King Solomon's Mines

by H. Rider Haggard

  CHAPTER XI

  WE GIVE A SIGN

  For a long while--two hours, I should think--we sat there in silence,being too much overwhelmed by the recollection of the horrors we hadseen to talk. At last, just as we were thinking of turning in--for thenight drew nigh to dawn--we heard a sound of steps. Then came thechallenge of a sentry posted at the kraal gate, which apparently wasanswered, though not in an audible tone, for the steps still advanced;and in another second Infadoos had entered the hut, followed by somehalf-dozen stately-looking chiefs.

  "My lords," he said, "I have come according to my word. My lords andIgnosi, rightful king of the Kukuanas, I have brought with me thesemen," pointing to the row of chiefs, "who are great men among us,having each one of them the command of three thousand soldiers, thatlive but to do their bidding, under the king's. I have told them ofwhat I have seen, and what my ears have heard. Now let them also beholdthe sacred snake around thee, and hear thy story, Ignosi, that they maysay whether or no they will make cause with thee against Twala theking."

  By way of answer Ignosi again stripped off his girdle, and exhibitedthe snake tattooed about him. Each chief in turn drew near and examinedthe sign by the dim light of the lamp, and without saying a word passedon to the other side.

  Then Ignosi resumed his moocha, and addressing them, repeated thehistory he had detailed in the morning.

  "Now ye have heard, chiefs," said Infadoos, when he had done, "what sayye: will ye stand by this man and help him to his father's throne, orwill ye not? The land cries out against Twala, and the blood of thepeople flows like the waters in spring. Ye have seen to-night. Twoother chiefs there were with whom I had it in my mind to speak, andwhere are they now? The hyaenas howl over their corpses. Soon shall yebe as they are if ye strike not. Choose then, my brothers."

  The eldest of the six men, a short, thick-set warrior, with white hair,stepped forward a pace and answered--

  "Thy words are true, Infadoos; the land cries out. My own brother isamong those who died to-night; but this is a great matter, and thething is hard to believe. How know we that if we lift our spears it maynot be for a thief and a liar? It is a great matter, I say, of whichnone can see the end. For of this be sure, blood will flow in riversbefore the deed is done; many will still cleave to the king, for menworship the sun that still shines bright in the heavens, rather thanthat which has not risen. These white men from the Stars, their magicis great, and Ignosi is under the cover of their wing. If he be indeedthe rightful king, let them give us a sign, and let the people have asign, that all may see. So shall men cleave to us, knowing of a truththat the white man's magic is with them."

  "Ye have the sign of the snake," I answered.

  "My lord, it is not enough. The snake may have been placed there sincethe man's childhood. Show us a sign, and it will suffice. But we willnot move without a sign."

  The others gave a decided assent, and I turned in perplexity to SirHenry and Good, and explained the situation.

  "I think that I have it," said Good exultingly; "ask them to give us amoment to think."

  I did so, and the chiefs withdrew. So soon as they had gone Good wentto the little box where he kept his medicines, unlocked it, and tookout a note-book, in the fly-leaves of which was an almanack. "Now lookhere, you fellows, isn't to-morrow the 4th of June?" he said.

  We had kept a careful note of the days, so were able to answer that itwas.

  "Very good; then here we have it--'4 June, total eclipse of the mooncommences at 8.15 Greenwich time, visible in Teneriffe--_South Africa_,&c.' There's a sign for you. Tell them we will darken the moonto-morrow night."

  The idea was a splendid one; indeed, the only weak spot about it was afear lest Good's almanack might be incorrect. If we made a falseprophecy on such a subject, our prestige would be gone for ever, and sowould Ignosi's chance of the throne of the Kukuanas.

  "Suppose that the almanack is wrong," suggested Sir Henry to Good, whowas busily employed in working out something on a blank page of thebook.

