Тексты для домашнего чтения (6-7 классы)

King Solomon's Mines

Chapter 1

Seagulls were circling behind the ship, now and again diving down to the water, they had been following us ever since we left Cape Town. I could spend hours on deck, just watching them, thinking. This is what I was doing when my thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind me.

"Mr. Quatermain, I believe?"

Looking round I saw a tall man in his thirties, he had blond hair, and he looked very strong. Beside him was another man, he had brown hair, and he was neither as tall nor as well built as the first man.

"Yes, I am Allan Quatermain. How can I help you?"

"Please let me introduce myself. My name is Sir Henry Curtis, and this is my old friend Captain John Good. I have been hoping to meet you, and when I saw your name on the passenger list I asked one of the crew to point you out to me. You see I have a problem, and I was hoping that you could help me, or at least offer me some advice."

"I would be delighted to help if I can," I replied, and immediately I saw a smile pass across Sir Henry's lips. I liked him; his face was both open and friendly.

"I have heard that you spent some time last year up in Bamangwato, did you by any chance meet a fellow by the name of George Neville?" asked Sir Henry.

"Yes, I did, he was on a hunting trip, why?"

"George Neville was my brother; I have come to South Africa to find him. You see, we had an argument, a bad argument, about five years ago, after which George came out here. I did not hear from him for three years, so I decided to come out here to look for him. I was hoping that you might know something."

"I don't really know a lot, but I did hear that he was looking for King Solomon's mines." I saw both men's heads jerk upwards in sur­prise.

"Where are the mines?" asked Sir Henry, sitting forward in his chair.

Deck -part of a ship that is outside, you can walk on it

Crew - a team of people that work on a ship

To be delighted - very pleased

Hunting trip - a trip where you can hunt

Argument - discussion, quarrel

To look for - to search, try to find

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Say if the following sentences are true or false.

1. Seagulls were circling behind the ship T F
   when we left London.

2. A tall man with blond hair was Allan T F
   Quatermain.

3. Sir Henry has heard that Allan spent some T F
   time last year in Cape Town.

4. Sir Henry decided to come there to take T F
   part in a hunting trip.

5. George was looking for King Solomon's T F
   mines.

Exercise 2.

Write a paragraph of your own describing people on the ship.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 2

People had spoken of the legend of the mines, and the fabulouswealth they contained, but few people knew as much as I did, and I was unwilling to tell Sir Henry everything. However he assured me that he was not interested in the mines themselves, as he was already a wealthy man, and if anything were found he would not want a part of it. I de­cided to tell Sir Henry what I knew, although I thought it would bring him little comfort.

About thirty years ago a friend had told me the legend of King Solomon's mines. They were supposed to be in the African interior, across the desert, and behind the mountains. At the time I had just laughed and forgotten all about them, but then ten years ago, or so, I had been reminded of the story. I was hunting up in Matabeleland, when I met a Portuguese man, who said he was called Jose Silvestre, and he said that he was going to look for the mines. As I watched him walking off into the desert I thought that he was making a very bad mistake indeed, and I was right. About a week later I was having supper with my men around the campfire when we saw a shadow moving towards us. I held up a burning stick, and I could see that it was a man, crawling on his hands and knees; we brought him back to the fire, and gave him some water. It was Jose Silvestre.

"Allan, you were right, the desert has killed me, I know that I will never see the sun rise again, so I am going to tell you what I have found." Jose reached inside his shirt and pulled out a dirty piece of paper, which had been folded several times.

"I found it in a cave, together with a skeleton. It is of no use to me now, please take it." His head fell back, he was gasping for breath.

I unfolded the paper and read:

"I, Roberto Cunha, am now dying without food or water, in a cave south of one of Solomon's mountains, in this year of 1590. I am using my blood to write so that one day someone will find this letter and map and take them back to the King of Portugal, so that he can be the richest king in the world. I have seen Solomon's diamonds. Follow my map, cross the mountains and find the road which goes to King Solomon's mines. God be with you! Roberto Cunha."

That night Jose Silvestre died.

