Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 22, 2025
"Great heavens!" said I faintly, at last, "what can it be?" "And what are those things?" asked Good, pointing to the white company round the table. "And what on earth is that thing?" said Sir Henry, pointing to the brown creature seated on the table. "Hee! hee! hee!" laughed Gagool. "To those who enter the Hall of the Dead, evil comes. Hee! hee! hee! ha! ha!"
"Now, Gagool," said I, in a low voice somehow one did not dare to speak above a whisper in that place "lead us to the chamber." The old witch promptly scrambled down from the table. "My lords are not afraid?" she said, leering up into my face. "Lead on." "Good, my lords;" and she hobbled round to the back of the great Death.
When within about fifty yards of him the regiment was halted, and accompanied only by a small guard we advanced towards him, Gagool reviling us bitterly as we came. As we drew near, Twala, for the first time, lifted his plumed head, and fixed his one eye, which seemed to flash with suppressed fury almost as brightly as the great diamond bound round his forehead, upon his successful rival Ignosi.
Their faces were painted in stripes of white and yellow; down their backs hung snake-skins, and round their waists rattled circlets of human bones, while each held a small forked wand in her shrivelled hand. In all there were ten of them. When they arrived in front of us they halted, and one of them, pointing with her wand towards the crouching figure of Gagool, cried out
Towards midnight, however, the ceaseless crying of the women grew less frequent, till at length the silence was only broken at intervals of a few minutes by a long piercing howl that came from a hut in our immediate rear, which, as I afterwards discovered, proceeded from Gagool "keening" over the dead king Twala.
It is finished; she must die!" Then turning to the guards "Bring her hither; Scragga, make sharp thy spear." Two of the men stepped forward, and as they advanced, the girl, for the first time realising her impending fate, screamed aloud and turned to fly. But the strong hands caught her fast, and brought her, struggling and weeping, before us. "What is thy name, girl?" piped Gagool.
Solomon never got them, nor David, or Da Silvestra, nor anybody else. We had got them: there before us were millions of pounds' worth of diamonds, and thousands of pounds' worth of gold and ivory only waiting to be taken away. Suddenly the fit passed off, and we stopped laughing. "Open the other chests, white men," croaked Gagool, "there are surely more therein. Take your fill, white lords!
But it was not so, for presently, to our surprise, the ancient woman, Gagool, rose from her crouching position, and supporting herself with a stick, staggered off into the open space.
As soon as she was clear of her hammock, Gagool cast one evil grin upon us, and then, leaning on a stick, hobbled off towards the face of this wall. We followed her till we came to a narrow portal solidly arched that looked like the opening of a gallery of a mine. Here Gagool was waiting for us, still with that evil grin upon her horrid face.
In place of the grim ranks of serried warriors were company after company of Kukuana girls, not over-dressed, so far as clothing went, but each crowned with a wreath of flowers, and holding a palm leaf in one hand and a white arum lily in the other. In the centre of the open moonlit space sat Twala the king, with old Gagool at his feet, attended by Infadoos, the boy Scragga, and twelve guards.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking