King Solomon's Treasure

Chapter 13 Entering the Kukuana Kingdom
That afternoon we walked northwest along the majestic Solomon Way.The entourage went first, and the four of us, Inverdus and Skarga, followed, about a hundred paces apart, one behind the other.

"Inverdus," I asked, "who built this road?"

"God, this road existed a long time ago. No one knows when it was built and how it was built, even the wise man Gagul, who has lived for hundreds of years, can't tell. We have this road since we were born No one can build such a road now, so the king ordered that the road be well protected and no weeds should grow."

"We see a lot of carvings on the walls of the tunnel. Who made them?" I mean the carvings in a rather Egyptian style.

"God, those exquisite carvings were made by road builders, but we don't know who."

"When did the Kukuana come to this land?"

"God, long, long ago, our people moved here from afar like a gust of wind." He pointed to the north, "Because this land is surrounded by mountains, the people couldn't move forward, so they settled here. This is The story passed down from generation to generation, the wise witch Gagul also said so." Then, he pointed to the snow-covered peaks, and continued: "This land is very fertile, our ancestors have lived here for generations, the population is increasing, and the country And it is getting stronger and stronger. When King Tewara summoned his army, the whole plain was full of feathered warriors, and the edge could not be seen at a glance."

"Since this land is surrounded by mountains, with whom do soldiers fight?"

"That's right, God. There is an exit from this land," he said, pointing to the north. "Occasionally, a large army of unknown origins would surprise us, but we wiped them out. Although thousands of soldiers died , but in the end we defeated the enemy. Since then, there has been no more war."

"The world is peaceful, and the soldiers must be bored when they have no place to use their talents."

"God, another war broke out after the enemy was wiped out, but it was a civil war, where one's own people fought against their own people."

"Oh? What's going on?"

"God, the current king is my half-brother. He used to have a twin brother. According to the customs here, twins cannot live at the same time, and the weak one must be killed. But the child's mother can't bear to give birth to her own flesh and blood. He was killed in this way, and hid his younger son. This younger son is our present King Tewala."

"When we grew up, my father, King Kaffa, died, and my elder brother Aimetu succeeded to the throne. Not long after, his beloved wife bore him a son. When the child was three years old, the great war Just ended. Because no one planted arable land during the war, there was a severe famine, people complained, and people fought like hungry lions for food. The wise Jagul declared to the people: 'Aimetu is not real at all king.' King Emertu was in his barracks, unable to move."

"Then Gagul walked into a hut and brought out my half-brother, King Aimetu's twin brother, Taiwala. It turned out that Taiwala had been hidden in the cave by her after birth. Gagul explained He opened the strip of cloth around his waist to show the Kukuana people the sacred serpentine mark on his waist. Only the eldest son of a king can be tattooed with such a mark at birth. Gagul exclaimed: 'Look! It is the real king whom I have protected for you till now!' At this time the people were so hungry that they could not tell right from wrong, shouting: 'King! King!' But I knew it was not so. My brother Aimetu The elder brother of the twins is the legal king. Just when the turmoil reached its peak, the seriously ill King Aimer walked out slowly with the support of his wife, followed by his youngest son Aignus (meaning lightning) )."

"'Why so loud?' he asked, 'Why shout the king?'"

"At this moment, his half-brother rushed forward, grabbed his hair, and stabbed him in the heart. People always admire new strong men, so they clapped their hands and cheered: 'Tewara is the king !Now we know Tewala is the real king!'”

"What about Tevara's wife and son Aegnus? Did Tevara kill them too?"

"God, they were not killed. When Taiwala's wife saw her husband was killed, she cried and picked up the child and ran away. Two days later she came to a village, starving, but no one gave her milk or food , because her husband died, she is an ominous person, and everyone avoids it. But a little girl quietly gave her food at night. After thanking the little girl, she took her son and fled towards the mountains overnight Since then, no one has seen her, nor her son, they must have died in the mountains."

