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diff --git a/old/gmans10.txt b/old/gmans10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1243617 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/gmans10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9273 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Green Mansions, by W. H. Hudson + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. We need your donations. + + +Green Mansions +A Romance of the Tropical Forest + +by W. H. 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Hudson + + + +FOREWORD + +I take up pen for this foreword with the fear of one who knows +that he cannot do justice to his subject, and the trembling of +one who would not, for a good deal, set down words unpleasing to +the eye of him who wrote Green Mansions, The Purple Land, and all +those other books which have meant so much to me. For of all +living authors--now that Tolstoi has gone I could least dispense +with W. H. Hudson. Why do I love his writing so? I think +because he is, of living writers that I read, the rarest spirit, +and has the clearest gift of conveying to me the nature of that +spirit. Writers are to their readers little new worlds to be +explored; and each traveller in the realms of literature must +needs have a favourite hunting-ground, which, in his good +will--or perhaps merely in his egoism--he would wish others to +share with him. + +The great and abiding misfortunes of most of us writers are +twofold: We are, as worlds, rather common tramping-ground for our +readers, rather tame territory; and as guides and dragomans +thereto we are too superficial, lacking clear intimacy of +expression; in fact--like guide or dragoman--we cannot let folk +into the real secrets, or show them the spirit, of the land. + +Now, Hudson, whether in a pure romance like this Green Mansions, +or in that romantic piece of realism The Purple Land, or in books +like Idle Days in Patagonia, Afoot in England, The Land's End, +Adventures among Birds, A Shepherd's Life, and all his other +nomadic records of communings with men, birds, beasts, and +Nature, has a supreme gift of disclosing not only the thing he +sees but the spirit of his vision. Without apparent effort he +takes you with him into a rare, free, natural world, and always +you are refreshed, stimulated, enlarged, by going there. + +He is of course a distinguished naturalist, probably the most +acute, broad-minded, and understanding observer of Nature living. +And this, in an age of specialism, which loves to put men into +pigeonholes and label them, has been a misfortune to the reading +public, who seeing the label Naturalist, pass on, and take down +the nearest novel. Hudson has indeed the gifts and knowledge of +a Naturalist, but that is a mere fraction of his value and +interest. A really great writer such as this is no more to be +circumscribed by a single word than America by the part of it +called New York. The expert knowledge which Hudson has of Nature +gives to all his work backbone and surety of fibre, and to his +sense of beauty an intimate actuality. But his real eminence and +extraordinary attraction lie in his spirit and philosophy. We +feel from his writings that he is nearer to Nature than other +men, and yet more truly civilized. The competitive, towny +culture, the queer up-to-date commercial knowingness with which +we are so busy coating ourselves simply will not stick to him. A +passage in his Hampshire Days describes him better than I can: +"The blue sky, the brown soil beneath, the grass, the trees, the +animals, the wind, and rain, and stars are never strange to me; +for I am in and of and am one with them; and my flesh and the +soil are one, and the heat in my blood and in the sunshine are +one, and the winds and the tempests and my passions are one. I +feel the 'strangeness' only with regard to my fellow men, +especially in towns, where they exist in conditions unnatural to +me, but congenial to them.... In such moments we sometimes feel +a kinship with, and are strangely drawn to, the dead, who were +not as these; the long, long dead, the men who knew not life in +towns, and felt no strangeness in sun and wind and rain." This +unspoiled unity with Nature pervades all his writings; they are +remote from the fret and dust and pettiness of town life; they +are large, direct, free. It is not quite simplicity, for the +mind of this writer is subtle and fastidious, sensitive to each +motion of natural and human life; but his sensitiveness is +somehow different from, almost inimical to, that of us others, +who sit indoors and dip our pens in shades of feeling. Hudson's +fancy is akin to the flight of the birds that are his special +loves--it never seems to have entered a house, but since birth to +have been roaming the air, in rain and sun, or visiting the trees +and the grass. I not only disbelieve utterly, but intensely +dislike, the doctrine of metempsychosis, which, if I understand +it aright, seems the negation of the creative impulse, an +apotheosis of staleness--nothing quite new in the world, never +anything quite new--not even the soul of a baby; and so I am not +prepared to entertain the whim that a bird was one of his remote +incarnations; still, in sweep of wing, quickness of eye, and +natural sweet strength of song he is not unlike a +super-bird--which is a horrid image. And that reminds me: This, +after all, is a foreword to Green Mansions--the romance of the +bird-girl Rima--a story actual yet fantastic, which immortalizes, +I think, as passionate a love of all beautiful things as ever was +in the heart of man. Somewhere Hudson says: "The sense of the +beautiful is God's best gift to the human soul." So it is: and +to pass that gift on to others, in such measure as herein is +expressed, must surely have been happiness to him who wrote Green +Mansions. In form and spirit the book is unique, a simple +romantic narrative transmuted by sheer glow of beauty into a +prose poem. Without ever departing from its quality of a tale, +it symbolizes the yearning of the human soul for the attainment +of perfect love and beauty in this life--that impossible +perfection which we must all learn to see fall from its high tree +and be consumed in the flames, as was Rima the bird-girl, but +whose fine white ashes we gather that they may be mingled at last +with our own, when we too have been refined by the fire of +death's resignation. The book is soaked through and through with +a strange beauty. I will not go on singing its praises, or +trying to make it understood, because I have other words to say +of its author. + +Do we realize how far our town life and culture have got away +from things that really matter; how instead of making +civilization our handmaid to freedom we have set her heel on our +necks, and under it bite dust all the time? Hudson, whether he +knows it or not, is now the chief standard-bearer of another +faith. Thus he spake in The Purple Land: "Ah, yes, we are all +vainly seeking after happiness in the wrong way. It was with us +once and ours, but we despised it, for it was only the old common +happiness which Nature gives to all her children, and we went +away from it in search of another grander kind of happiness which +some dreamer--Bacon or another--assured us we should find. We +had only to conquer Nature, find out her secrets, make her our +obedient slave, then the Earth would be Eden, and every man Adam +and every woman Eve. We are still marching bravely on, +conquering Nature, but how weary and sad we are getting! The old +joy in life and gaiety of heart have vanished, though we do +sometimes pause for a few moments in our long forced march to +watch the labours of some pale mechanician, seeking after +perpetual motion, and indulge in a little, dry, cackling laugh at +his expense." And again: "For here the religion that languishes +in crowded cities or steals shamefaced to hide itself in dim +churches flourishes greatly, filling the soul with a solemn joy. +Face to face with Nature on the vast hills at eventide, who does +not feel himself near to the Unseen? + + "Out of his heart God shall not pass + His image stamped is on every grass." + +All Hudson's books breathe this spirit of revolt against our new +enslavement by towns and machinery, and are true oases in an age +so dreadfully resigned to the "pale mechanician." + +But Hudson is not, as Tolstoi was, a conscious prophet; his +spirit is freer, more willful, whimsical--almost perverse--and +far more steeped in love of beauty. If you called him a prophet +he would stamp his foot at you--as he will at me if he reads +these words; but his voice is prophetic, for all that, crying in +a wilderness, out of which, at the call, will spring up roses +here and there, and the sweet-smelling grass. I would that every +man, woman, and child in England were made to read him; and I +would that you in America would take him to heart. He is a +tonic, a deep refreshing drink, with a strange and wonderful +flavour; he is a mine of new interests, and ways of thought +instinctively right. As a simple narrator he is well-nigh +unsurpassed; as a stylist he has few, if any, living equals. And +in all his work there is an indefinable freedom from any thought +of after-benefit--even from the desire that we should read him. +He puts down what he sees and feels, out of sheer love of the +thing seen, and the emotion felt; the smell of the lamp has not +touched a single page that he ever wrote. That alone is a marvel +to us who know that to write well, even to write clearly, is a +wound business, long to learn, hard to learn, and no gift of the +angels. Style should not obtrude between a writer and his +reader; it should be servant, not master. To use words so true +and simple that they oppose no obstacle to the flow of thought +and feeling from mind to mind, and yet by juxtaposition of +word-sounds set up in the recipient continuing emotion or +gratification--this is the essence of style; and Hudson's writing +has pre-eminently this double quality. From almost any page of +his books an example might be taken. Here is one no better than +a thousand others, a description of two little girls on a beach: +"They were dressed in black frocks and scarlet blouses, which set +off their beautiful small dark faces; their eyes sparkled like +black diamonds, and their loose hair was a wonder to see, a black +mist or cloud about their heads and necks composed of threads +fine as gossamer, blacker than jet and shining like spun +glass--hair that looked as if no comb or brush could ever tame +its beautiful wildness. And in spirit they were what they +seemed: such a wild, joyous, frolicsome spirit, with such grace +and fleetness, one does not look for in human beings, but only in +birds or in some small bird-like volatile mammal--a squirrel or a +spider-monkey of the tropical forest, or the chinchilla of the +desolate mountain slopes; the swiftest, wildest, loveliest, most +airy, and most vocal of small beauties." Or this, as the +quintessence of a sly remark: "After that Mantel got on to his +horse and rode away. It was black and rainy, but he had never +needed moon or lantern to find what he sought by night, whether +his own house, or a fat cow--also his own, perhaps." So one +might go on quoting felicity for ever from this writer. He seems +to touch every string with fresh and uninked fingers; and the +secret of his power lies, I suspect, in the fact that his words: +"Life being more than all else to me . . ." are so utterly +true. + +I do not descant on his love for simple folk and simple things, +his championship of the weak, and the revolt against the cagings +and cruelties of life, whether to men or birds or beasts, that +springs out of him as if against his will; because, having spoken +of him as one with a vital philosophy or faith, I don't wish to +draw red herrings across the main trail of his worth to the +world. His work is a vision of natural beauty and of human life +as it might be, quickened and sweetened by the sun and the wind +and the rain, and by fellowship with all the other forms of life-- +the truest vision now being given to us, who are more in want of +it than any generation has ever been. A very great writer; +and--to my thinking--the most valuable our age possesses. + +JOHN GALSWORTHY + +September 1915 Manaton: Devon + + +Green Mansions by W. H. Hudson + +PROLOGUE + +It is a cause of very great regret to me that this task has taken +so much longer a time than I had expected for its completion. It +is now many months--over a year, in fact--since I wrote to +Georgetown announcing my intention of publishing, IN A VERY FEW +MONTHS, the whole truth about Mr. Abel. Hardly less could have +been looked for from his nearest friend, and I had hoped that the +discussion in the newspapers would have ceased, at all events, +until the appearance of the promised book. It has not been so; +and at this distance from Guiana I was not aware of how much +conjectural matter was being printed week by week in the local +press, some of which must have been painful reading to Mr. Abel's +friends. A darkened chamber, the existence of which had never +been suspected in that familiar house in Main Street, furnished +only with an ebony stand on which stood a cinerary urn, its +surface ornamented with flower and leaf and thorn, and winding +through it all the figure of a serpent; an inscription, too, of +seven short words which no one could understand or rightly +interpret; and finally the disposal of the mysterious ashes--that +was all there was relating to an untold chapter in a man's life +for imagination to work on. Let us hope that now, at last, the +romance-weaving will come to an end. It was, however, but +natural that the keenest curiosity should have been excited; not +only because of that peculiar and indescribable charm of the man, +which all recognized and which won all hearts, but also because +of that hidden chapter--that sojourn in the desert, about which +he preserved silence. It was felt in a vague way by his +intimates that he had met with unusual experiences which had +profoundly affected him and changed the course of his life. To +me alone was the truth known, and I must now tell, briefly as +possible, how my great friendship and close intimacy with him +came about. + +When, in 1887, I arrived in Georgetown to take up an appointment +in a public office, I found Mr. Abel an old resident there, a man +of means and a favourite in society. Yet he was an alien, a +Venezuelan, one of that turbulent people on our border whom the +colonists have always looked on as their natural enemies. The +story told to me was that about twelve years before that time he +had arrived at Georgetown from some remote district in the +interior; that he had journeyed alone on foot across half the +continent to the coast, and had first appeared among them, a +young stranger, penniless, in rags, wasted almost to a skeleton +by fever and misery of all kinds, his face blackened by long +exposure to sun and wind. Friendless, with but little English, +it was a hard struggle for him to live; but he managed somehow, +and eventually letters from Caracas informed him that a +considerable property of which he had been deprived was once more +his own, and he was also invited to return to his country to take +his part in the government of the Republic. But Mr. Abel, though +young, had already outlived political passions and aspirations, +and, apparently, even the love of his country; at all events, he +elected to stay where he was--his enemies, he would say +smilingly, were his best friends--and one of the first uses he +made of his fortune was to buy that house in Main Street which +was afterwards like a home to me. + +I must state here that my friend's full name was Abel Guevez de +Argensola, but in his early days in Georgetown he was called by +his Christian name only, and later he wished to be known simply +as "Mr. Abel." + +I had no sooner made his acquaintance than I ceased to wonder at +the esteem and even affection with which he, a Venezuelan, was +regarded in this British colony. All knew and liked him, and the +reason of it was the personal charm of the man, his kindly +disposition, his manner with women, which pleased them and +excited no man's jealousy--not even the old hot-tempered +planter's, with a very young and pretty and light-headed +wife--his love of little children, of all wild creatures, of +nature, and of whatsoever was furthest removed from the common +material interests and concerns of a purely commercial community. +The things which excited other men--politics, sport, and the +price of crystals--were outside of his thoughts; and when men had +done with them for a season, when like the tempest they had +"blown their fill" in office and club-room and house and wanted a +change, it was a relief to turn to Mr. Abel and get him to +discourse of his world--the world of nature and of the spirit. + +It was, all felt, a good thing to have a Mr. Abel in Georgetown. +That it was indeed good for me I quickly discovered. I had +certainly not expected to meet in such a place with any person to +share my tastes--that love of poetry which has been the chief +passion and delight of my life; but such a one I had found in Mr. +Abel. It surprised me that he, suckled on the literature of +Spain, and a reader of only ten or twelve years of English +literature, possessed a knowledge of our modern poetry as +intimate as my own, and a love of it equally great. This feeling +brought us together and made us two--the nervous olive-skinned +Hispano-American of the tropics and the phlegmatic blue-eyed +Saxon of the cold north--one in spirit and more than brothers. +Many were the daylight hours we spent together and "tired the sun +with talking"; many, past counting, the precious evenings in that +restful house of his where I was an almost daily guest. I had +not looked for such happiness; nor, he often said, had he. A +result of this intimacy was that the vague idea concerning his +hidden past, that some unusual experience had profoundly affected +him and perhaps changed the whole course of his life, did not +diminish, but, on the contrary, became accentuated, and was often +in my mind. The change in him was almost painful to witness +whenever our wandering talk touched on the subject of the +aborigines, and of the knowledge he had acquired of their +character and languages when living or travelling among them; all +that made his conversation most engaging--the lively, curious +mind, the wit, the gaiety of spirit tinged with a tender +melancholy--appeared to fade out of it; even the expression of +his face would change, becoming hard and set, and he would deal +you out facts in a dry mechanical way as if reading them in a +book. It grieved me to note this, but I dropped no hint of such +a feeling, and would never have spoken about it but for a quarrel +which came at last to make the one brief solitary break in that +close friendship of years. I got into a bad state of health, and +Abel was not only much concerned about it, but annoyed, as if I +had not treated him well by being ill, and he would even say that +I could get well if I wished to. I did not take this seriously, +but one morning, when calling to see me at the office, he +attacked me in a way that made me downright angry with him. He +told me that indolence and the use of stimulants was the cause of +my bad health. He spoke in a mocking way, with a presence of not +quite meaning it, but the feeling could not be wholly disguised. +Stung by his reproaches, I blurted out that he had no right to +talk to me, even in fun, in such a way. Yes, he said, getting +serious, he had the best right--that of our friendship. He would +be no true friend if he kept his peace about such a matter. +Then, in my haste, I retorted that to me the friendship between +us did not seem so perfect and complete as it did to him. One +condition of friendship is that the partners in it should be +known to each other. He had had my whole life and mind open to +him, to read it as in a book. HIS life was a closed and clasped +volume to me. + +His face darkened, and after a few moments' silent reflection he +got up and left me with a cold good-bye, and without that +hand-grasp which had been customary between us. + +After his departure I had the feeling that a great loss, a great +calamity, had befallen me, but I was still smarting at his too +candid criticism, all the more because in my heart I acknowledged +its truth. And that night, lying awake, I repented of the cruel +retort I had made, and resolved to ask his forgiveness and leave +it to him to determine the question of our future relations. But +he was beforehand with me, and with the morning came a letter +begging my forgiveness and asking me to go that evening to dine +with him. + +We were alone, and during dinner and afterwards, when we sat +smoking and sipping black coffee in the veranda, we were +unusually quiet, even to gravity, which caused the two white-clad +servants that waited on us--the brown-faced subtle-eyed old Hindu +butler and an almost blue-black young Guiana Negro--to direct +many furtive glances at their master's face. They were +accustomed to see him in a more genial mood when he had a friend +to dine. To me the change in his manner was not surprising: from +the moment of seeing him I had divined that he had determined to +open the shut and clasped volume of which I had spoken--that the +time had now come for him to speak. + + + +CHAPTER I + +Now that we are cool, he said, and regret that we hurt each +other, I am not sorry that it happened. I deserved your +reproach: a hundred times I have wished to tell you the whole +story of my travels and adventures among the savages, and one of +the reasons which prevented me was the fear that it would have an +unfortunate effect on our friendship. That was precious, and I +desired above everything to keep it. But I must think no more +about that now. I must think only of how I am to tell you my +story. I will begin at a time when I was twenty-three. It was +early in life to be in the thick of politics, and in trouble to +the extent of having to fly my country to save my liberty, +perhaps my life. + +Every nation, someone remarks, has the government it deserves, +and Venezuela certainly has the one it deserves and that suits it +best. We call it a republic, not only because it is not one, but +also because a thing must have a name; and to have a good name, +or a fine name, is very convenient--especially when you want to +borrow money. If the Venezuelans, thinly distributed over an +area of half a million square miles, mostly illiterate peasants, +half-breeds, and indigenes, were educated, intelligent men, +zealous only for the public weal, it would be possible for them +to have a real republic. They have instead a government by +cliques, tempered by revolution; and a very good government it +is, in harmony with the physical conditions of the country and +the national temperament. Now, it happens that the educated men, +representing your higher classes, are so few that there are not +many persons unconnected by ties of blood or marriage with +prominent members of the political groups to which they belong. +By this you will see how easy and almost inevitable it is that we +should become accustomed to look on conspiracy and revolt against +the regnant party--the men of another clique--as only in the +natural order of things. In the event of failure such outbreaks +are punished, but they are not regarded as immoral. On the +contrary, men of the highest intelligence and virtue among us are +seen taking a leading part in these adventures. Whether such a +condition of things is intrinsically wrong or not, or would be +wrong in some circumstances and is not wrong, because inevitable, +in others, I cannot pretend to decide; and all this tiresome +profusion is only to enable you to understand how I--a young man +of unblemished character, not a soldier by profession, not +ambitious of political distinction, wealthy for that country, +popular in society, a lover of social pleasures, of books, of +nature actuated, as I believed, by the highest motives, allowed +myself to be drawn very readily by friends and relations into a +conspiracy to overthrow the government of the moment, with the +object of replacing it by more worthy men ourselves, to wit. + +Our adventure failed because the authorities got wind of the +affair and matters were precipitated. Our leaders at the moment +happened to be scattered over the country--some were abroad; and +a few hotheaded men of the party, who were in Caracas just then +and probably feared arrest, struck a rash blow: the President was +attacked in the street and wounded. But the attackers were +seized, and some of them shot on the following day. When the +news reached me I was at a distance from the capital, staying +with a friend on an estate he owned on the River Quebrada Honda, +in the State of Guarico, some fifteen to twenty miles from the +town of Zaraza. My friend, an officer in the army, was a leader +in the conspiracy; and as I was the only son of a man who had +been greatly hated by the Minister of War, it became necessary +for us both to fly for our lives. In the circumstances we could +not look to be pardoned, even on the score of youth. + +Our first decision was to escape to the sea-coast; but as the +risk of a journey to La Guayra, or any other port of embarkation +on the north side of the country, seemed too great, we made our +way in a contrary direction to the Orinoco, and downstream to +Angostura. Now, when we had reached this comparatively safe +breathing-place--safe, at all events, for the moment--I changed +my mind about leaving or attempting to leave the country. Since +boyhood I had taken a very peculiar interest in that vast and +almost unexplored territory we possess south of the Orinoco, with +its countless unmapped rivers and trackless forests; and in its +savage inhabitants, with their ancient customs and character, +unadulterated by contact with Europeans. To visit this primitive +wilderness had been a cherished dream; and I had to some extent +even prepared myself for such an adventure by mastering more than +one of the Indian dialects of the northern states of Venezuela. +And now, finding myself on the south side of our great river, +with unlimited time at my disposal, I determined to gratify this +wish. My companion took his departure towards the coast, while I +set about making preparations and hunting up information from +those who had travelled in the interior to trade with the +savages. I decided eventually to go back upstream and penetrate +to the interior in the western part of Guayana, and the Amazonian +territory bordering on Colombia and Brazil, and to return to +Angostura in about six months' time. I had no fear of being +arrested in the semi-independent and in most part savage region, +as the Guayana authorities concerned themselves little enough +about the political upheavals at Caracas. + +The first five or six months I spent in Guayana, after leaving +the city of refuge, were eventful enough to satisfy a moderately +adventurous spirit. A complaisant government employee at +Angostura had provided me with a passport, in which it was set +down (for few to read) that my object in visiting the interior +was to collect information concerning the native tribes, the +vegetable products of the country, and other knowledge which +would be of advantage to the Republic; and the authorities were +requested to afford me protection and assist me in my pursuits. +I ascended the Orinoco, making occasional expeditions to the +small Christian settlements in the neighbourhood of the right +bank, also to the Indian villages; and travelling in this way, +seeing and learning much, in about three months I reached the +River Metal. During this period I amused myself by keeping a +journal, a record of personal adventures, impressions of the +country and people, both semi-civilized and savage; and as my +journal grew, I began to think that on my return at some future +time to Caracas, it might prove useful and interesting to the +public, and also procure me fame; which thought proved +pleasurable and a great incentive, so that I began to observe +things more narrowly and to study expression. But the book was +not to be. + +From the mouth of the Meta I journeyed on, intending to visit the +settlement of Atahapo, where the great River Guaviare, with other +rivers, empties itself into the Orinoco. But I was not destined +to reach it, for at the small settlement of Manapuri I fell ill +of a low fever; and here ended the first half-year of my +wanderings, about which no more need be told. + +A more miserable place than Manapuri for a man to be ill of a low +fever in could not well be imagined. The settlement, composed of +mean hovels, with a few large structures of mud, or plastered +wattle, thatched with palm leaves, was surrounded by water, +marsh, and forest, the breeding-place of myriads of croaking +frogs and of clouds of mosquitoes; even to one in perfect health +existence in such a place would have been a burden. The +inhabitants mustered about eighty or ninety, mostly Indians of +that degenerate class frequently to be met with in small trading +outposts. The savages of Guayana are great drinkers, but not +drunkards in our sense, since their fermented liquors contain so +little alcohol that inordinate quantities must be swallowed to +produce intoxication; in the settlements they prefer the white +man's more potent poisons, with the result that in a small place +like Manapuri one can see enacted, as on a stage, the last act in +the great American tragedy. To be succeeded, doubtless, by other +and possibly greater tragedies. My thoughts at that period of +suffering were pessimistic in the extreme. Sometimes, when the +almost continuous rain held up for half a day, I would manage to +creep out a short distance; but I was almost past making any +exertion, scarcely caring to live, and taking absolutely no +interest in the news from Caracas, which reached me at long +intervals. At the end of two months, feeling a slight +improvement in my health, and with it a returning interest in +life and its affairs, it occurred to me to get out my diary and +write a brief account of my sojourn at Manapuri. I had placed it +for safety in a small deal box, lent to me for the purpose by a +Venezuelan trader, an old resident at the settlement, by name +Pantaleon--called by all Don Panta--one who openly kept half a +dozen Indian wives in his house, and was noted for his dishonesty +and greed, but who had proved himself a good friend to me. The +box was in a corner of the wretched palm-thatched hovel I +inhabited; but on taking it out I discovered that for several +weeks the rain had been dripping on it, and that the manuscript +was reduced to a sodden pulp. I flung it upon the floor with a +curse and threw myself back on my bed with a groan. + +In that desponding state I was found by my friend Panta, who was +constant in his visits at all hours; and when in answer to his +anxious inquiries I pointed to the pulpy mass on the mud floor, +he turned it over with his foot, and then, bursting into a loud +laugh, kicked it out, remarking that he had mistaken the object +for some unknown reptile that had crawled in out of the rain. He +affected to be astonished that I should regret its loss. It was +all a true narrative, he exclaimed; if I wished to write a book +for the stay-at-homes to read, I could easily invent a thousand +lies far more entertaining than any real experiences. He had +come to me, he said, to propose something. He had lived twenty +years at that place, and had got accustomed to the climate, but +it would not do for me to remain any longer if I wished to live. +I must go away at once to a different country--to the mountains, +where it was open and dry. "And if you want quinine when you are +there," he concluded, "smell the wind when it blows from the +south-west, and you will inhale it into your system, fresh from +the forest." When I remarked despondingly that in my condition +it would be impossible to quit Manapuri, he went on to say that a +small party of Indians was now in the settlement; that they had +come, not only to trade, but to visit one of their own tribe, who +was his wife, purchased some years ago from her father. "And the +money she cost me I have never regretted to this day," said he, +"for she is a good wife not jealous," he added, with a curse on +all the others. These Indians came all the way from the +Queneveta mountains, and were of the Maquiritari tribe. He, +Panta, and, better still, his good wife would interest them on my +behalf, and for a suitable reward they would take me by slow, +easy stages to their own country, where I would be treated well +and recover my health. + +This proposal, after I had considered it well, produced so good +an effect on me that I not only gave a glad consent, but, on the +following day, I was able to get about and begin the preparations +for my journey with some spirit. + +In about eight days I bade good-bye to my generous friend Panta, +whom I regarded, after having seen much of him, as a kind of +savage beast that had sprung on me, not to rend, but to rescue +from death; for we know that even cruel savage brutes and evil +men have at times sweet, beneficent impulses, during which they +act in a way contrary to their natures, like passive agents of +some higher power. It was a continual pain to travel in my weak +condition, and the patience of my Indians was severely taxed; but +they did not forsake me; and at last the entire distance, which I +conjectured to be about sixty-five leagues, was accomplished; and +at the end I was actually stronger and better in every way than +at the start. From this time my progress towards complete +recovery was rapid. The air, with or without any medicinal +virtue blown from the cinchona trees in the far-off Andean +forest, was tonic; and when I took my walks on the hillside above +the Indian village, or later when able to climb to the summits, +the world as seen from those wild Queneveta mountains had a +largeness and varied glory of scenery peculiarly refreshing and +delightful to the soul. + +With the Maquiritari tribe I passed some weeks, and the sweet +sensations of returning health made me happy for a time; but such +sensations seldom outlast convalescence. I was no sooner well +again than I began to feel a restless spirit stirring in me. The +monotony of savage life in this place became intolerable. After +my long listless period the reaction had come, and I wished only +for action, adventure--no matter how dangerous; and for new +scenes, new faces, new dialects. In the end I conceived the idea +of going on to the Casiquiare river, where I would find a few +small settlements, and perhaps obtain help from the authorities +there which would enable me to reach the Rio Negro. For it was +now in my mind to follow that river to the Amazons, and so down +to Para and the Atlantic coast. + +Leaving the Queneveta range, I started with two of the Indians as +guides and travelling companions; but their journey ended only +half-way to the river I wished to reach; and they left me with +some friendly savages living on the Chunapay, a tributary of the +Cunucumana, which flows to the Orinoco. Here I had no choice but +to wait until an opportunity of attaching myself to some party of +travelling Indians going south-west should arrive; for by this +time I had expended the whole of my small capital in ornaments +and calico brought from Manapuri, so that I could no longer +purchase any man's service. And perhaps it will be as well to +state at this point just what I possessed. For some time I had +worn nothing but sandals to protect my feet; my garments +consisted of a single suit, and one flannel shirt, which I washed +frequently, going shirtless while it was drying. Fortunately I +had an excellent blue cloth cloak, durable and handsome, given to +me by a friend at Angostura, whose prophecy on presenting it, +that it would outlast ME, very nearly came true. It served as a +covering by night, and to keep a man warm and comfortable when +travelling in cold and wet weather no better garment was ever +made. I had a revolver and metal cartridge-box in my broad +leather belt, also a good hunting-knife with strong buckhorn +handle and a heavy blade about nine inches long. In the pocket +of my cloak I had a pretty silver tinder-box, and a match-box--to +be mentioned again in this narrative--and one or two other +trifling objects; these I was determined to keep until they +could be kept no longer. + +During the tedious interval of waiting on the Chunapay I was told +a flattering tale by the village Indians, which eventually caused +me to abandon the proposed journey to the Rio Negro. These +Indians wore necklets, like nearly all the Guayana savages; but +one, I observed, possessed a necklet unlike that of the others, +which greatly aroused my curiosity. It was made of thirteen gold +plates, irregular in form, about as broad as a man's thumb-nail, +and linked together with fibres. I was allowed to examine it, +and had no doubt that the pieces were of pure gold, beaten flat +by the savages. When questioned about it, they said it was +originally obtained from the Indians of Parahuari, and Parahuari, +they further said, was a mountainous country west of the Orinoco. +Every man and woman in that place, they assured me, had such a +necklet. This report inflamed my mind to such a degree that I +could not rest by night or day for dreaming golden dreams, and +considering how to get to that rich district, unknown to +civilized men. The Indians gravely shook their heads when I +tried to persuade them to take me. They were far enough from the +Orinoco, and Parahuari was ten, perhaps fifteen, days' journey +further on--a country unknown to them, where they had no +relations. + +In spite of difficulties and delays, however, and not without +pain and some perilous adventures, I succeeded at last in +reaching the upper Orinoco, and, eventually, in crossing to the +other side. With my life in my hand I struggled on westward +through an unknown difficult country, from Indian village to +village, where at any moment I might have been murdered with +impunity for the sake of my few belongings. It is hard for me to +speak a good word for the Guayana savages; but I must now say +this of them, that they not only did me no harm when I was at +their mercy during this long journey, but they gave me shelter in +their villages, and fed me when I was hungry, and helped me on my +way when I could make no return. You must not, however, run away +with the idea that there is any sweetness in their disposition, +any humane or benevolent instincts such as are found among the +civilized nations: far from it. I regard them now, and, +fortunately for me, I regarded them then, when, as I have said, I +was at their mercy, as beasts of prey, plus a cunning or low kind +of intelligence vastly greater than that of the brute; and, for +only morality, that respect for the rights of other members of +the same family, or tribe, without which even the rudest +communities cannot hold together. How, then, could I do this +thing, and dwell and travel freely, without receiving harm, among +tribes that have no peace with and no kindly feelings towards the +stranger, in a district where the white man is rarely or never +seen? Because I knew them so well. Without that knowledge, +always available, and an extreme facility in acquiring new +dialects, which had increased by practice until it was almost +like intuition, I should have fared badly after leaving the +Maquiritari tribe. As it was, I had two or three very narrow +escapes. + +To return from this digression. I looked at last on the famous +Parahuari mountains, which, I was greatly surprised to find, were +after all nothing but hills, and not very high ones. This, +however, did not impress me. The very fact that Parahuari +possessed no imposing feature in its scenery seemed rather to +prove that it must be rich in gold: how else could its name and +the fame of its treasures be familiar to people dwelling so far +away as the Cunucumana? + +But there was no gold. I searched through the whole range, which +was about seven leagues long, and visited the villages, where I +talked much with the Indians, interrogating them, and they had no +necklets of gold, nor gold in any form; nor had they ever heard +of its presence in Parahuari or in any other place known to them. + +The very last village where I spoke on the subject of my quest, +albeit now without hope, was about a league from the western +extremity of the range, in the midst of a high broken country of +forest and savannah and many swift streams; near one of these, +called the Curicay, the village stood, among low scattered trees-- +a large building, in which all the people, numbering eighteen, +passed most of their time when not hunting, with two smaller +buildings attached to it. The head, or chief, Runi by name, was +about fifty years old, a taciturn, finely formed, and somewhat +dignified savage, who was either of a sullen disposition or not +well pleased at the intrusion of a white man. And for a time I +made no attempt to conciliate him. What profit was there in it +at all? Even that light mask, which I had worn so long and with +such good effect, incommoded me now: I would cast it aside and be +myself--silent and sullen as my barbarous host. If any malignant +purpose was taking form in his mind, let it, and let him do his +worst; for when failure first stares a man in the face, it has so +dark and repellent a look that not anything that can be added can +make him more miserable; nor has he any apprehension. For weeks +I had been searching with eager, feverish eyes in every village, +in every rocky crevice, in every noisy mountain streamlet, for +the glittering yellow dust I had travelled so far to find. And +now all my beautiful dreams--all the pleasure and power to +be--had vanished like a mere mirage on the savannah at noon. + +It was a day of despair which I spent in this place, sitting all +day indoors, for it was raining hard, immersed in my own gloomy +thoughts, pretending to doze in my seat, and out of the narrow +slits of my half-closed eyes seeing the others, also sitting or +moving about, like shadows or people in a dream; and I cared +nothing about them, and wished not to seem friendly, even for the +sake of the food they might offer me by and by. + +Towards evening the rain ceased; and rising up I went out a short +distance to the neighbouring stream, where I sat on a stone and, +casting off my sandals, laved my bruised feet in the cool running +water. The western half of the sky was blue again with that +tender lucid blue seen after rain, but the leaves still glittered +with water, and the wet trunks looked almost black under the +green foliage. The rare loveliness of the scene touched and +lightened my heart. Away back in the east the hills of +Parahuari, with the level sun full on them, loomed with a strange +glory against the grey rainy clouds drawing off on that side, and +their new mystic beauty almost made me forget how these same +hills had wearied, and hurt, and mocked me. On that side, also +to the north and south, there was open forest, but to the west a +different prospect met the eye. Beyond the stream and the strip +of verdure that fringed it, and the few scattered dwarf trees +growing near its banks, spread a brown savannah sloping upwards +to a long, low, rocky ridge, beyond which rose a great solitary +hill, or rather mountain, conical in form, and clothed in forest +almost to the summit. This was the mountain Ytaioa, the chief +landmark in that district. As the sun went down over the ridge, +beyond the savannah, the whole western sky changed to a delicate +rose colour that had the appearance of rose-coloured smoke blown +there by some far off-wind, and left suspended--a thin, brilliant +veil showing through it the distant sky beyond, blue and +ethereal. Flocks of birds, a kind of troupial, were flying past +me overhead, flock succeeding flock, on their way to their +roosting-place, uttering as they flew a clear, bell-like chirp; +and there was something ethereal too in those drops of melodious +sound, which fell into my heart like raindrops falling into a +pool to mix their fresh heavenly water with the water of earth. + +Doubtless into the turbid tarn of my heart some sacred drops had +fallen--from the passing birds, from that crimson disk which had +now dropped below the horizon, the darkening hills, the rose and +blue of infinite heaven, from the whole visible circle; and I +felt purified and had a strange sense and apprehension of a +secret innocence and spirituality in nature--a prescience of some +bourn, incalculably distant perhaps, to which we are all moving; +of a time when the heavenly rain shall have washed us clean from +all spot and blemish. This unexpected peace which I had found +now seemed to me of infinitely greater value than that yellow +metal I had missed finding, with all its possibilities. My wish +now was to rest for a season at this spot, so remote and lovely +and peaceful, where I had experienced such unusual feelings and +such a blessed disillusionment. + +This was the end of my second period in Guayana: the first had +been filled with that dream of a book to win me fame in my +country, perhaps even in Europe; the second, from the time of +leaving the Queneveta mountains, with the dream of boundless +wealth--the old dream of gold in this region that has drawn so +many minds since the days of Francisco Pizarro. But to remain I +must propitiate Runi, sitting silent with gloomy brows over there +indoors; and he did not appear to me like one that might be won +with words, however flattering. It was clear to me that the time +had come to part with my one remaining valuable trinket--the +tinder-box of chased silver. + +I returned to the house and, going in, seated myself on a log by +the fire, just opposite to my grim host, who was smoking and +appeared not to have moved since I left him. I made myself a +cigarette, then drew out the tinder-box, with its flint and steel +attached to it by means of two small silver chains. His eyes +brightened a little as they curiously watched my movements, and +he pointed without speaking to the glowing coals of fire at my +feet. I shook my head, and striking the steel, sent out a +brilliant spray of sparks, then blew on the tinder and lit my +cigarette. + +This done, instead of returning the box to my pocket I passed the +chain through the buttonhole of my cloak and let it dangle on my +breast as an ornament. When the cigarette was smoked, I cleared +my throat in the orthodox manner and fixed my eyes on Runi, who, +on his part, made a slight movement to indicate that he was ready +to listen to what I had to say. + +My speech was long, lasting at least half an hour, delivered in a +profound silence; it was chiefly occupied with an account of my +wanderings in Guayana; and being little more than a catalogue of +names of all the places I had visited, and the tribes and chief +or head men with whom I had come in contact, I was able to speak +continuously, and so to hide my ignorance of a dialect which was +still new to me. The Guayana savage judges a man for his staying +powers. To stand as motionless as a bronze statue for one or two +hours watching for a bird; to sit or lie still for half a day; to +endure pain, not seldom self-inflicted, without wincing; and when +delivering a speech to pour it out in a copious stream, without +pausing to take breath or hesitating over a word--to be able to +do all this is to prove yourself a man, an equal, one to be +respected and even made a friend of. What I really wished to say +to him was put in a few words at the conclusion of my well-nigh +meaningless oration. Everywhere, I said, I had been the Indian's +friend, and I wished to be his friend, to live with him at +Parahuari, even as I had lived with other chiefs and heads of +villages and families; to be looked on by him, as these others +had looked on me, not as a stranger or a white man, but as a +friend, a brother, an Indian. + +I ceased speaking, and there was a slight murmurous sound in the +room, as of wind long pent up in many lungs suddenly exhaled; +while Runi, still unmoved, emitted a low grunt. Then I rose, and +detaching the silver ornament from my cloak, presented it to him. +He accepted it; not very graciously, as a stranger to these +people might have imagined; but I was satisfied, feeling sure +that I had made a favourable impression. After a little he +handed the box to the person sitting next to him, who examined it +and passed it on to a third, and in this way it went round and +came back once more to Runi. Then he called for a drink. There +happened to be a store of casserie in the house; probably the +women had been busy for some days past in making it, little +thinking that it was destined to be prematurely consumed. A +large jarful was produced; Runi politely quaffed the first cup; I +followed; then the others; and the women drank also, a woman +taking about one cupful to a man's three. Runi and I, however, +drank the most, for we had our positions as the two principal +personages there to maintain. Tongues were loosened now; for the +alcohol, small as the quantity contained in this mild liquor is, +had begun to tell on our brains. I had not their pottle-shaped +stomach, made to hold unlimited quantities of meat and drink; but +I was determined on this most important occasion not to deserve +my host's contempt--to be compared, perhaps, to the small bird +that delicately picks up six drops of water in its bill and is +satisfied. I would measure my strength against his, and if +necessary drink myself into a state of insensibility. + +At last I was scarcely able to stand on my legs. But even the +seasoned old savage was affected by this time. In vino veritas, +said the ancients; and the principle holds good where there is no +vinum, but only mild casserie. Runi now informed me that he had +once known a white man, that he was a bad man, which had caused +him to say that all white men were bad; even as David, still more +sweepingly, had proclaimed that all men were liars. Now he found +that it was not so, that I was a good man. His friendliness +increased with intoxication. He presented me with a curious +little tinder-box, made from the conical tail of an armadillo, +hollowed out, and provided with a wooden stopper--this to be used +in place of the box I had deprived myself of. He also furnished +me with a grass hammock, and had it hung up there and then, so +that I could lie down when inclined. There was nothing he would +not do for me. And at last, when many more cups had been +emptied, and a third or fourth jar brought out, he began to +unburthen his heart of its dark and dangerous secrets. He shed +tears--for the "man without at ear" dwells not in the woods of +Guayana: tears for those who had been treacherously slain long +years ago; for his father, who had been killed by Tripica, the +father of Managa, who was still above ground. But let him and +all his people beware of Runi. He had spilt their blood before, +he had fed the fox and vulture with their flesh, and would never +rest while Managa lived with his people at Uritay--the five hills +of Uritay, which were two days' journey from Parahuari. While +thus talking of his old enemy he lashed himself into a kind of +frenzy, smiting his chest and gnashing his teeth; and finally +seizing a spear, he buried its point deep into the clay floor, +only to wrench it out and strike it into the earth again and +again, to show how he would serve Managa, and any one of Managa's +people he might meet with--man, woman, or child. Then he +staggered out from the door to flourish his spear; and looking to +the north-west, he shouted aloud to Managa to come and slay his +people and burn down his house, as he had so often threatened to +do. + +"Let him come! Let Managa come!" I cried, staggering out after +him. "I am your friend, your brother; I have no spear and no +arrows, but I have this--this!" And here I drew out and +flourished my revolver. "Where is Managa?" I continued. "Where +are the hills of Uritay?" He pointed to a star low down in the +south-west. "Then," I shouted, "let this bullet find Managa, +sitting by the fire among his people, and let him fall and pour +out his blood on the ground!" And with that I discharged my +pistol in the direction he had pointed to. A scream of terror +burst out from the women and children, while Runi at my side, in +an access of fierce delight and admiration, turned and embraced +me. It was the first and last embrace I ever suffered from a +naked male savage, and although this did not seem a time for +fastidious feelings, to be hugged to his sweltering body was an +unpleasant experience. + +More cups of casserie followed this outburst; and at last, unable +to keep it up any longer, I staggered to my hammock; but being +unable to get into it, Runi, overflowing with kindness, came to +my assistance, whereupon we fell and rolled together on the +floor. Finally I was raised by the others and tumbled into my +swinging bed, and fell at once into a deep, dreamless sleep, from +which I did not awake until after sunrise on the following +morning. + + + +CHAPTER II + +It is fortunate that casserie is manufactured by an extremely +slow, laborious process, since the women, who are the +drink-makers, in the first place have to reduce the material +(cassava bread) to a pulp by means of their own molars, after +which it is watered down and put away in troughs to ferment. +Great is the diligence of these willing slaves; but, work how +they will, they can only satisfy their lords' love of a big drink +at long intervals. Such a function as that at which I had +assisted is therefore the result of much patient mastication and +silent fermentation--the delicate flower of a plant that has been +a long time growing. + +Having now established myself as one of the family, at the cost +of some disagreeable sensations and a pang or two of +self-disgust, I resolved to let nothing further trouble me at +Parahuari, but to live the easy, careless life of the idle man, +joining in hunting and fishing expeditions when in the mood; at +other times enjoying existence in my own way, apart from my +fellows, conversing with wild nature in that solitary place. +Besides Runi, there were, in our little community, two oldish +men, his cousins I believe, who had wives and grown-up children. +Another family consisted of Piake, Runi's nephew, his brother +Kua-ko--about whom there will be much to say--and a sister +Oalava. Piake had a wife and two children; Kua-ko was unmarried +and about nineteen or twenty years old; Oalava was the youngest +of the three. Last of all, who should perhaps have been first, +was Runi's mother, called Cla-cla, probably in imitation of the +cry of some bird, for in these latitudes a person is rarely, +perhaps never, called by his or her real name, which is a secret +jealously preserved, even from near relations. I believe that +Cla-cla herself was the only living being who knew the name her +parents had bestowed on her at birth. She was a very old woman, +spare in figure, brown as old sun-baked leather, her face written +over with innumerable wrinkles, and her long coarse hair +perfectly white; yet she was exceedingly active, and seemed to do +more work than any other woman in the community; more than that, +when the day's toil was over and nothing remained for the others +to do, then Cla-cla's night work would begin; and this was to +talk all the others, or at all events all the men, to sleep. She +was like a self-regulating machine, and punctually every evening, +when the door was closed, and the night fire made up, and every +man in his hammock, she would set herself going, telling the most +interminable stories, until the last listener was fast asleep; +later in the night, if any man woke with a snort or grunt, off +she would go again, taking up the thread of the tale where she +had dropped it. + +Old Cla-cla amused me very much, by night and day, and I seldom +tired of watching her owlish countenance as she sat by the fire, +never allowing it to sink low for want of fuel; always studying +the pot when it was on to simmer, and at the same time attending +to the movements of the others about her, ready at a moment's +notice to give assistance or to dart out on a stray chicken or +refractory child. + +So much did she amuse me, although without intending it, that I +thought it would be only fair, in my turn, to do something for +her entertainment. I was engaged one day in shaping a wooden +foil with my knife, whistling and singing snatches of old +melodies at my work, when all at once I caught sight of the +ancient dame looking greatly delighted, chuckling internally, +nodding her head, and keeping time with her hands. Evidently she +was able to appreciate a style of music superior to that of the +aboriginals, and forthwith I abandoned my foils for the time and +set about the manufacture of a guitar, which cost me much labour +and brought out more ingenuity than I had ever thought myself +capable of. To reduce the wood to the right thinness, then to +bend and fasten it with wooden pegs and with gums, to add the +arm, frets, keys, and finally the catgut strings--those of +another kind being out of the question--kept me busy for some +days. When completed it was a rude instrument, scarcely tunable; +nevertheless when I smote the strings, playing lively music, or +accompanied myself in singing, I found that it was a great +success, and so was as much pleased with my own performance as if +I had had the most perfect guitar ever made in old Spain. I also +skipped about the floor, strum-strumming at the same time, +instructing them in the most lively dances of the whites, in +which the feet must be as nimble as the player's fingers. It is +true that these exhibitions were always witnessed by the adults +with a profound gravity, which would have disheartened a stranger +to their ways. They were a set of hollow bronze statues that +looked at me, but I knew that the living animals inside of them +were tickled at my singing, strumming, and pirouetting. Cla-cla +was, however, an exception, and encouraged me not infrequently by +emitting a sound, half cackle and half screech, by way of +laughter; for she had come to her second childhood, or, at all +events, had dropped the stolid mask which the young Guayana +savage, in imitation of his elders, adjusts to his face at about +the age of twelve, to wear it thereafter all his life long, or +only to drop it occasionally when very drunk. The youngsters also +openly manifested their pleasure, although, as a rule, they try +to restrain their feelings in the presence of grown-up people, +and with them I became a greet favourite. + +By and by I returned to my foil-making, and gave them fencing +lessons, and sometimes invited two or three of the biggest boys +to attack me simultaneously, just to show how easily I could +disarm and kill them. This practice excited some interest in +Kua-ko, who had a little more of curiosity and geniality and less +of the put-on dignity of the others, and with him I became most +intimate. Fencing with Kua-ko was highly amusing: no sooner was +he in position, foil in hand, than all my instructions were +thrown to the winds, and he would charge and attack me in his own +barbarous manner, with the result that I would send his foil +spinning a dozen yards away, while he, struck motionless, would +gaze after it in open-mouthed astonishment. + +Three weeks had passed by not unpleasantly when, one morning, I +took it into my head to walk by myself across that somewhat +sterile savannah west of the village and stream, which ended, as +I have said, in a long, low, stony ridge. From the village there +was nothing to attract the eye in that direction; but I wished to +get a better view of that great solitary hill or mountain of +Ytaioa, and of the cloud-like summits beyond it in the distance. +From the stream the ground rose in a gradual slope, and the +highest part of the ridge for which I made was about two miles +from the starting-point--a parched brown plain, with nothing +growing on it but scattered tussocks of sere hair-like grass. + +When I reached the top and could see the country beyond, I was +agreeably disappointed at the discovery that the sterile ground +extended only about a mile and a quarter on the further side, and +was succeeded by a forest--a very inviting patch of woodland +covering five or six square miles, occupying a kind of oblong +basin, extending from the foot of Ytaioa on the north to a low +range of rocky hills on the south. From the wooded basin long +narrow strips of forest ran out in various directions like the +arms of an octopus, one pair embracing the slopes of Ytaioa, +another much broader belt extending along a valley which cut +through the ridge of hills on the south side at right