My wants are few: a handful of rice or grain a day,
and I am satisfied. I should have put an end to my life, were it not
that, according to our religion, the suicide is accursed; and,
moreover, I would fain live to see the vengeance that must some day
fall upon the tyrant.
"After what I have said, it is for you to decide whether you think I
can be trusted with your secret, for I am sure it is for no slight
reason that you have come to this accursed city."
Dick felt that he could safely speak, and that he would find in this
native a very valuable ally. He therefore told his story without
concealment. Except that an exclamation of surprise broke from his
lips, when Dick said that he was English, the old man listened without
a remark until he had finished.
"Your tale is indeed a strange one," he said, when he had heard the
story. "I had looked for something out of the ordinary, but assuredly
for nothing so strange as this. Truly you English are a wonderful
people. It is marvellous that one should come, all the way from beyond
the black water, to seek for a father lost so many years ago. Methinks
that a blessing will surely alight upon such filial piety, and that
you will find your father yet alive.
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