「ソロモン王の洞窟」 第17章（1） 原文と平林初之輔 訳

 

 CHAPTER XVII

SOLOMON'S TREASURE CHAMBER

While we were engaged in recovering from our fright, and in examining the grisly wonders of the Place of Death, Gagool had been differently occupied. Somehow or other—for she was marvellously active when she chose—she had scrambled on to the great table, and made her way to where our departed friend Twala was placed, under the drip, to see, suggested Good, how he was "pickling," or for some dark purpose of her own. Then, after bending down to kiss his icy lips as though in affectionate greeting, she hobbled back, stopping now and again to address the remark, the tenor of which I could not catch, to one or other of the shrouded forms, just as you or I might welcome an old acquaintance. Having gone through this mysterious and horrible ceremony, she squatted herself down on the table immediately under the White Death, and began, so far as I could make out, to offer up prayers. The spectacle of this wicked creature pouring out supplications, evil ones no doubt, to the arch enemy of mankind, was so uncanny that it caused us to hasten our inspection.

"Now, Gagool," said I, in a low voice—somehow one did not dare to speak above a whisper in that place—"lead us to the chamber."

The old witch promptly scrambled down from the table.

"My lords are not afraid?" she said, leering up into my face.

"Lead on."

"Good, my lords;" and she hobbled round to the back of the great Death. "Here is the chamber; let my lords light the lamp, and enter," and she placed the gourd full of oil upon the floor, and leaned herself against the side of the cave. I took out a match, of which we had still a few in a box, and lit a rush wick, and then looked for the doorway, but there was nothing before us except the solid rock. Gagool grinned. "The way is there, my lords. Ha! ha! ha!"

"Do not jest with us," I said sternly.

"I jest not, my lords. See!" and she pointed at the rock.

As she did so, on holding up the lamp we perceived that a mass of stone was rising slowly from the floor and vanishing into the rock above, where doubtless there is a cavity prepared to receive it. The mass was of the width of a good-sized door, about ten feet high and not less than five feet thick. It must have weighed at least twenty or thirty tons, and was clearly moved upon some simple balance principle of counter-weights, probably the same as that by which the opening and shutting of an ordinary modern window is arranged. How the principle was set in motion, of course none of us saw; Gagool was careful to avoid this; but I have little doubt that there was some very simple lever, which was moved ever so little by pressure at a secret spot, thereby throwing additional weight on to the hidden counter-balances, and causing the monolith to be lifted from the ground.

Very slowly and gently the great stone raised itself, till at last it had vanished altogether, and a dark hole presented itself to us in the place which the door had filled.

Our excitement was so intense, as we saw the way to Solomon's treasure chamber thrown open at last, that I for one began to tremble and shake. Would it prove a hoax after all, I wondered, or was old Da Silvestra right? Were there vast hoards of wealth hidden in that dark place, hoards which would make us the richest men in the whole world? We should know in a minute or two.

"Enter, white men from the Stars," said Gagool, advancing into the doorway; "but first hear your servant, Gagool the old. The bright stones that ye will see were dug out of the pit over which the Silent Ones are set, and stored here, I know not by whom, for that was done longer ago than even I remember. But once has this place been entered since the time that those who hid the stones departed in haste, leaving them behind. The report of the treasure went down indeed among the people who lived in the country from age to age, but none knew where the chamber was, nor the secret of the door. But it happened that a white man reached this country from over the mountains—perchance he too came 'from the Stars'—and was well received by the king of that day. He it is who sits yonder," and she pointed to the fifth king at the table of the Dead. "And it came to pass that he and a woman of the country who was with him journeyed to this place, and that by chance the woman learnt the secret of the door—a thousand years might ye search, but ye should never find that secret. Then the white man entered with the woman, and found the stones, and filled with stones the skin of a small goat, which the woman had with her to hold food. And as he was going from the chamber he took up one more stone, a large one, and held it in his hand."

Here she paused.

"Well," I asked, breathless with interest as we all were, "what happened to Da Silvestra?"

The old hag started at the mention of the name.

"How knowest thou the dead man's name?" she asked sharply; and then, without waiting for an answer, went on—

"None can tell what happened; but it came about that the white man was frightened, for he flung down the goat-skin, with the stones, and fled out with only the one stone in his hand, and that the king took, and it is the stone which thou, Macumazahn, didst take from Twala's brow."

"Have none entered here since?" I asked, peering again down the dark passage.