Fabulous- wonderful, marvelous

Assure - to tell firmly, to promise

Desert - an area that has little water and practically no plants

Diamond - a precious stone

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Answer the following questions.

1. Whom did Allan meet in Matabeleland?

2. Why did he go into the desert?

3. What did Jose find in the cave?

4. What was in the note?

Exercise 2. Comment on the note o Roberto Cunha. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Chapter 3

"Mr. Quatermain, I am going to ask you to lead an expedition to find the mines, you said that my brother was looking for the mines when you saw him last".

"Sir Henry, thank you for asking me, but I don't think it is a very good idea. Lam not as young as I used to be and I have a son back in England to think of. The deserts are very dangerous, and who knows what lies beyond them. I think you ought to find a younger man to lead the expedition."

"Please think about it. You see I have only got one brother, it is very important to me that I find him. I will of course pay all the costs of the expedition, and if you find anything at the mines you can share it with Captain Good; for myself I only want one thing, and that is to see my brother again."

That night I went to bed having promised Sir Henry to think the matter over and give him an answer on our arrival in Durban. By the time we arrived I had given it plenty of thought, and decided to help him. The difficult thing was to find experienced hunters to take with us, I had found two good men through friends of mine, but I needed to take a third man with us. On the day before we left my servant showed a tall handsome Zulu.

I spoke to the man in Zulu; he said that his name was Umbopa.

"I came from the north when I was a very small child, and I have always wanted to go back there, I ask no money from you, and I am a very skilled hunter."

I turned to Sir Henry, who looked pleased when I told him what Umbopa had said, and I immediately agreed to take him with us.

For nearly five months we travelled northwards. We camped that night on the spot where Jose Silvestre had crawled out of the desert. We rested for a day before setting out across the desert that night. We trav­elled light. To save our energy we travelled at night, but as soon as we felt the warmth of the sun on our backs we made camp and rested until nightfall. This way we were able to stretch out our water for five nights, which was just long enough to get us to the other side of the desert

To lead - to show the way costs - expenses Experienced - qualified

Zulu - nationality

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Change the following sentences from direct into indirect speech.

1. "Mr. Quatermain, I am going to ask you to lead the
   expedition to find the mines/'said Sir Henry.

2. "I didn't think it's a very good idea," replied Mr.
   Quatermain.

3. "You see I have only one brother, it's very important to
   me that I find him," said Sir Henry.

Exercise 2.

Explain the following phrases in English.

1. I am not so young as I used to be

2. I had found two good men through friends

3. I had given it plenty of thought

Chapter 4

The mountain was not much easier than the desert; it rose straight out of the sand, and all we could see was near vertical cliffs face. We were all nearly exhausted as we began the climb, but slowly it got cooler as we went higher, and then we began to find vegetation, at first a few blades of grass, and small plants, and then bushes and even small trees.

"Look, fruit!" shouted Umbopa.

"Where?" I replied, but all I could see was a few small bushes cling­ing to the rock on the inside of a ledge. "I can't see any fruit."

"Look under the leaves, they are not quite ripe, but they are good to eat," and picking one of the small round berries Umbopa put the fruit in his mouth and started to chew.

We were all half-starved, and started to look for the fruit under every leaf, I think those bushes saved us, as we found no more food or water for the next three days as we climbed up the mountain.

It was Umbopa who also found the cave. That night was terrible, we were all tortured⁴ by thirst and hunger, and it was so cold that we all kept waking up. In the morning I was woken by a ghastly scream, in a moment we were all standing outside the cave, wondering what had happened.

"Master, there is a dead man in there," said one of the men.

"I'll go and take a look," said Sir Henry and he stepped back into the cave. I followed him, in the growing light we saw a body slumped against the far wall.

"Thank God, I thought it might have been my brother." We could tell that the body was that of a white man, and his clothes were very old fashioned. The cold air had preserved him remarkably well, this was the last resting place of Roberto Cunha. After saying a prayer for the dead man we continued up the cliff face, and soon reached the summit, and our salvation, for the land was green and fertile. We found water, and sheep, we could even see a few small houses in the distance.

