There he would find the maiden waiting for him , and they would spend an hour or two under the stars , which looked so large and bright that you felt as if you could almost touch them . ` What did you do last night after you went home ? ' suddenly asked the girl one evening . ` Just the same as I always do , ' answered he . ` It was too hot to sleep , so it was no use going to bed , and I walked straight of to the forest and bathed in one of those deep dark pools at the edge of the river . I have been there constantly for several months , but last night a strange thing happened . I was taking my last plunge , when I heard -- sometimes from one side , and sometimes from another -- the sound of a voice singing more sweetly than any nightingale , though I could not catch any words . I left the pool , and , dressing myself as fast as I could , I searched every bush and tree round the water , as I fancied that perhaps it was my friend who was playing a trick on me , but there was not a creature to be seen ; and when I reached home I found my friend fast asleep . ' As Julia listened her face grew deadly white , and her whole body shivered as if with cold . From her childhood she had heard stories of the terrible beings that lived in the forests and were hidden under the banks of the rivers , and could only be kept off by powerful charms . Could the voice which had bewitched Alonzo have come from one of these ? Perhaps , who knows , it might be the voice of the dreaded Yara herself , who sought young men on the eve of their marriage as her prey . For a moment the girl sat choked with fear , as these thoughts rushed through her ; then she said : ` Alonzo , will you promise something ? ' ` What is that ? ' asked he . ` It is something that has to do with our future happiness . ' ` Oh ! it is serious , then ? Well , of course I promise . Now tell me ! ' '
I want you XXXXX promise , ' she answered , lowering her voice to a whisper , ` never to bathe in those pools again . '
For From after as on than that though through to