"None, my lords. Only the secret of the door has been kept, and every king has opened it, though he has not entered. There is a saying, that those who enter there will die within a moon, even as the white man died in the cave upon the mountain, where ye found him, Macumazahn, and therefore the kings do not enter. Ha! ha! mine are true words."

Our eyes met as she said it, and I turned sick and cold. How did the old hag know all these things?

"Enter, my lords. If I speak truth, the goat-skin with the stones will lie upon the floor; and if there is truth as to whether it is death to enter here, that ye will learn afterwards. Ha! ha! ha!" and she hobbled through the doorway, bearing the light with her; but I confess that once more I hesitated about following.

"Oh, confound it all!" said Good; "here goes. I am not going to be frightened by that old devil;" and followed by Foulata, who, however, evidently did not at all like the business, for she was shivering with fear, he plunged into the passage after Gagool—an example which we quickly followed.

A few yards down the passage, in the narrow way hewn out of the living rock, Gagool had paused, and was waiting for us.

"See, my lords," she said, holding the light before her, "those who stored the treasure here fled in haste, and bethought them to guard against any who should find the secret of the door, but had not the time," and she pointed to large square blocks of stone, which, to the height of two courses (about two feet three), had been placed across the passage with a view to walling it up. Along the side of the passage were similar blocks ready for use, and, most curious of all, a heap of mortar and a couple of trowels, which tools, so far as we had time to examine them, appeared to be of a similar shape and make to those used by workmen to this day.

Here Foulata, who had been in a state of great fear and agitation throughout, said that she felt faint and could go no farther, but would wait there. Accordingly we set her down on the unfinished wall, placing the basket of provisions by her side, and left her to recover.

Following the passage for about fifteen paces farther, we came suddenly to an elaborately painted wooden door. It was standing wide open. Whoever was last there had either not found the time to shut it, or had forgotten to do so.

Across the threshold of this door lay a skin bag, formed of a goat-skin, that appeared to be full of pebbles.

"Hee! hee! white men," sniggered Gagool, as the light from the lamp fell upon it. "What did I tell you, that the white man who came here fled in haste, and dropped the woman's bag—behold it! Look within also and ye will find a water-gourd amongst the stones."

Good stooped down and lifted it. It was heavy and jingled.

"By Jove! I believe it's full of diamonds," he said, in an awed whisper; and, indeed, the idea of a small goat-skin full of diamonds is enough to awe anybody.

"Go on," said Sir Henry impatiently. "Here, old lady, give me the lamp," and taking it from Gagool's hand, he stepped through the doorway and held it high above his head.

We pressed in after him, forgetful for the moment of the bag of diamonds, and found ourselves in King Solomon's treasure chamber.

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 to the arch of the roof, a splendid collection of elephant-tusks. How many of them there were we did not know, for of course we could not see to what depth they went back, but there could not have been less than the ends of four or five hundred tusks of the first quality visible to our eyes. There, alone, was enough ivory to make a man wealthy for life. Perhaps, I thought, it was from this very store that Solomon drew the raw material for his "great throne of ivory," of which "there was not the like made in any kingdom."

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.

"Ah!" I said, replacing the coin, "we shan't go back empty-handed, anyhow. There must be a couple of thousand pieces in each box, and there are eighteen boxes. I suppose this was the money to pay the workmen and merchants."

"Well," put in Good, "I think that is the lot; I don't see any diamonds, unless the old Portuguese put them all into his bag."

"Let my lords look yonder where it is darkest, if they would find the stones," said Gagool, interpreting our looks. "There my lords will find a nook, and three stone chests in the nook, two sealed and one open."

Before translating this to Sir Henry, who carried the light, I could not resist asking how she knew these things, if no one had entered the place since the white man, generations ago.

"Ah, Macumazahn, the watcher by night," was the mocking answer, "ye who dwell in the stars, do ye not know that some live long, and that some have eyes which can see through rock? Ha! ha! ha!"

"Look in that corner, Curtis," I said, indicating the spot Gagool had pointed out.

"Hullo, you fellows," he cried, "here's a recess. Great heavens! see here."

We hurried up to where he was standing in a nook, shaped something like a small bow window. 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.

"See!" he repeated hoarsely, holding the lamp over the open chest. We looked, and for a moment could make nothing out, on account of a silvery sheen which dazzled us. When our eyes grew used to it we saw that the chest was three-parts full of uncut diamonds, most of them of considerable size. Stooping, I picked some up. Yes, there was no doubt of it, there was the unmistakable soapy feel about them.

I fairly gasped as I dropped them.

"We are the richest men in the whole world," I said. "Monte Christo was a fool to us."

