The day was well advanced when at length Dick Maitland, weary and
hungry, returned to his tent, where he found Grosvenor indulging in a
bath and a change of clothing after a preliminary exploration of the
ruins. "You seemed to be engaged busily upon affairs of state, and not
likely to need me, so I trotted off to take a general look round," he
explained.
"Well," demanded Dick, "and what do you think of them?"
"Awfully interesting!" answered Grosvenor. "Wonderful people they must
have been who were responsible for the building of the city. People of
refinement, don't you know; fond of luxury, intensely artistic, and all
that sort of thing. Some of the carvings--floreated capitals and, and
what-d'ye-call-ems of that sort--are really splendid. And everything's
on such a grand scale, too; must have been immensely wealthy--those old
johnnies. I'm only sorry now that I'm not an archaeologist; for if I
were I might write a book about the place and become famous. But no,
that wouldn't do either, for Professor von Schalckenberg has already
done that, so my book would only be a drug on the market. But I've
taken some rattlin' good photographs of the place, and I ought to be
able to do something with them later on--eh, what?"
"Yes," said Dick, "I dare say you will--if they come out right. Have
you developed them yet?"
"No, not yet," answered Grosvenor. "Waiting until it gets dark before I
attempt anything of that sort. But I know that they'll come out all
right. Good light, correct exposure, isochromatic screen and films;
bound to come out right, y'know. Found the place where the Professor
and his pals had been digging. Must have done a lot of work, those
johnnies; no end of soil turned over where they dug for pavements and--
and--things. And, pray, what have you been about all day, old chap?"
Dick told him, pretty well _in extenso_, how he had passed the day, even
going so far as to describe his hypnotic experiments--of which he had
said nothing to Grosvenor thus far--with the result that the Mighty
Hunter was rendered almost speechless with astonishment.
"Hypnotised 'em, eh?" he ejaculated. "Well, I'll be shot! Thought
hypnotism was all humbug and tommy rot, y'know. Collusion, and that
sort of thing."
"Yes," agreed Dick, "there is no doubt that much of it is. But,
nevertheless, hypnotism is a perfectly genuine science, and a
tremendously powerful agent for good, if properly used. There is the
well-known institution at Nancy, for instance, where several almost
miraculous cures have been effected solely by the employment of
hypnotism. Oh yes, hypnotism is genuine enough, make no mistake about
that; and the hypnotic practitioner can do many wonderful things by its
employment. For instance, do you suppose that old villain, Sekosini,
would have revealed all the details of his precious plot to-day had I
not hypnotised him?"
"No, I don't suppose he would," acknowledged Grosvenor. "But--er--I
say, old chap, I'm just wondering whether it was quite playing the
game--doin' the square thing by the wizard and the other johnnies to
make them give themselves away under the influence of hypnotism--eh,
what?"
"Ah, now," said Dick, "you raise a question of an exceedingly
controversial character. I admit, of course, that at the first blush,
and regarding the matter superficially--if I may say so--it certainly
would seem that I had taken an unfair advantage of those fellows by
compelling them to speak the truth, and so `give themselves away', as
you expressively put it. Yet why, I ask you, should they not be made to
do so? Are evildoers to be permitted to shelter themselves from the
consequences of their misdeeds behind a protective screen of lies? Is
right to be handicapped in its battle with wrong by what, after all,
seems to me an overstrained if not altogether false sense of justice?
There can be little doubt that skilful criminals have escaped the just
punishment of their crimes simply because they have refused to
incriminate themselves. This, of course, is all right from the
criminars point of view; but is it right from the point of view of the
community, who look to the law to protect them from him? My own view--
which I give for whatever it may be worth--is that the criminal has no
right to be protected from himself. It is the interests of the
community and not of the criminal that have to be considered. If by
speaking the truth he furthers the ends of justice he ought to be
allowed to do so, ay, or even compelled, where compulsion is possible,
as in the case of these conspirators. Here we have certain men who, for
their own selfish ends, deliberately planned to plunge this Makolo
nation into all the horrors of civil war, and deluge it with the blood
of its own people; also, in pursuance of their plans they foully and
treacherously took the lives of six of the most important chiefs and
endangered that of a seventh. Were they `playing the game', or, in
other words, were they acting openly and above-board? On the contrary,
their acts were wrapped in secrecy, and were characterised by the vilest
treachery; and they would have been successful but for my intervention.
