The Queen of the Jungle
In the deepest, darkest jungle, in the highlands of eastern Peru, between the Oriquito and the Riodoso rivers, on a hill far above the surrounding plains, there was a castle. It was built from hand-carved stone from a quarry on the river, and it took 500 slaves five years to build. Hans stood on the highest turret, peering out over his kingdom. 12 years ago, he had found diamonds, blue diamonds, the largest ever found. He had built his little kingdom out of the sweat from his brow,...