CHAPTER IX
TWALA THE KING
It will not be necessary for me to detail at length the incidents ofour journey to Loo. It took two full days' travelling along Solomon'sGreat Road, which pursued its even course right into the heart ofKukuanaland. Suffice it to say that as we went the country seemed togrow richer and richer, and the kraals, with their wide surroundingbelts of cultivation, more and more numerous. They were all built uponthe same principles as the first camp which we had reached, and wereguarded by ample garrisons of troops. Indeed, in Kukuanaland, as amongthe Germans, the Zulus, and the Masai, every able-bodied man is asoldier, so that the whole force of the nation is available for itswars, offensive or defensive. As we travelled we were overtaken bythousands of warriors hurrying up to Loo to be present at the greatannual review and festival, and more splendid troops I never saw.
At sunset on the second day, we stopped to rest awhile upon the summitof some heights over which the road ran, and there on a beautiful andfertile plain before us lay Loo itself. For a native town it is anenormous place, quite five miles round, I should say, with outlyingkraals projecting from it, that serve on grand occasions as cantonmentsfor the regiments, and a curious horseshoe-shaped hill, with which wewere destined to become better acquainted, about two miles to thenorth. It is beautifully situated, and through the centre of the kraal,dividing it into two portions, runs a river, which appeared to bebridged in several places, the same indeed that we had seen from theslopes of Sheba's Breasts. Sixty or seventy miles away three greatsnow-capped mountains, placed at the points of a triangle, started outof the level plain. The conformation of these mountains is unlike thatof Sheba's Breasts, being sheer and precipitous, instead of smooth androunded.
Infadoos saw us looking at them, and volunteered a remark.
"The road ends there," he said, pointing to the mountains known amongthe Kukuanas as the "Three Witches."
"Why does it end?" I asked.
"Who knows?" he answered with a shrug; "the mountains are full ofcaves, and there is a great pit between them. It is there that the wisemen of old time used to go to get whatever it was they came for to thiscountry, and it is there now that our kings are buried in the Place ofDeath."
"What was it they came for?" I asked eagerly.
"Nay, I know not. My lords who have dropped from the Stars shouldknow," he answered with a quick look. Evidently he knew more than hechose to say.
"Yes," I went on, "you are right, in the Stars we learn many things. Ihave heard, for instance, that the wise men of old came to thesemountains to find bright stones, pretty playthings, and yellow iron."
"My lord is wise," he answered coldly; "I am but a child and cannottalk with my lord on such matters. My lord must speak with Gagool theold, at the king's place, who is wise even as my lord," and he wentaway.
So soon as he was gone I turned to the others, and pointed out themountains. "There are Solomon's diamond mines," I said.
Umbopa was standing with them, apparently plunged in one of the fits ofabstraction which were common to him, and caught my words.
"Yes, Macumazahn," he put in, in Zulu, "the diamonds are surely there,and you shall have them, since you white men are so fond of toys andmoney."
"How dost thou know that, Umbopa?" I asked sharply, for I did not likehis mysterious ways.
He laughed. "I dreamed it in the night, white men;" then he too turnedon his heel and went.
"Now what," said Sir Henry, "is our black friend driving at? He knowsmore than he chooses to say, that is clear. By the way, Quatermain, hashe heard anything of--of my brother?"
"Nothing; he has asked everyone he has become friendly with, but theyall declare that no white man has ever been seen in the country before."
"Do you suppose that he got here at all?" suggested Good; "we have onlyreached the place by a miracle; is it likely he could have reached itwithout the map?"
"I don't know," said Sir Henry gloomily, "but somehow I think that Ishall find him."
Slowly the sun sank, then suddenly darkness rushed down on the landlike a tangible thing. There was no breathing-space between the day andnight, no soft transformation scene, for in these latitudes twilightdoes not exist. The change from day to night is as quick and asabsolute as the change from life to death. The sun sank and the worldwas wreathed in shadows. But not for long, for see in the west there isa glow, then come rays of silver light, and at last the full andglorious moon lights up the plain and shoots its gleaming arrows farand wide, filling the earth with a faint refulgence.
We stood and watched the lovely sight, whilst the stars grew palebefore this chastened majesty, and felt our hearts lifted up in thepresence of a beauty that I cannot describe. Mine has been a roughlife, but there are a few things I am thankful to have lived for, andone of them is to have seen that moon shine over Kukuanaland.
