We arrived at Loo, and were taken to an open space in front of the king's huge hut. Before us thousands of warriors stood as still as statues. Twala strode out from his hut, a huge figure in a tiger skin. He was followed by Scragga, and what appeared to be a wizened, dried-up monkey, clad in a fur cloak. This was Gagool.

"Koom!" Out roared the royal salute. Dead silence followed, until one warrior dropped his shield.

"Kill him!" shouted Twala in tones of great rage.

To our horror, a grinning Scragga threw his spear. The unfortunate warrior lay dead. What kind of king was this?

Twala turned his cruel face to us. "Why should I not kill you too, men from the stars?" he demanded.

"This is why!" Swiftly, I raised my rifle and shot one of his own oxen. I could see he was impressed.

Suddenly, Gagool threw back her cloak, and revealed an aged, wrinkled face. She began to caper about.

"I smell blood!" she shrieked. "Ye white men come for diamonds. But who are ye, of the proud bearing?" She turned on Umbopa, her voice more piercing. "I know ye—take off your cloak ... "

The effort seemed to be too much for her and she collapsed to the ground.

"Go in peace," Twala said uneasily. "Tomorrow I shall think of what Gagool has said."

Later, in the hut we had been given, I turned to Infadoos. "It seems to us that Twala is a cruel king."

"It is so, my lords," Infadoos bowed his head. "Tonight ye shall see the great witch-hunt. If Twala fears a man, or wants something of his, Gagool will 'smell' him out as a wizard and he will be killed. No man is safe. The people are weary of Twala's cruel ways."

"Why don't they cast him down?" asked Good.

"Scragga would then rule in his place. His heart is blacker than that of his father. If only Imotu or his son Ignosi had lived ... "

"Ignosi is not dead!" Umbopa spoke directly to Infadoos. "See, I will show you, O my uncle."

He threw off his leopard skin. A great snake, tattooed in blue, wound its way round his middle. Infadoos stared, then fell to his knees.

"Koom! Koom!" he exclaimed. "It is my brother's son. It is the king!"

"Rise, my uncle." Umbopa put out his hand. "I am not yet king. But will ye help me overthrow this tyrant, ye and these brave white men?"

"We will!" we all cried. Infadoos promised to rally twenty thousand spears after that night's witch-hunt.

Umbopa, or Ignosi, as he should have been called, turned to us. "If ye help me, white men, what can I give ye? The bright stones—ye shall have them."

Sir Henry spoke up. "We will help you, diamonds or no diamonds, Umbopa. We came as you know, to seek my brother. Has he been seen?"

"No white man has set foot in our land," Infadoos said. "I would have heard."

Sir Henry shook his head sadly.

"Poor fellow! So our journey has been for nothing."

That night we attended the terrible witch-hunt. Thousands of warriors were there, and the moon poured its light on a forest of spears. The wicked old Gagool began to dance around.

"I smell the evil-doer," she screeched, and pointed out the first to die. Her dance became quicker, and she pointed out man after man. They were all killed. At length she danced towards us.

"She's going to try her games on us!" cried Good in horror.

But it was Ignosi she touched. "He is full of evil. Kill him!"

I pointed my rifle straight at Twala.

"Stand back," I cried, "or Twala dies."

"Put away your magic tube." Twala was clearly afraid. "The dance has ended."

We returned to our hut, almost sick with relief. Infadoos arrived, accompanied by six stately chiefs. Ignosi showed them the tattoo of the sacred snake, and they examined it closely. At length the eldest spoke.

"The land cries out because of Twala's cruelties. But how do we know this man is our true king? The sacred snake is not enough. If we are to fight Twala, we need a sign."

"I think I have it," Good exclaimed, as I translated the speech. He produced an almanac. "I noticed that an eclipse of the moon is due for tomorrow night, to be seen in Africa. Tell them we will darken the moon!"

"Are you sure of the date?" Sir Henry asked.