For it is certain that the facts could never have been brought to light,
had I not compelled Sekosini to speak the truth. That being the case,
how could their nefarious scheme have been defeated by our side playing
the game, if by `playing the game' you mean that we were not to compel,
or even permit them to incriminate themselves? To me it seems to
resolve itself into this--that if one side insists on playing the game
while the other side refuses to do so, the first must always suffer
defeat while the other triumphs; and where the side which insists on
playing the game represents right and justice, law and order, and the
other side represents evil and criminality, the result must be the
triumph of the lawless over the lawabiding, which, as Euclid observes,
is absurd. Q.E.D."
"Yes," agreed Grosvenor, "I suppose you are right, Dick. Put as you put
it, it certainly does seem an absurd and fantastic distortion of our
sense of fairness that in the ceaseless struggle between good and evil
the latter should be helped and the former handicapped as much as
possible; and at all events in the present case I think you have
successfully demonstrated your right to act as you did. Now, having
settled that point, I propose that we have dinner, which seems to be
ready, if one may judge by the looks and actions of Ramoo Samee."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sun had barely risen on the following morning when Dick and
Grosvenor received an invitation from the king to present themselves
forthwith in the Great Place, where the conspirators were to be brought
up for judgment to be pronounced upon them; and as such an invitation
was tantamount to a command they hastily finished the breakfast upon
which they were engaged when the message reached them, ordered their
horses, and rode away toward the appointed spot.
Upon their arrival they found the chiefs who had been summoned, like
themselves, to hear sentence pronounced, already assembling, while the
king's bodyguard, motionless as statues, were ranged in a semicircle
round the throne that had been placed in position for the accommodation
of the king. A stool stood on either side of the throne, and upon their
arrival Dick and Grosvenor were at once conducted to these. Almost
immediately afterward the king made his appearance, and approaching the
throne seated himself thereon, while those present accorded him the
royal salute, Dick and Grosvenor standing and saluting in military
fashion. Then, at a sign from His Majesty, all who were entitled to sit
did so, and the order was given to lead forward the prisoners.
Conducted by their guards, the eight prisoners, their faces set and
expressionless as masks, ranged themselves in line before the king;
then, for a full minute, there ensued a profound and impressive silence,
which was at length broken by Lobelalatutu, who commanded, in a calm,
stern voice:
"Sekosini, chief Witch Doctor, and you Mapela, Amakosa, N'Ampata, and
Sekukuni, chiefs of the Makolo, stand forward and listen to your doom.
Out of your own mouths have ye been convicted of conspiracy against me
and the peace of the nation. You, Sekosini, Mapela, N'Ampata, and
Amakosa, yesterday boldly and defiantly acknowledged your guilt, and had
nothing to plead in extenuation of it; but you, Sekukuni, in addition to
being a conspirator, have proved yourself liar [and] coward; for at your
public trial, in the presence of those now assembled, you declared
yourself to be, like Ingona, Lambati, and Moroosi, the victim of
Sekosini's wiles and serpent tongue; whereas afterward, when you were
brought before me privately, and compelled by the Healer's magic to
speak the truth, you acknowledged that your former statement was false,
made only in the hope of mitigation of your punishment, and that in your
foul, guilty heart you thought as Sekosini, and would have fought
against me to your last man in the attempt to overthrow and destroy me.
To satisfy your unlawful ambition and greed of gain, you five men, all
holding positions of high authority and trust, would have set callously
tribe against tribe, regiment against regiment, and man against man,
until the people had fallen and strewed the ground like leaves of autumn
and the land was drenched in their blood. It is enough; you are a
menace and danger to the nation, and you must die. In the old days of
the reign of M'Bongwele--those days which you were so anxious to
restore--your dying would have been a lingering, long-drawn-out,
excruciating torment; but under the teaching of those who put me on this
throne I have learned to be merciful, and my sentence is that you be led
forth and hanged by the neck from the bough of the tree that ended
M'Bongwele's cruel and iniquitous life, and there left as an example and
a warning to all who think such evil thoughts as yours. Bind them and
take them away."
