Page:Neuroomia.djvu/167

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I ENJOY A PROLONGED HOLIDAY.
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"When, however, she became aware of their intention, she wept bitterly, and said that she would rather die than cease to love, so nothing was done in the matter for a time; but soon after the sun appeared above the mountains and forest, when the latent agency of the water was said to be most potent, and the water itself most bitter, Wawena was forced to the Fountain of Yunalooma, and only freed from the grasp of those who cruelly brought her when near the edge of the water. No one dared to hold or put a hand on her while she drank, for it was believed that evil would overtake him who ventured to do so. Wawena, however, did not drink, but on hearing a cry from Gulpanzi, her lover, darted past her captors in the direction from whence the sound proceeded. Of course she was pursued; but Wawena was fleet of foot, and the lovers escaped. They concealed themselves in the fastnesses of the mountains, but were followed, and they knew that in the end they would be brought back and punished. They had to wander from place to place, and could not remain long even in their favourite haunts, so they sought the wildest parts of the country near the open sea. During the time they were here, a terrible earthquake took place, which they themselves only witnessed.