  "I see no reason to suppose anything of the sort," was his answer."Eclipses always come up to time; at least that is my experience ofthem, and it especially states that this one will be visible in SouthAfrica. I have worked out the reckonings as well as I can, withoutknowing our exact position; and I make out that the eclipse shouldbegin here about ten o'clock tomorrow night, and last till half-pasttwelve. For an hour and a half or so there should be almost totaldarkness."

  "Well," said Sir Henry, "I suppose we had better risk it."

  I acquiesced, though doubtfully, for eclipses are queer cattle to dealwith--it might be a cloudy night, for instance, or our dates might bewrong--and sent Umbopa to summon the chiefs back. Presently they came,and I addressed them thus--

  "Great men of the Kukuanas, and thou, Infadoos, listen. We love not toshow our powers, for to do so is to interfere with the course ofnature, and to plunge the world into fear and confusion. But since thismatter is a great one, and as we are angered against the king becauseof the slaughter we have seen, and because of the act of the _Isanusi_Gagool, who would have put our friend Ignosi to death, we havedetermined to break a rule, and to give such a sign as all men may see.Come hither"; and I led them to the door of the hut and pointed to thered ball of the moon. "What see ye there?"

  "We see the sinking moon," answered the spokesman of the party.

  "It is so. Now tell me, can any mortal man put out that moon before herhour of setting, and bring the curtain of black night down upon theland?"

  The chief laughed a little at the question. "No, my lord, that no mancan do. The moon is stronger than man who looks on her, nor can shevary in her courses."

  "Ye say so. Yet I tell you that to-morrow night, about two hours beforemidnight, we will cause the moon to be eaten up for a space of an hourand half an hour. Yes, deep darkness shall cover the earth, and itshall be for a sign that Ignosi is indeed king of the Kukuanas. If wedo this thing, will ye be satisfied?"

  "Yea, my lords," answered the old chief with a smile, which wasreflected on the faces of his companions; "_if_ ye do this thing, wewill be satisfied indeed."

  "It shall be done; we three, Incubu, Bougwan, and Macumazahn, have saidit, and it shall be done. Dost thou hear, Infadoos?"

  "I hear, my lord, but it is a wonderful thing that ye promise, to putout the moon, the mother of the world, when she is at her full."

  "Yet shall we do it, Infadoos."

  "It is well, my lords. To-day, two hours after sunset, Twala will sendfor my lords to witness the girls dance, and one hour after the dancebegins the girl whom Twala thinks the fairest shall be killed byScragga, the king's son, as a sacrifice to the Silent Ones, who sit andkeep watch by the mountains yonder," and he pointed towards the threestrange-looking peaks where Solomon's road was supposed to end. "Thenlet my lords darken the moon, and save the maiden's life, and thepeople will believe indeed."

  "Ay," said the old chief, still smiling a little, "the people willbelieve indeed."

  "Two miles from Loo," went on Infadoos, "there is a hill curved like anew moon, a stronghold, where my regiment, and three other regimentswhich these chiefs command, are stationed. This morning we will make aplan whereby two or three other regiments may be moved there also.Then, if in truth my lords can darken the moon, in the darkness I willtake my lords by the hand and lead them out of Loo to this place, wherethey shall be safe, and thence we can make war upon Twala the king."

  "It is good," said I. "Let leave us to sleep awhile and to make readyour magic."

  Infadoos rose, and, having saluted us, departed with the chiefs.

  "My friends," said Ignosi, so soon as they were gone, "can ye do thiswonderful thing, or were ye speaking empty words to the captains?"

  "We believe that we can do it, Umbopa--Ignosi, I mean."

  "It is strange," he answered, "and had ye not been Englishmen I wouldnot have believed it; but I have learned that English 'gentlemen' tellno lies. If we live through the matter, be sure that I will
repay you."

  "Ignosi," said Sir Henry, "promise me one thing."

  "I will promise, Incubu, my friend, even before I hear it," answeredthe big man with a smile. "What is it?"

  "This: that if ever you come to be king of this people you will do awaywith the smelling out of wizards such as we saw last night; and thatthe killing of men without trial shall no longer take place in theland."

