wards
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 twen