Doubtless she still lived and was true to
me; while I lived should I not keep true at heart to her? If I must wed
these Indian girls, I must wed them, but if once I told Otomie that I
loved her, then I broke my troth, and with nothing less would she be
satisfied. As yet, though I was deeply moved and the temptation was
great, I had not come to this.
'Be seated, Otomie,' I said, 'and listen to me. You see this golden
token,' and I drew Lily's posy ring from my hand, 'and you see the
writing within it.'
She bent her head but did not speak, and I saw that there was fear in
her eyes.
'I will read you the words, Otomie,' and I translated into the Aztec
tongue the quaint couplet:
Heart to heart, Though far apart.
Then at last she spoke. 'What does the writing mean?' she said. 'I can
only read in pictures, Teule.'
'It means, Otomie, that in the far land whence I come, there is a woman
who loves me, and who is my love.'
'Is she your wife then?'
'She is not my wife, Otomie, but she is vowed to me in marriage.'
'She is vowed to you in marriage,' she answered bitterly: 'why, then we
are equal, for so am I, Teule. But there is this difference between us;
you love her, and me you do not love. That is what you would make clear
to me. Spare me more words, I understand all. Still it seems that if I
have lost, she is also in the path of loss.
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