In an instant the guards who had charge of the doomed men seized them,
and proceeded to bind their hands behind them with thongs of hide, prior
to leading them away to the place of execution. With one exception they
submitted silently and without protest; Sekosini, however, the Witch
Doctor, seemed determined not to go without firing a Parthian shot, for,
fixing his eyes on Dick, he shouted in a high, piercing voice:
"Listen, O _'mlungu_! It is through you and your accursed magic that I
go forth this day to die the death of shame and ignominy; for, but for
you, we should have kept our secret, our plans would have succeeded, and
ours would have been the triumph. But though your magic triumphs now,
it shall not always be so. I too have a potent magic, by means of which
mine eyes can pierce the veil of the future and see many things that are
to be. I see you and the other _'mlungu_ going hence through many
dangers to a far country, where other dangers await you; and, mark you
this, though both go, only one of you shall return! It is enough; I
have said, and I am ready."
So heavily charged with bitter hate and malignity were the tones of the
witch doctors voice and the expression of his burning eyes that, despite
his sober common sense, Dick could scarcely repress a shudder at the
veiled threat conveyed by the man's parting words; but his attention was
quickly diverted by the voice of the king commanding Ingona, Lambati,
and Moroosi to listen to him while he announced his decision concerning
them.
"Attend to my words, O chiefs of the Makolo nation!" said Lobelalatutu,
raising his voice so that all present might distinctly hear. "Ye were
present yesterday when I summoned the eight conspirators before me to
defend themselves; and ye heard Ingona, Lambati, Moroosi, and Sekukuni
declare that there was no treason in their hearts, but that they had
been bewitched and led astray by Sekosini. I was inclined to believe
them, as doubtless ye all were, and it grieved me that I should be
obliged to condemn to death those who had served me well in the past,
and might perchance, if they spoke the truth, serve me well again in the
future. Yet how was I to know that their words were in very deed the
truth? I was perplexed and troubled, and in my perplexity I sought
counsel from my friend the Healer. And the counsel that he gave me was
good. He said: `Behold now, O Great One, thou shalt summon those men
again before thee, and by the power of my magic I will cause them to
speak the very truth to thee; thou shalt read the inmost secrets of
their hearts, and thus shalt thou gauge the exact measure of their guilt
in this matter.' And as the Healer spoke, so was it; the three who
stand before us had indeed been beguiled and led astray for a time from
their fidelity by the wiles of Sekosini, but there was no treachery in
their hearts; and they confessed that, had the conspiracy ripened, they
would have arrayed themselves on my side, while Sekukuni confessed that
he was indeed guilty of all that he had been charged with. Therefore,
although they have sinned in conspiring against me, and must
consequently be punished, yet their punishment shall not be death. My
sentence upon you, O Ingona, Lambati, and Moroosi! is that ye be
banished hence to the farthest confines of my kingdom, and be stationed
at those points where the neighbouring nations are most aggressive.
There ye shall be placed in command of the troops who guard the land;
there ye shall find ample outlet for your warlike propensities; and
there, if ye will, ye may atone for your fault by rendering me as good
service in the future as ye have rendered in the past. I have said!"
As the last words passed the king's lips a shout of irrepressible
triumph and rejoicing went up from those present; for the three chiefs
most intimately concerned had many friends, and were regarded by all
with esteem and respect almost amounting to veneration. There is little
doubt, therefore, that the king's clemency in punishing their crime by
banishment to points where their duties would not only be arduous, but
also honourable, did much to strengthen his position and increase his
popularity.
For several days following the conspiracy trial nothing of moment
happened; the excitement which had been aroused by the somewhat
sensational discovery of the plot and its sequel gradually subsided,
until at length everybody was once more going about his business as
calmly and quietly as though nothing abnormal had ever happened.