"If Agnus is still alive, he should be the real king of Kukuana?"

"Yes, Spirit. He has the sacred serpentine mark around his loins. If he were alive, he would be king. But... alas! He died long ago."

"Look, god." He said, pointing to a large area of ​​houses.On the plain below our feet stood a number of houses surrounded by hedges and a ditch round the fence. "That's the village where Aimetu's wife and son were last seen. We will live here tonight." He added doubtfully, "If the gods also want to sleep."

"My good friend Inverdus, since we are in Kukuana, let's do as the Romans do," I said majestically.Then I turned to talk to Goode.He walked behind sullenly, annoyed by the way the breeze kept blowing his flannel shirt.To my surprise, when I turned around, I bumped into Ambopa, who followed me closely, obviously interested in my conversation with Inverdus, with a very strange and thoughtful expression on his face, as if he was Pick up the long-lost memory little by little.

We headed down towards the rolling plains below.The mountain we had climbed now loomed over us, and the Queen of Sheba's breasts loomed through the mist.The further you go, the more beautiful the village becomes.The vegetation is luxuriant and lush, the sun is warm but not hot, the breeze is blowing, and the fragrance is tangy, just like a paradise on earth.It is the first time in my life that I have seen such beautiful scenery, such rich land and such pleasant climate.The Transvaal is a great place, but not quite as good as Kukuana.

As soon as we started, Inverdus sent to inform the people in the village.By the way, Inverdus held the military power, and he used to make the soldiers practice running.The man who reported it was running so fast that Inverdus said he could run the whole distance at that speed.

The people of the village got ready after getting the news.When we were two miles away from the village, we saw groups of people pouring out to welcome us.

Sir Henry touched my arm and said that we would be "welcomed very warmly".His tone caught Inverdus' attention.

"God, please don't worry," he said hastily, "I will never cheat. These people obey my command, and I ordered them to welcome them."

I nodded, still a little wary in my heart.

A long slope appeared on the main road about half a mile from the entrance of the village, and the welcoming procession stood on the slope, which was very magnificent.There are about three hundred strong men in each team, with shining spears in their hands and feathers on their heads swaying in the wind.When we walked up the slope, twelve teams with a total of 600 people had already lined up neatly along both sides.

We quickly walked up to the first team.We've never seen such a strong man before, and we're completely flabbergasted.All grown men, mostly veterans in their forties, not less than six feet tall, mostly between six foot three and six foot four.They wore heavy black plumes on their heads, white oxtails wrapped around their waists and below their right knees, and in their left hand they carried a shield about twenty inches thick.These shields are very strange, with creamy white cowhide covering the frame of cast iron.The weapon each carried was simple but powerful: a short, heavy wooden-handled double-bladed spear with a blade about six inches at its widest point.This kind of spear is not used for throwing. It is similar to the iron-tipped light javelin used by Zulu people for assassination. It can only be used for close combat.Besides their spears, each had three heavy knives, each weighing a good twenty pounds.One was tied to the oxtail belt, and the other two were inserted behind the round shield.The Kukuana people call this kind of knife a "toras", which is equivalent to the Zulu throwing spear.Within fifty yards, the Kukuana hit their targets with precision and rarely miss.When the enemy approaches, they will simultaneously throw "toras".