  Ignosi thought for a moment after I had translated this request, andthen answered--

  "The ways of black people are not as the ways of white men, Incubu, nordo we value life so highly. Yet I will promise. If it be in my power tohold them back, the witch-finders shall hunt no more, nor shall any mandie the death without trial or judgment."

  "That's a bargain, then," said Sir Henry; "and now let us get a littlerest."

  Thoroughly wearied out, we were soon sound asleep, and slept tillIgnosi woke us about eleven o'clock. Then we rose, washed, and ate ahearty breakfast. After that we went outside the hut and walked about,amusing ourselves with examining the structure of the Kukuana huts andobserving the customs of the women.

  "I hope that eclipse will come off," said Sir Henry presently.

  "If it does not it will soon be all up with us," I answered mournfully;"for so sure as we are living men some of those chiefs will tell thewhole story to the king, and then there will be another sort ofeclipse, and one that we shall certainly not like."

  Returning to the hut we ate some dinner, and passed the rest of the dayin receiving visits of ceremony and curiosity. At length the sun set,and we enjoyed a couple of hours of such quiet as our melancholyforebodings would allow to us. Finally, about half-past eight, amessenger came from Twala to bid us to the great annual "dance ofgirls" which was about to be celebrated.

  Hastily we put on the chain shirts that the king had sent us, andtaking our rifles and ammunition with us, so as to have them handy incase we had to fly, as suggested by Infadoos, we started boldly enough,though with inward fear and trembling. The great space in front of theking's kraal bore a very different appearance from that which it hadpresented on the previous evening. In place of the grim ranks ofserried warriors were company after company of Kukuana girls, notover-dressed, so far as clothing went, but each crowned with a wreathof flowers, and holding a palm leaf in one hand and a white arum lilyin the other. In the centre of the open moonlit space sat Twala theking, with old Gagool at his feet, attended by Infadoos, the boyScragga, and twelve guards. There were also present about a score ofchiefs, amongst whom I recognised most of our friends of the nightbefore.

  Twala greeted us with much apparent cordiality, though I saw him fixhis one eye viciously on Umbopa.

  "Welcome, white men from the Stars," he said; "this is another sightfrom that which your eyes gazed on by the light of last night's moon,but it is not so good a sight. Girls are pleasant, and were it not forsuch as these," and he pointed round him, "we should none of us be herethis day; but men are better. Kisses and the tender words of women aresweet, but the sound of the clashing of the spears of warriors, and thesmell of men's blood, are sweeter far! Would ye have wives from amongour people, white men? If so, choose the fairest here, and ye shallhave them, as many as ye will," and he paused for an answer.

  As the prospect did not seem to be without attractions for Good, who,like most sailors, is of a susceptible nature,--being elderly and wise,foreseeing the endless complications that anything of the sort wouldinvolve, for women bring trouble so surely as the night follows theday, I put in a hasty answer--

  "Thanks to thee, O king, but we white men wed only with white womenlike ourselves. Your maidens are fair, but they are not for us!"

  The king laughed. "It is well. In our land there is a proverb whichruns, 'Women's eyes are always bright, whatever the colour,' andanother that says, 'Love her who is present, for be sure she who isabsent is false to thee;' but perhaps these things are not so in theStars. In a land where men are white all things are possible. So be it,white men; the girls will not go begging! Welcome again; and welcome,too, thou black one; if Gagool here had won her way, thou wouldst havebeen stiff and cold by now. It is lucky for thee that thou too camestfrom the Stars; ha! ha!"

  "I can kill thee before thou killest me, O king," was Ignosi's calmanswer, "and thou shalt be stiff before my limbs cease to bend."

  Twala started. "Thou speakest boldly, boy," he replied angrily;"presume not too far."

  "He may well be bold in whose lips are truth. The truth is a sharpspear which flies home and misses not. It is a message from 'theStars,' O king."

  Twala scowled, and his one eye gleamed fiercely, but he said nothingmore.

