King Solomon's Mines

I motioned to Infado

I said, "we would

lords

doos, that Twala the

ears a man that he should excite a rebellion against him, then Gagool, whom ye saw, or some of the witch-finding women whom she has taught, will smell that man out as a wizard, and he will be killed. Many must die before the moon grows pale to-night. It is

doos, that the people

ker than the heart of Twala his father. If Scragga were king his yoke upon our neck would be heavier than the yoke of Tw

aid a voice behind us. We looked round as

y?" asked Infadoos; "w

a story. Years ago the king Imotu was killed in this cou

is

n and her son died upon th

s eve

crossed the mountains and were led by a tribe of wandering desert men across

west tho

Kukuana stock, live by war, and with them they tarried many years, till at length the mother died. Then the son Ignosi became a wanderer

tory," said Infad

father's house before he died. For long years he lived and waited, and at last the time came, as it ever comes to him who can wait for it, and he met some white men who would seek this unknown land, and joined himself to them. Th

o talk thus," said the

; see, I will sho

ightful king of

pa slipped off his "moocha" or g

reat snake tattooed in blue round his middle, its tail disappearing i

rting nearly out of his head.

ated; "it is my brother

ht, the land shall run with blood first, and hers shall run with it, if she has any and can die, for she killed my father with her words, and drove my mother forth. And now, Infadoos, choose

n he rose, and advancing to where Umbopa, or rather I

ands, and am thy man till death. When thou wast a babe I dandled th

st man in the kingdom after its king. If I fail, thou canst o

u! The white stones! If I conquer and can find them, ye shal

ated thi

not sell himself for wealth. Still, speaking for myself, I say this. I have always liked Umbopa, and so far as lies in me I will stand by him in

ge, you can tell him that a row is surely good, and warms the cockles of the heart, and that so

he substance o

"and what sayest thou, Macumazahn, art thou also w

ile and scrat

ou have stuck to us and played the part of a man, and I will stick by you. But mind you, I am a trader, and have to make my living, so I accept your offer about those diamonds in

sign of the snake about my middle, tell me the truth. Has a

, O I

een seen or heard of, w

certainly

said Ignosi to Sir Henry

I suppose that he never got so far. Poor fellow, poor fel

ful subject. "It is very well to be a king by right divine,

t. Infadoos, ha

er, then I will speak to some of the great chiefs, who in turn, if I can win them over, will speak to their regiments. I shall speak to the chiefs softly at first, and bring them to see that thou art indeed the king, and I think that by to-morrow's li

ng. Advancing to the door of the hut we ordered that they should be admitted, and presently t

o the white men from the Stars!"

king," I answe

erful chain work that either of us had ever seen. A whole coat fell together so cl

this country, Infadoos?" I as

blood may be clad in them. They are magic coats through which no spear can pass, and those who wear them are well-nigh safe in the battle.

the full moon shone out in splendour, and as we stood watching her rays, Infadoos arrived, clad in his war dress, and accompanied by a guard of twenty men to escort us to the dance. As he recommended, we had already donned the shirts of chain armour which the king had sent us, putting them on under our ordinary clothing, and finding to our surprise that they wer

ran a little path to allow space for the witch-finders to pass up and down. Anything more imposing than the sight that was presented by this vast and orderly concourse of armed men it is impossible to conceive. There they stood perfectly silent, and the moon po

o Infadoos, "the w

hird is mustered outside in case there should be trouble when the killing begins, ten thousand more garriso

d the intense stillness among such a vast co

ougwan?" ask

ansl

of Death is hovering are s

any be

y ma

we are going to assist at a gladiatori

Good said he wished that

ed Infadoos, "ar

afraid. If ye live through the night all may go we

en space, in the midst of which were placed some stools. As we proceeded w

hose who slay," said Infadoos, pointing to a little group of about a dozen gigantic

tre stool, Gagool crouched at his fe

in a good hour, and shall see a glorious show. Look round, white lords; look round," and he rolled his one wicked eye from regiment to regiment. "Can the S

hin piercing voice; "the hy?nas are hu

ense stillness, made horrible b

ght down with a stamp upon the earth. This was repeated three times, causing the solid ground to shake and tremble. Th

lot of man bo

ling out from every thro

ea

except in so far as they appeared to represent various phases of human passions, fears, and joys. Now it seemed to be a love song, now a majestic swelling

these were women, most of them aged, for their white hair, ornamented with small bladders taken from fish, streamed out behind them. Their faces were painted in stripes of white and yellow; down their backs hung snake-skins, and round their waists rattl

d mother, w

iquity. "Are your eyes keen, Isanusis [wi

they ar

open, Isanusis, ye who hear wor

they ar

es who compass evil against the king and against their neighbours? Are ye ready to do the justice of 'Heaven

er, w

g to the ominous group of executioners behind-"make sharp t

an circle. We could not watch them all, so we fixed our eyes upon the Isanusi nearest to us. When she came to within a few paces of the warriors she halted and began to dance wildly, turning round and rou

pped dead and stiffened all over, like a pointer dog when he scents game, and then with outstretched wand she began to creep stealthily towards the soldiers before her. It seemed to us that as she came their stoicism gave way, and that

her forked wand. Instantly two of his comrades, those standing immediately next to

ough they were paralysed, and that his fingers, from which th

ard to meet him. Presently they met, and the executioners t

said t

squeaked

d Scragga, with

man had driven his spear into the victim's heart, and to make assuran

ck Madame Defarge, as Good said, and the body

laughter. This time we could see, from the leopard-skin cloak which he wore, that the ma

ounted t

ty of doubting if either of them could be half so horrible as this Kukuana witch-hunt. Gladiatorial shows and Spanish bull-fights at any rate contributed to the public amusement, which certainly was n

remonstrate, but were st

are magicians and evil-doers; it is well that they

ered off into the open space. It was an extraordinary sight to see this frightful vulture-headed old creature, bent nearly double with extreme age, gather strength by degrees, until at last she rushed about almost as actively as her ill-omened pupils. To and fro she ran, chanting to herself, till suddenly she made a dash at a tall man

three. Then Gagool again sprang to and fro, gr

e is going to try her games on

!" said S

and nearer, my heart positively sank into my boots. I gl

world like an animated crooked stick or comma, her hor

that vast assemblage watching her movements with in

be?" asked Sir H

r the old hag had rushed in and touched

him, he is full of evil; kill him, the stranger

of which I instan

thy guests, he is their dog; whosoever sheds the blood of our dog sheds

rs, has smelt him out; he must die

replied; "he who tries to t

utioners; who stood round red to the

s for Ignosi, he clutched his spear, and raised

es," and I covered Twala with my revolver. Sir Henry and Good also drew their pistols, Sir Henry pointing his at

as my barrel came in a

, "what is it

he

e in the name of hospitality, and for that reason, but n

dly; "we are weary of slaughter, an

gs," pointing to the long rows of corpses, "be flung out

teway in perfect silence, a fatigue party only remaining beh

to his majesty, which he hardly deigned

he Kukuanas, of which the wick is made from the fibre of a species of palm leaf, and

as I could do to sit still while that slaughter was going on. I tried to keep my eyes shut, but they would open just at the wrong time

I had translated, "and I shall not forget. As for

our pipes

till worn by Arabs, whose ancestors must have st