We made camp near the top of the cliff, and lit a fire. Sir Henry shot a sheep, and Umbopa gathered the roots of some bushes, which we cooked and ate hungrily. That day we rested, it was a great relief to have reached the top of the mountain, I didn't know what had been worse, the heat of the desert or the exhausting climb.

Exhausted - to be very tired clinging - sticking to smth to starve - to feel very hungry to be tortured - to cause great pain

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Write a paragraph of your own describing traveling in the mountains.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 2. Say if the following sentences are true or false.

1. The mountain was much easier than the desert. T F

2. We were nearly exhausted as we began to climb. T F

3. We were all half-starved. T F

4. It was Sir Henry who found the cave. T F

5. "Master, there is a wild animal in the cave", T F
   said one of the men.

6. The dead man in the cave was Sir Henry's T F
   brother.

7. They cooked dinner out of the sheep, which Sir Henry shot. T F

Chapter 5

The next morning we set off, walking away from the cliff, in the direction of the houses that we had seen in the distance.

"This must be the road on Roberto Cunha's map, let's follow it and see," I said, and we turned onto the track. When the sun was high in the sky we stopped to eat and to rest until it became a little cooler. I lay down beneath a large tree, not far from a small stream. I was woken by the sound of splashing, and lifting my hat up I could see John washing his face in the running water, suddenly he froze, looking straight ahead, as the water ran between his fingers and onto the ground at his feet. I turned my head to see what had grabbed his attention. About sixty feet away there stood a group of very tall warriors; they were heavily armed, and dressed in animal skins. I did not like the look of them, as I got up I picked up my gun. The others must have heard me moving, as we were soon all standing with John, as the warriors calmly walked to­wards us.

"What are you doing here, and why is your skin white?" said the oldest of the warriors, pointing at us with the tip of his spear. I could understand him as he was speaking Zulu.

"We are from far away, we have come across the mountains, we are men of peace and we want to be friends with you," I replied in Zulu.

"You can't come here because it is our land, we are going to kill you," and the older man raised his spear, and the others did the same. Suddenly it was their turn to stop and stare in amazement; John, for some reason, had taken out his false teeth, and was holding them in his hand.

"Where are his teeth?" said the oldest warrior, his voice trembling with fear.

"He is a man of great power, you have annoyed him with your threats, we are all powerful, and any one of us could kill you easily Look, I will show you," I said and I raised my gun over their heads and shot a bird in the tree behind them. "I can kill with just a noise, and I can do to you what I have done to that bird." The oldest of the warriors crouched down and laid his spear on the ground and the others all fol­lowed his example.

"Don't kill us; we will give you whatever you want."

"I have told you, we want to be your friends, take us to your chief."

We will take you to him, but he lives three days from here," said the oldest of the warriors, pointing down the road.

To set off - to start

To grab smb's attention - to take smb's attention firmly

Warrior - a soldier

Spear - a weapon with a metal point on a long handle

To annoy - to make smb angry

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Write a paragraph of your own describing the meeting with warriors in animal skins.

Exercise 2.

Complete the following sentences.

1. About sixty feet away

2. What are you doing

3. You can't come here because

4. He is the man of great power

5. Don't kill us

Chapter 6

For three days we walked, the land on either side of Solomon's road was rich and well cared for. We saw farms and fields, with people ' planting crops and young boys looking after the animals, they were rais­ing long sticks high above their heads and bringing them down on the animals backs, to drive them along. During the trip I was able to speak to the older warrior, whose name was Infadoos. He told me all about Twala, their king, as well as their political and cultural system. By the time we arrived at the king's palace I was already something of an ex­pert in Kukuana affairs (for that was the name of their tribe). I knew that their king was unpopular, as he was a cruel man, who had killed his elder brother to gain the throne, and sent his brother's young son, who should have been the next king, into exile.

We did not see the king until the following morning, when we went to the gates of his palace, around which were gathered several thousand warriors. When the king came out with a younger man and an old woman we could see that he was a fat, sweaty man, with only one eye. He looked at us, and walked around us.

"Why have you come here?" he asked his voice full of mistrust.

"Great King, we have come to look at your land, which is so differ­ent from ours. We want to be your friends, but if you want to fight you will see that we have great power. Has Infadoos told you how we can kill with a noise?" 1 replied in my best Zulu.