  "Let the dance begin," he cried, and then the flower-crowned girlssprang forward in companies, singing a sweet song and waving thedelicate palms and white lilies. On they danced, looking faint andspiritual in the soft, sad light of the risen moon; now whirling roundand round, now meeting in mimic warfare, swaying, eddying here andthere, coming forward, falling back in an ordered confusion delightfulto witness. At last they paused, and a beautiful young woman sprang outof the ranks and began to pirouette in front of us with a grace andvigour which would have put most ballet girls to shame. At length sheretired exhausted, and another took her place, then another andanother, but none of them, either in grace, skill, or personalattractions, came up to the first.

  When the chosen girls had all danced, the king lifted his hand.

  "Which deem ye the fairest, white men?" he asked.

  "The first," said I unthinkingly. Next second I regretted it, for Iremembered that Infadoos had told us that the fairest woman must beoffered up as a sacrifice.

  "Then is my mind as your minds, and my eyes as your eyes. She is thefairest! and a sorry thing it is for her, for she must die!"

  "_Ay, must die!_" piped out Gagool, casting a glance of her quick eyesin the direction of the poor girl, who, as yet ignorant of the awfulfate in store for her, was standing some ten yards off in front of acompany of maidens, engaged in nervously picking a flower from herwreath to pieces, petal by petal.

  "Why, O king?" said I, restraining my indignation with difficulty; "thegirl has danced well, and pleased us; she is fair too; it would be hardto reward her with death."

  Twala laughed as he answered--

  "It is our custom, and the figures who sit in stone yonder," and hepointed towards the three distant peaks, "must have their due. Did Ifail to put the fairest girl to death to-day, misfortune would fallupon me and my house. Thus runs the prophecy of my people: 'If the kingoffer not a sacrifice of a fair girl, on the day of the dance ofmaidens, to the Old Ones who sit and watch on the mountains, then shallhe fall, and his house.' Look ye, white men, my brother who reignedbefore me offered not the sacrifice, because of the tears of the woman,and he fell, and his house, and I reign in his stead. It is finished;she must die!" Then turning to the guards--"Bring her hither; Scragga,make sharp thy spear."

  Two of the men stepped forward, and as they advanced, the girl, for thefirst time realising her impending fate, screamed aloud and turned tofly. But the strong hands caught her fast, and brought her, strugglingand weeping, before us.

  "What is thy name, girl?" piped Gagool. "What! wilt thou not answer?Shall the king's son do his work at once?"

  At this hint, Scragga, looking more evil than ever, advanced a step andlifted his great spear, and at that moment I saw Good's hand creep tohis revolver. The poor girl caught the faint glint of steel through hertears, and it sobered her anguish. She ceased struggling, and claspingher hands convulsively, stood shuddering from head to foot.

  "See," cried Scragga in high glee, "she shrinks from the sight of mylittle plaything even before she has tasted it," and he tapped thebroad blade of his spear.

  "If ever I get the chance you shall pay for that, you young hound!" Iheard Good mutter beneath his breath.

  "Now that thou art quiet, give us thy name, my dear. Come, speak out,and fear not," said Gagool in mockery.

  "Oh, mother," answered
the girl, in trembling accents, "my name isFoulata, of the house of Suko. Oh, mother, why must I die? I have doneno wrong!"

  "Be comforted," went on the old woman in her hateful tone of mockery."Thou must die, indeed, as a sacrifice to the Old Ones who sit yonder,"and she pointed to the peaks; "but it is better to sleep in the nightthan to toil in the daytime; it is better to die than to live, and thoushalt die by the royal hand of the king's own son."

  The girl Foulata wrung her hands in anguish, and cried out aloud, "Oh,cruel! and I so young! What have I done that I should never again seethe sun rise out of the night, or the stars come following on his trackin the evening, that I may no more gather the flowers when the dew isheavy, or listen to the laughing of the waters? Woe is me, that I shallnever see my father's hut again, nor feel my mother's kiss, nor tendthe lamb that is sick! Woe is me, that no lover shall put his armaround me and look into my eyes, nor shall men children be born of me!Oh, cruel, cruel!"

