

, ,
’
king s order all who lived in the habitations behin d it had ,

except Sir Henry and myself been removed le st any n o ise , ,

S hould come t o the sick man s ear O ne night it was the ’

.
,

fifth night O f his illness as was my habit I w e nt across to

,

se e how h e was g e t t ing o n b efo re tu r ning in fo r a f e w

hours .

I e nter e d th e hut ca r efully Th e lamp plac e d upon the .

fl oo r showe d t he figu re O f Good tossing no m ore but ly , ,

ing quite still .

S O it had come at last and in t h e bi tter ness Of my h e a rt

I gave something like a sob .

“
Hush — h— h came from th e pat ch Of da rk shadow
b e hin d Good s he a d’
.

Then c r eeping close r I saw tha t he was no t d e ad bu t

, , ,

sl e eping s o undly with F o u lata s taper finge r s clasped

,
’

tightly in hi s po o r white h and The crisis had pass e d an d .

,

h e would live He slept like th at f or eighteen hours ; an d

.

I sca r cely like to say it f o r fear I S h o uld not b e b elieved ,

,

but during that entire period did that devo t ed girl si t by

hi m f e a r ing that if she move d and drew away he r ha n d
,

it would wake him What sh e must have su ffered f r om

.

c r amp sti fi n ess and wearin e ss to say n o thing O f want of

, , ,

food nobody will e v e r know ; but it is a fact that wh en

, ,

—
at las t he wok e s e had to b e carr ied away h e r li mb s
h ,

w ere S O s t i ff that S h e could n o t move th e m .

After t h e t u r n had onc e b ee n t aken Good s re cov er y ,

’

was r apid and compl et e I t was not till h e was n e arly.

well t ha t Si r H e nry told him O f all h e owed t o F oulata ;

an d wh en h e ca me to t h e s t o r y Of how sh e s at by his sid e
2 12 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S’
.

f or e igh te en hou r s fearing lest by moving she should

,

wake him the h onest sailor s eyes filled with te ar s He

,
’
.

turned an d went st r aight to the b u t wh e r e F o ulata was

prepa r ing the midday meal ( we were back in o u r O ld
quart e rs now ) taking me with him to interpret in case h e
,

could not make hi s meaning clear t o her th o ugh I a m ,

bound t o say S he underst o od him marvell o u sly as a r ule ,

c o n sidering ho w extremely limited was his for eign v o cab

ulary .

Tell her said Good th at I o we her my life and that

, , ,
”
I will never f o rget her kindness .

I interprete d and unde r her dark skin She actually

,

s eemed t o blush .

Turning to him with on e o f those swift and g r aceful

m otions that in her always reminded me O f the flight Of a
wi ld bi r d she answered softly glancing at him with her
, ,

large b r own eyes

“
N ay my l ord ; my l o rd f o rgets
,
Did he not save m y
life an d am I n o t my lord s handmaiden
,
’

It will b e O bserved that the y o ung lady appea re d to

have entirely f o rg o tten t he share which Sir Hen r y and
mysel f had had in her prese rvation from Twala s clutch e s ’
.

But that is th e way O f women I rememb er my dear wife

w as j ust the same I retired fr o m that little inte r v iew
.

sad at heart I did n o t li ke M iss F o u lat a s s o ft glances

.
’
,

f o r I kne w th e f atal am o rous pr o pensities O f sailo r s in

ge n eral and Good i n particular
, .

There are tw o things in the w o rl d as I have found it , ,

which cannot be prev e nted : y o u cann ot keep a Zulu fro m

fighting o r a sail o r fr o m f alling in love upon the sligh t es t
,

p r ovocation
I t was a f e w days afte r this las t o ccu rre nc e t ha t I gnosi
214 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

N atal sp eak at K imberley There t oo in the Place O f

Of .
, ,

Death is a secret chamber known to none but the king ,

and Gag o ol But T wala who knew it is dead and I

.
, , ,

know it n o t n o r know I what is in it But there i s a

,
.

lege n d in the land that on ce m any genera t i o n s g o ne a , ,

white man crossed the m o untains and was led by a w om ,

an to the sec r et chambe r and S h o wn the wealth but b ef or e ,

he could take it sh e betrayed him and he was driven by ,

the king Of the day back t o the m o untai n s and S ince then ,
”
no man has entered the chamber .

The st o ry is surely true I gn o si fo r on th e mountains

, ,
”
we f o und the white man I said ,
.

Yes we f o und him And n o w I have promised ye that

,
.

if ye can find that chamber and th e st o nes are th ere ,

The stone up o n thy f o rehead proves that they a r e

”
there I put in p o inting t o the great diamond I had taken
, ,

fr o m Twala s dead br o ws
’
.

”
M ayhap ; i f t h ey are there h e sai d ye s hall have as , ,

many as ye can take hence i f indeed ye wou ld leave m e , , ,

my br o thers ”
.

First we must find the chamber said I , .

There is b u t o ne wh o can Sh o w i t t o thee Gag o ol -

.

”
And i f sh e wi ll n o t ?
Then S hall She die said I gn osi sternly , I hav e , .

saved her alive but f o r this Stay she S hall choose ”

.
, ,

and calling to a messenger h e o rde r e d Gag oo l to b e

, ,

b r ought .

In a few minutes she came hurried along by two guards , ,

whom she was cu r sing as S h e walked .

”
“
L eave her said the king t o the guar ds
, .

As soon as their support was withdrawn the with er ed

Old bu n dle fo r s
,
he looked m o re like a bu n dl e than any
 K I N G S OL OM ON S M I NE S ’
. 2 15

thing el se sank into a h e ap o n th e floo r ou t Of which h er

, ,

two bright wicked eyes gleamed like a snake s

,
’
.

What will ye with me I gn osi she piped Ye d are

, .
“

not touch m e If y e tou ch me I will blast ye as ye sit

. .

”
B eware O f my magic .

“
Thy magic could n ot save Twala O ld she wolf an d it ,
-
,
”
cannot hurt me was th e answe r , L isten : I will this O f .

the e that thou r eveal where is the chambe r whe r e are the
,
”
shining st o ne s .

”
“
Ha ! ha ! sh e pip e d none kno w but I and I will ,
“
,

n ev er te ll th ee Th e whi t e d e vils S hall g o hence empty

.

hande d) ’

Thou wilt tell m e I will make t hee tell me . .

”
How 0 king ? ,
Thou art great bu t can t hy power ,
”
w ring the truth from a woman ?
It is di fficult y e t will I do i t , .

H ow O king ? ,
”

N ay thus ; if thou t e ll e st n o t thou shal t slowly die

, .

”
Di e ! sh e shrieked in ter r o r and fury ; ye dare n ot
,
“

—
t ou ch me man ye kno w not wh o I am H o w O ld think .
,

ye am I ? I knew your fathers an d your fathers fathers ,

’ ’

fathe r s When the coun t ry was young I was here when

.
,

the coun tr y grows O ld I shall still be h ere I cann o t die .

”
unless I b e killed by ch a n ce f or no n e dare slay me ,
.

“
Yet will I slay thee S e e Gagool m o t h er O f evil t hou
.
, , ,

art SO O ld thou cans t no long er love thy life What can .

life b e to such a hag as t hee who has t no S hape n or fo rm , , ,

n o r hai r n o r te e t h — hast naught save wickedness and e vil

, ,

”
e y e s P It will b e me r cy to slay thee Gagool
‘

, .

”
“
Th ou fool sh r ieked th e Old fi en d thou accu r s e d fool
, , ,

t hink e s t thou t h at lif e is sw e e t only t o the young I t is

n ot S O a n d na ugh t t hou know e s t Of t he h ea rt Of man t o
,
 ’
2 16 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S .

think it TO t he you n g indeed death is some t i m es wel

.
, ,

come for t he young can feel They love and su ff er a n d

,
.
,

i t wrings t hem to see their bel o ved pass to the land of

shadows B u t the O ld feel not they love n o t and ha !ha !
.
, , ,

they laugh t o see another g o out into the dark ; ha ! ha !

th ey laugh t o see th e evil that is done un der the su n All .

they love is life the warm warm sun and the S wee t sw e e t
, , , ,

air They are afraid of the cold ; afraid O f th e cold and t he

.

”
dark ha ! ha ! ha ! and the O ld hag w r ithed in ghastly
,

mer rim e nt on th e g ro und .

“
Cease thine evil talk and answe r me said I gn o si , ,

angrily Wilt thou S how the place whe r e the stone s a re

“
,
”
o r wilt t hou n o t ? If th o u wilt n o t thou diest even n ow , , ,

and he seized a S pear and held it over her .

I will not S how it ; thou dar e st n o t kill me dar e st not ,

”
He who slays me will b e accursed f o rever .

Slowly I gn o si br o ught d o w n th e spea r till it pricked the ,

p r ost r ate heap O f r ags .

With a wild yell sh e spra n g to he r feet and then again ,

fell and r o lled upon the floor .

N ay ; I will Sh o w it O nly let me live let me sit in the

.
,

su n and have a bit O f meat to suck and I will S how thee ”

, .

“
It i s well I th o ught I should fi n d a way t o reason
.

with t hee To morr o w shalt thou go with I n fado os and

.
-

my white br o thers t o the place and beware ho w thou ,

fai le st f o r if thou Sh o we st it not then shalt th ou slowly

, ,
”
die I have sp o ken
. .

I will n o t fail I gno si I al ways keep my wo r d : ha !

, .

h a ha O nce a w o man showed the place to a white m a n

”
before and beh o ld evil befell him an d he r e her wick e d
, ,

eyes glinte d .,
“
He r name was Gagool t oo P er chan c e I , .

was t h at wo man .
 C HAPT E R X VI .

TH E P LA C E OF D E AT H .

h was alre ady dark on the thi r d day after th e sc e n e

describ e d in the previous chapte r when we camped in ,

some h uts at the f o ot O f the Th r ee Witches as the tri ,

’
angle Of mountains was called to which S o lomon s Great
R o ad ran O ur party c o nsisted of o u r three selves and
Foulat awho waited o n u s— especially on G o od — I n fado o s
, ,

Gago o l who was b o rn e along in a litter inside which she

, ,

could b e heard muttering and cursing all day long and a ,

party O f guards and attendants The mountain s or rather

.
,

the th re e peaks O f th e m o untains f o r the whole mass evi

,

den tly consisted O f a solitary upheaval were as I hav e , ,

said i n the form o f a triangle O f which the base was tow

, ,

ar ds us o n e peak being O n o u r right on e o n o u r left

, , ,

an d o n e straigh t i n fr o nt of us N ever shall I f o rget th e

.

sigh t aff o rded by th o se th r ee t o we ring peaks in the early

sunlight of the foll o wing mo rning High high ab o ve us .
, ,

up into th e blue air s o ared their twisted snow wreaths

,
-
.

B eneath the sno w the p eaks were pu r pl e with heath and ,

s o we r e the wild mo o rs that ran up the slopes towards

them Straight be f o re u s the white ribb o n o f Sol o m o n s
.
’

Great Road stretched away u p hill to the f o ot O f th e cent r e

-

peak ab o ut five miles f rom us and then stopped It was

, , .

its terminus .

I had better leave the feeli ngs O f intense excitement with

which w e s e t ou t on ou r m a r ch tha t m o rning to th e imagi
 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

n a t ion Of thos e who r e ad this histo r y At last we we r e .

drawing near to the w o n derful min e s that had been t he

cause O f the mise r able death O f the O ld Portuguese don ,

thre e centu ries ag o o f my p o or frien d his ill starred de

, ,
-

sc e n dan t and als o as we feare d O f George Curtis Sir

, , , ,
’
Henry s br o ther Were we destined after all that we had
.
,

g o ne thr o ugh t o fare any b etter ? E vil befell them as

, ,

that O ld fiend Gago o l said ; w o uld it also befall us S o me

, ,

h o w as w e were marching up th at last stretch O f beauti

,

ful road I could n o t help feeling a little superstiti o us ab o ut

,

the matter and S O I think did Good and Sir Henry

, , , .

F o r an hour an d a half o r more we tramp ed o n u p the

heather fringed r oa d g o ing so f ast in o u r excitement that
-
,

th e bearers with G agool s hammock could scarcely keep ’

pace with u s and i ts occupant piped o ut t o us t o stop

, .

”
G O m o re sl o wly white m e n she said pr o j ecting he r
, , ,

hideous shrivelled countenan ce between the curtains and

, ,

fixing h er gleaming eye s u p o n us why will y e r un t o

meet th e evil th at sh all b efall ye ye seekers after treas ,

ure an d she laughed that h o rrible laugh which al ways

sent a c o ld shiver d o wn my back an d which f o r a while ,

qui te t ook the enthu siasm o u t O f u s .

H o wever o n we went till we saw bef o re u s and bet wee n

, , ,

ourselves an d the peak a vast circula r h o le with S l o ping

,

sides th r ee hu n dred feet or mor e in depth and quite half

, ,

a mile round .

”
Can t yo u guess what this is ? I said to Sir Hen r y an d
’

Go o d wh o we r e staring in astonishment down into t he

,

awful pit befo r e u s .