Presently our meditations were broken in upon by our polite friendInfadoos.
"If my lords are rested we will journey on to Loo, where a hut is madeready for my lords to-night. The moon is now bright, so that we shallnot fall by the way."
We assented, and in an hour's time were at the outskirts of the town,of which the extent, mapped out as it was by thousands of camp fires,appeared absolutely endless. Indeed, Good, who is always fond of a badjoke, christened it "Unlimited Loo." Soon we came to a moat with adrawbridge, where we were met by the rattling of arms and the hoarsechallenge of a sentry. Infadoos gave some password that I could notcatch, which was met with a salute, and we passed on through thecentral street of the great grass city. After nearly half an hour'stramp, past endless lines of huts, Infadoos halted at last by the gateof a little group of huts which surrounded a small courtyard ofpowdered limestone, and informed us that these were to be our "poor"quarters.
We entered, and found that a hut had been assigned to each of us. Thesehuts were superior to any that we had yet seen, and in each was a mostcomfortable bed made of tanned skins, spread upon mattresses ofaromatic grass. Food too was ready for us, and so soon as we had washedourselves with water, which stood ready in earthenware jars, some youngwomen of handsome appearance brought us roasted meats, and mealie cobsdaintily served on wooden platters, and presented them to us with deepobeisances.
We ate and drank, and then, the beds having been all moved into one hutby our request, a precaution at which the amiable young ladies smiled,we flung ourselves down to sleep, thoroughly wearied with our longjourney.
When we woke it was to find the sun high in the heavens, and the femaleattendants, who did not seem to be troubled by any false shame, alreadystanding inside the hut, having been ordered to attend and help us to"make ready."
"Make ready, indeed," growled Good; "when one has only a flannel shirtand a pair of boots, that does not take long. I wish you would ask themfor my trousers, Quatermain."
I asked accordingly, but was informed that these sacred relics hadalready been taken to the king, who would see us in the forenoon.
Somewhat to their astonishment and disappointment, having requested theyoung ladies to step outside, we proceeded to make the best toilet ofwhich the circumstances admitted. Good even went the length of againshaving the right side of his face; the left, on which now appeared avery fair crop of whiskers, we impressed upon him he must on no accounttouch. As for ourselves, we were contented with a good wash and combingour hair. Sir Henry's yellow locks were now almost upon his shoulders,and he looked more like an ancient Dane than ever, while my grizzledscrub was fully an inch long, instead of half an inch, which in ageneral way I considered my maximum length.
By the time that we had eaten our breakfast, and smoked a pipe, amessage was brought to us by no less a personage than Infadoos himselfthat Twala the king was ready to see us, if we would be pleased to come.
We remarked in reply that we should prefer to wait till the sun was alittle higher, we were yet weary with our journey, &c., &c. It isalways well, when dealing with uncivilised people, not to be in toogreat a hurry. They are apt t
o mistake politeness for awe or servility.So, although we were quite as anxious to see Twala as Twala could be tosee us, we sat down and waited for an hour, employing the interval inpreparing such presents as our slender stock of goodspermitted--namely, the Winchester rifle which had been used by poorVentvoegel, and some beads. The rifle and ammunition we determined topresent to his royal highness, and the beads were for his wives andcourtiers. We had already given a few to Infadoos and Scragga, andfound that they were delighted with them, never having seen such thingsbefore. At length we declared that we were ready, and guided byInfadoos, started off to the audience, Umbopa carrying the rifle andbeads.
After walking a few hundred yards we came to an enclosure, somethinglike that surrounding the huts which had been allotted to us, onlyfifty times as big, for it could not have covered less than six orseven acres of ground. All round the outside fence stood a row of huts,which were the habitations of the king's wives. Exactly opposite thegateway, on the further side of the open space, was a very large hut,built by itself, in which his majesty resided. All the rest was openground; that is to say, it would have been open had it not been filledby company after company of warriors, who were mustered there to thenumber of seven or eight thousand. These men stood still as statues aswe advanced through them, and it would be impossible to give anadequate idea of the grandeur of the spectacle which they presented,with their waving plumes, their glancing spears, and iron-backedox-hide shields.