"We shall flood the market with diamonds," said Good.

"Got to get them there first," suggested Sir Henry.

We stood still with pale faces and stared at each other, the lantern in the middle and the glimmering gems below, as though we were conspirators about to commit a crime, instead of being, as we thought, the most fortunate men on earth.

"Hee! hee! hee!" cackled old Gagool behind us, as she flitted about like a vampire bat. "There are the bright stones ye love, white men, as many as ye will; take them, run them through your fingers, eat of them, hee! hee! drink of them, ha! ha!"

 

ソロモン王の寶窟 : 第十七章　ソロモン王の寶窟

吾々がやつと恐れから鎭まつて、氣味が惡いこの墓場を調べてゐる間に、 ガゴオルは別なことをしてゐた。彼女はどうにかかうにかして大きな臺の上は匍ひあがり、 ツワラの死骸の坐つてゐる傍まで行つて何か無氣味なことをしてゐた。 ことによると、彼の死骸がもうどれだけ石化したかをしらべてゐたのかも知れぬ。 それから蹌《よろ》けながら後へ退《さが》つて鍾乳石の屍衣を纒つた白い一つ二つの屍體の前で立ち止つて昔馴染にでも物を言ふやうに、 何か判らぬことを喋つてゐた。 それがすむと彼女は、死の神の脚下《あしもと》にうずくまつて何か祈りをさゝげてゐるらしかつた。 多分、良くない祈願をしてゐたものだらうと思ふ。 吾々はそれを見るとぞつとして早くこの場から出て行きたくなつた。

「さあ、ガゴオル、寶窟へ連れて行け！」と私は低聲《こゞゑ》で囁いた。

老婆はすばやく臺の上から匍ひ下りた。

「怖くはないかね？」と彼女は私の顏を見上げながら言つた。

「さあ行け！」

「よし、よし」と言ひながら、彼女は杖にすがつてよち〜と死の神の後の方へ廻つた。 「寶窟は此處にあるのだ。ランプに火を點けてはひりな」かう言ひながら彼女は油壺を下において洞窟の壁に凭れた。 私は燐寸《マツチ》を取り出して燈芯に火を點け、入口を搜して見たが、 前には堅い岩ばかりで入口らしいものはどこにもなかつた。 ガゴオルは無氣味に笑つた。「そこが道だよ、は！は！は！」

「お前は吾々をからかつてゐるな！」私はきつとなつて言つた。

「からかつてるんぢやないよ、よく見な！」と言ひながら彼女は岩を指ざした。

ランプを差し上げて見ると、石の塊が徐々に床から上へあがつて、 上の岩の中へ消えてしまつた。きつとその石のはひる窪みが上に出來てゐたのだらう。 その石は高さ十呎幅五呎もあつてかなり大きな扉《ドア》ぐらゐの大きさのものであつた。 重さは少くも二三十 噸《トン》はあつたらうと思ふ。 それが簡單な仕掛けで、雜作なく動くやうになつてゐたのだ。 多分近代の窓を上下するのを同じ仕掛けだつたらうと思ふが、 無論吾々にはどういふ仕掛けになつてゐるのか判らなかつた。

この大石がしづ〜とひとりでに上へ上つて、すつかり見えなくなると、 その跡に眞暗な坑《あな》が現はれた。

いよ〜ソロモンの寶窟へ來たんだな、と思ふと私は昂奮のために身體がぞく〜して來た。 吾々は一ぱいかつがれたのかな、それともダ・シルヴェストラの書いたことに間違ひはなくて、 この暗い坑《あな》の中に寶物がどつさりあつて、吾々は世界一の金持になれるのかな？ それはもう一二分でわかるのだ。

「そこへはいるんだよ」とガゴオルは入口から中へ進みながら言つた。 「だが、その前にこのガゴオルの言ふことを聞いておきな。 このさきにある光る石は、無言の神の立つてゐる豎坑の中から掘り出して、 こゝへしまつてあるのだ。誰がさうしたのかわからないがね。 こゝに寶物がしまつてあるといふ噂は、この國の人民に代々言ひ傳へられてゐるのだが、 誰もそのありかを知るものもなく、祕密の入口を知つてゐるものもないのだ。 しかしずつと以前に一人の白人が、山を越えて、この國へやつて來て、 その當時の國王から大變款待を受けたことがある。——多分その白人も星の國からでも來たのだらう。 この白人が、この國の一人の女と一緒にこゝまでやつて來て、 その女が偶然その祕密の扉《ドア》を見附けたのだ。お前さんたちが千年かゝつて搜したつて見附かりつこはないのだよ。 そこでその白人は女を連れて中へはひつて、光る石を見出し、その女が辨當袋に持つて來た、 小さな山羊の皮に石をいつぱい詰めこんだのだ。 そして愈々 窟《あな》を出ようとするときになつて、 もう一つの大きな石を拾い上げて、それを手に持つたのだ」 こゝまで言つて彼女は話を切つた。

