“No; it was a very earnest one, and important to us both. May I tell you of what we talked?” Winnetou had reached us as I spoke, and I turned to him with this question.
“Tell us,” he said.
“While you were gone that morning Kleki-Petrah and I sat down beneath a tree. We soon discovered that we were of the same faith, and he opened his heart to me. He had gone through a great deal, and borne much, and he told me of his life. He also told me how dear you were to him, and that it was his desire to die for Winnetou. This wish the Great Spirit fulfilled but a few moments later.”
“Why did he wish to die for me?” asked Winnetou.
“Because he loved you, and also for another reason which I will explain later. His death would then be an expiation.”
“As he lay dying on my heart he spoke to you in a tongue I could not understand; what was it?”
“His mother tongue—German.”
“Did he speak of me then, too?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”