They sh ook thei r h e ads .

Then it is clear t hat you h av e n ev e r s ee n t h e diamond

m in e s a t K imb erley Y o u m ay d e pend on i t tha t this is
.
2 20 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S ’
.

”
Solo m o n s d iamond mi ne ; look th er e I said poin ting t o
’
, ,

t he sti ff blu e clay which w a s y e t to be seen among the

g r ass and bushes which cloth e d the sides O f the pit the ,
“

fo rma t io n is the sam e I ll be bound that if we went

.
’

down the r e we should find pipes O f soapy brecciate d ‘ ’

,
”
rock L ook t o o and I pointed t o a series of w o rn fi at
‘

.
, , ,

slab s O f r o ck which were placed on a gentle S lop e bel o w

th e level Of a watercourse which had in some past age been
cut o u t of the s o lid rock ; if th o se are not tables once “

”
used t o wash th e stu ff I m a D utchman
‘
,
’ ’
.

At the e dge of this vast h o le which was the pit marked ,

o n the O ld don s map the great ro ad b r anched into two

’
,

and ci r cumv e nted it In many places this circumventing

.

road wasbuilt enti r ely O f vast bl o ck s O f st o ne apparent l y ,

with the O bj ect o f supp o rting the edges O f the pit and pre
venting falls O f reef Along this ro ad w e presse d driven
.
,

by curi o sity t o see what the three t o werin g O bj ects were

w hich we c o uld discern f r o m the hi ther side Of th e g r eat
h ole As we g o t nearer w e p erceived that th ey were
.

c o lossi O f s o me so r t or another and righ tly c o nj ectured ,

”
that these we r e th e three Silent O nes th at were held in
such awe by the K u ku an a people But it was n o t until we .

g o t quite cl o se that we rec o gnized th e full maj esty O f these

”
Silent O n es .

There upon huge p edestals O f dark ro ck sculptu r ed in

, ,

unkno wn characters twenty paces between each and look

, ,

ing d o wn the road which crossed s o me sixty miles O f plain

t o LOO were three c o l o ssal seated f o rms — tw o male s and
,

o e female
n — each m e asuring ab o ut twenty feet from the
cr o wn O f the head to th e pedestal .

The female f o rm which was nude was of g r eat though

, ,

seve r e beauty but unf o rtunately the featu r es were i nj u r ed

,
2 22 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

Be fo re we had fi n ish e d examining t h e s e extr ao r dina r y

relics Of re mote antiquity I nfado os cam e up and having , , ,

saluted the Silent O nes by lifting hi s spear asked us if

”
,
”
we in t ended entering the Place O f Death at o n ce o r i f ,

we would wait t ill after we had take n food at midday .

If w e w e r e r eady to go at once Gagool had announced her ,

willingness t o guide u s As it was n ot more than e leven .

O clock we— driven to it by a bu r ning curiosity— ann o u nced

’
,

o u r intention O f p r oceeding a t onc e , and I suggested th at ,

in cas e we should b e detained in the cav e we should take ,

s o me food with u s Accordingly Gago ol s litte r was

.
’

brought up an d that lady he r self assisted o u t O f it ; and

, .

meanwhile F oulat a at my request stored some b i lt o ng

, , ,

or dried game fl e s h together with a c o uple O f gourds O f

-
,

water in a r e ed baske t Stra i gh t in front O f u s at a dis

.
,

tance O f some fifty paces from the backs O f the colossi r o se ,

a shee r wall Of r ock eighty fe e t o r mo r e in height that

, ,

gradually S lop ed up t ill i t fo r med the base o f the l o fty

i

snow w re athed peak which soar ed up in t o the air three

-

th o usand feet ab o ve u s As soon as she was clear O f her .

hammock Gagool cast on e evil grin upon us and then , ,

leaning on a stick hobbled O ff towards the sh ee r face O f

,

the ro ck We followed h er till we came t o a narrow p o rtal

.

s o lidly ar ched that l o oked like the openi n g Of a gallery O f

,

a mine .

Her e Gagool was waiting for us s t ill wi t h that evil g r in ,

upon h e r ho rr id face .

”
“
N o w whi te men f r om t h e s t a r s
, sh e piped ; great ,
“

wa r rio rs I n c u b u B ou gwan and Mac u m az ahn th e wise

, , , ,

are ye r eady ? Behold I am h e re t o do the bidding O f my ,

lord th e king and to S how ye t h e s t o re of b r ight s t o n e s

, .

”
We ar e ready I said , .
 ’
K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S . 2 23

Good good ! M ak e s tr ong your h e arts to hear wha t

ye shall se e Com e s t th ou to o I n fado o s who b etr ayed thy
.
, ,

mast er
I nf ado os f r own e d as h e an sw ere d
N ay I com e not ; it is not for me to en t e r t h ere Bu t
, .

thou Gago o l c u rb thy tongue and beware h ow thou deal

, , ,

es t with my lo r ds A t thy hands will I r equir e them and

.
,

if a hai r O f them b e hu r t Gag o ol b e thou fifty times a , ,

”
witch thou shalt die H e arest thou ?
, .

I hear I n fadoos; I know th e e thou dids t ev e r love big

, ,

wo r ds ; when thou was t a babe I r emembe r th o u didst

threaten thine o wn m o t h er That was but t he othe r day . .

But fear not fear n ot ; I liv e bu t t o do th e bidding Of the

,

king I have do ne the bidding Of many kings I nfado o s

.
, ,

till in th e end they did m ine Ha ! h a ! I go to look .

u po n thei r faces o n c e m o re a n d Twala s toc f Co m e on ’

, , ,
”
c o m e o n he re i s t he lam p and sh e drew a g r eat g o urd
, ,

full o f O il and fitted wi t h a r ush wick fro m under he r fu r

, ,

c loak .

“
Art thou coming Foulata asked Good in his v illa
,

n o u s kitchen K u k u an a in which he had been impr o ving

,

himself unde r that lad y s tuiti o n ’

.

”
I fear m y l o r d the g irl answe r ed timidly
, , ,
.

”
Then give m e the basket .

N ay my lord whither th o u g o es t there will I go also

, , ,
.

”
Th e deuce you will ! thought I t o myself ; that will “

”
b e rather awkward if eve r we get o u t O f this .

Without further ado Gag oo l plunged into the passag e ,

which was wide en o ugh t o a dmit O f two walking ab r east ,

an d quite dark we foll o wing he r voice as she piped t o us

,
'

t o com e on in som e fea r and t r embling which was n o t

, ,

allayed by the sound O f a sudd en r ush of wings .

 ’
224 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES .

”
Hallo ! what s tha t ? hallo e d Goo d; so m ebody hi t
’ “

”
me in th e face .

”
Bats said I ; on you go
,
“
.

When we had as far as we could j udge go n e so m e fifty

, ,

paces we p erceived that th e passage was g r owin g faintly

light An o ther minute and we stood in the m ost wond er
.
,

f u l place that the eyes O f living man eve r lit on .

L et the reader picture to himself the hall Of th e vast e s t

cathedral he e v er st oo d in windowless indeed but di mly
, , ,

lighted fr o m ab o ve (presumably by shafts connected with

the o uter air and driven in the r o of which a r ched away a ,

hundred feet ab ove o u r heads) an d he will get some idea

,

o f th e size O f the enorm o us cave in which we stood with ,

th e di ff erence that this cathedral design ed of natu r e was

lo f tier and wide r tha n any built by man But i ts stup on .

d o u s size was the least O f th e w o nde r s O f the place fo r , ,

running in r o ws adown its length were gigantic pilla r s of

what l o oked like ice but were in r eality huge stalactit e s
, , ,
.

It is impossi b le for me to convey any idea O f the ove r

p o wering beauty and grandeur O f th e se pillars Of white
sp ar s o me O f which were not less th an t wenty fe e t in
,

diameter at the base an d sprang up in l o fty and yet d e li

,

cate beauty S heer to the distant roo f O thers again we r e .

in pr o cess O f f o rmation O n the r o ck flo o r the r e was in

.

these cases what looked Sir Henry said exactly like a

, ,

b ro ken c o lumn i n an O ld Grecian temple while hi gh above , ,

depending f r o m the roof the point Of a hug e icicle could

,

be d i mly seen And even as we gazed w e could hea r the

.

pr o cess going on f or presently with a t i ny splash a dr o p

,

O f water would f all fr o m the fa r O ff icicle o n to the column

-

bel o w O n some column s th e d rops only fell once in two

.

or t h r ee m i n utes and in thes e cases it would fo rm a n i n

,
22 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

h er handi wo rk by t h e same unva r ying laws u tt e r ly i rr e ,

‘

S pec ti v e of size — were tiny O n e little nook for instan ce .

, ,
’
was no larger than an unus u ally big doll s house and yet ,

it might hav e been the model O f the whole place for the ,

wate r dropped the tiny ic i cles hung and th e sp a r columns

, ,

were fo rming in j ust the same way .

We had no t time however to e xamine this beautiful

, ,

place as tho roughly as we Should have liked to do fo r ,

unf o rtunately Gagool s eeme d to b e indi fferent t o stalac

ti te s and only anxious to get h er business ove r
,
This an .

noyed me the more as I was pa r ticularly anxious to dis

,

cove r i f possible by wha t syste m the light was admitted

, ,

int o the place and wh ethe r it was by th e hand of man o r

,

O f nature that this was done ; also if i t had been used in

any way in ancient times as seem e d p r obable However , .
,

we consoled ourselves with th e idea that we would examine

it tho r oughly On ou r re tu r n and followed On after o u r u n ,

canny guide .

O n she led u s s t raight to the top of t he vast an d silent

,

cave whe r e we found anoth er doorway not a r ched as the

, ,

first was but square at the t o p som e thing like the d o or

, ,

ways Of E gyptian temples .

”
Are ye p r epa r ed to enter th e Place Of D ea t h ? asked
Gag o ol evidently with a vie w to making us feel u nc om
,

f o r tab le .

”
“
L ead M acduff, said Good sol e m n ly tr yi n g t o
o n, , ,

l oo k as though he was n ot at all ala rmed as inde e d did we ,

all except Foulata who caught Good by th e ar m fo r pro

,

t e c ti on .

”
This is ge tt ing r a t he r ghas t ly said S i r H enr y p ee p , ,

ing into the dark doorway Come on Qua t ermain .

“
,

sen i or esp r i or es D o n t k e ep t he O ld lady waiting ! an d

”
’
.
 K I N G S OL OMON S M I N ES
’
. 227

h e p oli t ely m ade way f or m e to lead t h e van for which I ,

inwa r dly did not bless h im .

Tap tap went O ld Gagool s stick down t he p assage

, ,
’
,

as She t ro tt e d along chuckling hide o usly ; and s till ove r

, ,

come by som e unaccoun t abl e p re sen t im ent of evil I hung ,

‘

back .

C om e get on Ol d f e llow said Good or w e shall lose

, , , ,
”
o u r fai r guid e .

Thu s adj u re d I sta r ted do wn the passage and afte r

, ,

about twenty p aces found myself in a gl oo my apartment

s o m e f o rty feet long by thirty br o ad and t hirty high ,

which in so me past age had evidently b een h o llow ed by ,

h and lab or ou t o f the m o untain

-
, This apar tment was n o t
.

n early s o well ligh t ed as the vast stalactite ante cave and -

,

at the firs t glance all I could make o u t was a m assi v e ston e

table running its le n gth with a c o lossal whit e figure at its
,

head an d lif e S ized white figu r es all r ound it N ext I

,
-
.

m ade o u t a br o wn thing seated o n th e tabl e in the centre

, ,

and in an o th e r m o ment my eye s g r ew accus t omed to the

light and I saw what all these things were and I was tail
, ,

ing out o f it as hard as my legs would carry me I am n ot .

a nervous man in a general way and ver y little troubled

, ,

with sup erstiti o n s O f which I have lived to see the folly ;

,

but I am free to o wn t h at tha t sigh t quite up set me and ,

had it n ot be e n th at Si r Henry caught me by the colla r

and held m e I d o honestly believe th at in an o the r five
,

m inu te s I sh ould have been o utside that stalactite cave and ,

that th e p r omise O f all t h e diamonds in K imbe r ley would

n o t hav e induced m e t o en t er it again But he held me .

t ight S O I s topped b ecause I could n ot h e lp m yself But

,
.

n e xt second his eyes go t ac cus t omed to th e light too and , ,

he le t go Of m e and bega n t o mop t h e pe r spi rat io n Off

228 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S
’
.

his f or ehead As for Good he swo r e feebly and F oul ata

.
, ,

threw her arms r oun d hi s neck and shrieked .

O nly Gago o l chuckl ed l o u d and long .