「ふむ、それでダ・シルヴェストラはどうしたんだね？」と私は深い興味を感じて呼吸《いき》もせずに訊ねた。

老婆は、私がシルヴェストラの名前を言つたのを聞いて吃驚した。

「お前はどうしてその死んだ男の名前を知つてるのだね？」 と彼女は鋭くきゝとがめた。そして答も待たずに續けて言つた。

「それからかうなんだよ。その白人は急に怖くなつて、小山羊の皮包を下へ落して、 手に持つてゐた石を一つだけ持つて逃げ出してしまつたのだ。 その石がツワラの額についてゐた石なのだ。」

「それから誰もはひつたものはないのかね？」と私は暗い道を覗き込みながら訊ねた。

「それからは誰もはひつたものはないのだ。入口の祕密は嚴重に保たれてゐて、 國王だけは、それを開けて見るのだが、中へはひつたものはないのだ。 この中へはひると一月の間に死んでしまふといふ傳説があるのでね。 白人ですらも山の上の洞穴《ほらあな》で死んでしまつたのだからね。 それで國王でも中へはひらないのだ。は！は！これはまつたくだよ。眞實《ほんたう》だよ。」

吾々はこれを聞いて互ひに眼と眼を見交した。 どうして一體この老婆はこんなことを知つてるのだらうと思ふとぞつと寒氣《さむけ》がして來た。

「さあはひるんだ、わしの言つたことが眞實なら、石を包んだ山羊の皮が、 まだ床の上にあるだらう。それからこゝへはひつたものは死ぬと言ふ事が眞實かどうか後になれば思ひあたるだらうて、 は！は！は！」かう言ひながら彼女は手燭《ランプ》を持つてよち〜坑《あな》の中へはひつて行つた。 白状するが、私はまた彼女の後から蹤《つ》いて行くのを躊躇《しりごみ》した。

「大丈夫だ！あんな婆の言ふことを恐れてたまるものか」と言ひながらグッドは、 ガゴオルの後について坑《あな》の中へはひつて行き、吾々も澁々その後に續いた。 數碼進んで行くと、ガゴオルは立ち止つて、吾々の來るのを待つた。

「こゝを見い」と彼女は手燭《ランプ》をさし上げながら言つた。 「こゝへ寶物を藏《しま》ひ込んだ人たちは、萬一祕密の入口を見附けた者があつても、 中へはひれないやうに、こんな設備をしておかうと思つたのだが、 間に合はなかつたのだ」かう言ひながら、彼女は、二呎四方もある四角な石が道の上に積み重ねてあるのを指ざした。 その傍にもそれと同じ大きさの石がおいてあり、何よりも不思議な事には、 漆喰《しつくひ》と、鏝《こて》とが側においてあつたことだ。 その鏝は、今日の職人の使ふものと同じやうな形をしてゐた。

こゝまで來ると、ファウラタは、恐ろしくなつてもうこれから先きへは行けないからそこで待つてゐると言つた。 そこで吾々は彼女をその造りかけの壁の上に坐らせ、食料品を入れて來た籠を彼女の傍に置いて、 後に殘して進んで行つた。

十五歩ばかり行くと、突然、精巧な彫刻をした、木の扉《ドア》に突きあたつた。 その扉は開け放してあつた。この前にはひつた者が、それを閉めるひまがなかつたのか、 それとも閉めるのを忘れたのかに相違ない。

この扉の閾の上に、山羊の皮で造つた皮袋が落ちて居り、 その中に小石が一ぱいはひつてゐるらしかつた。

「ひ！ひ！どうだね？」とガゴオルは笑つた。「わしの言つた通りだらう。 こゝへ來た白人が慌てゝ逃げ出して、女の皮袋をあそこへ落して行つたのだよ！」

グッドは身をかゞめてそれを拾ひ上げた。それは重くてざく〜音がしてゐた。

「きつとこの中にダイヤモンドがいつぱいあるんだね」と彼は眞顏になつて言つた。 誰だつて、ダイヤモンドのはひつた、山羊の皮袋を見ては眞顏にならざるを得ないだらう。

「さあ行け！」とサー・ヘンリイは焦々《いら〜》しながら言つた。 「その手燭《ランプ》を貸せ」と言つてガゴオルの手からランプを取つて、 部屋の中へはひり、燈りを高く頭上にさし上げた。

