"Ova went to find her father. The chief at this moment was presiding over the great council of the nation in the great medicine calli. The maiden advanced, and knelt respectfully before her father."
"'What is it, my daughter?' the chief said, as he passed his hand gently through her long hair, which was fine as aloe threads."
"'My father,' she replied, looking down modestly, 'I love, and am beloved.'"
"'My daughter, what is the name of the chief who is so happy that your choice should have fallen on him?'"
"'He is not a chief, my father; he is, perchance, one of the most obscure warriors of the tribe, although he is one of the bravest. He works in the gold mine that belongs to you.'"
"The chief frowned, and a flash of anger sparkled in his glance."
"'My father,' the maiden continued, as she embraced his legs, 'if I did not marry him, I should die.'"
"The chief gazed at his daughter for a moment, and saw her so sad and resigned, that pity entered his heart. He, too, loved his daughter—his only child; for the Master of Life had called away the others to the happy hunting grounds. The aged man did not wish his daughter to die."
"'You shall marry the man you love,' he said to her."
"'Do you promise it to me on the sacred totem of the nation, father?'"