The space in front of the large hut was empty, but before it wereplaced several stools. On three of these, at a sign from Infadoos, weseated ourselves, Umbopa standing behind us. As for Infadoos, he tookup a position by the door of the hut. So we waited for ten minutes ormore in the midst of a dead silence, but conscious that we were theobject of the concentrated gaze of some eight thousand pairs of eyes.It was a somewhat trying ordeal, but we carried it off as best wecould. At length the door of the hut opened, and a gigantic figure,with a splendid tiger-skin karross flung over its shoulders, steppedout, followed by the boy Scragga, and what appeared to us to be awithered-up monkey, wrapped in a fur cloak. The figure seated itselfupon a stool, Scragga took his stand behind it, and the withered-upmonkey crept on all fours into the shade of the hut and squatted down.
Still there was silence.
Then the gigantic figure slipped off the karross and stood up beforeus, a truly alarming spectacle. It was that of an enormous man with themost entirely repulsive countenance we had ever beheld. This man's lipswere as thick as a Negro's, the nose was flat, he had but one gleamingblack eye, for the other was represented by a hollow in the face, andhis whole expression was cruel and sensual to a degree. From the largehead rose a magnificent plume of white ostrich feathers, his body wasclad in a shirt of shining chain armour, whilst round the waist andright knee were the usual garnishes of white ox-tail. In his right handwas a huge spear, about the neck a thick torque of gold, and bound onthe forehead shone dully a single and enormous uncut diamond.
Still there was silence; but not for long. Presently the man, whom werightly guessed to be the king, raised the great javelin in his hand.Instantly eight thousand spears were lifted in answer, and from eightthousand throats rang out the royal salute of "_Koom_." Three timesthis was repeated, and each time the earth shook with the noise, thatcan only be compared to the deepest notes of thunder.
"Be humble, O people," piped out a thin voice which seemed to come fromthe monkey in the shade, "it is the king."
"_It is the king_," boomed out the eight thousand throats in answer."_Be humble, O people, it is the king._"
Then there was silence again--dead silence. Presently, however, it wasbroken. A soldier on our left dropped his shield, which fell with aclatter on to the limestone flooring.
Twala turned his one cold eye in the direction of the noise.
"Come hither, thou," he said, in a cold voice.
A fine young man stepped out of the ranks, and stood before him.
"It was thy shield that fell, thou awkward dog. Wilt thou make me areproach in the eyes of these strangers from the Stars? What hast thouto say for thyself?"
We saw the poor fellow turn pale under his dusky skin.
"It was by chance, O Calf of the Black Cow," he murmured.
"Then it is a chance for which thou must pay. Thou hast made mefoolish; prepare for death."
"I am the king's ox," was the low answer.
"Scragga," roared the king, "let me see how thou canst use thy spear.Kill me this blundering fool."
Scragga stepped forward with an ill-favoured grin, and lifted hisspear. The poor victim covered his eyes with his hand and stood still.As for us, we were petrified with horror.
"Once, twice," he waved the spear, and then struck, ah! right home--thespear stood out a foot behind the soldier's back. He flung up his handsand dropped dead. From the multitude about us rose something like amurmur, it rolled round and round, and died away. The tragedy wasfinished; there lay the corpse, and we had not yet realised that it hadbeen enacted. Sir Henry sprang up and swore a great oath, then,overpowered by the sense of silence, sat down again.
"The thrust was a good one," said the king; "take him away."
Four men stepped out of the ranks, and lifting the body of the murderedman, carried it thence.
"Cover up the blood-stains, cover them up," piped out the thin voicethat proceeded from the monkey-like figure; "the king's word is spoken,the king's doom is done!"
Thereupon a girl came forward from behind the hut, bearing a jar filledwith powdered lime, which she scattered over the red mark, blotting itfrom sight.
Sir Henry meanwhile was boiling with rage at what had happened; indeed,it was with difficulty that we could keep him still.
"Sit down, for heaven's sake," I whispered; "our lives depend on it."
He yielded and remained quiet.
Twala sat silent until the traces of the tragedy had been removed, thenhe addressed us.
"White people," he said, "who come hither, whence I know not, and why Iknow not, greeting."
"Greeting, Twala, King of the Kukuanas," I answered.
"White people, whence come ye, and what seek ye?"
"We come from the Stars, ask us not how. We come to see this land."