"He has told me, but I do not believe it. Kill one of my men, and then I will believe you."

"Turn around, Great King; I will kill you before you have taken three paces back to your palace." He obviously did not like this sug­gestion, as he ordered a sheep to be brought, which Sir Henry shot at his feet. '

"We have seen your great power, white men, for now you may live. Come back tonight, the night of the great witchhunt, and you will see my power." King Twala shouted, then he turned around and walked quickly back to his palace.

To care for -to look after smth/smb

exile - the state of being sent away

mistrust - to feet no confidence in smith

obviously - easily can be seen or understood

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Can you describe king Twala. What kind of man was he? Why was he unpopular?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 2.

Put a dialogue between king Twala and the travelers into indirect speech.

……………………………………………...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Chapter 7

King Twala had sounded very threatening¹, he obviously wanted us to see how powerful he was. I knew that Infadoos did not like the King, so I asked him to come back to our hut with us.

"Infadoos, what is the great witch hunt that Twala mentioned?" I asked as soon as we were safely back in the hut."

"You will see tonight, many men will die. I don't know if there are any witches, but many men that Twala does not like will be accused² and killed. If only our old king or his son were alive things would be different."

"The old king's son is still alive," said Umbopa, stepping forward.

"Who said you could speak," Infadoos shouted, but Umbopa raised himself up to his full height and continued.

"The old king's wife took her son away, down the mountain and across the desert, as you know, but they did not die. The king's wife, my mother, died after many years, but I survived³. When I heard that a group of white men wanted to come here I decided to join them."

"You can't be the old king's son, Ignosi. How could you have sur­vived the trip across the desert, and found your way back here. Anyway the boy had the pattern of a snake on his back, to show that he was of royal blood, do you have such markings?"

Umbopa turned around and took off his shirt, the light coming through the door of the hut clearly showed the scars on his back. Infadoos stepped forward, and bent down to take a closer look, slowly he ran the tips of his fingers over the marks. For several minutes he remained in this position, totally absorbed⁴, before he suddenly fell to his knees, and hugged Ignosi.

"You are our king, I saw those marks on you when you were a boy, there can be no mistake. We will gather an army with the help of the other chiefs, it is not safe for you here while Twala holds on to power."

"Yes, we will need the support of the other chiefs, but we will also need the help of Mr. Quatermain and his friends, Twala is afraid of them," said Ignosi, and he turned to me. "Will you help me, and in return I will allow you to take as much as you can carry from the mines."

"Of course, we will help, but not because of the gold, but because Twala is a bad king, and the throne is rightfully yours," I replied as I shook Ignosi warmly by the hand.

Threatening-expressing harm or violence

to be accused - a person on trail for committing a crime

to survive - continue to live

to be absorbed - with one's attention fully held

activity

Exercise 1.

These are answers to the questions, ask the questions.

1

The people didn't like king Twala.

2

Many men that Twala doesn't like will be accused and killed.

3

The old king's wife took her son away.

4

The boy had a pattern of a snake on his back.

5

Infadoos fell to his knees and hugged Ignosi.

6 ,

We will gather the army with the help of other chiefs.

7

Twala is a bad king and he cannot be a king.

Exercise 2.

Describe how the travelers got to know that Ignosi was the real king.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

Chapter 8

As night was beginning to fall that evening we heard a roll of drums, and shortly afterwards Infadoos came into our hut.

"Well my friends, the time for the witch hunt has come at last, I will take you myself." We all followed him out of the hut and to the open ground in front of the king's palace. There must have been at least twenty thousand warriors there, all standing in rows, not moving a mus­cle.

"Let the witch hunt begin!" shouted king Twala, who was seated on a bed of lion skins, on a platform overlooking the warriors. Gagool knelt at his side with a look of enjoyment on her face. Ten old women ran out of a hut behind the army, and spread out among the soldiers, looking into each man's face.

"This one's a witch, this one!" shrieked one of the old women, pointing to a young man. The two warriors either side of him immedi­ately grabbed him and dragged him up to King Twala, even though he was kicking and screaming all the way.

