e-like
granite shafts, here a huge grey rock-dome, smooth, and banded round by
a beautiful formation of delicate pink; there, and all around, cone-like
kopjes of tumbled angular boulders, as though the fire whirlpool beneath
earth's surface had swept round and round, throwing on high its rocky
billows, leaving in the centre this great dome, smooth and unriven.
Doves cooed among the greenness of the acacias, whose feathery sprays
gleamed bright against the background of grim rock in sombre masses.

"Yes, it is about as wild a bit of scene as you could find anywhere,"
said John Ames, in reply to his companion's cry of amazement and
delight. "You will have something to talk about after this; for you can
safely say you have been where very very few whites have ever set foot.
Even now there are parts of the Matopos which have never been explored.
The old-time hunters avoided them because there was no game--as we, by
the way, know to our cost; the traders because there were no natives--as
we know to our advantage; and the prospectors because granite and gold
don't go together."

The foliage grew more abundant as they advanced; the "marula" and wild
fig, and omnipresent acacia. Winding around the spurs of the great
hills every turn of their way would reveal some fresh view of exquisite
wildness and beauty.

"Look over there, Nidia. That might be the cave of the Umlimo himself,"
said John Ames, pointing to a great granite cone which rose up from the
valley bottom some little distance off. It was apparently about two
hundred feet in height, and in the centre of its face yawned a great
square hole, black and darksome.

"I wonder is it?" she said, gazing with interest at what was in fact a
sufficiently remarkable object, "If it isn't, it ought to be."

"Look," he went on. "Imagine it a bright moonlight night, and that
valley bottom crowded with about half the Matabele fighting-men, all
ranged in crescent formation, looking up at the cave there. Then
imagine the oracle booming forth its answers from the blackness of
yonder hole. Wouldn't that make a scene--eh?"

"Yes, indeed it would. But--how could anybody get up there? It looks
quite inaccessible."

"So it probably is. But there would be no necessity for anybody to get
up there. Messrs. Shiminya and Co. would take care of that part of the
entertainment, as I was telling you the other day. Well, we won't camp
near it on the off chance that it may be the real pl