the father answered : " my son , you know not what you ask . if you get up now , all your glory will depart . wait patiently a little longer . you have but three days more , and your term will be completed . you know it is for your own good , and i encourage you to persevere . shall not your aged father live to see you a star among the chieftains and the beloved of battle ? " the son assented ; and covering himself more closely , that he might shut out the light which prompted him to complain , he lay till the eleventh day , when he repeated his request . the father addressed iadilla as he had the day before , and promised that he would himself prepare his first meal , and bring it to him by the dawn of the morning . the son moaned , and the father added : " will you bring shame upon your father when his sun is falling in the west ? " " i will not shame you , my father , " replied iadilla ; and he lay so still and motionless that you could only know that he was living by the gentle heaving of his breast .
by the gentle heaving of his breast .
how could one tell that iadilla was still living ?
how could one tell that iadilla was still living ?