Solomon's Throne (24 page)

Parts of the enormous wall had tumbled down, and candelabra trees and acacia had invaded the buildings. The grass was brown, awaiting the rainy season. The large conical tower was shaded by a large narrow tree that seemed to have placed its entire canopy over the gap left by the missing roof. They walked through a long corridor between the outer wall and an inner wall, both twenty feet high and at least ten feet thick. Rei felt a bit claustrophobic, and was glad to come out in the small courtyard where the entrance to the tower was.

They hadn’t met anyone inside the Great Enclosure, but now they encountered an elderly couple who seemed to be examining the tower brick by brick. Rei looked at Gideon, eyebrows raised. Her question was clear, “
Are they looking for it, too?”
Gideon shrugged and went to make conversation.

“Hello! This is amazing isn’t it?” He swept his arm to encompass the tower.

“Oh indeed!” said the man, a strong South African accent apparent. “The wife and I have been wanting to come here for ages, and finally we just said, ‘why not, we’re not getting any younger!’ And besides it’s not that far from home. Of course you can hardly get into the country, with this crazy government, at least if you’re white. But then we’ve been on the other side of that coin, so I suppose we can’t complain. Isn’t this just magnificent? Margaret and I are trying to see how many stones and bricks were used to make this tower. We thought we’d count them within a cubic meter and multiply, but the wall’s so thick it’s impossible. Probably been done already, of course, but we amateur archeologists like to check the professionals’ work, you know.” The man laughed and took a deep breath. “Oh, my, look at the time! I think our driver was coming back twenty minutes ago… Margaret, dear, we must go. We shall reevaluate our plan and return tomorrow. Good bye now!” And he turned to walk off, his wife in tow.

The Quinns watched them walk away, and laughed. “At least we’re not counting bricks!” Rei said.

Once inside the tower, they stood in the center and looked at the walls in the filtered light coming down from the roofless top. The floor was dirt and scattered stones. The stones in the wall were laid well, with no mortar between. There did not appear to be any original carvings, although there was the sort of carved graffiti that all such sites seem to attract. They still only had the one small flashlight, so they decided to start at the entrance and work around counter clockwise. They looked up and down, from head height to the floor.

Halfway through they found a mark that appeared to be the bottom “V” of an X. Excitedly, they began digging into the dirt directly underneath, but found nothing down to a depth of eighteen inches. Rei examined it again.

“This doesn’t look the same as the other X marks we’ve seen. I mean, it’s hard to know, it’s so old. But Father Eduardo seemed to make a deep center mark and the edges sloped up. The other marks were about four inches tall. This one is more squared off, fatter, and taller.”

Gideon filled the hole and tamped down the soil. “Onward…” he said, and brushed off his pants.

They didn’t find anything else in the tower that pointed to Father Eduardo’s clue. The sun was much lower on the horizon and it was getting dark inside the tower. Standing outside in the fading light, Gideon looked at the outside wall.

“Should we take a quick tour around the outside? Can’t hurt… “

Rei said, “There’s enough light if we split up and go fast. But I don’t really want to walk across that bit of flatland back to the hotel in the dark!” Gideon thought he heard her mumble, “Creatures…” as she jogged around to the back of the tower.

They went as quickly as they dared, trying to balance speed with careful searching. Neither found anything. When they met in the middle, they were discouraged. While not having said it, both had felt that the tower was their best bet, and finding nothing was very frustrating.

“Damn.” Gideon put his hands on his hips and looked around. “It’s just so freaking big!”

Rei pulled on his arm. “I know. We’ll go back to the hotel and look at the map again. But can we please just
go?”

They hurried along the path that linked the World Heritage site to the hotel. The sun was almost gone, and the stars had come out in great array. Rei didn’t notice. She had her little flashlight out, and was shining it back and forth in agitation, talking to herself.

“What animals live in Zimbabwe? Do they have lions? Of course they have lions, it’s Africa… And probably hyena. God, I hate hyena, they freak me out… What else? Leopards? I’d like to see a leopard. From a car.” A bat swooped down, chasing an insect, and Rei let out a shriek. “Oh my Lord! Run!” She started off down the path, but Gideon grabbed her.

“Rei, chill. Just keep walking, keep talking, and use your light. Look up there, see? The hotel. Don’t run and look like some kind of antelope… Just walk.” He didn’t trust her to listen, however, and kept a grip on her arm.

When they entered the lobby, Rei was so relieved that she sunk into a chair. “I swear I heard a hyena out there laughing. I hate that sound they make…” She put her hand over heart and tried to breathe.

“I don’t think it was a hyena. It sounded more like a warthog to me.”