angles and +was lost to sight beyond; far away in the west and south and +north distant mountains appeared, not in regular ranges, but in +groups or singly, or looking like blue banked-up clouds on the +horizon. + +Glad at having discovered the existence of this forest so near +home, and wondering why my Indian friends had never taken me to +it nor ever went out on that side, I set forth with a light heart +to explore it for myself, regretting only that I was without a +proper weapon for procuring game. The walk from the ridge over +the savannah was easy, as the barren, stony ground sloped +downwards the whole way. The outer part of the wood on my side +was very open, composed in most part of dwarf trees that grow on +stony soil, and scattered thorny bushes bearing a yellow +pea-shaped blossom. Presently I came to thicker wood, where the +trees were much taller and in greater variety; and after this +came another sterile strip, like that on the edge of the wood +where stone cropped out from the ground and nothing grew except +the yellow-flowered thorn bushes. Passing this sterile ribbon, +which seemed to extend to a considerable distance north and +south, and was fifty to a hundred yards wide, the forest again +became dense and the trees large, with much undergrowth in places +obstructing the view and making progress difficult. + +I spent several hours in this wild paradise, which was so much +more delightful than the extensive gloomier forests I had so +often penetrated in Guayana; for here, if the trees did not +attain to such majestic proportions, the variety of vegetable +forms was even greater; as far as I went it was nowhere dark +under the trees, and the number of lovely parasites everywhere +illustrated the kindly influence of light and air. Even where +the trees were largest the sunshine penetrated, subdued by the +foliage to exquisite greenish-golden tints, filling the wide +lower spaces with tender half-lights, and faint blue-and-gray +shadows. Lying on my back and gazing up, I felt reluctant to +rise and renew my ramble. For what a roof was that above my +head! Roof I call it, just as the poets in their poverty +sometimes describe the infinite ethereal sky by that word; but it +was no more roof-like and hindering to the soaring spirit than +the higher clouds that float in changing forms and tints, and +like the foliage chasten the intolerable noonday beams. How far +above me seemed that leafy cloudland into which I gazed! Nature, +we know, first taught the architect to produce by long colonnades +the illusion of distance; but the light-excluding roof prevents +him from getting the same effect above. Here Nature is +unapproachable with her green, airy canopy, a sun-impregnated +cloud--cloud above cloud; and though the highest may be unreached +by the eye, the beams yet filter through, illuming the wide +spaces beneath--chamber succeeded by chamber, each with its own +special lights and shadows. Far above me, but not nearly so far +as it seemed, the tender gloom of one such chamber or space is +traversed now by a golden shaft of light falling through some +break in the upper foliage, giving a strange glory to everything +it touches--projecting leaves, and beard-like tuft of moss, and +snaky bush-rope. And in the most open part of that most open +space, suspended on nothing to the eye, the shaft reveals a +tangle of shining silver threads--the web of some large +tree-spider. These seemingly distant yet distinctly visible +threads serve to remind me that the human artist is only able to +get his horizontal distance by a monotonous reduplication of +pillar and arch, placed at regular intervals, and that the least +departure from this order would destroy the effect. But Nature +produces her effects at random, and seems only to increase the +beautiful illusion by that infinite variety of decoration in +which she revels, binding tree to tree in a tangle of +anaconda-like lianas, and dwindling down from these huge cables +to airy webs and hair-like fibres that vibrate to the wind of the +passing insect's wing. + +Thus in idleness, with such thoughts for company, I spent my +time, glad that no human being, savage or civilized, was with me. +It was better to be alone to listen to the monkeys that chattered +without offending; to watch them occupied with the unserious +business of their lives. With that luxuriant tropical nature, +its green clouds and illusive aerial spaces, full of mystery, +they harmonized well in language, appearance, and +motions--mountebank angels, living their fantastic lives far +above earth in a half-way heaven of their own. + +I saw more monkeys on that morning than I usually saw in the +course of a week's rambling. And other animals were seen; I +particularly remember two accouries I startled, that after +rushing away a few yards stopped and stood peering back at me as +if not knowing whether to regard me as friend or enemy. Birds, +too, were strangely abundant; and altogether this struck me as +being the richest hunting-ground I had seen, and it astonished me +to think that the Indians of the village did not appear to visit +it. + +On my return in the afternoon I gave an enthusiastic account of +my day's ramble, speaking not of the things that had moved my +soul, but only of those which move the Guayana Indian's soul--the +animal food he craves, and which, one would imagine, Nature would +prefer him to do without, so hard he finds it to wrest a +sufficiency from her. To my surprise they shook their heads and +looked troubled at what I said; and finally my host informed me +that the wood I had been in was a dangerous place; that if they +went there to hunt, a great injury would be done to them; and he +finished by advising me not to visit it again. + +I began to understand from their looks and the old man's vague +words that their fear of the wood was superstitious. If +dangerous creatures had existed there tigers, or camoodis, or +solitary murderous savages--they would have said so; but when I +pressed them with questions they could only repeat that +"something bad" existed in the place, that animals were abundant +there because no Indian who valued his life dared venture into +it. I replied that unless they gave me some more definite +information I should certainly go again and put myself in the way +of the danger they feared. + +My reckless courage, as they considered it, surprised them; but +they had already begun to find out that their superstitions had +no effect on me, that I listened to them as to stories invented +to amuse a child, and for the moment they made no further attempt +to dissuade me. + +Next day I returned to the forest of evil report, which had now a +new and even greater charm--the fascination of the unknown and +the mysterious; still, the warning I had received made me +distrustful and cautious at first, for I could not help thinking +about it. When we consider how much of their life is passed in +the woods, which become as familiar to them as the streets of our +native town to us, it seems almost incredible that these savages +have a superstitious fear of all forests, fearing them as much, +even in the bright light of day, as a nervous child with memory +filled with ghost-stories fears a dark room. But, like the child +in the dark room, they fear the forest only when alone in it, and +for this reason always hunt in couples or parties. What, then, +prevented them from visiting this particular wood, which offered +so tempting a harvest? The question troubled me not a little; at +the same time I was ashamed of the feeling, and fought against +it; and in the end I made my way to the same sequestered spot +where I had rested so long on my previous visit. + +In this place I witnessed a new thing and had a strange +experience. Sitting on the ground in the shade of a large tree, +I began to hear a confused noise as of a coming tempest of wind +mixed with shrill calls and cries. Nearer and nearer it came, +and at last a multitude of birds of many kinds, but mostly small, +appeared in sight swarming through the trees, some running on the +trunks and larger branches, others flitting through the foliage, +and many keeping on the wing, now hovering and now darting this +way or that. They were all busily searching for and pursuing the +insects, moving on at the same time, and in a very few minutes +they had finished examining the trees near me and were gone; but +not satisfied with what I had witnessed, I jumped up and rushed +after the flock to keep it in sight. All my caution and all +recollection of what the Indians had said was now forgot, so +great was my interest in this bird-army; but as they moved on +without pause, they quickly left me behind, and presently my +career was stopped by an impenetrable tangle of bushes, vines, +and roots of large trees extending like huge cables along the +ground. In the midst of this leafy labyrinth I sat down on a +projecting root to cool my blood before attempting to make my way +back to my former position. After that tempest of motion and +confused noises the silence of the forest seemed very profound; +but before I had been resting many moments it was broken by a low +strain of exquisite bird-melody, wonderfully pure and expressive, +unlike any musical sound I had ever heard before. It seemed to +issue from a thick cluster of broad leaves of a creeper only a +few yards from where I sat. With my eyes fixed on this green +hiding-place I waited with suspended breath for its repetition, +wondering whether any civilized being had ever listened to such a +strain before. Surely not, I thought, else the fame of so divine +a melody would long ago have been noised abroad. I thought of +the rialejo, the celebrated organbird or flute-bird, and of the +various ways in which hearers are affected by it. To some its +warbling is like the sound of a beautiful mysterious instrument, +while to others it seems like the singing of a blithe-hearted +child with a highly melodious voice. I had often heard and +listened with delight to the singing of the rialejo in the +Guayana forests, but this song, or musical phrase, was utterly +unlike it in character. It was pure, more expressive, softer--so +low that at a distance of forty yards I could hardly have heard +it. But its greatest charm was its resemblance to the human +voice--a voice purified and brightened to something almost +angelic. Imagine, then, my impatience as I sat there straining my +sense, my deep disappointment when it was not repeated! I rose +at length very reluctantly and slowly began making my way back; +but when I had progressed about thirty yards, again the sweet +voice sounded just behind me, and turning quickly, I stood still +and waited. The same voice, but not the same song--not the same +phrase; the notes were different, more varied and rapidly +enunciated, as if the singer had been more excited. The blood +rushed to my heart as I listened; my nerves tingled with a +strange new delight, the rapture produced by such music +heightened by a sense of mystery. Before many moments I heard it +again, not rapid now, but a soft warbling, lower than at first, +infinitely sweet and tender, sinking to lisping sounds that soon +ceased to be audible; the whole having lasted as long as it would +take me to repeat a sentence of a dozen words. This seemed the +singer's farewell to me, for I waited and listened in vain to +hear it repeated; and after getting back to the starting-point I +sat for upwards of an hour, still hoping to hear it once more! + +The weltering sun at length compelled me to quit the wood, but +not before I had resolved to return the next morning and seek for +the spot where I had met with so enchanting an experience. After +crossing the sterile belt I have mentioned within the wood, and +just before I came to the open outer edge where the stunted trees +and bushes die away on the border of the savannah, what was my +delight and astonishment at hearing the mysterious melody once +more! It seemed to issue from a clump of bushes close by; but by +this time I had come to the conclusion that there was a +ventriloquism in this woodland voice which made it impossible for +me to determine its exact direction. Of one thing I was, +however, now quite convinced, and that was that the singer had +been following me all the time. Again and again as I stood there +listening it sounded, now so faint and apparently far off as to +be scarcely audible; then all at once it would ring out bright +and clear within a few yards of me, as if the shy little thing +had suddenly grown bold; but, far or near, the vocalist remained +invisible, and at length the tantalizing melody ceased +altogether. + + + +CHAPTER III + +I was not disappointed on my next visit to the forest, nor on +several succeeding visits; and this seemed to show that if I was +right in believing that these strange, melodious utterances +proceeded from one individual, then the bird or being, although +still refusing to show itself, was always on the watch for my +appearance and followed me wherever I went. This thought only +served to increase my curiosity; I was constantly pondering over +the subject, and at last concluded that it would be best to +induce one of the Indians to go with me to the wood on the chance +of his being able to explain the mystery. + +One of the treasures I had managed to preserve in my sojourn with +these children of nature, who were always anxious to become +possessors of my belongings, was a small prettily fashioned metal +match-box, opening with a spring. Remembering that Kua-ko, among +others, had looked at this trifle with covetous eyes--the +covetous way in which they all looked at it had given it a +fictitious value in my own--I tried to bribe him with the offer +of it to accompany me to my favourite haunt. The brave young +hunter refused again and again; but on each occasion he offered +to perform some other service or to give me something in exchange +for the box. At last I told him that I would give it to the +first person who should accompany me, and fearing that someone +would be found valiant enough to win the prize, he at length +plucked up a spirit, and on the next day, seeing me going out for +a walk, he all at once offered to go with me. He cunningly tried +to get the box before starting--his cunning, poor youth, was not +very deep! I told him that the forest we were about to visit +abounded with plants and birds unlike any I had seen elsewhere, +that I wished to learn their names and everything about them, and +that when I had got the required information the box would be +his--not sooner. Finally we started, he, as usual, armed with +his zabatana, with which, I imagined, he would procure more game +than usually fell to his little poisoned arrows. When we reached +the wood I could see that he was ill at ease: nothing would +persuade him to go into the deeper parts; and even where it was +very open and light he was constantly gazing into bushes and +shadowy places, as if expecting to see some frightful creature +lying in wait for him. This behaviour might have had a +disquieting effect on me had I not been thoroughly convinced that +his fears were purely superstitious and that there could be no +dangerous animal in a spot I was accustomed to walk in every day. +My plan was to ramble about with an unconcerned air, occasionally +pointing out an uncommon tree or shrub or vine, or calling his +attention to a distant bird-cry and asking the bird's name, in +the hope that the mysterious voice would make itself heard and +that he would be able to give me some explanation of it. But for +upwards of two hours we moved about, hearing nothing except the +usual bird voices, and during all that time he never stirred a +yard from my side nor made an attempt to capture anything. At +length we sat down under a tree, in an open spot close to the +border of the wood. He sat down very reluctantly, and seemed +more troubled in his mind than ever, keeping his eyes continually +roving about, while he listened intently to every sound. The +sounds were not few, owing to the abundance of animal and +especially of bird life in this favoured spot. I began to +question my companion as to some of the cries we heard. There +were notes and cries familiar to me as the crowing of the +cock--parrot screams and yelping of toucans, the distant wailing +calls of maam and duraquara; and shrill laughter-like notes of +the large tree-climber as it passed from tree to tree; the quick +whistle of cotingas; and strange throbbing and thrilling sounds, +as of pygmies beating on metallic drums, of the skulking +pitta-thrushes; and with these mingled other notes less well +known. One came from the treetops, where it was perpetually +wandering amid the foliage a low note, repeated at intervals of a +few seconds, so thin and mournful and full of mystery that I half +expected to hear that it proceeded from the restless ghost of +some dead bird. But no; he only said it was uttered by a "little +bird"--too little presumably to have a name. From the foliage of +a neighbouring tree came a few tinkling chirps, as of a small +mandolin, two or three strings of which had been carelessly +struck by the player. He said that it came from a small green +frog that lived in trees; and in this way my rude Indian--vexed +perhaps at being asked such trivial questions--brushed away the +pretty fantasies my mind had woven in the woodland solitude. For +I often listened to this tinkling music, and it had suggested the +idea that the place was frequented by a tribe of fairy-like +troubadour monkeys, and that if I could only be quick-sighted +enough I might one day be able to detect the minstrel sitting, in +a green tunic perhaps, cross-legged on some high, swaying bough, +carelessly touching his mandolin, suspended from his neck by a +yellow ribbon. + +By and by a bird came with low, swift flight, its great tail +spread open fan-wise, and perched itself on an exposed bough not +thirty yards from us. It was all of a chestnut-red colour, +long-bodied, in size like a big pigeon. Its actions showed that +its curiosity had been greatly excited, for it jerked from side +to side, eyeing us first with one eye, then the other, while its +long tail rose and fell in a measured way. + +"Look, Kua-ko," I said in a whisper, "there is a bird for you to +kill." + +But he only shook his head, still watchful. + +"Give me the blow-pipe, then," I said, with a laugh, putting out +my hand to take it. But he refused to let me take it, knowing +that it would only be an arrow wasted if I attempted to shoot +anything. + +As I persisted in telling him to kill the bird, he at last bent +his lips near me and said in a half-whisper, as if fearful of +being overheard: "I can kill nothing here. If I shot at the +bird, the daughter of the Didi would catch the dart in her hand +and throw it back and hit me here," touching his breast just over +his heart. + +I laughed again, saying to myself, with some amusement, that +Kua-ko was not such a bad companion after all--that he was not +without imagination. But in spite of my laughter his words +roused my interest and suggested the idea that the voice I was +curious about had been heard by the Indians and was as great a +mystery to them as to me; since, not being like that of any +creature known to them, it would be attributed by their +superstitious minds to one of the numerous demons or semi-human +monsters inhabiting every forest, stream, and mountain; and fear +of it would drive them from the wood. In this case, judging from +my companion's words, they had varied the form of the +superstition somewhat, inventing a daughter of a water-spirit to +be afraid of. My thought was that if their keen, practiced eyes +had never been able to see this flitting woodland creature with a +musical soul, it was not likely that I would succeed in my quest. + +I began to question him, but he now appeared less inclined to +talk and more frightened than ever, and each time I attempted to +speak he imposed silence, with a quick gesture of alarm, while he +continued to stare about him with dilated eyes. All at once he +sprang to his feet as if overcome with terror and started running +at full speed. His fear infected me, and, springing up, I +followed as fast as I could, but he was far ahead of me, running +for dear life; and before I had gone forty yards my feet were +caught in a creeper trailing along the surface, and I measured my +length on the ground. The sudden, violent shock almost took away +my senses for a moment, but when I jumped up and stared round to +see no unspeakable monster--Curupita or other--rushing on to slay +and devour me there and then, I began to feel ashamed of my +cowardice; and in the end I turned and walked back to the spot I +had just quitted and sat down once more. I even tried to hum a +tune, just to prove to myself that I had completely recovered +from the panic caught from the miserable Indian; but it is never +possible in such cases to get back one's serenity immediately, +and a vague suspicion continued to trouble me for a time. After +sitting there for half an hour or so, listening to distant +bird-sounds, I began to recover my old confidence, and even to +feel inclined to penetrate further into the wood. All at once, +making me almost jump, so sudden it was, so much nearer and +louder than I had ever heard it before, the mysterious melody +began. Unmistakably it was uttered by the same being heard on +former occasions; but today it was different in character. The +utterance was far more rapid, with fewer silent intervals, and it +had none of the usual tenderness in it, nor ever once sunk to +that low, whisper-like talking which had seemed to me as if the +spirit of the wind had breathed its low sighs in syllables and +speech. Now it was not only loud, rapid, and continuous, but, +while still musical, there was an incisiveness in it, a sharp +ring as of resentment, which made it strike painfully on the +sense. + +The impression of an intelligent unhuman being addressing me in +anger took so firm a hold on my mind that the old fear returned, +and, rising, I began to walk rapidly away, intending to escape +from the wood. The voice continued violently rating me, as it +seemed to my mind, moving with me, which caused me to accelerate +my steps; and very soon I would have broken into a run, when its +character began to change again. There were pauses now, +intervals of silence, long or short, and after each one the voice +came to my ear with a more subdued and dulcet sound--more of that +melting, flute-like quality it had possessed at other times; and +this softness of tone, coupled with the talking-like form of +utterance, gave me the idea of a being no longer incensed, +addressing me now in a peaceable spirit, reasoning away my +unworthy tremors, and imploring me to remain with it in the wood. +Strange as this voice without a body was, and always productive +of a slightly uncomfortable feeling on account of its mystery, it +seemed impossible to doubt that it came to me now in a spirit of +pure friendliness; and when I had recovered my composure I found +a new delight in listening to it--all the greater because of the +fear so lately experienced, and of its seeming intelligence. For +the third time I reseated myself on the same spot, and at +intervals the voice talked to me there for some time and, to my +fancy, expressed satisfaction and pleasure at my presence. But +later, without losing its friendly tone, it changed again. It +seemed to move away and to be thrown back from a considerable +distance; and, at long intervals, it would approach me again with +a new sound, which I began to interpret as of command, or +entreaty. Was it, I asked myself, inviting me to follow? And if +I obeyed, to what delightful discoveries or frightful dangers +might it lead? My curiosity together with the belief that the +being--I called it being, not bird, now--was friendly to me, +overcame all timidity, and I rose and walked at random towards +the interior of the wood. Very soon I had no doubt left that the +being had desired me to follow; for there was now a new note of +gladness in its voice, and it continued near me as I walked, at +intervals approaching me so closely as to set me staring into the +surrounding shadowy places like poor scared Kua-ko. + +On this occasion, too, I began to have a new fancy, for fancy or +illusion I was determined to regard it, that some swift-footed +being was treading the ground near me; that I occasionally caught +the faint rustle of a light footstep, and detected a motion in +leaves and fronds and thread-like stems of creepers hanging near +the surface, as if some passing body had touched and made them +tremble; and once or twice that I even had a glimpse of a grey, +misty object moving at no great distance in the deeper shadows. + +Led by this wandering tricksy being, I came to a spot where the +trees were very large and the damp dark ground almost free from +undergrowth; and here the voice ceased to be heard. After +patiently waiting and listening for some time, I began to look +about me with a slight feeling of apprehension. It was still +about two hours before sunset; only in this place the shade of +the vast trees made a perpetual twilight: moreover, it was +strangely silent here, the few bird-cries that reached me coming +from a long distance. I had flattered myself that the voice had +become to some extent intelligible to me: its outburst of anger +caused no doubt by my cowardly flight after the Indian; then its +recovered friendliness, which had induced me to return; and +finally its desire to be followed. Now that it had led me to +this place of shadow and profound silence and had ceased to speak +and to lead, I could not help thinking that this was my goal, +that I had been brought to this spot with a purpose, that in this +wild and solitary retreat some tremendous adventure was about to +befall me. + +As the silence continued unbroken, there was time to dwell on +this thought. I gazed before me and listened intently, scarcely +breathing, until the suspense became painful--too painful at +last, and I turned and took a step with the idea of going back to +the border of the wood, when close by, clear as a silver bell, +sounded the voice once more, but only for a moment--two or three +syllables in response to my movement, then it was silent again. + +Once more I was standing still, as if in obedience to a command, +in the same state of suspense; and whether the change was real or +only imagined I know not, but the silence every minute grew more +profound and the gloom deeper. Imaginary terrors began to assail +me. Ancient fables of men allured by beautiful forms and +melodious voices to destruction all at once acquired a fearful +significance. I recalled some of the Indian beliefs, especially +that of the mis-shapen, man-devouring monster who is said to +beguile his victims into the dark forest by mimicking the human +voice--the voice sometimes of a woman in distress--or by singing +some strange and beautiful melody. I grew almost afraid to look +round lest I should catch sight of him stealing towards me on his +huge feet with toes pointing backwards, his mouth snarling +horribly to display his great green fangs. It was distressing to +have such fancies in this wild, solitary spot--hateful to feel +their power over me when I knew that they were nothing but +fancies and creations of the savage mind. But if these +supernatural beings had no existence, there were other monsters, +only too real, in these woods which it would be dreadful to +encounter alone and unarmed, since against such adversaries a +revolver would be as ineffectual as a popgun. Some huge camoodi, +able to crush my bones like brittle twigs in its constricting +coils, might lurk in these shadows, and approach me stealthily, +unseen in its dark colour on the dark ground. Or some jaguar or +black tiger might steal towards me, masked by a bush or +tree-trunk, to spring upon me unawares. Or, worse still, this +way might suddenly come a pack of those swift-footed, unspeakably +terrible hunting-leopards, from which every living thing in the +forest flies with shrieks of consternation or else falls +paralysed in their path to be instantly torn to pieces and +devoured. + +A slight rustling sound in the foliage above me made me start and +cast up my eyes. High up, where a pale gleam of tempered +sunlight fell through the leaves, a grotesque human-like face, +black as ebony and adorned with a great red beard, appeared +staring down upon me. In another moment it was gone. It was +only a large araguato, or howling monkey, but I was so unnerved +that I could not get rid of the idea that it was something more +than a monkey. Once more I moved, and again, the instant I moved +my foot, clear, and keen, and imperative, sounded the voice! It +was no longer possible to doubt its meaning. It commanded me to +stand still--to wait--to watch--to listen! Had it cried "Listen! +Do not move!" I could not have understood it better. Trying as +the suspense was, I now felt powerless to escape. Something very +terrible, I felt convinced, was about to happen, either to +destroy or to release me from the spell that held me. + +And while I stood thus rooted to the ground, the sweat standing +in large drops on my forehead, all at once close to me sounded a +cry, fine and clear at first, and rising at the end to a shriek +so loud, piercing, and unearthly in character that the blood +seemed to freeze in my veins, and a despairing cry to heaven +escaped my lips; then, before that long shriek expired, a mighty +chorus of thunderous voices burst forth around me; and in this +awful tempest of sound I trembled like a leaf; and the leaves on +the trees were agitated as if by a high wind, and the earth +itself seemed to shake beneath my feet. Indescribably horrible +were my sensations at that moment; I was deafened, and would +possibly have been maddened had I not, as by a miracle, chanced +to see a large araguato on a branch overhead, roaring with open +mouth and inflated throat and chest. + +It was simply a concert of howling monkeys that had so terrified +me! But my extreme fear was not strange in the circumstances; +since everything that had led up to the display--the gloom and +silence, the period of suspense, and my heated imagination--had +raised my mind to the highest degree of excitement and +expectancy. I had rightly conjectured, no doubt, that my unseen +guide had led me to that spot for a purpose; and the purpose had +been to set me in the midst of a congregation of araguatos to +enable me for the first time fully to appreciate their +unparalleled vocal powers. I had always heard them at a +distance; here they were gathered in scores, possibly +hundreds--the whole araguato population of the forest, I should +think--close to me; and it may give some faint conception of the +tremendous power and awful character of the sound thus produced +by their combined voices when I say that this animal--miscalled +"howler" in English--would outroar the mightiest lion that ever +woke the echoes of an African wilderness. + +This roaring concert, which lasted three or four minutes, having +ended, I lingered a few minutes longer on the spot, and not +hearing the voice again, went back to the edge of the wood, and +then started on my way back to the village. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +Perhaps I was not capable of thinking quite coherently on what +had just happened until I was once more fairly outside of the +forest shadows--out in that clear open daylight, where things +seem what they are, and imagination, like a juggler detected and +laughed at, hastily takes itself out of the way. As I walked +homewards I paused midway on the barren ridge to gaze back on the +scene I had left, and then the recent adventure began to take a +semi-ludicrous aspect in my mind. All that circumstance of +preparation, that mysterious prelude to something unheard of, +unimaginable, surpassing all fables ancient and modern, and all +tragedies--to end at last in a concert of howling monkeys! +Certainly the concert was very grand--indeed, one of the most +astounding in nature---but still--I sat down on a stone and +laughed freely. + +The sun was sinking behind the forest, its broad red disk still +showing through the topmost leaves, and the higher part of the +foliage was of a luminous green, like green flame, throwing off +flakes of quivering, fiery light, but lower down the trees were +in profound shadow. + +I felt very light-hearted while I gazed on this scene, for how +pleasant it was just now to think of the strange experience I had +passed through--to think that I had come safely out of it, that +no human eye had witnessed my weakness, and that the mystery +existed still to fascinate me! For, ludicrous as the denouement +now looked, the cause of all, the voice itself, was a thing to +marvel at more than ever. That it proceeded from an intelligent +being I was firmly convinced; and although too materialistic in +my way of thinking to admit for a moment that it was a +supernatural being, I still felt that there was something more +than I had at first imagined in Kua-ko's speech about a daughter +of the Didi. That the Indians knew a great deal about the +mysterious voice, and had held it in great fear, seemed evident. +But they were savages, with ways that were not mine; and however +friendly they might be towards one of a superior race, there was +always in their relations with him a low cunning, prompted partly +by suspicion, underlying their words and actions. For the white +man to put himself mentally on their level is not more impossible +than for these aborigines to be perfectly open, as children are, +towards the white. Whatever subject the stranger within their +gates exhibits an interest in, that they will be reticent about; +and their reticence, which conceals itself under easily invented +lies or an affected stupidity, invariably increases with his +desire for information. It was plain to them that some very +unusual interest took me to the wood; consequently I could not +expect that they would tell me anything they might know to +enlighten me about the matter; and I concluded that Kua-ko's +words about the daughter of the Didi, and what she would do if he +blew an arrow at a bird, had accidentally escaped him in a moment +of excitement. Nothing, therefore, was to be gained by +questioning them, or, at all events, by telling them how much the +subject attracted me. And I had nothing to fear; my independent +investigations had made this much clear to me; the voice might +proceed from a very frolicsome and tricksy creature, full of wild +fantastic humours, but nothing worse. It was friendly to me, I +felt sure; at the same time it might not be friendly towards the +Indians; for, on that day, it had made itself heard only after my +companion had taken flight; and it had then seemed incensed +against me, possibly because the savage had been in my company. + +That was the result of my reflections on the day's events when I +returned to my entertainer's roof and sat down among my friends +to refresh myself with stewed fowl and fish from the household +pot, into which a hospitable woman invited me with a gesture to +dip my fingers. + +Kua-ko was lying in his hammock, smoking, I think--certainly not +reading. When I entered he lifted his head and stared at me, +probably surprised to see me alive, unharmed, and in a placid +temper. I laughed at the look, and, somewhat disconcerted, he +dropped his head down again. After a minute or two I took the +metal match-box and tossed it on to his breast. He clutched it +and, starting up, stared at me in the utmost astonishment. He +could scarcely believe his good fortune; for he had failed to +carry out his part of the compact and had resigned himself to the +loss of the coveted prize. Jumping down to the floor, he held up +the box triumphantly, his joy overcoming the habitual stolid +look; while all the others gathered about him, each trying to get +the box into his own hands to admire it again, notwithstanding +that they had all seen it a dozen times before. But it was +Kua-ko's now and not the stranger's, and therefore more nearly +their own than formerly, and must look different, more beautiful, +with a brighter polish on the metal. And that wonderful +enamelled cock on the lid--figured in Paris probably, but just +like a cock in Guayana, the pet bird which they no more think of +killing and eating than we do our purring pussies and +lemon-coloured canaries--must now look more strikingly valiant +and cock-like than ever, with its crimson comb and wattles, +burnished red hackles, and dark green arching tail-plumes. But +Kua-ko, while willing enough to have it admired and praised, +would not let it out of his hands, and told them pompously that +it was not theirs for them to handle, but his--Kua-ko's--for all +time; that he had won it by accompanying me--valorous man that he +was!--to that evil wood into which they--timid, inferior +creatures that they were!--would never have ventured to set foot. +I am not translating his words, but that was what he gave them to +understand pretty plainly, to my great amusement. + +After the excitement was over, Runi, who had maintained a +dignified calm, made some roundabout remarks, apparently with the +object of eliciting an account of what I had seen and heard in +the forest of evil fame. I replied carelessly that I had seen a +great many birds and monkeys--monkeys so tame that I might have +procured one if I had had a blow-pipe, in spite of my never +having practiced shooting with that weapon. + +It interested them to hear about the abundance and tameness of +the monkeys, although it was scarcely news; but how tame they +must have been when I, the stranger not to the manner born--not +naked, brown-skinned, lynx-eyed, and noiseless as an owl in his +movements--had yet been able to look closely at them! Runi only +remarked, apropos of what I had told him, that they could not go +there to hunt; then he asked me if I feared nothing. + +"Nothing," I replied carelessly. "The things you fear hurt not +the white man and are no more than this to me," saying which I +took up a little white wood-ash in my hand and blew it away with +my breath. "And against other enemies I have this," I added, +touching my revolver. A brave speech, just after that araguato +episode; but I did not make it without blushing--mentally. + +He shook his head, and said it was a poor weapon against some +enemies; also--truly enough--that it would procure no birds and +monkeys for the stew-pot. + +Next morning my friend Kua-ko, taking his zabatana, invited me to +go out with him, and I consented with some misgivings, thinking +he had overcome his superstitious fears and, inflamed by my +account of the abundance of game in the forest, intended going +there with me. The previous day's experience had made me think +that it would be better in the future to go there alone. But I +was giving the poor youth more credit than he deserved: it was +far from his intention to face the terrible unknown again. We +went in a different direction, and tramped for hours through +woods where birds were scarce and only of the smaller kinds. +Then my guide surprised me a second time by offering to teach me +to use the zabatana. This, then, was to be my reward for giving +him the box! I readily consented, and with the long weapon, +awkward to carry, in my hand, and imitating the noiseless +movements and cautious, watchful manner of my companion, I tried +to imagine myself a simple Guayana savage, with no knowledge of +that artificial social state to which I had been born, dependent +on my skill and little roll of poison-darts for a livelihood. By +an effort of the will I emptied myself of my life experience and +knowledge--or as much of it as possible--and thought only of the +generations of my dead imaginary progenitors, who had ranged +these woods back to the dim forgotten years before Columbus; and +if the pleasure I had in the fancy was childish, it made the day +pass quickly enough. Kua-ko was constantly at my elbow to assist +and give advice; and many an arrow I blew from the long tube, and +hit no bird. Heaven knows what I hit, for the arrows flew away +on their wide and wild career to be seen no more, except a few +which my keen-eyed comrade marked to their destination and +managed to recover. The result of our day's hunting was a couple +of birds, which Kua-ko, not I, shot, and a small opossum his +sharp eyes detected high up a tree lying coiled up on an old +nest, over the side of which the animal had incautiously allowed +his snaky tail to dangle. The number of darts I wasted must have +been a rather serious loss to him, but he did not seem troubled +at it, and made no remark. + +Next day, to my surprise, he volunteered to give me a second +lesson, and we went out again. On this occasion he had provided +himself with a large bundle of darts, but--wise man!--they were +not poisoned, and it therefore mattered little whether they were +wasted or not. I believe that on this day I made some little +progress; at all events, my teacher remarked that before long I +would be able to hit a bird. This made me smile and answer that +if he could place me within twenty yards of a bird not smaller +than a small man I might manage to touch it with an arrow. + +This speech had a very unexpected and remarkable effect. He +stopped short in his walk, stared at me wildly, then grinned, and +finally burst into a roar of laughter, which was no bad imitation +of the howling monkey's performance, and smote his naked thighs +with tremendous energy. At length recovering himself, he asked +whether a small woman was not the same as a small man, and being +answered in the affirmative, went off into a second extravagant +roar of laughter. + +Thinking it was easy to tickle him while he continued in this +mood, I began making any number of feeble jokes--feeble, but +quite as good as the one which had provoked such outrageous +merriment--for it amused me to see him acting in this unusual +way. But they all failed of their effect--there was no hitting +the bull's-eye a second time; he would only stare vacantly at me, +then grunt like a peccary--not appreciatively--and walk on. +Still, at intervals he would go back to what I had said about +hitting a very big bird, and roar again, as if this wonderful +joke was not easily exhausted. + +Again on the third day we were out together practicing at the +birds--frightening if not killing them; but before noon, finding +that it was his intention to go to a distant spot where he +expected to meet with larger game, I left him and returned to the +village. The blow-pipe practice had lost its novelty, and I did +not care to go on all day and every day with it; more than that, +I was anxious after so long an interval to pay a visit to my +wood, as I began to call it, in the hope of hearing that +mysterious melody which I had grown to love and to miss when even +a single day passed without it. + + + +CHAPTER V + +After making a hasty meal at the house, I started, full of +pleasing anticipations, for the wood; for how pleasant a place it +was to be in! What a wild beauty and fragrance and melodiousness +it possessed above all forests, because of that mystery that drew +me to it! And it was mine, truly and absolutely--as much mine as +any portion of earth's surface could belong to any man--mine with +all its products: the precious woods and fruits and fragrant gums +that would never be trafficked away; its wild animals that man +would never persecute; nor would any jealous savage dispute my +ownership or pretend that it was part of his hunting-ground. As +I crossed the savannah I played with this fancy; but when I +reached the ridgy eminence, to look down once more on my new +domain, the fancy changed to a feeling so keen that it pierced to +my heart and was like pain in its intensity, causing tears to +rush to my eyes. And caring not in that solitude to disguise my +feelings from myself, and from the wide heaven that looked down +and saw me--for this is the sweetest thing that solitude has for +us, that we are free in it, and no convention holds us--I dropped +on my knees and kissed the stony ground, then casting up my eyes, +thanked the Author of my being for the gift of that wild forest, +those green mansions where I had found so great a happiness! + +Elated with this strain of feeling, I reached the wood not long +after noon; but no melodious voice gave me familiar and expected +welcome; nor did my invisible companion make itself heard at all +on that day, or, at all events, not in its usual bird-like +warbling language. But on this day I met with a curious little +adventure and heard something very extraordinary, very +mysterious, which I could not avoid connecting in my mind with +the unseen warbler that so often followed me in my rambles. + +It was an exceedingly bright day, without cloud, but windy, and +finding myself in a rather open part of the wood, near its +border, where the breeze could be felt, I sat down to rest on the +lower part of a large branch, which was half broken, but still +remained attached to the trunk of the tree, while resting its +terminal twigs on the ground. Just before me, where I sat, grew +a low, wide-spreading plant, covered with broad, round, polished +leaves; and the roundness, stiffness, and perfectly horizontal +position of the upper leaves made them look like a collection of +small platforms or round table-tops placed nearly on a level. +Through the leaves, to the height of a foot or more above them, a +slender dead stem protruded, and from a twig at its summit +depended a broken spider's web. A minute dead leaf had become +attached to one of the loose threads and threw its small but +distinct shadow on the platform leaves below; and as it trembled +and swayed in the current of air, the black spot trembled with it +or flew swiftly over the bright green surfaces, and was seldom at +rest. Now, as I sat looking down on the leaves and the small +dancing shadow, scarcely thinking of what I was looking at, I +noticed a small spider, with a flat body and short legs, creep +cautiously out on to the upper surface of a leaf. Its pale red +colour barred with velvet black first drew my attention to it, +for it was beautiful to the eye; and presently I discovered that +this was no web-spinning, sedentary spider, but a wandering +hunter, that captured its prey, like a cat, by stealing on it +concealed and making a rush or spring at the last. The moving +shadow had attracted it and, as the sequel showed, was mistaken +for a fly running about over the leaves and flitting from leaf to +leaf. Now began a series of wonderful manoeuvres on the spider's +part, with the object of circumventing the imaginary fly, which +seemed specially designed to meet this special case; for +certainly no insect had ever before behaved in quite so erratic a +manner. Each time the shadow flew past, the spider ran swiftly +in the same direction, hiding itself under the leaves, always +trying to get near without alarming its prey; and then the shadow +would go round and round in a small circle, and some new +strategic move on the part of the hunter would be called forth. +I became deeply interested in this curious scene; I began to wish +that the shadow would remain quiet for a moment or two, so as to +give the hunter a chance. And at last I had my wish: the shadow +was almost motionless, and the spider moving towards it, yet +seeming not to move, and as it crept closer I fancied that I +could almost see the little striped body quivering with +excitement. Then came the final scene: swift and straight as an +arrow the hunter shot himself on to the fly-like shadow, then +wiggled round and round, evidently trying to take hold of his +prey with fangs and claws; and finding nothing under him, he +raised the fore part of his body vertically, as if to stare about +him in search of the delusive fly; but the action may have simply +expressed astonishment. At this moment I was just on the point +of giving free and loud vent to the laughter which I had been +holding in when, just behind me, as if from some person who had +been watching the scene over my shoulder and was as much amused +as myself at its termination, sounded a clear trill of merry +laughter. I started up and looked hastily around, but no living +creature was there. The mass of loose foliage I stared into was +agitated, as if from a body having just pushed through it. In a +moment the leaves and fronds were motionless again; still, I +could not be sure that a slight gust of wind had not shaken them. +But I was so convinced that I had heard close to me a real human +laugh, or sound of some living creature that exactly simulated a +laugh, that I carefully searched the ground about me, expecting +to find a being of some kind. But I found nothing, and going +back to my seat on the hanging branch, I remained seated for a +considerable time, at first only listening, then pondering on the +mystery of that sweet trill of laughter; and finally I began to +wonder whether I, like the spider that chased the shadow, had +been deluded, and had seemed to hear a sound that was not a +sound. + +On the following day I was in the wood again, and after a two or +three hours' ramble, during which I heard nothing, thinking it +useless to haunt the known spots any longer, I turned southwards +and penetrated into a denser part of the forest, where the +undergrowth made progress difficult. I was not afraid of losing +myself; the sun above and my sense of direction, which was always +good, would enable me to return to the starting-point. + +In this direction I had been pushing resolutely on for over half +an hour, finding it no easy matter to make my way without +constantly deviating to this side or that from the course I +wished to keep, when I came to a much more open spot. The trees +were smaller and scantier here, owing to the rocky nature of the +ground, which sloped rather rapidly down; but it was moist and +overgrown with mosses, ferns, creepers, and low shrubs, all of +the liveliest green. I could not see many yards ahead owing to +the bushes and tall fern fronds; but presently I began to hear a +low, continuous sound, which, when I had advanced twenty or +thirty yards further, I made out to be the gurgling of running +water; and at the same moment I made the discovery that my throat +was parched and my palms tingling with heat. I hurried on, +promising myself a cool draught, when all at once, above the soft +dashing and gurgling of the water, I caught yet another sound--a +low, warbling note, or succession of notes, which might have been +emitted by a bird. But it startled me nevertheless--bird-like +warbling sounds had come to mean so much to me--and pausing, I +listened intently. It was not repeated, and finally, treading +with the utmost caution so as not to alarm the mysterious +vocalist, I crept on until, coming to a greenheart with a +quantity of feathery foliage of a shrub growing about its roots, +I saw that just beyond the tree the ground was more open still, +letting in the sunlight from above, and that the channel of the +stream I sought was in this open space, about twenty yards from +me, although the water was still hidden from sight. Something +else was there, which I did see; instantly my cautious advance +was arrested. I stood gazing with concentrated vision, scarcely +daring to breathe lest I should scare it away. + +It was a human being--a girl form, reclining on the moss among +the ferns and herbage, near the roots of a small tree. One arm +was doubled behind her neck for her head to rest upon, while the +other arm was held extended before her, the hand raised towards a +small brown bird perched on a pendulous twig just beyond its +reach. She appeared to be playing with the bird, possibly +amusing herself by trying to entice it on to her hand; and the +hand appeared to tempt it greatly, for it persistently hopped up +and down, turning rapidly about this way and that, flirting its +wings and tail, and always appearing just on the point of +dropping on to her finger. From my position it was impossible to +see her distinctly, yet I dared not move. I could make out that +she was small, not above four feet six or seven inches in height, +in figure slim, with delicately shaped little hands and feet. +Her feet were bare, and her only garment was a slight +chemise-shaped dress reaching below her knees, of a whitish-gray +colour, with a faint lustre as of a silky material. Her hair was +very wonderful; it was loose and abundant, and seemed wavy or +curly, falling in a cloud on her shoulders and arms. Dark it +appeared, but the precise tint was indeterminable, as was that of +her skin, which looked neither brown nor white. All together, +near to me as she actually was, there was a kind of mistiness in +the figure which made it appear somewhat vague and distant, and a +greenish grey seemed the prevailing colour. This tint I +presently attributed to the effect of the sunlight falling on her +through the green foliage; for once, for a moment, she raised +herself to reach her finger nearer to the bird, and then a gleam +of unsubdued sunlight fell on her hair and arm, and the arm at +that moment appeared of a pearly whiteness, and the hair, just +where the light touched it, had a strange lustre and play of +iridescent colour. + +I had not been watching her more than three seconds before the +bird, with a sharp, creaking little chirp, flew up and away in +sudden alarm; at the same moment she turned and saw me through +the light leafy screen. But although catching sight of me thus +suddenly, she did not exhibit alarm like the bird; only her eyes, +wide open, with a surprised look in them, remained immovably +fixed on my face. And then slowly, imperceptibly--for I did not +notice the actual movement, so gradual and smooth it was, like +the motion of a cloud of mist which changes its form and place, +yet to the eye seems not to have moved--she rose to her knees, to +her feet, retired, and with face still towards me, and eyes fixed +on mine, finally disappeared, going as if she had melted away +into the verdure. The leafage was there occupying the precise +spot where she had been a moment before--the feathery foliage of +an acacia shrub, and stems and broad, arrow-shaped leaves of an +aquatic plant, and slim, drooping fern fronds, and they were +motionless and seemed not to have been touched by something +passing through them. She had gone, yet I continued still, bent +almost double, gazing fixedly at the spot where I had last seen +her, my mind in a strange condition, possessed by sensations +which were keenly felt and yet contradictory. So vivid was the +image left on my brain that she still seemed to be actually +before my eyes; and she was not there, nor had been, for it was a +dream, an illusion, and no such being existed, or could exist, in +this gross world; and at the same time I knew that she had been +there--that imagination was powerless to conjure up a form so +exquisite. + +With the mental image I had to be satisfied, for although I +remained for some hours at that spot, I saw her no more, nor did +I hear any familiar melodious sound. For I was now convinced +that in this wild solitary girl I had at length discovered the +mysterious warbler that so often followed me in the wood. At +length, seeing that it was growing late, I took a drink from the +stream and slowly and reluctantly made my way out of the forest +and went home. + +Early next day I was back in the wood full of delightful +anticipations, and had no sooner got well among the trees than a +soft, warbling sound reached my ears; it was like that heard on +the previous day just before catching sight of the girl among the +ferns. So soon! thought I, elated, and with cautious steps I +proceeded to explore the ground, hoping again to catch her +unawares. But I saw nothing; and only after beginning to doubt +that I had heard anything unusual, and had sat down to rest on a +rock, the sound was repeated, soft and low as before, very near +and distinct. Nothing more was heard at this spot, but an hour +later, in another place, the same mysterious note sounded near +me. During my remaining time in the forest I was served many +times in the same way, and still nothing was seen, nor was there +any change in the voice. + +Only when the day was near its end did I give up my quest, +feeling very keenly disappointed. It then struck me that the +cause of the elusive creature's behaviour was that she had been +piqued at my discovery of her in one of her most secret +hiding-places in the heart of the wood, and that it had pleased +her to pay me out in this manner. + +On the next day there was no change; she was there again, +evidently following me, but always invisible, and varied not from +that one mocking note of yesterday, which seemed to challenge me +to find her a second time. In the end I was vexed, and resolved +to be even with her by not visiting the wood for some time. A +display of indifference on my part would, I hoped, result in +making her less coy in the future. + +Next day, firm in my new resolution, I accompanied Kua-ko and two +others to a distant spot where they expected that the ripening +fruit on a cashew tree would attract a large number of birds. +The fruit, however, proved still green, so that we gathered none +and killed few birds. Returning together, Kua-ko kept at my +side, and by and by, falling behind our companions, he +complimented me on my good shooting, although, as usual, I had +only wasted the arrows I had blown. + +"Soon you will be able to hit," he said; "hit a bird as big as a +small woman"; and he laughed once more immoderately at the old +joke. At last, growing confidential, he said that I would soon +possess a zabatana of my own, with arrows in plenty. He was +going to make the arrows himself, and his uncle Otawinki, who had +a straight eye, would make the tube. I treated it all as a joke, +but he solemnly assured me that he meant it. + +Next morning he asked me if I was going to the forest of evil +fame, and when I replied in the negative, seemed surprised and, +very much to my surprise, evidently disappointed. He even tried +to persuade me to go, where before I had been earnestly +recommended not to go, until, finding that I would not, he took +me with him to hunt in the woods. By and by he returned to the +same subject: he could not understand why I would not go to that +wood, and asked me if I had begun to grow afraid. + +"No, not afraid," I replied; "but I know the place well, and am +getting tired of it." I had seen everything in it--birds and +beasts--and had heard all its strange noises. + +"Yes, heard," he said, nodding his head knowingly; "but you have +seen nothing strange; your eyes are not good enough yet." + +I laughed contemptuously and answered that I had seen everything +strange the wood contained, including a strange young girl; and I +went on to describe her appearance, and finished by asking if he +thought a white man was frightened at the sight of a young girl. + +What I said astonished him; then he seemed greatly pleased, and, +growing still more confidential and generous than on the previous +day, he said that I would soon be a most important personage +among them, and greatly distinguish myself. He did not like it +when I laughed at all this, and went on with great seriousness to +speak of the unmade blowpipe that would be mine--speaking of it +as if it had been something very great, equal to the gift of a +large tract of land, or the governorship of a province, north of +the Orinoco. And by and by he spoke of something else more +wonderful even than the promise of a blow-pipe, with arrows +galore, and this was that young sister of his, whose name was +Oalava, a maid of about sixteen, shy and silent and mild-eyed, +rather lean and dirty; not ugly, nor yet prepossessing. And this +copper-coloured little drab of the wilderness he proposed to +bestow in marriage on me! Anxious to pump him, I managed to +control my muscles and asked him what authority he--a young +nobody, who had not yet risen to the dignity of buying a wife for +himself--could have to dispose of a sister in this offhand way? +He replied that there would be no difficulty: that Runi would +give his consent, as would also Otawinki, Piake, and other +relations; and last, and LEAST, according to the matrimonial +customs of these latitudes, Oalava herself would be ready to +bestow her person--queyou, worn figleaf-wise, necklace of accouri +teeth, and all--on so worthy a suitor as myself. Finally, to +make the prospect still more inviting, he added that it would not +be necessary for me to subject myself to any voluntary tortures +to prove myself a man and fitted to enter into the purgatorial +state of matrimony. He was a great deal too considerate, I said, +and, with all the gravity I could command, asked him what kind of +torture he would recommend. For me--so valorous a person--"no +torture," he answered magnanimously. But he--Kua-ko--had made up +his mind as to the form of torture he meant to inflict some day +on his own person. He would prepare a large sack and into it put +fire-ants--"As many as that!" he exclaimed triumphantly, +stooping and filling his two hands with loose sand. He would put +them in the sack, and then get into it himself naked, and tie it +tightly round his neck, so as to show to all spectators that the +hellish pain of innumerable venomous stings in his flesh could be +endured without a groan and with an unmoved countenance. The +poor youth had not an original mind, since this was one of the +commonest forms of self-torture among the Guayana tribes. But +the sudden wonderful animation with which he spoke of it, the +fiendish joy that illumined his usually stolid countenance, sent +a sudden disgust and horror through me. But what a strange +inverted kind of fiendishness is this, which delights at the +anticipation of torture inflicted on oneself and not on an enemy! +And towards others these savages are mild and peaceable! No, I +could not believe in their mildness; that was only on the +surface, when nothing occurred to rouse their savage, cruel +instincts. I could have laughed at the whole matter, but the +exulting look on my companion's face had made me sick of the +subject, and I wished not to talk any more about it. + +But he would talk still--this fellow whose words, as a rule, I +had to take out of his mouth with a fork, as we say; and still on +the same subject, he said that not one person in the village +would expect to see me torture myself; that after what I would do +for them all--after delivering them from a great evil--nothing +further would be expected of me. + +I asked him to explain his meaning; for it now began to appear +plain that in everything he had said he had been leading up to +some very important matter. It would, of course, have been a +great mistake to suppose that my savage was offering me a +blow-pipe and a marketable virgin sister from purely +disinterested motives. + +In reply he went back to that still unforgotten joke about my +being able eventually to hit a bird as big as a small woman with +an arrow. Out of it all came, when he went on to ask me if that +mysterious girl I had seen in the wood was not of a size to suit +me as a target when I had got my hand in with a little more +practice. That was the great work I was asked to do for +them--that shy, mysterious girl with the melodious wild-bird +voice was the evil being I was asked to slay with poisoned +arrows! This was why he now wished me to go often to the wood, +to become more and more familiar with her haunts and habits, to +overcome all shyness and suspicion in her; and at the proper +moment, when it would be impossible to miss my mark, to plant the +fatal arrow! The disgust he had inspired in me before, when +gloating over anticipated tortures, was a weak and transient +feeling to what I now experienced. I turned on him in a sudden +transport of rage, and in a moment would have shattered on his +head the blow-pipe I was carrying in my hand, but his astonished +look as he turned to face me made me pause and prevented me from +committing so fatal an indiscretion. I could only grind my teeth +and struggle to overcome an almost overpowering hatred and wrath. +Finally I flung the tube down and bade him take it, telling him +that I would not touch it again if he offered me all the sisters +of all the savages in Guayana for wives. + +He continued gazing at me mute with astonishment, and prudence +suggested that it would be best to conceal as far as possible the +violent animosity I had conceived against him. I asked him +somewhat scornfully if he believed that I should ever be able to +hit anything--bird or human being--with an arrow. "No," I almost +shouted, so as to give vent to my feelings in some way, and +drawing my revolver, "this is the white man's weapon; but he +kills men with it--men who attempt to kill or injure him--but +neither with this nor any other weapon does he murder innocent +young girls treacherously." After that we went on in silence for +some time; at length he said that the being I had seen in the +wood and was not afraid of was no innocent young girl, but a +daughter of the Didi, an evil being; and that so long as she +continued to inhabit the wood they could not go there to hunt, +and even in other woods they constantly went in fear of meeting +her. Too much disgusted to talk with him, I went on in silence; +and when we reached the stream near the village, I threw off my +clothes and plunged into the water to cool my anger before going +in to the others. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +Thinking about the forest girl while lying awake that night, I +came to the conclusion that I had made it sufficiently plain to +her how little her capricious behaviour had been relished, and +had therefore no need to punish myself more by keeping any longer +out of my beloved green mansions. Accordingly, next day, after +the heavy rain that fell during the morning hours had ceased, I +set forth about noon to visit the wood. Overhead the sky was +clear again; but there was no motion in the heavy sultry +atmosphere, while dark blue masses of banked-up clouds on the +western horizon threatened a fresh downpour later in the day. My +mind was, however, now too greatly excited at the prospect of a +possible encounter with the forest nymph to allow me to pay any +heed to these ominous signs. + +I had passed through the first strip of wood and was in the +succeeding stony sterile space when a gleam of brilliant colour +close by on the ground caught my sight. It was a snake lying on +the bare earth; had I kept on without noticing it, I should most +probably have trodden upon or dangerously near it. Viewing it +closely, I found that it was a coral snake, famed as much for its +beauty and singularity as for its deadly character. It was about +three feet long, and very slim; its ground colour a brilliant +vermilion, with broad jet-black rings at equal distances round +its body, each black ring or band divided by a narrow yellow +strip in the middle. The symmetrical pattern and vividly +contrasted colours would have given it the appearance of an +artificial snake made by some fanciful artist, but for the gleam +of life in its bright coils. Its fixed eyes, too, were living +gems, and from the point of its dangerous arrowy head the +glistening tongue flickered ceaselessly as I stood a few yards +away regarding it. + +"I admire you greatly, Sir Serpent," I said, or thought, "but it +is dangerous, say the military authorities, to leave an enemy or +possible enemy in the rear; the person who does such a thing must +be either a bad strategist or a genius, and I am neither." + +Retreating a few paces, I found and picked up a stone about as +big as a man's hand and hurled it at the dangerous-looking head +with the intention of crushing it; but the stone hit upon the +rocky ground a little on one side of the mark and, being soft, +flew into a hundred small fragments. This roused the creature's +anger, and in a moment with raised head he was gliding swiftly +towards me. Again I retreated, not so slowly on this occasion; +and finding another stone, I raised and was about to launch it +when a sharp, ringing cry issued from the bushes growing near, +and, quickly following the sound, forth stepped the forest girl; +no longer elusive and shy, vaguely seen in the shadowy wood, but +boldly challenging attention, exposed to the full power of the +meridian sun, which made her appear luminous and rich in colour +beyond example. Seeing her thus, all those emotions of fear and +abhorrence invariably excited in us by the sight of an active +venomous serpent in our path vanished instantly from my mind: I +could now only feel astonishment and admiration at the brilliant +being as she advanced with swift, easy, undulating motion towards +me; or rather towards the serpent, which was now between us, +moving more and more slowly as she came nearer. The cause of +this sudden wonderful boldness, so unlike her former habit, was +unmistakable. She had been watching my approach from some +hiding-place among the bushes, ready no doubt to lead me a dance +through the wood with her mocking voice, as on previous +occasions, when my attack on the serpent caused that outburst of +wrath. The torrent of ringing and to me inarticulate sounds in +that unknown tongue, her rapid gestures, and, above all, her +wide-open sparkling eyes and face aflame with colour made it +impossible to mistake the nature of her feeling. + +In casting about for some term or figure of speech in which to +describe the impression produced on me at that moment, I think of +waspish, and, better still, avispada--literally the same word in +Spanish, not having precisely the same meaning nor ever applied +contemptuously--only to reject both after a moment's reflection. +Yet I go back to the image of an irritated wasp as perhaps +offering the best illustration; of some large tropical wasp +advancing angrily towards me, as I have witnessed a hundred +times, not exactly flying, but moving rapidly, half running and +half flying, over the ground, with loud and angry buzz, the +glistening wings open and agitated; beautiful beyond most +animated creatures in its sharp but graceful lines, polished +surface, and varied brilliant colouring, and that wrathfulness +that fits it so well and seems to give it additional lustre. + +Wonder-struck at the sight of her strange beauty and passion, I +forgot the advancing snake until she came to a stop at about five +yards from me; then to my horror I saw that it was beside her +naked feet. Although no longer advancing, the head was still +raised high as if to strike; but presently the spirit of anger +appeared to die out of it; the lifted head, oscillating a little +from side to side, sunk down lower and lower to rest finally on +the girl's bare instep; and lying there motionless, the deadly +thing had the appearance of a gaily coloured silken garter just +dropped from her leg. It was plain to see that she had no fear +of it, that she was one of those exceptional persons, to be +found, it is said, in all countries, who possess some magnetic +quality which has a soothing effect on even the most venomous and +irritable reptiles. + +Following the direction of my eyes, she too glanced down, but did +not move her foot; then she made her voice heard again, still +loud and sharp, but the anger was not now so pronounced. + +"Do not fear, I shall not harm it," I said in the Indian tongue. + +She took no notice of my speech and continued speaking with +increasing resentment. + +I shook my head, replying that her language was unknown to me. +Then by means of signs I tried to make her understand that the +creature was safe from further molestation. She pointed +indignantly at the stone in my hand, which I had forgotten all +about. At once I threw it from me, and instantly there was a +change; the resentment had vanished, and a tender radiance lit +her face like a smile. + +I advanced a little nearer, addressing her once more in the +Indian tongue; but my speech was evidently unintelligible to her, +as she stood now glancing at the snake lying at her feet, now at +me. Again I had recourse to signs and gestures; pointing to the +snake, then to the stone I had cast away, I endeavoured to convey +to her that in the future I would for her sake be a friend to all +venomous reptiles, and that I wished her to have the same kindly +feelings towards me as towards these creatures. Whether or not +she understood me, she showed no disposition to go into hiding +again, and continued silently regarding me with a look that +seemed to express pleasure at finding herself at last thus +suddenly brought face to face with me. Flattered at this, I +gradually drew nearer until at the last I was standing at her +side, gazing down with the utmost delight into that face which so +greatly surpassed in loveliness all human faces I had ever seen +or imagined. + +And yet to you, my friend, it probably will not seem that she was +so beautiful, since I have, alas! only the words we all use to +paint commoner, coarser things, and no means to represent all the +exquisite details, all the delicate lights, and shades, and swift +changes of colour and expression. Moreover, is it not a fact +that the strange or unheard of can never appear beautiful in a +mere description, because that which is most novel in it attracts +too much attention and is given undue prominence in the picture, +and we miss that which would have taken away the effect of +strangeness--the perfect balance of the parts and harmony of the +whole? For instance, the blue eyes of the northerner would, when +first described to the black-eyed inhabitants of warm regions, +seem unbeautiful and a monstrosity, because they would vividly +see with the mental vision that unheard-of blueness, but not in +the same vivid way the accompanying flesh and hair tints with +which it harmonizes. + +Think, then, less of the picture as I have to paint it in words +than of the feeling its original inspired in me when, looking +closely for the first time on that rare loveliness, trembling +with delight, I mentally cried: "Oh, why has Nature, maker of so +many types and of innumerable individuals of each, given to the +world but one being like this?" + +Scarcely had the thought formed itself in my mind before I +dismissed it as utterly incredible. No, this exquisite being was +without doubt one of a distinct race which had existed in this +little-known corner of the continent for thousands of +generations, albeit now perhaps reduced to a small and dwindling +remnant. + +Her figure and features were singularly delicate, but it was her +colour that struck me most, which indeed made her differ from all +other human beings. The colour of the skin would be almost +impossible to describe, so greatly did it vary with every change +of mood--and the moods were many and transient--and with the +angle on which the sunlight touched it, and the degree of light. + +Beneath the trees, at a distance, it had seemed a somewhat dim +white or pale grey; near in the strong sunshine it was not white, +but alabastrian, semi-pellucid, showing an underlying rose +colour; and at any point where the rays fell direct this colour +was bright and luminous, as we see in our fingers when held +before a strong firelight. But that part of her skin that +remained in shadow appeared of a dimmer white, and the underlying +colour varied from dim, rosy purple to dim blue. With the skin +the colour of the eyes harmonized perfectly. At first, when lit +with anger, they had appeared flame-like; now the iris was of a +peculiar soft or dim and tender red, a shade sometimes seen in +flowers. But only when looked closely at could this delicate hue +be discerned, the pupils being large, as in some grey eyes, and +the long, dark, shading lashes at a short distance made the whole +eye appear dark. Think not, then, of the red flower, exposed to +the light and sun in conjunction with the vivid green of the +foliage; think only of such a hue in the half-hidden iris, +brilliant and moist with the eye's moisture, deep with the eye's +depth, glorified by the outward look of a bright, beautiful soul. +Most variable of all in colour was the hair, this being due to +its extreme fineness and glossiness, and to its elasticity, which +made it lie fleecy and loose on head, shoulders, and back; a +cloud with a brightness on its surface made by the freer outer +hairs, a fit setting and crown for a countenance of such rare +changeful loveliness. In the shade, viewed closely, the general +colour appeared a slate, deepening in places to purple; but even +in the shade the nimbus of free flossy hairs half veiled the +darker tints with a downy pallor; and at a distance of a few +yards it gave the whole hair a vague, misty appearance. In the +sunlight the colour varied more, looking now dark, sometimes +intensely black, now of a light uncertain hue, with a play of +iridescent colour on the loose surface, as we see on the glossed +plumage of some birds; and at a short distance, with the sun +shining full on her head, it sometimes looked white as a noonday +cloud. So changeful was it and ethereal in appearance with its +cloud colours that all other human hair, even of the most +beautiful golden shades, pale or red, seemed heavy and dull and +dead-looking by comparison. + +But more than form and colour and that enchanting variability was +the look of intelligence, which at the same time seemed +complementary to and one with the all-seeing, all-hearing +alertness appearing in her face; the alertness one remarks in a +wild creature, even when in repose and fearing nothing; but +seldom in man, never perhaps in intellectual or studious man. +She was a wild, solitary girl of the woods, and did not +understand the language of the country in which I had addressed +her. What inner or mind life could such a one have more than +that of any wild animal existing in the same conditions? Yet +looking at her face it was not possible to doubt its +intelligence. This union in her of two opposite qualities, +which, with us, cannot or do not exist together, although so +novel, yet struck me as the girl's principal charm. Why had +Nature not done this before--why in all others does the +brightness of the mind dim that beautiful physical brightness +which the wild animals have? But enough for me that that which +no man had ever looked for or hoped to find existed here; that +through that unfamiliar lustre of the wild life shone the +spiritualizing light of mind that made us kin. + +These thoughts passed swiftly through my brain as I stood +feasting my sight on her bright, piquant face; while she on her +part gazed back into my eyes, not only with fearless curiosity, +but with a look of recognition and pleasure at the encounter so +unmistakably friendly that, encouraged by it, I took her arm in +my hand, moving at the same time a little nearer to her. At that +moment a swift, startled expression came into her eyes; she +glanced down and up again into my face; her lips trembled and +slightly parted as she murmured some sorrowful sounds in a tone +so low as to be only just audible. + +Thinking she had become alarmed and was on the point of escaping +out of my hands, and fearing, above all things, to lose sight of +her again so soon, I slipped my arm around her slender body to +detain her, moving one foot at the same time to balance myself; +and at that moment I felt a slight blow and a sharp burning +sensation shoot into my leg, so sudden and intense that I dropped +my arm, at the same time uttering a cry of pain, and recoiled one +or two paces from her. But she stirred not when I released her; +her eyes followed my movements; then she glanced down at her +feet. I followed her look, and figure to yourself my horror when +I saw there the serpent I had so completely forgotten, and which +even that sting of sharp pain had not brought back to +remembrance! There it lay, a coil of its own thrown round one of +her ankles, and its head, raised nearly a foot high, swaying +slowly from side to side, while the swift forked tongue flickered +continuously. Then--only then--I knew what had happened, and at +the same time I understood the reason of that sudden look of +alarm in her face, the murmuring sounds she had uttered, and the +downward startled glance. Her fears had been solely for my +safety, and she had warned me! Too late! too late! In moving I +had trodden on or touched the serpent with my foot, and it had +bitten me just above the ankle. In a few moments I began to +realize the horror of my position. "Must I die! must I die! +Oh, my God, is there nothing that can save me?" I cried in my +heart. + +She was still standing motionless in the same place: her eyes +wandered back from me to the snake; gradually its swaying head +was lowered again, and the coil unwound from her ankle; then it +began to move away, slowly at first, and with the head a little +raised, then faster, and in the end it glided out of sight. +Gone!--but it had left its venom in my blood--O cursed reptile! + +Back from watching its retreat, my eyes returned to her face, now +strangely clouded with trouble; her eyes dropped before mine, +while the palms of her hands were pressed together, and the +fingers clasped and unclasped alternately. How different she +seemed now; the brilliant face grown so pallid and vague-looking! +But not only because this tragic end to our meeting had pierced +her with pain: that cloud in the west had grown up and now +covered half the sky with vast lurid masses of vapour, blotting +out the sun, and a great gloom had fallen on the earth. + +That sudden twilight and a long roll of approaching thunder, +reverberating from the hills, increased my anguish and +desperation. Death at that moment looked unutterably terrible. +The remembrance of all that made life dear pierced me to the +core--all that nature was to me, all the pleasures of sense and +intellect, the hopes I had cherished--all was revealed to me as +by a flash of lightning. Bitterest of all was the thought that I +must now bid everlasting farewell to this beautiful being I had +found in the solitude this lustrous daughter of the Didi--just +when I had won her from her shyness--that I must go away into the +cursed blackness of death and never know the mystery of her life! +It was that which utterly unnerved me, and made my legs tremble +under me, and brought great drops of sweat to my forehead, until +I thought that the venom was already doing its swift, fatal work +in my veins. + +With uncertain steps I moved to a stone a yard or two away and +sat down upon it. As I did so the hope came to me that this +girl, so intimate with nature, might know of some antidote to +save me. Touching my leg, and using other signs, I addressed her +again in the Indian language. + +"The snake has bitten me," I said. "What shall I do? Is there +no leaf, no root you know that would save me from death? Help +me! help me!" I cried in despair. + +My signs she probably understood if not my words, but she made no +reply; and still she remained standing motionless, twisting and +untwisting her fingers, and regarding me with a look of ineffable +grief and compassion. + +Alas! It was vain to appeal to her: she knew what had happened, +and what the result would most likely be, and pitied, but was +powerless to help me. Then it occurred to me that if I could +reach the Indian village before the venom overpowered me +something might be done to save me. Oh, why had I tarried so +long, losing so many precious minutes! Large drops of rain were +falling now, and the gloom was deeper, and the thunder almost +continuous. With a cry of anguish I started to my feet and was +about to rush away towards the village when a dazzling flash of +lightning made me pause for a moment. When it vanished I turned +a last look on the girl, and her face was deathly pale, and her +hair looked blacker than night; and as she looked she stretched +out her arms towards me and uttered a low, wailing cry. +"Good-bye for ever!" I murmured, and turning once more from her, +rushed away like one crazed into the wood. But in my confusion I +had probably taken the wrong direction, for instead of coming out +in a few minutes into the open border of the forest, and on to +the savannah, I found myself every moment getting deeper among +the trees. I stood still, perplexed, but could not shake off the +conviction that I had started in the right direction. Eventually +I resolved to keep on for a hundred yards or so and then, if no +opening appeared, to turn back and retrace my steps. But this +was no easy matter. I soon became entangled in a dense +undergrowth, which so confused me that at last I confessed +despairingly to myself that for the first time in this wood I was +hopelessly lost. And in what terrible circumstances! At +intervals a flash of lightning would throw a vivid blue glare +down into the interior of the wood and only serve to show that I +had lost myself in a place where even at noon in cloudless +weather progress would be most difficult; and now the light would +only last a moment, to be followed by thick gloom; and I could +only tear blindly on, bruising and lacerating my flesh at every +step, falling again and again, only to struggle up and on again, +now high above the surface, climbing over prostrate trees and +branches, now plunged to my middle in a pool or torrent of water. + +Hopeless--utterly hopeless seemed all my mad efforts; and at each +pause, when I would stand exhausted, gasping for breath, my +throbbing heart almost suffocating me, a dull, continuous, +teasing pain in my bitten leg served to remind me that I had but +a little time left to exist--that by delaying at first I had +allowed my only chance of salvation to slip by. + +How long a time I spent fighting my way through this dense black +wood I know not; perhaps two or three hours, only to me the hours +seemed like years of prolonged agony. At last, all at once, I +found that I was free of the close undergrowth and walking on +level ground; but it was darker here darker than the darkest +night; and at length, when the lightning came and flared down +through the dense roof of foliage overhead, I discovered that I +was in a spot that had a strange look, where the trees were very +large and grew wide apart, and with no undergrowth to impede +progress beneath them. Here, recovering breath, I began to run, +and after a while found that I had left the large trees behind +me, and was now in a more open place, with small trees and +bushes; and this made me hope for a while that I had at last +reached the border of the forest. But the hope proved vain; once +more I had to force my way through dense undergrowth, and finally +emerged on to a slope where it was open, and I could once more +see for some distance around me by such light as came through the +thick pall of clouds. Trudging on to the summit of the slope, I +saw that there was open savannah country beyond, and for a moment +rejoiced that I had got free from the forest. A few steps more, +and I was standing on the very edge of a bank, a precipice not +less than fifty feet deep. I had never seen that bank before, +and therefore knew that I could not be on the right side of the +forest. But now my only hope was to get completely away from the +trees and then to look for the village, and I began following the +bank in search of a descent. No break occurred, and presently I +was stopped by a dense thicket of bushes. I was about to retrace +my steps when I noticed that a tall slender tree growing at the +foot of the precipice, its green top not more than a couple of +yards below my feet, seemed to offer a means of escape. Nerving +myself with the thought that if I got crushed by the fall I +should probably escape a lingering and far more painful death, I +dropped into the cloud of foliage beneath me and clutched +desperately at the twigs as I fell. For a moment I felt myself +sustained; but branch after branch gave way beneath my weight, +and then I only remember, very dimly, a swift flight through the +air before losing consciousness. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +With the return of consciousness, I at first had a vague +impression that I was lying somewhere, injured, and incapable of +motion; that it was night, and necessary for me to keep my eyes +fast shut to prevent them from being blinded by almost continuous +vivid flashes of lightning. Injured, and sore all over, but warm +and dry--surely dry; nor was it lightning that dazzled, but +firelight. I began to notice things little by little. The fire +was burning on a clay floor a few feet from where I was lying. +Before it, on a log of wood, sat or crouched a human figure. An +old man, with chin on breast and hands clasped before his +drawn-up knees; only a small portion of his forehead and nose +visible to me. An Indian I took him to be, from his coarse, +lank, grey hair and dark brown skin. I was in a large hut, +falling at the sides to within two feet of the floor; but there +were no hammocks in it, nor bows and spears, and no skins, not +even under me, for I was lying on straw mats. I could hear the +storm still raging outside; the rush and splash of rain, and, at +intervals, the distant growl of thunder. There was wind, too; I +listened to it sobbing in the trees, and occasionally a puff +found its way in, and blew up the white ashes at the old man's +feet, and shook the yellow flames like a flag. I remembered now +how the storm began, the wild girl, the snake-bite, my violent +efforts to find a way out of the woods, and, finally, that leap +from the bank where recollection ended. That I had not been +killed by the venomous tooth, nor the subsequent fearful fall, +seemed like a miracle to me. And in that wild, solitary place, +lying insensible, in that awful storm and darkness, I had been +found by a fellow creature--a savage, doubtless, but a good +Samaritan all the same--who had rescued me from death! I was +bruised all over and did not attempt to move, fearing the pain it +would give me; and I had a racking headache; but these seemed +trifling discomforts after such adventures and such perils. I +felt that I had recovered or was recovering from that venomous +bite; that I would live and not die--live to return to my +country; and the thought filled my heart to overflowing, and +tears of gratitude and happiness rose to my eyes. + +At such times a man experiences benevolent feelings, and would +willingly bestow some of that overplus of happiness on his +fellows to lighten other hearts; and this old man before me, who +was probably the instrument of my salvation, began greatly to +excite my interest and compassion. For he seemed so poor in his +old age and rags, so solitary and dejected as he sat there with +knees drawn up, his great, brown, bare feet looking almost black +by contrast with the white wood-ashes about them! What could I +do for him? What could I say to cheer his spirits in that Indian +language, which has few or no words to express kindly feelings? +Unable to think of anything better to say, I at length suddenly +cried aloud: "Smoke, old man! Why do you not smoke? It is good +to smoke." + +He gave a mighty start and, turning, fixed his eyes on me. Then +I saw that he was not a pure Indian, for although as brown as old +leather, he wore a beard and moustache. A curious face had this +old man, which looked as if youth and age had made it a +battling-ground. His forehead was smooth except for two parallel +lines in the middle running its entire length, dividing it in +zones; his arched eyebrows were black as ink, and his small black +eyes were bright and cunning, like the eyes of some wild +carnivorous animal. In this part of his face youth had held its +own, especially in the eyes, which looked young and lively. But +lower down age had conquered, scribbling his skin all over with +wrinkles, while moustache and beard were white as thistledown. +"Aha, the dead man is alive again!" he exclaimed, with a +chuckling laugh. This in the Indian tongue; then in Spanish he +added: "But speak to me in the language you know best, senor; for +if you are not a Venezuelan call me an owl." + +"And you, old man?" said I. + +"Ah, I was right! Why sir what I am is plainly written on my +face. Surely you do not take me for a pagan! I might be a black +man from Africa, or an Englishman, but an Indian--that, no! But +a minute ago you had the goodness to invite me to smoke. How, sir, +can a poor man smoke who is without tobacco?" + +"Without tobacco--in Guayana!" + +"Can you believe it? But, sir, do not blame me; if the beast +that came one night and destroyed my plants when ripe for cutting +had taken pumpkins and sweet potatoes instead, it would have been +better for him, if curses have any effect. And the plant grows +slowly, sir--it is not an evil weed to come to maturity in a +single day. And as for other leaves in the forest, I smoke them, +yes; but there is no comfort to the lungs in such smoke." + +"My tobacco-pouch was full," I said. "You will find it in my +coat, if I did not lose it." + +"The saints forbid!" he exclaimed. "Grandchild--Rima, have you +got a tobacco-pouch with the other things? Give it to me." + +Then I first noticed that another person was in the hut, a slim +young girl, who had been seated against the wall on the other +side of the fire, partially hid by the shadows. She had my +leather belt, with the revolver in its case, and my hunting-knife +attached, and the few articles I had had in my pockets, on her +lap. Taking up the pouch, she handed it to him, and he clutched +it with a strange eagerness. + +"I will give it back presently, Rima," he said. "Let me first +smoke a cigarette--and then another." + +It seemed probable from this that the good old man had already +been casting covetous eyes on my property, and that his +granddaughter had taken care of it for me. But how the silent, +demure girl had kept it from him was a puzzle, so intensely did +he seem now to enjoy it, drawing the smoke vigorously into his +lungs and, after keeping it ten or fifteen seconds there, letting +it fly out again from mouth and nose in blue jets and clouds. +His face softened visibly, he became more and more genial and +loquacious, and asked me how I came to be in that solitary place. +I told him that I was staying with the Indian Runi, his +neighbour. + +"But, senor," he said, "if it is not an impertinence, how is it +that a young man of so distinguished an appearance as yourself, a +Venezuelan, should be residing with these children of the devil?" + +"You love not your neighbours, then?" + +"I know them, sir--how should I love them?" He was rolling up +his second or third cigarette by this time, and I could not help +noticing that he took a great deal more tobacco than he required +in his fingers, and that the surplus on each occasion was +conveyed to some secret receptacle among his rags. "Love them, +sir! They are infidels, and therefore the good Christian must +only hate them. They are thieves--they will steal from you before +your very face, so devoid are they of all shame. And also +murderers; gladly would they burn this poor thatch above my head, +and kill me and my poor grandchild, who shares this solitary life +with me, if they had the courage. But they are all arrant +cowards, and fear to approach me--fear even to come into this +wood. You would laugh to hear what they are afraid of--a child +would laugh to hear it!" + +"What do they fear?" I said, for his words had excited my +interest in a great degree. + +"Why, sir, would you believe it? They fear this child--my +granddaughter, seated there before you. A poor innocent girl of +seventeen summers, a Christian who knows her Catechism, and would +not harm the smallest thing that God has made--no, not a fly, +which is not regarded on account of its smallness. Why, sir, it +is due to her tender heart that you are safely sheltered here, +instead of being left out of doors in this tempestuous night." + +"To her--to this girl?" I returned in astonishment. "Explain, +old man, for I do not know how I was saved." + +"Today, senor, through your own heedlessness you were bitten by a +venomous snake." + +"Yes, that is true, although I do not know how it came to your +knowledge. But why am I not a dead man, then--have you done +something to save me from the effects of the poison?" + +"Nothing. What could I do so long after you were bitten? When a +man is bitten by a snake in a solitary place he is in God's +hands. He will live or die as God wills. There is nothing to be +done. But surely, sir, you remember that my poor grandchild was +with you in the wood when the snake bit you?" + +"A girl was there--a strange girl I have seen and heard before +when I have walked in the forest. But not this girl--surely not +this girl!" + +"No other," said he, carefully rolling up another cigarette. + +"It is not possible!" I returned. + +"Ill would you have fared, sir, had she not been there. For +after being bitten, you rushed away into the thickest part of the +wood, and went about in a circle like a demented person for +Heaven knows how long. But she never left you; she was always +close to you--you might have touched her with your hand. And at +last some good angel who was watching you, in order to stop your +career, made you mad altogether and caused you to jump over a +precipice and lose your senses. And you were no sooner on the +ground than she was with you--ask me not how she got down! And +when she had propped you up against the bank, she came for me. +Fortunately the spot where you had fallen is near--not five +hundred yards from the door. And I, on my part, was willing to +assist her in saving you; for I knew it was no Indian that had +fallen, since she loves not that breed, and they come not here. +It was not an easy task, for you weigh, senor; but between us we +brought you in." + +While he spoke, the girl continued sitting in the same listless +attitude as when I first observed her, with eyes cast down and +hands folded in her lap. Recalling that brilliant being in the +wood that had protected the serpent from me and calmed its rage, +I found it hard to believe his words, and still felt a little +incredulous. + +"Rima--that is your name, is it not?" I said. "Will you come +here and stand before me, and let me look closely at you?" + +"Si, senor." she meekly answered; and removing the things from +her lap, she stood up; then, passing behind the old man, came and +stood before me, her eyes still bent on the ground--a picture of +humility. + +She had the figure of the forest girl, but wore now a scanty +faded cotton garment, while the loose cloud of hair was confined +in two plaits and hung down her back. The face also showed the +same delicate lines, but of the brilliant animation and variable +colour and expression there appeared no trace. Gazing at her +countenance as she stood there silent, shy, and spiritless before +me, the image of her brighter self came vividly to my mind and I +could not recover from the astonishment I felt at such a +contrast. + +Have you ever observed a humming-bird moving about in an aerial +dance among the flowers--a living prismatic gem that changes its +colour with every change of position--how in turning it catches +the sunshine on its burnished neck and gorges plumes--green and +gold and flame-coloured, the beams changing to visible flakes as +they fall, dissolving into nothing, to be succeeded by others and +yet others? In its exquisite form, its changeful splendour, its +swift motions and intervals of aerial suspension, it is a +creature of such fairy-like loveliness as to mock all +description. And have you seen this same fairy-like creature +suddenly perch itself on a twig, in the shade, its misty wings +and fan-like tail folded, the iridescent glory vanished, looking +like some common dull-plumaged little bird sitting listless in a +cage? Just so great was the difference in the girl as I had seen +her in the forest and as she now appeared under the smoky roof in +the firelight. + +After watching her for some moments, I spoke: "Rima, there must +be a good deal of strength in that frame of yours, which looks so +delicate; will you raise me up a little?" + +She went down on one knee and, placing her arms round me, +assisted me to a sitting posture. + +"Thank you, Rima--oh, misery!" I groaned. "Is there a bone left +unbroken in my poor body?" + +"Nothing broken," cried the old man, clouds of smoke flying out +with his words. "I have examined you well--legs, arms, ribs. +For this is how it was, senor. A thorny bush into which you fell +saved you from being flattened on the stony ground. But you are +bruised, sir, black with bruises; and there are more scratches of +thorns on your skin than letters on a written page." + +"A long thorn might have entered my brain," I said, "from the way +it pains. Feel my forehead, Rima; is it very hot and dry?" + +She did as I asked, touching me lightly with her little cool +hand. "No, senor, not hot, but warm and moist," she said. + +"Thank Heaven for that!" I said. "Poor girl! And you followed +me through the wood in all that terrible storm! Ah, if I could +lift my bruised arm I would take your hand to kiss it in +gratitude for so great a service. I owe you my life, sweet +Rima--what shall I do to repay so great a debt?" + +The old man chuckled as if amused, but the girl lifted not her +eyes nor spoke. + +"Tell me, sweet child," I said, "for I cannot realize it yet; was +it really you that saved the serpent's life when I would have +killed it--did you stand by me in the wood with the serpent lying +at your feet?" + +"Yes, senor," came her gentle answer. + +"And it was you I saw in the wood one day, lying on the ground +playing with a small bird?" + +"Yes, senor." + +"And it was you that followed me so often among the trees, +calling to me, yet always hiding so that I could never see you?" + +"Yes, senor." + +"Oh, this is wonderful!" I exclaimed; whereat the old man +chuckled again. + +"But tell me this, my sweet girl," I continued. "You never +addressed me in Spanish; what strange musical language was it you +spoke to me in?" + +She shot a timid glance at my face and looked troubled at the +question, but made no reply. + +"Senor," said the old man, "that is a question which you must +excuse my child from answering. Not, sir, from want of will, for +she is docile and obedient, though I say it, but there is no +answer beyond what I can tell you. And this is, sir, that all +creatures, whether man or bird, have the voice that God has given +them; and in some the voice is musical and in others not so." + +"Very well, old man," said I to myself; "there let the matter +rest for the present. But if I am destined to live and not die, +I shall not long remain satisfied with your too simple +explanation." + +"Rima," I said, "you must be fatigued; it is thoughtless of me to +keep you standing here so long." + +Her face brightened a little, and bending down, she replied in a +low voice: "I am not fatigued, sir. Let me get you something to +eat now." + +She moved quickly away to the fire, and presently returned with +an earthenware dish of roasted pumpkin and sweet potatoes and, +kneeling at my side, fed me deftly with a small wooden spoon. I +did not feel grieved at the absence of meat and the stinging +condiments the Indians love, nor did I even remark that there was +no salt in the vegetables, so much was I taken up with watching +her beautiful delicate face while she ministered to me. The +exquisite fragrance of her breath was more to me than the most +delicious viands could have been; and it was a delight each time +she raised the spoon to my mouth to catch a momentary glimpse of +her eyes, which now looked dark as wine when we lift the glass to +see the ruby gleam of light within the purple. But she never for +a moment laid aside the silent, meek, constrained manner; and +when I remembered her bursting out in her brilliant wrath on me, +pouring forth that torrent of stinging invective in her +mysterious language, I was lost in wonder and admiration at the +change in her, and at her double personality. Having satisfied +my wants, she moved quietly away and, raising a straw mat, +disappeared behind it into her own sleeping-apartment, which was +divided off by a partition from the room I was in. + +The old man's sleeping-place was a wooden cot or stand on the +opposite side of the room, but he was in no hurry to sleep, and +after Rima had left us, put a fresh log on the blaze and lit +another cigarette. Heaven knows how many he had smoked by this +time. He became very talkative and called to his side his two +dogs, which I had not noticed in the room before, for me to see. +It amused me to hear their names--Susio and Goloso: Dirty and +Greedy. They were surly-looking brutes, with rough yellow hair, +and did not win my heart, but according to his account they +possessed all the usual canine virtues; and he was still holding +forth on the subject when I fell asleep. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +When morning came I was too stiff and sore to move, and not until +the following day was I able to creep out to sit in the shade of +the trees. My old host, whose name was Nuflo, went off with his +dogs, leaving the girl to attend to my wants. Two or three times +during the day she appeared to serve me with food and drink, but +she continued silent and constrained in manner as on the first +evening of seeing her in the hut. + +Late in the afternoon old Nuflo returned, but did not say where +he had been; and shortly afterwards Rima reappeared, demure as +usual, in her faded cotton dress, her cloud of hair confined in +two long plaits. My curiosity was more excited than ever, and I +resolved to get to the bottom of the mystery of her life. The +girl had not shown herself responsive, but now that Nuflo was +back I was treated to as much talk as I cared to hear. He talked +of many things, only omitting those which I desired to hear +about; but his pet subject appeared to be the divine government +of the world--"God's politics"--and its manifest imperfections, +or, in other words, the manifold abuses which from time to time +had been allowed to creep into it. The old man was pious, but +like many of his class in my country, he permitted himself to +indulge in very free criticisms of the powers above, from the +King of Heaven down to the smallest saint whose name figures in +the calendar. + +"These things, senor," he said, "are not properly managed. +Consider my position. Here am I compelled for my sins to inhabit +this wilderness with my poor granddaughter--" + +"She is not your granddaughter!" I suddenly interrupted, +thinking to surprise him into an admission. + +But he took his time to answer. "Senor, we are never sure of +anything in this world. Not absolutely sure. Thus, it may come +to pass that you will one day marry, and that your wife will in +due time present you with a son--one that will inherit your +fortune and transmit your name to posterity. And yet, sir, in +this world, you will never know to a certainty that he is your +son." + +"Proceed with what you were saying," I returned, with some +dignity. + +"Here we are," he continued, "compelled to inhabit this land and +do not meet with proper protection from the infidel. Now, sir, +this is a crying evil, and it is only becoming in one who has the +true faith, and is a loyal subject of the All-Powerful, to point +out with due humility that He is growing very remiss in His +affairs, and is losing a good deal of His prestige. And what, +senor, is at the bottom of it? Favoritism. We know that the +Supreme cannot Himself be everywhere, attending to each little +trick-track that arises in the world--matters altogether beneath +His notice; and that He must, like the President of Venezuela or +the Emperor of Brazil, appoint men--angels if you like--to +conduct His affairs and watch over each district. And it is +manifest that for this country of Guayana the proper person has +not been appointed. Every evil is done and there is no remedy, +and the Christian has no more consideration shown him than the +infidel. Now, senor, in a town near the Orinoco I once saw on a +church the archangel Michael, made of stone, and twice as tall as +a man, with one foot on a monster shaped like a cayman, but with +bat's wings, and a head and neck like a serpent. Into this +monster he was thrusting his spear. That is the kind of person +that should be sent to rule these latitudes--a person of firmness +and resolution, with strength in his wrist. And yet it is +probable that this very man--this St. Michael--is hanging about +the palace, twirling his thumbs, waiting for an appointment, +while other weaker men, and--Heaven forgive me for saying it--not +above a bribe, perhaps, are sent out to rule over this province." + +On this string he would harp by the hour; it was a lofty subject +on which he had pondered much in his solitary life, and he was +glad of an opportunity of ventilating his grievance and +expounding his views. At first it was a pure pleasure to hear +Spanish again, and the old man, albeit ignorant of letters, spoke +well; but this, I may say, is a common thing in our country, +where the peasant's quickness of intelligence and poetic feeling +often compensate for want of instruction. His views also amused +me, although they were not novel. But after a while I grew tired +of listening, yet I listened still, agreeing with him, and +leading him on to let him have his fill of talk, always hoping +that he would come at last to speak of personal matters and give +me an account of his history and of Rima's origin. But the hope +proved vain; not a word to enlighten me would he drop, however +cunningly I tempted him. + +"So be it," thought I; "but if you are cunning, old man, I shall +be cunning too--and patient; for all things come to him who +waits." + +He was in no hurry to get rid of me. On the contrary, he more +than hinted that I would be safer under his roof than with the +Indians, at the same time apologizing for not giving me meat to +eat. + +"But why do you not have meat? Never have I seen animals so +abundant and tame as in this wood." Before he could reply Rima, +with a jug of water from the spring in her hand, came in; +glancing at me, he lifted his finger to signify that such a +subject must not be discussed in her presence; but as soon as she +quitted the room he returned to it. + +"Senor," he said, "have you forgotten your adventure with the +snake? Know, then, that my grandchild would not live with me for +one day longer if I were to lift my hand against any living +creature. For us, senor, every day is fast-day--only without the +fish. We have maize, pumpkin, cassava, potatoes, and these +suffice. And even of these cultivated fruits of the earth she +eats but little in the house, preferring certain wild berries and +gums, which are more to her taste, and which she picks here and +there in her rambles in the wood. And I, sir, loving her as I +do, whatever my inclination may be, shed no blood and eat no +flesh." + +I looked at him with an incredulous smile. + +"And your dogs, old man?" + +"My dogs? Sir, they would not pause or turn aside if a +coatimundi crossed their path--an animal with a strong odour. As +a man is, so is his dog. Have you not seen dogs eating grass, +sir, even in Venezuela, where these sentiments do not prevail? +And when there is no meat--when meat is forbidden--these +sagacious animals accustom themselves to a vegetable diet." + +I could not very well tell the old man that he was lying to +me--that would have been bad policy--and so I passed it off. "I +have no doubt that you are right," I said. "I have heard that +there are dogs in China that eat no meat, but are themselves +eaten by their owners after being fattened on rice. I should not +care to dine on one of your animals, old man." + +He looked at them critically and replied: "Certainly they are +lean." + +"I was thinking less of their leanness than of their smell," I +returned. "Their odour when they approach me is not flowery, but +resembles that of other dogs which feed on flesh, and have +offended my too sensitive nostrils even in the drawing-rooms of +Caracas. It is not like the fragrance of cattle when they return +from the pasture." + +"Every animal," he replied, "gives out that odour which is +peculiar to its kind"; an incontrovertible fact which left me +nothing to say. + +When I had sufficiently recovered the suppleness of my limbs to +walk with ease, I went for a ramble in the wood, in the hope that +Rima would accompany me, and that out among the trees she would +cast aside that artificial constraint and shyness which was her +manner in the house. + +It fell out just as I had expected; she accompanied me in the +sense of being always near me, or within earshot, and her manner +was now free and unconstrained as I could wish; but little or +nothing was gained by the change. She was once more the +tantalizing, elusive, mysterious creature I had first known +through her wandering, melodious voice. The only difference was +that the musical, inarticulate sounds were now less often heard, +and that she was no longer afraid to show herself to me. This +for a short time was enough to make me happy, since no lovelier +being was ever looked upon, nor one whose loveliness was less +likely to lose its charm through being often seen. + +But to keep her near me or always in sight was, I found, +impossible: she would be free as the wind, free as the butterfly, +going and coming at her wayward will, and losing herself from +sight a dozen times every hour. To induce her to walk soberly at +my side or sit down and enter into conversation with me seemed +about as impracticable as to tame the fiery-hearted little +humming-bird that flashes into sight, remains suspended +motionless for a few seconds before your face, then, quick as +lightning, vanishes again. + +At length, feeling convinced that she was most happy when she had +me out following her in the wood, that in spite of her bird-like +wildness she had a tender, human heart, which was easily moved, I +determined to try to draw her closer by means of a little +innocent stratagem. Going out in the morning, after calling her +several times to no purpose, I began to assume a downcast manner, +as if suffering pain or depressed with grief; and at last, +finding a convenient exposed root under a tree, on a spot where +the ground was dry and strewn with loose yellow sand, I sat down +and refused to go any further. For she always wanted to lead me +on and on, and whenever I paused she would return to show +herself, or to chide or encourage me in her mysterious language. +All her pretty little arts were now practiced in vain: with cheek +resting on my hand, I still sat. + +So my eyes fixed on that patch of yellow sand at my feet, +watching how the small particles glinted like diamond dust when +the sunlight touched them. A full hour passed in this way, +during which I encouraged myself by saying mentally: "This is a +contest between us, and the most patient and the strongest of +will, which should be the man, must conquer. And if I win on +this occasion, it will be easier for me in the future--easier to +discover those things which I am resolved to know, and the girl +must reveal to me, since the old man has proved impracticable." + +Meanwhile she came and went and came again; and at last, finding +that I was not to be moved, she approached and stood near me. +Her face, when I glanced at it, had a somewhat troubled +look--both troubled and curious. + +"Come here, Rima," I said, "and stay with me for a little +while--I cannot follow you now." + +She took one or two hesitating steps, then stood still again; and +at length, slowly and reluctantly, advanced to within a yard of +me. Then I rose from my seat on the root, so as to catch her +face better, and placed my hand against the rough bark of the +tree. + +"Rima," I said, speaking in a low, caressing tone, "will you stay +with me here a little while and talk to me, not in your language, +but in mine, so that I may understand? Will you listen when I +speak to you, and answer me?" + +Her lips moved, but made no sound. She seemed strangely +disquieted, and shook back her loose hair, and with her small +toes moved the sparkling sand at her feet, and once or twice her +eyes glanced shyly at my face. + +"Rima, you have not answered me," I persisted. "Will you not say +yes?" + +"Yes." + +"Where does your grandfather spend his day when he goes out with +his dogs?" + +She shook her head slightly, but would not speak. + +"Have you no mother, Rima? Do you remember your mother?" + +"My mother! My mother!" she exclaimed in a low voice, but with +a sudden, wonderful animation. Bending a little nearer, she +continued: "Oh, she is dead! Her body is in the earth and turned +to dust. Like that," and she moved the loose sand with her foot. +"Her soul is up there, where the stars and the angels are, +grandfather says. But what is that to me? I am here--am I not? +I talk to her just the same. Everything I see I point out, and +tell her everything. In the daytime--in the woods, when we are +together. And at night when I lie down I cross my arms on my +breast--so, and say: 'Mother, mother, now you are in my arms; let +us go to sleep together.' Sometimes I say: 'Oh, why will you +never answer me when I speak and speak?' Mother--mother--mother!" + +At the end her voice suddenly rose to a mournful cry, then sunk, +and at the last repetition of the word died to a low whisper. + +"Ah, poor Rima! she is dead and cannot speak to you--cannot hear +you! Talk to me, Rima; I am living and can answer." + +But now the cloud, which had suddenly lifted from her heart, +letting me see for a moment into its mysterious depths--its +fancies so childlike and feelings so intense--had fallen again; +and my words brought no response, except a return of that +troubled look to her face. + +"Silent still?" I said. "Talk to me, then, of your mother, +Rima. Do you know that you will see her again some day?" + +"Yes, when I die. That is what the priest said." + +"The priest?" + +"Yes, at Voa--do you know? Mother died there when I was +small--it is so far away! And there are thirteen houses by the +side of the river--just here; and on this side--trees, trees." + +This was important, I thought, and would lead to the very +knowledge I wished for; so I pressed her to tell me more about +the settlement she had named, and of which I had never heard. + +"Everything have I told you," she returned, surprised that I did +not know that she had exhausted the subject in those half-dozen +words she had spoken. + +Obliged to shift my ground, I said at a venture: "Tell me, what +do you ask of the Virgin Mother when you kneel before her +picture? Your grandfather told me that you had a picture in your +little room." + +"You know!" flashed out her answer, with something like +resentment. + +"It is all there in there," waving her hand towards the hut. +"Out here in the wood it is all gone--like this," and stooping +quickly, she raised a little yellow sand on her palm, then let it +run away through her fingers. + +Thus she illustrated how all the matters she had been taught +slipped from her mind when she was out of doors, out of sight of +the picture. After an interval she added: "Only mother is +here--always with me." + +"Ah, poor Rima!" I said; "alone without a mother, and only your +old grandfather! He is old--what will you do when he dies and +flies away to the starry country where your mother is?" + +She looked inquiringly at me, then made answer in a low voice: +"You are here." + +"But when I go away?" + +She was silent; and not wishing to dwell on a subject that seemed +to pain her, I continued: "Yes, I am here now, but you will not +stay with me and talk freely! Will it always be the same if I +remain with you? Why are you always so silent in the house, so +cold with your old grandfather? So different--so full of life, +like a bird, when you are alone in the woods? Rima, speak to me! +Am I no more to you than your old grandfather? Do you not like +me to talk to you?" + +She appeared strangely disturbed at my words. "Oh, you are not +like him," she suddenly replied. "Sitting all day on a log by +the fire--all day, all day; Goloso and Susio lying beside +him--sleep, sleep. Oh, when I saw you in the wood I followed +you, and talked and talked; still no answer. Why will you not +come when I call? To me!" Then, mocking my voice: "Rima, Rima! +Come here! Do this! Say that! Rima! Rima! It is nothing, +nothing--it is not you," pointing to my mouth, and then, as if +fearing that her meaning had not been made clear, suddenly +touching my lips with her finger. "Why do you not answer +me?