It was a ghastly sight Th ere at the end O f t h e lo n g

.

stone table h o ldi n g in his skeleton fingers a g r eat whit e

,

S p ear sat D ea th himsel f shaped in the fo rm o f a colossal

, ,

human S kelet o n fi f teen f eet o r more in height High

,
.

above hi s head he held the spear as th o ugh in the act of ,

striking ; o ne b o ny hand rested on the st o ne table befo r e

him in the p o siti o n a man assumes on rising from his seat
, ,

while hi s f rame was bent f o rward so that the ver t eb r ae O f

the neck an d the grinning gleaming skull p r oj ect e d t ow
,

ards us and fixed its h o ll o w eye places upon us th e j aws -

,

a little O pen as th o ugh it were ab o ut to speak

,

Great heavens said I faintl y at last wha t ca n it, , ,

”
And what are those thi ngs? said Good pointin g t o ,

the white company r o un d the tab le .

“
An d what o n earth is that thi ng? S a
”
id Sir H e n r y ,

p o inting t o the brown creature seated on the table .

“
Hee ! hee ! hee laughed Gagool TO thos e who .

enter the Hall O f the Dead evil c ome s Hee h e e hee , .

”
ha ! ha !
C o me Incub a brave in battle come and se e him thou
, , ,

S lewest ; an d the Old creature caught his coat in he r

”

S kinny fingers and led him away towa r ds t h e t able We

, .

f oll o wed .

Presently She st o ppe d and pointed at the b r own O bj e ct

seated on the table Sir Henry looked and s t a r t e d back
.
,

with an exc lamation ; and n o wonde r for t h e r e seat e d , ,

quite naked on the table the head which Si r H e n r y s

, ,
’

battle axe had S horn from the body res t ing o n i t s k nee s,
-
23 0 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S
’
.

That the p r actice O f thus p r ese r ving thei r kings mus t hav e
been an ancient o ne is evident f r o m the number which
w
, ,

all o ing f o r an average reign O f fifteen ye ar s w o ul d sup , ,

p o sing that every king wh o reigned w placed he re an

as —
impr o bable thing as Some ar e sure to have p e rished i n
,

—
battle far fr o m h o me fi x the date o f its com me nc e me nt
at f o ur and a quarter centuries back B ut th e colossal .

Death who S its at the head O f the b o ard i s far Older th an /

that and unless I am much mistaken ow es his o r igin t o

, , ,

th e same artist who designed the three c o lossi He was .

hewn ou t of a single stalactite and l o oked at as a work

, ,

Of art was most admirably c o nceived and executed

,
Good .
,

wh o understood anatomy declared that S O far as he could

, ,

se e the anat o mical design O f the S kelet o n was p e r fect dow n

,

to the smallest bones .

M y o wn idea is that this te r rific O bj ect was a f r eak O f

fan cy on the part O f some O ld wo r ld sculpto r and tha t its
-
,

presence had suggested to the K u k u an as the idea o f plac

i n g thei r royal dead under its awful presidency O r p er . .

haps it was placed there to frighten away any maraude r s

who might have designs up o n the treasure chambe r b eyond -
.

I cannot say All I can d o is to d e scribe it as it is an d the

.
,

r eader must form his own conclusi o n .

Such a t any r ate was th e white D eath a n d such we re t h e

, ,

white d ea d I
 C HAPTE R X VII .

S OLOM ON S TR E AS U RE
’
-
CH AMB E R .

W HI L E we had been e ngag e d i n g ett ing ove r ou r f ri gh t ,

and in examining th e g r isly wonde r s of the place Gag oo l ,

had b e en di ffe r ently o ccupied Somehow or othe r— f o r she

.

was ma r v e llously ac t iv e whe n sh e ch os e— sh e had sc r ambled

o n t o th e g r ea t table and made he r way to where o u r de

pa rt ed fr i e n d T wala was plac e d und er th e d r ip to see , ,

”
sugg e s t ed G ood how he was pickling or fo r som e da r k
, ,

pu r pos e of he r own Then sh e ca m e hobbling back stop

.
,

ping now an d agai n to add r ess a re ma rk (the teno r O f

which I could n ot ca t ch ) to on e or oth e r o f th e sh r ouded
forms j u s t as you or I might g r e e t a n Old acqu aintance
, .

Having go ne th r ough this mysterious an d h o rr ibl e ce r e

mony sh e s qu a t t ed he r s e lf dow n on the t able immediately
,

u n de r t h e whit e D e ath and began so far as I could m ake

, ,

o u t to O ff e r up pray er s to it
,
The spectacle o f this wicke d
.

Old c r eatu re p ou r ing ou t supplications (evil ones no doubt ) ,

t o t h e a r ch e nemy of mankind was so u n canny tha t it

-

caused u s t o has te n ou r i n sp ec t ion .

“
N ow Gagool said I in a low voic e— somehow o n e
,
”
, ,

di d no t da re t o s pe ak a b ov e a whisp er i n tha t plac e lead

”
u s to t h e ch a m b er .

Th e Old c reat u re p r o m p t ly sc r a m bl e d dow n O ff t he t able .

”
M y lo r ds are n o t afra id ? sh e said l eer i n g up i nt o m y ,

L ea d o n .
23 2 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES ’
.

Good m y lords and she hobbl e d rou n d to the back

,

of t he great Death Here is the chamber ; let my lo r ds

.

l i ght the lamp and enter and She placed the g o u r d full
”
, ,

o f O il up o n the floor and lean ed herself against the side ,

O f the cave I took out a match O f which we still had a

.
,

few in a box and lit th e r ush w ick and then l o oked for
, ,

the do o r way but there was nothing be f o re us but the s o lid

,
”
r ock Gag o o l grinned
. The way is the r e my lo r ds .
, .

”
D O not j est with us I said sternly , ,
.

”
I j est not my lo r ds S ee ! and she pointed at th e
, .

r ock .

AS she did so on h o lding up the lam p we perceived tha t

,

a mass O f ston e was s lowly r ising fro m the fl oo r and van

i shi ng into th e r ock ab o ve where doubtless th ere was a ,

cavity p r epared to receive it The mass was of the width .

o f a go o d sized door about ten feet high an d not less than

-
,

five feet thick It m u st have weighed at leas t twenty o r

.

thirty tons and was clearly moved up o n some simple bal

,

ance principle probably t he same as th at upon which t he

,

o pening and shut t ing of an o rdinary m odern window is

arranged How the principle was set in m otio n o f cou r s e
.
,

none O f us saw ; Gagool was careful to avoid t hat ; bu t I

hav e littl e doubt that there was some v e r y simpl e l e ve r ,

which was m o ved ever so little by pressu re o n a s e c r et

S p ot thereby thr o wing additional weight o n to t h e hidden
,

counterbalances and causing th e whole huge mass to b e

,

lifted f r om th e g r ound V ery Sl o wly and gently the g reat .

sto n e raised its e lf till at last it had vanish e d altoge ther

, ,

and a dark hole p r esented i t self t o us in t h e plac e which

it had fil led .

O u r excit e m e nt was so in t ense as we saw th e way t o ,

’
Solomon s t re asu re ch a mb er a t las t t h r ow n op e n , th at I fo r
-
23 4 K I N G S OL OMON S M I N ES ’
.

How knowest thou the dead man s na m e S h e asked ’

,

sharply ; and then With o ut waiting fo r an an swer we nt

, ,

on

N one knew what happ ened ; bu t it came abou t t ha t

th e white man was frightened f or he flung down the go a t ,

S ki n with t he stones and fl e d o u t with only the on e

,

sto n e in his hand and that t he king took and i t is the

, ,

stone that thou , Macu m az ahn didst tak e fro m Twala s ,

’

”
br o ws .

”
Hav e none entere d h ere si n c e ? I asked, p eer ing a g a i n
down the dar k passag e .

“
N on e my lords ,
O nly the secret of th e d o o r hath
.

been kep t, and e ve r y king hath O pened it th ough he hath ,

not entered There is a saying that th o se who enter the re

.
,

will die within a moon ev e n as the white man died in t he

,

cav e upon the m ou ntai n wher e ye found him Macu m az ahn

, , .

Ha ! ha ! mine a r e tru e w o rds .

O u r eyes met as she said it and I turned S ick and cold

, .

H o w did the O ld hag know all these things

“
E nter my lords If I speak t ruth the goa t skin with
,
.
-

the stones will lie up o n the fl o or ; and if there is truth as

to whether it is death to enter here that will ye learn af ,

t e r war ds Ha ! ha ! ha ! And She hobbled through th e

.
”

d o orway bearing th e light with her ; b u t I confess that

,

once m o re I hesitated about f o llowing .

”
“
O h conf o und it all l said Go o d here goes I a m
, ,
“
.

not going to be frightened by that Old devil and followed ,

by F oulata wh o h o wever e vidently di d not at all like the

, , ,

j ob for she was Shivering with fear he plunged i n to the

, ,

—
passage after Gagool an example which we quickly fol
lowed .

A f e w y ar ds down the passag e in t h e na rr ow w a y h e wn

,
 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
. 23 5

ou t Of th e living r ock Gagool had paused and was waiting

, ,

for us
.

”
S e e my lo r ds she said h o lding the light befo r e he r
, , , ,

t ho se who stored th e t r easure h ere fl ed in haste and b e ,

th ough t them to gu ard against any who should find the

”
s e c r et O f the door b ut had n o t the time and she pointed
, ,

t o la r g e sq u ar e blocks O f stone which h ad to the height, ,

o f t wo cou r ses (about t wo feet thr e e r

) b een placed ac oss ,

t h e passage wi t h a view to walling it u p Al o ng the side .

of t h e passage we r e similar bl o cks rea dy for use and m o st , ,

cu r ious O f all a heap o f m o rtar and a couple of trowels

, ,

which so far as we had time t o examine them appeared

, ,

t o b e O f a simila r S hape and mak e t o th ose u se d by work

m en o f t his day .

He r e Foulata wh o had through o ut been in a stat e o f

,

g re at fear and agitation said that She felt faint and c o uld
,

go no farther but would wait there Acc or dingly we

, .

se t he r down o n th e unfinished wall placing the bask et o f ,

p r ovisions by he r side and left h er to r e co ver

,
.

F ollowing th e passag e f or about fift e e n paces fa r th er we ,

sudd e nly ca me to an elabo r a t ely painted wood e n doo r I t .

was standing wide Op e n Whoeve r was last th e r e had

.

either n o t had the time o r had fo rgotten to shut it

,
.

A cr oss the thr eshold lay a shi rt bag, f or m ed o f a goa t

sk i n , tha t app ear ed to b e f u ll of p ebbles .

”
“
Hee ! hee ! whit e m en snigge r ed G a gool as th e ligh t
, ,

f ro m th e lamp fell upon i t Wha t did I t e ll ye t ha t th e

. ,

whit e m an who came her e fle d in h a s te an d d r opp e d th e ,

W oman s ’
bag — b e h old it ! ”

Good stoop e d dow n and lift e d i t I t w a s h e avy a n d .

j i ngled .

”
“
B y J ov e ! I b e li e v e i t s full o f di am o n ds , h e said i n
’
,
23 6 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S ’
.

an awed whispe r ; and ind e ed the idea o f a small goa t , ,

S kin full o f diamonds is enough to awe anybo dy .

G O o n said S i r Henry impatiently

,
Here Old lady , .
, ,
”
give me t he lamp and taking it fr o m Gagool s hand he
, ,
’
,

stepped through the d o o r way and hel d it high ab ove his

head .

We pressed in afte r him forgetful f or the momen t o f , , ,

’
the bag o f di am o nds and found ou r selves in Sol o mon s
,

tr easure chamber -
.

At first all t ha t th e s o mewhat faint light given by th e

,

lamp revealed was a r o om hewn ou t o f the li ving r o ck and ,

apparently n o t m o re than ten feet square N ext there .

came int o sight st o red one on the o ther as high as the

,

ro o f a sp len did c o llecti o n O f elephant tu sks How many

,
-
.

O f the m there were we did n o t kn o w fo r o f course we ,

c o u ld n o t se e h o w f ar they went back but there c o uld n ot ,

have been less than th e ends o f four or five hundred tusks

O f the first quality visible t o o u r eyes There al o n e was .
, ,

en o ugh iv o ry be f o re us t o m ake a m an wealthy f o r life .

Perhaps I th o ught it w as fr o m this very st or e that S o lo

, ,

m o n dre w his material f o r hi s great thr o ne o f ivory o f” “

,

which there w as n o t the like made in any kingd o m .

O n th e O pp o site side Of the chamber were about a scor e

o f w oo den b o xe s s o methi n g like M a r tini
,
Henry ammu -

n i ti on boxes o nly rat h er larger and painted red

, , .

”
There are the diamonds cried I bring the light ”
,
“
.

Sir Henry did so h o lding it cl o se t o the top b o x of

, ,

which the lid r endered r o tten by time even in that dry

,

place appeared t o have been smashed in pr o bably by Da

, ,

Silvestra himself Pushing my hand th ro ugh the h o le in

.

th e lid I drew it ou t full not o f diam o n ds but of g o ld , ,

pieces o f a shape that none o f us had seen bef o re and

, ,
 ’
23 8 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I NE S .

th e ope n ch e st We looked and for a mo m en t could m ak e

.
,

n othing ou t o n account of a silvery sheen that dazzled us

,
.

