King Solomon's Treasure

Chapter 11 Solomon's Road (1)
When we ran outside the cave, we stopped and felt that what we had done just now was too stupid.

"I'm going back," said Sir Henry.

"Go back and do what?" Goode asked.

"That man may be my brother."

This reminded us, so we went into the cave to see what happened.The sunlight outside was too strong, and the light reflected by the white snow was very dazzling. We couldn't adapt to the dim light in the cave for a while.Fortunately, it didn't take long to get used to the semi-dark cave.So we walked towards the body.

Sir Henry knelt and studied the face of the dead body.

"Thank God," he sighed with relief, "this man is not my brother."

I also walked over to have a look.The body was that of a middle-aged man, tall, with an aquiline nose, gray hair, a long black beard, and sallow skin, clinging tightly to his bones.Apart from the fragments of a pair of woolen leggings, there was no other clothing, only a bare skeleton.Around his neck is a yellow ivory cross.The body was completely frozen.

"Who the hell is this guy?" I said.

"Can't you guess?" Goode asked me.

I shook my head.

"It must be old Joss da Thyswest. Who else?"

"Impossible," I gasped, "He died 300 years ago."

"Think about it, is there any way to preserve a body from 300 years ago?" Goode asked. "As long as the temperature is low enough, the body can never rot like New Zealand lamb. God knows how cold it is here. The sun is always there." No photos came in, and no animals came in to bite the corpse, so of course it can be preserved to this day. The servant he mentioned in the letter must have taken his clothes and left him here. The servant alone could not have buried him. Look here," he bent down and picked up an oddly shaped bone with a sharpened end, "this is the 'bone cracker' he used to draw maps."

We were all stunned, almost forgetting that we were in a predicament, watching this almost miraculous scene in front of us.

Sir Henry went on: "Look, that's where he dipped in the ink," he said, pointing to a small wound on the left arm of the corpse. "Who's ever seen such a thing?"

The facts had been laid before me, and I was dumbfounded with astonishment.A map drawn hundreds of years ago by the man sitting before us leads us here.The humble pen he used is in my hand, and the crucifix he kissed before he died still hangs around his neck.I looked at him, as if the scene of that year appeared in front of my eyes: the traveler was dying of hunger and cold, struggling to leave the shocking secret he discovered to future generations.From the way he sat, it could be seen that he died a miserable and lonely death.Maybe it was my hallucination, I even saw in his characteristic face the shadow of poor friend Sylvester, whose descendant died in my arms 20 years ago.Anyway, here he sits, recording a tragic fate, and warning future explorers.Maybe a few hundred years from now, he'll sit here again, exuding the awe-inspiring breath of death that frightens us who intrude, and won't allow anyone to disturb his tranquility.We were so amazed that we almost forgot that we were facing the threat of hunger and cold.

"Let's go," whispered Sir Henry. "Wait, we'll find him a companion." He picked up Wittrugger's body and laid it beside old Sylvester's.Then he stooped and yanked the cross off old Sylvester's neck, for his hands were too cold to undo the chain.I think he still has the cross now.I took away the bone-crushing pen, which was in front of me as I wrote this text, and I sometimes use it to sign.

Then we left the two corpses in the cave, a white man who was respected hundreds of years ago, and a poor Hottentot, and let them be with the white snow forever.We climbed out of the cave and continued on in the pleasant sunshine.Everyone is anxious, not knowing when they will become like them.

After walking about half a mile, we came to the edge of the plateau.When I saw it from the direction of the desert, I thought the nipples protruded from the center.That's when we discovered that it wasn't.Because of the morning mist, I couldn't see what was under my feet.After a while, the clouds and mist on the high place parted a little, revealing the place within [-] yards below the feet.At the end of the long snowy slope there is a green meadow through which a small stream flows, and beside the stream there is a herd of animals, like antelopes, about ten or fifteen, some standing, some lying down, enjoying the warm sunshine.But it was so far away that we couldn't be sure if it was an antelope.

