Mr. Abel - The main character in the book who runs from his life in politics in the city to live in the back country of Venezuela. He ends up living with Nuflo and Rima before returning to his life in the urban world.

Runi - The head chief of an Indian village in the Parahauri mountains who invites Abel to stay with them.

 Kua-ko - One of the Indians with whom Abel became fairly good friends with while they taught each other the different ways the knew to hunt.

 Nuflo - The old man whom Rima stayed with in the forest since her birth. Nuflo had taken care of Rima’s mother up until her death, and then inherited Rima.

 Rima - The girl who Abel meets in the forest, who is believed to be an evil child by the Indians that Abel was staying with.

 Magana - The Indian chief of a village that was a major enemy of the Indians in the Parahauri. He later helps Abel kill all of the Indians in the Parahauri when they turn against Abel.

1. Abel is running from the Venezuelan government because he was going to be a part of trying to overthrow the leaders.
2. Abel becomes ill and spends several months in Manapuri before continuing on his journey.
3. While traveling and talking with Indians, Abel learns of an Indian village in the Parahuari mountains who are supposedly rich in gold. Abel makes up his mind to find his way there.
4. When Abel arrives in Parahuari, he finds no gold at all, but meets a savage named Runi.
5. Runi allows Abel to stay with the tribe after Abel makes a speech and gives Runi a silver box.
6. Abel stays with the tribe, and one day decides he will go get a better view of the Ytaioa mountain, and discovers a forest beyond the village.
7. Abel goes to the forest and is shocked by how wonderful the forest is, and why the Indians had not shown it to him.
8. When Abel returns, the Indians tell him there is something bad in the forest and to stay away from it. He doesn’t listen and makes another trip to the forest.
9. When Abel visits the forest he hears a wonderful singing which he can’t distinguish it’s origin. As he leaves the forest, he can hear the voice of an on as if the voice were singing to him.
10. Abel really liked what he had found in the forest and couldn’t wait to hear that melody again.
11. Abel convinces an Indian to go to the forest with him to tell him of the plants and animals there, and also to hear the voice that he has heard.
12. Abel and Kua-ko roam the forest until Kua-ko gets frightened and runs away. At first Abel is frightened and follows, but then overcomes it and returns to the forest.
13. The whole they had not heard the voice, but now that Kua-ko was gone Abel heard the voice. The voice seemed to call out to him as if he should follow, so he did.
14. Abel followed the voice until it became silent. Suddenly a group of monkey’s yelled at the top of their lungs and frightened Abel for a moment. Once Abel realized what it was, he returned to the village since the voice was no longer singing.
15. Abel returns to the village and gives Kua-ko the silver box even though he had run off. The next day Kua-ko took Abel to a different forest to teach him how to shoot a blow pipe. Abel was very unsuccessful, and after several trips gave up on it.
16. Abel returned to the forest once again, and this time heard not the voice, but a similar sounding warbling. After studying a spider for some time, he peeked around and noticed a small girl playing with a bird. After seeing the girl for a short time, she noticed him and slowly disappeared.
17. The next several times Abel returned to the forest, he would only hear the noise for brief moments as she followed him invisibly. For this reason he decided he would not go to the forest for several days.
18. Abel goes hunting with Kua-ko and tells him of the girl he found in the forest. After Kua-ko continues trying to teach Abel to hunt, he begins to get curious. He is then offered a wife and anything else if he would kill the girl in the forest. Abel is greatly angered and did not reply to his request.
19. Abel returned to the forest the next day and saw no sign of the girl, but was encountered by a coral snake which he knew was very dangerous. He threw one rock at the snake and missed, and soon after the girl came out of hiding and was very angry. Her presence calmed the snake and she was enraged until Abel put down his second rock.
20. Abel walked with the girl for some time until he felt a sharp pain in his leg, and realized he had just been bitten by the snake. He realized he was likely to die, and the girl knew it too but offered no aid to him. He knew he must get to the village quick, so he turned and realized he was for the first time lost.
21. Abel wandered for hours until he finally came to a bank of a very deep river, where he noticed a tree could help him get across. He began to fall and was grasping branches and twigs on the way down. He then was in mid air just before he lost consciousness.
22. When Abel gained consciousness, he found himself by a fire in an Indian’s home. He talked with the Indian explaining who he was and what had happened to him.
23. Abel is then introduced to Rima, the Indian’s granddaughter who saved Abel. Abel is then told that she was the one who he had seen in the forest.
24. Abel wasn’t convinced that it was the same girl until he asked her about following him and singing. He is then happy to be there and talks with the Indian until he falls asleep.
25. Abel awakens and spends part of his day discussing politics with Nuflo, the Indian who he is staying with. Afterwards Rima goes with Abel to the forest for a walk.
