Chapter 5 Solomon's Road

We walked to the edge of the mountain. The clouds had cleared a little. Below us, where the snow ended, we saw some green grass and a stream. A group of large deer stood by the stream. There was plenty of food if we could get it.

Sir Henry, Good and I aimed very carefully. ' Fire!' said Umbopa, in Zulu. As the smoke cleared away, we saw a great animal lying on its back.

But then we had a problem. There was no wood for a fire to cook the meat on. We looked at each other.

' We must eat it uncooked,' said Sir Henry.' We are hungry, and there is no other way'.

So we ate, and our life and strength seemed to return. We began to look around. About 6,000 feet below us lay a great area of the most beautiful country I have ever seen. There was a thick forest, and a great silver river. To the left we could see hundreds of cattle on rich grassland. To the right were hills, with fields between them.

We sat and gazed in silence at this wonderful view. Then Sir Henry spoke.' That must be Solomon's great road,' he said.

It was a fine road, cut out of the rock, at least fifty feet wide. We found a way down to it and began to march along it.

At midday we came to a wood and a small stream. We had a meal and rested. After some time I noticed that Good was not there, but then I saw him sitting by the bank of the stream. He had only his shirt on. He was brushing his clothes, shaking his head sadly at the state of them. He cleaned his shoes, and then began to brush his hair. Suddenly I saw a shining light pass by his head.

Good and I jumped up with a shout. A group of men had come from among the trees.

They were very tall. Some of them wore black feathers on their heads and had short coats of skins. A young man of about seventeen had thrown the spear. As I looked, an old man stepped forward, caught the young one's arm, and said something to him. Then they came towards us.

Sir Henry, Good and Umbopa picked up their rifles, but the men continued walking. Perhaps they did not know what rifles were.

' Put down your guns!' I shouted to the others.

Walking forward, I spoke to the old man. I did not know what language I should use.

' Greetings,' I said in Zulu. To my surprise, I was understood.

' Greetings,' answered the man, using a word that was not quite the same. We discovered later that these people spoke a very old form of Zulu. 'Where have you come from?' he continued. 'Why are three of your faces white, and the other face like ours ?' He pointed to Umbopa. His face was very similar to the faces of the men in front of us.

' We are strangers, and come in peace,' I answered.

'You are lying, 'he replied.'No strangers can cross the mountains. But your lies are not important. No strangers can live in the land of the Kukuanas. It is the king's law. You must die, strangers.'

The hands of some of the men moved down to the great knives at their sides.

' Oh, Lord!' murmured Good. When he was anxious, he often put his hand to his false teeth, pulled down the top teeth and let them fly back into place. Fortunately, he did this now. The Kukuanas shouted in terror and ran back a little way.

' What is the matter?' I wondered.

'He moved his teeth,' whispered Sir Henry excitedly. 'Take them out, Good!'

Good obeyed, hiding the teeth in his hand.

The men came forward slowly — interested, but afraid.

' Why, strangers, does this fat man have clothes on his body but none on his legs ?' asked the old man, pointing to Good.' Why does he have one shining eye, and teeth that move ?'

'Open your mouth,' I said to Good, and Good smiled. He showed a mouth that was as toothless as a new-born baby's.

' Where are his teeth ?' they shouted.

Good passed his hand across his mouth, then he opened his lips and there were his teeth again.

' I see that you are not human,' said the old man.' No man has a round shining eye, or teeth that move, and disappear, and grow again! Pardon us, my lords.'

'We are men like you,' I said, 'but we come from another world. We come from the biggest star that shines at night.'

'Oh! Oh! 'they cried.

'We have come to stay with you for a time, and to help you. Now, what should we do to the man who threw a spear?'

'Do not kill him, my lords,' said the old man. 'He is the king's son.'

'Perhaps,' I said, 'you do not think that we can kill him? You!' I cried to Umbopa, ' Give me the magic pipe that speaks.' Umbopa smiled and handed me a rifle.' You see that deer,' I said, pointing to an animal about 200 feet away. ' Can a man kill it from here with a noise ?'

' It is not possible, my lord,' answered the old man.

' But I shall kill it,' I said, quietly.

The old man smiled.' My lord cannot do that,' he said.

I pointed the rifle at the deer. It was a small animal, and quite far away. I knew that I must not miss it. I took a deep breath and fired the gun. The deer jumped into the air and fell dead.

There was a cry of terror from the group of men.

'If you want meat,' I said,'fetch that deer.' The old man made a sign. One of the men left, and returned with the deer. I had hit it in the right place, just behind the shoulder. They all looked at the hole in the poor animal's body.

'You see,' I said,'I do not speak empty words.'

' We are satisfied,' said the old man.' All our witches cannot do a thing like that. Listen, Children of the Stars, Children of the Shining Eye and Disappearing Teeth, who kill from far away. I am Infadoos, son of Kafa, who was once king of the Kukuana people. This young man is Scragga, son of Twala, the great king, lord of the Kukuanas, keeper of the Great Road, terror of his enemies, leader of a hundred thousand soldiers, Twala the One-eyed, the Black, the Terrible.'

' Really ?' I said.' Lead us, then, to Twala.'

The old man bent his head and murmured the words,' Koom, koom,' which I afterwards discovered was their royal greeting. He then turned and spoke to his followers. They carried all our things — except the rifles, which they were afraid of.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 834