Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-12-19

saw who it was that cried aloud In this
desolate place, for there, not go PAGES
from them, ON the other side of the rayinc,
crouched upon stone and rocking herself
to and fro as though In an agony of de-
spair, sat tall and withercd woman
With an exclamation of surprise Leon
ard started toward her, followed by the
dwarf. So absorbed was she In her sorrow
that she neither saw nor heard them
Even when they stood close to her she did
not perceive them, for her face was hidden
in her bony hands. Leonard looked at
her curiously. She was past middle ace
now, but no could see that once she had
been handsome and for native very light
in color. Her hair was grizxled and crisp
rather than woolly, and her hands and
feet were slender and finely shaped. At
the moment he could discover no moro of
the woman's personal appearances, for the
face was covered up, as has been said. and
her body wrapped in tattcrcd blanket.
Mother" he said, speaking in tho ST.
sutu dialect, what ais you that you weep
here alonef"
sprang up with n cry of fear. AS &c CHANGED,
her gaze fell first upon the dwarf Otter, who
was standing in front Of her, and ut the
sight of him the cry died upon her lips,
and her sunken checks, clear cut features
and sullen black eyes became as those OF
one who is petrihed with terror So
strange was her aspect indeed that the
dwarf and his master neither spoke nor
moved. They stood silent anS: expcctant
IL was tho woman who broke this silence,
speaking in low voice OF awe and I'D
miration, and rs she spoke sinking TO her
knees
And hast thou come TO claim me Mt
last" she said, addressing Otter, "oh,
thou whose name Is Darkness, god OF my
people and TO whom was given in mar
riagc, from whom i fed when I was
young! Do l see thee in the flesh, lord of
the night, king Of blood and terror, and
is this thy priesti Or do / but drcaml
Nay, dream not. Stay on, thou priest,
and let my sin be purgcd.'
Here, it seems, " said Otter, that we
have to do with one who Is mad"
Nay, god OF my people," the woman
answered, Il am not mad, though mod
ness has been nigh to me Of late
Neither am your god nor the god Of
any" answered the dwarf, with irritation.
"Cease to speak folly and tell the white
lord whence come you. for weary of this
talk of gods"
IF you are no god, black one, the
thing Is strange, for as the god Is so you
are. But perchance IL does not please you,
having put on the flesh, to avow yourself
n god. At the least, be 1t as you will. II
you are no god, then ] am safe from your
vengeance, and IL you are god pray you
forget the sins of my youth and spare me.
Give mo food, white man." she added in
a piteous tone. Give mo food, for !
starve."
There is scant fare here" ans wcred
Leonard, but you aro welcome to IL. Fol-
low me, mother" and he led the way
across the donga to the cave, the woman
limping after him painfully.
There Otter gave her meat, and she ate
rs one eats who has gone hungry for long,
greedily and yet with effort. When she
had finished, she looked at Leonard with
sher keen dark eyes and said:
Say, white lord, are you also n slave
tradcr,''
NO" he answered erimly; II am a
slave"
who is your master, then-this black
one whom deem god. but who says
that he is no god'"
Nay, he is but slave 4 n slave.
have no master. mother. l have n mis-
trcss, and she is named Fortune"
The worst OF mistrcsscs," said tho old
woman, ''or the best, for she laughs ever
behind her frown and minglcs stripes with
kisses"
The stripes know well, but not the
kisses, " answered Leonard gloomily, then
added in another tone: What is your err
rand, mother? How are you named, and
what do you seek wandering alone in the
mountains:"
II am named Soa, and i seek succor
for one whom i love and who Is in sore
distress. Will my lord listen to my tale'"
speak on, " said Leonard.
Then the woman crouched down before
him and told this story:
n
white man, n trader who lives on the banks
of the Zambezi some four days march
from here, having n house there which he
built many years ago"
How is the white man namedf" asked
Leonard.
The black people call him Mavoom,
but his white name is Rodd. He Is n good
master and no common man, but he has
this fault-that ut times he is drunken.
Twenty years ago or more Mavoom, my
master, married n white woman, a Portu-
guese whose father dwelt at Delagoa bay,
and who was bcautiful-ah, beautiful
Then he settled on the banks of the Fam
bezi and became n trader, building the
house where IL Is now, or rather where its
ruins are Here his wife died in childbirth.
Yes, she died in my arms, and IL was
who reared her daughter Juanna, tending
her from the cradle to this day.
Now. after the death of his wife Ma
voom became moro drunken. Still when
he is not in liquor he is very clever and n
good trader and many times he has col
lected ivory and feathers and gold worth
much money and also has bred cattle by
hundreds. Then he would say that he
would leave the wilderness and go to an
other country across the water I know
not where, that country whence English
men come. Twice he started to go, and I
with him and his daughter, Juanna, my
mistress, who is named the Shepherdess
of Heaven by the black people because
they think that she has the gift of fore
telling rain. But once Mayoom stopped in
n town ut Durham, in Natal, and getting
drunk gambled away all his money in a
month, and once no lost It in a river, the
boat being overset by river horse and
the ivory and gold sinking out of sight.
Still the last time he started he left his
daughter, the Shepherdess, ut Durham,
and there she staid for three years. learn
ing those things that the white women
know, for she is very clever, as clever as
she is beautiful and good. Now, for two
years she has been back ut the settlement,
for she came to Delagoa bay in n ship, and
I with her, and Mavoom with us.
But one month gone my mistress, the
Shepherdess, spoke to her father, Mavoom,
telling him that she wearicd of life in the
wilderness and would sail across the wa
tiers to the land which is called home. He
listened to her, for Mayoom loves his
daughter, and said that IL should be So
But he said this also-first he would go on
a trading journey up the river to buy q
store of ivory which he knew of. Now,
she was against this, saying: Let us start
at once. We have tempted chance too
long, and once again we are rich. Let US
60 by land to Natal and pass over the seas. >
"Stin he would not listen, for no is a
headstrong man. So on the morrow he
started to search for the store of ivory, and
Juanna, his daughter, wept, for though she
is fearless, IL was not fitting that she
should be left thus alone; also she hated