King Solomon's Mines

What was in the treasure room?

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At first, all that the somewhat faint light given by the lamp revealed was a room hewn out of the living rock, and apparently not more than ten feet square. Next there came into sight, stored one on the other as high as the roof, a splendid collection of elephant tusks.

There, alone, was enough ivory before us to make a man wealthy for life.

• On the opposite side of the chamber were about a score of wooden boxes, something like Martini-Henry ammunition boxes, only rather larger, and painted red.
“There are the diamonds!” cried I. “Bring the light.” Sir Henry did so, holding it close to the top box, of which the lid, rendered rotten by time even in that dry place, appeared to have been smashed in, probably by Da Silvestra himself. Pushing my hand through the hole in the lid I drew it out full, not of diamonds, but of gold pieces, of a shape that none of us had seen before, and with what looked like Hebrew characters stamped upon them.

• Against the wall of this recess were placed three stone chests, each about two feet square. Two were fitted with stone lids; the lid of the third rested against the side of the chest, which was open.

When our eyes got used to it we saw that the chest was three quarters full of uncut diamonds, most of them of considerable size.

• What we did not see, however, was the look of fearful malevolence that old Gagool favored us with as she crept, crept like a snake, out of the treasure chamber and down the passage towards the massive door of solid rock.

Source(s)

King Solomon's Mines