--speak to me--speak to me, like this!" And turning a little +more towards me, and glancing at me with eyes that had all at +once changed, losing their clouded expression for one of +exquisite tenderness, from her lips came a succession of those +mysterious sounds which had first attracted me to her, swift and +low and bird-like, yet with something so much higher and more +soul-penetrating than any bird-music. Ah, what feeling and +fancies, what quaint turns of expression, unfamiliar to my mind, +were contained in those sweet, wasted symbols! I could never +know--never come to her when she called, or respond to her +spirit. To me they would always be inarticulate sounds, +affecting me like a tender spiritual music--a language without +words, suggesting more than words to the soul. + +The mysterious speech died down to a lisping sound, like the +faint note of some small bird falling from a cloud of foliage on +the topmost bough of a tree; and at the same time that new light +passed from her eyes, and she half averted her face in a +disappointed way. + +"Rima," I said at length, a new thought coming to my aid, "it is +true that I am not here," touching my lips as she had done, "and +that my words are nothing. But look into my eyes, and you will +see me there--all, all that is in my heart." + +"Oh, I know what I should see there!" she returned quickly. + +"What would you see--tell me?" + +"There is a little black ball in the middle of your eye; I should +see myself in it no bigger than that," and she marked off about +an eighth of her little fingernail. "There is a pool in the +wood, and I look down and see myself there. That is better. +Just as large as I am--not small and black like a small, small +fly." And after saying this a little disdainfully, she moved +away from my side and out into the sunshine; and then, half +turning towards me, and glancing first at my face and then +upwards, she raised her hand to call my attention to something +there. + +Far up, high as the tops of the tallest trees, a great +blue-winged butterfly was passing across the open space with +loitering flight. In a few moments it was gone over the trees; +then she turned once more to me with a little rippling sound of +laughter--the first I had heard from her, and called: "Come, +come!" + +I was glad enough to go with her then; and for the next two hours +we rambled together in the wood; that is, together in her way, +for though always near she contrived to keep out of my sight most +of the time. She was evidently now in a gay, frolicsome temper; +again and again, when I looked closely into some wide-spreading +bush, or peered behind a tree, when her calling voice had +sounded, her rippling laughter would come to me from some other +spot. At length, somewhere about the centre of the wood, she led +me to an immense mora tree, growing almost isolated, covering +with its shade a large space of ground entirely free from +undergrowth. At this spot she all at once vanished from my side; +and after listening and watching some time in vain, I sat down +beside the giant trunk to wait for her. Very soon I heard a low, +warbling sound which seemed quite near. + +"Rima! Rima!" I called, and instantly my call was repeated like +an echo. Again and again I called, and still the words flew back +to me, and I could not decide whether it was an echo or not. +Then I gave up calling; and presently the low, warbling sound was +repeated, and I knew that Rima was somewhere near me. + +"Rima, where are you?" I called. + +"Rima, where are you?" came the answer. + +"You are behind the tree." + +"You are behind the tree." + +"I shall catch you, Rima." And this time, instead of repeating +my words, she answered: "Oh no." + +I jumped up and ran round the tree, feeling sure that I should +find her. It was about thirty-five or forty feet in +circumference; and after going round two or three times, I turned +and ran the other way, but failing to catch a glimpse of her I at +last sat down again. + +"Rima, Rima!" sounded the mocking voice as soon as I had sat +down. "Where are you, Rima? I shall catch you, Rima! Have you +caught Rima?" + +"No, I have not caught her. There is no Rima now. She has faded +away like a rainbow--like a drop of dew in the sun. I have lost +her; I shall go to sleep." And stretching myself out at full +length under the tree, I remained quiet for two or three minutes. +Then a slight rustling sound was heard, and I looked eagerly +round for her. But the sound was overhead and caused by a great +avalanche of leaves which began to descend on me from that vast +leafy canopy above. + +"Ah, little spider-monkey--little green tree-snake--you are +there!" But there was no seeing her in that immense aerial +palace hung with dim drapery of green and copper-coloured leaves. +But how had she got there? Up the stupendous trunk even a monkey +could not have climbed, and there were no lianas dropping to +earth from the wide horizontal branches that I could see; but by +and by, looking further away, I perceived that on one side the +longest lower branches reached and mingled with the shorter +boughs of the neighbouring trees. While gazing up I heard her +low, rippling laugh, and then caught sight of her as she ran +along an exposed horizontal branch, erect on her feet; and my +heart stood still with terror, for she was fifty to sixty feet +above the ground. In another moment she vanished from sight in a +cloud of foliage, and I saw no more of her for about ten minutes, +when all at once she appeared at my side once more, having come +round the trunk of the mora. Her face had a bright, pleased +expression, and showed no trace of fatigue or agitation. + +I caught her hand in mine. It was a delicate, shapely little +hand, soft as velvet, and warm--a real human hand; only now when +I held it did she seem altogether like a human being and not a +mocking spirit of the wood, a daughter of the Didi. + +"Do you like me to hold your hand, Rima?" + +"Yes," she replied, with indifference. + +"Is it I?" + +"Yes." This time as if it was small satisfaction to make +acquaintance with this purely physical part of me. + +Having her so close gave me an opportunity of examining that +light sheeny garment she wore always in the woods. It felt soft +and satiny to the touch, and there was no seam nor hem in it that +I could see, but it was all in one piece, like the cocoon of the +caterpillar. While I was feeling it on her shoulder and looking +narrowly at it, she glanced at me with a mocking laugh in her +eyes. + +"Is it silk?" I asked. Then, as she remained silent, I +continued: "Where did you get this dress, Rima? Did you make it +yourself? Tell me." + +She answered not in words, but in response to my question a new +look came into her face; no longer restless and full of change in +her expression, she was now as immovable as an alabaster statue; +not a silken hair on her head trembled; her eyes were wide open, +gazing fixedly before her; and when I looked into them they +seemed to see and yet not to see me. They were like the clear, +brilliant eyes of a bird, which reflect as in a miraculous mirror +all the visible world but do not return our look and seem to see +us merely as one of the thousand small details that make up the +whole picture. Suddenly she darted out her hand like a flash, +making me start at the unexpected motion, and quickly withdrawing +it, held up a finger before me. From its tip a minute gossamer +spider, about twice the bigness of a pin's head, appeared +suspended from a fine, scarcely visible line three or four inches +long. + +"Look!" she exclaimed, with a bright glance at my face. + +The small spider she had captured, anxious to be free, was +falling, falling earthward, but could not reach the surface. +Leaning her shoulder a little forward, she placed the finger-tip +against it, but lightly, scarcely touching, and moving +continuously, with a motion rapid as that of a fluttering moth's +wing; while the spider, still paying out his line, remained +suspended, rising and falling slightly at nearly the same +distance from the ground. After a few moments she cried: "Drop +down, little spider." Her finger's motion ceased, and the minute +captive fell, to lose itself on the shaded ground. + +"Do you not see?" she said to me, pointing to her shoulder. +Just where the finger-tip had touched the garment a round shining +spot appeared, looking like a silver coin on the cloth; but on +touching it with my finger it seemed part of the original fabric, +only whiter and more shiny on the grey ground, on account of the +freshness of the web of which it had just been made. + +And so all this curious and pretty performance, which seemed +instinctive in its spontaneous quickness and dexterity, was +merely intended to show me how she made her garments out of the +fine floating lines of small gossamer spiders! + +Before I could express my surprise and admiration she cried +again, with startling suddenness: "Look!" + +A minute shadowy form darted by, appearing like a dim line traced +across the deep glossy more foliage, then on the lighter green +foliage further away. She waved her hand in imitation of its +swift, curving flight; then, dropping it, exclaimed: "Gone--oh, +little thing!" + +"What was it?" I asked, for it might have been a bird, a +bird-like moth, or a bee. + +"Did you not see? And you asked me to look into your eyes!" + +"Ah, little squirrel Sakawinki, you remind me of that!" I said, +passing my arm round her waist and drawing her a little closer. +"Look into my eyes now and see if I am blind, and if there is +nothing in them except an image of Rima like a small, small fly." + +She shook her head and laughed a little mockingly, but made no +effort to escape from my arm. + +"Would you like me always to do what you wish, Rima--to follow +you in the woods when you say 'Come'--to chase you round the tree +to catch you, and lie down for you to throw leaves on me, and to +be glad when you are glad?" + +"Oh, yes." + +"Then let us make a compact. I shall do everything to please +you, and you must promise to do everything to please me." + +"Tell me." + +"Little things, Rima--none so hard as chasing you round a tree. +Only to have you stand or sit by me and talk will make me happy. +And to begin you must call me by my name--Abel." + +"Is that your name? Oh, not your real name! Abel, Abel--what is +that? It says nothing. I have called you by so many +names--twenty, thirty--and no answer." + +"Have you? But, dearest girl, every person has a name, one name +he is called by. Your name, for instance, is Rima, is it not?" + +"Rima! only Rima--to you? In the morning, in the evening . . . +now in this place and in a little while where know I? . . . +in the night when you wake and it is dark, dark, and you see me +all the same. Only Rima--oh, how strange!" + +"What else, sweet girl? Your grandfather Nuflo calls you Rima." + +"Nuflo?" She spoke as if putting a question to herself. "Is +that an old man with two dogs that lives somewhere in the wood?" +And then, with sudden petulance: "And you ask me to talk to you!" + +"Oh, Rima, what can I say to you? Listen--" + +"No, no," she exclaimed, quickly turning and putting her fingers +on my mouth to stop my speech, while a sudden merry look shone in +her eyes. "You shall listen when I speak, and do all I say. And +tell me what to do to please you with your eyes--let me look in +your eyes that are not blind." + +She turned her face more towards me and with head a little thrown +back and inclined to one side, gazing now full into my eyes as I +had wished her to do. After a few moments she glanced away to +the distant trees. But I could see into those divine orbs, and +knew that she was not looking at any particular object. All the +ever-varying expressions--inquisitive, petulant, troubled, shy, +frolicsome had now vanished from the still face, and the look was +inward and full of a strange, exquisite light, as if some new +happiness or hope had touched her spirit. + +Sinking my voice to a whisper, I said: "Tell me what you have +seen in my eyes, Rima?" + +She murmured in reply something melodious and inarticulate, then +glanced at my face in a questioning way; but only for a moment, +then her sweet eyes were again veiled under those drooping +lashes. + +"Listen, Rima," I said. "Was that a humming-bird we saw a little +while ago? You are like that, now dark, a shadow in the shadow, +seen for an instant, and then--gone, oh, little thing! And now +in the sunshine standing still, how beautiful!--a thousand times +more beautiful than the humming-bird. Listen, Rima, you are like +all beautiful things in the wood--flower, and bird, and +butterfly, and green leaf, and frond, and little silky-haired +monkey high up in the trees. When I look at you I see them +all--all and more, a thousand times, for I see Rima herself. And +when I listen to Rima's voice, talking in a language I cannot +understand, I hear the wind whispering in the leaves, the +gurgling running water, the bee among the flowers, the organ-bird +singing far, far away in the shadows of the trees. I hear them +all, and more, for I hear Rima. Do you understand me now? Is it +I speaking to you--have I answered you--have I come to you?" + +She glanced at me again, her lips trembling, her eyes now clouded +with some secret trouble. "Yes," she replied in a whisper, and +then: "No, it is not you," and after a moment, doubtfully: "Is it +you?" + +But she did not wait to be answered: in a moment she was gone +round the more; nor would she return again for all my calling. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +That afternoon with Rima in the forest under the mora tree had +proved so delightful that I was eager for more rambles and talks +with her, but the variable little witch had a great surprise in +store for me. All her wild natural gaiety had unaccountably gone +out of her: when I walked in the shade she was there, but no +longer as the blithe, fantastic being, bright as an angel, +innocent and affectionate as a child, tricksy as a monkey, that +had played at hide-and-seek with me. She was now my shy, silent +attendant, only occasionally visible, and appearing then like the +mysterious maid I had found reclining among the ferns who had +melted away mist-like from sight as I gazed. When I called she +would not now answer as formerly, but in response would appear in +sight as if to assure me that I had not been forsaken; and after +a few moments her grey shadowy form would once more vanish among +the trees. The hope that as her confidence increased and she +grew accustomed to talk with me she would be brought to reveal +the story of her life had to be abandoned, at all events for the +present. I must, after all, get my information from Nuflo, or +rest in ignorance. The old man was out for the greater part of +each day with his dogs, and from these expeditions he brought +back nothing that I could see but a few nuts and fruits, some +thin bark for his cigarettes, and an occasional handful of haima +gum to perfume the hut of an evening. After I had wasted three +days in vainly trying to overcome the girl's now inexplicable +shyness, I resolved to give for a while my undivided attention to +her grandfather to discover, if possible, where he went and how +he spent his time. + +My new game of hide-and-seek with Nuflo instead of with Rima +began on the following morning. He was cunning; so was I. Going +out and concealing myself among the bushes, I began to watch the +hut. That I could elude Rima's keener eyes I doubted; but that +did not trouble me. She was not in harmony with the old man, and +would do nothing to defeat my plan. I had not been long in my +hiding-place before he came out, followed by his two dogs, and +going to some distance from the door, he sat down on a log. For +some minutes he smoked, then rose, and after looking cautiously +round slipped away among the trees. I saw that he was going off +in the direction of the low range of rocky hills south of the +forest. I knew that the forest did not extend far in that +direction, and thinking that I should be able to catch a sight of +him on its borders, I left the bushes and ran through the trees +as fast as I could to get ahead of him. Coming to where the wood +was very open, I found that a barren plain beyond it, a quarter +of a mile wide, separated it from the range of hills; thinking +that the old man might cross this open space, I climbed into a +tree to watch. After some time he appeared, walking rapidly +among the trees, the dogs at his heels, but not going towards the +open plain; he had, it seemed, after arriving at the edge of the +wood, changed his direction and was going west, still keeping in +the shelter of the trees. When he had been gone about five +minutes, I dropped to the ground and started in pursuit; once +more I caught sight of him through the trees, and I kept him in +sight for about twenty minutes longer; then he came to a broad +strip of dense wood which extended into and through the range of +hills, and here I quickly lost him. Hoping still to overtake +him, I pushed on, but after struggling through the underwood for +some distance, and finding the forest growing more difficult as I +progressed, I at last gave him up. Turning eastward, I got out +of the wood to find myself at the foot of a steep rough hill, one +of the range which the wooded valley cut through at right angles. +It struck me that it would be a good plan to climb the hill to +get a view of the forest belt in which I had lost the old man; +and after walking a short distance I found a spot which allowed +of an ascent. The summit of the hill was about three hundred +feet above the surrounding level and did not take me long to +reach; it commanded a fair view, and I now saw that the belt of +wood beneath me extended right through the range, and on the +south side opened out into an extensive forest. "If that is your +destination," thought I, "old fox, your secrets are safe from +me." + +It was still early in the day, and a slight breeze tempered the +air and made it cool and pleasant on the hilltop after my +exertions. My scramble through the wood had fatigued me +somewhat, and resolving to spend some hours on that spot, I +looked round for a comfortable resting-place. I soon found a +shady spot on the west side of an upright block of stone where I +could recline at ease on a bed of lichen. Here, with shoulders +resting against the rock, I sat thinking of Rima, alone in her +wood today, with just a tinge of bitterness in my thoughts which +made me hope that she would miss me as much as I missed her; and +in the end I fell asleep. + +When I woke, it was past noon, and the sun was shining directly +on me. Standing up to gaze once more on the prospect, I noticed +a small wreath of white smoke issuing from a spot about the +middle of the forest belt beneath me, and I instantly divined +that Nuflo had made a fire at that place, and I resolved to +surprise him in his retreat. When I got down to the base of the +hill the smoke could no longer be seen, but I had studied the +spot well from above, and had singled out a large clump of trees +on the edge of the belt as a starting-point; and after a search +of half an hour I succeeded in finding the old man's +hiding-place. First I saw smoke again through an opening in the +trees, then a small rude hut of sticks and palm leaves. +Approaching cautiously, I peered through a crack and discovered +old Nuflo engaged in smoking some meat over a fire, and at the +same time grilling some bones on the coals. He had captured a +coatimundi, an animal somewhat larger than a tame tom-cat, with a +long snout and long ringed tail; one of the dogs was gnawing at +the animal's head, and the tail and the feet were also lying on +the floor, among the old bones and rubbish that littered it. +Stealing round, I suddenly presented myself at the opening to his +den, when the dogs rose up with a growl and Nuflo instantly +leaped to his feet, knife in hand. + +"Aha, old man," I cried, with a laugh, "I have found you at one +of your vegetarian repasts; and your grass-eating dogs as well!" + +He was disconcerted and suspicious, but when I explained that I +had seen a smoke while on the hills, where I had gone to search +for a curious blue flower which grew in such places, and had made +my way to it to discover the cause, he recovered confidence and +invited me to join him at his dinner of roast meat. + +I was hungry by this time and not sorry to get animal food once +more; nevertheless, I ate this meat with some disgust, as it had +a rank taste and smell, and it was also unpleasant to have those +evil-looking dogs savagely gnawing at the animal's head and feet +at the same time. + +"You see," said the old hypocrite, wiping the grease from his +moustache, "this is what I am compelled to do in order to avoid +giving offence. My granddaughter is a strange being, sir, as you +have perhaps observed--" + +"That reminds me," I interrupted, "that I wish you to relate her +history to me. She is, as you say, strange, and has speech and +faculties unlike ours, which shows that she comes of a different +race." + +"No, no, her faculties are not different from ours. They are +sharper, that is all. It pleases the All-Powerful to give more +to some than to others. Not all the fingers on the hand are +alike. You will find a man who will take up a guitar and make it +speak, while I--" + +"All that I understand," I broke in again. "But her origin, her +history--that is what I wish to hear." + +"And that, sir, is precisely what I am about to relate. Poor +child, she was left on my hands by her sainted mother--my +daughter, sir--who perished young. Now, her birthplace, where +she was taught letters and the Catechism by the priest, was in an +unhealthy situation. It was hot and wet--always wet--a place +suited to frogs rather than to human beings. At length, thinking +that it would suit the child better--for she was pale and +weakly--to live in a drier atmosphere among mountains, I brought +her to this district. For this, senor, and for all I have done +for her, I look for no reward here, but to that place where my +daughter has got her foot; not, sir, on the threshold, as you +might think, but well inside. For, after all, it is to the +authorities above, in spite of some blots which we see in their +administration, that we must look for justice. Frankly, sir, +this is the whole story of my granddaughter's origin." + +"Ah, yes," I returned, "your story explains why she can call a +wild bird to her hand, and touch a venomous serpent with her bare +foot and receive no harm." + +"Doubtless you are right," said the old dissembler. "Living +alone in the wood, she had only God's creatures to play and make +friends with; and wild animals, I have heard it said, know those +who are friendly towards them." + +"You treat her friends badly," said I, kicking the long tail of +the coatimundi away with my foot, and regretting that I had +joined in his repast. + +"Senor, you must consider that we are only what Heaven made us. +When all this was formed," he continued, opening his arms wide to +indicate the entire creation, "the Person who concerned Himself +with this matter gave seeds and fruitless and nectar of flowers +for the sustentation of His small birds. But we have not their +delicate appetites. The more robust stomach which he gave to man +cries out for meat. Do you understand? But of all this, friend, +not one word to Rima!" + +I laughed scornfully. "Do you think me such a child, old man, as +to believe that Rima, that little sprite, does not know that you +are an eater of flesh? Rima, who is everywhere in the wood, +seeing all things, even if I lift my hand against a serpent, she +herself unseen." + +"But, sir, if you will pardon my presumption, you are saying too +much. She does not come here, and therefore cannot see that I +eat meat. In all that wood where she flourishes and sings, where +she is in her house and garden, and mistress of the creatures, +even of the small butterfly with painted wings, there, sir, I +hunt no animal. Nor will my dogs chase any animal there. That +is what I meant when I said that if an animal should stumble +against their legs, they would lift up their noses and pass on +without seeing it. For in that wood there is one law, the law +that Rima imposes, and outside of it a different law." + +"I am glad that you have told me this," I replied. "The thought +that Rima might be near, and, unseen herself, look in upon us +feeding with the dogs and, like dogs, on flesh, was one which +greatly troubled my mind." + +He glanced at me in his usual quick, cunning way. + +"Ah, senor, you have that feeling too--after so short a time with +us! Consider, then, what it must be for me, unable to nourish +myself on gums and fruitlets, and that little sweetness made by +wasps out of flowers, when I am compelled to go far away and eat +secretly to avoid giving offence." + +It was hard, no doubt, but I did not pity him; secretly I could +only feel anger against him for refusing to enlighten me, while +making such a presence of openness; and I also felt disgusted +with myself for having joined him in his rank repast. But +dissimulation was necessary, and so, after conversing a little +more on indifferent topics, and thanking him for his hospitality, +I left him alone to go on with his smoky task. + +On my way back to the lodge, fearing that some taint of Nuflo's +evil-smelling den and dinner might still cling to me, I turned +aside to where a streamlet in the wood widened and formed a deep +pool, to take a plunge in the water. After drying myself in the +air, and thoroughly ventilating my garments by shaking and +beating them, I found an open, shady spot in the wood and threw +myself on the grass to wait for evening before returning to the +house. By that time the sweet, warm air would have purified me. +Besides, I did not consider that I had sufficiently punished Rima +for her treatment of me. She would be anxious for my safety, +perhaps even looking for me everywhere in the wood. It was not +much to make her suffer one day after she had made me miserable +for three; and perhaps when she discovered that I could exist +without her society she would begin to treat me less +capriciously. + +So ran my thoughts as I rested on the warm ground, gazing up into +the foliage, green as young grass in the lower, shady parts, and +above luminous with the bright sunlight, and full of the +murmuring sounds of insect life. My every action, word, thought, +had my feeling for Rima as a motive. Why, I began to ask myself, +was Rima so much to me? It was easy to answer that question: +Because nothing so exquisite had ever been created. All the +separate and fragmentary beauty and melody and graceful motion +found scattered throughout nature were concentrated and +harmoniously combined in her. How various, how luminous, how +divine she was! A being for the mind to marvel at, to admire +continually, finding some new grace and charm every hour, every +moment, to add to the old. And there was, besides, the +fascinating mystery surrounding her origin to arouse and keep my +interest in her continually active. + +That was the easy answer I returned to the question I had asked +myself. But I knew that there was another answer--a reason more +powerful than the first. And I could no longer thrust it back, +or hide its shining face with the dull, leaden mask of mere +intellectual curiosity. BECAUSE I LOVED HER; loved her as I had +never loved before, never could love any other being, with a +passion which had caught something of her own brilliance and +intensity, making a former passion look dim and commonplace in +comparison--a feeling known to everyone, something old and worn +out, a weariness even to think of. + +From these reflections I was roused by the plaintive +three-syllable call of an evening bird--a nightjar common in +these woods; and was surprised to find that the sun had set, and +the woods already shadowed with the twilight. I started up and +began hurriedly walking homewards, thinking of Rima, and was +consumed with impatience to see her; and as I drew near to the +house, walking along a narrow path which I knew, I suddenly met +her face to face. Doubtless she had heard my approach, and +instead of shrinking out of the path and allowing me to pass on +without seeing her, as she would have done on the previous day, +she had sprung forward to meet me. I was struck with wonder at +the change in her as she came with a swift, easy motion, like a +flying bird, her hands outstretched as if to clasp mine, her lips +parted in a radiant, welcoming smile, her eyes sparkling with +joy. + +I started forward to meet her, but had no sooner touched her +hands than her countenance changed, and she shrunk back +trembling, as if the touch had chilled her warm blood; and moving +some feet away, she stood with downcast eyes, pale and sorrowful +as she had seemed yesterday. In vain I implored her to tell me +the cause of this change and of the trouble she evidently felt; +her lips trembled as if with speech, but she made no reply, and +only shrunk further away when I attempted to approach her; and at +length, moving aside from the path, she was lost to sight in the +dusky leafage. + +I went on alone, and sat outside for some time, until old Nuflo +returned from his hunting; and only after he had gone in and had +made the fire burn up did Rima make her appearance, silent and +constrained as ever. + + + +CHAPTER X + +On the following day Rima continued in the same inexplicable +humour; and feeling my defeat keenly, I determined once more to +try the effect of absence on her, and to remain away on this +occasion for a longer period. Like old Nuflo, I was secret in +going forth next morning, waiting until the girl was out of the +way, then slipping off among the bushes into the deeper wood; and +finally quitting its shelter, I set out across the savannah +towards my old quarters. Great was my surprise on arriving at +the village to find no person there. At first I imagined that my +disappearance in the forest of evil fame had caused them to +abandon their home in a panic; but on looking round I concluded +that my friends had only gone on one of their periodical visits +to some neighbouring village. For when these Indians visit their +neighbours they do it in a very thorough manner; they all go, +taking with them their entire stock of provisions, their cooking +utensils, weapons, hammocks, and even their pet animals. +Fortunately in this case they had not taken quite everything; my +hammock was there, also one small pot, some cassava bread, purple +potatoes, and a few ears of maize. I concluded that these had +been left for me in the event of my return; also that they had +not been gone very many hours, since a log of wood buried under +the ashes of the hearth was still alight. Now, as their absences +from home usually last many days, it was plain that I would have +the big naked barn-like house to myself for as long as I thought +proper to remain, with little food to eat; but the prospect did +not disturb me, and I resolved to amuse myself with music. In +vain I hunted for my guitar; the Indians had taken it to delight +their friends by twanging its strings. At odd moments during the +last day or two I had been composing a simple melody in my brain, +fitting it to ancient words; and now, without an instrument to +assist me, I began softly singing to myself: + + Muy mas clara que la luna + Sola una + en el mundo vos nacistes. + +After music I made up the fire and parched an ear of maize for my +dinner, and while laboriously crunching the dry hard grain I +thanked Heaven for having bestowed on me such good molars. +Finally I slung my hammock in its old corner, and placing myself +in it in my favourite oblique position, my hands clasped behind +my head, one knee cocked up, the other leg dangling down, I +resigned myself to idle thought. I felt very happy. How +strange, thought I, with a little self-flattery, that I, +accustomed to the agreeable society of intelligent men and +charming women, and of books, should find such perfect +contentment here! But I congratulated myself too soon. The +profound silence began at length to oppress me. It was not like +the forest, where one has wild birds for company, where their +cries, albeit inarticulate, have a meaning and give a charm to +solitude. Even the sight and whispered sounds of green leaves +and rushes trembling in the wind have for us something of +intelligence and sympathy; but I could not commune with mud walls +and an earthen pot. Feeling my loneliness too acutely, I began +to regret that I had left Rima, then to feel remorse at the +secrecy I had practiced. Even now while I inclined idly in my +hammock, she would be roaming the forest in search of me, +listening for my footsteps, fearing perhaps that I had met with +some accident where there was no person to succour me. It was +painful to think of her in this way, of the pain I had doubtless +given her by stealing off without a word of warning. Springing +to the floor, I flung out of the house and went down to the +stream. It was better there, for now the greatest heat of the +day was over, and the weltering sun began to look large and red +and rayless through the afternoon haze. + +I seated myself on a stone within a yard or two of the limpid +water; and now the sight of nature and the warm, vital air and +sunshine infected my spirit and made it possible for me to face +the position calmly, even hopefully. The position was this: for +some days the idea had been present in my mind, and was now fixed +there, that this desert was to be my permanent home. The thought +of going back to Caracas, that little Paris in America, with its +Old World vices, its idle political passions, its empty round of +gaieties, was unendurable. I was changed, and this change--so +great, so complete--was proof that the old artificial life had +not been and could not be the real one, in harmony with my deeper +and truer nature. I deceived myself, you will say, as I have +often myself said. I had and I had not. It is too long a +question to discuss here; but just then I felt that I had quitted +the hot, tainted atmosphere of the ballroom, that the morning air +of heaven refreshed and elevated me and was sweet to breathe. +Friends and relations I had who were dear to me; but I could +forget them, even as I could forget the splendid dreams which had +been mine. And the woman I had loved, and who perhaps loved me +in return--I could forget her too. A daughter of civilization +and of that artificial life, she could never experience such +feelings as these and return to nature as I was doing. For +women, though within narrow limits more plastic than men, are yet +without that larger adaptiveness which can take us back to the +sources of life, which they have left eternally behind. Better, +far better for both of us that she should wait through the long, +slow months, growing sick at heart with hope deferred; that, +seeing me no more, she should weep my loss, and be healed at last +by time, and find love and happiness again in the old way, in the +old place. + +And while I thus sat thinking, sadly enough, but not +despondingly, of past and present and future, all at once on the +warm, still air came the resonant, far-reaching KLING-KLANG of +the campanero from some leafy summit half a league away. +KLING-KLANG fell the sound again, and often again, at intervals, +affecting me strangely at that moment, so bell-like, so like the +great wide-travelling sounds associated in our minds with +Christian worship. And yet so unlike. A bell, yet not made of +gross metal dug out of earth, but of an ethereal, sublimer +material that floats impalpable and invisible in space--a vital +bell suspended on nothing, giving out sounds in harmony with the +vastness of blue heaven, the unsullied purity of nature, the +glory of the sun, and conveying a mystic, a higher message to the +soul than the sounds that surge from tower and belfry. + +O mystic bell-bird of the heavenly race of the swallow and dove, +the quetzal and the nightingale! When the brutish savage and the +brutish white man that slay thee, one for food, the other for the +benefit of science, shall have passed away, live still, live to +tell thy message to the blameless spiritualized race that shall +come after us to possess the earth, not for a thousand years, but +for ever; for how much shall thy voice be our clarified +successors when even to my dull, unpurged soul thou canst speak +such high things and bring it a sense of an impersonal, +all-compromising One who is in me and I in Him, flesh of His +flesh and soul of His soul. + +The sounds ceased, but I was still in that exalted mood and, like +a person in a trance, staring fixedly before me into the open +wood of scattered dwarf trees on the other side of the stream, +when suddenly on the field of vision appeared a grotesque human +figure moving towards me. I started violently, astonished and a +little alarmed, but in a very few moments I recognized the +ancient Cla-cla, coming home with a large bundle of dry sticks on +her shoulders, bent almost double under the burden, and still +ignorant of my presence. Slowly she came down to the stream, +then cautiously made her way over the line of stepping-stones by +which it was crossed; and only when within ten yards did the old +creature catch sight of me sitting silent and motionless in her +path. With a sharp cry of amazement and terror she straightened +herself up, the bundle of sticks dropping to the ground, and +turned to run from me. That, at all events, seemed her +intention, for her body was thrown forward, and her head and arms +working like those of a person going at full speed, but her legs +seemed paralysed and her feet remained planted on the same spot. +I burst out laughing; whereat she twisted her neck until her +wrinkled, brown old face appeared over her shoulder staring at +me. This made me laugh again, whereupon she straightened herself +up once more and turned round to have a good look at me. + +"Come, Cla-cla," I cried; "can you not see that I am a living man +and no spirit? I thought no one had remained behind to keep me +company and give me food. Why are you not with the others?" + +"Ah, why!" she returned tragically. And then deliberately +turning from me and assuming a most unladylike attitude, she +slapped herself vigorously on the small of the back, exclaiming: +"Because of my pain here!" + +As she continued in that position with her back towards me for +some time, I laughed once more and begged her to explain. + +Slowly she turned round and advanced cautiously towards me, +staring at me all the time. Finally, still eyeing me +suspiciously, she related that the others had all gone on a visit +to a distant village, she starting with them; that after going +some distance a pain had attacked her in her hind quarters, so +sudden and acute that it had instantly brought her to a full +stop; and to illustrate how full the stop was she allowed herself +to go down, very unnecessarily, with a flop to the ground. But +she no sooner touched the ground than up she started to her feet +again, with an alarmed look on her owlish face, as if she had sat +down on a stinging-nettle. + +"We thought you were dead," she remarked, still thinking that I +might be a ghost after all. + +"No, still alive," I said. "And so because you came to the +ground with your pain, they left you behind! Well, never mind, +Cla-cla, we are two now and must try to be happy together." + +By this time she had recovered from her fear and began to feel +highly pleased at my return, only lamenting that she had no meat +to give me. She was anxious to hear my adventures, and the +reason of my long absence. I had no wish to gratify her +curiosity, with the truth at all events, knowing very well that +with regard to the daughter of the Didi her feelings were as +purely savage and malignant as those of Kua-ko. But it was +necessary to say something, and, fortifying myself with the good +old Spanish notion that lies told to the heathen are not +recorded, I related that a venomous serpent had bitten me; after +which a terrible thunderstorm had surprised me in the forest, and +night coming on prevented my escape from it; then, next day, +remembering that he who is bitten by a serpent dies, and not +wishing to distress my friends with the sight of my dissolution, +I elected to remain, sitting there in the wood, amusing myself by +singing songs and smoking cigarettes; and after several days and +nights had gone by, finding that I was not going to die after +all, and beginning to feel hungry, I got up and came back. + +Old Cla-cla looked very serious, shaking and nodding her head a +great deal, muttering to herself; finally she gave it as her +opinion that nothing ever would or could kill me; but whether my +story had been believed or not she only knew. + +I spent an amusing evening with my old savage hostess. She had +thrown off her ailments and, pleased at having a companion in her +dreary solitude, she was good-tempered and talkative, and much +more inclined to laugh than when the others were present, when +she was on her dignity. + +We sat by the fire, cooking such food as we had, and talked and +smoked; then I sang her songs in Spanish with that melody of my +own-- + + Muy mas clara que la luna; + +and she rewarded me by emitting a barbarous chant in a shrill, +screechy voice; and finally, starting up, I danced for her +benefit polka, mazurka, and valse, whistling and singing to my +motions. + +More than once during the evening she tried to introduce serious +subjects, telling me that I must always live with them, learn to +shoot the birds and catch the fishes, and have a wife; and then +she would speak of her granddaughter Oalava, whose virtues it was +proper to mention, but whose physical charms needed no +description since they had never been concealed. Each time she +got on this topic I cut her short, vowing that if I ever married +she only should be my wife. She informed me that she was old and +past her fruitful period; that not much longer would she make +cassava bread, and blow the fire to a flame with her wheezy old +bellows, and talk the men to sleep at night. But I stuck to it +that she was young and beautiful, that our descendants would be +more numerous than the birds in the forest. I went out to some +bushes close by, where I had noticed a passion plant in bloom, +and gathering a few splendid scarlet blossoms with their stems +and leaves, I brought them in and wove them into a garland for +the old dame's head; then I pulled her up, in spite of screams +and struggles, and waltzed her wildly to the other end of the +room and back again to her seat beside the fire. And as she sat +there, panting and grinning with laughter, I knelt before her +and, with suitable passionate gestures, declaimed again the old +delicate lines sung by Mena before Columbus sailed the seas: + + Muy mas clara que la luna + Sola una + en el mundo vos nacistes + tan gentil, que no vecistes + ni tavistes + competedora ninguna + Desdi ninez en la cuna + cobrastes fama, beldad, con tanta graciosidad, + que vos doto la fortuna. + +Thinking of another all the time! O poor old Cla-cla, knowing +not what the jingle meant nor the secret of my wild happiness, +now when I recall you sitting there, your old grey owlish head +crowned with scarlet passion flowers, flushed with firelight, +against the background of smoke-blackened walls and rafters, how +the old undying sorrow comes back to me! + +Thus our evening was spent, merrily enough; then we made up the +fire with hard wood that would last all night, and went to our +hammocks, but wakeful still. The old dame, glad and proud to be +on duty once more, religiously went to work to talk me to sleep; +but although I called out at intervals to encourage her to go on, +I did not attempt to follow the ancient tales she told, which she +had imbibed in childhood from other white-headed grandmothers +long, long turned to dust. My own brain was busy thinking, +thinking, thinking now of the woman I had once loved, far away in +Venezuela, waiting and weeping and sick with hope deferred; now +of Rima, wakeful and listening to the mysterious nightsounds of +the forest--listening, listening for my returning footsteps. + +Next morning I began to waver in my resolution to remain absent +from Rima for some days; and before evening my passion, which I +had now ceased to struggle against, coupled with the thought that +I had acted unkindly in leaving her, that she would be a prey to +anxiety, overcame me, and I was ready to return. The old woman, +who had been suspiciously watching my movements, rushed out after +me as I left the house, crying out that a storm was brewing, that +it was too late to go far, and night would be full of danger. I +waved my hand in good-bye, laughingly reminding her that I was +proof against all perils. Little she cared what evil might +befall me, I thought; but she loved not to be alone; even for +her, low down as she was intellectually, the solitary earthen pot +had no "mind stuff" in it, and could not be sent to sleep at +night with the legends of long ago. + +By the time I reached the ridge, I had discovered that she had +prophesied truly, for now an ominous change had come over nature. +A dull grey vapour had overspread the entire western half of the +heavens; down, beyond the forest, the sky looked black as ink, +and behind this blackness the sun had vanished. It was too late +to go back now; I had been too long absent from Rima, and could +only hope to reach Nuflo's lodge, wet or dry, before night closed +round me in the forest. + +For some moments I stood still on the ridge, struck by the +somewhat weird aspect of the shadowed scene before me--the long +strip of dull uniform green, with here and there a slender palm +lifting its feathery crown above the other trees, standing +motionless, in strange relief against the advancing blackness. +Then I set out once more at a run, taking advantage of the +downward slope to get well on my way before the tempest should +burst. As I approached the wood, there came a flash of +lightning, pale, but covering the whole visible sky, followed +after a long interval by a distant roll of thunder, which lasted +several seconds and ended with a succession of deep throbs. It +was as if Nature herself, in supreme anguish and abandonment, had +cast herself prone on the earth, and her great heart had throbbed +audibly, shaking the world with its beats. No more thunder +followed, but the rain was coming down heavily now in huge drops +that fell straight through the gloomy, windless air. In half a +minute I was drenched to the skin; but for a short time the rain +seemed an advantage, as the brightness of the falling water +lessened the gloom, turning the air from dark to lighter grey. +This subdued rain-light did not last long: I had not been twenty +minutes in the wood before a second and greater darkness fell on +the earth, accompanied by an even more copious downpour of water. +The sun had evidently gone down, and the whole sky was now +covered with one thick cloud. Becoming more nervous as the gloom +increased, I bent my steps more to the south, so as to keep near +the border and more open part of the wood. Probably I had +already grown confused before deviating and turned the wrong way, +for instead of finding the forest easier, it grew closer and more +difficult as I advanced. Before many minutes the darkness so +increased that I could no longer distinguish objects more than +five feet from my eyes. Groping blindly along, I became +entangled in a dense undergrowth, and after struggling and +stumbling along for some distance in vain endeavours to get +through it, I came to a stand at last in sheer despair. All +sense of direction was now lost: I was entombed in thick +blackness--blackness of night and cloud and rain and of dripping +foliage and network of branches bound with bush ropes and +creepers in a wild tangle. I had struggled into a hollow, or +hole, as it were, in the midst of that mass of vegetation, where +I could stand upright and turn round and round without touching +anything; but when I put out my hands they came into contact with +vines and bushes. To move from that spot seemed folly; yet how +dreadful to remain there standing on the sodden earth, chilled +with rain, in that awful blackness in which the only luminous +thing one could look to see would be the eyes, shining with their +own internal light, of some savage beast of prey! Yet the +danger, the intense physical discomfort, and the anguish of +looking forward to a whole night spent in that situation stung my +heart less than the thought of Rima's anxiety and of the pain I +had carelessly given by secretly leaving her. + +It was then, with that pang in my heart, that I was startled by +hearing, close by, one of her own low, warbled expressions. +There could be no mistake; if the forest had been full of the +sounds of animal life and songs of melodious birds, her voice +would have been instantly distinguished from all others. How +mysterious, how infinitely tender it sounded in that awful +blackness!--so musical and exquisitely modulated, so sorrowful, +yet piercing my heart with a sudden, unutterable joy. + +"Rima! Rima!" I cried. "Speak again. Is it you? Come to me +here." + +Again that low, warbling sound, or series of sounds, seemingly +from a distance of a few yards. I was not disturbed at her not +replying in Spanish: she had always spoken it somewhat +reluctantly, and only when at my side; but when calling to me +from some distance she would return instinctively to her own +mysterious language, and call to me as bird calls to bird. I +knew that she was inviting me to follow her, but I refused to +move. + +"Rima," I cried again, "come to me here, for I know not where to +step, and cannot move until you are at my side and I can feel +your hand." + +There came no response, and after some moments, becoming alarmed, +I called to her again. + +Then close by me, in a low, trembling voice, she returned: "I am +here." + +I put out my hand and touched something soft and wet; it was her +breast, and moving my hand higher up, I felt her hair, hanging +now and streaming with water. She was trembling, and I thought +the rain had chilled her. + +"Rima--poor child! How wet you are! How strange to meet you in +such a place! Tell me, dear Rima, how did you find me?" + +"I was waiting--watching--all day. I saw you coming across the +savannah, and followed at a distance through the wood." + +"And I had treated you so unkindly! Ah, my guardian angel, my +light in the darkness, how I hate myself for giving you pain! +Tell me, sweet, did you wish me to come back and live with you +again?" She made no reply. Then, running my fingers down her +arm, I took her hand in mine. It was hot, like the hand of one +in a fever. I raised it to my lips and then attempted to draw +her to me, but she slipped down and out of my arms to my feet. I +felt her there, on her knees, with head bowed low. Stooping and +putting my arm round her body, I drew her up and held her against +my breast, and felt her heart throbbing wildly. With many +endearing words I begged her to speak to me; but her only reply +was: "Come--come," as she slipped again out of my arms and, +holding my hand in hers, guided me through the bushes. + +Before long we came to an open path or glade, where the darkness +was not profound; and releasing my hand, she began walking +rapidly before me, always keeping at such a distance as just +enabled me to distinguish her grey, shadowy figure, and with +frequent doublings to follow the natural paths and openings which +she knew so well. In this way we kept on nearly to the end, +without exchanging a word, and hearing no sound except the +continuous rush of rain, which to our accustomed ears had ceased +to have the effect of sound, and the various gurgling noises of +innumerable runners. All at once, as we came to a more open +place, a strip of bright firelight appeared before us, shining +from the half-open door of Nuflo's lodge. She turned round as +much as to say: "Now you know where you are," then hurried on, +leaving me to follow as best I could. + + + +CHAPTER XI + +There was a welcome change in the weather when I rose early next +morning; the sky was without cloud and had that purity in its +colour and look of infinite distance seen only when the +atmosphere is free from vapour. The sun had not yet risen, but +old Nuflo was already among the ashes, on his hands and knees, +blowing the embers he had uncovered to a flame. Then Rima appeared +only to pass through the room with quick light tread to go out of +the door without a word or even a glance at my face. The old +man, after watching at the door for a few minutes, turned and +began eagerly questioning me about my adventures on the previous +evening. In reply I related to him how the girl had found me in +the forest lost and unable to extricate myself from the tangled +undergrowth. + +He rubbed his hands on his knees and chuckled. "Happy for you, +senor," he said, "that my granddaughter regards you with such +friendly eyes, otherwise you might have perished before morning. +Once she was at your side, no light, whether of sun or moon or +lantern, was needed, nor that small instrument which is said to +guide a man aright in the desert, even in the darkest night--let +him that can believe such a thing!" + +"Yes, happy for me," I returned. "I am filled with remorse that +it was all through my fault that the poor child was exposed to +such weather." + +"O senor," he cried airily, "let not that distress you! Rain and +wind and hot suns, from which we seek shelter, do not harm her. +She takes no cold, and no fever, with or without ague." + +After some further conversation I left him to steal away +unobserved on his own account, and set out for a ramble in the +hope of encountering Rima and winning her to talk to me. + +My quest did not succeed: not a glimpse of her delicate shadowy +form did I catch among the trees; and not one note from her +melodious lips came to gladden me. At noon I returned to the +house, where I found food placed ready for me, and knew that she +had come there during my absence and had not been forgetful of my +wants. "Shall I thank you for this?" I said. "I ask you for +heavenly nectar for the sustentation of the higher winged nature +in me, and you give me a boiled sweet potato, toasted strips of +sun-dried pumpkins, and a handful of parched maize! Rima! Rima! +my woodland fairy, my sweet saviour, why do you yet fear me? Is +it that love struggles in you with repugnance? Can you discern +with clear spiritual eyes the grosser elements in me, and hate +them; or has some false imagination made me appear all dark and +evil, but too late for your peace, after the sweet sickness of +love has infected you?" + +But she was not there to answer me, and so after a time I went +forth again and seated myself listlessly on the root of an old +tree not far from the house. I had sat there a full hour when +all at once Rima appeared at my side. Bending forward, she +touched my hand, but without glancing at my face; "Come with me," +she said, and turning, moved swiftly towards the northern +extremity of the forest. She seemed to take it for granted that +I would follow, never casting a look behind nor pausing in her +rapid walk; but I was only too glad to obey and, starting up, was +quickly after her. She led me by easy ways, familiar to her, +with many doublings to escape the undergrowth, never speaking or +pausing until we came out from the thick forest, and I found +myself for the first time at the foot of the great hill or +mountain Ytaioa. Glancing back for a few moments, she waved a +hand towards the summit, and then at once began the ascent. Here +too it seemed all familiar ground to her. From below, the sides +had presented an exceedingly rugged appearance--a wild confusion +of huge jagged rocks, mixed with a tangled vegetation of trees, +bushes, and vines; but following her in all her doublings, it +became easy enough, although it fatigued me greatly owing to our +rapid pace. The hill was conical, but I found that it had a flat +top--an oblong or pear-shaped area, almost level, of a soft, +crumbly sandstone, with a few blocks and boulders of a harder +stone scattered about--and no vegetation, except the grey +mountain lichen and a few sere-looking dwarf shrubs. + +Here Rima, at a distance of a few yards from me, remained +standing still for some minutes, as if to give me time to recover +my breath; and I was right glad to sit down on a stone to rest. +Finally she walked slowly to the centre of the level area, which +was about two acres in extent; rising, I followed her and, +climbing on to a huge block of stone, began gazing at the wide +prospect spread out before me. The day was windless and bright, +with only a few white clouds floating at a great height above and +casting travelling shadows over that wild, broken country, where +forest, marsh, and savannah were only distinguishable by their +different colours, like the greys and greens and yellows on a +map. At a great distance the circle of the horizon was broken +here and there by mountains, but the hills in our neighbourhood +were all beneath our feet. + +After gazing all round for some minutes, I jumped down from my +stand and, leaning against the stone, stood watching the girl, +waiting for her to speak. I felt convinced that she had +something of the very highest importance (to herself) to +communicate, and that only the pressing need of a confidant, not +Nuflo, had overcome her shyness of me; and I determined to let +her take her own time to say it in her own way. For a while she +continued silent, her face averted, but her little movements and +the way she clasped and unclasped her fingers showed that she was +anxious and her mind working. Suddenly, half turning to me, she +began speaking eagerly and rapidly. + +"Do you see," she said, waving her hand to indicate the whole +circuit of earth, "how large it is? Look!" pointing now to +mountains in the west. "Those are the Vahanas--one, two, +three--the highest--I can tell you their names--Vahana-Chara, +Chumi, Aranoa. Do you see that water? It is a river, called +Guaypero. From the hills it comes down, Inaruna is their name, +and you can see them there in the south--far, far." And in this +way she went on pointing out and naming all the mountains and +rivers within sight. Then she suddenly dropped her hands to her +sides and continued: "That is all. Because we can see no +further. But the world is larger than that! Other mountains, +other rivers. Have I not told you of Voa, on the River Voa, +where I was born, where mother died, where the priest taught me, +years, years ago? All that you cannot see, it is so far away--so +far." + +I did not laugh at her simplicity, nor did I smile or feel any +inclination to smile. On the contrary, I only experienced a +sympathy so keen that it was like pain while watching her clouded +face, so changeful in its expression, yet in all changes so +wistful. I could not yet form any idea as to what she wished to +communicate or to discover, but seeing that she paused for a +reply, I answered: "The world is so large, Rima, that we can only +see a very small portion of it from any one spot. Look at this," +and with a stick I had used to aid me in my ascent I traced a +circle six or seven inches in circumference on the soft stone, +and in its centre placed a small pebble. "This represents the +mountain we are standing on," I continued, touching the pebble; +"and this line encircling it encloses all of the earth we can see +from the mountain-top. Do you understand?