When o u r eyes got used to it we saw that the chest was

th r ee pa rt s full Of uncut dia m onds m o st of them O f con
-
,

si der ab le size S to oping I picked s o me up Yes th ere

.
,
.
,

was n o mistake about it th e re was the unmis t akable soapy

,

feel about t hem .

I fairly gasped as I d r opp e d them .

”
We are the r ich e st men in the whole world I said , .

”
Mo nte Cristo is a fo o l to us .

We shall flo o d the market with di am o nds said Go o d

”
,
.

”
Got t o ge t them there first suggested Si r Hen r y ,
.

And we st oo d with pale faces and stared at each other ,

with the lantern in the middle and the glimmering gems ,

bel o w as th o ugh w e were conspirat o rs ab o ut to c o mmit

,

a crime instead Of being as we th o ught the three m o s t

, , ,

f o rtunate men on earth .

“
Hee ! hee ! hee wen t Old Gag oo l behind us as sh e ,

fl i tt e d ab o ut like a vampire bat There are the brigh t .

“

st o nes that ye l o ve white men as many as ye will take

, ,

them run the m through y o ur fingers eat of them hee !

, , ,
”
hee dr i n k of th em ha ha 7
,

There was s o mething so ridicul o us at that moment to

my mind in the idea o f eating and drinking diam o nds tha t ,

I began t o laugh o utrage o usly an example which th e o th ,

ers followed with o ut knowing why There we stood and

, .

shrieked wi th laughter over th e gems which w e re ou rs ,

which had been f o und f or a s thousands of yea r s ago by

th e patient delvers in the great h o le yonder and sto re d ,

f o r a s by S o l o mon s l o ng d e ad overse e r whose na m e p e r

’
-

, ,

chance was written in the cha r acters stamped on the fad e d

,

wax that ye t adh er ed t o th e lids of t h e chest Solo m o n .

 ’
K I N G S OLOM ON S MINE S . 23 9

ne v er go t t he m n o r David, n o r Da Silvestr a, no r anybody

,

els e . I Ve had go t th em ; there b ef o re u s were million s

o f pounds w o rth o f diam o nds and thousan ds o f p ounds
’ ’
,

worth o f gold and iv o ry o nly waiting t o b e taken away , .

S u ddenly the fi t p assed O fl and we st o pped laughing ’

, .

O p en th e o th er chests white men cr o aked Gag o ol , , .

,
“
the r e a r e su r ely mor e therein Take you r fill white .
,

lo r ds
Thus adj u r ed w e set to w o rk to p ull up t he s t one lids
,

o n the other t w o fi r st — n o t without a f e eling of sac r ileg e

,

—breaking the seals th at fastened them .

Ho o rah th ey we r e full t o o full to the brim ; at least ,

'

th e second one was ; n o wretch ed Da Silvestra had been

filling goat skins o u t o f th at As f or the third chest it
-
.
,

was o nly ab out a f o urth full bu t th e stones were all picked ,

ones ; none less than twenty carats and s o me O f them as ,

large as pigeon eggs S o me of these biggest ones how

-
.
,

ever we could see by h o lding them up to th e light were a

, ,
”
little yell o w Off c o l o red as they call it at K imb erley
, ,
.

What we did n ot se e h owever was the l o ok o f fearful, ,

malevolence tha t O ld Gagool favo r ed us with as sh e crept ,

c r ept like a snake o u t o f th e tr e asure chambe r and do wn

-
,

th e passage t o wards th e massive door of solid r ock .

Hark ! C ry upon c r y comes r inging u p th e vault e d

’
p ath It is F o u lata s v o ice
.

oh B ou gwan ! help ! help ! the r ock f a lls!

“
,

L eave go girl Then ,

H é lp ! help ! she hasstabbed m e

B y n ow we a r e r unning down t h e passag e , and t his is

w h at t h e light f r om t h e lamp falls o n The doo r O f r ock .

is slowly closing dow n it is n o t t h ree f eet f r o m t h e fl oo r .

 ’
240 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

N ea r i t s tr uggle Foulata and Gagool Th e r ed blood Of .

th e fo rme r r u ns to he r knee but still th e brave gi r l holds ,

the Old witch who fights like a wildcat Ah she is free

,
.

Foulata falls and Gag oo l th r ows he r self o n the g r ound to

, ,

twist herself like a snake th ro ugh th e crack of the closing

s t on e Sh e is u nde r— ah, God ! too late too late ! Th e
.

stone nips he r and she yells in agony D o wn do wn it

, .
, ,

comes all the thirty tons Of it sl o wly p r essing he r Old

, ,

body against the rock b elow Shriek upon shriek such as .

,

we never hea r d then a long sickening cr u n ch and the door

, , ,

was shu t j u st as we rushing down the passage hu r led ou r

, ,

selves agai n st it .

It was all done in f o ur seconds .

Then we turned t o F o ulata The poor girl was stabb e d .

in th e body and c o uld n ot I saw live l o ng

, , , .

Ah B ou gwan I die gasped the beautiful creatur e

, .

She crept ou t — Gago o l I did n o t se e her I was faint ,

and the d o or b egan t o fall then she came back an d was ,

lo oking up the path— and I saw her come in thr o ugh the
slowly falling d oo r and caught her and held h e r and S he
, ,
”
st abbed me and I di e B ou gwan
, , .

“
Poo r girl ! p oo r girl ! Good crie d and then as he
”
,

could d o n o thing else he fell t o kissing he r , .

“
B ou gwan
”
she said after a pause
, is Macu m az ahn
, ,
“

”
there ? it grows s o dark I cannot see , .

”
Here I am Foulata , .

Mac u m az ahn be my tongue f o r a mo m ent I pray thee

, , ,

fo r B ou gwan cann o t understand me an d b efo r e I go into ,

—
the darkness I w o uld speak a word ”
.

”
a
Say on F o u lata I will r e n der it
, , .

S ay to my l o rd B w —
that I l o ve him and tha t
o u
g an , , ,

I am glad t o die b ecause I know t hat h e cann o t cu mbe r

 ’
242 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

m is er able end th a t awaited was o ve rpowering We

us .

saw it all now ; that fiend Gag oo l had planned this snar e
, ,

f o r us fr o m the first It w o uld have been j ust the j est that

.

her evil mind would have rej oiced in the idea of the th r ee ,

whit e men w hom for s o me reas o n o f her o wn she had al

, , ,

ways h ated slowly p e rishing of thirst and hunger in th e

,

company o f the t r easure they had c o veted I saw th e .

p o int o f that sneer Of hers about eating and drinking th e

diam o nds n o w Perhaps someb o dy had t r i e d to ser ve t he
.

p o o r O ld don i n the same way when he ab andoned th e skin

,

full o f j ewels .

This will n e ver do said Sir Henry h oa r sely ; th e

, ,
“

lamp will soon go o u t L et us see if we can t find t he

.
’

S pring that works the r o ck ”

.

We sprang f o r ward wit h despe r a t e ene rgy and stand , ,

ing i n a bl o ody ooze began t o feel u p and d o wn the doo r

,

and the sides Of the passage But n o kn o b o r spring could

.

we discove r .

”
“
Depend on it I said it does n o t wo r k fro m th e i n
, ,
“

side ; if it did Gago o l w o uld n o t have risked t r ying to

c r awl u n derneath th e st o ne It was the knowledge o f this
.

”
that made he r t r y t o escape at all h azard cu r se her , .

At all eve nts said Sir Henry with a ha r d littl e laugh

, , ,

r etributi o n was swift ; hers was almost as awful an end

as ou r s is likely t o b e We can do nothing with the doo r
.

”
let u s go back t o th e t r easu r e r oom We t u r ned and
-
.

went and as we did so I percei v ed by the unfinishe d wall

,

ac r oss the passage the basket o f food which poor Foulat a

had car ried I t o ok it up and b ro ught it with m e back to
.

that accursed treasure chamber that was to be our g rav e

-
.

The n w e w en t back and reverently b o r e in Fou lata sco r ps e ’

,

l ayin g i t on t h e fl oo r by th e bo xe s of c oin .
 ’
K I N G S O L OMON S M I N ES . 243

N ext we seated ourselves leaning ou r backs again s t , the

th r ee stone chests O f priceless treasures .

“ ”
Le t us divide th e food said Sir Henry so as to , ,
”
make it las t as long as p o ssible Acc or dingly we did so . .

It wo uld w e reckoned make f o ur i n fi n i te si m ally small

, ,

meals f or each O f us ; enough say to support life f o r a , ,

couple O f days B esides th e bil t ong o r drie d game fl e sh

.
,
-
,

th e r e were tw o gourds of water e ach holding about a ,

quart .

No w said Sir Hen r y l e t u s ea t an d drink f or t o

, ,
“
,

morro w we die .

We each ate a small port i on O f th e biltong and drank ,

a sip of water We had needless t o say but little appe

.
, ,

tite though we were sadly in need of food and felt better

, ,

afte r swallowing i t Then we g o t up an d mad e a sys

.

t e m ati c exa m in ation o f the wall s o f o u r pris o n h ou se in -

,

the faint h op e o f finding some mean s O f exit s o u n ding ,

th e m and the flo o r car e fully .

Th er e was n o ne It was n ot pr o bable that th e r e wo uld

.

b e on e t o a treasure cha m b er -
.

The lamp b egan t o burn dim The fat was nearly ex .

ha n s te d .

Quatermain said Sir Hen r y what is the time your —

, ,
”
watch goes ?
’
I dr e w it o u t and looked at it It was six O clock ; we .

had entered the cave at el even .

”
I n fadoo s will miss u s I suggest e d If w e do n ot
,
.

ret u rn t o night h e will search f or u s in the m o r ning

-
,

”
C u rt is .

“
H e m ay sea r ch in v ain He do e s n o t know th e sec ret
.

of th e do o r n or e v en wh er e it is
,
N O livin g p e r son knew .

i t y e s ter day e xcept Gagool TO day n o one k n ows i t

,
.
-
.
2 44 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S
’
.

E ve n if he found the door he could n ot b r eak it down .

All the K u k u an a army could not break through fi ve feet

o f living r ock M y fr ien ds I se e nothing f o r it but t o
.
,

b o w ourselves to the wi ll of the Almighty The search .

f or treasure has b r ought many t o a bad end ; we shall go

”
t o s we ll their number .

The lam p grew dimmer yet .

P r esently it flared up an d sh o wed the wh o le scen e in

st r o n g r elief the great mass O f white tusks the b o xes full
, ,

of g o ld the corpse O f p oo r F o ulata stretched befo r e them

, ,

the goat skin full O f treasure the di m glimmer O f the

-
,

diam o nds and the wild wan faces of us thr ee whit e men
, ,

seated the r e awaiting death by starvation .

Sudde nly it sank and expir ed

, .
246 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N E S ’
.

me Th er e around us lay treasu r es enough to p ay off a

.

m o derate national debt o r t o build a fleet o f i ro n clads

,
-
,

and yet we wo uld gladly have bar tere d them all f or the
faintest chance o f escape S oo n d o ubtless w e sh o uld b e
.
, ,

glad t o exchange them f o r a bit o f f oo d o r a cup Of water ,

an d after that even f o r the sp eedy cl o se t o o u r su ff e r ings

, ,
.

Truly wealth which men spend all their liv e s in acquiring

, ,

is a valueless thing at th e last .

And so the night w or e o n .

”
“
Go od said Sir Henry s voice at last and it s o u n d e d
,
’
,

awful in the inten se stillness how many matches h ave ,

“

”
you in the box ?
E ight Curtis ,
.

“
Strike o n e an d l et us se e the t ime
, .

He did SO and in c o ntrast t o the dens e darkness the

,

flame nearly blinded u s It w as five O cl o ck by my watch

.
’
.

The beautiful dawn was n o w blushing on the sn o w wreath s -

f ar o ver ou r h eads an d the breeze w o uld b e stir ring th e

,

night mists in the h o llows .

We had b etter eat something and keep up o u r

”
strength said I , .

”
What is the go o d O f eating ? answered Good th e “

”
sooner we die and get it over the b etter .

”
While there is life there is h ope said Sir Henry , .

Accor dingly we ate and sipped s o me water and anoth er ,

p eriod o f time passed when s o meb ody suggested that it

,

might b e as well t o get as nea r to the d o or as possible and

ha l l o on the faint ch ance o f somebody catchin g a sound
,

outsid e Acco rdingly Good who fr o m long p r ac ti ce a t

.
, ,

se a, has a fine pie r cing note groped his way down the pas
, ,

sa ge and began and I must say he made a m o st diabolical

,

noise I n e ve r h e ar d such yells ; b ut it migh t hav e b e e n

a m os qui t o b uzzi n g f or all t h e e ff e c t i t p r oduc e d .
 ’
K IN G S O L O M ON S MI N E S . 247

Af ter a while h e gav e i t up an d cam e b a ck ve ry t hi r sty , ,

and had t o have so m e wat er Afte r that w e g av e up y e ll .

ing as it e n c ro ach e d on the supply of wate r

, .

