in harmony
with the strong rhythmic noise below. The jesters had become very quiet;
they went about gravely keeping order, for the court was now filled with
performers. The green headdresses waved like reeds before the wind, and
the whole space looked like a rhythmically wafted cornfield. When the
dancers were executing the beautiful figure of the planting of
maize,--man and woman bending outward simultaneously, each one to his
side, and all the rattles sounding as if upon command,--everything
around was hushed; everybody looked on in respectful silence, so
correct were the motions, so well-timed and so impressive the sight. Say
also felt genuine delight. She thought of times long past when she, too,
had joined in the dance. Now, alas, she could not. With all the relief
this day had brought her, there still remained a dull weight in her
bosom, and an inner voice forbade her to mingle with those so sincerely
engaged in rites of thanksgiving to the powers of good and happiness.

While she stood and gazed around, her attention was directed to a young
couple passing in front of her. The handsome lad with the dark,
streaming hair was Okoya, and she recognized him proudly as the
best-looking youth on the ground, Hayoue perhaps excepted. But then, was
not Hayoue, Okoya's father's brother? But who was the girl by Okoya's
side? That slender figure of medium height, that earnest, thoughtful
expression of the face, those lustrous eyes,--whose were they? The two
were manifestly a handsome pair, and the longer she watched them the
more she became satisfied that they were the prettiest couple in the
dance. They were certainly well matched; her son's partner was the
handsomest girl of the tribe; of this she was convinced, and she felt
proud of it. Motherly pride caused her heart to flutter, and the
instinct of woman made her eager to know who the maiden was who appeared
such a fitting partner for her own good-looking son. Say Koitza
determined to improve the first opportunity that might present itself
for ascertaining who the girl was and where she belonged.

The day was drawing to a close, a day of joyful excitement for the
people of the Tyuonyi. The dance terminated. As the sun went down the
dancers crowded out of the passage-way; so did the visitors; it grew
quieter and quieter on and about the large house. The swarm of people
leaving it scattered toward the cliffs in little bands and thin
streams, separating and diverging from ea