We were delighted by this scene.If you can catch it, you don't have to worry about running out of food.But the question is how to capture it?The herd was a good six hundred yards from us, too far to shoot.Whether we can survive depends entirely on whether we can catch antelope.Therefore, we cannot place all our hopes on shootings that are not guaranteed to hit.

We had a quick discussion about whether we should approach these prey, but reluctantly gave up.First, the wind was against us; second, we had to cross blinding snow.No matter how careful we are, we will be found.

"It seems we'll have to try where we are," said Sir Henry. "With the repeating rifle or the snapper, Quitman?"

Here comes the problem again.We had two Winchester repeating rifles which had a range of up to a thousand yards, and the fast guns which had a range of only 350 yards, beyond which it was a matter of luck.But fast guns use shotguns, which are more likely to hit prey.This is really a dilemma, and in the end I took the risk and chose the fast gun.

"Everyone aims at the antelope opposite them. Aim at the antelope's shoulder blade and a little bit higher." I said, "Ambopa, you give the order, and we shoot together."

Then, we concentrated on aiming at the target in front of us as much as possible, and it was up to the shot whether we were dead or alive, so everyone was very cautious and serious.

"Shoot!" Ambopa ordered in Zulu, and the three pulled the trigger almost simultaneously.With the gunshots, three puffs of smoke rose in front of us, echoing in the silent snow.Soon the smoke dissipated, and an oryx was lying on its back, its legs dangling, struggling for death.We cheered for victory, now we are saved and will not starve.Although already exhausted, we rushed down the snow slope quickly. Ten minutes later, the antelope heart and liver were in front of us, still steaming.But another problem arose: no fuel, no fire to cook.Everyone looked at me and I looked at you in frustration, and the joy of hitting the antelope just now was wiped out.

"I'm so hungry, I can't control that much," Goode suggested, "Let's just eat raw meat."

This is the end of the matter, there is no other choice.A proposal that sounds so scary on weekdays can be reluctantly accepted by us who are extremely hungry at this moment.So we buried our hearts and livers in the snow to cool for a few minutes, washed them in an icy stream, and ate them voraciously.It sounds pretty scary, but to be honest, at the time, I thought there was nothing better than raw meat.After a quarter of an hour, we seemed to be different people, our spirits were revived and our vitality was rejuvenated, our weak pulse beat vigorously again, and the blood flowed continuously in our blood vessels.However, considering that an empty stomach cannot be too full, we stopped when we were half full.

"Thank God!" said Sir Henry. "The beast saved our lives. What kind of animal is this, Quitman?"

I stood up and walked over to have a look, but I wasn't sure what kind of animal it was.It was about the size of a donkey, with big curved horns.I have never seen such an animal.It has brown fur all over its body, with some reddish markings.I later learned that the locals call this animal "Inge", and it is a very rare animal that can only be seen at high altitudes where other animals cannot survive.The bullet hit it right on the shoulder blade, and of course no one knew who fired the shot.Goode has always been obsessed with the fact that he once shot a giraffe with precise marksmanship. I think he must quietly credit himself for this achievement.We didn't even bother with him.

When we were full, we asked Ambopa to cut off the best meat and take it with us on the road.We were too busy filling our stomachs to take a look at the surroundings, so now we start to look around.It's already eight o'clock now, the sun has risen, the clouds and mists have dissipated, and the surrounding scenery has a panoramic view.The spectacular scene in front of me cannot be described in words, and it is fascinating to watch.I've never seen such beauty, and probably never will.

Behind us are the towering, snow-capped Queen of Sheba Twin Breasts, and [-] feet below are beautiful fields and villages.There are dense forests and rivers that wind like silver belts.On the left is the vast grassland undulating with the wind. Countless herds of cattle and prey wander on the fertile grassland.The rolling mountains in the distance seem to have built a natural barrier for the grassland.On the right are small hills, and between the hills are patches of farmland, and between the farmland, groups of igloos can be clearly seen.What a beautiful scene, really picturesque.The rivers shone like silver snakes, the mountains were majestic and majestic, with snow-capped peaks, the sun was shining brightly, and there was joy and joy everywhere.

