It was very sad to see these poor women, all of whom
were albinos and unpleasant to look on, while quite half appeared to
be deaf and dumb. To these, speaking as a priestess, she explained
that the god who dwelt in the woods was dead, and that therefore she
must take the Holy Flower, which was called "Wife of the god" and make
report to the Motombo of this dreadful catastrophe. Meanwhile, they
must remain on the island and continue to cultivate the fields.
This order threw the poor creatures, who were evidently much attached
to their mistress and her daughter, into a great state of
consternation. The eldest of them all, a tall, thin old lady with
white wool and pink eyes who looked, as Stephen said, like an Angora
rabbit, prostrated herself and kissing the Mother's foot, asked when
she would return, since she and the "Daughter of the Flower" were all
they had to love, and without them they would die of grief.
Suppressing her evident emotion as best she could, the Mother replied
that she did not know; it depended on the will of Heaven and the
Motombo.
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