an 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