--the line I have +traced is the blue line of the horizon beyond which we cannot +see. And outside of this little circle is all the flat top of +Ytaioa representing the world. Consider, then, how small a +portion of the world we can see from this spot!" + +"And do you know it all?" she returned excitedly. "All the +world?" waving her hand to indicate the little stone plain. +"All the mountains, and rivers, and forests--all the people in +the world?" + +"That would be impossible, Rima; consider how large it is." + +"That does not matter. Come, let us go together--we two and +grandfather--and see all the world; all the mountains and +forests, and know all the people." + +"You do not know what you are saying, Rima. You might as well +say: 'Come, let us go to the sun and find out everything in it.'" + +"It is you who do not know what you are saying," she retorted, +with brightening eyes which for a moment glanced full into mine. +"We have no wings like birds to fly to the sun. Am I not able to +walk on the earth, and run? Can I not swim? Can I not climb +every mountain?" + +"No, you cannot. You imagine that all the earth is like this +little portion you see. But it is not all the same. There are +great rivers which you cannot cross by swimming; mountains you +cannot climb; forests you cannot penetrate--dark, and inhabited +by dangerous beasts, and so vast that all this space your eyes +look on is a mere speck of earth in comparison." + +She listened excitedly. "Oh, do you know all that?" she cried, +with a strangely brightening look; and then half turning from me, +she added, with sudden petulance: "Yet only a minute ago you knew +nothing of the world--because it is so large! Is anything to be +gained by speaking to one who says such contrary things?" + +I explained that I had not contradicted myself, that she had not +rightly interpreted my words. I knew, I said, something about +the principal features of the different countries of the world, +as, for instance, the largest mountain ranges, and rivers, and +the cities. Also something, but very little, about the tribes of +savage men. She heard me with impatience, which made me speak +rapidly, in very general terms; and to simplify the matter I made +the world stand for the continent we were in. It seemed idle to +go beyond that, and her eagerness would not have allowed it. + +"Tell me all you know," she said the moment I ceased speaking. +"What is there--and there--and there?" pointing in various +directions. "Rivers and forests--they are nothing to me. The +villages, the tribes, the people everywhere; tell me, for I must +know it all." + +"It would take long to tell, Rima." + +"Because you are so slow. Look how high the sun is! Speak, +speak! What is there?" pointing to the north. + +"All that country," I said, waving my hands from east to west, +"is Guayana; and so large is it that you could go in this +direction, or in this, travelling for months, without seeing the +end of Guayana. Still it would be Guayana; rivers, rivers, +rivers, with forests between, and other forests and rivers +beyond. And savage people, nations and tribes--Guahibo, +Aguaricoto, Ayano, Maco, Piaroa, Quiriquiripo, Tuparito--shall I +name a hundred more? It would be useless, Rima; they are all +savages, and live widely scattered in the forests, hunting with +bow and arrow and the zabatana. Consider, then, how large +Guayana is!" + +"Guayana--Guayana! Do I not know all this is Guayana? But +beyond, and beyond, and beyond? Is there no end to Guayana?" + +"Yes; there northwards it ends at the Orinoco, a mighty river, +coming from mighty mountains, compared with which Ytaioa is like +a stone on the ground on which we have sat down to rest. You +must know that guayana is only a portion, a half, of our country, +Venezuela. Look," I continued, putting my hand round my shoulder +to touch the middle of my back, "there is a groove running down +my spine dividing my body into equal parts. Thus does the great +Orinoco divide Venezuela, and on one side of it is all Guayana; +and on the other side the countries or provinces of Cumana, +Maturm, Barcelona, Bolivar, Guarico, Apure, and many others." I +then gave a rapid description of the northern half of the +country, with its vast llanos covered with herds in one part, its +plantations of coffee, rice, and sugar-cane in another, and its +chief towns; last of all Caracas, the gay and opulent little +Paris in America. + +This seemed to weary her; but the moment I ceased speaking, and +before I could well moisten my dry lips, she demanded to know +what came after Caracas--after all Venezuela. + +"The ocean--water, water, water," I replied. + +"There are no people there--in the water; only fishes," she +remarked; then suddenly continued: "Why are you silent--is +Venezuela, then, all the world?" + +The task I had set myself to perform seemed only at its +commencement yet. Thinking how to proceed with it, my eyes roved +over the level area we were standing on, and it struck me that +this little irregular plain, broad at one end and almost pointed +at the other, roughly resembled the South American continent in +its form. + +"Look, Rima," I began, "here we are on this small pebble--Ytaioa; +and this line round it shuts us in--we cannot see beyond. Now +let us imagine that we can see beyond--that we can see the whole +flat mountaintop; and that, you know, is the whole world. Now +listen while I tell you of all the countries, and principal +mountains, and rivers, and cities of the world." + +The plan I had now fixed on involved a great deal of walking +about and some hard work in moving and setting up stones and +tracing boundary and other lines; but it gave me pleasure, for +Rima was close by all the time, following me from place to place, +listening to all I said in silence but with keen interest. At +the broad end of the level summit I marked out Venezuela, showing +by means of a long line how the Orinoco divided it, and also +marking several of the greater streams flowing into it. I also +marked the sites of Caracas and other large towns with stones; +and rejoiced that we are not like the Europeans, great +city-builders, for the stones proved heavy to lift. Then +followed Colombia and Ecuador on the west; and, successively, +Bolivia, Peru, Chile, ending at last in the south with Patagonia, +a cold arid land, bleak and desolate. I marked the littoral +cities as we progressed on that side, where earth ends and the +Pacific Ocean begins, and infinitude. + +Then, in a sudden burst of inspiration, I described the +Cordilleras to her--that world-long, stupendous chain; its sea of +Titicaca, and wintry, desolate Paramo, where lie the ruins of +Tiahuanaco, older than Thebes. I mentioned its principal +cities--those small inflamed or festering pimples that attract +much attention from appearing on such a body. Quito, called--not +in irony, but by its own people--the Splendid and the +Magnificent; so high above the earth as to appear but a little +way removed from heaven--"de Quito al cielo," as the saying is. +But of its sublime history, its kings and conquerors, Haymar +Capac the Mighty, and Huascar, and Atahualpa the Unhappy, not one +word. Many words--how inadequate!--of the summits, white with +everlasting snows, above it--above this navel of the world, above +the earth, the ocean, the darkening tempest, the condor's flight. +Flame-breathing Cotopaxi, whose wrathful mutterings are audible +two hundred leagues away, and Chimborazo, Antisana, Sarata, +Illimani, Aconcagua--names of mountains that affect us like the +names of gods, implacable Pachacamac and Viracocha, whose +everlasting granite thrones they are. At the last I showed her +Cuzco, the city of the sun, and the highest dwelling-place of men +on earth. + +I was carried away by so sublime a theme; and remembering that I +had no critical hearer, I gave free reins to fancy, forgetting +for the moment that some undiscovered thought or feeling had +prompted her questions. And while I spoke of the mountains, she +hung on my words, following me closely in my walk, her +countenance brilliant, her frame quivering with excitement. + +There yet remained to be described all that unimaginable space +east of the Andes; the rivers--what rivers!--the green plains +that are like the sea--the illimitable waste of water where there +is no land--and the forest region. The very thought of the +Amazonian forest made my spirit droop. If I could have snatched +her up and placed her on the dome of Chimborazo she would have +looked on an area of ten thousand square miles of earth, so vast +is the horizon at that elevation. And possibly her imagination +would have been able to clothe it all with an unbroken forest. +Yet how small a portion this would be of the stupendous whole--of +a forest region equal in extent to the whole of Europe! All +loveliness, all grace, all majesty are there; but we cannot see, +cannot conceive--come away! From this vast stage, to be occupied +in the distant future by millions and myriads of beings, like us +of upright form, the nations that will be born when all the +existing dominant races on the globe and the civilizations they +represent have perished as utterly as those who sculptured the +stones of old Tiahuanaco--from this theatre of palms prepared for +a drama unlike any which the Immortals have yet witnessed--I +hurried away; and then slowly conducted her along the Atlantic +coast, listening to the thunder of its great waves, and pausing +at intervals to survey some maritime city. + +Never probably since old Father Noah divided the earth among his +sons had so grand a geographical discourse been delivered; and +having finished, I sat down, exhausted with my efforts, and +mopped my brow, but glad that my huge task was over, and +satisfied that I had convinced her of the futility of her wish to +see the world for herself. + +Her excitement had passed away by now. She was standing a little +apart from me, her eyes cast down and thoughtful. At length she +approached me and said, waving her hand all round: "What is +beyond the mountains over there, beyond the cities on that +side--beyond the world?" + +"Water, only water. Did I not tell you?" I returned stoutly; +for I had, of course, sunk the Isthmus of Panama beneath the sea. + + +"Water! All round?" she persisted. + +"Yes." + +"Water, and no beyond? Only water--always water?" + +I could no longer adhere to so gross a lie. She was too +intelligent, and I loved her too much. Standing up, I pointed to +distant mountains and isolated peaks. + +"Look at those peaks," I said. "It is like that with the +world--this world we are standing on. Beyond that great water +that flows all round the world, but far away, so far that it +would take months in a big boat to reach them, there are islands, +some small, others as large as this world. But, Rima, they are +so far away, so impossible to reach, that it is useless to speak +or to think of them. They are to us like the sun and moon and +stars, to which we cannot fly. And now sit down and rest by my +side, for you know everything." + +She glanced at me with troubled eyes. + +"Nothing do I know--nothing have you told me. Did I not say that +mountains and rivers and forests are nothing? Tell me about all +the people in the world. Look! there is Cuzco over there, a +city like no other in the world--did you not tell me so? Of the +people nothing. Are they also different from all others in the +world?" + +"I will tell you that if you will first answer me one question, +Rima." + +She drew a little nearer, curious to hear, but was silent. + +"Promise that you will answer me," I persisted, and as she +continued silent, I added: "Shall I not ask you, then?" + +"Say," she murmured. + +"Why do you wish to know about the people of Cuzco?" + +She flashed a look at me, then averted her face. For some +moments she stood hesitating; then, coming closer, touched me on +the shoulder and said softly: "Turn away, do not look at me." + +I obeyed, and bending so close that I felt her warm breath on my +neck, she whispered: "Are the people in Cuzco like me? Would +they understand me--the things you cannot understand? Do you +know?" + +Her tremulous voice betrayed her agitation, and her words, I +imagined, revealed the motive of her action in bringing me to the +summit of Ytaioa, and of her desire to visit and know all the +various peoples inhabiting the world. She had begun to realize, +after knowing me, her isolation and unlikeness to others, and at +the same time to dream that all human beings might not be unlike +her and unable to understand her mysterious speech and to enter +into her thoughts and feelings. + +"I can answer that question, Rima," I said. "Ah, no, poor child, +there are none there like you--not one, not one. Of all +there--priests, soldiers, merchants, workmen, white, black, red, +and mixed; men and women, old and young, rich and poor, ugly and +beautiful--not one would understand the sweet language you +speak." + +She said nothing, and glancing round, I discovered that she was +walking away, her fingers clasped before her, her eyes cast down, +and looking profoundly dejected. Jumping up, I hurried after +her. "Listen!" I said, coming to her side. "Do you know that +there are others in the world like you who would understand your +speech?" + +"Oh, do I not! Yes--mother told me. I was young when you died, +but, O mother, why did you not tell me more?" + +"But where?" + +"Oh, do you not think that I would go to them if I knew--that I +would ask?" + +"Does Nuflo know?" + +She shook her head, walking dejectedly along. + +"But have you asked him?" I persisted. + +"Have I not! Not once--not a hundred times." + +Suddenly she paused. "Look," she said, "now we are standing in +Guayana again. And over there in Brazil, and up there towards +the Cordilleras, it is unknown. And there are people there. +Come, let us go and seek for my mother's people in that place. +With grandfather, but not the dogs; they would frighten the +animals and betray us by barking to cruel men who would slay us +with poisoned arrows." + +"O Rima, can you not understand? It is too far. And your +grandfather, poor old man, would die of weariness and hunger and +old age in some strange forest." + +"Would he die--old grandfather? Then we could cover him up with +palm leaves in the forest and leave him. It would not be +grandfather; only his body that must turn to dust. He would be +away--away where the stars are. We should not die, but go on, +and on, and on." + +To continue the discussion seemed hopeless. I was silent, +thinking of what I had heard--that there were others like her +somewhere in that vast green world, so much of it imperfectly +known, so many districts never yet explored by white men. True, +it was strange that no report of such a race had reached the ears +of any traveller; yet here was Rima herself at my side, a living +proof that such a race did exist. Nuflo probably knew more than +he would say; I had failed, as we have seen, to win the secret +from him by fair means, and could not have recourse to foul--the +rack and thumbscrew--to wring it from him. To the Indians she +was only an object of superstitious fear--a daughter of the +Didi--and to them nothing of her origin was known. And she, poor +girl, had only a vague remembrance of a few words heard in +childhood from her mother, and probably not rightly understood. + +While these thoughts had been passing through my mind, Rima had +been standing silent by, waiting, perhaps, for an answer to her +last words. Then stooping, she picked up a small pebble and +tossed it three or four yards away. + +"Do you see where it fell?" she cried, turning towards me. +"That is on the border of Guayana--is it not? Let us go there +first." + +"Rima, how you distress me! We cannot go there. It is all a +savage wilderness, almost unknown to men--a blank on the map--" + +"The map?--speak no word that I do not understand." + +In a very few words I explained my meaning; even fewer would have +sufficed, so quick was her apprehension. + +"If it is a blank," she returned quickly, "then you know of +nothing to stop us--no river we cannot swim, and no great +mountains like those where Quito is." + +"But I happen to know, Rima, for it has been related to me by old +Indians, that of all places that is the most difficult of access. +There is a river there, and although it is not on the map, it +would prove more impassable to us than the mighty Orinoco and +Amazon. It has vast malarious swamps on its borders, overgrown +with dense forest, teeming with savage and venomous animals, so +that even the Indians dare not venture near it. And even before +the river is reached, there is a range of precipitous mountains +called by the same name--just there where your pebble fell--the +mountains of Riolama--" + +Hardly had the name fallen from my lips before a change swift as +lightning came over her countenance; all doubt, anxiety, +petulance, hope, and despondence, and these in ever-varying +degrees, chasing each other like shadows, had vanished, and she +was instinct and burning with some new powerful emotion which had +flashed into her soul. + +"Riolama! Riolama!" she repeated so rapidly and in a tone so +sharp that it tingled in the brain. "That is the place I am +seeking! There was my mother found--there are her people and +mine! Therefore was I called Riolama--that is my name!" + +"Rima!" I returned, astonished at her words. + +"No, no, no--Riolama. When I was a child, and the priest +baptized me, he named me Riolama--the place where my mother was +found. But it was long to say, and they called me Rima." + +Suddenly she became still and then cried in a ringing voice: + +"And he knew it all along--that old man--he knew that Riolama was +near--only there where the pebble fell--that we could go there!" + +While speaking she turned towards her home, pointing with raised +hand. Her whole appearance now reminded me of that first meeting +with her when the serpent bit me; the soft red of her irides +shone like fire, her delicate skin seemed to glow with an intense +rose colour, and her frame trembled with her agitation, so that +her loose cloud of hair was in motion as if blown through by the +wind. + +"Traitor! Traitor!" she cried, still looking homewards and +using quick, passionate gestures. "It was all known to you, and +you deceived me all these years; even to me, Rima, you lied with +your lips! Oh, horrible! Was there ever such a scandal known in +Guayana? Come, follow me, let us go at once to Riolama." And +without so much as casting a glance behind to see whether I +followed or no, she hurried away, and in a couple of minutes +disappeared from sight over the edge of the flat summit. "Rima! +Rima! Come back and listen to me! Oh, you are mad! Come back! +Come back!" + +But she would not return or pause and listen; and looking after +her, I saw her bounding down the rocky slope like some wild, +agile creature possessed of padded hoofs and an infallible +instinct; and before many minutes she vanished from sight among +crabs and trees lower down. + +"Nuflo, old man," said I, looking out towards his lodge, "are +there no shooting pains in those old bones of yours to warn you +in time of the tempest about to burst on your head?" + +Then I sat down to think. + + + +CHAPTER XII + +To follow impetuous, bird-like Rima in her descent of the hill +would have been impossible, nor had I any desire to be a witness +of old Nuflo's discomfiture at the finish. It was better to +leave them to settle their quarrel themselves, while I occupied +myself in turning over these fresh facts in my mind to find out +how they fitted into the speculative structure I had been +building during the last two or three weeks. But it soon struck +me that it was getting late, that the sun would be gone in a +couple of hours; and at once I began the descent. It was not +accomplished without some bruises and a good many scratches. +After a cold draught, obtained by putting my lips to a black rock +from which the water was trickling, I set out on my walk home, +keeping near the western border of the forest for fear of losing +myself. I had covered about half the distance from the foot of +the hill to Nuflo's lodge when the sun went down. Away on my +left the evening uproar of the howling monkeys burst out, and +after three or four minutes ceased; the after silence was pierced +at intervals by screams of birds going to roost among the trees +in the distance, and by many minor sounds close at hand, of small +bird, frog, and insect. The western sky was now like +amber-coloured flame, and against that immeasurably distant +luminous background the near branches and clustered foliage +looked black; but on my left hand the vegetation still appeared +of a uniform dusky green. In a little while night would drown all +colour, and there would be no light but that of the wandering +lantern-fly, always unwelcome to the belated walker in a lonely +place, since, like the ignis fatuus, it is confusing to the sight +and sense of direction. + +With increasing anxiety I hastened on, when all at once a low +growl issuing from the bushes some yards ahead of me brought me +to a stop. In a moment the dogs, Susio and Goloso, rushed out +from some hiding place furiously barking; but they quickly +recognized me and slunk back again. Relieved from fear, I walked +on for a short distance; then it struck me that the old man must +be about somewhere, as the dogs scarcely ever stirred from his +side. Turning back, I went to the spot where they had appeared +to me; and there, after a while, I caught sight of a dim, yellow +form as one of the brutes rose up to look at me. He had been +lying on the ground by the side of a wide-spreading bush, dead +and dry, but overgrown by a creeping plant which had completely +covered its broad, flat top like a piece of tapestry thrown over +a table, its slender terminal stems and leaves hanging over the +edge like a deep fringe. But the fringe did not reach to the +ground and under the bush, in its dark interior. I caught sight +of the other dog; and after gazing in for some time, I also +discovered a black, recumbent form, which I took to be Nuflo. + +"What are you doing there, old man?" I cried. "Where is +Rima--have you not seen her? Come out." + +Then he stirred himself, slowly creeping out on all fours; and +finally, getting free of the dead twigs and leaves, he stood up +and faced me. He had a strange, wild look, his white beard all +disordered, moss and dead leaves clinging to it, his eyes staring +like an owl's, while his mouth opened and shut, the teeth +striking together audibly, like an angry peccary's. After +silently glaring at me in this mad way for some moments, he burst +out: "Cursed be the day when I first saw you, man of Caracas! +Cursed be the serpent that bit you and had not sufficient power +in its venom to kill! Ha! you come from Ytaioa, where you +talked with Rima? And you have now returned to the tiger's den +to mock that dangerous animal with the loss of its whelp. Fool, +if you did not wish the dogs to feed on your flesh, it would have +been better if you had taken your evening walk in some other +direction." + +These raging words did not have the effect of alarming me in the +least, nor even of astonishing me very much, albeit up till now +the old man had always shown himself suave and respectful. His +attack did not seem quite spontaneous. In spite of the wildness +of his manner and the violence of his speech, he appeared to be +acting a part which he had rehearsed beforehand. I was only +angry, and stepping forward, I dealt him a very sharp rap with my +knuckles on his chest. "Moderate your language, old man," I +said; "remember that you are addressing a superior." + +"What do you say to me?" he screamed in a shrill, broken voice, +accompanying his words with emphatic gestures. "Do you think you +are on the pavement of Caracas? Here are no police to protect +you--here we are alone in the desert where names and titles are +nothing, standing man to man." + +"An old man to a young one," I returned. "And in virtue of my +youth I am your superior. Do you wish me to take you by the +throat and shake your insolence out of you?" + +"What, do you threaten me with violence?" he exclaimed, throwing +himself into a hostile attitude. "You, the man I saved, and +sheltered, and fed, and treated like a son! Destroyer of my +peace, have you not injured me enough? You have stolen my +grandchild's heart from me; with a thousand inventions you have +driven her mad! My child, my angel, Rima, my saviour! With your +lying tongue you have changed her into a demon to persecute me! +And you are not satisfied, but must finish your evil work by +inflicting blows on my worn body! All, all is lost to me! Take +my life if you wish it, for now it is worth nothing and I desire +not to keep it!" And here he threw himself on his knees and, +tearing open his old, ragged mantle, presented his naked breast +to me. "Shoot! Shoot!" he screeched. "And if you have no +weapon take my knife and plunge it into this sad heart, and let +me die!" And drawing his knife from its sheath, he flung it down +at my feet. + +All this performance only served to increase my anger and +contempt; but before I could make any reply I caught sight of a +shadowy object at some distance moving towards us--something grey +and formless, gliding swift and noiseless, like some great +low-flying owl among the trees. It was Rima, and hardly had I +seen her before she was with us, facing old Nuflo, her whole +frame quivering with passion, her wide-open eyes appearing +luminous in that dim light. + +"You are here!" she cried in that quick, ringing tone that was +almost painful to the sense. "You thought to escape me! To hide +yourself from my eyes in the wood! Miserable! Do you not know +that I have need of you--that I have not finished with you yet? +Do you, then, wish to be scourged to Riolama with thorny +twigs--to be dragged thither by the beard?" + +He had been staring open-mouthed at her, still on his knees, and +holding his mantle open with his skinny hands. "Rima! Rima! +have mercy on me!" he cried out piteously. "I cannot go to +Riolama, it is so far--so far. And I am old and should meet my +death. Oh, Rima, child of the woman I saved from death, have you +no compassion? I shall die, I shall die!" + +"Shall you die? Not until you have shown me the way to Riolama. +And when I have seen Riolama with my eyes, then you may die, and +I shall be glad at your death; and the children and the +grandchildren and cousins and friends of all the animals you have +slain and fed on shall know that you are dead and be glad at your +death. For you have deceived me with lies all these years even +me--and are not fit to live! Come now to Riolama; rise +instantly, I command you!" + +Instead of rising he suddenly put out his hand and snatched up +the knife from the ground. "Do you then wish me to die?" he +cried. "Shall you be glad at my death? Behold, then I shall +slay myself before your eyes. By my own hand, Rima, I am now +about to perish, striking the knife into my heart!" + +While speaking he waved the knife in a tragic manner over his +head, but I made no movement; I was convinced that he had no +intention of taking his own life--that he was still acting. +Rima, incapable of understanding such a thing, took it +differently. + +"Oh, you are going to kill yourself." she cried. "Oh, wicked +man, wait until you know what will happen to you after death. +All shall now be told to my mother. Hear my words, then kill +yourself." + +She also now dropped on to her knees and, lifting her clasped +hands and fixing her resentful sparkling eyes on the dim blue +patch of heaven visible beyond the treetops, began to speak +rapidly in clear, vibrating tones. She was praying to her mother +in heaven; and while Nuflo listened absorbed, his mouth open, his +eyes fixed on her, the hand that clutched the knife dropped to +his side. I also heard with the greatest wonder and admiration. +For she had been shy and reticent with me, and now, as if +oblivious of my presence, she was telling aloud the secrets of +her inmost heart. + +"O mother, mother, listen to me, to Rima, your beloved child!" +she began. "All these years I have been wickedly deceived by +grandfather--Nuflo--the old man that found you. Often have I +spoken to him of Riolama, where you once were, and your people +are, and he denied all knowledge of such a place. Sometimes he +said that it was at an immense distance, in a great wilderness +full of serpents larger than the trunks of great trees, and of +evil spirits and savage men, slayers of all strangers. At other +times he affirmed that no such place existed; that it was a tale +told by the Indians; such false things did he say to me--to Rima, +your child. O mother, can you believe such wickedness? + +"Then a stranger, a white man from Venezuela, came into our +woods: this is the man that was bitten by a serpent, and his name +is Abel; only I do not call him by that name, but by other names +which I have told you. But perhaps you did not listen, or did +not hear, for I spoke softly and not as now, on my knees, +solemnly. For I must tell you, O mother, that after you died the +priest at Voa told me repeatedly that when I prayed, whether to +you or to any of the saints, or to the Mother of Heaven, I must +speak as he had taught me if I wished to be heard and understood. +And that was most strange, since you had taught me differently; +but you were living then, at Voa, and now that you are in heaven, +perhaps you know better. Therefore listen to me now, O mother, +and let nothing I say escape you. + +"When this white man had been for some days with us, a strange +thing happened to me, which made me different, so that I was no +longer Rima, although Rima still--so strange was this thing; and +I often went to the pool to look at myself and see the change in +me, but nothing different could I see. In the first place it +came from his eyes passing into mine, and filling me just as the +lightning fills a cloud at sunset: afterwards it was no longer +from his eyes only, but it came into me whenever I saw him, even +at a distance, when I heard his voice, and most of all when he +touched me with his hand. When he is out of my sight I cannot +rest until I see him again; and when I see him, then I am glad, +yet in such fear and trouble that I hide myself from him. O +mother, it could not be told; for once when he caught me in his +arms and compelled me to speak of it, he did not understand; yet +there was need to tell it; then it came to me that only to our +people could it be told, for they would understand, and reply to +me, and tell me what to do in such a case. + +"And now, O mother, this is what happened next. I went to +grandfather and first begged and then commanded him to take me to +Riolama; but he would not obey, nor give attention to what I +said, but whenever I spoke to him of it he rose up and hurried +from me; and when I followed he flung back a confused and angry +reply, saying in the same breath that it was so long since he had +been to Riolama that he had forgotten where it was, and that no +such place existed. And which of his words were true and which +false I knew not; so that it would have been better if he had +returned no answer at all; and there was no help to be got from +him. And having thus failed, and there being no other person to +speak to except this stranger, I determined to go to him, and in +his company seek through the whole world for my people. This +will surprise you, O mother, because of that fear which came on +me in his presence, causing me to hide from his sight; but my +wish was so great that for a time it overcame my fear; so that I +went to him as he sat alone in the wood, sad because he could not +see me, and spoke to him, and led him to the summit of Ytaioa to +show me all the countries of the world from the summit. And you +must also know that I tremble in his presence, not because I fear +him as I fear Indians and cruel men; for he has no evil in him, +and is beautiful to look at, and his words are gentle, and his +desire is to be always with me, so that he differs from all other +men I have seen, just as I differ from all women, except from you +only, O sweet mother. + +"On the mountain-top he marked out and named all the countries of +the world, the great mountains, the rivers, the plains, the +forests, the cities; and told me also of the peoples, whites and +savages, but of our people nothing. And beyond where the world +ends there is water, water, water. And when he spoke of that +unknown part on the borders of Guayana, on the side of the +Cordilleras, he named the mountains of Riolama, and in that way I +first found out where my people are. I then left him on Ytaioa, +he refusing to follow me, and ran to grandfather and taxed him +with his falsehoods; and he, finding I knew all, escaped from me +into the woods, where I have now found him once more, talking +with the stranger. And now, O mother, seeing himself caught and +unable to escape a second time, he has taken up a knife to kill +himself, so as not to take me to Riolama; and he is only waiting +until I finish speaking to you, for I wish him to know what will +happen to him after death. Therefore, O mother, listen well and +do what I tell you. When he has killed himself, and has come +into that place where you are, see that he does not escape the +punishment he merits. Watch well for his coming, for he is full +of cunning and deceit, and will endeavor to hide himself from +your eyes. When you have recognized him--an old man, brown as an +Indian, with a white beard--point him out to the angels, and say: +'This is Nuflo, the bad man that lied to Rima.' Let them take him +and singe his wings with fire, so that he may not escape by +flying; and afterwards thrust him into some dark cavern under a +mountain, and place a great stone that a hundred men could not +remove over its mouth, and leave him there alone and in the dark +for ever!" + +Having ended, she rose quickly from her knees, and at the same +moment Nuflo, dropping the knife, cast himself prostrate at her +feet. + +"Rima--my child, my child, not that!" he cried out in a voice +that was broken with terror. He tried to take hold of her feet +with his hands, but she shrank from him with aversion; still he +kept on crawling after her like a disabled lizard, abjectly +imploring her to forgive him, reminding her that he had saved +from death the woman whose enmity had now been enlisted against +him, and declaring that he would do anything she commanded him, +and gladly perish in her service. + +It was a pitiable sight, and moving quickly to her side I touched +her on the shoulder and asked her to forgive him. + +The response came quickly enough. Turning to him once more, she +said: "I forgive you, grandfather. And now get up and take me to +Riolama." + +He rose, but only to his knees. "But you have not told her!" he +said, recovering his natural voice, although still anxious, and +jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Consider, my child, that I +am old and shall doubtless perish on the way. What would become +of my soul in such a case? For now you have told her everything, +and it will not be forgotten." + +She regarded him in silence for a few moments; then, moving a +little way apart, dropped on to her knees again, and with raised +hands and eyes fixed on the blue space above, already sprinkled +with stars, prayed again. + +"O mother, listen to me, for I have something fresh to say to +you. Grandfather has not killed himself, but has asked my +forgiveness and has promised to obey me. O mother, I have +forgiven him, and he will now take me to Riolama, to our people. +Therefore, O mother, if he dies on the way to Riolama let nothing +be done against him, but remember only that I forgave him at the +last; and when he comes into that place where you are, let him be +well received, for that is the wish of Rima, your child." + +As soon as this second petition was ended she was up again and +engaged in an animated discussion with him, urging him to take +her without further delay to Riolama; while he, now recovered +from his fear, urged that so important an undertaking required a +great deal of thought and preparation; that the journey would +occupy about twenty days, and unless he set out well provided +with food he would starve before accomplishing half the distance, +and his death would leave her worse off than before. He +concluded by affirming that he could not start in less time than +seven or eight days. + +For a while I listened with keen interest to this dispute, and at +length interposed once more on the old man's side. The poor girl +in her petition had unwittingly revealed to me the power I +possessed, and it was a pleasing experience to exercise it. +Touching her shoulder again, I assured her that seven or eight +days was only a reasonable time in which to prepare for so long a +journey. She instantly yielded, and after one glance at my face, +she moved swiftly away into the darker shadows, leaving me alone +with the old man. + +As we returned together through the now profoundly dark wood, I +explained to him how the subject of Riolama had first come up +during my conversation with Rima, and he then apologized for the +violent language he had used to me. This personal question +disposed of, he spoke of the pilgrimage before him, and informed +me in confidence that he intended preparing a quantity of +smoke-dried meat and packing it in a bag, with a layer of cassava +bread, dried pumpkin slips, and such innocent trifles to conceal +it from Rima's keen sight and delicate nostrils. Finally he made +a long rambling statement which, I vainly imagined, was intended +to lead up to an account of Rima's origin, with something about +her people at Riolama; but it led to nothing except an expression +of opinion that the girl was afflicted with a maggot in the +brain, but that as she had interest with the powers above, +especially with her mother, who was now a very important person +among the celestials, it was good policy to submit to her wishes. +Turning to me, doubtless to wink (only I missed the sign owing to +the darkness), he added that it was a fine thing to have a friend +at court. With a little gratulatory chuckle he went on to say +that for others it was necessary to obey all the ordinances of +the Church, to contribute to its support, hear mass, confess from +time to time, and receive absolution; consequently those who went +out into the wilderness, where there were no churches and no +priests to absolve them, did so at the risk of losing their +souls. But with him it was different: he expected in the end to +escape the fires of purgatory and go directly in all his +uncleanness to heaven--a thing, he remarked, which happened to +very few; and he, Nuflo, was no saint, and had first become a +dweller in the desert, as a very young man, in order to escape +the penalty of his misdeeds. + +I could not resist the temptation of remarking here that to an +unregenerate man the celestial country might turn out a somewhat +uncongenial place for a residence. He replied airily that he had +considered the point and had no fear about the future; that he +was old, and from all he had observed of the methods of +government followed by those who ruled over earthly affairs from +the sky, he had formed a clear idea of that place, and believed +that even among so many glorified beings he would be able to meet +with those who would prove companionable enough and would think +no worse of him on account of his little blemishes. + +How he had first got this idea into his brain about Rima's +ability to make things smooth for him after death I cannot say; +probably it was the effect of the girl's powerful personality and +vivid faith acting on an ignorant and extremely superstitious +mind. While she was making that petition to her mother in +heaven, it did not seem in the least ridiculous to me: I had felt +no inclination to smile, even when hearing all that about the old +man's wings being singed to prevent his escape by flying. Her +rapt look; the intense conviction that vibrated in her ringing, +passionate tones; the brilliant scorn with which she, a hater of +bloodshed, one so tender towards all living things, even the +meanest, bade him kill himself, and only hear first how her +vengeance would pursue his deceitful soul into other worlds; the +clearness with which she had related the facts of the case, +disclosing the inmost secrets of her heart--all this had had a +strange, convincing effect on me. Listening to her I was no +longer the enlightened, the creedless man. She herself was so +near to the supernatural that it seemed brought near me; +indefinable feelings, which had been latent in me, stirred into +life, and following the direction of her divine, lustrous eyes, +fixed on the blue sky above, I seemed to see there another being +like herself, a Rima glorified, leaning her pale, spiritual face +to catch the winged words uttered by her child on earth. And +even now, while hearing the old man's talk, showing as it did a +mind darkened with such gross delusions, I was not yet altogether +free from the strange effect of that prayer. Doubtless it was a +delusion; her mother was not really there above listening to the +girl's voice. Still, in some mysterious way, Rima had become to +me, even as to superstitious old Nuflo, a being apart and sacred, +and this feeling seemed to mix with my passion, to purify and +exalt it and make it infinitely sweet and precious. + +After we had been silent for some time, I said: "Old man, the +result of the grand discussion you have had with Rima is that you +have agreed to take her to Riolama, but about my accompanying you +not one word has been spoken by either of you." + +He stopped short to stare at me, and although it was too dark to +see his face, I felt his astonishment. "Senor!" he exclaimed, +"we cannot go without you. Have you not heard my granddaughter's +words--that it is only because of you that she is about to +undertake this crazy journey? If you are not with us in this +thing, then, senor, here we must remain. But what will Rima say +to that?" + +"Very well, I will go, but only on one condition." + +"What is it?" he asked, with a sudden change of tone, which +warned me that he was becoming cautious again. + +"That you tell me the whole story of Rima's origin, and how you +came to be now living with her in this solitary place, and who +these people are she wishes to visit at Riolama." + +"Ah, senor, it is a long story, and sad. But you shall hear it +all. You must hear it, senor, since you are now one of us; and +when I am no longer here to protect her, then she will be yours. +And although you will never be able to do more than old Nuflo for +her, perhaps she will be better pleased; and you, senor, better +able to exist innocently by her side, without eating flesh, since +you will always have that rare flower to delight you. But the +story would take long to tell. You shall hear it all as we +journey to Riolama. What else will there be to talk about when +we are walking that long distance, and when we sit at night by +the fire?" + +"No, no, old man, I am not to be put off in that way. I must +hear it before I start." + +But he was determined to reserve the narrative until the journey, +and after some further argument I yielded the point. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +That evening by the fire old Nuflo, lately so miserable, now +happy in his delusions, was more than usually gay and loquacious. +He was like a child who by timely submission has escaped a +threatened severe punishment. But his lightness of heart was +exceeded by mine; and, with the exception of one other yet to +come, that evening now shines in memory as the happiest my life +has known. For Rima's sweet secret was known to me; and her very +ignorance of the meaning of the feeling she experienced, which +caused her to fly from me as from an enemy, only served to make +the thought of it more purely delightful. + +On this occasion she did not steal away like a timid mouse to her +own apartment, as her custom was, but remained to give that one +evening a special grace, seated well away from the fire in that +same shadowy corner where I had first seen her indoors, when I +had marvelled at her altered appearance. From that corner she +could see my face, with the firelight full upon it, she herself +in shadow, her eyes veiled by their drooping lashes. Sitting +there, the vivid consciousness of my happiness was like draughts +of strong, delicious wine, and its effect was like wine, +imparting such freedom to fancy, such fluency, that again and +again old Nuflo applauded, crying out that I was a poet, and +begging me to put it all into rhyme. I could not do that to +please him, never having acquired the art of improvisation--that +idle trick of making words jingle which men of Nuflo's class in +my country so greatly admire; yet it seemed to me on that evening +that my feelings could be adequately expressed only in that +sublimated language used by the finest minds in their inspired +moments; and, accordingly, I fell to reciting. But not from any +modern, nor from the poets of the last century, nor even from the +greater seventeenth century. I kept to the more ancient romances +and ballads, the sweet old verse that, whether glad or sorrowful, +seems always natural and spontaneous as the song of a bird, and +so simple that even a child can understand it. + +It was late that night before all the romances I remembered or +cared to recite were exhausted, and not until then did Rima come +out of her shaded corner and steal silently away to her +sleeping-place. + +Although I had resolved to go with them, and had set Nuflo's mind +at rest on the point, I was bent on getting the request from +Rima's own lips; and the next morning the opportunity of seeing +her alone presented itself, after old Nuflo had sneaked off with +his dogs. From the moment of his departure I kept a close watch +on the house, as one watches a bush in which a bird one wishes to +see has concealed itself, and out of which it may dart at any +moment and escape unseen. + +At length she came forth, and seeing me in the way, would have +slipped back into hiding; for, in spite of her boldness on the +previous day, she now seemed shyer than ever when I spoke to her. + +"Rima," I said, "do you remember where we first talked together +under a tree one morning, when you spoke of your mother, telling +me that she was dead?" + +"Yes." + +"I am going now to that spot to wait for you. I must speak to +you again in that place about this journey to Riolama." As she +kept silent, I added: "Will you promise to come to me there?" + +She shook her head, turning half away. + +"Have you forgotten our compact, Rima?" + +"No," she returned; and then, suddenly coming near, spoke in a +low tone: "I will go there to please you, and you must also do as +I tell you." + +"What do you wish, Rima?" + +She came nearer still. "Listen! You must not look into my eyes, +you must not touch me with your hands." + +"Sweet Rima, I must hold your hand when I speak with you." + +"No, no, no," she murmured, shrinking from me; and finding that +it must be as she wished, I reluctantly agreed. + +Before I had waited long, she appeared at the trysting-place, and +stood before me, as on a former occasion, on that same spot of +clean yellow sand, clasping and unclasping her fingers, troubled +in mind even then. Only now her trouble was different and +greater, making her shyer and more reticent. + +"Rima, your grandfather is going to take you to Riolama. Do you +wish me to go with you?" + +"Oh, do you not know that?" she returned, with a swift glance at +my face. + +"How should I know?" + +Her eyes wandered away restlessly. "On Ytaioa you told me a +hundred things which I did not know," she replied in a vague way, +wishing, perhaps, to imply that with so great a knowledge of +geography it was strange I did not know everything, even her most +secret thoughts. + +"Tell me, why must you go to Riolama?" + +"You have heard. To speak to my people." + +"What will you say to them? Tell me." + +"What you do not understand. How tell you?" + +"I understand you when you speak in Spanish." + +"Oh, that is not speaking." + +"Last night you spoke to your mother in Spanish. Did you not +tell her everything?" + +"Oh no--not then. When I tell her everything I speak in another +way, in a low voice--not on my knees and praying. At night, and +in the woods, and when I am alone I tell her. But perhaps she +does not hear me; she is not here, but up there--so far! She +never answers, but when I speak to my people they will answer +me." + +Then she turned away as if there was nothing more to be said. + +"Is this all I am to hear from you, Rima--these few words?" I +exclaimed. "So much did you say to your grandfather, so much to +your dead mother, but to me you say so little!" + +She turned again, and with eyes cast down replied: + +"He deceived me--I had to tell him that, and then to pray to +mother. But to you that do not understand, what can I say? Only +that you are not like him and all those that I knew at Voa. It +is so different--and the same. You are you, and I am I; why is +it--do you know?" + +"No; yes--I know, but cannot tell you. And if you find your +people, what will you do--leave me to go to them? Must I go all +the way to Riolama only to lose you?" + +"Where I am, there you must be." + +"Why?" + +"Do I not see it there?" she returned, with a quick gesture to +indicate that it appeared in my face. + +"Your sight is keen, Rima--keen as a bird's. Mine is not so +keen. Let me look once more into those beautiful wild eyes, then +perhaps I shall see in them as much as you see in mine." + +"Oh no, no, not that!" she murmured in distress, drawing away +from me; then with a sudden flash of brilliant colour cried: + +"Have you forgotten the compact--the promise you made me?" + +Her words made me ashamed, and I could not reply. But the shame +was as nothing in strength compared to the impulse I felt to +clasp her beautiful body in my arms and cover her face with +kisses. Sick with desire, I turned away and, sitting on a root +of the tree, covered my face with my hands. + +She came nearer: I could see her shadow through my fingers; then +her face and wistful, compassionate eyes. + +"Forgive me, dear Rima," I said, dropping my hands again. "I +have tried so hard to please you in everything! Touch my face +with your hand--only that, and I will go to Riolama with you, and +obey you in all things." + +For a while she hesitated, then stepped quickly aside so that I +could not see her; but I knew that she had not left me, that she +was standing just behind me. And after waiting a moment longer I +felt her fingers touching my skin, softly, trembling over my +cheek as if a soft-winged moth had fluttered against it; then the +slight aerial touch was gone, and she, too, moth-like, had +vanished from my side. + +Left alone in the wood, I was not happy. That fluttering, +flattering touch of her finger-tips had been to me like spoken +language, and more eloquent than language, yet the sweet +assurance it conveyed had not given perfect satisfaction; and +when I asked myself why the gladness of the previous evening had +forsaken me--why I was infected with this new sadness when +everything promised well for me, I found that it was because my +passion had greatly increased during the last few hours; even +during sleep it had been growing, and could no longer be fed by +merely dwelling in thought on the charms, moral and physical, of +its object, and by dreams of future fruition. + +I concluded that it would be best for Rima's sake as well as my +own to spend a few of the days before setting out on our journey +with my Indian friends, who would be troubled at my long absence; +and, accordingly, next morning I bade good-bye to the old man, +promising to return in three or four days, and then started +without seeing Rima, who had quitted the house before her usual +time. After getting free of the woods, on casting back my eyes I +caught sight of the girl standing under an isolated tree watching +me with that vague, misty, greenish appearance she so frequently +had when seen in the light shade at a short distance. + +"Rima!" I cried, hurrying back to speak to her, but when I +reached the spot she had vanished; and after waiting some time, +seeing and hearing nothing to indicate that she was near me, I +resumed my walk, half thinking that my imagination had deceived +me. + +I found my Indian friends home again, and was not surprised to +observe a distinct change in their manner towards me. I had +expected as much; and considering that they must have known very +well where and in whose company I had been spending my time, it +was not strange. Coming across the savannah that morning I had +first begun to think seriously of the risk I was running. But +this thought only served to prepare me for a new condition of +things; for now to go back and appear before Rima, and thus prove +myself to be a person not only capable of forgetting a promise +occasionally, but also of a weak, vacillating mind, was not to be +thought of for a moment. + +I was received--not welcomed--quietly enough; not a question, not +a word, concerning my long absence fell from anyone; it was as if +a stranger had appeared among them, one about whom they knew +nothing and consequently regarded with suspicion, if not actual +hostility. I affected not to notice the change, and dipped my +hand uninvited in the pot to satisfy my hunger, and smoked and +dozed away the sultry hours in my hammock. Then I got my guitar +and spent the rest of the day over it, tuning it, touching the +strings so softly with my finger-tips that to a person four yards +off the sound must have seemed like the murmur or buzz of an +insect's wings; and to this scarcely audible accompaniment I +murmured in an equally low tone a new song. + +In the evening, when all were gathered under the roof and I had +eaten again, I took up the instrument once more, furtively +watched by all those half-closed animal eyes, and swept the +strings loudly, and sang aloud. I sang an old simple Spanish +melody, to which I had put words in their own language--a +language with no words not in everyday use, in which it is so +difficult to express feelings out of and above the common. What +I had been constructing and practicing all the afternoon sotto +voce was a kind of ballad, an extremely simple tale of a poor +Indian living alone with his young family in a season of dearth; +how day after day he ranged the voiceless woods, to return each +evening with nothing but a few withered sour berries in his hand, +to find his lean, large-eyed wife still nursing the fire that +cooked nothing, and his children crying for food, showing their +bones more plainly through their skins every day; and how, +without anything miraculous, anything wonderful, happening, that +barrenness passed from earth, and the garden once more yielded +them pumpkin and maize, and manioc, the wild fruits ripened, and +the birds returned, filling the forest with their cries; and so +their long hunger was satisfied, and the children grew sleek, and +played and laughed in the sunshine; and the wife, no longer +brooding over the empty pot, wove a hammock of silk grass, +decorated with blue-and-scarlet feathers of the macaw; and in +that new hammock the Indian rested long from his labours, smoking +endless cigars. + +When I at last concluded with a loud note of joy, a long, +involuntary suspiration in the darkening room told me that I had +been listened to with profound interest; and, although no word +was spoken, though I was still a stranger and under a cloud, it +was plain that the experiment had succeeded, and that for the +present the danger was averted. + +I went to my hammock and slept, but without undressing. Next +morning I missed my revolver and found that the holster +containing it had been detached from the belt. My knife had not +been taken, possibly because it was under me in the hammock while +I slept. In answer to my inquiries I was informed that Runi had +BORROWED my weapon to take it with him to the forest, where he +had gone to hunt, and that he would return it to me in the +evening. I affected to take it in good part, although feeling +secretly ill at ease. Later in the day I came to the conclusion +that Runi had had it in his mind to murder me, that I had +softened him by singing that Indian story, and that by taking +possession of the revolver he showed that he now only meant to +keep me a prisoner. Subsequent events confirmed me in this +suspicion. On his return he explained that he had gone out to +seek for game in the woods; and, going without a companion, he +had taken my revolver to preserve him from dangers--meaning those +of a supernatural kind; and that he had had the misfortune to +drop it among the bushes while in pursuit of some animal. I +answered hotly that he had not treated me like a friend; that if +he had asked me for the weapon it would have been lent to him; +that as he had taken it without permission he must pay me for it. +After some pondering he said that when he took it I was sleeping +soundly; also, that it would not be lost; he would take me to the +place where he had dropped it, when we could search together for +it. + +He was in appearance more friendly towards me now, even asking me +to repeat my last evening's song, and so we had that performance +all over again to everybody's satisfaction. But when morning +came he was not inclined to go to the woods: there was food +enough in the house, and the pistol would not be hurt by lying +where it had fallen a day longer. Next day the same excuse; +still I disguised my impatience and suspicion of him and waited, +singing the ballad for the third time that evening. Then I was +conducted to a wood about a league and a half away and we hunted +for the lost pistol among the bushes, I with little hope of +finding it, while he attended to the bird voices and frequently +asked me to stand or lie still when a chance of something +offered. + +The result of that wasted day was a determination on my part to +escape from Runi as soon as possible, although at the risk of +making a deadly enemy of him and of being compelled to go on that +long journey to Riolama with no better weapon than a +hunting-knife. I had noticed, while appearing not to do so, that +outside of the house I was followed or watched by one or other of +the Indians, so that great circumspection was needed. On the +following day I attacked my host once more about the revolver, +telling him with well-acted indignation that if not found it must +be paid for. I went so far as to give a list of the articles I +should require, including a bow and arrows, zabatana, two spears, +and other things which I need not specify, to set me up for life +as a wild man in the woods of Guayana. I was going to add a +wife, but as I had already been offered one it did not appear to +be necessary. He seemed a little taken aback at the value I set +upon my weapon, and promised to go and look for it again. Then I +begged that Kua-ko, in whose sharpness of sight I had great +faith, might accompany us. He consented, and named the next day +but one for the expedition. Very well, thought I, tomorrow their +suspicion will be less, and my opportunity will come; then taking +up my rude instrument, I gave them an old Spanish song: + + Desde aquel doloroso momento; + +but this kind of music had lost its charm for them, and I was +asked to give them the ballad they understood so well, in which +their interest seemed to increase with every repetition. In +spite of anxiety it amused me to see old Cla-cla regarding me +fixedly with owlish eyes and lips moving. My tale had no +wonderful things in it, like hers of the olden time, which she +told only to send her hearers to sleep. Perhaps she had +discovered by now that it was the strange honey of melody which +made the coarse, common cassava bread of everyday life in my +story so pleasant to the palate. I was quite prepared to receive +a proposal to give her music and singing lessons, and to bequeath +a guitar to her in my last will and testament. For, in spite of +her hoary hair and million wrinkles, she, more than any other +savage I had met with, seemed to have taken a draught from Ponce +de Leon's undiscovered fountain of eternal youth. Poor old +witch! + +The following day was the sixth of my absence from Rima, and one +of intense anxiety to me, a feeling which I endeavoured to hide +by playing with the children, fighting our old comic stick +fights, and by strumming noisily on the guitar. In the +afternoon, when it was hottest, and all the men who happened to +be indoors were lying in their hammocks, I asked Kua-ko to go +with me to the stream to bathe. He refused--I had counted on +that--and earnestly advised me not to bathe in the pool I was +accustomed to, as some little caribe fishes had made their +appearance there and would be sure to attack me. I laughed at +his idle tale and, taking up my cloak, swung out of the door, +whistling a lively air. He knew that I always threw my cloak +over my head and shoulders as a protection from the sun and +stinging flies when coming out of the water, and so his suspicion +was not aroused, and I was not followed. The pool was about ten +minutes' walk from the house; I arrived at it with palpitating +heart, and going round to its end, where the stream was shallow, +sat down to rest for a few moments and take a few sips of cool +water dipped up in my palm. Presently I rose, crossed the +stream, and began running, keeping among the low trees near the +bank until a dry gully, which extended for some distance across +the savannah, was reached. By following its course the distance +to be covered would be considerably increased, but the shorter +way would have exposed me to sight and made it more dangerous. I +had put forth too much speed at first, and in a short time my +exertions, and the hot sun, together with my intense excitement, +overcame me. I dared not hope that my flight had not been +observed; I imagined that the Indians, unencumbered by any heavy +weight, were already close behind me, and ready to launch their +deadly spears at my back. With a sob of rage and despair I fell +prostrate on my face in the dry bed of the stream, and for two or +three minutes remained thus exhausted and unmanned, my heart +throbbing so violently that my whole frame was shaken. If my +enemies had come on me then disposed to kill me, I could not have +lifted a hand in defence of my life. But minutes passed and they +came not. I rose and went on, at a fast walk now, and when the +sheltering streamed ended, I stooped among the sere dwarfed +shrubs scattered about here and there on its southern side; and +now creeping and now running, with an occasional pause to rest +and look back, I at last reached the dividing ridge at its +southern extremity. The rest of the way was over comparatively +easy ground, inclining downwards; and with that glad green forest +now full in sight, and hope growing stronger every minute in my +breast, my knees ceased to tremble, and I ran on again, scarcely +pausing until I had touched and lost myself in the welcome +shadows. