"Be quiet," he went on. "I swear to you that no hurt shall come to her,
also that I will translate everything to you. Promise, or I will tell
you nothing, and her blood be on your head."
Then Mr. Clifford groaned and said:
"I promise."
"Tell me your story, Benita da Ferreira. How came you and your people
here?"
"The tribes of Monomotapa rose against our rule. They killed many of
us in the lower land, yes, they killed my brother and him to whom I was
affianced. The rest of us fled north to this ancient fortress, hoping
thence to escape by the river, the Zambesi. The Mambo, our vassal, gave
us shelter here, but the tribes besieged the walls in thousands, and
burnt all the boats so that we could not fly by the water. Many times we
beat them back from the wall; the ditch was full of their dead, and at
last they dared to attack no more.
"Then we began to starve and they won the first wall. We went on
starving and they won the second wall, but the third wall they could not
climb. So we died; one by one we laid ourselves down in this cave and
died, till I alone was left, for while our people had food they gave it
to me who was the daughter of their captain. Yes, alone I knelt at the
foot of this crucifix by the body of my father, praying to the blessed
Son of Mary for the death that would not come, and kneeling there I
swooned.
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