"Oh, yes. I have kept a careful record."

"Very well." I turned to the chiefs and addressed them in Zulu. "Tomorrow night we will put out the moon. Deep darkness will cover the earth as a sign that Ignosi is king!"

"It is well, my lords," said Infadoos. "Two hours after sunset, the girls will dance. Twala will choose the fairest, who will be given as a sacrifice to the Silent Ones. Let my lords darken the moon and save her life. Then the people will believe indeed."

The next evening found us watching the annual "dance of girls." Each girl was crowned with flowers, and they made a beautiful sight in the moonlight. At length Twala pointed to a lovely young woman.

"Foulata is the fairest! She must die."

"Ay, must die," piped up Gagool.

Scragga lifted his spear in high glee. Unable to bear it, Good jumped in front of the terrified Foulata. "Stop!"

To my relief the shadow of the eclipse was just beginning to edge its way over the moon. I pointed upwards.

"Look!" I called. "We white men from the stars are putting out the moon. Let the girl go, Twala!"

A groan came from all around. The people scattered in panic as they saw the dark ring creep over the moon's surface. In fear or fury, Scragga threw himself at Sir Henry, brandishing his spear.

"The moon is dying!" he yelled.

There was a brief struggle, and at the end of it, Scragga was dead. The unholy shadow was swallowing up the moon. Even Twala had fled. We were alone, with Infadoos, Foulata, and six chiefs.

"Come," said Infadoos. "We have been given the sign. We must find a place to stand together."

As we left Look, the moon went out utterly.

We established our warriors on a large hill, flat-topped and shaped like a horseshoe. There we would make our stand against the king's forces. When the sun was up, Ignosi spoke to his warriors.

"I am the true king. Who is with me?"

"Koom!" Raising their spears. they roared out the royal salute.

The first attack came, and a mass of struggling warriors swayed to and fro across the hillside. So fiercely did our regiments fight that Twala's men fell back. But we could see long lines of warriors advancing behind them. There had to be a plan for the coming battle, or our forces would lose. Ignosi had that plan.

"I will strike Twala this day!" he cried, and explained what was to be done.

One regiment, led by Infadoos, would advance along the narrow valley between the two "horns" of our horseshoe hill. Twala would send his forces to crush it. But the spot was narrow, and only a few could meet at one time. Our other regiments would conceal themselves on the slopes above. They would fall on their enemies from either side, unawares, and trap them.

"If fortune goes with us, the day will be ours!" cried Ignosi.

The battle which followed is almost beyond my power to tell. I fought beside Infadoos and his men as Twala's warriors attacked along the floor of the valley. All I remember is the shaking of the ground under many feet, the dull roar of voices and a continuous flashing of spears around us.

A shout of dismay rose from our enemies, and I looked up. The place was alive with the plumes of charging warriors, both to the right and to the left. Twala's men were outflanked. In five minutes, the battle was decided. Taken by surprise, Twala's men broke, and fled.

The affair was not yet over. Ignosi had to deal with Twala, who had been captured.

"What is my fate, O king?" Twala asked in mocking tones.

"The same thou gave my father," answered Ignosi.

"I demand the right to die fighting!" Twala pointed angrily at Sir Henry. "He killed my son—I will fight him if he is not afraid!"

"I will fight," Sir Henry replied.

We watched fearfully as the two huge men rained blows on each other. The excitement grew intense, and I shut my eyes, unable to watch. At last the struggle was over, and Twala the Terrible was no more. Ignosi was king!

The battle over, Ignosi was greeted as king by the people of Kukuanaland. He told them there would be no more witch-hunts, and no man would again die without trial.

Later, we told him we were anxious to investigate the mystery of King Solomon's Mines.

"My people say the diamonds lie in a secret chamber inside the mountain," Ignosi told us. "There is but one who can show it to you—Gagool! I have saved her for this."