  And again she wrung her hands and turned her tear-stainedflower-crowned face to Heaven, looking so lovely in her despair--forshe was indeed a beautiful woman--that assuredly the sight of her wouldhave melted the hearts of any less cruel than were the three fiendsbefore us. Prince Arthur's appeal to the ruffians who came to blind himwas not more touching than that of this savage girl.

  But it did not move Gagool or Gagool's master, though I saw signs ofpity among the guards behind, and on the faces of the chiefs; and asfor Good, he gave a fierce snort of indignation, and made a motion asthough to go to her assistance. With all a woman's quickness, thedoomed girl interpreted what was passing in his mind, and by a suddenmovement flung herself before him, and clasped his "beautiful whitelegs" with her hands.

  "Oh, white father from the Stars!" she cried, "throw over me the mantleof thy protection; let me creep into the shadow of thy strength, that Imay be saved. Oh, keep me from these cruel men and from the mercies ofGagool!"

  "All right, my hearty, I'll look after you," sang out Good in nervousSaxon. "Come, get up, there's a good girl," and he stooped and caughther hand.

  Twala turned and motioned to his son, who advanced with his spearlifted.

  "Now's your time," whispered Sir Henry to me; "what are you waitingfor?"

  "I am waiting for that eclipse," I answered; "I have had my eye on themoon for the last half-hour, and I never saw it look healthier."

  "Well, you must risk it now, or the girl will be killed. Twala islosing patience."

  Recognising the force of the argument, and having cast one moredespairing look at the bright face of the moon, for never did the mostardent astronomer with a theory to prove await a celestial event withsuch anxiety, I stepped with all the dignity that I could commandbetween the prostrate girl and the advancing spear of Scragga.

  "King," I said, "it shall not be; we will not endure this thing; letthe girl go in safety."

  Twala rose from his seat in wrath and astonishment, and from the chiefsand serried ranks of maidens who had closed in slowly upon us inanticipation of the tragedy came a murmur of amazement.

  "_Shall not be!_ thou white dog, that yappest at the lion in his cave;_shall not be!_ art thou mad? Be careful, lest this chicken's fateovertake thee, and those with thee. How canst thou save her or thyself?Who art thou that thou settest thyself between me and my will? Back, Isay. Scragga, kill her! Ho, guards! seize these men."

  At his cry armed men ran swiftly from behind the hut, where they hadevidently been placed beforehand.

  Sir Henry, Good, and Umbopa ranged themselves alongside of me, andlifted their rifles.

  "Stop!" I shouted boldly, though at the moment my heart was in myboots. "Stop! we, the white men from the Stars, say that it shall notbe. Come but one pace nearer, and we will put out the moon like awind-blown lamp, as we who dwell in her House can do, and plunge theland in darkness. Dare to disobey, and ye shall taste of our magic."

  My threat produced an effect; the men halted, and Scragga stood stillbefore us, his spear lifted.

  "Hear him! hear him!" piped Gagool; "hear the liar who says that hewill put out the moon like a lamp. Let him do it, and the girl shall bespeared. Yes, let him do it, or die by the girl, he and those with him."

  I glanced up at the moon despairingly, and now to my intense joy andrelief saw that we--or rather the almanack--had made no mistake. On theedge of the great orb lay a faint rim of shadow, while a smoky hue grewand gathered upon its bright surface. Never shall I forget thatsupreme, that superb moment of relief.

  Then I lifted my hand solemnly towards the sky, an example which SirHenry and Good followed, and quoted a line or two from the "IngoldsbyLegends" at it in the most impressive tones that I could command. SirHenry followed suit with a verse out of the Old Testament, andsomething about Balbus building a wall, in Latin, whilst Good addressedthe Queen of Night in a volume of the most classical bad language whichhe could think of.

  Slowly the penumbra, the shadow of a shadow, crept on over the brightsurface, and as it crept I heard deep gasps of fear rising from themultitude around.

  "Look, O king!" I cried; "look, Gagool! Look, chiefs and people andwomen, and see if the white men from the Stars keep their word, or ifthey be but empty liars!

