It is a curious thing that at my age – I shall never see sixty again – I should be taking up a pen to write this story. But, I have my reasons.

First reason – Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John

Good asked me.

Second reason – I am confi ned here at Durban with pain in my left leg. I have killed sixty-fi ve lions in my lifetime, but the sixty-sixth one chewed my leg like

a quid of tobacco, and it has troubled me since.

Third reason – I want my boy Harry, who is studying to become

a doctor, to have something to amuse him for a week or so.

Fourth and the last reason – it is the strangest story that I remember.

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The Dunkeld was lying at the docks waiting for another ship, the Edinburgh Castle, which was due to arrive from England.

The other was Captain John Good, a naval offi cer. He was broad, of

medium height, dark, stout, and quite a curious man to look at. He was very neat and also clean-shaven, and wore

an eye-glass on his right eye.

One was Sir Henry Curtis, who was about thirty years old. I never saw a fi ner looking

man, and somehow he reminded me of an ancient Dane, a kind of a white Zulu.

I took my berth and went aboard. That afternoon the Edinburgh Castle passengers were transshipped. Among the passengers who came on board were two who excited my curiosity.

I fi rst met Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good about eighteen months ago.

I had just been up elephant hunting beyond Bamangwato, and I was ready to return to Natal on board the Dunkeld.

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That night during dinner, I was seated opposite them. Since we were in Africa, the conversation

naturally turned to hunting and elephants.

Ah, you‛ve found the right man for that. If anybody can, Hunter Quatermain should be able to tell you about

elephants.

Excuse me, sir, but is your name Allan

Quatermain? Yes.

Fortunate.

I would be delighted,

sir.Would you join

me and my associate, Captain John Good, for

a drink after dinner in my cabin?

Mr Quatermain, I am Sir Henry

Curtis.

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After dinner, Sir Henry led the way to his cabin, and a

very good cabin it was.

Would you like some whisky?

Yes, thank you.

Captain Good‛s eye-glass seemed to grow there, for it had no string, and

he never took it out except to wipe it.

At fi rst I thought he used to sleep in it, but later I found out I was mistaken. He used to put it in his trouser pocket when

he went to bed, along with his false teeth.

Mr Quatermain, two years back about this time, I believe you were at a place

calledBamangwato, to the north of the Transvaal, South

Africa.

Yes, I was.

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You were trading there, weren‛t you?

Yes. I took a wagon full of goods, and camped outside the settlement till I

had sold them all.

I thought I saw a curious anxiety in Sir Henry‛s eyes.

Did you meet a man

called Neville there?

I recently received a letter

from his lawyer, asking about him, which I

answered to the best of my knowledge.

Mr Quatermain, I suppose you know nothing more

of why my-- Mr Neville went northwards, or up to what point

the journey was directed?

I heard something...

But I did not care to discuss it.

I am going to tell you a story, and ask your advice. The lawyer who forwarded me your

letter told me that I might rely on it implicitly, as you were well-known and

respected in Natal, and especially known for your discretion.

Mr Neville was my

brother.

Yes. He spent a fortnight with me, resting his oxen, before going in to

the interior.

At the beginning of May, he left Bamangwato

in a wagon, with a hunter called Jim. He planned to trek as far as Inyati, where he would sell

his wagon, and then proceed on foot.

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Many years ago, George Curtis set out for

South Africa in the wild hope of making a

fortune. Since then, his brother, Sir Henry

Curtis, has not seen or heard of him.

Sir Henry and his friend, Captain Good,

decide that sitting around waiting is

doing no good, and set out to fi nd him.

As luck would have it, they meet Allan

Quatermain, an experienced elephant

hunter, who had encountered the missing

brother many years earlier. He had told

Quatermain that he was searching for the

mines of King Solomon – diamond mines,

which most people believe to be a myth.

With a glimmer of hope, and an idea

which way he had headed, our heroic trio

venture out into the unexplored regions

of Africa. Their quest takes them into the

very heart of danger.

Unbelievable adventures follow involving

ancient tribes, terrifying kings, and evil

witches. Will our adventurers fi nd George

and the treasures rumoured to be hidden

in King Solomon’s mines? Or will the

obstacles they experience prove too

much for them?