26. Abel sits down with Rima and asks here why she is so recluse around Nuflo, but so happy when she is in the forest. Rima begins to open up to Abel, and he is very happy.
27. Abel finally gets his relations with Rima to where she will tell him the things which he is so curious to know about. Abel and Rima spend the majority of the day in the forest, and when Abel explains to her how happy she makes him, she is somewhat troubled and feels it really isn’t how he feels.
28. Abel had decided in his mind that Rima would not tell him what he wanted to know about her past. For this reason Abel decided he would start working on Nuflo to get him to talk
29. The next day Abel hid out in the bushes and waited for Nuflo to make his daily journey into the woods. Abel followed closely, and came to an opening where he waited to see where Nuflo would go. He took and nap and awoke to see a fire coming from the forest.
30. Abel followed the path and found Nuflo sitting by a fire with his dogs eating a dead animal. Abel sat down to talk with Nuflo and somewhat blackmail him to find out about Rima. Nuflo told him about Rima’s mother dying and leaving her with Nuflo. Although Nuflo told about some of Rima’s life, he didn’t tell about how she got to be so close to nature.
31. Abel didn’t mind and accepted the information Nuflo had given him, yet he intended to find out the whole story one way or another. Abel then returned to the cabin and greeted by Rima. Rima at first appeared excited, then suddenly shied away from Abel. When Nuflo returned and started a fire, Rima made her way back from hiding.
32. The next day Abel got an early start and left the woods returning to the village where he had previously stayed. He found that every one in the village was gone to another village for a visit. He sat in his hammock for a while then went outside to walk around. He thought for a while, and finally realized he would not return to the city because the woods had changed him.
33. After a while of thinking on a rock, Abel notices a grotesque looking person coming towards him carrying wood. The woman turned out to be Cla-cla from the tribe, and had stayed behind because she had had some pain just as they left. She was at first scared but then when she realized who it was, her fears subsided.
34. Abel and Cla-cla sat by the fire and sang songs until it was time for bed. When Abel awoke the next day he didn’t do much but walk and wonder whether he should go back and see Rima. Finally towards the end of the day Abel decided he would return to Nuflo’s even though Cla-cla had warned him of coming weather.
35. Abel got into the forest just as a terrible storm hit. He became lost in the darkness and rain and was almost ready to give up when he heard Rima’s voice. He called out to her for several minutes until she finally came by his side and lead him to Nuflo’s. When they arrived near the lodge, she told Abel he could find the rest of the way back.
36. The next morning Abel went on a walk to see if he could find Rima, but he had no luck. When he returned to the cabin for lunch, he found some food that had been prepared apparently by Rima. He ate the food and then met up with Rima. She told him to follow her, and without a thought he immediately followed. She took him to the summit of the Ytaioa mountain and waited a while before speaking.
37. When Rima spoke she told him of her mother dying and the priest taking care of her for a while. She then begs Abel to tell her all he knows of the world. Abel tells her all about South America and the countries and rivers, and eventually tells her about the rest of the world.
38. When Abel tells her of a close area named Riolama, Rima’s face suddenly changes. She knew that this is where her mother was from, and the place the priest had named her after. Apparently Nuflo had told her that it was far away, and now she knew the truth of how close it was.
39. Rima said she had to go to Riolama to see if there were people there like her, and asked Abel to come with her. She got up and headed for the village, but Abel didn’t follow.
40. Abel starts heading back to Nuflo’s lodge when out of nowhere came the two dogs. A few minutes later, Nuflo appeared out of the forest.
41. Nuflo was very upset and had had a confrontation with Rima about him lying to her. Nuflo is upset with Abel because he thinks he told her intentionally to upset Rima. Nuflo then rips open his shirt and throws his knife at Abel asking him to be killed.
42. Before Abel had time to think he noticed Rima coming towards him. Rima tells her grandfather again what an awful person he is, and then begins praying to her mother and telling her the story.
43. Nuflo picks up the knife and threatens to kill himself and Rima tells him that he will be worse off if he kills himself. Rima prays to her mother that if Nuflo kills himself, may he spend the rest of eternity suffering.
44. Nuflo then begs Rima for forgiveness and is eventually granted it. Rima tells Nuflo she will forgive him if he will take her to Riolama, and he agrees. Abel convinces Rima they must wait a few days before leaving so they can prepare. She then leaves and heads for the lodge.
45. On the way home, Abel says he will go with them as long as Nuflo will tell him the whole story of Rima’s past. Nuflo agrees, but says Abel must wait until they are on their journey. Abel doesn’t like this idea, but gives into it regardless.