  "The moon grows black before your eyes; soon there will bedarkness--ay, darkness in the hour of the full moon. Ye have asked fora sign; it is given to you. Grow dark, O Moon! withdraw thy light, thoupure and holy One; bring the proud heart of usurping murderers to thedust, and eat up the world with shadows."

  A groan of terror burst from the onlookers. Some stood petrified withdread, others threw themselves upon their knees and cried aloud. As forthe king, he sat still and turned pale beneath his dusky skin. OnlyGagool kept her courage.

  "It will pass," she cried; "I have often seen the like before; no mancan put out the moon; lose not heart; sit still--the shadow will pass."

  "Wait, and ye shall see," I replied, hopping with excitement. "O Moon!Moon! Moon! wherefore art thou so cold and fickle?" This appropriatequotation was from the pages of a popular romance that I chanced tohave read recently, though now I come to think of it, it was ungratefulof me to abuse the Lady of the Heavens, who was showing herself to bethe truest of friends to us, however she may have behaved to theimpassioned lover in the novel. Then I added: "Keep it up, Good, Ican't remember any more poetry. Curse away, there's a good fellow."

  Good responded nobly to this tax upon his inventive faculties. Neverbefore had I the faintest conception of the breadth and depth andheight of a naval officer's objurgatory powers. For ten minutes he wenton in several languages without stopping, and he scarcely ever repeatedhimself.

  Meanwhile the dark ring crept on, while all that great assembly fixedtheir eyes upon the sky and stared and stared in fascinated silence.Strange and unholy shadows encroached upon the moonlight, an ominousquiet filled the place. Everything grew still as death. Slowly and inthe midst of this most solemn silence the minutes sped away, and whilethey sped the full moon passed deeper and deeper into the shadow of theearth, as the inky segment of its circle slid in awful majesty acrossthe lunar craters. The great pale orb seemed to draw near and to growin size. She turned a coppery hue, then that portion of her surfacewhich was unobscured as yet grew grey and ashen, and at length, astotality approached, her mountains and her plains were to be seenglowing luridly through a crimson gloom.

  On, yet on, crept the ring of darkness; it was now more than halfacross the blood-red orb. The air grew thick, and still more deeplytinged with dusky crimson. On, yet on, till we could scarcely see thefierce faces of the group before us. No sound rose now from thespectators, and at last Good stopped swearing.

  "The moon is dying--the white wizards have killed the moon," yelled theprince Scragga at last. "We shall all perish in the dark," and animatedby fear or fury, or by both, he lifted his spear and drove it with allhis force at Sir Henry's breast. But he forgot the mail shirts that theking had given us, and which we wore beneath our clothing. The steelrebounded harmless, and before he co
uld repeat the blow Curtis hadsnatched the spear from his hand and sent it straight through him.

  Scragga dropped dead.

  At the sight, and driven mad with fear of the gathering darkness, andof the unholy shadow which, as they believed, was swallowing the moon,the companies of girls broke up in wild confusion, and ran screechingfor the gateways. Nor did the panic stop there. The king himself,followed by his guards, some of the chiefs, and Gagool, who hobbledaway after them with marvellous alacrity, fled for the huts, so that inanother minute we ourselves, the would-be victim Foulata, Infadoos, andmost of the chiefs who had interviewed us on the previous night, wereleft alone upon the scene, together with the dead body of Scragga,Twala's son.

  "Chiefs," I said, "we have given you the sign. If ye are satisfied, letus fly swiftly to the place of which ye spoke. The charm cannot now bestopped. It will work for an hour and the half of an hour. Let us coverourselves in the darkness."

  "Come," said Infadoos, turning to go, an example which was followed bythe awed captains, ourselves, and the girl Foulata, whom Good took bythe arm.

  Before we reached the gate of the kraal the moon went out utterly, andfrom every quarter of the firmament the stars rushed forth into theinky sky.

  Holding each other by the hand we stumbled on through the darkness.