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +Ah, that return to the forest where Rima dwelt, after so anxious +day, when the declining sun shone hotly still, and the green +woodland shadows were so grateful! The coolness, the sense of +security, allayed the fever and excitement I had suffered on the +open savannah; I walked leisurely, pausing often to listen to +some bird voice or to admire some rare insect or parasitic flower +shining star-like in the shade. There was a strangely delightful +sensation in me. I likened myself to a child that, startled at +something it had seen while out playing in the sun, flies to its +mother to feel her caressing hand on its cheek and forget its +tremors. And describing what I felt in that way, I was a little +ashamed and laughed at myself; nevertheless the feeling was very +sweet. At that moment Mother and Nature seemed one and the same +thing. As I kept to the more open part of the wood, on its +southernmost border, the red flame of the sinking sun was seen at +intervals through the deep humid green of the higher foliage. +How every object it touched took from it a new wonderful glory! +At one spot, high up where the foliage was scanty, and slender +bush ropes and moss depended like broken cordage from a dead +limb--just there, bathing itself in that glory-giving light, I +noticed a fluttering bird, and stood still to watch its antics. +Now it would cling, head downwards, to the slender twigs, wings +and tail open; then, righting itself, it would flit from waving +line to line, dropping lower and lower; and anon soar upwards a +distance of twenty feet and alight to recommence the flitting and +swaying and dropping towards the earth. It was one of those +birds that have a polished plumage, and as it moved this way and +that, flirting its feathers, they caught the beams and shone at +moments like glass or burnished metal. Suddenly another bird of +the same kind dropped down to it as if from the sky, straight and +swift as a falling stone; and the first bird sprang up to meet +the comer, and after rapidly wheeling round each other for a +moment, they fled away in company, screaming shrilly through the +wood, and were instantly lost to sight, while their jubilant +cries came back fainter and fainter at each repetition. + +I envied them not their wings: at that moment earth did not seem +fixed and solid beneath me, nor I bound by gravity to it. The +faint, floating clouds, the blue infinite heaven itself, seemed +not more ethereal and free than I, or the ground I walked on. +The low, stony hills on my right hand, of which I caught +occasional glimpses through the trees, looking now blue and +delicate in the level rays, were no more than the billowy +projections on the moving cloud of earth: the trees of unnumbered +kinds--great more, cecropia, and greenheart, bush and fern and +suspended lianas, and tall palms balancing their feathery foliage +on slender stems--all was but a fantastic mist embroidery +covering the surface of that floating cloud on which my feet were +set, and which floated with me near the sun. + +The red evening flame had vanished from the summits of the trees, +the sun was setting, the woods in shadow, when I got to the end +of my walk. I did not approach the house on the side of the +door, yet by some means those within became aware of my presence, +for out they came in a great hurry, Rima leading the way, Nuflo +behind her, waving his arms and shouting. But as I drew near, +the girl dropped behind and stood motionless regarding me, her +face pallid and showing strong excitement. I could scarcely +remove my eyes from her eloquent countenance: I seemed to read in +it relief and gladness mingled with surprise and something like +vexation. She was piqued perhaps that I had taken her by +surprise, that after much watching for me in the wood I had come +through it undetected when she was indoors. + +"Happy the eyes that see you!" shouted the old man, laughing +boisterously. + +"Happy are mine that look on Rima again," I answered. "I have +been long absent." + +"Long--you may say so," returned Nuflo. "We had given you up. +We said that, alarmed at the thought of the journey to Riolama, +you had abandoned us." + +"WE said!" exclaimed Rima, her pallid face suddenly flushing. +"I spoke differently." + +"Yes, I know--I know!" he said airily, waving his hand. "You +said that he was in danger, that he was kept against his will +from coming. He is present now--let him speak." + +"She was right," I said. "Ah, Nuflo, old man, you have lived +long, and got much experience, but not insight--not that inner +vision that sees further than the eyes." + +"No, not that--I know what you mean," he answered. Then, tossing +his hand towards the sky, he added: "The knowledge you speak of +comes from there." + +The girl had been listening with keen interest, glancing from one +to the other. "What!" she spoke suddenly, as if unable to keep +silence, "do you think, grandfather, that SHE tells me--when +there is danger--when the rain will cease--when the wind will +blow--everything? Do I not ask and listen, lying awake at night? +She is always silent, like the stars." + +Then, pointing to me with her finger, she finished: + +"HE knows so many things! Who tells them to HIM?" + +"But distinguish, Rima. You do not distinguish the great from +the little," he answered loftily. "WE know a thousand things, +but they are things that any man with a forehead can learn. The +knowledge that comes from the blue is not like that--it is more +important and miraculous. Is it not so, senor?" he ended, +appealing to me. + +"Is it, then, left for me to decide?" said I, addressing the +girl. + +But though her face was towards me, she refused to meet my look +and was silent. Silent, but not satisfied: she doubted still, +and had perhaps caught something in my tone that strengthened her +doubt. + +Old Nuflo understood the expression. "Look at me, Rima," he +said, drawing himself up. "I am old, and he is young--do I not +know best? I have spoken and have decided it." + +Still that unconvinced expression, and her face turned expectant +to me. + +"Am I to decide?" I repeated. + +"Who, then?" she said at last, her voice scarcely more than a +murmur; yet there was reproach in the tone, as if she had made a +long speech and I had tyrannously driven her to it. + +"Thus, then, I decide," said I. "To each of us, as to every kind +of animal, even to small birds and insects, and to every kind of +plant, there is given something peculiar--a fragrance, a melody, +a special instinct, an art, a knowledge, which no other has. And +to Rima has been given this quickness of mind and power to divine +distant things; it is hers, just as swiftness and grace and +changeful, brilliant colour are the hummingbird's; therefore she +need not that anyone dwelling in the blue should instruct her." + +The old man frowned and shook his head; while she, after one +swift, shy glance at my face, and with something like a smile +flitting over her delicate lips, turned and re-entered the house. + +I felt convinced from that parting look that she had understood +me, that my words had in some sort given her relief; for, strong +as was her faith in the supernatural, she appeared as ready to +escape from it, when a way of escape offered, as from the limp +cotton gown and constrained manner worn in the house. The +religion and cotton dress were evidently remains of her early +training at the settlement of Voa. + +Old Nuflo, strange to say, had proved better than his word. +Instead of inventing new causes for delay, as I had imagined +would be the case, he now informed me that his preparations for +the journey were all but complete, that he had only waited for my +return to set out. + +Rima soon left us in her customary way, and then, talking by the +fire, I gave an account of my detention by the Indians and of the +loss of my revolver, which I thought very serious. + +"You seem to think little of it," I said, observing that he took +it very coolly. "Yet I know not how I shall defend myself in +case of an attack." + +"I have no fear of an attack," he answered. "It seems to me the +same thing whether you have a revolver or many revolvers and +carbines and swords, or no revolver--no weapon at all. And for a +very simple reason. While Rima is with us, so long as we are on +her business, we are protected from above. The angels, senor, +will watch over us by day and night. What need of weapons, then, +except to procure food?" + +"Why should not the angels provide us with food also?" said I. + +"No, no, that is a different thing," he returned. "That is a +small and low thing, a necessity common to all creatures, which +all know how to meet. You would not expect an angel to drive +away a cloud of mosquitoes, or to remove a bush-tick from your +person. No, sir, you may talk of natural gifts, and try to make +Rima believe that she is what she is, and knows what she knows, +because, like a humming-bird or some plants with a peculiar +fragrance, she has been made so. It is wrong, senor, and, pardon +me for saying it, it ill becomes you to put such fables into her +head." + +I answered, with a smile: "She herself seems to doubt what you +believe." + +"But, senor, what can you expect from an ignorant girl like Rima? +She knows nothing, or very little, and will not listen to reason. +If she would only remain quietly indoors, with her hair braided, +and pray and read her Catechism, instead of running about after +flowers and birds and butterflies and such unsubstantial things, +it would be better for both of us." + +"In what way, old man?" + +"Why, it is plain that if she would cultivate the acquaintance of +the people that surround her--I mean those that come to her from +her sainted mother--and are ready to do her bidding in +everything, she could make it more safe for us in this place. +For example, there is Runi and his people; why should they remain +living so near us as to be a constant danger when a pestilence of +small-pox or some other fever might easily be sent to kill them +off?" + +"And have you ever suggested such a thing to your grandchild?" + +He looked surprised and grieved at the question. "Yes, many +times, senor," he said. "I should have been a poor Christian had +I not mentioned it. But when I speak of it she gives me a look +and is gone, and I see no more of her all day, and when I see her +she refuses even to answer me--so perverse, so foolish is she in +her ignorance; for, as you can see for yourself, she has no more +sense or concern about what is most important than some little +painted fly that flits about all day long without any object." + + + +CHAPTER XV + +The next day we were early at work. Nuflo had already gathered, +dried, and conveyed to a place of concealment the greater portion +of his garden produce. He was determined to leave nothing to be +taken by any wandering party of savages that might call at the +house during our absence. He had no fear of a visit from his +neighbours; they would not know, he said, that he and Rima were +out of the wood. A few large earthen pots, filled with shelled +maize, beans, and sun-dried strips of pumpkin, still remained to +be disposed of. Taking up one of these vessels and asking me to +follow with another, he started off through the wood. We went a +distance of five or six hundred yards, then made our way down a +very steep incline, close to the border of the forest on the +western side. Arrived at the bottom, we followed the bank a +little further, and I then found myself once more at the foot of +the precipice over which I had desperately thrown myself on the +stormy evening after the snake had bitten me. Nuflo, stealing +silently and softly before me through the bushes, had observed a +caution and secrecy in approaching this spot resembling that of a +wise old hen when she visits her hidden nest to lay an egg. And +here was his nest, his most secret treasure-house, which he had +probably not revealed even to me without a sharp inward conflict, +notwithstanding that our fates were now linked together. The +lower portion of the bank was of rock; and in it, about ten or +twelve feet above the ground, but easily reached from below, +there was a natural cavity large enough to contain all his +portable property. Here, besides the food-stuff, he had already +stored a quantity of dried tobacco leaf, his rude weapons, +cooking utensils, ropes, mats, and other objects. Two or three +more journeys were made for the remaining pots, after which we +adjusted a slab of sandstone to the opening, which was +fortunately narrow, plastered up the crevices with clay, and +covered them over with moss to hide all traces of our work. + +Towards evening, after we had refreshed ourselves with a long +siesta, Nuflo brought out from some other hiding-place two sacks; +one weighing about twenty pounds and containing smoke-dried meat, +also grease and gum for lighting-purposes, and a few other small +objects. This was his load; the other sack, which was smaller +and contained parched corn and raw beans, was for me to carry. + +The old man, cautious in all his movements, always acting as if +surrounded by invisible spies, delayed setting out until an hour +after dark. Then, skirting the forest on its west side, we left +Ytaioa on our right hand, and after travelling over rough, +difficult ground, with only the stars to light us, we saw the +waning moon rise not long before dawn. Our course had been a +north-easterly one at first; now it was due east, with broad, dry +savannahs and patches of open forest as far as we could see +before us. It was weary walking on that first night, and weary +waiting on the first day when we sat in the shade during the +long, hot hours, persecuted by small stinging flies; but the days +and nights that succeeded were far worse, when the weather became +bad with intense heat and frequent heavy falls of rain. The one +compensation I had looked for, which would have outweighed all +the extreme discomforts we suffered, was denied me. Rima was no +more to me or with me now than she had been during those wild +days in her native woods, when every bush and bole and tangled +creeper or fern frond had joined in a conspiracy to keep her out +of my sight. It is true that at intervals in the daytime she was +visible, sometimes within speaking distance, so that I could +address a few words to her, but there was no companionship, and +we were fellow travellers only like birds flying independently in +the same direction, not so widely separated but that they can +occasionally hear and see each other. The pilgrim in the desert +is sometimes attended by a bird, and the bird, with its freer +motions, will often leave him a league behind and seem lost to +him, but only to return and show its form again; for it has never +lost sight nor recollection of the traveller toiling slowly over +the surface. Rima kept us company in some such wild erratic way +as that. A word, a sign from Nuflo was enough for her to know +the direction to take--the distant forest or still more distant +mountain near which we should have to pass. She would hasten on +and be lost to our sight, and when there was a forest in the way +she would explore it, resting in the shade and finding her own +food; but invariably she was before us at each resting- or +camping-place. + +Indian villages were seen during the journey, but only to be +avoided; and in like manner, if we caught sight of Indians +travelling or camping at a distance, we would alter our course, +or conceal ourselves to escape observation. Only on one +occasion, two days after setting out, were we compelled to speak +with strangers. We were going round a hill, and all at once came +face to face with three persons travelling in an opposite +direction--two men and a woman, and, by a strange fatality, Rima +at that moment happened to be with us. We stood for some time +talking to these people, who were evidently surprised at our +appearance, and wished to learn who we were; but Nuflo, who spoke +their language like one of themselves, was too cunning to give +any true answer. They, on their side, told us that they had been +to visit a relative at Chani, the name of a river three days +ahead of us, and were now returning to their own village at +Baila-baila, two days beyond Parahuari. After parting from them +Nuflo was much troubled in his mind for the rest of that day. +These people, he said, would probably rest at some Parahuari +village, where they would be sure to give a description of us, +and so it might eventually come to the knowledge of our +unneighbourly neighbour Runi that we had left Ytaioa. + +Other incidents of our long and wearisome journey need not be +related. Sitting under some shady tree during the sultry hours, +with Rima only too far out of earshot, or by the nightly fire, +the old man told me little by little and with much digression, +chiefly on sacred subjects, the strange story of the girl's +origin. + +About seventeen years back--Nuflo had no sure method to compute +time by--when he was already verging on old age, he was one of a +company of nine men, living a kind of roving life in the very +part of Guayana through which we were now travelling; the others, +much younger than himself, were all equally offenders against the +laws of Venezuela, and fugitives from justice. Nuflo was the +leader of this gang, for it happened that he had passed a great +portion of his life outside the pale of civilization, and could +talk the Indian language, and knew this part of Guayana +intimately. But according to his own account he was not in +harmony with them. They were bold, desperate men, whose evil +appetites had so far only been whetted by the crimes they had +committed; while he, with passions worn out, recalling his many +bad acts, and with a vivid conviction of the truth of all he had +been taught in early life--for Nuflo was nothing if not +religious--was now grown timid and desirous only of making his +peace with Heaven. This difference of disposition made him +morose and quarrelsome with his companions; and they would, he +said, have murdered him without remorse if he had not been so +useful to them. Their favourite plan was to hang about the +neighbourhood of some small isolated settlement, keeping a watch +on it, and, when most of the male inhabitants were absent, to +swoop down on it and work their will. Now, shortly after one of +these raids it happened that a woman they had carried off, +becoming a burden to them, was flung into a river to the +alligators; but when being dragged down to the waterside she cast +up her eyes, and in a loud voice cried to God to execute +vengeance on her murderers. Nuflo affirmed that he took no part +in this black deed; nevertheless, the woman's dying appeal to +Heaven preyed on his mind; he feared that it might have won a +hearing, and the "person" eventually commissioned to execute +vengeance--after the usual days, of course might act on the +principle of the old proverb: Tell me whom you are with, and I +will tell you what you are--and punish the innocent (himself to +wit) along with the guilty. But while thus anxious about his +spiritual interests, he was not yet prepared to break with his +companions. He thought it best to temporize, and succeeded in +persuading them that it would be unsafe to attack another +Christian settlement for some time to come; that in the interval +they might find some pleasure, if no great credit, by turning +their attention to the Indians. The infidels, he said, were +God's natural enemies and fair game to the Christian. To make a +long story short, Nuflo's Christian band, after some successful +adventures, met with a reverse which reduced their number from +nine to five. Flying from their enemies, they sought safety at +Riolama, an uninhabited place, where they found it possible to +exist for some weeks on game, which was abundant, and wild +fruits. + +One day at noon, while ascending a mountain at the southern +extremity of the Riolama range in order to get a view of the +country beyond the summit, Nuflo and his companions discovered a +cave; and finding it dry, without animal occupants, and with a +level floor, they at once determined to make it their +dwelling-place for a season. Wood for firing and water were to +be had close by; they were also well provided with smoked flesh +of a tapir they had slaughtered a day or two before, so that they +could afford to rest for a time in so comfortable a shelter. At +a short distance from the cave they made a fire on the rock to +toast some slices of meat for their dinner; and while thus +engaged all at once one of the men uttered a cry of astonishment, +and casting up his eyes Nuflo beheld, standing near and regarding +them with surprise and fear in-her wide-open eyes, a woman of a +most wonderful appearance. The one slight garment she had on was +silky and white as the snow on the summit of some great mountain, +but of the snow when the sinking sun touches and gives it some +delicate changing colour which is like fire. Her dark hair was +like a cloud from which her face looked out, and her head was +surrounded by an aureole like that of a saint in a picture, only +more beautiful. For, said Nuflo, a picture is a picture, and the +other was a reality, which is finer. Seeing her he fell on his +knees and crossed himself; and all the time her eyes, full of +amazement and shining with such a strange splendour that he could +not meet them, were fixed on him and not on the others; and he +felt that she had come to save his soul, in danger of perdition +owing to his companionship with men who were at war with God and +wholly bad. + +But at this moment his comrades, recovering from their +astonishment, sprang to their feet, and the heavenly woman +vanished. Just behind where she had stood, and not twelve yards +from them, there was a huge chasm in the mountain, its jagged +precipitous sides clothed with thorny bushes; the men now cried +out that she had made her escape that way, and down after her +they rushed, pell-mell. + +Nuflo cried out after them that they had seen a saint and that +some horrible thing would befall them if they allowed any evil +thought to enter their hearts; but they scoffed at his words, and +were soon far down out of hearing, while he, trembling with fear, +remained praying to the woman that had appeared to them and had +looked with such strange eyes at him, not to punish him for the +sins of the others. + +Before long the men returned, disappointed and sullen, for they +had failed in their search for the woman; and perhaps Nuflo's +warning words had made them give up the chase too soon. At all +events, they seemed ill at ease, and made up their minds to +abandon the cave; in a short time they left the place to camp +that night at a considerable distance from the mountain. But +they were not satisfied: they had now recovered from their fear, +but not from the excitement of an evil passion; and finally, +after comparing notes, they came to the conclusion that they had +missed a great prize through Nuflo's cowardice; and when he +reproved them they blasphemed all the saints in the calendar and +even threatened him with violence. Fearing to remain longer in +the company of such godless men, he only waited until they slept, +then rose up cautiously, helped himself to most of the +provisions, and made his escape, devoutly hoping that after +losing their guide they would all speedily perish. + +Finding himself alone now and master of his own actions, Nuflo +was in terrible distress, for while his heart was in the utmost +fear, it yet urged him imperiously to go back to the mountain, to +seek again for that sacred being who had appeared to him and had +been driven away by his brutal companions. If he obeyed that +inner voice, he would be saved; if he resisted it, then there +would be no hope for him, and along with those who had cast the +woman to the alligators he would be lost eternally. Finally, on +the following day, he went back, although not without fear and +trembling, and sat down on a stone just where he had sat toasting +his tapir meat on the previous day. But he waited in vain, and +at length that voice within him, which he had so far obeyed, +began urging him to descend into the valley-like chasm down which +the woman had escaped from his comrades, and to seek for her +there. Accordingly he rose and began cautiously and slowly +climbing down over the broken jagged rocks and through a dense +mass of thorny bushes and creepers. At the bottom of the chasm a +clear, swift stream of water rushed with foam and noise along its +rocky bed; but before reaching it, and when it was still twenty +yards lower down, he was startled by hearing a low moan among the +bushes, and looking about for the cause, he found the wonderful +woman--his saviour, as he expressed it. She was not now standing +nor able to stand, but half reclining among the rough stones, one +foot, which she had sprained in that headlong flight down the +ragged slope, wedged immovably between the rocks; and in this +painful position she had remained a prisoner since noon on the +previous day. She now gazed on her visitor in silent +consternation; while he, casting himself prostrate on the ground, +implored her forgiveness and begged to know her will. But she +made no reply; and at length, finding that she was powerless to +move, he concluded that, though a saint and one of the beings +that men worship, she was also flesh and liable to accidents +while sojourning on earth; and perhaps, he thought, that accident +which had befallen her had been specially designed by the powers +above to prove him. With great labour, and not without causing +her much pain, he succeeded in extricating her from her position; +and then finding that the injured foot was half crushed and blue +and swollen, he took her up in his arms and carried her to the +stream. There, making a cup of a broad green leaf, he offered +her water, which she drank eagerly; and he also laved her injured +foot in the cold stream and bandaged it with fresh aquatic +leaves; finally he made her a soft bed of moss and dry grass and +placed her on it. That night he spent keeping watch over her, at +intervals applying fresh wet leaves to her foot as the old ones +became dry and wilted from the heat of the inflammation. + +The effect of all he did was that the terror with which she +regarded him gradually wore off; and next day, when she seemed to +be recovering her strength, he proposed by signs to remove her to +the cave higher up, where she would be sheltered in case of rain. +She appeared to understand him, and allowed herself to be taken +up in his arms and carried with much labour to the top of the +chasm. In the cave he made her a second couch, and tended her +assiduously. He made a fire on the floor and kept it burning +night and day, and supplied her with water to drink and fresh +leaves for her foot. There was little more that he could do. +From the choicest and fattest bits of toasted tapir flesh he +offered her she turned away with disgust. A little cassava bread +soaked in water she would take, but seemed not to like it. After +a time, fearing that she would starve, he took to hunting after +wild fruits, edible bulbs and gums, and on these small things she +subsisted during the whole time of their sojourn together in the +desert. + +The woman, although lamed for life, was now so far recovered as +to be able to limp about without assistance, and she spent a +portion of each day out among the rocks and trees on the +mountains. Nuflo at first feared that she would now leave him, +but before long he became convinced that she had no such +intentions. And yet she was profoundly unhappy. He was +accustomed to see her seated on a rock, as if brooding over some +secret grief, her head bowed, and great tears falling from +half-closed eyes. + +From the first he had conceived the idea that she was in the way +of becoming a mother at no distant date--an idea which seemed to +accord badly with the suppositions as to the nature of this +heavenly being he was privileged to minister to and so win +salvation; but he was now convinced of its truth, and he imagined +that in her condition he had discovered the cause of that sorrow +and anxiety which preyed continually on her. By means of that +dumb language of signs which enabled them to converse together a +little, he made it known to her that at a great distance from the +mountains there existed a place where there were beings like +herself, women, and mothers of children, who would comfort and +tenderly care for her. When she had understood, she seemed +pleased and willing to accompany him to that distant place; and +so it came to pass that they left their rocky shelter and the +mountains of Riolama far behind. But for several days, as they +slowly journeyed over the plain, she would pause at intervals in +her limping walk to gaze back on those blue summits, shedding +abundant tears. + +Fortunately the village Voa, on the river of the same name, which +was the nearest Christian settlement to Riolama, whither his +course was directed, was well known to him; he had lived there in +former years, and, what was of great advantage, the inhabitants +were ignorant of his worst crimes, or, to put it in his own +subtle way, of the crimes committed by the men he had acted with. +Great was the astonishment and curiosity of the people of Voa +when, after many weeks' travelling, Nuflo arrived at last with +his companion. But he was not going to tell the truth, nor even +the least particle of the truth, to a gaping crowd of inferior +persons. For these, ingenious lies; only to the priest he told +the whole story, dwelling minutely on all he had done to rescue +and protect her; all of which was approved by the holy man, whose +first act was to baptize the woman for fear that she was not a +Christian. Let it be said to Nuflo's credit that he objected to +this ceremony, arguing that she could not be a saint, with an +aureole in token of her sainthood, yet stand in need of being +baptized by a priest. A priest--he added, with a little chuckle +of malicious pleasure--who was often seen drunk, who cheated at +cards, and was sometimes suspected of putting poison on his +fighting-cock's spur to make sure of the victory! Doubtless the +priest had his faults; but he was not without humanity, and for +the whole seven years of that unhappy stranger's sojourn at Voa +he did everything in his power to make her existence tolerable. +Some weeks after arriving she gave birth to a female child, and +then the priest insisted on naming it Riolama, in order, he said, +to keep in remembrance the strange story of the mother's +discovery at that place. + +Rima's mother could not be taught to speak either Spanish or +Indian; and when she found that the mysterious and melodious +sounds that fell from her own lips were understood by none, she +ceased to utter them, and thereafter preserved an unbroken +silence among the people she lived with. But from the presence +of others she shrank, as if in disgust or fear, excepting only +Nuflo and the priest, whose kindly intentions she appeared to +understand and appreciate. So far her life in the village was +silent and sorrowful. With her child it was different; and every +day that was not wet, taking the little thing by the hand, she +would limp painfully out into the forest, and there, sitting on +the ground, the two would commune with each other by the hour in +their wonderful language. + +At length she began to grow perceptibly paler and feebler week by +week, day by day, until she could no longer go out into the wood, +but sat or reclined, panting for breath in the dull hot room, +waiting for death to release her. At the same time little Rima, +who had always appeared frail, as if from sympathy, now began to +fade and look more shadowy, so that it was expected she would not +long survive her parent. To the mother death came slowly, but at +last it seemed so near that Nuflo and the priest were together at +her side waiting to see the end. It was then that little Rima, +who had learnt from infancy to speak in Spanish, rose from the +couch where her mother had been whispering to her, and began with +some difficulty to express what was in the dying woman's mind. +Her child, she had said, could not continue to live in that hot +wet place, but if taken away to a distance where there were +mountains and a cooler air she would survive and grow strong +again. + +Hearing this, old Nuflo declared that the child should not +perish; that he himself would take her away to Parahuari, a +distant place where there were mountains and dry plains and open +woods; that he would watch over her and care for her there as he +had cared for her mother at Riolama. + +When the substance of this speech had been made known by Rima to +the dying woman, she suddenly rose up from her couch, which she +had not risen from for many days, and stood erect on the floor, +her wasted face shining with joy. Then Nuflo knew that God's +angels had come for her, and put out his arms to save her from +falling; and even while he held her that sudden glory went out +from her face, now of a dead white like burnt-out ashes; and +murmuring something soft and melodious, her spirit passed away. + +Once more Nuflo became a wanderer, now with the fragile-looking +little Rima for companion, the sacred child who had inherited the +position of his intercessor from a sacred mother. The priest, +who had probably become infected with Nuflo's superstitions, did +not allow them to leave Voa empty-handed, but gave the old man as +much calico as would serve to buy hospitality and whatsoever he +might require from the Indians for many a day to come. + +At Parahuari, where they arrived safely at last, they lived for +some little time at one of the villages. But the child had an +instinctive aversion to all savages, or possibly the feeling was +derived from her mother, for it had shown itself early at Voa, +where she had refused to learn their language; and this +eventually led Nuflo to go away and live apart from them, in the +forest by Ytaioa, where he made himself a house and garden. The +Indians, however, continued friendly with him and visited him +with frequency. But when Rima grew up, developing into that +mysterious woodland girl I found her, they became suspicious, and +in the end regarded her with dangerously hostile feeling. She, +poor child, detested them because they were incessantly at war +with the wild animals she loved, her companions; and having no +fear of them, for she did not know that they had it in their +minds to turn their little poisonous arrows against herself, she +was constantly in the woods frustrating them; and the animals, in +league with her, seemed to understand her note of warning and hid +themselves or took to flight at the approach of danger. At +length their hatred and fear grew to such a degree that they +determined to make away with her, and one day, having matured a +plan, they went to the wood and spread themselves two and two +about it. The couples did not keep together, but moved about or +remained concealed at a distance of forty or fifty yards apart, +lest she should be missed. Two of the savages, armed with +blow-pipes, were near the border of the forest on the side +nearest to the village, and one of them, observing a motion in +the foliage of a tree, ran swiftly and cautiously towards it to +try and catch a glimpse of the enemy. And he did see her no +doubt, as she was there watching both him and his companions, and +blew an arrow at her, but even while in the act of blowing it he +was himself struck by a dart that buried itself deep in his flesh +just over the heart. He ran some distance with the fatal barbed +point in his flesh and met his comrade, who had mistaken him for +the girl and shot him. The wounded man threw himself down to +die, and dying related that he had fired at the girl sitting up +in a tree and that she had caught the arrow in her hand only to +hurl it instantly back with such force and precision that it +pierced his flesh just over the heart. He had seen it all with +his own eyes, and his friend who had accidentally slain him +believed his story and repeated it to the others. Rima had seen +one Indian shoot the other, and when she told her grandfather he +explained to her that it was an accident, but he guessed why the +arrow had been fired. + +From that day the Indians hunted no more in the wood; and at +length one day Nuflo, meeting an Indian who did not know him and +with whom he had some talk, heard the strange story of the arrow, +and that the mysterious girl who could not be shot was the +offspring of an old man and a Didi who had become enamoured of +him; that, growing tired of her consort, the Didi had returned to +her river, leaving her half-human child to play her malicious +pranks in the wood. + +This, then, was Nuflo's story, told not in Nuflo's manner, which +was infinitely prolix; and think not that it failed to move +me--that I failed to bless him for what he had done, in spite of +his selfish motives. + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +We were eighteen days travelling to Riolama, on the last two +making little progress, on account of continuous rain, which made +us miserable beyond description. Fortunately the dogs had found, +and Nuflo had succeeded in killing, a great ant-eater, so that we +were well supplied with excellent, strength-giving flesh. We +were among the Riolama mountains at last, and Rima kept with us, +apparently expecting great things. I expected nothing, for +reasons to be stated by and by. My belief was that the only +important thing that could happen to us would be starvation. + +The afternoon of the last day was spent in skirting the foot of a +very long mountain, crowned at its southern extremity with a +huge, rocky mass resembling the head of a stone sphinx above its +long, couchant body, and at its highest part about a thousand +feet above the surrounding level. It was late in the day, +raining fast again, yet the old man still toiled on, contrary to +his usual practice, which was to spend the last daylight hours in +gathering firewood and in constructing a shelter. At length, +when we were nearly under the peak, he began to ascend. The rise +in this place was gentle, and the vegetation, chiefly composed of +dwarf thorn trees rooted in the clefts of the rock, scarcely +impeded our progress; yet Nuflo moved obliquely, as if he found +the ascent difficult, pausing frequently to take breath and look +round him. Then we came to a deep, ravine-like cleft in the side +of the mountain, which became deeper and narrower above us, but +below it broadened out to a valley; its steep sides as we looked +down were clothed with dense, thorny vegetation, and from the +bottom rose to our ears the dull sound of a hidden torrent. +Along the border of this ravine Nuflo began toiling upwards, and +finally brought us out upon a stony plateau on the mountain-side. +Here he paused and, turning and regarding us with a look as of +satisfied malice in his eyes, remarked that we were at our +journey's end, and he trusted the sight of that barren +mountain-side would compensate us for all the discomforts we had +suffered during the last eighteen days. + +I heard him with indifference. I had already recognized the +place from his own exact description of it, and I now saw all +that I had looked to see--a big, barren hill. But Rima, what had +she expected that her face wore that blank look of surprise and +pain? "Is this the place where mother appeared to you?" she +suddenly cried. "The very place--this! This!" Then she added: +"The cave where you tended her--where is it?" + +"Over there," he said, pointing across the plateau, which was +partially overgrown with dwarf trees and bushes, and ended at a +wall of rock, almost vertical and about forty feet high. + +Going to this precipice, we saw no cave until Nuflo had cut away +two or three tangled bushes, revealing an opening behind, about +half as high and twice as wide as the door of an ordinary +dwelling-house. + +The next thing was to make a torch, and aided by its light we +groped our way in and explored the interior. The cave, we found, +was about fifty feet long, narrowing to a mere hole at the +extremity; but the anterior portion formed an oblong chamber, +very lofty, with a dry floor. Leaving our torch burning, we set +to work cutting bushes to supply ourselves with wood enough to +last us all night. Nuflo, poor old man, loved a big fire dearly; +a big fire and fat meat to eat (the ranker its flavour, the +better he liked it) were to him the greatest blessings that man +could wish for. In me also the prospect of a cheerful blaze put +a new heart, and I worked with a will in the rain, which +increased in the end to a blinding downpour. + +By the time I dragged my last load in, Nuflo had got his fire +well alight, and was heaping on wood in a most lavish way. "No +fear of burning our house down tonight," he remarked, with a +chuckle--the first sound of that description he had emitted for a +long time. + +After we had satisfied our hunger, and had smoked one or two +cigarettes, the unaccustomed warmth, and dryness, and the +firelight affected us with drowsiness, and I had probably been +nodding for some time; but starting at last and opening my eyes, +I missed Rima. The old man appeared to be asleep, although still +in a sitting posture close to the fire. I rose and hurried out, +drawing my cloak close around me to protect me from the rain; but +what was my surprise on emerging from the cave to feel a dry, +bracing wind in my face and to see the desert spread out for +leagues before me in the brilliant white light of a full moon! +The rain had apparently long ceased, and only a few thin white +clouds appeared moving swiftly over the wide blue expanse of +heaven. It was a welcome change, but the shock of surprise and +pleasure was instantly succeeded by the maddening fear that Rima +was lost to me. She was nowhere in sight beneath, and running to +the end of the little plateau to get free of the thorn trees, I +turned my eyes towards the summit, and there, at some distance +above me, caught sight of her standing motionless and gazing +upwards. I quickly made my way to her side, calling to her as I +approached; but she only half turned to cast a look at me and did +not reply. + +"Rima," I said, "why have you come here? Are you actually +thinking of climbing the mountain at this hour of the night?" +"Yes--why not?" she returned, moving one or two steps from me. + +"Rima--sweet Rima, will you listen to me?" + +"Now? Oh, no--why do you ask that? Did I not listen to you in +the wood before we started, and you also promised to do what I +wished? See, the rain is over and the moon shines brightly. Why +should I wait? Perhaps from the summit I shall see my people's +country. Are we not near it now?" + +"Oh, Rima, what do you expect to see? Listen--you must listen, +for I know best. From that summit you would see nothing but a +vast dim desert, mountain and forest, mountain and forest, where +you might wander for years, or until you perished of hunger or +fever, or were slain by some beast of prey or by savage men; but +oh, Rima, never, never, never would you find your people, for +they exist not. You have seen the false water of the mirage on +the savannah, when the sun shines bright and hot; and if one were +to follow it one would at last fall down and perish, with never a +cool drop to moisten one's parched lips. And your hope, +Rima--this hope to find your people which has brought you all the +way to Riolama--is a mirage, a delusion, which will lead to +destruction if you will not abandon it." + +She turned to face me with flashing eyes. "You know best!" she +exclaimed. "You know best and tell me that! Never until this +moment have you spoken falsely. Oh, why have you said such +things to me--named after this place, Riolama? Am I also like +that false water you speak of--no divine Rima, no sweet Rima? My +mother, had she no mother, no mother's mother? I remember her, +at Voa, before she died, and this hand seems real--like yours; +you have asked to hold it. But it is not he that speaks to +me--not one that showed me the whole world on Ytaioa. Ah, you +have wrapped yourself in a stolen cloak, only you have left your +old grey beard behind! Go back to the cave and look for it, and +leave me to seek my people alone!" + +Once more, as on that day in the forest when she prevented me +from killing the serpent, and as on the occasion of her meeting +with Nuflo after we had been together on Ytaioa, she appeared +transformed and instinct with intense resentment--a beautiful +human wasp, and every word a sting. + +"Rima," I cried, "you are cruelly unjust to say such words to me. +If you know that I have never deceived you before, give me a +little credit now. You are no delusion--no mirage, but Rima, +like no other being on earth. So perfectly truthful and pure I +cannot be, but rather than mislead you with falsehoods I would +drop down and die on this rock, and lose you and the sweet light +that shines on us for ever." + +As she listened to my words, spoken with passion, she grew pale +and clasped her hands. "What have I said? What have I said?" +She spoke in a low voice charged with pain, and all at once she +came nearer, and with a low, sobbing cry sank down at my feet, +uttering, as on the occasion of finding me lost at night in the +forest near her home, tender, sorrowful expressions in her own +mysterious language. But before I could take her in my arms she +rose again quickly to her feet and moved away a little space from +me. + +"Oh no, no, it cannot be that you know best!" she began again. +"But I know that you have never sought to deceive me. And now, +because I falsely accused you, I cannot go there without +you"--pointing to the summit--"but must stand still and listen to +all you have to say." + +"You know, Rima, that your grandfather has now told me your +history--how he found your mother at this place, and took her to +Voa, where you were born; but of your mother's people he knows +nothing, and therefore he can now take you no further." + +"Ah, you think that! He says that now; but he deceived me all +these years, and if he lied to me in the past, can he not still +lie, affirming that he knows nothing of my people, even as he +affirmed that he knew not Riolama?" + +"He tells lies and he tells truth, Rima, and one can be +distinguished from the other. He spoke truthfully at last, and +brought us to this place, beyond which he cannot lead you." + +"You are right; I must go alone." + +"Not so, Rima, for where you go, there we must go; only you will +lead and we follow, believing only that our quest will end in +disappointment, if not in death." + +"Believe that and yet follow! Oh no! Why did he consent to lead +me so far for nothing?" + +"Do you forget that you compelled him? You know what he +believes; and he is old and looks with fear at death, remembering +his evil deeds, and is convinced that only through your +intercession and your mother's he can escape from perdition. +Consider, Rima, he could not refuse, to make you more angry and +so deprive himself of his only hope." + +My words seemed to trouble her, but very soon she spoke again +with renewed animation. "If my people exist, why must it be +disappointment and perhaps death? He does not know; but she came +to him here--did she not? The others are not here, but perhaps +not far off. Come, let us go to the summit together to see from +it the desert beneath us--mountain and forest, mountain and +forest. Somewhere there! You said that I had knowledge of +distant things. And shall I not know which mountain--which +forest?" + +"Alas! no, Rima; there is a limit to your far-seeing; and even +if that faculty were as great as you imagine, it would avail you +nothing, for there is no mountain, no forest, in whose shadow +your people dwell." + +For a while she was silent, but her eyes and clasping fingers +were restless and showed her agitation. She seemed to be +searching in the depths of her mind for some argument to oppose +to my assertions. Then in a low, almost despondent voice, with +something of reproach in it, she said: "Have we come so far to go +back again? You were not Nuflo to need my intercession, yet you +came too." + +"Where you are, there I must be--you have said it yourself. +Besides, when we started I had some hope of finding your people. +Now I know better, having heard Nuflo's story. Now I know that +your hope is a vain one." + +"Why? Why? Was she not found here--mother? Where, then, are +the others?" + +"Yes, she was found here, alone. You must remember all the +things she spoke to you before she died. Did she ever speak to +you of her people--speak of them as if they existed, and would be +glad to receive you among them some day?" + +"No. Why did she not speak of that? Do you know--can you tell +me?" + +"I can guess the reason, Rima. It is very sad--so sad that it is +hard to tell it. When Nuflo tended her in the cave and was ready +to worship her and do everything she wished, and conversed with +her by signs, she showed no wish to return to her people. And +when he offered her, in a way she understood, to take her to a +distant place, where she would be among strange beings, among +others like Nuflo, she readily consented, and painfully performed +that long journey to Voa. Would you, Rima, have acted +thus--would you have gone so far away from your beloved people, +never to return, never to hear of them or speak to them again? +Oh no, you could not; nor would she if her people had been in +existence. But she knew that she had survived them, that some +great calamity had fallen upon and destroyed them. They were few +in number, perhaps, and surrounded on every side by hostile +tribes, and had no weapons, and made no war. They had been +preserved because they inhabited a place apart, some deep valley +perhaps, guarded on all sides by lofty mountains and impenetrable +forests and marshes; but at last the cruel savages broke into +this retreat and hunted them down, destroying all except a few +fugitives, who escaped singly like your mother, and fled away to +hide in some distant solitude." + +The anxious expression on her face deepened as she listened to +one of anguish and despair; and then, almost before I concluded, +she suddenly lifted her hands to her head, uttering a low, +sobbing cry, and would have fallen on the rock had I not caught +her quickly in my arms. Once more in my arms--against my breast, +her proper place! But now all that bright life seemed gone out +of her; her head fell on my shoulder, and there was no motion in +her except at intervals a slight shudder in her frame accompanied +by a low, gasping sob. In a little while the sobs ceased, the +eyes were closed, the face still and deathly white, and with a +terrible anxiety in my heart I carried her down to the cave. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +As I re-entered the cave with my burden Nuflo sat up and stared +at me with a frightened look in his eyes. Throwing my cloak +down, I placed the girl on it and briefly related what had +happened. + +He drew near to examine her; then placed his hand on her heart. +"Dead!--she is dead!" he exclaimed. + +My own anxiety changed to an irrational anger at his words. "Old +fool! She has only fainted," I returned. "Get me some water, +quick." + +But the water failed to restore her, and my anxiety deepened as I +gazed on that white, still face. Oh, why had I told her that sad +tragedy I had imagined with so little preparation? Alas! I had +succeeded too well in my purpose, killing her vain hope and her +at the same moment. + +The old man, still bending over her, spoke again. "No, I will +not believe that she is dead yet; but, sir, if not dead, then she +is dying." + +I could have struck him down for his words. "She will die in my +arms, then," I exclaimed, thrusting him roughly aside, and +lifting her up with the cloak beneath her. + +And while I held her thus, her head resting on my arm, and gazed +with unutterable anguish into her strangely white face, insanely +praying to Heaven to restore her to me, Nuflo fell on his knees +before her, and with bowed head, and hands clasped in +supplication, began to speak. + +"Rima! Grandchild!" he prayed, his quivering voice betraying +his agitation. "Do not die just yet: you must not die--not +wholly die--until you have heard what I have to say to you. I do +not ask you to answer in words--you are past that, and I am not +unreasonable. Only, when I finish, make some sign--a sigh, a +movement of the eyelid, a twitch of the lips, even in the small +corners of the mouth; nothing more than that, just to show that +you have heard, and I shall be satisfied. Remember all the years +that I have been your protector, and this long journey that I +have taken on your account; also all that I did for your sainted +mother before she died at Voa, to become one of the most +important of those who surround the Queen of Heaven, and who, +when they wish for any favour, have only to say half a word to +get it. And do not cast in oblivion that at the last I obeyed +your wish and brought you safely to Riolama. It is true that in +some small things I deceived you; but that must not weigh with +you, because it is a small matter and not worthy of mention when +you consider the claims I have on you. In your hands, Rima, I +leave everything, relying on the promise you made me, and on my +services. Only one word of caution remains to be added. Do not +let the magnificence of the place you are now about to enter, the +new sights and colours, and the noise of shouting, and musical +instruments and blowing of trumpets, put these things out of your +head. Nor must you begin to think meanly of yourself and be +abashed when you find yourself surrounded by saints and angels; +for you are not less than they, although it may not seem so at +first when you see them in their bright clothes, which, they say, +shine like the sun. I cannot ask you to tie a string round your +finger; I can only trust to your memory, which was always good, +even about the smallest things; and when you are asked, as no +doubt you will be, to express a wish, remember before everything +to speak of your grandfather, and his claims on you, also on your +angelic mother, to whom you will present my humble remembrances." + +During this petition, which in other circumstances would have +moved me to laughter but now only irritated me, a subtle change +seemed to come to the apparently lifeless girl to make me hope. +The small hand in mine felt not so icy cold, and though no +faintest colour had come to the face, its pallor had lost +something of its deathly waxen appearance; and now the compressed +lips had relaxed a little and seemed ready to part. I laid my +finger-tips on her heart and felt, or imagined that I felt, a +faint fluttering; and at last I became convinced that her heart +was really beating. + +I turned my eyes on the old man, still bending forward, intently +watching for the sign he had asked her to make. My anger and +disgust at his gross earthy egoism had vanished. "Let us thank +God, old man," I said, the tears of joy half choking my +utterance. "She lives--she is recovering from her fit." + +He drew back, and on his knees, with bowed head, murmured a +prayer of thanks to Heaven. + +Together we continued watching her face for half an hour longer, +I still holding her in my arms, which could never grow weary of +that sweet burden, waiting for other, surer signs of returning +life; and she seemed now like one that had fallen into a +profound, death-like sleep which must end in death. Yet when I +remembered her face as it had looked an hour ago, I was confirmed +in the belief that the progress to recovery, so strangely slow, +was yet sure. So slow, so gradual was this passing from death to +life that we had hardly ceased to fear when we noticed that the +lips were parted, or almost parted, that they were no longer +white, and that under her pale, transparent skin a faint, +bluish-rosy colour was now visible. And at length, seeing that +all danger was past and recovery so slow, old Nuflo withdrew once +more to the fireside and, stretching himself out on the sandy +floor, soon fell into a deep sleep. + +If he had not been lying there before me in the strong light of +the glowing embers and dancing flames, I could not have felt more +alone with Rima--alone amid those remote mountains, in that +secret cavern, with lights and shadows dancing on its grey vault. +In that profound silence and solitude the mysterious loveliness +of the still face I continued to gaze on, its appearance of life +without consciousness, produced a strange feeling in me, hard, +perhaps impossible, to describe. + +Once, when clambering among the rough rocks, overgrown with +forest, among the Queneveta mountains, I came on a single white +flower which was new to me, which I have never seen since. After +I had looked long at it, and passed on, the image of that perfect +flower remained so persistently in my mind that on the following +day I went again, in the hope of seeing it still untouched by +decay. There was no change; and on this occasion I spent a much +longer time looking at it, admiring the marvellous beauty of its +form, which seemed so greatly to exceed that of all other +flowers. It had thick petals, and at first gave me the idea of +an artificial flower, cut by a divinely inspired artist from some +unknown precious stone, of the size of a large orange and whiter +than milk, and yet, in spite of its opacity, with a crystalline +lustre on the surface. Next day I went again, scarcely hoping to +find it still unwithered; it was fresh as if only just opened; +and after that I went often, sometimes at intervals of several +days, and still no faintest sign of any change, the clear, +exquisite lines still undimmed, the purity and lustre as I had +first seen it. Why, I often asked, does not this mystic forest +flower fade and perish like others? That first impression of its +artificial appearance had soon left me; it was, indeed, a flower, +and, like other flowers, had life and growth, only with that +transcendent beauty it had a different kind of life. +Unconscious, but higher; perhaps immortal. Thus it would +continue to bloom when I had looked my last on it; wind and rain +and sunlight would never stain, never tinge, its sacred purity; +the savage Indian, though he sees little to admire in a flower, +yet seeing this one would veil his face and turn back; even the +browsing beast crashing his way through the forest, struck with +its strange glory, would swerve aside and pass on without harming +it. Afterwards I heard from some Indians to whom I described it +that the flower I had discovered was called Hata; also that they +had a superstition concerning it--a strange belief. They said +that only one Hata flower existed in the world; that it bloomed +in one spot for the space of a moon; that on the disappearance of +the moon in the sky the Hata disappeared from its place, only to +reappear blooming in some other spot, sometimes in some distant +forest. And they also said that whosoever discovered the Hata +flower in the forest would overcome all his enemies and obtain +all his desires, and finally outlive other men by many years. +But, as I have said, all this I heard afterwards, and my +half-superstitious feeling for the flower had grown up +independently in my own mind. A feeling like that was in me +while I gazed on the face that had no motion, no consciousness in +it, and yet had life, a life of so high a kind as to match with +its pure, surpassing loveliness. I could almost believe that, +like the forest flower, in this state and aspect it would endure +for ever; endure and perhaps give of its own immortality to +everything around it--to me, holding her in my arms and gazing +fixedly on the pale face framed in its cloud of dark, silken +hair; to the leaping flames that threw changing lights on the dim +stony wall of rock; to old Nuflo and his two yellow dogs +stretched out on the floor in eternal, unawakening sleep. + +This feeling took such firm possession of my mind that it kept me +for a time as motionless as the form I held in my arms. I was +only released from its power by noting still further changes in +the face I watched, a more distinct advance towards conscious +life. The faint colour, which had scarcely been more than a +suspicion of colour, had deepened perceptibly; the lids were +lifted so as to show a gleam of the crystal orbs beneath; the +lips, too, were slightly parted. + +And, at last, bending lower down to feel her breath, the beauty +and sweetness of those lips could no longer be resisted, and I +touched them with mine. Having once tasted their sweetness and +fragrance, it was impossible to keep from touching them again and +again. She was not conscious--how could she be and not shrink +from my caress? Yet there was a suspicion in my mind, and +drawing back I gazed into her face once more. A strange new +radiance had overspread it. Or was this only an illusive colour +thrown on her skin by the red firelight? I shaded her face with +my open hand, and saw that her pallor had really gone, that the +rosy flame on her cheeks was part of her life. Her lustrous +eyes, half open, were gazing into mine. Oh, surely consciousness +had returned to her! Had she been sensible of those stolen +kisses? Would she now shrink from another caress? Trembling, I +bent down and touched her lips again, lightly, but lingeringly, +and then again, and when I drew back and looked at her face the +rosy flame was brighter, and the eyes, more open still, were +looking into mine. And gazing with those open, conscious eyes, +it seemed to me that at last, at last, the shadow that had rested +between us had vanished, that we were united in perfect love and +confidence, and that speech was superfluous. And when I spoke, +it was not without doubt and hesitation: our bliss in those +silent moments had been so complete, what could speaking do but +make it less! + +"My love, my life, my sweet Rima, I know that you will understand +me now as you did not before, on that dark night--do you remember +it, Rima?