Everyone stood with their heads held high, motionless, like rows of neat bronze statues.Whenever we walked in front of a team, the commander standing in front of the team wearing a leopard-skin cloak immediately issued an order, and everyone raised their spears and shouted "Qom" at the same time, paying us the highest respect.As we passed, the procession stopped shouting and lined up behind us, following us towards the village.Finally, the whole "Grey Army" followed us, and the sound of footsteps shook the ground.Finally we left Solomon's Road and came to a wide moat.The river circles the village at least a mile long, and there is a very strong palisade of tree trunks all around the river.There was a crude suspension bridge over the moat, and soldiers put down the suspension bridge, and we entered the village.The village is well laid out and cleverly designed.In the middle is a wide road, which criss-crosses with other roads and divides the village into several square communities, each of which houses a team.Houses made of branches, covered with thick thatch, with round roofs, similar to Zulu houses.But the difference was that these houses were larger, with entrance halls, and outside corridors about six feet wide, covered with a floor of trampled lime.Hundreds of women stood on both sides of the avenue that ran through the village, eyeing us curiously.As far as the natives are concerned, they are very beautiful.Tall, graceful, and curvaceous.A short curly hair has a special taste.Hooked nose, although thick lips, but not so ugly as the average African.But what impressed us the most was their demure and noble temperament, as if they were born in a famous family, with the demeanor of a lady.This is completely different from the Zulu women and the Maasai women living in the Zanzibar area.They came out to see us curiously, but there was no fuss on their faces when they saw us shuffle past us, nor did they judge us disrespectfully, not even when Inverdus quietly pointed at us. When referring to poor Goode's "beautiful white legs", they did not show strong envy, but stared at Goode's snow-white skin with bright black eyes.It has to be said that Goode's skin is indeed very fair.But he was shy by nature, and the envious eyes of women made him uncomfortable.

We walked to the center of the village, and Inverdus stopped in front of a large house.There is also a ring of smaller houses around this house.

"Come in, Son of the Stars," he said in an exaggerated tone, "please condescend to rest in our humble house for a while. We have prepared honey, milk, a cow or two, and a few sheep. There are not many things, please do not Disgusted. I'll order the food to be brought up at once."

"Very well," I said, "Inverdus, we are tired from traveling through space, and now we must rest."

So we went into the house.The room is very comfortably furnished, the bed is covered with tanned animal skins, and the water for washing is also ready.

After a while, we heard shouts outside the house, went out to look, and saw a few girls carrying milk, roasted corn, and honey. Behind the girls, a group of young men were driving a small fat cow.We accepted the gift.A young man took a knife from his belt and deftly cut the throat of the cow, skinned it, and cut the meat. The whole process took only 10 minutes.In the end, he gave us the best meat, and on behalf of the four of us, I presented the remaining beef to the warriors on the side.They took the "white man's gift" and gave it to others.

Ambopa started to cook, and there was a beautiful girl beside him to help.He put the beef in a large earthen pot and set a fire outside the house to cook the beef.When the cooking was almost done, we sent to Inverdus to invite him and Skarga, the king's son, to dine with us.

Soon they came and sat down on a stool to have dinner with us.Unlike the Zulu, the Kukuana are not used to squatting.Inverdus was kind and courteous, but Skarga was a little suspicious of us.At first he was overwhelmed by our white skin and powerful magic, but when he realized that we also had to eat, drink, and sleep, his awe gradually gave way to suspicion.Seeing his gloomy expression made us feel a little uneasy.

At dinner Sir Henry hinted to me that I should find an opportunity to find out what happened to his brother, and to ask if they had seen or heard of him.But I don't think it's an appropriate time to mention it.

After supper we smoked pipes.This move surprised Inverdus and Skaga.Obviously, the Kukuana people don't know anything about this method of swallowing clouds and mist.Although they also cultivated tobacco extensively, like the Zulus, they could only make snuff, but they did not know the cut tobacco placed in the pipe.

After a while, I asked Inverdus when he was going to leave, and he replied that he was ready and would leave early the next morning. As long as there were no accidents or floods along the way, he would be able to reach Lou in the evening. city.In addition, he also sent someone to notify King Taiwala who lived in the capital Lucheng.Every year in the first week of June, a grand banquet is held in Lucheng.During this time the king was preparing for the banquet.All the troops, except the garrison, were to go to the capital to be inspected by the king.In addition, the annual witch hunt will also be held in the near future.

Inverdus said goodnight to Skarga and went out.The four of us took turns guarding, and the other three fell asleep.After a tiring day, everyone quickly fell asleep.

(End of this chapter)