Meanwhile Dick and Grosvenor diligently applied themselves to a
systematic exploration of the ruins and the taking of many photographs;
they were both highly skilled amateur photographers, and were also
endowed with a considerable amount of artistic taste. Moreover,
Grosvenor had devoted a considerable amount of time to the perfecting of
himself in the science of photography in natural colours, and had
provided himself with all the requisite apparatus needed. Consequently,
by the time that they had completed their labours, they found themselves
possessors not only of a large number of negatives of the highest value
from the archaeologist's point of view, but also of several exquisitely
beautiful pictures in natural colours of the ruins as seen under various
atmospheric effects, such as early morning, sunrise, and sunset, the
latter being exceptionally fine because of the gorgeous hues of the
sunsets which were characteristic of the place.
It was about a week after the trial of the conspirators, and the
execution of the sentences passed upon them, that King Lobelalatutu sent
for them both, and tendered his hearty thanks for the important service
which Dick had rendered him in unravelling the details of the plot and
bringing the plotters to trial, as well as for saving the life of the
chief, 'Nkuni, who, under the Healer's sedulous ministrations, was
already up and about again. The king took some pains to make it
perfectly clear that his gratitude was both deep and absolutely sincere,
even going to the length of proposing that they should take up their
permanent residence in the country, and promising that if they would do
so he would make them chiefs. The offer was made in perfect good faith,
and had of course to be treated with the utmost--apparent--seriousness;
but Dick explained that, highly as they both appreciated His Majesty's
generosity, it was impossible for them to avail themselves of it for the
simple reason that they had long ago made other arrangements to which
they must adhere.
"Then," said the king, "if ye will not remain with me and help me by
your wisdom to govern this great people, say now in what way I may
reward you for the great service that ye have done me."
"There is a way," answered Dick. "Ye may remember, O Great One, that on
the day when we first came to you I said that I was a seeker of gold and
the stones that glitter and shine, even such stones as those that shine
red in the necklace which you wear; and you said that maybe you could
help me in my search. If you will cause to be shown us the place where
such stones are to be found, and will give us leave to take as many as
we may desire, it will be reward enough."
"Surely if that will content ye it is easily done," answered the king.
"I will give orders that men shall go to the place and dig up as many of
the stones as ye desire, and ye shall take them away with you whither ye
will. But that is a small thing, and it pleases me not that ye shall
take so little; therefore, since your journey hence is to be a far one,
I will give you out of mine own herd forty picked oxen, young and
strong, to draw your wagon and to make good such loss as may happen
through sickness or the attack of savage beasts; and I will also give
orders that so long as your way lies within my borders ye shall be
supplied with all that ye may require. Is it enough?"
"It is enough, O King, and we thank you," answered Dick. "And now,
behold, our work here is done; give us therefore a guide to the place of
red stones, and send the diggers after us that we may be gone, for, as
you have said, our journey is long, and we must hasten."
"It shall be even as ye have said," agreed the king. "When desire ye to
leave me?"
"As soon as ye shall be able to provide us with a guide," answered Dick.
"Then that is even now," answered Lobelalatutu. "I grieve that ye are
leaving me; but since I cannot persuade you to stay, I say: `Go in
peace, and may the Spirits watch over you that your journey be
prosperous. The Place of Red Stones is distant one day's ox trek from
here, therefore send forward your wagon at once with the guide whom I
will give you, and ye shall follow on your horses. I know not whether
we shall meet again, O Healer of Sickness and Mighty Hunter! but if ye
return, the whole Makolo nation shall give you welcome. Farewell!'"
An hour later Dick and Grosvenor, having dispatched the wagon on ahead,
and then gone round to bid farewell to the various chiefs, swung
themselves into the saddle and, turning their backs regretfully upon the
village and the ruins of Ophir, cantered off upon two magnificent horses
which the king had, at the last moment, added to his gift of oxen. The
animals were superb specimens of their kind, jet black without a white
hair upon them, standing about fifteen-two in height, perfectly shaped,
with fine, clean, sinewy legs not too long, splendid shoulders and
haunches, skins like satin, perfect in temper, courageous as lions,
speedy, easy-paced. They jumped like cats, and were tough as whipcord,
as they found to their great satisfaction before many days were past;
they were, in fact, perfect specimens of the exceptionally fine breed of
horses peculiar to the Makolo country. Mounted on these magnificent
animals, which seemed to carry them absolutely without effort, although
neither of them was a light weight, the two riders soon overtook the
slow-moving wagon, and then, carefully noting the instructions of the
guide who was piloting the vehicle, passed on toward the sea that
gleamed softly in the extreme distance.