"Yes he is a witch, kill him," said Gagool.

"Kill him!" roared the king and immediately two big men with clubs stepped forward and beat him on the back of the head with the large, heavy sticks. The poor man's body lay broken and twisted ten feet away from King Twala. The old women ran back and forth between the lines of warriors, and their shrieks cut the air every time they found a witch, and every time the man died. This continued for some time before the king held up his hand and said, "Enough, we have found the witches," and sat down.

"No!" cried Gagool, "There is another witch among us, and she pointed at Ignosi. The two executioners immediately turned and ran towards us, but Sir Henry and I stepped forward and raised our guns.

"King Twala, if you kill our man we will kill you. He is not a witch," I shouted in Zulu, so that everyone present could hear me. He held up his hand and shouted, "the witch hunt is over." We were left alone in the square when the warriors had returned to their huts and the king and Gagool had turned and gone back into the palace.

Enjoyment - pleasure, satisfaction

to shriek - to give a sudden shout in a bud voice

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Complete the tag questions and give the answers.

1. The time for witch hunt has come at last, ?

2. The old women ran out of a hut behind the army,……………………………. ?

3. The two warriors didn't grab him, ?

4. This continued for some time, ?

5. We were left alone in the square, ?

6. We haven't found the witches, ?

7. There is another witch among us, ?

Exercise 2.

Describe Twala's witch hunt. Why did he do it?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 9

That night we were sitting round the fire outside our hut when Infadoos came up to us, there were six other men with him.

"These are some of the chiefs of our tribe; they have come to talk to Ignosi." The men all picked burning sticks up from the fire, and we all went into the hut. Each man in turn looked at the marks on Ignosi's back, and then they asked him to tell them the story of his escape, and where he had been ever since he left the Kukuana's land. When Ignosi had finished talking the men all sat in a corner of the hut, whispering to each other. Finally the oldest of them stood up.

"You have the marks of a king, but you could have put them there yourself, we need more proof." It was now our turn to whisper among ourselves.

"It says here that there will be a full eclipse of the moon tomorrow night at ten o'clock, if we tell them that this is proof of Ignosi's right to be a king they might believe it," said John, holding up a small book.

"It might work; I don't see what else we can do, as we have no real proof that Ignosi is the son of the old king. What do you think Quatermain?" asked Sir Henry.

"I think it should work, it will certainly impress them. Anyway, it seems to be the best option."

So I told the chiefs that we would ask our gods and if Ignosi were the real king they would darken the sky tomorrow at ten o'clock at night. The chiefs were happy with this suggestion. They said that the follow­ing evening the girls of the tribe would dance for the king in front of the palace, so we should all meet there to see what the gods answered.

To whisper - to speak in a low voice

eclipse of the moon - blocking the light of the moon

to impress - to have a favorable effect on smb

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Answer the following questions.

1. What did the chiefs talk about last night?

2. Did they believe that Ignosi was a real king?

3. How did he prove to be a king?

4. What kind of proof did they need?

5. What did Ignosi's friends decide to do?

6. Were the chiefs happy?

Exercise 2.

Put the following sentences in the right order; use them as a plan to retell the chapter.

• Eclipse of the moon was the main proof.

• The chiefs of the tribes gathered in the evening.

• Ignosi had the marks of a king.

• The oldest chief asked for more proofs.

• The following evening the girls of the tribe would dance for the king.

• They wanted to see what the gods answered

Chapter 10

The king and Gagool were sitting on a pile of animal skins on a raised platform overlooking the square. Twala gestured for us to come up and sit with him, which we did. Some girls poured drinks for us, which we took, but we were careful not to drink when we raised the cups to our lips. Suddenly Twala clapped his hands, the dancing began.

The girls of the tribe stood in line and danced as they moved in a circle around the fire, passing close to the platform where we were all sitting. Once the girls had danced past us they moved to the back of the square and more dancers came forward. This continued for some time before King Twala turned to me and asked, "Do you like our girls?"

"Yes, very much," I replied, eager not to offend him.

"Which of them is the most beautiful?" continued Twala.