S o we all sa t d o wn once more agains t ou r ch e s t s of use

l e ss diamo n ds i n that dr eadful inac t i o n which was on e o f
the ha r d e s t ci r cumsta n ces Of ou r fat e ; and I a m bound to
say t h at fo r my p a r t I gav e way i n d e spai r L aying my
, , .

’
h e a d agains t Si r H e n r y s b r o a d should er I bu r s t int o t e ars ; ,

a n d I t hink I h ear d Good gulp i n g away on t h e oth er sid e ,

an d sw eari n g h oa r s e ly a t himself f or doi n g so .

Ah h ow go od and b r ave that gr ea t m an was ! Had we

,

b een two f r igh t ened child r en and he ou r n u r s e h e could , ,

n o t hav e tre a te d us mo r e te n de rly F o rge t ting his own .

sha re O f mis eri e s h e did all h e could to sooth e ou r b r oken

,

ne rve s telling s t o ries o f men who had bee n i n som e what

,

similar circumsta n ces and mi racul o usly escap e d ; and when

thes e fail e d t o ch eer us pointing ou t how after all it was
, , ,

only an t icipat ing an e nd that m ust com e to us all that i t ,

would soon b e ov e r a n d that death fr o m exhaustio n was a

,

m e r c i ful on e (which is n o t t r ue ) Then I n a difli den t sor t .

,

o f a w ay as I h ad onc e b efo r e h e a r d him do h e suggest e d

, ,

t hat w e should t h r ow Ou r selves o n t h e m e r cy of a high e r

Pow er which fo r my pa r t I did with g re at vigo r
, , ,
.

His is a beau t iful cha r act er ve r y qui e t b u t v e ry st ron g

, ,
.

And so so m eh ow th e day w e nt as the n ig h t had go n e

if indeed o n e ca n u se t h e t er ms whe re a ll was d e n s e st
( , ,

n igh t) and wh en I li t a m a t ch t o s ee t h e t i me i t w a s s e v en
,
’
O clo ck .

O n c e m o re w e ate and d ran k a n d a s w e di d so an id e a ,

occu rre d t o me .

“
H ow is it said I t h at t h e a i r i n t his pl a c e ke e p s
” “
, ,
”
f re sh ? I t is t hick and h ea v y, b u t i t i s per f e ct ly fre sh .
 ’
2 48 K I N G S O L OMON S M I N ES .

” “
G reat h e a ven s ! said Good s t a rt ing up I ne v er , ,

th ough t of tha t It can t come th r ough the s t o n e doo r

.
’
,

f or it is air t igh t if ever a d o o r was It must come fro m

-
,
.

somewhe re If the re we r e no cu rr e n t of ai r in the place

.

w e should have b ee n sti fl ed wh e n w e fi rs t c a m e i n L et .

”
u s have a look .

I t was wond er ful what a chang e this m e r e spark o f hOpe

w r ought i n us In a moment we were all three g r oping
.

a b out the place o n ou r han ds a n d knees feeling f o r th e ,

slightes t indication o f a d r aught P r esently my a r do r r e .

c e i v e d a ch e ck I put my hand on s o m ething cold I t

. .

was poo r F ou lata s dead fac e ’

.

Fo r a n hou r o r mo r e we went on f e eling about till at ,

last Si r H e n r y and I gave it up in despai r having got c o n ,

siderably hurt by constantly knocking o u r h e ads again st

tusks ch e sts and the sides O f the cham b er But Go o d
, , .

still pe r sever e d saying with an app r oach t o ch e erfuln ess

, , ,

that it was bette r than d o ing nothing .

I say you fell o ws he said presen t ly i n a const r ain ed

,
”
, , ,
”
s o rt O f voice c o me h er e
,
.

N eedless t o say we scrambled ov er t ow ar ds him quick

enough .

Quate rmain put you r hand h ere whe r e m i n e is N ow

, .
,
”
do you fe e l anythi n g ?
I thi n k I f e el air coming up .

”
N o w listen He r ose and stam ped upon t he place
.
,

and a flame of hope sho t up in ou r h e arts I t r ang .

hollow .

Wit h t re mbling hands I lit a match I had only t h r e e .

l e ft an d w e saw that we were in the angle of the fa r co r

,

ner of t h e chambe r a fact that accounted f or ou r n ot hav

,

i ng n o t ic e d t h e hollow r in g o f t h e pl a ce du r in g ou r fo rm e r
 ’
25 0 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

t he re ca m e a pa r ti n g sou n d , t h en a r ush O f ai r, a n d w e
we r e all on o u r backs o n th e fl oo r wi t h a g r ea t fl ag s t o n e -

o n the top o f us Si r Hen r y s s tr ength had do n e it and

.
’
,

n eve r di d muscula r po we r s t and a man in b e tt er s t ead .

”
“
L ight a ma t ch Qua te r main he said as soon as we
, , ,

had picked ourselves up and go t on e b r eath ; ca re fully

“

n ow .

I did so, and t h er e befo re u s w a s God b e p r ais e d ! t he ,

fi rst step of a ston e sta i r .

N ow what is t o be don e ? asked Goo d ”

.

Follow the s t ai r o f cou r se and t r ust to Providenc e

, ,
.

”
S t op ! said Si r H e nry ; Quate rmain, get the bit of
“

bilto n g and t he wa ter tha t is left ; we may want them .

I we n t c r eeping back to ou r place by the chests for that

purpose and as I was coming away an idea struck m e
,
.

We had no t t hough t m uch of th e diamonds for th e last

t wenty fou r hou r s o r so ; indeed the idea O f dia m onds
-
,

was naus e ous seeing what t hey had entailed upo n u s ;

,

but thought I I may as w e ll pocket a f e w in case we ever

, ,

should get o u t Of this ghastly h o le SO I j u st stuck my .

fist into t he first ches t and filled all t he available pockets

o f my S hooting coat topping u p— this was a happy t hough t
-
,

— wi t h a couple of han dfuls of big on e s o u t o f the t hi r d

chest .

” ’
I say you f e llows I sung ou t won t yo u tak e s om e
“
, , ,
”
diamonds with you ? I v e filled my p ockets ’
.

”
O h ! h a ng the diamo n ds ! said Si r H e n r y
“
.

”
that I m ay n e v er s e e a n o the r .

As fo r Good he m ade n o answe r H e was I th ink

, .
, ,

taking a las t fa re well of all tha t was lef t of the p oo r gi r l

who lov e d him so Well A n d cu r ious as it may s eem to
.
,

you , m y rea d er, sitt ing at ho m e a t e ase an d re fl e c t ing o n

 K I N G S OLOMO N S M I NE S ’
. 25 1

t h e v a s t i n d ee d th e i m measu r able w e alth which w e w ere

, , ,

t hu s ab an doning I can assu r e you that if you had pass e d

,

some t w e n t y eigh t h o urs with next to no thing to eat an d

-

d r ink in that place you w ould n o t have cared to cu mb er

,

y ou r self with diam o nd s while plunging down into the n u

know n b ow e ls Of the ea r th in the wild h o p e o f escape ,

f r o m a n ag o nizing d e ath If it had not fr o m th e habits

.
,

o f a l i fe t i m e become a so r t o f second natu r e with m e

,

ne ve r to leav e anything wo r th having b e hind if the re was

t h e sligh te s t chance O f my b eing able to carr y i t away I ,

am su re I should not have bo t he r ed to fill my p o ckets .

“
C o me o n Qua t e rm a i n said Si r Hen r y who was al
, , ,

re ady s t a n din g o n t h e fi r s t step O f th e s t o ne s t ai r Steady .

“
,

”
I will g o fir s t .

“
M ind whe r e you put you r f e e t ; t he r e may b e so m e
”
awful h ol e unde rne a th , said I .

“
M u ch mo r e likely t o b e a n othe r room said Si r ,

H e n r y, a s h e slowly d e scend e d counting th e step s a s he ,

W ent .

” ’
Wh en h e go t to fifteen h e s t opped “
He re s the .

’
b o tt o m he said
”
,
T hank goodness ! I t hink i t s a pas
.

”
sage C o me on down
. .

G o od d e sc e n d e d n e x t and I followed last and on r each

, ,

i n g t h e bo tt o m lit on e of th e two r emaining matches .

B y i t s ligh t w e could j us t see that w e were standin g i n a

n a rr ow t u nne l which r a n r ight and l e f t a t r ight angles to
,

t h e s t ai r case w e ha d d e sc e n ded Before w e could make .

ou t an y m o re t h e m a t ch bu rne d m y fing er s a n d w e nt o ut .

Th en a r os e th e delica te qu e stio n O f which way to turn .

O f cou r s e i t was i m p ossible t o know wh at the tunnel was

o r wh ere i t r a n to a n d y e t t o tu rn o n e way m ight lead u s
,

t o sa f et y an d t h e oth er to d e s tr uc t ion W e w ere u tterly

,
.
 ’
25 2 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S .

p erpl e xed till sudde nly i t st r uck Good t ha t when I h a d li t

,

t he match the d r aught of the passage blew th e fl a me to

the l e ft .

“
L e t us go agains t the dr aught h e said ; ai r d ra ws
”
,
“

”
i n wa rd n ot outwar d
, .

We took this suggestion an d fe e ling along the wall , ,

with the han d while t rying the g r ound before a t eve r y

,

st e p we departed from that accursed treasure cha mb er on

,
-

o u r te rrible quest If ever it S hould be en t ered again by

.

living man which I do not think it will be he will find a

, ,

token o f ou r p re senc e in the O pen chests of j e w e ls th e ,

empty lamp and th e white b ones o f p o or F oulata

,
.

When we had groped o ur way for abou t a quart er of an

h o ur al o ng the passage it sudd enly t oo k a sharp tu r n o r ,

else was bisect e d by anoth er which we followed o nly in , ,

c ourse O f time t o be led into a third An d so i t w ent o n .

f or some h o urs We seemed to be in a ston e labyrinth

.

which led nowhere What all these passages ar e o f

.
,

course I cann o t say but we th o ugh t tha t they must be the

,

ancient workings o f a mine o f which th e v arious shaft s ,

travelled hithe r and thither as the o re led th em This i s .

the only way in which we could account f o r such a mul t i

t ude o f passages .

At length we halted th o roughly worn o u t with fatigue

, ,

and wi th that h o pe deferred which maketh the hea r t sick ,

and ate up o u r po or r emaining piece of biltong and drank ,

o u r last sup o f water f o r o u r thr o ats were like lime kilns

,
-
.

It seemed t o u s that we had e scaped D e ath in t h e da rk

ness of the chamber o nly to meet him in t h e da rk ne ss of
the tunnels .

As we stoo d onc e mo re u t te r ly dep r ess e d I thought I

, ,

c aught a sou n d t o which I c all e d t h e a ttent io n of t h e

,
25 4 K I N G S OLO MON S M I N ES ’
.

st r etch ed hand and we had p u lled hi m up high a n d d r y

,

into the tunnel .

”
“
M y w or d ! h e said between his gasps th at was
, ,
“

t o uch and go If I hadn t caught that r ock and known

.
’
,

h o w t o swim I should have been d o ne

,
It r uns like a .

”
mill race and I c o uld feel no bottom
-
,
.

It was clear that this w o uld n o t d o ; so after G o o d had

r ested a little and we had d r unk our fill from the water
,

o f the subterranean r iver which was sweet and fresh an d , ,

washed o ur faces which sadly nee ded it as well as we

, ,

c o uld we started fro m the banks o f this African Styx and

, ,

began t o retrace o ur steps along the tunne l G oo d drip ,

ping unpleasan tly in front o f us At leng th we came to .

an o ther tunnel leading t o o u r righ t .

”
“
We may as well take it said Si r Henry wea r ily ; , ,

all roads are alike here ; we can only go o n till w e

”
dr o p .

Sl o wly f or a long long while we stumble d ut t e rly

, , , ,

weary along this n e w tunnel Sir Hen r y leading n o w

, , .

Suddenly he st o pped and we bumped up against him , .

”
L o o k ! he whispered is my brain going o r is that ,
“
,
”
light ?
We star ed with all o u r eyes and there yes the r e fa r , , , ,

ahead o f us was a faint glimmering spot no la rge r than

, ,

a cottage wind o w pane It was so faint that I doubt

-
.

if any eyes exc e pt th o se which like ou r s had fo r day s

, , ,

seen n o thing but blackness could h ave pe r cei ved it at ,

all.

With a sor t o f g a sp of hop e we push e d o n In five .

minut e s there was no longe r any doubt : it was a p atch of

faint light A minute mo r e an d a b r eath O f real live air
.

was fanning us O n we s tr uggl e d All at o n ce t h e t u n

. .
 K I N G S OL OM ON S M I NE S
’
. 25 5

n e l n arr ow e d Si r Hen r y went o n his knee s S m alle r

.
.

y et it g r ew , t ill it was only the size o f a large fox s ea r th ’

-
i t was ear th n ow mind you ; t h e r ock had ceased
, .