"Ye journey from far to see a little thing. And that man with you,"pointing to Umbopa, "does he also come from the Stars?"
"Even so; there are people of thy colour in the heavens above; but asknot of matters too high for thee, Twala the king."
"Ye speak with a loud voice, people of the Stars," Twala answered in atone which I scarcely liked. "Remember that the Stars are far off, andye are here. How if I make you as him whom they bore away?"
I laughed out loud, though there was little laughter in my heart.
"O king," I said, "be careful, walk warily over hot stones, lest thoushouldst burn thy feet; hold the spear by the handle, lest thou shouldcut thy hands. Touch but one hair of our heads, and destruction shallcome upon thee. What, have not these"--pointing to Infadoos andScragga, who, young villain that he was, was employed in cleaning theblood of the soldier off his spear--"told thee what manner of men weare? Hast thou seen the like of us?" and I pointed to Good, feelingquite sure that he had never seen anybody before who looked in theleast like _him_ as he then appeared.
"It is true, I have not," said the king, surveying Good with interest.
"Have they not told thee how we strike with death from afar?" I went on.
"They have told me, but I believe them not. Let me see you kill. Killme a man among those who stand yonder"--and he pointed to the oppositeside of the kraal--"and I will believe."
"Nay," I answered; "we shed no blood of men except in just punishment;but if thou wilt see, bid thy servants drive in an ox through the kraalgates, and before he has run twenty paces I will strike him dead."
"Nay," laughed the king, "kill me a man and I will believe."
"Good, O king, so be it," I answered coolly; "do thou walk across theopen space, and befo
re thy feet reach the gate thou shalt be dead; orif thou wilt not, send thy son Scragga" (whom at that moment it wouldhave given me much pleasure to shoot).
On hearing this suggestion Scragga uttered a sort of howl, and boltedinto the hut.
Twala frowned majestically; the suggestion did not please him.
"Let a young ox be driven in," he said.
Two men at once departed, running swiftly.
"Now, Sir Henry," said I, "do you shoot. I want to show this ruffianthat I am not the only magician of the party."
Sir Henry accordingly took his "express," and made ready.
"I hope I shall make a good shot," he groaned.
"You must," I answered. "If you miss with the first barrel, let himhave the second. Sight for 150 yards, and wait till the beast turnsbroadside on."
Then came a pause, until presently we caught sight of an ox runningstraight for the kraal gate. It came on through the gate, then,catching sight of the vast concourse of people, stopped stupidly,turned round, and bellowed.
"Now's your time," I whispered.
Up went the rifle.
Bang! _thud_! and the ox was kicking on his back, shot in the ribs. Thesemi-hollow bullet had done its work well, and a sigh of astonishmentwent up from the assembled thousands.
I turned round coolly--
"Have I lied, O king?"
"Nay, white man, it is the truth," was the somewhat awed answer.
"Listen, Twala," I went on. "Thou hast seen. Now know we come in peace,not in war. See," and I held up the Winchester repeater; "here is ahollow staff that shall enable thee to kill even as we kill, only I laythis charm upon it, thou shalt kill no man with it. If thou liftest itagainst a man, it shall kill thee. Stay, I will show thee. Bid asoldier step forty paces and place the shaft of a spear in the groundso that the flat blade looks towards us."
In a few seconds it was done.
"Now, see, I will break yonder spear."
Taking a careful sight I fired. The bullet struck the flat of thespear, and shattered the blade into fragments.
Again the sigh of astonishment went up.
"Now, Twala, we give this magic tube to thee, and by-and-by I will showthee how to use it; but beware how thou turnest the magic of the Starsagainst a man of earth," and I handed him the rifle.
The king took it very gingerly, and laid it down at his feet. As he didso I observed the wizened monkey-like figure creeping from the shadowof the hut. It crept on all fours, but when it reached the place wherethe king sat it rose upon its feet, and throwing the furry coveringfrom its face, revealed a most extraordinary and weird countenance.Apparently it was that of a woman of great age so shrunken that in sizeit seemed no larger than the face of a year-old child, although made upof a number of deep and yellow wrinkles. Set in these wrinkles was asunken slit, that represented the mouth, beneath which the chin curvedoutwards to a point. There was no nose to speak of; indeed, the visagemight have been taken for that of a sun-dried corpse had it not beenfor a pair of large black eyes, still full of fire and intelligence,which gleamed and played under the snow-white eyebrows, and theprojecting parchment-coloured skull, like jewels in a charnel-house. Asfor the head itself, it was perfectly bare, and yellow in hue, whileits wrinkled scalp moved and contracted like the hood of a cobra.