"That one," I said, pointing to a girl near the end of a line.

"She is the one, we will give her to our gods," said Twala, and he turned to one of his warriors and ordered that he kill her with his spear.

"Twala, you can't kill the girl." I jumped to my feet, and I felt my heart beating in my chest.

"And you can't tell me what to do, white man!" replied Twala, and he turned to the warrior again, "kill the white men."

"Twala, if you kill the girl we will take the moon away, and bring darkness to your land." I raised my hands up to the moon, just as the eclipse was beginning, and the others did the same, and we all spoke in English.

A cry went up from the crowd as they saw the moon had begun to disappear. The warrior standing beside Twala held his spear up, and then threw it at us. Fortunately it hit the pistol that Sir Henry had hidden under his shirt and fell harmlessly to the ground, but Sir Henry wasted no time in picking it up and throwing it back at the warrior, but this time it found human flesh.

"They have stolen the moon!" A great cry went up, and everyone started to run. After two or three minutes we were left alone with the six chiefs and the girl.

"We have shown you that Ignosi is your true king, now we must get ready to fight for him," I said.

"We will prepare the army," said Infadoos, "come on, there is no time to loose." We all followed him as he ran off into the darkness; John was helping the girl, who was still weak from the shock.

To disappear- to become invisible

to steal - to take smith without permission

harmlessly - without any evil

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Change the following sentences from direct into indirect speech.

1. "Which of them is the most beautiful? » continued Twala.

………………………………………………………………….

2. "Twala, you can't kill the girl", replied Quatermain.

…………………………………………………………………

3. "They have stolen the moon", cried the people.

………………………………………………………………….

4. "We will prepare the army", said Infadoos.

…………………………………………………………………...

Exercise 2.

Find irregular verbs in the chapter and write down their three forms.

……… ………… …...........

……… ………... ………..

……… ……….. ………..

……… ………… ………..

……… ………... ………..

Chapter 11

We walked through the night for about two hours, until we came to a hillside on which many small fires were burning. Infadoos told us that the chiefs had gathered the warriors under their command here, and that as soon as the sun rose we should all address them. When the sun had risen the warriors gathered on the slope of the hill, and Infadoos took Ignosi and the chiefs and stood before the army. When they had heard Ignosi's story, and seen the markings on his back the men all stamped their feet, and the whole hillside seemed to shake. We now had the backing of the army.

The rest of the day was spent planning, we had about 20,000 men, but Twala had more. We decided to wait for the enemy where we were, and on the following morning they came. We started firing as they came up the hill, we must have killed at least ten men, but they still kept coming, thousand after thousand. As the armies met a great cry went up from our warriors, "Ignosi! Ignosi!" and we heard men screaming as the spears found them. In the end we managed to push their army back down the hill.

"We must attack again, before Twala has time to bring more sol­diers from other areas," said Infadoos, and we agreed.

This time the battle went m our favour, it ended when Sir Henry and Twala met. Twala threw his spear at Sir Henry, but it missed, and they met holding just their knives. For a long time they fought, but then Sir Henry started to win, several times he cut Twala, who turned and ran towards his capital, and as he went his army also turned and ran. Our army raised their spears above their heads and shouted, "Ignosi is our king!"

Stole of the hill- a surface on which one end is higher

In one's favour- to give an advantage to smb

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Describe the battle between the travelers and Twala's army.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Exercise 2

Ask five questions to the following sentence:

When the sun had risen the warriors gathered on the slope

of the hill.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 12

That evening we entered the capital with the army, but this time we were not guests, but masters. We found Twala in the square in front of the palace.

"What are you going to do with me?" he asked.

"I am going to kill you, as you killed my father," replied Ignosi.

"I am a warrior, I must die in battle, let me finish the fight with the white man," said the fallen king. We all looked at Sir Henry

"I will fight him," my friend replied. Without waiting they both drew their knives and began to fight. This time the fight was more even, Twala wanted revenge, and he managed to give Sir Henry a few nastycuts. However, in the end Twala fell as my friend's knife dug into his neck.