A quiet, steady canter of some three hours' duration, which left their
new mounts apparently as fresh as they had been at the start, brought
the horsemen out upon a long stretch of sandy beach upon which the swell
of the Indian Ocean broke in long lines of diamond spray, with a never-
ceasing roar of deep-toned thunder; and, with a sigh of relief at the
grateful coolness of the sea breeze after the stifling heat of the plain
which they had just crossed, they gladly swung themselves out of the
saddle and, passing their arms through their bridles, proceeded to look
about them.
The beach upon which they found themselves was a very ordinary,
unpicturesque-looking stretch of brown sand running practically
straight, and also practically north and south, as far as the eye could
see in both directions. It averaged about one hundred and twenty yards
in width, was very flat, and on its landward side was bounded by a bank
of red earth ranging from ten to about fifty feet in height, cut into
here and there by "dongas", through one of which they had descended from
the plain to the level of the sand. The ordinary high-water mark seemed
nowhere to reach within less than thirty yards of the toe of the bank,
but there were indications--in the shape of little patches of dry and
crumbling seaweed and other ocean debris--that in stormy weather the
breakers occasionally reached to the foot of the bank and in some places
actually undermined it. At a distance of about half a mile to seaward a
long line of white water betrayed the position of a reef.
"Um!" exclaimed Grosvenor, after he had allowed his gaze to travel over
the prospect for several minutes; "this is a pretty desolate-looking
spot, and no mistake; not at all the sort of place where you would
expect to find precious stones, is it?"
"Why not?" retorted Dick, laughingly. "Gems are sometimes found in the
most unlikely looking places. I did not expect the landscape to be
distinguished by any unusual characteristics; did you?"
"'Pon my word I don't know," replied Grosvenor; "but somehow I expected
it to look very different from this. After all, however, what does the
beauty or otherwise of the landscape matter, so long as the rubies are
really here? And I suppose they are here, somewhere, eh? We haven't
made a mistake and come out at the wrong spot, do you think?"
"Well," admitted Dick, "we may not have hit the precise spot perhaps,
but I think we cannot be more than half a mile from it. Perhaps the
quickest way of finding it will be to search for it. Now, just let me
think for a moment. Those _Flying-Fish_ people started by searching the
beach. The Professor, possessing superior knowledge to the others,
searched the face of the cliff; and finally, when the precise locality
of the mine had been discovered, they went to work with pickaxe and
shovel and dug their way down to the level of the `pocket'. I think our
best plan would be to search for that hole, which must still be
conspicuous enough to admit of identification. Let us return, by way of
the donga, to the top of the cliff, and, starting from there, ride along
close to the cliff edge, you taking one direction and I the other. We
ought to come across it within half a mile, or a mile at most."
"Right you are, old chappie, come along," answered Grosvenor, preparing
to mount. As, however, he placed his left foot in the stirrup, and was
about to spring into the saddle, Dick checked him.
"Hold on a moment, Phil," he exclaimed, his eyes intently searching a
certain part of the cliff about a quarter of a mile distant. "Do you
see that notch in the line of the cliff, over there? From here it looks
something like a `breakdown', but it may be the very spot we want to
find. Anyhow it is quite worth examining; and if it should prove not to
be the mine we can at all events reach the top of the cliff by means of
it, and can start our search from there. Come along." The next moment
the pair were up and cantering toward the spot.