While we were intoxicated by the beauty before us, two strange things caught our attention: first, the village below us was at least five thousand feet higher than the desert we crossed; From south to north.Before we went up the mountain from the south, we didn't find any water source. It turns out that the creeks are all in the north.Most of the creeks merged into a big river, which meandered into the distance and disappeared from sight.

We sat quietly, admiring the beauty in front of us.After a while, Sir Henry said: "Isn't Solomon's Road marked on the map?"

I nodded, eyes still looking at the village in the distance.

"Look there!" He pointed to our right.

Goode and I looked in the direction of his finger, and sure enough there was a wide road winding towards the plain.Didn't see this avenue before because it was blocked by the village.We didn't say anything, and the curiosity was no longer so strong.In such a magical land, it is not so inconceivable to see a Roman road.We accepted this finding with equanimity.

"If we take the right, we should be on Solomon Avenue in no time. Better start now!"

That's a good suggestion.So we washed our hands and faces in the creek, and were off in no time.At first, there were boulders all along the way.After walking about a mile, and passing through a field of snow, we finally climbed to a high place.At this moment, Solomon's Road was under our feet.The avenue was hewn out of the rock, at least fifty feet wide, and well preserved.Oddly though, this seems to be where the avenue begins.But when we walked at the starting point, we discovered that there were still more than 100 steps behind us, leading to the direction of the Queen of Sheba's twin breasts.There are some sporadic boulders on the mountain, and there are a few snow spots dotted in between.

"What do you think, Quitman?" asked Sir Henry.

I shook my head, not sure what was going on.

"I see!" Goode said, "This road must run through the Queen of Sheba's Twin Breasts and connect to the desert on the other side. But the road in the desert was buried by wind and sand, and the road above us was also buried. Lava from the eruption covered it."

The explanation sounded reasonable, we all nodded in agreement and continued down the hill.Compared with the cold and hungry trek in the snow before, the feeling of walking on the flat road with a full stomach is a world of difference.If we hadn't remembered Wittruegger's tragic fate, and remembered that he and old Sylvester would remain forever in that terrible cave, we would have been happy all the way, despite all the unknown dangers ahead.With every mile we walked, the air felt more pleasant and the village ahead more charming.As for the avenue under my feet, I have never seen such a project.But Sir Henry says there is a very similar avenue in St. Costa, Switzerland.

No difficulty seems to have troubled the ancient engineers.Among them was a canyon three hundred feet wide and at least a hundred feet deep.Filled with polished boulders, this massive abyss has a drainage arched channel beneath and a breathtaking path above.In another, a zig-zagging road had been cut in a cliff face five hundred feet deep, and in another, the engineers had cut a tunnel thirty yards wide in the ridge, through which the road ran directly through.

We noticed that the two walls of the tunnel are carved with exquisite patterns, most of which are warriors in armor and driving chariots.One of the carvings showing the panorama of the war is particularly beautiful, and a group of prisoners of war being escorted is engraved in the distance.

After appreciating this ancient work of art, Sir Henry said: "Solomon's Road is well-deserved. But in my humble opinion, the Egyptians have been here before Solomon's people set foot here. Even if these carvings are not from the Egyptians Hands are also very similar."

At noon, we had gone a long way down the mountain and came to a forest.At first there were only a few scattered bushes, and then there were more and more.We then walked through a large silver grove similar to those on the slopes of Mount Tambor in Cape Town.Although I have been to many places, I have only seen this tree in Cape Town.Now I see it here again, and I can't help but secretly marvel.

"Hey!" Goode said excitedly, looking at the gleaming trees, "There are a lot of trees here, why don't we stop and eat something. The raw meat is almost digested."

No one objected to his proposal.So we left the avenue, walked to a gurgling stream nearby, and quickly built a fire with dry branches, cut the "Yingku" meat we carried with us into small pieces, threaded them with sharpened branches, and put them on the Roast it on the fire, and then eat it with relish.After eating, he smoked a pipe again and enjoyed himself a lot.Compared with the suffering we have experienced before, we are in heaven at this moment.

(End of this chapter)