We found Gagool in the palace, she had heard that Twala had been defeated, and she spat at us as we entered the room. Ignosi raised his spear to kill the wicked old woman, but Infadoos held his arm, "she is the only one who knows the secret of the mines, we need her."

As we ate that night we discussed the future. Ignosi wanted us to stay as guests in his kingdom, but we reminded him that Sir Henry was looking for his brother, and as he was not with the Kukuanas we must search elsewhere.

"I will be sorry to see you go, my friends, but you must take with you as much of the gold as you can carry. Tomorrow we will take Gagool to the mines, she will show us what she knows."

"What if she won't show us the mines?" asked John.

"Then she will die," replied Ignosi.

For several days we were delayed before we actually set off for the mines, firstly because Ignosi was busy taking control of his new king­dom, and secondly because Sir Henry was recovering from the wounds that Twala had given him.

We walked for three days before we reached the caves which formed the entrance to King Solomon's mines. As we walked across the plains Gagool was silent, she did not even speak when we stopped to eat; but as we started to climb up into the mountains she seemed to come alive. She was the only one who knew the exact location of the mines, and she got more and more excited the closer we got to our destination. On the evening of the third day we arrived and set up camp to wait for morning.

Fallen king - defeated

revenge - defeat of a person beaten previously

nasty - not nice, unpleasant

spat - past tense of spit

to delay - to be slow or late

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Choose the right word.

1. That evening we entered _____________ with the army.

a) the capital b) the house c) the cave
2. Twala wanted

a) meeting b) satisfaction c) revenge

3. She is the only one who knows of the mines.

a) the secret b) the story c) ghosts

4. We walked for_________before we reached the caves.

a) three days b) a week c) a month

Exercise 2.

Find four verbs to describe the finding of gold.

Example: see-saw

………………………. ………………………..

……………………… ……………………….

………………………. ……………………….

………………………. …………………….....

Chapter 13

In the light of day we could see that the mouth of the cave was a short way up a steep cliff. Until we reached the foot of the cliff we could not see that there was an easy route up to the cave, and that it had been worn smooth by people over hundreds of years.

Ignosi and Infadoos stayed at the foot of the cliff with their warri­ors, while John, Sir Henry, Gagool and I climbed up to the mouth of the cave.

"Are you ready to see the faces of our dead kings?" asked Gagool.

"Be quiet old woman, and show us the way," I replied.

"You know that no one who has seen the gold has lived for more than a month. A long time ago another white man came, and he died in a cave on the cliff that drops down to the desert," she continued, laugh­ing.

«I told you to be quiet," I replied, thinking of the body of Roberto Cunha that we had found on our way here.

As we walked into the cave it became darker and darker. Sir Henry held a burning torch above his head, and by its light we could make out white shapes in the distance. As we came closer we could see that they seemed to be shaped like men.

"Oh my God!" gasped Sir Henry, "they must be the Kukuana kings, the damp and the cold must have turned them into stone over the years." Only Gagool laughed, it sounded more like a scream as it echoed around the room. We followed the old woman deeper into the cave, after a few seconds a door opened in the rock face, and we followed Gagool inside.

"Here is the gold, you can eat it and drink it!" said Gagool.

In the corner we saw three huge stone boxes full of lumps of gold and crudely made coins, we stood with our mouths hanging open in surprise, there must have been thousands of them, more! We all went over and picked up the metal, letting it fall through our fingers, and back into the box.

Suddenly John jumped back. We all looked round to see him strug­gling with Gagool.

"Look out the door is closing!" John shouted. We all ran over, but before we could help Gagool made a last effort and freed herself and dived for the door, but she was too late, the heavy stone slab came down on her.

A torch - a piece of wood wrapped in oily doth to gasp - to take quick, deep breathe

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Answer the following questions.

1. Was it an easy root to the cave?

2. Who went to the cave?

3. What did Gagool say about those who visited the cave?

4. Did they find gold in the cave?

5. Did the travellers take the gold?

6. What happened to Gagool?

Exercise 2.

Imagine that you were with travellers and found a lot of gold. What would you do with it? How will you feel? Write a paragraph of your own about it.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 14

We all tried to lift the stone up, but it was no good, it was too heavy. We must have tried for an hour, but in the end the torches went out, and we were still no closer to moving the heavy stone.