The figure to which this fearful countenance belonged, a countenance sofearful indeed that it caused a shiver of fear to pass through us as wegazed on it, stood still for a moment. Then suddenly it projected askinny claw armed with nails nearly an inch long, and laying it on theshoulder of Twala the king, began to speak in a thin and piercingvoice--
"Listen, O king! Listen, O warriors! Listen, O mountains and plains andrivers, home of the Kukuana race! Listen, O skies and sun, O rain andstorm and mist! Listen, O men and women, O youths and maidens, and O yebabes unborn! Listen, all things that live and must die! Listen, alldead things that shall live again--again to die! Listen, the spirit oflife is in me and I prophesy. I prophesy! I prophesy!"
The words died away in a faint wail, and dread seemed to seize upon thehearts of all who heard them, including our own. This old woman wasvery terrible.
"_Blood! blood! blood!_ rivers of blood; blood everywhere. I see it, Ismell it, I taste it--it is salt! it runs red upon the ground, it rainsdown from the skies.
"_Footsteps! footsteps! footsteps!_ the tread of the white man comingfrom afar. It shakes the earth; the earth trembles before her master.
"Blood is good, the red blood is bright; there is no smell like thesmell of new-shed blood. The lions shall lap it and roar, the vulturesshall wash their wings in it and shriek with joy.
"I am old! I am old! I have seen much blood; _ha, ha!_ but I shall seemore ere I die, and be merry. How old am I, think ye? Your fathers knewme, and _their_ fathers knew me, and _their_ fathers' fathers' fathers.I have seen the white man and know his desires. I am old, but themountains are older than I. Who made the great road, tell me? Who wrotethe pictures on the rocks, tell me? Who reared up the three Silent Onesyonder, that gaze across the pit, tell me?" and she pointed towards thethree precipitous mountains which we had noticed on the previous night.
"Ye know not, but I know. It was a white people who were before ye are,who shall be when ye are not, who shall eat you up and destroy you._Yea! yea! yea!_
"And what came they for, the White Ones, the Terrible Ones, the skilledin magic and all learning, the strong, the unswerving? What is thatbright stone upon thy forehead, O king? Whose hands made the irongarments upon thy breast, O king? Ye know not, but I know. I the OldOne, I the Wise One, I the _Isanusi_, the witch doctress!"
Then she turned her bald vulture-head towards us.
"What seek ye, white men of the Stars--ah, yes, of the Stars? Do yeseek a lost one? Ye shall not find him here. He is not here. Never forages upon ages has a white foot pressed this land; never except once,and I remember that he left it but to die. Ye come for bright stones; Iknow it--I know it; ye shall find them when the blood is dry; but shallye return whence ye came, or shall ye stop with me? _Ha! ha! ha!_
"And thou, thou with the dark skin and the proud bearing," and shepointed her skinny finger at Umbopa, "who art _thou_, and what seekest_thou_? Not stones that shine, not yellow metal that gleams, these thouleavest to 'white men from the Stars.' Methinks I know thee; methinks Ican smell the smell of the blood in thy heart. Strip off the girdle--"
Here the features of this extraordinary creature became convulsed, andshe fell to the ground foaming in an epileptic fit, and was carriedinto the hut.
The king rose up trembling, and waved his hand. Instantly the regimentsbegan to file off, and in ten minutes, save for ourselves, the king,and a few attendants, the great space was left empty.
"White people," he said, "it passes in my mind to kill you. Gagool hasspoken strange words. What say ye?"
I laughed. "Be careful, O king, we are not easy to slay. Thou hast seenthe fate of the ox; wouldst thou be as the ox is?"
The king frowned. "It is not well to threaten a king."
"We threaten not, we speak what is true. Try to kill us, O king, andlearn."
The great savage put his hand to his forehead and thought.
"Go in peace," he said at length. "To-night is the great dance. Yeshall see it. Fear not that I shall set a snare for you. To-morrow Iwill think."
"It is well, O king," I answered unconcernedly, and then, accompaniedby Infadoos, we rose and went back to our kraal.