46. The next day Abel decides he will talk with Rima alone and assure himself that she requests his presence on their journey. Rima this time is very silent and unwilling to say very much, but he does gather that she wishes him to go with them. After dinner that evening Abel decides he will go see his Indian friends tomorrow to tell them good-bye.
47. The next morning Abel leaves and makes his way to the village where he is received very quietly as if he were a stranger. Everyone in the village pretty much said nothing to him, so he went to his hammock and quietly played his guitar.
48. That evening at dinner Abel got out his guitar and started playing a song he had been practicing very loud so that they could all hear him. This apparently eased the tension that had been building. Abel then returned to his hammock and went to sleep.
49. When Abel woke up the next day, he found his revolver was missing. He is told that Runi borrowed it for a hunt, but Abel sees through that excuse. Runi tells him he lost the gun after he returns, and Abel responds that he must find it or pay for it.
50. Over the next five days nothing is done about his gun, and on the sixth day Abel tells them he is going to bath in the river. Abel makes his way to the spot where they bathe, and then breaks out into a run. He runs until he reaches the edge of the forest, and to his surprise finds no one had followed him
51. When Abel returns to the lodge, Rima and Nuflo are very surprised to see him. Nuflo had thought he left and wasn’t coming back, but Rima says she figured he was being held against his will. They chat for a while and then eat dinner. After dinner Rima goes off to bed, and Nuflo and Abel sat around the fire and chatted about Rima and they way she acts towards Abel.
52. After gathering their supplies Rima, Nuflo, and Abel set out on their journey. The trip starts out bad because Abel was expecting Rima to talk to him, but this was totally not the case. The weather was very hot and the trip was tiresome. One day when they were walking they came in contact with three other people who claimed to be returning from a trip.
53. Nuflo told these people nothing of who they were, but after they left Nuflo was afraid they word might get back to Runi’s tribe that they had left the forest.
54. During the nights when Rima was not around Nuflo would tell Abel the story little by little. Around seventeen years ago Nuflo had been traveling with a gang of eight people who were all wanted by the law. They would raid towns and kill some of the women, but Nuflo did not take part in this. Eventually along their journey, Nuflo convinced them to stop in a place called Riolama where there was much food and very few people.
55. The gang found a cave in the mountains which they decided would be their home, and one day while making dinner, a woman appeared at the opening of the cave. The other men chased her while Nuflo prayed to her and hoped they wouldn’t catch her.
56. The next day Nuflo left the gang in search of her but found nothing. He returned and while cooking had a feeling she was nearby. He went down the mountain and found the woman injured with a crushed foot and sprained ankle.
57. Nuflo nursed her foot through the night, and the next day took her to the cave and got her back in good health. They left the cave and went to Voa, a village along the river.
58. In Voa Nuflo talked with the priest about the woman, and told no one else the truth of her origin. The woman who was pregnant had her child, which the priest suggested be named Riolama in order to keep the memory of the mother’s origin.
59. After they baby was born, the mother was very quiet because she realized no one could understand the way she spoke. Rima was raised and taught Spanish, and one day the mother became very ill. Nuflo was by her side before she died, and the woman said that if they would take Rima to where it was cold she would not die.
60. Nuflo took Rima with him and they eventually settled down in the Parahuari village. They didn’t stay there long because the Indians were very uncomfortable around Rima as was she to them. Nuflo to Rima and settled in the forest near the Ytaioa mountain.
61. The Indians grew to hate her and one day came to the forest to kill her. While hunting for her, one Indian saw her and shot at her, but was then struck by an arrow that had been shot by one of his friends who was shooting at the girl. The Indian told the story that the girl had caught the arrow and thrown it back at him.
62. So the story spread amongst the Indians that the girl in the forest was half human and half Didi, and Rima was never bothered by the Indians again.
63. On the eighteenth day they reached a mountain, and wandered as far up as they could. Nuflo then showed them to the cave where he had tended to Rima’s mother. They stayed in the cave to avoid the rain, and planned to stay there.
64. That night Abel went out to find Rima, and saw her starring up at the summit apparently as if she were going to climb it. Abel stopped her from climbing it and talked to her to explain.
65. Rima said she wanted to climb the mountain so she could see here people. Abel spent a good time explaining to her they would go the next day and that she should be expecting the worse so as not to be disappointed. She could not understand why so Abel explained to her that her mother’s people were probably dead and that was why her mother was found alone hiding in the forest.
66. Rima was very upset after hearing this and cried on Abel shoulder for some time. This made Abel very happy to have Rima in his arms again. He picked Rima up and carried her back to the cave to get some rest.
67. When Nuflo first saw Rima he thought she was dead. Abel made him realize she was unconscious, and after she gained some color, Nuflo went to sleep.
