Her masses of heavy hair were held in place by a broad metal band
which bore a large triangular ornament directly in the center of
her forehead. This ornament appeared to be a huge turquoise, while
the metal of all her ornaments was beaten, virgin gold, inlaid in
intricate design with bits of mother-of-pearl and tiny pieces of
stone of various colors. From the left shoulder depended a leopard's
tail, while her feet were shod with sturdy little sandals. The
knife was her only weapon. Its blade was of iron, the grip was
wound with hide and protected by a guard of three out-bowing strips
of flat iron, and upon the top of the hilt was a knob of gold.
I took in much of this in the few seconds during which we stood
facing each other, and I also observed another salient feature of
her appearance: she was frightfully dirty! Her face and limbs and
garment were streaked with mud and perspiration, and yet even so,
I felt that I had never looked upon so perfect and beautiful a
creature as she. Her figure beggars description, and equally so,
her face. Were I one of these writer-fellows, I should probably
say that her features were Grecian, but being neither a writer nor
a poet I can do her greater justice by saying that she combined all
of the finest lines that one sees in the typical American girl's
face rather than the pronounced sheeplike physiognomy of the
Greek goddess.
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