A s qu eeze a st r uggle and Si r Henry was o u t and so

, , ,

was Good an d so was I and th e e above us were the

, ,
r

bl e ss e d s t a r s and in o u r nostrils was th e sweet air ; then

,

sudd e nly so m e t hing gave and w e were all rolling over

,

a n d ove r a n d ove r thr o ugh g r ass and bushes and s o ft w e t ,

soil
I c aug ht at s o mething and stopp ed Sitting u p I .
,

halloe d lu stily An an swering Shout came from j ust b e

.

’
low wh e re S i r Henry s wild career had been st o pped by
,

s o me level g r ound I scrambled t o h i m and f o und him

.
,

unh u r t though b r eathless

, Then we l oo ked f or G oo d
. .

A little way o ff we found him t o o j ammed in a f o rked , ,

roo t . He was a good deal k n o cked ab o ut b u t soon ,

ca m e t o .

W e sat dow n toge the r the r e o n the grass an d the r ev u l ,

sio n o f feeling was so g r eat that I really think we cried

fo r j oy We had e scap ed f ro m that aw f ul dungeon that
.
,

was SO n e a r t o b e coming o u r grave Surely some me r ci .

f u l Pow er must hav e guided o u r foo t st e p s to th e j ackal

h ol e at th e t erm i na tion O f the tunnel (fo r that is wh at it
m us t hav e b e en) A n d see there on t h e m o untain s t h e
.
, ,

dawn w e had n e v er th o u ght to look upon again was blu sh

ing r osy r ed .

P r es e ntly th e g r ay light stole d own the slopes and we ,

saw tha t we w ere a t t h e bo t tom or r ath er nea r ly at the , , ,

b o tt o m of th e v ast pi t i n f r ont of th e ent r an c e to the

’

c av e . N ow w e could m ak e o u t th e di m fo r ms o f th e th r ee
co lossi wh o sa t up o n its v er ge Doubtless those awr u l .

a ssag e s a lo n g wh i ch w e h a d wa n d ere d t he i i v e i o n g m gh z,
p ,
25 6 K I N G S OLOMON S M I N ES ’
.

had o r iginally b e e n in some way co nne c te d wi t h th e g r ea t

, ,

diamo n d mine As f o r th e subte rr an e an r ive r in th e bow

.

els of t h e m oun tain Heaven only k n ows what it was o r , ,

whenc e i t fl ows , or whi t he r it go e s I for on e have no .

, ,

anxiety t o tr ace i t s cou r s e .

L igh ter i t g re w and lig ht e r yet We could see each

,
.

o the r now and such a sp e ctacle as we p r ese n ted I have

,

neve r set eyes on befo r e o r since Gaunt check e d holl o w .

-
,

eyed wr et ches s m ea r ed all ove r wi t h d ust an d mud

’

, ,

bruised ble e ding the long fea r of im m ine n t death yet

, ,

w ritten o n ou r cou nt enances we w er e inde e d a sight t o , , ,

frighten the daylight And yet it is a solemn fact that .

G oo d s eye glass was still fix e d in Go o d s eye I doub t

’ -
’
.

wheth e r he had ever taken it out at all N eithe r th e .

darkness no r th e plu n ge in the sub terr anean r ive r no r the

, ,

r o ll d o wn th e S lope had b een able t o s e pa r a te Good and ,

his e y e glass -
.

P r es e n t ly w e r os e fea r ing th at o u r limb s would sti ff e n

,

if we s t opp e d the r e longe r and co m m en ce d wi th sl o w and ,

painful s t eps t o s tr uggle up th e sloping sides O f t he great

pit F o r an hour or mo r e we toil e d steadfas t ly u p the
.

blue clay d r agging ou rselv e s on by the help o f th e r oots

,

and grasses with which it was clo t hed .

At last it was don e a n d we s t ood on th e grea t r oad o n , ,

the S ide o f th e pit o pposit e t o the colossi .

By the sid e of the r oad a hundred ya r ds O ff a fire was , ,

burning in fr ont o f som e hu t s a n d round th e fi r e were ,

figures We made t owa r ds them supp o rting o n e anothe r

.
, ,

an d halting eve r y few p aces P r esen t ly on e of the fi g .

,

ures r ose saw us and fell o n t o th e ground crying ou t for

, , ,

fear .

In fado o s I n fadoos it i s us , thy friends

, ,
 CH APT E R X IX .

r GN O S I
’
S F AREWELL .

TE N days f r om that eventful mo r ning found us o n c e

m o r e in our o ld qua r t er s at Lo o ; and st r ang e t o say , b u t
,

little the worse for o u r terrible exp e ri e nce except that my ,

stubbly hair came ou t of tha t cave about th r e e shad e s

grayer than it went in and that Good n e ver was quite th e
,

same after Fo u lata s death which seem e d to move hi m

’
,

ve ry greatly I am b o und to say tha t looking at t h e

.
“

thing fro m the p o int of view of a n O ldish m an of the

worl d I co n sider he r r em ov alw as a fo rt unate o ccu r renc e
, ,

S ince otherwise complications would hav e be en su re to

, ,

ensue The p o o r c r eature was n o o r din a r y nativ e gir l ,

.

but a pers o n of great I had almost said stat e ly b e au ty

, , ,

and o f c o nside r able r efinem e nt o f mind B ut no a m ou n t .

o f beauty o r refinement could have made an en t angleme nt

bet ween Go o d and herself a desi r abl e occurr ence ; fo r, as

she h erself put it Can the sun m ate with the da rkn e ss,
,
“

”
or the white with the black ?
I need hardly state that we n e ve r agai n p en et r a t ed i nt o
S o l om o n s treasure chambe r Afte r we had re cov ere d
’
.

f r om o ur fatigues a p r oc e ss which t ook us for t y eigh t

,
-

hours we descende d int o t he g r eat pit in the hop e of

,

finding the h o le by which we had c re p t ou t of t h e m ou n

tain bu t with n o success T o begin with r ai n had fall en ,
, .
,

and obliterated ou r S poo r ; and wha t is m o re the sid e s of ,

the vast p i t w er e full of a nt b e a r an d o th er holes I t was

-
.
 K I N G S OLO MO N S M I NE S ’
. 59

i m possibl e to say t Owhich of t hese we ow e d o u r salv a

t io n W e also o n the day bef o re we started back to LOO
.
, ,

m ade a fu r th e r examin a t i o n o f t he w o n de r s o f th e stalac

t ite cav e and d r awn by a kind o f r estless feeling ev e n
, , ,

p ene t r ated on ce mo re into th e Chamber o f the Dead ; and ,

passing be ne ath th e S p ea r of the white Death gazed wi t h , ,

s e nsation s which it would b e quite impossible f o r m e to

d e sc ribe at th e mass o f r ock which h ad shu t u s off fro m
,

e scape thinking th e while of t he p r iceless t r easu r es b e

, , ,

yo n d O f th e mysterious old hag wh o se flattened f r ag

,

men t s lay cru she d ben e at h it and o f the fai r girl of whose ,
”
tomb it was t he p or t al I say gazed at the rock fo r.
“
,

e xa m ine as w e would w e could find n o traces O f the j oin

o f the sliding door ; n or ind e e d could w e hi t up o n th e
, ,

s e c re t n o w u t te rly l o st th worked it th o ugh we tried

, , ,

f or an hou r or more It w s certainly a marvellou s bit

.

o f me chanis m ch aract er istic in its massive a n d yet i n scr u

, ,

table simplicity o f th e age which p ro duced it ; an d I doub t

,

if th e wo r ld has such anoth e r to show .

At last w e gave it up in disgust ; though if th e mass ,

had suddenly risen befo r e o u r eyes I doubt if we Should ,

h a v e sc r ewe d u p cou rage to step ove r Gagool s mangl e d ’

rem ains an d on c e mor e ente r the t r easu r e chambe r even -

,

i n th e su r e and ce r tain h op e o f u nlimit e d diamonds And .

ye t I could hav e c r ie d at th e idea o f leaving all that t reas

u re t h e bigges t t reasu re p r obably that has e ver in the
,

wo rld s his tor y bee n accu m ulated in o ne spot But th e re

’
.

was n o h e lp fo r it O nly dyn ami t e could fo r c e its way

.

t h r ough fi ve f e e t of solid r o ck A n d so w e l e ft i t Pe r . .

hap s i n so m e r emote unb o r n centu r y a mo r e fo rt unate

, ,

ex plo rer m ay hit upon t he O pen S esa m e a n d fl ood th e

”
,

wo rld wi t h ge m s B ut m ys e lf, I doub t i t S o me how I

.
,
.
,
 ’
26 0 KI NG L
S O OM ON S m y as.

’
see m to feel tha t t h e millions Of poun ds wo rth of g em s
that lie in the th r ee stone co ff e r s will n eve r shine r ou n d
’
the neck of an earthly beauty They and Fo u lata s bo ne s .

will keep c o ld company till the en d of all things .

With a sigh of disappoin t ment we m ade ou r way back,

and next day s t ar t ed fo r LO O And yet it was r eally v er y
.

ungrateful o f us to b e disappointed ; fo r as th e re ad er ,

wi l l remember I had by a lucky thought tak e n the p re

, , ,

cauti o n t o fill the pockets of my Old shooting coat with -

g e ms b e f o re we left ou r prison house A g o od many of -

.

these fell out in th e c o u rse of ou r ro ll down the side of t h e

pit including m os t of the big ones which I had c r a mme d
, ,

in on th e t op B ut comparatively speaking an eno r mous

.
, ,

quantity still re mained inclu ding eighteen large stones

,

r anging fr o m about on e hun dred t o thirty car ats in weight .

M y O ld shooting coat still held enough treasure t o make

-

u s all i f n o t millionaires at least exceedingly w e althy

, ,

men and ye t to keep enough s t ones each to make the th r e e

,

finest se t s of gems in E urop e S o w e h ad n ot do n e so .

badly .

O n arr iving a t LOO we we r e most co r dially r eceiv e d by

I gn osi whom we found well and busily engag e d in co n
, ,

s o lidating his power and re o rganizing the regiments which

h ad suffe r ed most in the great struggle with Twala .

He lis t ened with b reathless interest to ou r wonde r ful

sto r y ; but when we t old him of old Gagool s f rightful e nd ’
,

he grew th o ughtful .

”
“
C o me hithe r he c alle d to a very old Indu n a (coun
, ,

c illor
) wh o
, was sitting with ot hers in a ci r cle r ound the
king but o u t o f ear shot Th e Old ma n r os e app r oache d,
,
-
.
,

saluted and seated himself

, .

“
T hou art 0 1 said Ign osi .
26 2 K N I G S OLOM O N ’
S MIN ES .

c o v ered hi sface with his hands for a wh i le befo r e

I gno si
answering .

”
M y heart is sore he said at last ; your w o rds split
“
,

my heart in twain What have I d o ne t o ye Incub a

.
, ,

M ac u m az ahn and B o u gwan that ye sh ould leave me d e s

, ,

olate ? Ye wh o st o o d by m e in rebellion an d battle will ,

ye leave me in the day of peace and victory ? What will

e — wives ? Cho o se from u t the land ! A place to live
y o
'

in ? Beh o l d the land i s y o urs as far as ye can se e The

,
.

white man s h o use s ? Ye shall teach my people ho w t o

’
‘

build them Cattle f or beef and milk ? E very married

.

man S hall bring ye an ox o r a c o w Wild game t o hunt ? .

—

D o es n o t the elephant walk thr o ugh my forests and the ,

river h o rse sleep i n th e re eds ? Would ye make war ? M y

-

Impis (regimen ts) wait y o ur w o rd If there is a nything .

”
m o re that I c an gi ve that will I gi v e ye ,
.

”
“
N ay I gn o si w e w ant n o t th ese thi n gs I answe re d ;
, , ,

we w o uld seek o ur o w n p lace .

”
“
N ow d o I perceive s aid I gn osi bit t erly an d with , , ,

flashing eyes that it is the bright s t on e s that ye love

,
“

m o re th an me y o ur friend Ye have the st o n es ; n o w

, .

w o uld ye g o t o N atal and across the black w ater and sell

'

t h em and be rich as it is th e desire of a w hite man s heart

, ,
’

t o be Cursed f or y o ur sake b e the s t ones and cursed h e

,
,

wh o seeks them D eath shall it be to him wh o sets foo t

.

i n the Place o f D eath to seek the m I hav e S poken white .

,

m e n ; ye can g o .

”
I laid my ha nd up o n his arm I gn o si I said tell .
, ,
“

u s when th o u di dst wander in Zululand and among th e

, ,

white men in N atal did n o t thine heart tur n t o th e lan d

,

thy m o ther told thee o f t hy n ative land where th ou dids t

, ,

se e the light and play when th o u was t little t he land wh ere

, ,

t hy place was ?
 K I N G S O L OMON S M I N E S
’
. 26 3

It was even s o Mac u m az ahn

, .

Th e n thu s does our hea r t tu r n to o u r lan d a n d to ou r

o wn p lac e
”
.

T hen c am e a p au se Wh e n I gn o si b r ok e i t it was in a
.
,

di ff erent voic e .