A few days later, we stood at the end of Solomon's Road. Our party consisted of our three selves, Infadoos, the maiden Foulata, who had made herself our servant, and the evil, unwilling Gagool. I shall never forget the awesome sight of the "Three Witches," and the great pit lying between them.

"Can you guess what that hole is?" I exclaimed. "Diamond diggings! I have seen them at Kimberley."

At the edge of the pit stood three huge statues—the "Silent Ones" who guarded the secret entrance to King Solomon's Mines. Gagool cast a sly grin at us, and hobbled towards a narrow slit in the mountain-side.

"I will show you the bright stones," she piped.

Infadoos stayed behind to set up camp. The rest of us followed Gagool.

We had travelled a long way into the heart of the mountain when at last Gagool stopped at a wall of solid rock. Then, as Gagool operated some secret mechanism, a great stone door rose up from the floor.

We passed inside to yet another passage-way, which ended at a carved wooden door. Foulata would go no further.

Leaving her, we went into the chamber beyond. Sir Henry held his lamp high, to reveal a room full of stone chests. Some were filled with gold coins, many with diamonds. I fairly gasped. "We are the richest men in the world."

"Here are the bright stones ye love," Gagool flitted around. "Eat of them! Drink of them!"

We paid no heed. We did not see her evil look as she crept away.

"The stone falls!" Foulata suddenly cried out. "Help! She has stabbed me."

We rushed down the passage-way. Foulata and Gagool were struggling together as the stone door closed down. Foulata was badly hurt, and could hold on no longer. With a shriek, Gagool twisted like a snake through the crack of the closing stone. Ah, but she was too late. Down came the stone on top of her. It was all done in four seconds. Foulata, too, lay dead at our feet.

"We're buried alive," Sir Henry said slowly.

Sir Henry was right. Only Gagool, who lay beneath it, knew the secret of the stone door. We tried to find the spring which operated it, but failed.

"It must work from outside," I said eventually. "Why else did Gagool risk crawling under the stone?"

I cannot describe the horrors of the day and night which followed. The lamp soon died and we were left in darkness, in a chamber full of useless treasure. Now we understood Gagool's mocking words of eating and drinking diamonds!

After an eternity, we noticed that the air remained fresh. Feverishly, we searched for a current of air, and found it, in a far away corner of the chamber. I struck one of our few remaining matches, to reveal a stone trap-door. We heaved it open. Another match showed stone steps leading downwards.

"I'll go first!" Sir Henry exclaimed, and Good quickly followed him. Before I left the treasure chamber, however, I filled my pockets full of diamonds.

A desperate journey followed. The steps led to a series of twisting tunnels, and we stumbled along them, exhausted. At last we saw a glimmer of daylight. The tunnel grew narrow, and rock gave way to earth. A squeeze, a struggle, and we were safely out, rolling over and over down a slope of soft wet soil.

Infadoos rushed up. "Oh, my lords—you are back from the dead!"

We never did find the way back into the treasure chamber. At length we said farewell to our Kukuana friends, and left their lovely country.

And now I come to the strangest part of my story. Infadoos had shown us another way out of Kukuanaland, through a mountain pass his hunters had discovered. Some miles into the desert lay a huge oasis. When we reached it, we found a white man there!

"Great powers!" cried Sir Henry. "It's my brother!"

And so it was. The man gave a shout and limped towards us. The brothers shook hands vigorously, their quarrel forgotten.

"I tried to cross the mountains, but hurt my leg," George curtis explained. "I have been unable to move forwards or backwards since!"

Here, at this point, I shall end my story. We crossed the desert safely, although we had to help George Curtis all the way. Eventually we reached my home in Durban, and my friends returned to England.

But I shall see them again soon, for a letter has just arrived from Sir Henry. The diamonds I brought out of King Solomon's Mines in my pockets have been valued in London, and are of the finest water. We are all rich men. Sir Henry wants me to join him. I think I will take him at his word, and sail for England.

(The End)