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Chapter Fourteen. The Rescued Slaves |
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friendly welcome to Mills by Chingmak's daughter |
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The first call we paid in the village was at the house of the chief, or rather I should say the houses of the chief, for Chingmak, not content with his first wife, the mother of two already grown-up and famous sons, and married a second time, and, wisely recognizing that two wives under one roof are not conducive to domestic happiness, had built a new house opposite his old one. Chingmak's second wife had given him two daughters. They were still quite small, and one of them, a girl of about ten, immediately found a place in Mills' heart. It was amazing how confidently the little girl approached the strange white man, and how she would sit quite near him on the ground while he talked with her father. When Chingmak brought her to our camp next day, she was thrilled with all the unusual things, and especially with our waterglasses. Again and again she put her little fist into the glass, and could hardly believe that anything transparent could be so solid. |