I do pe r c e iv e t hat thy wo r ds a r e now as eve r w i se , ,

and full of re ason Mac u m az ahn ; that which flies in th e

,

ai r loves n o t to r un along th e g r ound ; th e white man lov e s

n ot to live on the l e vel of the black Well ye must go .
, ,

and l e ave my h eart so r e because ye will b e as dead to me

, ,

si n ce fr om whe r e ye will b e n o ti dings can come to m e

!
.

But listen and let all th e white m e n kno w my words

, .

N o oth e r white man shall cross the mountains even if any ,

may live to come so far I will see no t r ade r s with their

.

gun s an d r um M y people shall figh t with th e spea r and

.

dr ink water like thei r forefathe r s before them

,
I will .

have n o p r aying men t o put fear Of death into men s hearts

-
’
,

to stir th em u p against th e king and make a path f or th e ,

white men who follow t o run on If a white man c o mes .

to my gates I will send him back ; if a hund r ed c o me I ,

will push th e m back ; if an a r my comes I will m ake war ,

o n them with all my strength and they shall n o t prevail

,

against me N one shall eve r c o me fo r th e S hining st o nes ;

.

n o n o t an a r my fo r if th e y co m e I will sen d a regiment

, ,

an d fill up the pit and br e ak down t h e white c olumns in

,

the caves and fi ll th e m with r ocks so t ha t n on e can c o me ,

even to th at door O f which y e spe ak an d whe r eof the way ,

to mov e it is l ost But fo r y e t h ree I n c u b u Macu m az ahn

.
, , ,

and B ou gwan th e path is always O p e n ; for behold ye a r e

, ,

dea r er to m e than a u ght that b re ath e s .

“
And ye would go I nfado os, my uncl e and m y In
. ,

du n a sh a ll tak e t he e by t h e ha n d an d guid e t h ee wi th a
, ,
 ’
26 4 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

re gime nt Th ere is , as I have l e ar n e d ano th er way ac r os s

.
,

the m oun t ains tha t h e S hall S how ye Fa r e well , my b r o th .

ers ,
b ra v e whit e men Se e me n o mo r.e f o r I have no hea rt ,

t o b e a r i t B ehold I mak e a dec r ee and it shall b e p ub

.
, ,

li she d fr om the mountains to th e m ou n tain s you r n a me s , ,

I n c u b u , Mac u m az ahn , and B ou gwan S hall b e as the n a m es ,

o f d e ad kings and he who S peaks them shall die

,
!
So shall .

you r m emory be p r eserved in the land f ore ve r .

’
“
G O now ere my eyes r ain tears like a woman s
, ,
At .

t i m es wh e n ye look back down th e pa t h of life o r w he n ,

y e a re Old an d gather you r selves togethe r t o c r ouch befo r e

the fir e b e cause the su n has n o mor e heat ye will think o f
, ,

how we stood sh o ulder to sh o ulder in that gr e at b attl e th a t

thy wise wo rd s planned Mac u m az ahn ; of how thou was t
,

the p oint of that h o rn that galled Twala s flank B ou gwan ; ’

,

whilst thou stoo dst in the ring of the Grays Incub a and , ,

men w e nt d o wn befo r e thine axe like corn befo r e a S ickle ;

a
y,
and O f how thou didst br e ak the wild bull s (Twala s)
’ ’

st r ength and b r ing his p r ide to dust Fare ye well for

, .

eve r I n c u b u Macu m az ahn and B ou gwan m y lo r ds a n d

, , , ,
”
my friends .

He r ose looked ea rn e stly a t us for a few seconds and

, ,

the n threw the co r n er o f his kar oss ove r his head so as t o ,

cov er his face from u s .

We went in silence .

Ne xt day at dawn we left LOO escor t ed by ou r old fr i en d ,

I nf ado os wh o was heart —

, b r oken at o u r depa rture and th e ,

T hi s e x t r ao gati ve way o f S howi ng i ntense r esp ect i s by

r di nar v an d n e

no m e ans u n kno wn am ong A fr i can p eopl e and the r esu l t i s that i f as i s

, ,

us u al the nam e i n q u e s
,
ti on has a sig nifi c anc e the m ean i ng has to b e ex
,

p r essed b y an i di om or anothe r wor d I n thi s way a m em ory i s p reser ved

.

for generati ons or u ntil the new wor d su ppl ants the Old one
, .
 ’
a
2 66 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

”
par e nt eye t hey wea r i e d m o re or less bu t of his l e gs,
, ,

neve r .

As we t ravelled I n fado os told us that the r e was anothe r

,

pass ov er the mount ains to the n o rth o f the o n e follow e d

'

by S o l o mon s G r eat R o ad o r rather tha t there was a place

’
,

wh e re it was p ossible t o climb d o wn the wall o f cli ff that

separated K u ku analand fro m the desert and was b r oken ,

hy t he towering shapes of Sh e ba s b r easts

’
'

It appeared .
,

too that r athe r mo re t ha n t wo years previ o usly a part y o f

,

K u ku an a hun t e r s h ad descended this path into the dese r t

in sea rch o f ost r ich es whose plumes were much priz e d
,

among t h e m fo r war h e ad d r esses and that in th e course ,

of thei r h u nt they had been led far f r om the mountains ,

and were much troubled by thirst S e eing however t rees .

, ,

o n t he ho r izon they made towards th em and discove r ed a

, ,

la rge and fertile oasis of some miles in ext e nt and ple n ti ,

fully wat e red I t was by way o f this oasis that he suggest

.

e d that w e should return and the id e a s ee med to us a good

,

on e as it appea r ed that we S h o uld escape th e r igo r s of the

,

mountain pass and as some of the hunters were in at t end

,

ance to guide u s to the oasis from which they state d th e y

, , ,

could perceive m o re fertile spots fa r away in the dese rt !

.

It p u z z l ed all of u s to u nder stand how i t was p ossibl e that

ofte n

I gnosi s m other b ear i ng the chil d wi th her shou l d have su r vi ved the
’
, ,

dang er s of the j ou r ney acr ossthe m ou ntai ns and the deser t dang er swhi ch ,

so n ear ly p r ove d fatal to ou r sel ves I t has si n ce occ u r r ed to m e and I

.
,

gi ve the i dea to the r eader for what i t i s wor th that she m u st have taken ,

thi s secon d r ou te and wander ed ou t li ke H agar i nto the deser t

, I f she .

di d so ther e i s no l ong er any thi ng i ne xpli cabl e ab ou t the stor y si nce she
, ,

m ay we ll as I g no si hi m s
,
el f r e l ated have b een pi cked u p by som e os
, tr i ch
hu nte r s b efor e she or the ch il d were e x hau sted and led by them to the ,

oas i s and thence by stages to the fer til e cou ntr y and so on by sl ow de
, ,

g rees sou thwar d to Zu l u l and —A Q . .

 ’
K I N G S OLOMO N S M I NE S . 26 7

T ra velling easily o n the nigh t of th e fou rt h day s j ou r

,
’

n e y w e f o und ourselv e s on ce more o n the c r es t of th e

m ountains th at sepa r ate K u ku an alan d f r om the dese r t ,

which r o lled away in sandy bill o ws a t o u r feet and about ,

tw e n t y fi v e miles to the north of Sheba s breasts

-
’
.

At dawn o n the following day we were led to the c o m

m e n c e m e nt o f a precipitous descent by which we were t o ,

descend the p r ecipice and gain th e desert t wo th o usand

,

an d mo r e feet b elow .

He r e we bade fa r ewell to that t r ue friend and s t urdy O ld

w ar rio r I nfadoo s who so lemnly wished all g oo d up o n u s
, , ,
”
and n e arly wept wi t h g r ief N ever my l o rds he sai d
.
, , ,

shall mine Old eyes see the like of ye again Ah ! the .

way that I ncu b u cut his men d o wn in the battle ! Ah !

for t he sigh t o f that stroke with which he swept O ff my
b r o t h er Twala s head ! It was beautiful — beautiful ! I
’

m ay n ev er hOpe t o see such ano t her excep t perchance in ,

”
happy dr eams .

We we re v e ry so rr y to p ar t f r om him ; inde e d Good w a s ,

S O moved tha t he gave him as a souvenir— what do you

—
t hink an ey e glas-
s ( Af t e r wards
. we d iscovered that it
w a s a S pare on e ) I nfado o s was delighted f o re se eing that
.
,

t he possession of such an article would en o rm o u sly incr e ase

his p r estige and afte r sev e r al vain attempts actually su c
,

c e e de d in screwing i t into his o wn eye Any thing m o re .

inc o ngruou s t han th e Old wa r rior looked with an eye glass -

’
I neve r saw E ye glass e s don t go well wi t h leopard skin
.
- -

cloaks an d black ostrich plumes .

Then having seen that ou r guid e s we r e well laden with

,

w a t e r and provisi on s and having re ceived a thund er ing

,

f are well salu t e f r o m t he B u ff aloes we w r u n g th e O ld war

,

r io r s ha n d a n d bega n ou r dow n wa r d cli mb A v er y

’
.
,
26 8 K IN G S OLOMON S M I NE S
’
.

a r duous busin ess it p r oved to b e but s o mehow t ha t eve n

,

ing we fou n d o urselves at the bottom with o ut accident .

”
D O yo u know said Sir Henry that night as we sat
, ,

by ou r fire and gazed up at the beetling cli ff s above us ,

I think that there are wo r se places than K u ku an aland i n

the world and that I have S pent unhappie r ti m es than th e
,

las t month o r two th o ugh I have never spent such qu eer

,
”
ones E h ! y o u fell o ws ?
.

”
I alm o st wish I were back said Good with a sigh
, , .

As f o r mysel f I reflected tha t all s well that ends well ;

,
’

but in the c o urse of a l o ng life o f Shaves I neve r had such

shaves as th o se I had recently experienced The thought .

o f that battle still makes me f eel c o ld all o ver and as f or ,

o u r experience in the treasure chambe r -

N ext morni n g we started on a t o ils o me march a c r oss the

desert having with u s a g oo d supply o f wate r ca r ried by
,

ou r five guides an d camped tha t night i n th e O pen start

, ,

ing again at dawn on the morr ow .

By midday of the third day s j o urney w e could s e e the

’

trees o f the o asis o f which the guides S poke and by an ,

h o ur bef o re sundown we were once m o re walking upon

grass and lis te nin g t o th e sound of r un n ing wa ter .
27 0 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S ’
.

great cry and came h o bbling towards us When he got

, .

cl o se he f ell d o wn in a s o rt o f faint .

With a spring Sir Henry was by his S ide .

”
Great P o wers he cried i t i s m y br other Geor ge ! ,

At the soun d o f the dis t urbance an o ther figure als o clad ,

in skins emer ged fro m the b u t with a gun in his hand and
, ,

came running towards us O n seeing me he to o gave a cry . .

Mac u m az ahn he halloed don t yo u kno w me Baas

”
, ,
“ ’
,

I m Jim the hun ter I l o st the note y o u gave me t o give

’
, .

”
to the Baas and we h ave been here nearly two year s
,
.

An d the f ell o w fell at my feet and r o lled over and ove r ,

”
wee ping f or j o y .

Y o u car eless scound r el I said ; you ough t t o b e “

”
w e ll hided .

M eanwhile the m an wi th th e black beard had r ecove r ed

and got up an d he and Si r Henry were pump handling
,
-

away at each othe r apparently with o ut a word t o say

, .

But whatever they had quar r elled ab o ut in the p as t (I

suspect it was a lady though I neve r asked ) it was e vi
, ,

de n tly f o rgotten n o w .

“
M y dear Old fe ll o w bu r s t o ut Si r Hen r y at las t I
, ,
’
th o ught that y o u we r e d e ad I have b een ove r Solo m on s .

M ountains t o find yo u and n o w I come ac r oss you pe r ched

,

in the dese rt like an old Aas gel ,

I t ried to g o ov er Solomon s Mo untains n early two ’

year s ago was the answer spoken in the hesitating voice

, ,

o f a man who has had little recent opportunity of using his

tongue but wh en I g o t he r e a boulde r fell o n my l e g and

,
“
,

crushed it and I have been able to g o neith er fo r war d n or

,
”
back .

”
Then I came up H o w do you do Mr N evill e ? I
.
, .

said ; do you remember m e

 K I N G S OLOM ON S M I NE S ’
. 27 1

”
Why b e said isn t it Quate rmain eh and G oo d too ?
, ,
“ ’
, , ,

Hold on a minute you fell o ws I am getting dizzy agai n

, , .

It is all so very st r ange and when a man has ceased t o h o p e

, , ,
”
SO ve r y happy .

That evening ov er th e camp fi r e Geo r g e Curtis t old u s

,
-

his story which in its way was almost as eventful as ou r

, , ,

o wn and amount e d S ho rt ly t o t his

, A littl e short of t wo
, .
,

years b efo r e he had s t a r ted f r om Si tan da s K raal to try

,
’
,

and r each the mountains As f or the note I had sent hi m .

by Jim that w o rthy had lost it an d he had never heard of

, ,

it till t o day But acting up o n informati o n he had r eceived

-
.
,

from the natives he made not f or Sheba s breasts but f or

, ,
’
,

t he ladder like d e scent o f the m o untains down which we

-

had j us t come which was clearly a bette r r o ute than that

,

ma rked o u t in Old D o n S i lv e str a s plan In the dese r t he ’

.

an d Jim su ff ered g r eat ha r dship s but finally they reached ,

t his oasis wh ere a t errible accident b efell George Curtis

, .