吾々も、ダイヤモンドの袋のことは暫らく忘れて中へはひつた。たうとうソロモンの寶窟へ着いたのだ！

薄暗い燈火《あかり》で見ると、それは天然の岩をくりぬいてこしらへた十呎四角位の部屋であつた。 部屋の中には床から天井まで立派な象牙が積み重ねてあつた。吾々の眼に見えただけでも、 最上等の象牙が四五百本位あつた。この象牙だけでも吾々は一生裕福に暮してゆくことが出來る。 ソロモン王は、こゝにある材料で、世界無比の有名な「象牙の玉座」をこしらへたのであらう。

部屋の反對側には、赤く塗つた二十許りの木の箱があつた。

「そこにダイヤモンドがあるにちがひない。燈りをこちらへちよつと」」と私は叫んだ。

サー・ヘンリイは手燭《ランプ》をさし上げて、一番上の箱の側へ近寄せた。 箱の蓋は、こんな乾燥しら場所でも腐蝕して、縁がくだけてゐるやうに見えた。 多分、ダ・シルヴェストラが壞したのだらう。 蓋の穴の中から手を入れて中味を一掴み取り出して見ると、 それはダイヤモンドではなくして、吾々のまだ見たこともない形をした金貨で、 その上には、ヘブライ文字らしいスタンプが捺してあつた。

「これでとも角、手ぶらで歸らなくてもいゝ譯だ。」と私は金貨を側へ置きながら言つた。 「箱の中には金貨が二千 宛《づゝ》位ははひつてゐるの相違ない。 そして箱の數は十八ある。これは多分、職人や商人に支拂ふ金だつたのだらう。」

「ダイヤモンドは、あのポルトガル人が皆な袋の中へ入れてしまつたんだな」とグッドは言つた。

「あの一番暗い處を見るがいゝぞよ」とガゴオルが吾々の顏色を讀みながら言つた。 「あの隅つこに、石の箱が三つある。二つは封がしてあつて、一つは開いてゐる！」

これをサー・ヘンリイに通譯する前に、私は一人の白人が三百年も前にこゝへはひつてから、 其の後誰もはひつた者はないのに、どうしてガゴオルがそんなことを知つてゐるかを訊ねて見ずにはゐられなかつた。

「星の世界の人間は、岩の中を見拔くものがあるつてことを知らないんだね？ は！は！は！」と嘲るやうに答へて彼女は笑つた。

「あのすみつこを搜して見なさい、カーチスさん」と私はガゴオルのさし示した場所を指ざして言つた。

「おや、こんな處に押入れのやうなものがある」とサー・ヘンリイは叫んだ。

吾々は急いで彼の立つてゐる處へ走り寄つた。この凹んだ場所の壁際に、 二呎立方ばかりの三つの石の箱が置いてあつた。二つの箱には石の蓋がしてあつたが、 三番目の箱は蓋が取つたまゝで開いてゐた。初めのうちは、 銀色の光りがちら〜して、眼がくらんでよく判らなかつたが、だん〜眼がなれてくると、 中には箱の七分目位のところまで、まだ琢きを入れないダイヤモンドがぎつしりはひつてゐた。 私は身をかゞめてその中の幾つかを取りあげた。實にそれは紛れもないダイヤモンドだつた！ そのことはすべ〜した石鹸のやうな手ざはりで判つた。

「これで吾々は世界一の金持になつた！」と私は言つた。 「モンテ・クリストだつて到底吾々にはかなはぬだらう。」

「市場にダイヤモンドの洪水を流してやらう」とグッドは言つた。

「まづ早くそれを取ることだね」とサー・ヘンリイは言つた。

吾々は世界中で最大の果報者である筈だのに、何だかまるでこれから罪を犯さうとする謀叛人かなんぞのやうに、 眞青な顏をして手燭《ランプ》の燈りで燦々《きら〜》光る寶石の前に立つて、 互ひの顏を見合せた。

「ひ！ひ！ひ！」と老婆のガゴオルは、大蝙蝠のやうに飛び廻りながら後の方で笑つた。 「お前さんたちの大好きな光る石がそこに慾しいだけある！ だがそれを取つても指の間からこぼれてしまふぞ。食つてしまふか？ ひ！ひ！それとも呑んでしまつたらどうだ？は！は！」

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