“Warthogs don’t
laugh
, Gid.”

“Yeah, and they don’t eat people, either. We’re safe now, Rei.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s get some dinner. I’ll even get you a glass of wine. And maybe a back rub later.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Zimbabwe

1687

I
t took a week of
preparation, during which time Isabel and Joao stayed aboard the Santa Antiono de Tanna. Joao hired a native guide, and agreed to pay for a dozen men to accompany them as porters and, if needed, protection. Two African elephants were pressed into service to carry supplies and tents, and the porters also were to carry food, weapons, cooking equipment, and other necessities.

“But Joao, where are we
going?
And please tell me that I do not have to ride upon those beasts!”

Joao laughed. “No, my love. You do not have to ride upon the
oliphants
. For some of the way we will be able to use a cart and oxen. Some of the way, I’m afraid you will have to walk. But we will also have small ponies with us, and you will be able to ride on those, as well. We are going far inland, to a great ruin of an ancient people. We will follow the Save River part of the way, but much of the way we will walk across grasses and through forests. We shall see a great many animals, and I think you shall find many things to draw on the way.”

Isabel was most pleased with everything except the mention of walking. “We will be walking?”

“Yes. There are times when that is the only option. I have had some proper shoes shod for you, and for myself as well. And you might… well, you might want to consider wearing my breeches when we come to it.”

Isabel was scandalized. “Your
breeches?
Joao! What would people think?”

“I don’t know what people would think if they were to know, and the natives will not care, as their women are largely naked.” He laughed at her further scandalized expression. “You do not have to decide now,
meu amor.
You will know the land before we must walk, and you can choose what to do with your skirts.” He kissed her. He didn’t think he’d mind seeing her in breeches, but it didn’t seem like the time to mention it.

They left after first light. They followed trails used by the natives, and although these wandered and meandered between homesteads and villages, in general they found themselves heading northwest. Isabel was settled comfortably on a narrow cart drawn by two large cows whose calves were tied to the cart. Isabel had seen a lot of Africa on their travels, but mostly coastland. She was entranced by the brown grasses, the huge red mounds that the natives had told her were made by
mchwa.
As best as she could gather, these were a white ants with wings, and, to her disgust, the men seemed to view them as a delicacy to eat.

As they got away from human settlements, they saw more and more animals. Four legged creatures that looked like exotic deer, which the natives taught her were
swala.
Wild hogs that got down on their knees to eat and drink, and which were remarkably fast, called
mbango.
Small weasels called
nguchiro.
On the fourth day out, they saw a pride of
simba
resting on a rock outcropping. She knew these from drawings she had seen in books, although they looked much more majestic and imposing in real life.
Leao
in Portuguese. Lions. The guide told them that they were very sleepy in the day, and not very dangerous if not disturbed. But at night they hunted and could be heard across great distances, and that keeping fires lit and men on watch was necessary to keep they, themselves, from being eaten. She shuddered, and was glad for the munitions that the men carried.

As they made their way to the Save River, there were, indeed, times when it was unsafe to ride in the cart, and Isabel and Joao walked side by side along the trail. The first time this happened, Isabel refused to remove her skirts. However the heat, once she was exerting herself, and the thorns along the path which grabbed and ripped her clothing, made it nearly impossible to keep the pace of the rest of the party, and she quickly realized the wisdom of breeches. Joao held up a blanket for her, and she traded her skirts for a pair of his fawn colored breeches. She was immediately struck by the comfort and practicality of the garment.

“I do not know why women must wear skirts!” she exclaimed. “These breeches are so very much more
util
, practical!”

Joao kissed her. “And they show your form very well,
meu querido.”
She blushed, but squeezed his hand at the compliment.

They reached the Save river after two weeks. Because it was the dry season, water had been scarce in the dry landscape, and they were almost out of the now stale tasting water that they had brought with them. Bathing had been non-existent, so when the flowing river came in sight there were many reasons for excitement and cheering. They set up camp on a bank, not too close because the guide was concerned about
mamba,
or crocodiles. This led Isabel to a moment of panic about their eventual crossing of this river, but Joao told her that they would follow it on the south side for some time, and by the time they needed to cross it, it was little more than a stream. She put that eventuality out of her mind, and concentrated on the lovely sound and feel of fresh, cool water.

In the event, no crocodiles were spotted. The guide positioned his men at both ends of a fifty foot stretch of beach, armed with loaded muskets, and the oldest one, who was apparently well versed in the ways of the creatures, scoured the water and banks for them. When none were spotted after some time, water casks were refilled, clothes were washed, buckets were brought to the
wazungus
tent for bathing, and the animals were temporarily pegged where they could drink their fill.