But, meanwhile, someone had brought her here.

Her dress, though damp, was not sopping wet.

Even the slight token of the beaten eggs showed how time must have sped while she was lying there oblivious of everything.

She tried again to question the women, and fancied that they understood her partly, as she caught the words "meia noite," but it was beyond her powers to ascertain whether they meant that she had come there at midnight, or were actually telling her the hour.
At any rate, they were most anxious for her well-being.

The island housewife produced another dish, smiled reassuringly, and said, "Manioc--bom," repeating the phrase several times.