Копи царя Соломона

           Shesaidthatthepeoplewholivedacrossthosemountainswerea"branch"oftheZulus,speakingadialectofZulu,butfinerandbiggermeneven; thattherelivedamongthemgreatwizards,whohadlearnttheirartfromwhitemenwhen"alltheworldwasdark,"andwhohadthesecretofawonderfulmineof"brightstones."’ 

           "Well,Ilaughedatthisstoryatthetime,thoughitinterestedme,fortheDiamondFieldswerenotdiscoveredthen,butpoorEvanswentoffandwaskilled,andfortwentyyearsIneverthoughtanymoreofthematter. However,justtwentyyearsafterwards—andthatisalongtime,gentlemen;anelephanthunterdoesnotoftenlivefortwentyyearsathisbusiness—IheardsomethingmoredefiniteaboutSuliman’sMountainsandthecountrywhichliesbeyondthem. IwasupbeyondtheManicacountry,ataplacecalledSitanda’sKraal,andamiserableplaceitwas,foramancouldgetnothingtoeat,andtherewasbutlittlegameabout. Ihadanattackoffever,andwasinabadwaygenerally,whenonedayaPortugeearrivedwithasinglecompanion—ahalf-breed. NowIknowyourlow-classDelagoaPortugeewell.Thereisnogreaterdevilunhunginageneralway,batteningashedoesuponhumanagonyandfleshintheshapeofslaves. ButthiswasquiteadifferenttypeofmantothemeanfellowswhomIhadbeenaccustomedtomeet;indeed,inappearanceheremindedmemoreofthepolitedomsIhavereadabout,forhewastallandthin,withlargedarkeyesandcurlinggreymustachios. Wetalkedtogetherforawhile,forhecouldspeakbrokenEnglish,andIunderstoodalittlePortugee, andhetoldmethathisnamewasJoséSilvestre,andthathehadaplacenearDelagoaBay.