--when I held you clasped to my breast in the wood. How +it pierced my heart with pain to speak plainly to you as I did on +the mountain tonight--to kill the hope that had sustained and +brought you so far from home! But now that anguish is over; the +shadow has gone out of those beautiful eyes that are looking at +me. It is because loving me, knowing now what love is, knowing, +too, how much I love you, that you no longer need to speak to any +other living being of such things? To tell it, to show it, to me +is now enough--is it not so, Rima? How strange it seemed, at +first, when you shrank in fear from me! But, afterwards, when +you prayed aloud to your mother, opening all the secrets of your +heart, I understood it. In that lonely, isolated life in the +wood you had heard nothing of love, of its power over the heart, +its infinite sweetness; when it came to you at last it was a new, +inexplicable thing, and filled you with misgivings and tumultuous +thoughts, so that you feared it and hid yourself from its cause. +Such tremors would be felt if it had always been night, with no +light except that of the stars and the pale moon, as we saw it a +little while ago on the mountain; and, at last, day dawned, and a +strange, unheard-of rose and purple flame kindled in the eastern +sky, foretelling the coming sun. It would seem beautiful beyond +anything that night had shown to you, yet you would tremble and +your heart beat fast at that strange sight; you would wish to fly +to those who might be able to tell you its meaning, and whether +the sweet things it prophesied would ever really come. That is +why you wished to find your people, and came to Riolama to seek +them; and when you knew--when I cruelly told you--that they would +never be found, then you imagined that that strange feeling in +your heart must remain a secret for ever, and you could not +endure the thought of your loneliness. If you had not fainted so +quickly, then I should have told you what I must tell you now. +They are lost, Rima--your people--but I am with you, and know +what you feel, even if you have no words to tell it. But what +need of words? It shines in your eyes, it burns like a flame in +your face; I can feel it in your hands. Do you not also see it +in my face--all that I feel for you, the love that makes me +happy? For this is love, Rima, the flower and the melody of +life, the sweetest thing, the sweet miracle that makes our two +souls one." + +Still resting in my arms, as if glad to rest there, still gazing +into my face, it was clear to me that she understood my every +word. And then, with no trace of doubt or fear left, I stooped +again, until my lips were on hers; and when I drew back once +more, hardly knowing which bliss was greatest--kissing her +delicate mouth or gazing into her face--she all at once put her +arms about my neck and drew herself up until she sat on my knee. + +"Abel--shall I call you Abel now--and always?" she spoke, still +with her arms round my neck. "Ah, why did you let me come to +Riolama? I would come! I made him come--old grandfather, +sleeping there: he does not count, but you--you! After you had +heard my story, and knew that it was all for nothing! And all I +wished to know was there--in you. Oh, how sweet it is! But a +little while ago, what pain! When I stood on the mountain when +you talked to me, and I knew that you knew best, and tried and +tried not to know. At last I could try no more; they were all +dead like mother; I had chased the false water on the savannah. +'Oh, let me die too,' I said, for I could not bear the pain. And +afterwards, here in the cave, I was like one asleep, and when I +woke I did not really wake. It was like morning with the light +teasing me to open my eyes and look at it. Not yet, dear light; +a little while longer, it is so sweet to lie still. But it would +not leave me, and stayed teasing me still, like a small shining +green fly; until, because it teased me so, I opened my lids just +a little. It was not morning, but the firelight, and I was in +your arms, not in my little bed. Your eyes looking, looking into +mine. But I could see yours better. I remembered everything +then, how you once asked me to look into your eyes. I remembered +so many things--oh, so many!" + +"How many things did you remember, Rima?" + +"Listen, Abel, do you ever lie on the dry moss and look straight +up into a tree and count a thousand leaves?" + +"No, sweetest, that could not be done, it is so many to count. +Do you know how many a thousand are?" + +"Oh, do I not! When a humming-bird flies close to my face and +stops still in the air, humming like a bee, and then is gone, in +that short time I can count a hundred small round bright feathers +on its throat. That is only a hundred; a thousand are more, ten +times. Looking up I count a thousand leaves; then stop counting, +because there are thousands more behind the first, and thousands +more, crowded together so that I cannot count them. Lying in +your arms, looking up into your face, it was like that; I could +not count the things I remembered. In the wood, when you were +there, and before; and long, long ago at Voa, when I was a child +with mother." + +"Tell me some of the things you remembered, Rima." + +"Yes, one--only one now. When I was a child at Voa mother was +very lame--you know that. Whenever we went out, away from the +houses, into the forest, walking slowly, slowly, she would sit +under a tree while I ran about playing. And every time I came +back to her I would find her so pale, so sad, crying--crying. +That was when I would hide and come softly back so that she would +not hear me coming. 'Oh, mother, why are you crying? Does your +lame foot hurt you?' And one day she took me in her arms and told +me truly why she cried." + +She ceased speaking, but looked at me with a strange new light +coming into her eyes. + +"Why did she cry, my love?" + +"Oh, Abel, can you understand--now--at last!" And putting her +lips close to my ear, she began to murmur soft, melodious sounds +that told me nothing. Then drawing back her head, she looked +again at me, her eyes glistening with tears, her lips half parted +with a smile, tender and wistful. + +Ah, poor child! in spite of all that had been said, all that had +happened, she had returned to the old delusion that I must +understand her speech. I could only return her look, sorrowfully +and in silence. + +Her face became clouded with disappointment, then she spoke again +with something of pleading in her tone. "Look, we are not now +apart, I hiding in the wood, you seeking, but together, saying +the same things. In your language--yours and now mine. But +before you came I knew nothing, nothing, for there was only +grandfather to talk to. A few words each day, the same words. +If yours is mine, mine must be yours. Oh, do you not know that +mine is better?" + +"Yes, better; but alas! Rima, I can never hope to understand +your sweet speech, much less to speak it. The bird that only +chirps and twitters can never sing like the organ-bird." + +Crying, she hid her face against my neck, murmuring sadly between +her sobs: "Never--never!" + +How strange it seemed, in that moment of joy, such a passion of +tears, such despondent words! + +For some minutes I preserved a sorrowful silence, realizing for +the first time, so far as it was possible to realize such a +thing, what my inability to understand her secret language meant +to her--that finer language in which alone her swift thoughts and +vivid emotions could be expressed. Easily and well as she seemed +able to declare herself in my tongue, I could well imagine that +to her it would seem like the merest stammering. As she had said +to me once when I asked her to speak in Spanish, "That is not +speaking." And so long as she could not commune with me in that +better language, which reflected her mind, there would not be +that perfect union of soul she so passionately desired. + +By and by, as she grew calmer, I sought to say something that +would be consoling to both of us. "Sweetest Rima," I spoke, "it +is so sad that I can never hope to talk with you in your way; but +a greater love than this that is ours we could never feel, and +love will make us happy, unutterably happy, in spite of that one +sadness. And perhaps, after a while, you will be able to say all +you wish in my language, which is also yours, as you said some +time ago. When we are back again in the beloved wood, and talk +once more under that tree where we first talked, and under the +old mora, where you hid yourself and threw down leaves on me, and +where you caught the little spider to show me how you made +yourself a dress, you shall speak to me in your own sweet tongue, +and then try to say the same things in mine.... And in the end, +perhaps, you will find that it is not so impossible as you +think." + +She looked at me, smiling again through her tears, and shook her +head a little. + +"Remember what I have heard, that before your mother died you +were able to tell Nuflo and the priest what her wish was. Can +you not, in the same way, tell me why she cried?" + +"I can tell you, but it will not be telling you." + +"I understand. You can tell the bare facts. I can imagine +something more, and the rest I must lose. Tell me, Rima." + +Her face became troubled; she glanced away and let her eyes +wander round the dim, firelit cavern; then they returned to mine +once more. + +"Look," she said, "grandfather lying asleep by the fire. So far +away from us--oh, so far! But if we were to go out from the +cave, and on and on to the great mountains where the city of the +sun is, and stood there at last in the midst of great crowds of +people, all looking at us, talking to us, it would be just the +same. They would be like the trees and rocks and animals--so +far! Not with us nor we with them. But we are everywhere alone +together, apart--we two. It is love; I know it now, but I did +not know it before because I had forgotten what she told me. Do +you think I can tell you what she said when I asked her why she +cried? Oh no! Only this, she and another were like one, always, +apart from the others. Then something came--something came! O +Abel, was that the something you told me about on the mountain? +And the other was lost for ever, and she was alone in the forests +and mountains of the world. Oh, why do we cry for what is lost? +Why do we not quickly forget it and feel glad again? Now only do +I know what you felt, O sweet mother, when you sat still and +cried, while I ran about and played and laughed! O poor mother! +Oh, what pain!" And hiding her face against my neck, she sobbed +once more. + +To my eyes also love and sympathy brought the tears; but in a +little while the fond, comforting words I spoke and my caresses +recalled her from that sad past to the present; then, lying back +as at first, her head resting on my folded cloak, her body partly +supported by my encircling arm and partly by the rock we were +leaning against, her half-closed eyes turned to mine expressed a +tender assured happiness--the chastened gladness of sunshine +after rain; a soft delicious languor that was partly passionate +with the passion etherealized. + +"Tell me, Rima," I said, bending down to her, "in all those +troubled days with me in the woods had you no happy moments? Did +not something in your heart tell you that it was sweet to love, +even before you knew what love meant?" + +"Yes; and once--O Abel, do you remember that night, after +returning from Ytaioa, when you sat so late talking by the +fire--I in the shadow, never stirring, listening, listening; you +by the fire with the light on your face, saying so many strange +things? I was happy then--oh, how happy! It was black night and +raining, and I a plant growing in the dark, feeling the sweet +raindrops falling, falling on my leaves. Oh, it will be morning +by and by and the sun will shine on my wet leaves; and that made +me glad till I trembled with happiness. Then suddenly the +lightning would come, so bright, and I would tremble with fear, +and wish that it would be dark again. That was when you looked +at me sitting in the shadow, and I could not take my eyes away +quickly and could not meet yours, so that I trembled with fear." + +"And now there is no fear--no shadow; now you are perfectly +happy?" + +"Oh, so happy! If the way back to the wood was longer, ten +times, and if the great mountains, white with snow on their tops, +were between, and the great dark forest, and rivers wider than +Orinoco, still I would go alone without fear, because you would +come after me, to join me in the wood, to be with me at last and +always." + +"But I should not let you go alone, Rima--your lonely days are +over now." + +She opened her eyes wider and looked earnestly into my face. "I +must go back alone, Abel," she said. "Before day comes I must +leave you. Rest here, with grandfather, for a few days and +nights, then follow me." + +I heard her with astonishment. "It must not be, Rima," I cried. +"What, let you leave me--now you are mine--to go all that +distance, through all that wild country where you might lose +yourself and perish alone? Oh, do not think of it!" + +She listened, regarding me with some slight trouble in her eyes, +but smiling a little at the same time. Her small hand moved up +my arm and caressed my cheek; then she drew my face down to hers +until our lips met. But when I looked at her eyes again, I saw +that she had not consented to my wish. "Do I not know all the +way now," she spoke, "all the mountains, rivers, forests--how +should I lose myself? And I must return quickly, not step by +step, walking--resting, resting--walking, stopping to cook and +eat, stopping to gather firewood, to make a shelter--so many +things! Oh, I shall be back in half the time; and I have so much +to do." + +"What can you have to do, love?--everything can be done when we +are in the wood together." + +A bright smile with a touch of mockery in it flitted over her +face as she replied: "Oh, must I tell you that there are things +you cannot do? Look, Abel," and she touched the slight garment +she wore, thinner now than at first, and dulled by long exposure +to sun and wind and rain. + +I could not command her, and seemed powerless to persuade her; +but I had not done yet, and proceeded to use every argument I +could find to bring her round to my view; and when I finished she +put her arms around my neck and drew herself up once more. "O +Abel, how happy I shall be!" she said, taking no notice of all I +had said. "Think of me alone, days and days, in the wood, +waiting for you, working all the time; saying: 'Come quickly, +Abel; come slow, Abel. O Abel, how long you are! Oh, do not come +until my work is finished!' And when it is finished and you +arrive you shall find me, but not at once. First you will seek +for me in the house, then in the wood, calling: 'Rima! Rima!' +And she will be there, listening, hid in the trees, wishing to be +in your arms, wishing for your lips--oh, so glad, yet fearing to +show herself. Do you know why? He told you--did he not?--that +when he first saw her she was standing before him all in white--a +dress that was like snow on the mountain-tops when the sun is +setting and gives it rose and purple colour. I shall be like +that, hidden among the trees, saying: 'Am I different--not like +Rima? Will he know me--will he love me just the same?' Oh, do I +not know that you will be glad, and love me, and call me +beautiful? Listen! Listen!" she suddenly exclaimed, lifting +her face. + +Among the bushes not far from the cave's mouth a small bird had +broken out in song, a clear, tender melody soon taken up by other +birds further away. + +"It will soon be morning," she said, and then clasped her arms +about me once more and held me in a long, passionate embrace; +then slipping away from my arms and with one swift glance at the +sleeping old man, passed out of the cave. + +For a few moments I remained sitting, not yet realizing that she +had left me, so suddenly and swiftly had she passed from my arms +and my sight; then, recovering my faculties, I started up and +rushed out in hopes of overtaking her. + +It was not yet dawn, but there was still some light from the full +moon, now somewhere behind the mountains. Running to the verge +of the bushgrown plateau, I explored the rocky slope beneath +without seeing her form, and then called: "Rima! Rima!" + +A soft, warbling sound, uttered by no bird, came up from the +shadowy bushes far below; and in that direction I ran on; then +pausing, called again. The sweet sound was repeated once more, +but much lower down now, and so faintly that I scarcely heard it. +And when I went on further and called again and again, there was +no reply, and I knew that she had indeed gone on that long +journey alone. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +When Nuflo at length opened his eyes he found me sitting alone +and despondent by the fire, just returned from my vain chase. I +had been caught in a heavy mist on the mountain-side, and was wet +through as well as weighed down by fatigue and drowsiness, +consequent upon the previous day's laborious march and my +night-long vigil; yet I dared not think of rest. She had gone +from me, and I could not have prevented it; yet the thought that +I had allowed her to slip out of my arms, to go away alone on +that long, perilous journey, was as intolerable as if I had +consented to it. + +Nuflo was at first startled to hear of her sudden departure; but +he laughed at my fears, affirming that after having once been +over the ground she could not lose herself; that she would be in +no danger from the Indians, as she would invariably see them at a +distance and avoid them, and that wild beasts, serpents, and +other evil creatures would do her no harm. The small amount of +food she required to sustain life could be found anywhere; +furthermore, her journey would not be interrupted by bad weather, +since rain and heat had no effect on her. In the end he seemed +pleased that she had left us, saying that with Rima in the wood +the house and cultivated patch and hidden provisions and +implements would be safe, for no Indian would venture to come +where she was. His confidence reassured me, and casting myself +down on the sandy floor of the cave, I fell into a deep slumber, +which lasted until evening; then I only woke to share a meal with +the old man, and sleep again until the following day. + +Nuflo was not ready to start yet; he was enamoured of the +unaccustomed comforts of a dry sleeping-place and a fire blown +about by no wind and into which fell no hissing raindrops. Not +for two days more would he consent to set out on the return +journey, and if he could have persuaded me our stay at Riolama +would have lasted a week. + +We had fine weather at starting; but before long it clouded, and +then for upwards of a fortnight we had it wet and stormy, which +so hindered us that it took us twenty-three days to accomplish +the return journey, whereas the journey out had only taken +eighteen. The adventures we met with and the pains we suffered +during this long march need not be related. The rain made us +miserable, but we suffered more from hunger than from any other +cause, and on more than one occasion were reduced to the verge of +starvation. Twice we were driven to beg for food at Indian +villages, and as we had nothing to give in exchange for it, we +got very little. It is possible to buy hospitality from the +savage without fish-hooks, nails, and calico; but on this +occasion I found myself without that impalpable medium of +exchange which had been so great a help to me on my first journey +to Parahuari. Now I was weak and miserable and without cunning. +It is true that we could have exchanged the two dogs for cassava +bread and corn, but we should then have been worse off than ever. +And in the end the dogs saved us by an occasional capture--an +armadillo surprised in the open and seized before it could bury +itself in the soil, or an iguana, opossum, or labba, traced by +means of their keen sense of smell to its hiding-place. Then +Nuflo would rejoice and feast, rewarding them with the skin, +bones, and entrails. But at length one of the dogs fell lame, +and Nuflo, who was very hungry, made its lameness an excuse for +dispatching it, which he did apparently without compunction, +notwithstanding that the poor brute had served him well in its +way. He cut up and smoke-dried the flesh, and the intolerable +pangs of hunger compelled me to share the loathsome food with +him. We were not only indecent, it seemed to me, but cannibals +to feed on the faithful servant that had been our butcher. "But +what does it matter?" I argued with myself. "All flesh, clean +and unclean, should be, and is, equally abhorrent to me, and +killing animals a kind of murder. But now I find myself +constrained to do this evil thing that good may come. Only to +live I take it now--this hateful strength-giver that will enable +me to reach Rima, and the purer, better life that is to be." + +During all that time, when we toiled onwards league after league +in silence, or sat silent by the nightly fire, I thought of many +things; but the past, with which I had definitely broken, was +little in my mind. Rima was still the source and centre of all +my thoughts; from her they rose, and to her returned. Thinking, +hoping, dreaming, sustained me in those dark days and nights of +pain and privation. Imagination was the bread that gave me +strength, the wine that exhilarated. What sustained old Nuflo's +mind I know not. Probably it was like a chrysalis, dormant, +independent of sustenance; the bright-winged image to be called +at some future time to life by a great shouting of angelic hosts +and noises of musical instruments slept secure, coffined in that +dull, gross nature. + +The old beloved wood once more! Never did his native village in +some mountain valley seem more beautiful to the Switzer, +returning, war-worn, from long voluntary exile, than did that +blue cloud on the horizon--the forest where Rima dwelt, my bride, +my beautiful--and towering over it the dark cone of Ytaioa, now +seem to my hungry eyes! How near at last--how near! And yet the +two or three intervening leagues to be traversed so slowly, step +by step--how vast the distance seemed! Even at far Riolama, when +I set out on my return, I scarcely seemed so far from my love. +This maddening impatience told on my strength, which was small, +and hindered me. I could not run nor even walk fast; old Nuflo, +slow, and sober, with no flame consuming his heart, was more than +my equal in the end, and to keep up with him was all I could do. +At the finish he became silent and cautious, first entering the +belt of trees leading away through the low range of hills at the +southern extremity of the wood. For a mile or upwards we trudged +on in the shade; then I began to recognize familiar ground, the +old trees under which I had walked or sat, and knew that a +hundred yards further on there would be a first glimpse of the +palm-leaf thatch. Then all weakness forsook me; with a low cry +of passionate longing and joy I rushed on ahead; but I strained +my eyes in vain for a sight of that sweet shelter; no patch of +pale yellow colour appeared amidst the universal verdure of +bushes, creepers, and trees--trees beyond trees, trees towering +above trees. + +For some moments I could not realize it. No, I had surely made a +mistake, the house had not stood on that spot; it would appear in +sight a little further on. I took a few uncertain steps onwards, +and then again stood still, my brain reeling, my heart swelling +nigh to bursting with anguish. I was still standing motionless, +with hand pressed to my breast, when Nuflo overtook me. "Where +is it--the house?" I stammered, pointing with my hand. All his +stolidity seemed gone now; he was trembling too, his lips +silently moving. At length he spoke: "They have come--the +children of hell have been here, and have destroyed everything!" + +"Rima! What has become of Rima?" I cried; but without replying +he walked on, and I followed. + +The house, we soon found, had been burnt down. Not a stick +remained. Where it had stood a heap of black ashes covered the +ground--nothing more. But on looking round we could discover no +sign of human beings having recently visited the spot. A rank +growth of grass and herbage now covered the once clear space +surrounding the site of the dwelling, and the ash-heap looked as +if it had been lying there for a month at least. As to what had +become of Rima the old man could say no word. He sat down on the +ground overwhelmed at the calamity: Runi's people had been there, +he could not doubt it, and they would come again, and he could +only look for death at their hands. The thought that Rima had +perished, that she was lost, was unendurable. It could not be! +No doubt the Indians tract come and destroyed the house during +our absence; but she had returned, and they had gone away again +to come no more. She would be somewhere in the forest, perhaps +not far off, impatiently waiting our return. The old man stared +at me while I spoke; he appeared to be in a kind of stupor, and +made no reply: and at last, leaving him still sitting on the +ground, I went into the wood to look for Rima. + +As I walked there, occasionally stopping to peer into some +shadowy glade or opening, and to listen, I was tempted again and +again to call the name of her I sought aloud; and still the fear +that by so doing I might bring some hidden danger on myself, +perhaps on her, made me silent. A strange melancholy rested on +the forest, a quietude seldom broken by a distant bird's cry. +How, I asked myself, should I ever find her in that wide forest +while I moved about in that silent, cautious way? My only hope +was that she would find me. It occurred to me that the most +likely place to seek her would be some of the old haunts known to +us both, where we had talked together. I thought first of the +mora tree, where she had hidden herself from me, and thither I +directed my steps. About this tree, and within its shade, I +lingered for upwards of an hour; and, finally, casting my eyes up +into the great dim cloud of green and purple leaves, I softly +called: "Rima, Rima, if you have seen me, and have concealed +yourself from me in your hiding-place, in mercy answer me--in +mercy come down to me now!" But Rima answered not, nor threw +down any red glowing leaves to mock me: only the wind, high up, +whispered something low and sorrowful in the foliage; and +turning, I wandered away at random into the deeper shadows. + +By and by I was startled by the long, piercing cry of a wildfowl, +sounding strangely loud in the silence; and no sooner was the air +still again than it struck me that no bird had uttered that cry. +The Indian is a good mimic of animal voices, but practice had +made me able to distinguish the true from the false bird-note. +For a minute or so I stood still, at a loss what to do, then +moved on again with greater caution, scarcely breathing, +straining my sight to pierce the shadowy depths. All at once I +gave a great start, for directly before me, on the projecting +root in the deeper shade of a tree, sat a dark, motionless human +form. I stood still, watching it for some time, not yet knowing +that it had seen me, when all doubts were put to flight by the +form rising and deliberately advancing--a naked Indian with a +zabatana in his hand. As he came up out of the deeper shade I +recognized Piake, the surly elder brother of my friend Kua-ko. + +It was a great shock to meet him in the wood, but I had no time +to reflect just then. I only remembered that I had deeply +offended him and his people, that they probably looked on me as +an enemy, and would think little of taking my life. It was too +late to attempt to escape by flight; I was spent with my long +journey and the many privations I had suffered, while he stood +there in his full strength with a deadly weapon in his hand. + +Nothing was left but to put a bold face on, greet him in a +friendly way, and invent some plausible story to account for my +action in secretly leaving the village. + +He was now standing still, silently regarding me, and glancing +round I saw that he was not alone: at a distance of about forty +yards on my right hand two other dusky forms appeared watching me +from the deep shade. + +"Piake!" I cried, advancing three or four steps. + +"You have returned," he answered, but without moving. "Where +from?" + +"Riolama." + +He shook his head, then asked where it was. + +"Twenty days towards the setting sun," I said. As he remained +silent I added: "I heard that I could find gold in the mountains +there. An old man told me, and we went to look for gold." + +"What did you find?" + +"Nothing." + +"Ah!" + +And so our conversation appeared to be at an end. But after a +few moments my intense desire to discover whether the savages +knew aught of Rima or not made me hazard a question. + +"Do you live here in the forest now?" I asked. + +He shook his head, and after a while said: "We come to kill +animals." + +"You are like me now," I returned quickly; "you fear nothing." + +He looked distrustfully at me, then came a little nearer and +said: "You are very brave. I should not have gone twenty days' +journey with no weapons and only an old man for companion. What +weapons did you have?" + +I saw that he feared me and wished to make sure that I had it not +in my power to do him some injury. "No weapon except my knife," +I replied, with assumed carelessness. With that I raised my +cloak so as to let him see for himself, turning my body round +before him. "Have you found my pistol?" I added. + +He shook his head; but he appeared less suspicious now and came +close up to me. "How do you get food? Where are you going?" he +asked. + +I answered boldly: "Food! I am nearly starving. I am going to +the village to see if the women have got any meat in the pot, and +to tell Runi all I have done since I left him." + +He looked at me keenly, a little surprised at my confidence +perhaps, then said that he was also going back and would +accompany me One of the other men now advanced, blow-pipe in +hand, to join us, and, leaving the wood, we started to walk +across the savannah. + +It was hateful to have to recross that savannah again, to leave +the woodland shadows where I had hoped to find Rima; but I was +powerless: I was a prisoner once more, the lost captive recovered +and not yet pardoned, probably never to be pardoned. Only by +means of my own cunning could I be saved, and Nuflo, poor old +man, must take his chance. + +Again and again as we tramped over the barren ground, and when we +climbed the ridge, I was compelled to stand still to recover +breath, explaining to Piake that I had been travelling day and +night, with no meat during the last three days, so that I was +exhausted. This was an exaggeration, but it was necessary to +account in some way for the faintness I experienced during our +walk, caused less by fatigue and want of food than by anguish of +mind. + +At intervals I talked to him, asking after all the other members +of the community by name. At last, thinking only of Rima, I +asked him if any other person or persons besides his people came +to the wood now or lived there. + +He said no. "Once," I said, "there was a daughter of the Didi, a +girl you all feared: is she there now?" + +He looked at me with suspicion and then shook his head. I dared +not press him with more questions; but after an interval he said +plainly: "She is not there now." + +And I was forced to believe him; for had Rima been in the wood +they would not have been there. She was not there, this much I +had discovered. Had she, then, lost her way, or perished on that +long journey from Riolama? Or had she returned only to fall into +the hands of her cruel enemies? My heart was heavy in me; but if +these devils in human shape knew more than they had told me, I +must, I said, hide my anxiety and wait patiently to find it out, +should they spare my life. And if they spared me and had not +spared that other sacred life interwoven with mine, the time +would come when they would find, too late, that they had taken to +their bosom a worse devil than themselves. + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +My arrival at the village created some excitement; but I was +plainly no longer regarded as a friend or one of the family. +Runi was absent, and I looked forward to his return with no +little apprehension; he would doubtless decide my fate. Kua-ko +was also away. The others sat or stood about the great room, +staring at me in silence. I took no notice, but merely asked for +food, then for my hammock, which I hung up in the old place, and +lying down I fell into a doze. Runi made his appearance at dusk. +I rose and greeted him, but he spoke no word and, until he went +to his hammock, sat in sullen silence, ignoring my presence. + +On the following day the crisis came. We were once more gathered +in the room--all but Kua-ko and another of the men, who had not +yet returned from some expedition--and for the space of half an +hour not a word was spoken by anyone. Something was expected; +even the children were strangely still, and whenever one of the +pet birds strayed in at the open door, uttering a little +plaintive note, it was chased out again, but without a sound. At +length Runi straightened himself on his seat and fixed his eyes +on me; then cleared his throat and began a long harangue, +delivered in the loud, monotonous singsong which I knew so well +and which meant that the occasion was an important one. And as +is usual in such efforts, the same thought and expressions were +used again and again, and yet again, with dull, angry insistence. +The orator of Guayana to be impressive must be long, however +little he may have to say. Strange as it may seem, I listened +critically to him, not without a feeling of scorn at his lower +intelligence. But I was easier in my mind now. From the very +fact of his addressing such a speech to me I was convinced that +he wished not to take my life, and would not do so if I could +clear myself of the suspicion of treachery. + +I was a white man, he said, they were Indians; nevertheless they +had treated me well. They had fed me and sheltered me. They had +done a great deal for me: they had taught me the use of the +zabatana, and had promised to make one for me, asking for nothing +in return. They had also promised me a wife. How had I treated +them? I had deserted them, going away secretly to a distance, +leaving them in doubt as to my intentions. How could they tell +why I had gone, and where? They had an enemy. Managa was his +name; he and his people hated them; I knew that he wished them +evil; I knew where to find him, for they had told me. That was +what they thought when I suddenly left them. Now I returned to +them, saying that I had been to Riolama. He knew where Riolama +was, although he had never been there: it was so far. Why did I +go to Riolama? It was a bad place. There were Indians there, a +few; but they were not good Indians like those of Parahuari, and +would kill a white man. HAD I gone there? Why had I gone there? + +He finished at last, and it was my turn to speak, but he had +given me plenty of time, and my reply was ready. "I have heard +you," I said. "Your words are good words. They are the words of +a friend. 'I am the white man's friend,' you say; 'is he my +friend? He went away secretly, saying no word; why did he go +without speaking to his friend who had treated him well? Has he +been to my enemy Managa? Perhaps he is a friend of my enemy? +Where has he been?' I must now answer these things, saying true +words to my friend. You are an Indian, I am a white man. You do +not know all the white man's thoughts. These are the things I +wish to tell you. In the white man's country are two kinds of +men. There are the rich men, who have all that a man can +desire--houses made of stone, full of fine things, fine clothes, +fine weapons, fine ornaments; and they have horses, cattle, +sheep, dogs--everything they desire. Because they have gold, for +with gold the white man buys everything. The other kind of white +men are the poor, who have no gold and cannot buy or have +anything: they must work hard for the rich man for the little +food he gives them, and a rag to cover their nakedness; and if he +gives them shelter they have it; if not they must lie down in the +rain out of doors. In my own country, a hundred days from here, +I was the son of a great chief, who had much gold, and when he +died it was all mine, and I was rich. But I had an enemy, one +worse than Managa, for he was rich and had many people. And in a +war his people overcame mine, and he took my gold, and all I +possessed, making me poor. The Indian kills his enemy, but the +white man takes his gold, and that is worse than death. Then I +said: 'I have been a rich man and now I am poor, and must work +like a dog for some rich man, for the sake of the little food he +will throw me at the end of each day. No, I cannot do it! I +will go away and live with the Indians, so that those who have +seen me a rich man shall never see me working like a dog for a +master, and cry out and mock at me. For the Indians are not like +white men: they have no gold; they are not rich and poor; all are +alike. One roof covers them from the rain and sun. All have +weapons which they make; all kill birds in the forest and catch +fish in the rivers; and the women cook the meat and all eat from +one pot. And with the Indians I will be an Indian, and hunt in +the forest and eat with them and drink with them.' Then I left my +country and came here, and lived with you, Runi, and was well +treated. And now, why did I go away? This I have now to tell +you. After I had been here a certain time I went over there to +the forest. You wished me not to go, because of an evil thing, a +daughter of the Didi, that lived there; but I feared nothing and +went. There I met an old man, who talked to me in the white +man's language. He had travelled and seen much, and told me one +strange thing. On a mountain at Riolama he told me that he had +seen a great lump of gold, as much as a man could carry. And +when I heard this I said: 'With the gold I could return to my +country, and buy weapons for myself and all my people and go to +war with my enemy and deprive him of all his possessions and +serve him as he served me.' I asked the old man to take me to +Riolama; and when he had consented I went away from here without +saying a word, so as not to be prevented. It is far to Riolama, +and I had no weapons; but I feared nothing. I said: 'If I must +fight I must fight, and if I must be killed I must be killed.' +But when I got to Riolama I found no gold. There was only a +yellow stone which the old man had mistaken for gold. It was +yellow, like gold, but it would buy nothing. Therefore I came +back to Parahuari again, to my friend; and if he is angry with me +still because I went away without informing him, let him say: 'Go +and seek elsewhere for a new friend, for I am your friend no +longer.'" + +I concluded thus boldly because I did not wish him to know that I +had suspected him of harbouring any sinister designs, or that I +looked on our quarrel as a very serious one. When I had finished +speaking he emitted a sound which expressed neither approval nor +disapproval, but only the fact that he had heard me. But I was +satisfied. His expression had undergone a favourable change; it +was less grim. After a while he remarked, with a peculiar +twitching of the mouth which might have developed into a smile: +"The white man will do much to get gold. You walked twenty days +to see a yellow stone that would buy nothing." It was fortunate +that he took this view of the case, which was flattering to his +Indian nature, and perhaps touched his sense of the ludicrous. +At all events, he said nothing to discredit my story, to which +they had all listened with profound interest. + +From that time it seemed to be tacitly agreed to let bygones be +bygones; and I could see that as the dangerous feeling that had +threatened my life diminished, the old pleasure they had once +found in my company returned. But my feelings towards them did +not change, nor could they while that black and terrible +suspicion concerning Rima was in my heart. I talked again freely +with them, as if there had been no break in the old friendly +relations. If they watched me furtively whenever I went out of +doors, I affected not to see it. I set to work to repair my rude +guitar, which had been broken in my absence, and studied to show +them a cheerful countenance. But when alone, or in my hammock, +hidden from their eyes, free to look into my own heart, then I +was conscious that something new and strange had come into my +life; that a new nature, black and implacable, had taken the +place of the old. And sometimes it was hard to conceal this fury +that burnt in me; sometimes I felt an impulse to spring like a +tiger on one of the Indians, to hold him fast by the throat until +the secret I wished to learn was forced from his lips, then to +dash his brains out against the stone. But they were many, and +there was no choice but to be cautious and patient if I wished to +outwit them with a cunning superior to their own. + +Three days after my arrival at the village, Kua-ko returned with +his companion. I greeted him with affected warmth, but was +really pleased that he was back, believing that if the Indians +knew anything of Rima he among them all would be most likely to +tell it. + +Kua-ko appeared to have brought some important news, which he +discussed with Runi and the others; and on the following day I +noticed that preparations for an expedition were in progress. +Spears and bows and arrows were got ready, but not blow-pipes, +and I knew by this that the expedition would not be a hunting +one. Having discovered so much, also that only four men were +going out, I called Kua-ko aside and begged him to let me go with +them. He seemed pleased at the proposal, and at once repeated it +to Runi, who considered for a little and then consented. + +By and by he said, touching his bow: "You cannot fight with our +weapons; what will you do if we meet an enemy?" + +I smiled and returned that I would not run away. All I wished to +show him was that his enemies were my enemies, that I was ready +to fight for my friend. + +He was pleased at my words, and said no more and gave me no +weapons. Next morning, however, when we set out before daylight, +I made the discovery that he was carrying my revolver fastened to +his waist. He had concealed it carefully under the one simple +garment he wore, but it bulged slightly, and so the secret was +betrayed. I had never believed that he had lost it, and I was +convinced that he took it now with the object of putting it into +my hands at the last moment in case of meeting with an enemy. + +From the village we travelled in a north-westerly direction, and +before noon camped in a grove of dwarf trees, where we remained +until the sun was low, then continued our walk through a rather +barren country. At night we camped again beside a small stream, +only a few inches deep, and after a meal of smoked meat and +parched maize prepared to sleep till dawn on the next day. + +Sitting by the fire I resolved to make a first attempt to +discover from Kua-ko anything concerning Rima which might be +known to him. Instead of lying down when the others did, I +remained seated, my guardian also sitting--no doubt waiting for +me to lie down first. Presently I moved nearer to him and began +a conversation in a low voice, anxious not to rouse the attention +of the other men. + +"Once you said that Oalava would be given to me for a wife," I +began. "Some day I shall want a wife." + +He nodded approval, and remarked sententiously that the desire to +possess a wife was common to all men. + +"What has been left to me?" I said despondingly and spreading +out my hands. "My pistol gone, and did I not give Runi the +tinder-box, and the little box with a cock painted on it to you? +I had no return--not even the blow-pipe. How, then, can I get me +a wife?" + +He, like the others--dull-witted savage that he was--had come to +the belief that I was incapable of the cunning and duplicity they +practiced. I could not see a green parrot sitting silent and +motionless amidst the green foliage as they could; I had not +their preternatural keenness of sight; and, in like manner, to +deceive with lies and false seeming was their faculty and not +mine. He fell readily into the trap. My return to practical +subjects pleased him. He bade me hope that Oalava might yet be +mine in spite of my poverty. It was not always necessary to have +things to get a wife: to be able to maintain her was enough; some +day I would be like one of themselves, able to kill animals and +catch fish. Besides, did not Runi wish to keep me with them for +other reasons? But he could not keep me wifeless. I could do +much: I could sing and make music; I was brave and feared +nothing; I could teach the children to fight. + +He did not say, however, that I could teach anything to one of +his years and attainments. + +I protested that he gave me too much praise, that they were just +as brave. Did they not show a courage equal to mine by going +every day to hunt in that wood which was inhabited by the +daughter of the Didi? + +I came to this subject with fear and trembling, but he took it +quietly. He shook his head, and then all at once began to tell +me how they first came to go there to hunt. He said that a few +days after I had secretly disappeared, two men and a woman, +returning home from a distant place where they had been on a +visit to a relation, stopped at the village. These travellers +related that two days' journey from Ytaioa they had met three +persons travelling in an opposite direction: an old man with a +white beard, followed by two yellow dogs, a young man in a big +cloak, and a strange-looking girl. Thus it came to be known that +I had left the wood with the old man and the daughter of the +Didi. It was great news to them, for they did not believe that +we had any intention of returning, and at once they began to hunt +in the wood, and went there every day, killing birds, monkeys, +and other animals in numbers. + +His words had begun to excite me greatly, but I studied to appear +calm and only slightly interested, so as to draw him on to say +more. + +"Then we returned," I said at last. "But only two of us, and not +together. I left the old man on the road, and SHE left us in +Riolama. She went away from us into the mountains--who knows +whither!" + +"But she came back!" he returned, with a gleam of devilish +satisfaction in his eyes that made the blood run cold in my +veins. + +It was hard to dissemble still, to tempt him to say something +that would madden me! "No, no," I answered, after considering +his words. "She feared to return; she went away to hide herself +in the great mountains beyond Riolama. She could not come back." + +"But she came back!" he persisted, with that triumphant gleam in +his eyes once more. Under my cloak my hand had clutched my +knife-handle, but I strove hard against the fierce, almost +maddening impulse to pluck it out and bury it, quick as +lightning, in his accursed throat. + +He continued: "Seven days before you returned we saw her in the +wood. We were always expecting, watching, always afraid; and +when hunting we were three and four together. On that day I and +three others saw her. It was in an open place, where the trees +are big and wide apart. We started up and chased her when she +ran from us, but feared to shoot. And in one moment she climbed +up into a small tree, then, like a monkey, passed from its +highest branches into a big tree. We could not see her there, +but she was there in the big tree, for there was no other tree +near--no way of escape. Three of us sat down to watch, and the +other went back to the village. He was long gone; we were just +going to leave the tree, fearing that she would do us some +injury, when he came back, and with him all the others, men, +women, and children. They brought axes and knives. Then Runi +said: 'Let no one shoot an arrow into the tree thinking to hit +her, for the arrow would be caught in her hand and thrown back at +him. We must burn her in the tree; there is no way to kill her +except by fire.' Then we went round and round looking up, but +could see nothing; and someone said: 'She has escaped, flying +like a bird from the tree'; but Runi answered that fire would +show. So we cut down the small tree and lopped the branches off +and heaped them round the big trunk. Then, at a distance, we cut +down ten more small trees, and afterwards, further away, ten +more, and then others, and piled them all round, tree after tree, +until the pile reached as far from the trunk as that," and here +he pointed to a bush forty to fifty yards from where we sat. + +The feeling with which I had listened to this recital had become +intolerable. The sweat ran from me in streams; I shivered like a +person in a fit of ague, and clenched my teeth together to +prevent them from rattling. "I must drink," I said, cutting him +short and rising to my feet. He also rose, but did not follow +me, when, with uncertain steps, I made my way to the waterside, +which was ten or twelve yards away. Lying prostrate on my chest, +I took a long draught of clear cold water, and held my face for a +few moments in the current. It sent a chill through me, drying +my wet skin, and bracing me for the concluding part of the +hideous narrative. Slowly I stepped back to the fireside and sat +down again, while he resumed his old place at my side. + +"You burnt the tree down," I said. "Finish telling me now and +let me sleep--my eyes are heavy." + +"Yes. While the men cut and brought trees, the women and +children gathered dry stuff in the forest and brought it in their +arms and piled it round. Then they set fire to it on all sides, +laughing and shouting: 'Burn, burn, daughter of the Didi!' At +length all the lower branches of the big tree were on fire, and +the trunk was on fire, but above it was still green, and we could +see nothing. But the flames went up higher and higher with a +great noise; and at last from the top of the tree, out of the +green leaves, came a great cry, like the cry of a bird: 'Abel! +Abel!' and then looking we saw something fall; through leaves and +smoke and flame it fell like a great white bird killed with an +arrow and falling to the earth, and fell into the flames beneath. +And it was the daughter of the Didi, and she was burnt to ashes +like a moth in the flames of a fire, and no one has ever heard or +seen her since." + +It was well for me that he spoke rapidly, and finished quickly. +Even before he had quite concluded I drew my cloak round my face +and stretched myself out. And I suppose that he at once followed +my example, but I had grown blind and deaf to outward things just +then. My heart no longer throbbed violently; it fluttered and +seemed to grow feebler and feebler in its action: I remember that +there was a dull, rushing sound in my ears, that I gasped for +breath, that my life seemed ebbing away. After these horrible +sensations had passed, I remained quiet for about half an hour; +and during this time the picture of that last act in the hateful +tragedy grew more and more distinct and vivid in my mind, until I +seemed to be actually gazing on it, until my ears were filled +with the hissing and crackling of the fire, the exultant shouts +of the savages, and above all the last piercing cry of "Abel! +Abel!" from the cloud of burning foliage. I could not endure it +longer, and rose at last to my feet. I glanced at Kua-ko lying +two or three yards away, and he, like the others, was, or +appeared to be, in a deep sleep; he was lying on his back, and +his dark firelit face looked as still and unconscious as a face +of stone. Now was my chance to escape--if to escape was my wish. +Yes; for I now possessed the coveted knowledge, and nothing more +was to be gained by keeping with my deadly enemies. And now, +most fortunately for me, they had brought me far on the road to +that place of the five hills where Managa lived--Managa, whose +name had been often in my mind since my return to Parahuari. +Glancing away from Kua-ko's still stone-like face. I caught +sight of that pale solitary star which Runi had pointed out to me +low down in the north-western sky when I had asked him where his +enemy lived. In that direction we had been travelling since +leaving the village; surely if I walked all night, by tomorrow I +could reach Managa's hunting-ground, and be safe and think over +what I had heard and on what I had to do. + +I moved softly away a few steps, then thinking that it would be +well to take a spear in my hand, I turned back, and was surprised +and startled to notice that Kua-ko had moved in the interval. He +had turned over on his side, and his face was now towards me. +His eyes appeared closed, but he might be only feigning sleep, +and I dared not go back to pick up the spear. After a moment's +hesitation I moved on again, and after a second glance back and +seeing that he did not stir, I waded cautiously across the +stream, walked softly twenty or thirty yards, and then began to +run. At intervals I paused to listen for a moment; and presently +I heard a pattering sound as of footsteps coming swiftly after +me. I instantly concluded that Kua-ko had been awake all the +time watching my movements, and that he was now following me. I +now put forth my whole speed, and while thus running could +distinguish no sound. That he would miss me, for it was very +dark, although with a starry sky above, was my only hope; for +with no weapon except my knife my chances would be small indeed +should he overtake me. Besides, he had no doubt roused the +others before starting, and they would be close behind. There +were no bushes in that place to hide myself in and let them pass +me; and presently, to make matters worse, the character of the +soil changed, and I was running over level clayey ground, so +white with a salt efflorescence that a dark object moving on it +would show conspicuously at a distance. Here I paused to look +back and listen, when distinctly came the sound of footsteps, and +the next moment I made out the vague form of an Indian advancing +at a rapid rate of speed and with his uplifted spear in his hand. +In the brief pause I had made he had advanced almost to within +hurling distance of me, and turning, I sped on again, throwing +off my cloak to ease my flight. The next time I looked back he +was still in sight, but not so near; he had stopped to pick up my +cloak, which would be his now, and this had given me a slight +advantage. I fled on, and had continued running for a distance +perhaps of fifty yards when an object rushed past me, tearing +through the flesh of my left arm close to the shoulder on its +way; and not knowing that I was not badly wounded nor how near my +pursuer might be, I turned in desperation to meet him, and saw +him not above twenty-five yards away, running towards me with +something bright in his hand. It was Kua-ko, and after wounding +me with his spear he was about to finish me with his knife. O +fortunate young savage, after such a victory, and with that noble +blue cloth cloak for trophy and covering, what fame and happiness +will be yours! A change swift as lightning had come over me, a +sudden exultation. I was wounded, but my right hand was sound +and clutched a knife as good as his, and we were on an equality. +I waited for him calmly. All weakness, grief, despair had +vanished, all feelings except a terrible raging desire to spill +his accursed blood; and my brain was clear and my nerves like +steel, and I remembered with something like laughter our old +amusing encounters with rapiers of wood. Ah, that was only +making believe and childish play; this was reality. Could any +white man, deprived of his treacherous, far-killing weapon, meet +the resolute savage, face to face and foot to foot, and equal him +with the old primitive weapons? Poor youth, this delusion will +cost you dear! It was scarcely an equal contest when he hurled +himself against me, with only his savage strength and courage to +match my skill; in a few moments he was lying at my feet, pouring +out his life blood on that white thirsty plain. From his +prostrate form I turned, the wet, red knife in my hand, to meet +the others, still thinking that they were on the track and close +at hand. Why had he stooped to pick up the cloak if they were +not following--if he had not been afraid of losing it? I turned +only to receive their spears, to die with my face to them; nor +was the thought of death terrible to me; I could die calmly now +after killing my first assailant. But had I indeed killed him? I +asked, hearing a sound like a groan escape from his lips. +Quickly stooping, I once more drove my weapon to the hilt in his +prostrate form, and when he exhaled a deep sigh, and his frame +quivered, and the blood spurted afresh, I experienced a feeling +of savage joy. And still no sound of hurrying footsteps came to +my listening ears and no vague forms appeared in the darkness. +I concluded that he had either left them sleeping or that they +had not followed in the right direction. Taking up the cloak, I +was about to walk on, when I noticed the spear he had thrown at +me lying where it had fallen some yards away, and picking that up +also, I went on once more, still keeping the guiding star before +me. + + + +CHAPTER XX + +That good fight had been to me like a draught of wine, and made +me for a while oblivious of my loss and of the pain from my +wound. But the glow and feeling of exultation did not last: the +lacerated flesh smarted; I was weak from loss of blood, and +oppressed with sensations of fatigue. If my foes had appeared on +the scene they would have made an easy conquest of me; but they +came not, and I continued to walk on, slowly and painfully, +pausing often to rest. + +At last, recovering somewhat from my faint condition, and losing +all fear of being overtaken, my sorrow revived in full force, and +thought returned to madden me. + +Alas! this bright being, like no other in its divine brightness, +so long in the making, now no more than a dead leaf, a little +dust, lost and forgotten for ever--oh, pitiless! Oh, cruel! + +But I knew it all before--this law of nature and of necessity, +against which all revolt is idle: often had the remembrance of it +filled me with ineffable melancholy; only now it seemed cruel +beyond all cruelty. + +Not nature the instrument, not the keen sword that cuts into the +bleeding tissues, but the hand that wields it--the unseen unknown +something, or person, that manifests itself in the horrible +workings of nature. + +"Did you know, beloved, at the last, in that intolerable heat, in +that moment of supreme anguish, that he is unlistening, unhelpful +as the stars, that you cried not to him? To me was your cry; but +your poor, frail fellow creature was not there to save, or, +failing that, to cast himself into the flames and perish with +you, hating God." + +Thus, in my insufferable pain, I spoke aloud; alone in that +solitary place, a bleeding fugitive in the dark night, looking up +at the stars I cursed the Author of my being and called on Him to +take back the abhorred gift of life. + +Yet, according to my philosophy, how vain it was! All my +bitterness and hatred and defiance were as empty, as ineffectual, +as utterly futile, as are the supplications of the meek +worshipper, and no more than the whisper of a leaf, the light +whirr of an insect's wing. Whether I loved Him who was over all, +as when I thanked Him on my knees for guiding me to where I had +heard so sweet and mysterious a melody, or hated and defied Him +as now, it all came from Him--love and hate, good and evil. + +But I know--I knew then--that in one thing my philosophy was +false, that it was not the whole truth; that though my cries did +not touch nor come near Him they would yet hurt me; and, just as +a prisoner maddened at his unjust fate beats against the stone +walls of his cell until he falls back bruised and bleeding to the +floor, so did I wilfully bruise my own soul, and knew that those +wounds I gave myself would not heal. + +Of that night, the beginning of