O n the day of their a r rival h e was sitting by the st r eam ,

a n d Jim was extracting the honey from the nest o f a sting

less b ee which is to b e f o und in th e desert on the t o p o f
, ,

t h e bank im me diately ab ove him In so d o ing he loosed a .

g r eat b oulde r o f r ock which fell upon George C u r tis s righ t

,
’

leg c r ushing i t fr ightfully F ro m that day he had been S O

, .

dr eadfully lame that he had found it impossible to go eithe r

fo r ward o r back an d had pr e fer r ed to take the chances o f
,

dying on th e oasis to the certainty of per i shi n g in th e desert .

As fo r food h oweve r th ey had got on pretty well for

, , ,

t h e y had a good supply of ammuniti o n an d th e oasis was ,

f r equent ed esp e cially at night by la rge quantities of game

, , ,

which came thithe r fo r w ater These they sh o t or t r apped .

,

i n pi t falls using th ei r flesh for fo o d and afte r thei r clo thes

, ,

Wor e o u t, t hei r hid e s fo r cove r i n g .

27 2 K I N G S OL OMON S M I NE S ‘

”
And s o he ended we have liv e d for nearly two y e ar s
, , ,

like a sec o nd Robinson Crus o e and his m an Fr iday hopi n g ,

against hOpe that some natives migh t come here and h elp
u s away but none have come O nly last nigh t w e settled
, .

t hat Jim should l e av e me and try to r each S i tanda sKr aal ’

an d get assistan ce He was to go to mo rr ow bu t I had

.
-
,

little hOpe O f eve r seeing hi m back agai n And n ow y ou .

,

o f all the people in the world y ou who I fanci e d had lo n g ,

ag o f o rg o tten all ab out me and we r e living comfo r tably ,

in O ld E ngland tu r n up in a promiscu o us way and find m e

,

where y o u least expected It is the most wonde r ful thing .

”
I ever heard of and the m ost merciful too
, , .

Then Sir Henry se t to work and t o ld him th e main facts

Of our adven t ures sit t ing till late into the nigh t to d o it
, .

“
By Jove he said when I showed him so m e of th e,

diamonds ; well at least yo u have got som e thing f or you r

,
”
pain s besi des my worthless self
,
.

Si r Hen r y laughed They belong to Qua t e rm ain and

.
“

Good It was part of the bargain t hat they should share

.

any S p o ils th e r e might be .

This r emark set me thinking and having S poke n to G o od , , ,

I t o ld Sir Henry that it w as o u r unanimous wish th at he

sh o uld take a third sh are o f the dia m onds or if he would , ,

no t that his share should be handed to his b r other who had

, ,

su ff e r ed even mor e than ourselves On th e chance o f get t ing

them Finally we p r evailed upon hi m to co ns e n t to this
.
,

a rrangement but Geo rge Cu rt is did n ot k n ow of i t t ill

,

some t im e aft e rw ards .

A n d h er e at this point I t hink I shall en d t his his t o r y

, , .

O u r j ou r ney ac r oss the dese r t back to Si tan da s Kr aal was ’

m os t a r duous e sp e cially as we had t o support Geo rge C u r

,
327 4 K I N G S OLOMON S M I NE S .

m en ded u sto se ll by l d flood the m ar k et T hey

deg r ees, f or fear we S hou .

offer however a hu n dr ed and e ighty thou sand for a sm all p or ti on of them

, ,
.

“
You m u st com e hom e Qu aterm ai n an d see ab ou t these thi ng s esp ec i al
, , ,

ly i f you i n si st u p on m ak i ng the m agn ifi cent p r e sent of the thi r d shar e ,

whi ch doe s n ot b el ong to m e to m y b r other Ge o r g e As for Good he i s

,
. ,

n o good Hi s ti m e i s too m u c h o c c u pi ed i n shavi n g an d other m atte r s

. ,

c o nne c te d wi th the vai n a do n i ng o f hi s b ody B u t I thi nk he i s still

r .

do wn on hi s l c k ab ou t Fo u l ata u He tol d m e that si n ce he had b een hom e .

he hadn t seen a wom an to tou ch he r e i the r as r egar ds he r fig u r e o r the

’
,

sweetn ess o f he r e xp r essi on .

“
I want you to c om e hom e m y dear old c om r ade and b u y a pl ace near , ,

Yo u have do n e y ou r day s wor k an d have l ots o f m on ey n ow an d

’
he r e . , ,

the r e i s a pl ace for sal e q u i te c l ose whi ch wo u l d su i t you adm i r ably Do .

com e ; the soon e r the b e tte ; you c an fi n i sh wr i ti ng the sto r y of ou r ad

r

v entu r es o u b o ar d ship We have r efu sed to te ll the story till i t i s wri tten
.

by you fo fea that we shall not b e b eli ev ed I f you star t on eceip t o f

,
r r r

thi s you will r e ac h he r e by Ch i stm as an d I b ook you to stay wi th m e fo r r

,

that . Good i s c om i ng an d Geo ge an d so by the way i s y o u r b oy H ar r y

,
r
, , ,

r e s a b r ib e fo r yo u ) I h ave had hi m do wn f o r a we e k s s hooti n g an d

(
’ ’
th e .
,

li ke hi m He i s a c ool y ou ng hand ; he shot m e i n the leg c u t ou t the

.
,

p ell e ts and then r em ar k ed u p on the advantage of havi ng a m edi cal stu dent
,

i n e ve r y sh ooti n g p ar ty -
.

Good b ye Old b oy ; I c an t say an y m or e b u t I know that you will

“ ’
-
, ,

c om e i f i t i s only to o blige y ou r s
,
i ncer e f r i en d H ENRY CURTI S , .

P S — The tu sk s o f the g r eat b u ll t hat k ill e d p oor K hi va have n ow

. .

b een pu t u p i n the hall he re o ve r the p ai r of b u ffal o hor ns you gave m e

,
-
,

an d l ook m agnifi cent ; an d the ax e wi t h wh i c h I c hopp e d o ff Twala s head

’

i s stu c k u p over m y wr i ti ng tabl e I wi sh we cou l d have m anag ed to

-
.

b r i ng away the c oats o f chai n ar m or H 0 . . .

T o d ay is T u esday There i sa steamer g o ing on Friday .

,

and I really think I must take Cur tis at h is w o rd and sa i l ,

by her f o r E ngland i f it is o nly t o se e my boy Harry and ,

see about th e printing O f this history which i s a task I do ,

n o t like to t r ust t o anyb o dy else .

TH E E ND.
K I N G S O LO M O N S M I N E S
’

By S I R H R I D E R H AG G A RD . C ro w n 8 v o n et . . .

A r omance that fai r l y b r i stl e s W i th e x c i te m e nt fro m b egi n nin

to e n d The sto r y O f the q u e st o f K i n g S olo m o n s O p hi r fu l l 0
.
’

se n sat io n al fi g ht s bloo d cu r dl i n g p eri l s and e x t r ao r di nar y e sc ap e

,
-

TH E I VO RY C H I L D
By S I R H R I D E R H A GGA RD . . W i th ill u stratio ns C ro wn 8v
.

net.

it is e nou g h to say tha whe n A ll a tQ a e m ai n, n u t r i

the op e n i n g sente n ce n rr t O f hi s a a i v e , sp eak s o f thi s as o ne
‘
o
the str an g e st O f all the adv en tu r e s whi ch have b e fall e n m e i n th
c o ur se o f a li fe that so f ar c an sc ar c e ly b e c all e d tam e o r hu m
,

dru m he i s w e ll wi thi n the m ar k han dl e d i n S i r Ri de

’

H gg r b t — The S pe c tator — Lo n do n
’ ” ‘

a a d s e s m an n e r . .

A L LA N Q U A TE RMA I N
B y S I R H R I D E R H AG G A RD . W i th 20 i ll u strati o ns and .

p o rtr ai t C r o wn 8v o . net . .

H agg ar d has c r e ate d o ne o f the o utstan di n g character s 0

c o nt e m po r ar y fi c tio n A l l an Q u ate r m ai n —N e w Y or k Wo r ld
, .
”
.

A L LA N ’
W I FE an d O the r Tal e s
S ,

By S I R H RI D E R H AG GA RD
. . W i th 3 4 ill u stratio ns C ro w
.

8v o . n et.

A LL A N AN D TH E H O LY F L O W E R
By S I R H R I D E R H A G GA RD Wi th 12
. . ill u stratio ns . C ro w
8vo . net.

Thi s hi g hl yi m agi n ati v e sto r y has to do w i th A l l an s search i ’

,

c o m p an y w i th an A m e r i c an p hy si c i an fo r a u n i q u e flo we r o f m ar ,

v e lo u s b e au t y an d p r i c e l e ss v al u e p r e si de d o v e r i n the wi l ds 0
,

S o u th A fr i c a by a whi te go dde ss an d g u ar de d by a m o n str o u

ap e r e v e r e d by the n ati v e s as a go d I n the tal e o f the se ar ch .

S i r Ri der H agg ar d fi n ds ab u n dant oppo r tu n i t y fo r tho se to u che

of m ys te ry an d i n c i dents o f b r e athl e ss adve ntu r e that hav e m ad
hi s A l l an Q u aterm ai n ser i e s so pop u l ar w i th two g en er at io n s
“ ”

The ser i e s of ro m an ce s abo ut A ll an Q u ater m ai n

so me day b e r ead e v e n as the g re at ser i es b y Du m as i s r ead .

C le ve lan d P lai n D e ale r .

LO N G M AN S G RE E N Or C O N E W YO R , . .
TH E ALLAN Q U ATE RMAI N RO MAN C E S
FI N I S H E D
By H RI D E R H AG GA RD W i th c ol o re d fro n ti spi e c e and
S IR . .

du st wrapp e r C r o wn 8 v o . m t . .

Thi s boo k fo rm s the thi r d o f the tr i logy o f whi ch M ar i e

an d Chi l d o f S to r m ar e the fi r st two p ar ts I t n arrate s thr o u g h .
,

the m o u th O f A ll an Q u ater m ai n the c o n su m m at io n o f the v e n g e

,

an c e o f the w i z ar d Z i kali u po n the r oy al Z u l u ho u se o f whi c h

S e n z an gaco n a was the fo u nder an d Ce tewayo the l ast r ep r e se nta

ti v e who ru l e d as k i ng .

MA RI E
By S I R H RI D E R H AG GA RD Wi th c o l ore d fro n ti sp i e c e and
. .

o the r ill u strati o n s C ro wn 8v o . net . .

The sto r y o f A ll an Q u ate r m ai n s fi r st lo v e M ar i e M arai s

’
,

Thr o u g ho u t the boo k r u n s a te n de r b e aut i fu l an d m o v i n g lo v e ,

sto r y . M ar i e i s Q u ate r m ai n s wi fe o n ly a l i ttl e whi l e an d

’

the n she m ak e s the g r e at sac r i fic e The t i m e i s far b ack

.
,

whe n the Bo e r s b e g an th e g r e at t r ek fro m C ap e C olo n y an d the ,

au tho r say s that i n m ai n all the hi s to r i c al p arts O f h i s sto r y ar e

tr u e
”
.
— N ew Yor k Ti m es .

We di spo se d to r e g ar d M ar i e
ar e as o ne o f the m o s
‘
t ’

e x c i t i n g an d i n te r e sti n g O f all that c y c l e o f r o m ance s wh i ch ar e

c o nc er n e d wi th that m ig hty hu n te r, A l l an Q u ate r m ai n — S pe c tator
”
. .

C H I LD O F STO RM
By S I R H . RI D E R H AG GA RD . W i th c o l o re d fro nti spi e c e and

ill u stratio ns C ro wn 8vo

o the r . net . .

An u nu su al sto ry o f the Z u l u s i n all the i r su p er sti t io u s m ad

“

n ess an d bloo d stai n e d g r an de ur ; o f the ti m e o f the I m p i s an d

-

the wi tch fi n de r s an d the r i v al p r i n ce s o f the Roy al Ho u se

-
The .

sto r y O f the fa sc i n ati n g an d wi cke d M am ee n a i s he r e tol d by

A ll an Q u ate r m ai n an d i s the sec o n d o f the thre e ro m an ce s re fe r r e d
to i n the E di to r s no tes to S i r Ri de r H agg ar d s l ate l y p u bl i she d
’ ’

‘
M ar i e ’
.

N o w that the Z u l u s ar e lo nger a r e i g n i n g n at io n an d ar e

no

doo m e d to go the way O f all sav ag e tr ib e s the tr ilo gy O f whi ch ,

Chi l d o f S to r m i s a p art o u g ht to hav e an e n du r i n g v al u e asi de

’
,

fr o m i ts e x trao r di n ary r o m anti c i n te r e st — M i nn eapo li s J o u r nal

”
. .

LO N G M AN S G RE E N 85 C O . N E W Y O RK