"Why is the air in the cave still fresh after all these hours?" asked Sir Henry, after several more hours had passed. "If there is air getting into the cave perhaps there is another way in."

There was nothing to loose, so we started feeling the walls and floor, to see if there were any cracks. Inch by inch we ran our hands over the rock, after an hour and a half John cried out. "Hold on, I think I have found something, come here." With one of our last matches we were able to see a metal ring set into a stone, air was blowing through the cracks around the edge of the block. I pulled at the ring with all my might, when it opened we could see a narrow staircase leading down into the mountain.

Before we went down the stairway we filled our pockets and a cou­ple of sacks with gold. In the darkness we groped our way down the stairs, and along a passage.

"Am I imagining it, or is that a light above us?" I thought I could see a couple of stars above us.

"I can see them as well, so it can't be your imagination," replied Sir Henry. I crawled into an opening above our heads. With my back against the wall I could use my feet to hold myself in place, and then push myself up with my hands, it was hard work, but in a few minutes I was able to see more stars, and then suddenly I was out of the tunnel. Within a few minutes we were all dancing round in the darkness, laughing in relief, our pockets full of gold.

Back in the capital we were able to relax for a few days. Ignosi invited us to live in his palace, where we were looked after in royal style, but Sir Henry was anxious to find his brother, so we decided to leave after a few days. On our last night Ignosi held a feast in our honour, and all the Kukuana chiefs came, wearing their lion and leopard skins. It was quite a sight.

Crack- a line along which smth has broken to be anxious -feeling worried or nervous a feast - holiday with big meal

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Describe how the travellers escaped from the cave.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 2.

Choose the right word.

1. We all tried to _____________________the stone up.

a) lift b)put c)take

2. So we started feeling

a) smell b) the walls and floor c) ceiling

3. We could see a narrow___________leading down into the mountain.

a) road b) staircase

4. Back in the capital we were able to .

a) finish our trip b) go back to the mountains c) relax

5. On our last night Ignosi held a in our honour.

a) holidays b) feast c) official reception

Chapter 15

The journey out of Ignosi's kingdom was uneventful, as we had an escort of soldiers, who carried the gold and helped us down the cliff. At the base of the cliff we said goodbye.

"You must not go straight into the desert, go that way, as you will find water half way across," said the warrior in charge of the expedition pointing out into the sand.

"How far is it to the water?"

"Two days, and then a further three days to the other side."

As the sun was setting that evening we set off into the desert, fol­lowing the direction that the warrior had shown us. Sir Henry had made a note of it and kept referring to his compass. Towards the middle of the second night we saw a light in the distance, and walked towards it. We quietly approached, for the last part we crawled through the sand on our knees, as we did not want anyone to know we were there, until we had found out whether they were friendly. We saw a figure with his back to us, sitting by the fire. Slowly we circled round until we could see him from the front; suddenly Sir Henry jumped up and called out.

"George, George!" Sir Henry ran towards the fire. The man by the fire also jumped up and stood staring in amazement, and then they both ran forward and held each other by the shoulders, looking.

We all ran up and shook George by the hand.

"But how did you come to be beside this fire in an oasis in the middle of the desert?" I asked.

"I went to look for King Solomon's mines. Unfortunately I didn't find anything, but on the way back across the desert I broke my leg. My guide brought me here, there is water and plenty to eat, but my leg is not well enough to get me across the desert. I have been here for two years now".

We took George back with us, firstly to Durban, then home to Eng­land. We all travelled first class, we were all wealthy men.

To refer - to mention wealthy - very rich

ACTIVITY

Exercise 1.

Describe the main characters of the book.
Sir Henry…………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Allan Quatermain…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………..

Ignosi……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Exercise 2. Give a title to each chapter.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 …………

Chapter 3 Chapter 4 …………

Chapter 5 Chapter 6 ………….

Chapter 7 Chapter 8 ………….

Chapter 9 Chapter 10…………

Chapter 11 Chapter 12…………

Chapter 13 Chapter 14…………

Chapter 15