the blackest period of my life, I +shall say no more; and over subsequent events I shall pass +quickly. + +Morning found me at a distance of many miles from the scene of my +duel with the Indian, in a broken, hilly country, varied with +savannah and open forest. I was well-nigh spent with my long +march, and felt that unless food was obtained before many hours +my situation would be indeed desperate. With labour I managed to +climb to the summit of a hill about three hundred feet high in +order to survey the surrounding country, and found that it was +one of a group of five, and conjectured that these were the five +hills of Uritay and that I was in the neighbourhood of Managa's +village. Coming down I proceeded to the next hill, which was +higher; and before reaching it came to a stream in a narrow +valley dividing the hills, and proceeding along its banks in +search of a crossing-place, I came full in sight of the +settlement sought for. As I approached, people were seen moving +hurriedly about; and by the time I arrived, walking slowly and +painfully, seven or eight men were standing before the village' +some with spears in their hands, the women and children behind +them, all staring curiously at me. Drawing near I cried out in a +somewhat feeble voice that I was seeking for Managa; whereupon a +gray-haired man stepped forth, spear in hand, and replied that he +was Managa, and demanded to know why I sought him. I told him a +part of my story--enough to show that I had a deadly feud with +Runi, that I had escaped from him after killing one of his +people. + +I was taken in and supplied with food; my wound was examined and +dressed; and then I was permitted to lie down and sleep, while +Managa, with half a dozen of his people, hurriedly started to +visit the scene of my fight with Kua-ko, not only to verify my +story, but partly with the hope of meeting Runi. I did not see +him again until the next morning, when he informed me that he had +found the spot where I had been overtaken, that the dead man had +been discovered by the others and carried back towards Parahuari. +He had followed the trace for some distance, and he was satisfied +that Runi had come thus far in the first place only with the +intention of spying on him. + +My arrival, and the strange tidings I had brought, had thrown the +village into a great commotion; it was evident that from that +time Managa lived in constant apprehension of a sudden attack +from his old enemy. This gave me great satisfaction; it was my +study to keep the feeling alive, and, more than that, to drop +continual hints of his enemy's secret murderous purpose, until he +was wrought up to a kind of frenzy of mingled fear and rage. And +being of a suspicious and somewhat truculent temper, he one day +all at once turned on me as the immediate cause of his miserable +state, suspecting perhaps that I only wished to make an +instrument of him. But I was strangely bold and careless of +danger then, and only mocked at his rage, telling him proudly +that I feared him not; that Runi, his mortal enemy and mine, +feared not him but me; that Runi knew perfectly well where I had +taken refuge and would not venture to make his meditated attack +while I remained in his village, but would wait for my departure. +"Kill me, Managa," I cried, smiting my chest as I stood facing +him. "Kill me, and the result will be that he will come upon you +unawares and murder you all, as he has resolved to do sooner or +later." + +After that speech he glared at me in silence, then flung down the +spear he had snatched up in his sudden rage and stalked out of +the house and into the wood; but before long he was back again, +seated in his old place, brooding on my words with a face black +as night. + +It is painful to recall that secret dark chapter of my life--that +period of moral insanity. But I wish not to be a hypocrite, +conscious or unconscious, to delude myself or another with this +plea of insanity. My mind was very clear just then; past and +present were clear to me; the future clearest of all: I could +measure the extent of my action and speculate on its future +effect, and my sense of right or wrong--of individual +responsibility--was more vivid than at any other period of my +life. Can I even say that I was blinded by passion? Driven, +perhaps, but certainly not blinded. For no reaction, or +submission, had followed on that furious revolt against the +unknown being, personal or not, that is behind nature, in whose +existence I believed. I was still in revolt: I would hate Him, +and show my hatred by being like Him, as He appears to us +reflected in that mirror of Nature. Had He given me good +gifts--the sense of right and wrong and sweet humanity? The +beautiful sacred flower He had caused to grow in me I would crush +ruthlessly; its beauty and fragrance and grace would be dead for +ever; there was nothing evil, nothing cruel and contrary to my +nature, that I would not be guilty of, glorying in my guilt. +This was not the temper of a few days: I remained for close upon +two months at Managa's village, never repenting nor desisting in +my efforts to induce the Indians to join me in that most +barbarous adventure on which my heart was set. + +I succeeded in the end; it would have been strange if I had not. +The horrible details need not be given. Managa did not wait for +his enemy, but fell on him unexpectedly, an hour after nightfall +in his own village. If I had really been insane during those two +months, if some cloud had been on me, some demoniacal force +dragging me on, the cloud and insanity vanished and the +constraint was over in one moment, when that hellish enterprise +was completed. It was the sight of an old woman, lying where she +had been struck down, the fire of the blazing house lighting her +wide-open glassy eyes and white hair dabbled in blood, which +suddenly, as by a miracle, wrought this change in my brain. For +they were all dead at last, old and young, all who had lighted +the fire round that great green tree in which Rima had taken +refuge, who had danced round the blaze, shouting: "Burn! burn!" + +At the moment my glance fell on that prostrate form I paused and +stood still, trembling like a person struck with a sudden pang in +the heart, who thinks that his last moment has come to him +unawares. After a while I slunk away out of the great circle of +firelight into the thick darkness beyond. Instinctively I turned +towards the forests across the savannah--my forest again; and +fled away from the noise and the sight of flames, never pausing +until I found myself within the black shadow of the trees. Into +the deeper blackness of the interior I dared not venture; on the +border I paused to ask myself what I did there alone in the +night-time. Sitting down, I covered my face with my hands as if +to hide it more effectually than it could be hidden by night and +the forest shadows. What horrible thing, what calamity that +frightened my soul to think of, had fallen on me? The revulsion +of feeling, the unspeakable horror, the remorse, was more than I +could bear. I started up with a cry of anguish, and would have +slain myself to escape at that moment; but Nature is not always +and utterly cruel, and on this occasion she came to my aid. +Consciousness forsook me, and I lived not again until the light +of early morning was in the east; then found myself lying on the +wet herbage--wet with rain that had lately fallen. My physical +misery was now so great that it prevented me from dwelling on the +scenes witnessed on the previous evening. Nature was again +merciful in this. I only remembered that it was necessary to +hide myself, in case the Indians should be still in the +neighbourhood and pay the wood a visit. Slowly and painfully I +crept away into the forest, and there sat for several hours, +scarcely thinking at all, in a half-stupefied condition. At noon +the sun shone out and dried the wood. I felt no hunger, only a +vague sense of bodily misery, and with it the fear that if I left +my hiding-place I might meet some human creature face to face. +This fear prevented me from stirring until the twilight came, +when I crept forth and made my way to the border of the forest, +to spend the night there. Whether sleep visited me during the +dark hours or not I cannot say: day and night my condition seemed +the same; I experienced only a dull sensation of utter misery +which seemed in spirit and flesh alike, an inability to think +clearly, or for more than a few moments consecutively, about +anything. Scenes in which I had been principal actor came and +went, as in a dream when the will slumbers: now with devilish +ingenuity and persistence I was working on Managa's mind; now +standing motionless in the forest listening for that sweet, +mysterious melody; now staring aghast at old Cla-cla's wide-open +glassy eyes and white hair dabbled in blood; then suddenly, in +the cave at Riolama, I was fondly watching the slow return of +life and colour to Rima's still face. + +When morning came again, I felt so weak that a vague fear of +sinking down and dying of hunger at last roused me and sent me +forth in quest of food. I moved slowly and my eyes were dim to +see, but I knew so well where to seek for small morsels--small +edible roots and leaf-stalks, berries, and drops of congealed +gum--that it would have been strange in that rich forest if I had +not been able to discover something to stay my famine. It was +little, but it sufficed for the day. Once more Nature was +merciful to me; for that diligent seeking among the concealing +leaves left no interval for thought; every chance morsel gave a +momentary pleasure, and as I prolonged my search my steps grew +firmer, the dimness passed from my eyes. I was more forgetful of +self, more eager, and like a wild animal with no thought or +feeling beyond its immediate wants. Fatigued at the end, I fell +asleep as soon as darkness brought my busy rambles to a close, +and did not wake until another morning dawned. + +My hunger was extreme now. The wailing notes of a pair of small +birds, persistently flitting round me, or perched with gaping +bills and wings trembling with agitation, served to remind me +that it was now breeding-time; also that Rima had taught me to +find a small bird's nest. She found them only to delight her +eyes with the sight; but they would be food for me; the crystal +and yellow fluid in the gem-like, white or blue or red-speckled +shells would help to keep me alive. All day I hunted, listening +to every note and cry, watching the motions of every winged +thing, and found, besides gums and fruits, over a score of nests +containing eggs, mostly of small birds, and although the labour +was great and the scratches many, I was well satisfied with the +result. + +A few days later I found a supply of Haima gum, and eagerly began +picking it from the tree; not that it could be used, but the +thought of the brilliant light it gave was so strong in my mind +that mechanically I gathered it all. The possession of this gum, +when night closed round me again, produced in me an intense +longing for artificial light and warmth. The darkness was harder +than ever to endure. I envied the fireflies their natural +lights, and ran about in the dusk to capture a few and hold them +in the hollow of my two hands, for the sake of their cold, fitful +flashes. On the following day I wasted two or three hours trying +to get fire in the primitive method with dry wood, but failed, +and lost much time, and suffered more than ever from hunger in +consequence. Yet there was fire in everything; even when I +struck at hard wood with my knife, sparks were emitted. If I +could only arrest those wonderful heat- and light-giving sparks! +And all at once, as if I had just lighted upon some new, +wonderful truth, it occurred to me that with my steel +hunting-knife and a piece of flint fire could be obtained. +Immediately I set about preparing tinder with dry moss, rotten +wood, and wild cotton; and in a short time I had the wished fire, +and heaped wood dry and green on it to make it large. I nursed +it well, and spent the night beside it; and it also served to +roast some huge white grubs which I had found in the rotten wood +of a prostrate trunk. The sight of these great grubs had +formerly disgusted me; but they tasted good to me now, and stayed +my hunger, and that was all I looked for in my wild forest food. + +For a long time an undefined feeling prevented me from going near +the site of Nuflo's burnt lodge. I went there at last; and the +first thing I did was to go all round the fatal spot, cautiously +peering into the rank herbage, as if I feared a lurking serpent; +and at length, at some distance from the blackened heap, I +discovered a human skeleton, and knew it to be Nuflo's. In his +day he had been a great armadillo-hunter, and these quaint +carrion-eaters had no doubt revenged themselves by devouring his +flesh when they found him dead--killed by the savages. + +Having once returned to this spot of many memories, I could not +quit it again; while my wild woodland life lasted, here must I +have my lair, and being here I could not leave that mournful +skeleton above ground. With labour I excavated a pit to bury it, +careful not to cut or injure a broad-leafed creeper that had +begun to spread itself over the spot; and after refilling the +hole I drew the long, trailing stems over the mound. + +"Sleep well, old man," said I, when my work was done; and these +few words, implying neither censure nor praise, was all the +burial service that old Nuflo had from me. + +I then visited the spot where the old man, assisted by me, had +concealed his provisions before starting for Riolama, and was +pleased to find that it had not been discovered by the Indians. +Besides the store of tobacco leaf, maize, pumpkin, potatoes, and +cassava bread, and the cooking utensils, I found among other +things a chopper--a great acquisition, since with it I would be +able to cut down small palms and bamboos to make myself a hut. + +The possession of a supply of food left me time for many things: +time in the first place to make my own conditions; doubtless +after them there would be further progression on the old +lines--luxuries added to necessaries; a healthful, fruitful life +of thought and action combined; and at last a peaceful, +contemplative old age. + +I cleared away ashes and rubbish, and marked out the very spot +where Rima's separate bower had been for my habitation, which I +intended to make small. In five days it was finished; then, +after lighting a fire, I stretched myself out in my dry bed of +moss and leaves with a feeling that was almost triumphant. Let +the rain now fall in torrents, putting out the firefly's lamp; +let the wind and thunder roar their loudest, and the lightnings +smite the earth with intolerable light, frightening the poor +monkeys in their wet, leafy habitations, little would I heed it +all on my dry bed, under my dry, palm-leaf thatch, with glorious +fire to keep me company and protect me from my ancient enemy, +Darkness. + +From that first sleep under shelter I woke refreshed, and was not +driven by the cruel spur of hunger into the wet forest. The +wished time had come of rest from labour, of leisure for thought. +Resting here, just where she had rested, night by night clasping +a visionary mother in her arms, whispering tenderest words in a +visionary ear, I too now clasped her in my arms--a visionary +Rima. How different the nights had seemed when I was without +shelter, before I had rediscovered fire! How had I endured it? +That strange ghostly gloom of the woods at night-time full of +innumerable strange shapes; still and dark, yet with something +seen at times moving amidst them, dark and vague and strange +also--an owl, perhaps, or bat, or great winged moth, or nightjar. +Nor had I any choice then but to listen to the night-sounds of +the forest; and they were various as the day-sounds, and for +every day-sound, from the faintest lisping and softest trill to +the deep boomings and piercing cries, there was an analogue; +always with something mysterious, unreal in its tone, something +proper to the night. They were ghostly sounds, uttered by the +ghosts of dead animals; they were a hundred different things by +turns, but always with a meaning in them, which I vainly strove +to catch--something to be interpreted only by a sleeping faculty +in us, lightly sleeping, and now, now on the very point of +awaking! + +Now the gloom and the mystery were shut out; now I had that which +stood in the place of pleasure to me, and was more than pleasure. +It was a mournful rapture to lie awake now, wishing not for sleep +and oblivion, hating the thought of daylight that would come at +last to drown and scare away my vision. To be with Rima +again--my lost Rima recovered--mine, mine at last! No longer the +old vexing doubt now--"You are you, and I am I--why is it?"--the +question asked when our souls were near together, like two +raindrops side by side, drawing irresistibly nearer, ever nearer: +for now they had touched and were not two, but one inseparable +drop, crystallized beyond change, not to be disintegrated by +time, nor shattered by death's blow, nor resolved by any alchemy. + +I had other company besides this unfailing vision and the bright +dancing fire that talked to me in its fantastic fire language. +It was my custom to secure the door well on retiring; grief had +perhaps chilled my blood, for I suffered less from heat than from +cold at this period, and the fire seemed grateful all night long; +I was also anxious to exclude all small winged and creeping +night-wanderers. But to exclude them entirely proved impossible: +through a dozen invisible chinks they would find their way to me; +also some entered by day to lie concealed until after nightfall. +A monstrous hairy hermit spider found an asylum in a dusky corner +of the hut, under the thatch, and day after day he was there, all +day long, sitting close and motionless; but at dark he invariably +disappeared--who knows on what murderous errand! His hue was a +deep dead-leaf yellow, with a black and grey pattern, borrowed +from some wild cat; and so large was he that his great outspread +hairy legs, radiating from the flat disk of his body, would have +covered a man's open hand. It was easy to see him in my small +interior; often in the night-time my eyes would stray to his +corner, never to encounter that strange hairy figure; but +daylight failed not to bring him. He troubled me; but now, for +Rima's sake, I could slay no living thing except from motives of +hunger. I had it in my mind to injure him--to strike off one of +his legs, which would not be missed much, as they were many--so +as to make him go away and return no more to so inhospitable a +place. But courage failed me. He might come stealthily back at +night to plunge his long, crooked farces into my throat, +poisoning my blood with fever and delirium and black death. So I +left him alone, and glanced furtively and fearfully at him, +hoping that he had not divined any thoughts; thus we lived on +unsocially together. More companionable, but still in an +uncomfortable way, were the large crawling, running +insects--crickets, beetles, and others. They were shapely and +black and polished, and ran about here and there on the floor, +just like intelligent little horseless carriages; then they would +pause with their immovable eyes fixed on me, seeing or in some +mysterious way divining my presence; their pliant horns waving up +and down, like delicate instruments used to test the air. +Centipedes and millipedes in dozens came too, and were not +welcome. I feared not their venom, but it was a weariness to see +them; for they seemed no living things, but the vertebrae of +snakes and eels and long slim fishes, dead and desiccated, made +to move mechanically over walls and floor by means of some +jugglery of nature. I grew skilful at picking them up with a +pair of pliant green twigs, to thrust them into the outer +darkness. + +One night a moth fluttered in and alighted on my hand as I sat by +the fire, causing me to hold my breath as I gazed on it. Its +fore-wings were pale grey, with shadings dark and light written +all over in finest characters with some twilight mystery or +legend; but the round under-wings were clear amber-yellow, veined +like a leaf with red and purple veins; a thing of such exquisite +chaste beauty that the sight of it gave me a sudden shock of +pleasure. Very soon it flew up, circling about, and finally +lighted on the palm-leaf thatch directly over the fire. The +heat, I thought, would soon drive it from the spot; and, rising, +I opened the door, so that it might find its way out again into +its own cool, dark, flowery world. And standing by the open door +I turned and addressed it: "O night-wanderer of the pale, +beautiful wings, go forth, and should you by chance meet her +somewhere in the shadowy depths, revisiting her old haunts, be my +messenger--" Thus much had I spoken when the frail thing loosened +its hold to fall without a flutter, straight and swift, into the +white blaze beneath. I sprang forward with a shriek and stood +staring into the fire, my whole frame trembling with a sudden +terrible emotion. Even thus had Rima fallen--fallen from the +great height--into the flames that instantly consumed her +beautiful flesh and bright spirit! O cruel Nature! + +A moth that perished in the flame; an indistinct faint sound; a +dream in the night; the semblance of a shadowy form moving +mist-like in the twilight gloom of the forest, would suddenly +bring back a vivid memory, the old anguish, to break for a while +the calm of that period. It was calm then after the storm. +Nevertheless, my health deteriorated. I ate little and slept +little and grew thin and weak. When I looked down on the dark, +glassy forest pool, where Rima would look no more to see herself +so much better than in the small mirror of her lover's pupil, it +showed me a gaunt, ragged man with a tangled mass of black hair +falling over his shoulders, the bones of his face showing through +the dead-looking, sun-parched skin, the sunken eyes with a gleam +in them that was like insanity. + +To see this reflection had a strangely disturbing effect on me. +A torturing voice would whisper in my ear: "Yes, you are +evidently going mad. By and by you will rush howling through the +forest, only to drop down at last and die; and no person will +ever find and bury your bones. Old Nuflo was more fortunate in +that he perished first." + +"A lying voice!" I retorted in sudden anger. "My faculties were +never keener than now. Not a fruit can ripen but I find it. If +a small bird darts by with a feather or straw in its bill I mark +its flight, and it will be a lucky bird if I do not find its nest +in the end. Could a savage born in the forest do more? He would +starve where I find food!" + +"Ay, yes, there is nothing wonderful in that," answered the +voice. "The stranger from a cold country suffers less from the +heat, when days are hottest, than the Indian who knows no other +climate. But mark the result! The stranger dies, while the +Indian, sweating and gasping for breath, survives. In like +manner the low-minded savage, cut off from all human fellowship, +keeps his faculties to the end, while your finer brain proves +your ruin." + +I cut from a tree a score of long, blunt thorns, tough and black +as whalebone, and drove them through a strip of wood in which I +had burnt a row of holes to receive them, and made myself a comb, +and combed out my long, tangled hair to improve my appearance. + +"It is not the tangled condition of your hair," persisted the +voice, "but your eyes, so wild and strange in their expression, +that show the approach of madness. Make your locks as smooth as +you like, and add a garland of those scarlet, star-shaped +blossoms hanging from the bush behind you--crown yourself as you +crowned old Cla-cla--but the crazed look will remain just the +same." + +And being no longer able to reply, rage and desperation drove me +to an act which only seemed to prove that the hateful voice had +prophesied truly. Taking up a stone, I hurled it down on the +water to shatter the image I saw there, as if it had been no +faithful reflection of myself, but a travesty, cunningly made of +enamelled clay or some other material, and put there by some +malicious enemy to mock me. + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +Many days had passed since the hut was made--how many may not be +known, since I notched no stick and knotted no cord--yet never in +my rambles in the wood had I seen that desolate ash-heap where +the fire had done its work. Nor had I looked for it. On the +contrary, my wish was never to see it, and the fear of coming +accidentally upon it made me keep to the old familiar paths. But +at length, one night, without thinking of Rima's fearful end, it +all at once occurred to me that the hated savage whose blood I +had shed on the white savannah might have only been practicing +his natural deceit when he told me that most pitiful story. If +that were so--if he had been prepared with a fictitious account +of her death to meet my questions--then Rima might still exist: +lost, perhaps, wandering in some distant place, exposed to perils +day and night, and unable to find her way back, but living still! +Living! her heart on fire with the hope of reunion with me, +cautiously threading her way through the undergrowth of +immeasurable forests; spying out the distant villages and hiding +herself from the sight of all men, as she knew so well how to +hide; studying the outlines of distant mountains, to recognize +some familiar landmark at last, and so find her way back to the +old wood once more! Even now, while I sat there idly musing, she +might be somewhere in the wood--somewhere near me; but after so +long an absence full of apprehension, waiting in concealment for +what tomorrow's light might show. + +I started up and replenished the fire with trembling hands, then +set the door open to let the welcoming stream out into the wood. +But Rima had done more; going out into the black forest in the +pitiless storm, she had found and led me home. Could I do less! +I was quickly out in the shadows of the wood. Surely it was more +than a mere hope that made my heart beat so wildly! How could a +sensation so strangely sudden, so irresistible in its power, +possess me unless she were living and near? Can it be, can it be +that we shall meet again? To look again into your divine +eyes--to hold you again in my arms at last! I so changed--so +different! But the old love remains; and of all that has happened +in your absence I shall tell you nothing--not one word; all shall +be forgotten now--sufferings, madness, crime, remorse! Nothing +shall ever vex you again--not Nuflo, who vexed you every day; for +he is dead now--murdered, only I shall not say that--and I have +decently buried his poor old sinful bones. We alone together in +the wood--OUR wood now! The sweet old days again; for I know +that you would not have it different, nor would I. + +Thus I talked to myself, mad with the thoughts of the joy that +would soon be mine; and at intervals I stood still and made the +forest echo with my calls. "Rima! Rima!" I called again and +again, and waited for some response; and heard only the familiar +night-sounds--voices of insect and bird and tinkling tree-frog, +and a low murmur in the topmost foliage, moved by some light +breath of wind unfelt below. I was drenched with dew, bruised +and bleeding from falls in the dark, and from rocks and thorns +and rough branches, but had felt nothing; gradually the +excitement burnt itself out; I was hoarse with shouting and ready +to drop down with fatigue, and hope was dead: and at length I +crept back to my hut, to cast myself on my grass bed and sink +into a dull, miserable, desponding stupor. + +But on the following morning I was out once more, determined to +search the forest well; since, if no evidence of the great fire +Kua-ko had described to me existed, it would still be possible to +believe that he had lied to me, and that Rima lived. I searched +all day and found nothing; but the area was large, and to search +it thoroughly would require several days. + +On the third day I discovered the fatal spot, and knew that never +again would I behold Rima in the flesh, that my last hope had +indeed been a vain one. There could be no mistake: just such an +open place as the Indian had pictured to me was here, with giant +trees standing apart; while one tree stood killed and blackened +by fire, surrounded by a huge heap, sixty or seventy yards +across, of prostrate charred tree-trunks and ashes. Here and +there slender plants had sprung up through the ashes, and the +omnipresent small-leaved creepers were beginning to throw their +pale green embroidery over the blackened trunks. I looked long +at the vast funeral tree that had a buttressed girth of not less +than fifty feet, and rose straight as a ship's mast, with its top +about a hundred and fifty feet from the earth. What a distance +to fall, through burning leaves and smoke, like a white bird shot +dead with a poisoned arrow, swift and straight into that sea of +flame below! How cruel imagination was to turn that desolate +ash-heap, in spite of feathery foliage and embroidery of +creepers, into roaring leaping flames again--to bring those dead +savages back, men, women, and children--even the little ones I +had played with--to set them yelling around me: "Burn! burn!" +Oh, no, this damnable spot must not be her last resting-place! +If the fire had not utterly consumed her, bones as well as sweet +tender flesh, shrivelling her like a frail white-winged moth into +the finest white ashes, mixed inseparably with the ashes of stems +and leaves innumerable, then whatever remained of her must be +conveyed elsewhere to be with me, to mingle with my ashes at +last. + +Having resolved to sift and examine the entire heap, I at once +set about my task. If she had climbed into the central highest +branch, and had fallen straight, then she would have dropped into +the flames not far from the roots; and so to begin I made a path +to the trunk, and when darkness overtook me I had worked all +round the tree, in a width of three to four yards, without +discovering any remains. At noon on the following day I found +the skeleton, or, at all events, the larger bones, rendered so +fragile by the fierce heat they had been subjected to, that they +fell to pieces when handled. But I was careful--how careful!--to +save these last sacred relics, all that was now left of +Rima!--kissing each white fragment as I lifted it, and gathering +them all in my old frayed cloak, spread out to receive them. And +when I had recovered them all, even to the smallest, I took my +treasure home. + +Another storm had shaken my soul, and had been succeeded by a +second calm, which was more complete and promised to be more +enduring than the first. But it was no lethargic calm; my brain +was more active than ever; and by and by it found a work for my +hands to do, of such a character as to distinguish me from all +other forest hermits, fugitives from their fellows, in that +savage land. The calcined bones I had rescued were kept in one +of the big, rudely shaped, half-burnt earthen jars which Nuflo +had used for storing grain and other food-stuff. It was of a +wood-ash colour; and after I had given up my search for the +peculiar fine clay he had used in its manufacture--for it had +been in my mind to make a more shapely funeral urn myself--I set +to work to ornament its surface. A portion of each day was given +to this artistic labour; and when the surface was covered with a +pattern of thorny stems, and a trailing creeper with curving leaf +and twining tendril, and pendent bud and blossom, I gave it +colour. Purples and black only were used, obtained from the +juices of some deeply coloured berries; and when a tint, or +shade, or line failed to satisfy me I erased it, to do it again; +and this so often that I never completed my work. I might, in +the proudly modest spirit of the old sculptors, have inscribed on +the vase the words: Abel was doing this. For was not my ideal +beautiful like theirs, and the best that my art could do only an +imperfect copy--a rude sketch? A serpent was represented wound +round the lower portion of the jar, dull-hued, with a chain of +irregular black spots or blotches extending along its body; and +if any person had curiously examined these spots he would have +discovered that every other one was a rudely shaped letter, and +that the letters, by being properly divided, made the following +words: + +Sin vos y siu dios y mi. + +Words that to some might seem wild, even insane in their +extravagance, sung by some ancient forgotten poet; or possibly +the motto of some love-sick knight-errant, whose passion was +consumed to ashes long centuries ago. But not wild nor insane to +me, dwelling alone on a vast stony plain in everlasting twilight, +where there was no motion, nor any sound; but all things, even +trees, ferns, and grasses, were stone. And in that place I had +sat for many a thousand years, drawn up and motionless, with +stony fingers clasped round my legs, and forehead resting on my +knees; and there would I sit, unmoving, immovable, for many a +thousand years to come--I, no longer I, in a universe where she +was not, and God was not. + +The days went by, and to others grouped themselves into weeks and +months; to me they were only days--not Saturday, Sunday, Monday, +but nameless. They were so many and their sum so great that all +my previous life, all the years I had existed before this +solitary time, now looked like a small island immeasurably far +away, scarcely discernible, in the midst of that endless desolate +waste of nameless days. + +My stock of provisions had been so long consumed that I had +forgotten the flavour of pulse and maize and pumpkins and purple +and sweet potatoes. For Nuflo's cultivated patch had been +destroyed by the savages--not a stem, not a root had they left: +and I, like the sorrowful man that broods on his sorrow and the +artist who thinks only of his art, had been improvident and had +consumed the seed without putting a portion into the ground. +Only wild food, and too little of that, found with much seeking +and got with many hurts. Birds screamed at and scolded me; +branches bruised and thorns scratched me; and still worse were +the angry clouds of waspish things no bigger than flies. +Buzz--buzz! Sting--sting! A serpent's tooth has failed to kill +me; little do I care for your small drops of fiery venom so that +I get at the spoil--grubs and honey. My white bread and purple +wine! Once my soul hungered after knowledge; I took delight in +fine thoughts finely expressed; I sought them carefully in +printed books: now only this vile bodily hunger, this eager +seeking for grubs and honey, and ignoble war with little things! + +A bad hunter I proved after larger game. Bird and beast despised +my snares, which took me so many waking hours at night to invent, +so many daylight hours to make. Once, seeing a troop of monkeys +high up in the tall trees, I followed and watched them for a long +time, thinking how royally I should feast if by some strange +unheard-of accident one were to fall disabled to the ground and +be at my mercy. But nothing impossible happened, and I had no +meat. What meat did I ever have except an occasional fledgling, +killed in its cradle, or a lizard, or small tree-frog detected, +in spite of its green colour, among the foliage? I would roast +the little green minstrel on the coals. Why not? Why should he +live to tinkle on his mandolin and clash his airy cymbals with no +appreciative ear to listen? Once I had a different and strange +kind of meat; but the starved stomach is not squeamish. I found +a serpent coiled up in my way in a small glade, and arming myself +with a long stick, I roused him from his siesta and slew him +without mercy. Rima was not there to pluck the rage from my +heart and save his evil life. No coral snake this, with slim, +tapering body, ringed like a wasp with brilliant colour; but +thick and blunt, with lurid scales, blotched with black; also a +broad, flat, murderous head, with stony, ice-like, whity-blue +eyes, cold enough to freeze a victim's blood in its veins and +make it sit still, like some wide-eyed creature carved in stone, +waiting for the sharp, inevitable stroke--so swift at last, so +long in coming. "O abominable flat head, with icy-cold, +humanlike, fiend-like eyes, I shall cut you off and throw you +away!" And away I flung it, far enough in all conscience: yet I +walked home troubled with a fancy that somewhere, somewhere down +on the black, wet soil where it had fallen, through all that +dense, thorny tangle and millions of screening leaves, the white, +lidless, living eyes were following me still, and would always be +following me in all my goings and comings and windings about in +the forest. And what wonder? For were we not alone together in +this dreadful solitude, I and the serpent, eaters of the dust, +singled out and cursed above all cattle? HE would not have +bitten me, and I--faithless cannibal!--had murdered him. That +cursed fancy would live on, worming itself into every crevice of +my mind; the severed head would grow and grow in the night-time +to something monstrous at last, the hellish white lidless eyes +increasing to the size of two full moons. "Murderer! murderer!" +they would say; "first a murderer of your own fellow +creatures--that was a small crime; but God, our enemy, had made +them in His image, and He cursed you; and we two were together, +alone and apart--you and I, murderer! you and I, murderer!" + +I tried to escape the tyrannous fancy by thinking of other things +and by making light of it. "The starved, bloodless brain," I +said, "has strange thoughts." I fell to studying the dark, +thick, blunt body in my hands; I noticed that the livid, rudely +blotched, scaly surface showed in some lights a lovely play of +prismatic colours. And growing poetical, I said: "When the wild +west wind broke up the rainbow on the flying grey cloud and +scattered it over the earth, a fragment doubtless fell on this +reptile to give it that tender celestial tint. For thus it is +Nature loves all her children, and gives to each some beauty, +little or much; only to me, her hated stepchild, she gives no +beauty, no grace. But stay, am I not wronging her? Did not +Rima, beautiful above all things, love me well? said she not +that I was beautiful?" + +"Ah, yes, that was long ago," spoke the voice that mocked me by +the pool when I combed out my tangled hair. "Long ago, when the +soul that looked from your eyes was not the accursed thing it is +now. Now Rima would start at the sight of them; now she would +fly in terror from their insane expression." + +"O spiteful voice, must you spoil even such appetite as I have +for this fork-tongued spotty food? You by day and Rima by +night--what shall I do--what shall I do?" + +For it had now come to this, that the end of each day brought not +sleep and dreams, but waking visions. Night by night, from my +dry grass bed I beheld Nuflo sitting in his old doubled-up +posture, his big brown feet close to the white ashes--sitting +silent and miserable. I pitied him; I owed him hospitality; but +it seemed intolerable that he should be there. It was better to +shut my eyes; for then Rima's arms would be round my neck; the +silky mist of her hair against my face, her flowery breath mixing +with my breath. What a luminous face was hers! Even with +closeshut eyes I could see it vividly, the translucent skin +showing the radiant rose beneath, the lustrous eyes, spiritual +and passionate, dark as purple wine under their dark lashes. +Then my eyes would open wide. No Rima in my arms! But over +there, a little way back from the fire, just beyond where old +Nuflo had sat brooding a few minutes ago, Rima would be standing, +still and pale and unspeakably sad. Why does she come to me from +the outside darkness to stand there talking to me, yet never once +lifting her mournful eyes to mine? "Do not believe it, Abel; no, +that was only a phantom of your brain, the What-I-was that you +remember so well. For do you not see that when I come she fades +away and is nothing? Not that--do not ask it. I know that I +once refused to look into your eyes, and afterwards, in the cave +at Riolama, I looked long and was happy--unspeakably happy! But +now--oh, you do not know what you ask; you do not know the sorrow +that has come into mine; that if you once beheld it, for very +sorrow you would die. And you must live. But I will wait +patiently, and we shall be together in the end, and see each +other without disguise. Nothing shall divide us. Only wish not +for it soon; think not that death will ease your pain, and seek +it not. Austerities? Good works? Prayers? They are not seen; +they are not heard, they are less-than nothing, and there is no +intercession. I did not know it then, but you knew it. Your life +was your own; you are not saved nor judged! acquit +yourself--undo that which you have done, which Heaven cannot +undo--and Heaven will say no word nor will I. You cannot, Abel, +you cannot. That which you have done is done, and yours must be +the penalty and the sorrow--yours and mine--yours and mine--yours +and mine." + +This, too, was a phantom, a Rima of the mind, one of the shapes +the ever-changing black vapours of remorse and insanity would +take; and all her mournful sentences were woven out of my own +brain. I was not so crazed as not to know it; only a phantom, an +illusion, yet more real than reality--real as my crime and vain +remorse and death to come. It was, indeed, Rima returned to tell +me that I that loved her had been more cruel to her than her +cruellest enemies; for they had but tortured and destroyed her +body with fire, while I had cast this shadow on her soul--this +sorrow transcending all sorrows, darker than death, immitigable, +eternal. + +If I could only have faded gradually, painlessly, growing feebler +in body and dimmer in my senses each day, to sink at last into +sleep! But it could not be. Still the fever in my brain, the +mocking voice by day, the phantoms by night; and at last I became +convinced that unless I quitted the forest before long, death +would come to me in some terrible shape. But in the feeble +condition I was now in, and without any provisions, to escape +from the neighbourhood of Parahuari was impossible, seeing that +it was necessary at starting to avoid the villages where the +Indians were of the same tribe as Runi, who would recognize me as +the white man who was once his guest and afterwards his +implacable enemy. I must wait, and in spite of a weakened body +and a mind diseased, struggle still to wrest a scanty subsistence +from wild nature. + +One day I discovered an old prostrate tree, buried under a thick +growth of creeper and fern, the wood of which was nearly or quite +rotten, as I proved by thrusting my knife to the heft in it. No +doubt it would contain grubs--those huge, white wood-borers which +now formed an important item in my diet. On the following day I +returned to the spot with a chopper and a bundle of wedges to +split the trunk up, but had scarcely commenced operations when an +animal, startled at my blows, rushed or rather wriggled from its +hiding-place under the dead wood at a distance of a few yards +from me. It was a robust, round-headed, short-legged creature, +about as big as a good-sized cat, and clothed in a thick, +greenish-brown fur. The ground all about was covered with +creepers, binding the ferns, bushes, and old dead branches +together; and in this confused tangle the animal scrambled and +tore with a great show of energy, but really made very little +progress; and all at once it flashed into my mind that it was a +sloth--a common animal, but rarely seen on the ground--with no +tree near to take refuge in. The shock of joy this discovery +produced was great enough to unnerve me, and for some moments I +stood trembling, hardly able to breathe; then recovering I +hastened after it, and stunned it with a blow from my chopper on +its round head. + +"Poor sloth!" I said as I stood over it. "Poor old lazy-bones! +Did Rima ever find you fast asleep in a tree, hugging a branch as +if you loved it, and with her little hand pat your round, +human-like head; and laugh mockingly at the astonishment in your +drowsy, waking eyes; and scold you tenderly for wearing your +nails so long, and for being so ugly? Lazybones, your death is +revenged! Oh, to be out of this wood--away from this sacred +place--to be anywhere where killing is not murder!" + +Then it came into my mind that I was now in possession of the +supply of food which would enable me to quit the wood. A noble +capture! As much to me as if a stray, migratory mule had rambled +into the wood and found me, and I him. Now I would be my own +mule, patient, and long-suffering, and far-going, with naked feet +hardened to hoofs, and a pack of provender on my back to make me +independent of the dry, bitter grass on the sunburnt savannahs. + +Part of that night and the next morning was spent in curing the +flesh over a smoky fire of green wood and in manufacturing a +rough sack to store it in, for I had resolved to set out on my +journey. How safely to convey Rima's treasured ashes was a +subject of much thought and anxiety. The clay vessel on which I +had expended so much loving, sorrowful labour had to be left, +being too large and heavy to carry; eventually I put the +fragments into a light sack; and in order to avert suspicion from +the people I would meet on the way, above the ashes I packed a +layer of roots and bulbs. These I would say contained medicinal +properties, known to the white doctors, to whom I would sell them +on my arrival at a Christian settlement, and with the money buy +myself clothes to start life afresh. + +On the morrow I would bid a last farewell to that forest of many +memories. And my journey would be eastwards, over a wild savage +land of mountains, rivers, and forests, where every dozen miles +would be like a hundred of Europe; but a land inhabited by tribes +not unfriendly to the stranger. And perhaps it would be my good +fortune to meet with Indians travelling east who would know the +easiest routes; and from time to time some compassionate voyager +would let me share his wood-skin, and many leagues would be got +over without weariness, until some great river, flowing through +British or Dutch Guiana, would be reached; and so on, and on, by +slow or swift stages, with little to eat perhaps, with much +labour and pain, in hot sun and in storm, to the Atlantic at +last, and towns inhabited by Christian men. + +In the evening of that day, after completing my preparations, I +supped on the remaining portions of the sloth, not suitable for +preservation, roasting bits of fat on the coals and boiling the +head and bones into a broth; and after swallowing the liquid I +crunched the bones and sucked the marrow, feeding like some +hungry carnivorous animal. + +Glancing at the fragments scattered on the floor, I remembered +old Nuflo, and how I had surprised him at his feast of rank +coatimundi in his secret retreat. "Nuflo, old neighbour," said +I, "how quiet you are under your green coverlet, spangled just +now with yellow flowers! It is no sham sleep, old man, I know. +If any suspicion of these curious doings, this feast of flesh on +a spot once sacred, could flit like a small moth into your mouldy +hollow skull you would soon thrust out your old nose to sniff the +savour of roasting fat once more." + +There was in me at that moment an inclination to laughter; it +came to nothing, but affected me strangely, like an impulse I had +not experienced since boyhood--familiar, yet novel. After the +good-night to my neighbour, I tumbled into my straw and slept +soundly, animal-like. No fancies and phantoms that night: the +lidless, white, implacable eyes of the serpent's severed head +were turned to dust at last; no sudden dream-glare lighted up old +Cla-cla's wrinkled dead face and white, blood-dabbled locks; old +Nuflo stayed beneath his green coverlet; nor did my mournful +spirit-bride come to me to make my heart faint at the thought of +immortality. + +But when morning dawned again, it was bitter to rise up and go +away for ever from that spot where I had often talked with +Rima--the true and the visionary. The sky was cloudless and the +forest wet as if rain had fallen; it was only a heavy dew, and it +made the foliage look pale and hoary in the early light. And the +light grew, and a whispering wind sprung as I walked through the +wood; and the fast-evaporating moisture was like a bloom on the +feathery fronds and grass and rank herbage; but on the higher +foliage it was like a faint iridescent mist--a glory above the +trees. The everlasting beauty and freshness of nature was over +all again, as I had so often seen it with joy and adoration +before grief and dreadful passions had dimmed my vision. And now +as I walked, murmuring my last farewell, my eyes grew dim again +with the tears that gathered to them. + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +Before that well-nigh hopeless journey to the coast was half over +I became ill--so ill that anyone who had looked on me might well +have imagined that I had come to the end of my pilgrimage. That +was what I feared. For days I remained sunk in the deepest +despondence; then, in a happy moment, I remembered how, after +being bitten by the serpent, when death had seemed near and +inevitable, I had madly rushed away through the forest in search +of help, and wandered lost for hours in the storm and darkness, +and in the end escaped death, probably by means of these frantic +exertions. The recollection served to inspire me with a new +desperate courage. Bidding good-bye to the Indian village where +the fever had smitten me, I set out once more on that apparently +hopeless adventure. Hopeless, indeed, it seemed to one in my +weak condition. My legs trembled under me when I walked, while +hot sun and pelting rain were like flame and stinging ice to my +morbidly sensitive skin. + +For many days my sufferings were excessive, so that I often +wished myself back in that milder purgatory of the forest, from +which I had been so anxious to escape. When I try to retrace my +route on the map, there occurs a break here--a space on the chart +where names of rivers and mountains call up no image to my mind, +although, in a few cases, they were names I seem to have heard in +a troubled dream. The impressions of nature received during that +sick period are blurred, or else so coloured and exaggerated by +perpetual torturing anxiety, mixed with half-delirious +night-fancies, that I can only think of that country as an +earthly inferno, where I fought against every imaginable +obstacle, alternately sweating and freezing, toiling as no man +ever toiled before. Hot and cold, cold and hot, and no medium. +Crystal waters; green shadows under coverture of broad, moist +leaves; and night with dewy fanning winds--these chilled but did +not refresh me; a region in which there was no sweet and pleasant +thing; where even the ita palm and mountain glory and airy +epiphyte starring the woodland twilight with pendent blossoms had +lost all grace and beauty; where all brilliant colours in earth +and heaven were like the unmitigated sun that blinded my sight +and burnt my brain. Doubtless I met with help from the natives, +otherwise I do not see how I could have continued my journey; yet +in my dim mental picture of that period I see myself incessantly +dogged by hostile savages. They flit like ghosts through the +dark forest; they surround me and cut off all retreat, until I +burst through them, escaping out of their very hands, to fly over +some wide, naked savannah, hearing their shrill, pursuing yells +behind me, and feeling the sting of their poisoned arrows in my +flesh. + +This I set down to the workings of remorse in a disordered mind +and to clouds of venomous insects perpetually shrilling in my +ears and stabbing me with their small, fiery needles. + +Not only was I pursued by phantom savages and pierced by phantom +arrows, but the creations of the Indian imagination had now +become as real to me as anything in nature. I was persecuted by +that superhuman man-eating monster supposed to be the guardian of +the forest. In dark, silent places he is lying in wait for me: +hearing my slow, uncertain footsteps he starts up suddenly in my +path, outyelling the bearded aguaratos in the trees; and I stand +paralysed, my blood curdled in my veins. His huge, hairy arms +are round me; his foul, hot breath is on my skin; he will tear my +liver out with his great green teeth to satisfy his raging +hunger. Ah, no, he cannot harm me! For every ravening beast, +every cold-blooded, venomous thing, and even the frightful +Curupita, half brute and half devil, that shared the forest with +her, loved and worshipped Rima, and that mournful burden I +carried, her ashes, was a talisman to save me. He has left me, +the semi-human monster, uttering such wild, lamentable cries as +he hurries away into the deeper, darker woods that horror changes +to grief, and I, too, lament Rima for the first time: a memory of +all the mystic, unimaginable grace and loveliness and joy that +had vanished smites on my heart with such sudden, intense pain +that I cast myself prone on the earth and weep tears that are +like drops of blood. + +Where in the rude savage heart of Guiana was this region where +the natural obstacles and pain and hunger and thirst and +everlasting weariness were terrible enough without the imaginary +monsters and legions of phantoms that peopled it, I cannot say. +Nor can I conjecture how far I strayed north or south from my +course. I only know that marshes that were like Sloughs of +Despond, and barren and wet savannahs, were crossed; and forests +that seemed infinite in extent and never to be got through; and +scores of rivers that boiled round the sharp rocks, threatening +to submerge or dash in pieces the frail bark canoe--black and +frightful to look on as rivers in hell; and nameless mountain +after mountain to be toiled round or toiled over. I may have +seen Roraima during that mentally clouded period. I vaguely +remember a far-extending gigantic wall of stone that seemed to +bar all further progress--a rocky precipice rising to a +stupendous height, seen by moonlight, with a huge sinuous rope of +white mist suspended from its summit; as if the guardian camoodi +of the mountain had been a league-long spectral serpent which was +now dropping its coils from the mighty stone table to frighten +away the rash intruder. + +That spectral moonlight camoodi was one of many serpent fancies +that troubled me. There was another, surpassing them all, which +attended me many days. When the sun grew hot overhead and the +way was over open savannah country, I would see something moving +on the ground at my side and always keeping abreast of me. A +small snake, one or two feet long. No, not a small snake, but a +sinuous mark in the pattern on a huge serpent's head, five or six +yards long, always moving deliberately at my side. If a cloud +came over the sun, or a fresh breeze sprang up, gradually the +outline of that awful head would fade and the well-defined +pattern would resolve itself into the motlings on the earth. But +if the sun grew more and more hot and dazzling as the day +progressed, then the tremendous ophidian head would become +increasingly real to my sight, with glistening scales and +symmetrical markings; and I would walk carefully not to stumble +against or touch it; and when I cast my eyes behind me I could +see no end to its great coils extending across the savannah. +Even looking back from the summit of a high hill I could see it +stretching leagues and leagues away through forests and rivers, +across wide plains, valleys and mountains, to lose itself at last +in the infinite blue distance. + +How or when this monster left me--washed away by cold rains +perhaps--I do not know. Probably it only transformed itself into +some new shape, its long coils perhaps changing into those +endless processions and multitudes of pale-faced people I seem to +remember having encountered. In my devious wanderings I must +have reached the shores of the undiscovered great White Lake, and +passed through the long shining streets of Manoa, the mysterious +city in the wilderness. I see myself there, the wide +thoroughfare filled from end to end with people gaily dressed as +if for some high festival, all drawing aside to let the wretched +pilgrim pass, staring at his fever- and famine-wasted figure, in +its strange rags, with its strange burden. + +A new Ahasuerus, cursed by inexpiable crime, yet sustained by a +great purpose. + +But Ahasuerus prayed ever for death to come to him and ran to +meet it, while I fought against it with all my little strength. +Only at intervals, when the shadows seemed to lift and give me +relief, would I pray to Death to spare me yet a little longer; +but when the shadows darkened again and hope seemed almost +quenched in utter gloom, then I would curse it and defy its +power. Through it all I clung to the belief that my will would +conquer, that it would enable me to keep off the great enemy from +my worn and suffering body until the wished goal was reached; +then only would I cease to fight and let death have its way. +There would have been comfort in this belief had it not been for +that fevered imagination which corrupted everything that touched +me and gave it some new hateful character. For soon enough this +conviction that the will would triumph grew to something +monstrous, a parent of monstrous fancies. Worst of all, when I +felt no actual pain, but only unutterable weariness of body and +soul, when feet and legs were numb so that I knew not whether I +trod on dry hot rock or in slime, was the fancy that I was +already dead, so far as the body was concerned--had perhaps been +dead for days--that only the unconquerable will survived to +compel the dead flesh to do its work. + +Whether it really was will--more potent than the bark of barks +and wiser than the physicians--or merely the vis medicatrix with +which nature helps our weakness even when the will is suspended, +that saved me I cannot say; but it is certain that I gradually +recovered health, physical and mental, and finally reached the +coast comparatively well, although my mind was still in a gloomy, +desponding state when I first walked the streets of Georgetown, +in rags, half-starved and penniless. + +But even when well, long after the discovery that my flesh was +not only alive, but that it was of an exceedingly tough quality, +the idea born during the darkest period of my pilgrimage, that +die I must, persisted in my mind. I had lived through that which +would have killed most men--lived only to accomplish the one +remaining purpose of my life. Now it was accomplished; the +sacred ashes brought so far, with such infinite labour, through +so many and such great perils, were safe and would mix with mine +at last. There was nothing more in life to make me love it or +keep me prisoner in its weary chains. This prospect of near +death faded in time; love of life returned, and the earth had +recovered its everlasting freshness and beauty; only that feeling +about Rima's ashes did not fade or change, and is as strong now +as it was then. Say that it is morbid--call it superstition if +you like; but there it is, the most powerful motive I have known, +always in all things to be taken into account--a philosophy of +life to be made to fit it. Or take it as a symbol, since that +may come to be one with the thing symbolized. In those darkest +days in the forest I had her as a visitor--a Rima of the mind, +whose words when she spoke reflected my despair. Yet even then I +was not entirely without hope. Heaven itself, she said, could +not undo that which I had done; and she also said that if I +forgave myself, Heaven would say no word, nor would she. That is +my philosophy still: prayers, austerities, good works--they avail +nothing, and there is no intercession, and outside of the soul +there is no forgiveness in heaven or earth for sin. Nevertheless +there is a way, which every soul can find out for itself--even +the most rebellious, the most darkened with crime and tormented +by remorse. In that way I have walked; and, self-forgiven and +self-absolved, I know that if she were to return once more and +appear to me--even here where her ashes are--I know that her +divine eyes would no longer refuse to look into mine, since the +sorrow which seemed eternal and would have slain me to see would +not now be in them. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Green Mansions, by W. H. Hudson + diff --git a/old/gmans10.zip b/old/gmans10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..801d75e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/gmans10.zip |