At the point toward which they were riding the cliff was quite low, its
crest being not more than some fifteen feet above the level of the
beach; therefore, although the notch or gap was of but insignificant
width, it reached from top to bottom of the cliff face, and offered a
way, of sorts, from the beach to the level of the plain above; but as
the horsemen drew near they saw that although it was a `breakdown' or
collapse of the cliff face, it was undoubtedly caused by an artificial
excavation which had had its origin a few yards inland from the line of
the crest. They rode right into it, and found themselves in a sort of
basin-shaped pit, one side of which having broken away had left the gap
through which they had entered. A single glance around sufficed to
assure them that they had reached the place of which they were in
search, and dismounting they flung their bridles over their horses'
heads to the ground, leaving them to stand, as they had been trained to
do, while they proceeded at once to search the place for its precious
contents.
They had not to look far. It was evident that time and weather had
wrought some slight changes in the place since it had last been worked,
the changes consisting chiefly of falls of earth from the sides, here
and there; but pebbles, singly and in little groups of half a dozen or
so, were plentifully strewed about the surface of the soil, and the very
first one examined proved to be exactly similar in character to those of
which the king's necklace was composed. Such, however, was not
invariably the case, many of the stones which the searchers picked up
turning out to be quite worthless; nevertheless ten minutes sufficed to
satisfy the prospectors that the source of boundless wealth lay
practically within reach of their hands, for during that short period
each of them had secured a dozen rubies of varying size, from that of a
pea up to pebbles as large as a pigeon's egg, while Grosvenor had been
lucky enough to find a specimen as large as a duck's egg. By the end of
an hour they had more than doubled the amount of their find, and had
filled their jacket pockets as full as it was prudent to load them; but
it was evident that, profitable as this desultory, haphazard method of
search had proved to be, much better results might be hoped for from
systematic pick-and-shovel work; accordingly they agreed to suspend
further operations until the arrival of the wagon, and the party of
labourers which had been placed at their disposal by Lobelalatutu; they,
therefore, scrambled out of the pit and set about searching for a
suitable site for their camp, eventually pitching upon a spot about a
quarter of a mile distant from the mine.
By the time that the wagon arrived and the tent had been pitched the day
was too far advanced to make it worth while for work to be started. It
was, therefore, decided to give the workers a good long night's rest
after their wearisome tramp from the king's village, and an hour after
sunset saw the entire party wrapped in profound sleep.
But with the appearance of the sun above the sea's rim, on the following
morning, everybody was once more astir; and after an early breakfast a
general adjournment was made to the mine, where, under Dick Maitland's
superintendence, a dozen parties of the Makolo were soon actively
engaged with their native mattocks and shovels in excavating the soil in
search of the precious stones, one-half of each party being employed
upon the work of digging, while the other half turned over the excavated
soil and extracted from it all the stones which it happened to contain,
Dick and Grosvenor employing themselves meanwhile in passing from party
to party and sorting out the rubies from the worthless stones upturned.
In this way considerable progress was made, and by midday a very
handsome pile of rubies had been accumulated, consisting, however, for
the most part of relatively small stones.
It was not, however, until late in the afternoon that their real good
luck came to them, and then it came all in a moment. A party of the
natives who had for some time been left to themselves had excavated
quite a little cavern in the side of the pit, and, as might have been
expected, this mode of working ultimately resulted in a "cave-in".
Fortunately for them, the workers who were responsible for it detected
the signs of the approaching fall in time to avoid being buried by it;
and when the dust-cloud occasioned by it presently subsided, and the new
face thus laid bare came to be examined, it was discovered that a
veritable "pocket" of rubies had been exposed, the stones--every one of
them of large size and especially fine fire and colour--being so
numerous that almost every shovelful of earth turned over contained one
or more! They were all, without exception, so very much finer than the
finest that had hitherto been found that the latter were there and then
incontinently discarded, and a fresh collection was at once begun, the
whole body of natives being concentrated upon this one spot. So
enormously rich did this "pocket" prove to be that when at length the
declining sun gave warning that the moment to cease work had arrived,
Dick and Grosvenor were fain to acknowledge to each other that, eager as
the former was to make his fortune, they had now collected sufficient
rubies to constitute not one but two exceedingly handsome fortunes, and
that in any case the quantity acquired was as great as it would be at
all prudent to cumber themselves with in view of the long and arduous
journey that still lay before them.