These persuasions excited only horror and anguish in the soul of the
faithful wife. Her love for her husband was proof against all that Siripa
could say, and also against the fear of slavery or death, which might
follow her rejection of his suit. In fact, death seemed to her a smaller
evil than life as the wife of this savage suitor, and she rejected his
offers with scorn and with a bitter contempt which she hoped would excite
his rage and induce him to put her to instant death.
Her flashing eyes and excited words, however, had a very different effect
from that she intended. They served only to heighten her charms in the
eyes of the cacique, and he became more earnest than ever in his
persuasions. Taking her to his village, he treated her with every mark of
kindness and gentleness, and showed her the utmost respect and civility,
doubtless hoping in this way to win her esteem and raise a feeling in her
breast corresponding to his own.
Meanwhile, Hurtado and his men returned with the provisions they had
collected, and viewed with consternation the ruins of the fort which they
had so lately left.
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