sing that so much better than any other English? Did you ever hear it before?"
Ayacanora looked up at him puzzled, and shook her head; and then—
"If you tell Indian to Ayacanora, she dumb. She must be English girl now, like poor Lucy."
"Well then," said Amyas, "do you recollect, Ayacanora—do you recollect—what shall I say? anything that happened when you were a little girl?"
She paused awhile; and then moving her hands overhead—
"Trees—great trees like the Magdalena—always nothing but trees—wild and bad everything. Ayacanora won't talk about that."
"Do you mind anything that grew on those trees?" asked Yeo eagerly.
She laughed. "Silly! Flowers and fruit, and nuts—grow on all trees, and monkey-cups too. Ayacanora climbed up after them—when she was wild. I won't tell any more."
"But who taught you to call them monkey-cups?" asked Yeo, trembling with excitement.
"Monkey's drink; mono drink."
"Mono!" said Yeo, foiled on one cast, and now trying another. "How did you know the beasts were called monos?"
"She might have heard it coming down with us," said Cary, who had joined the group.
"Ay, monos," said she, in a self-justifying tone. "Faces like little men, and tails. And one very dirty black one, with a beard say Amen in a tree to all the other monkeys, just like Sir John on Sunday."
This allusion to Brimblecombe and the preaching apes upset all but old Yeo.
"But don't you recollect any Christians?—white people?"
She was silent.
"Don't you mind a white lady?"
"Um?"
"A woman, a very pretty woman, with hair like his?" pointing to Amyas.
"No."
"What do you mind, then, beside those Indians?" added Yeo, in despair.
She turned her back on him peevishly, as if tired with the efforts of her memory.
"Do try to remember," said Amyas; and she set to work agaia at once.
"Ayacanora mind great monkeys—black, oh, so high," and she held up her hands above her head, and made a violent gesture of disgust.
"Monkeys? what, with tails?"
"No, like man. Ah! yes—just like Cooky there—dirty Cooky!"
And that hapless son of Ham, who happened to be just cross-
