oice 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