68. Just before Rima gained full consciousness Abel leaned down and kissed her. Abel then did it again once her eyes were open.
69. This time Rima did not shy away from him as she had before. He could tell she was very happy, and they discussed what would happen in the future.
70. Rima tells Abel she knows she loves him now and wants to be with him always.
71. Rima then tells him she must make the journey home by herself. Abel doesn’t like this, but as much as he loves her and wants to be with her makes him agree.
72. Rima leaves and shortly after Abel tries to catch her, but has no luck.
73. After another four days of waiting, Abel and Nuflo set out on their journey back. After 23 days of starvation and struggle they finally made it back to the forest.
74. Abel and Nuflo returned only to find the house burnt to the ground, and Rima nowhere to be found. Abel went to the woods to try and find Rima, but after an hour got no sign of her. After hearing several bird calls, he could tell they were in fact not birds, but rather Indians.
75. Abel then saw Kau-ko’s older brother standing before him, and afraid for his life, Abel immediately made conversation. Abel told of his journey, and that he was going to see Runi to tell him about it as well.
76. Abel, Piake, and another Indian who was with him set out for the Indian village. Abel then quizzed Piake and found that Rima was no longer in the forest, and this was why they were now hunting there. Abel wanted to know if they knew more, but their suspicion led him to stop.
77. The next day Runi talks in front of everyone to Abel about why they are upset and angry. Abel then gets up and answers them claiming he is their friend and was grateful for all they had done for him. His speech calms their anger, and when Kua-ko returns telling Runi of something which requires them to leave, Abel is allowed to travel with the other three men.
78. They set out through the woods with Abel not knowing what was going on and still wondering what had happened to Rima. That night by the fire Abel discussed with Kua-ko the girl of the Didi, or Rima. The Indians had known just as Abel had expected, where he was. There were happy they had left, and when she returned they were frightened, but had to do something.
79. The Indians then chased Rima up a tree, and set it on fire. Several minutes later after the fire burned up the trunk of the tree, they heard something shout "Abel, Abel!" just as something fell from the top and burned in the fire.
80. After that Rima was not seen again. Abel had almost gone into shock after hearing this story, and tried as hard as he could to conceal his fear and anger. When Abel thought that they had all gone to sleep, he got up and ran off.
81. Moments later Abel heard footsteps behind him just before a spear flew past him slashing his arm. He then turned around and saw Kua-ko coming at him with a knife. Abel then realized he had his knife, and would be able to defend himself. Shortly after Kua-ko was lying on the ground bleeding to death from stab wounds.
82. Abel had expected to see the others following him, but there were none. Abel then continued on following the star to guide him to Magana, the enemy of Runi.
83. The next day Abel arrives in the village and requests to see Magana. He tells Magana of killing Kua-ko, and that Runi was close behind. Abel is then tended to while Magana goes to check out his story, and also to find Runi. Magana returns and tells Abel they found the place where Kua-ko had died, but the Indians had apparently removed his body.
84. Abel stayed in the village for a month, and finally convinced the Parahauri to fight back against Runi and his tribe. They set out and killed all of the people in Runi’s village. Afterwards Abel ran off into the forest and probably thought in the back of his mind that Rima was not gone. Abel returns to the site of the burnt house to find Nuflo dead and his body eaten.
85. Abel then buries Nuflo, and builds his own shelter to stay in. Abel makes use of his shelter and the food which Nuflo had stored, which only lasted for a while. Abel was beginning to go a little mad, and was getting thinner and grosser, and his only companion were the insects that came and went in the night.
86. Abel realized he was going mad, and wanted dearly to look better and feel better.
87. After getting no sleep from recurring dreams of Rima, or Cla-cla, Abel decided to get up and search for the spot Kua-ko had told him of. Abel had thought for sure that Kua-ko had lied to him, but after three days of searching Abel found the tree out in the open just as Kua-ko had described.
88. Abel then decided he could not leave Rima’s remains in this awful place, so he began to search for anything that had not been burnt. He found only a few bones, which he took with him and stored in a jar that Nuflo had used to store grain. He decorated the jar to pass the time, and his condition of life was getting worse and worse.
89. Abel had thoughts of wanting to die, but realized they were wrong. He spent some time in the forest hunting and trying to stay alive eating what he could. He then decided he would leave the forest and head east to start his life over.
90. It was hard for Abel to leave behind the place that he had once shared with Rima and all its memories. He gathered himself and with tears in his eyes bid his farewell to the place.
91. Abel became very ill about halfway through his journey, and remained bed-ridden for many days. When Abel recuperated and finally made it home to Georgetown with Rima's ashes, Abel thought his goal in life was complete. He though his ashes should be mixed with hers and life would then be complete.
92. Abel soon recovered his love of life and lost the idea that he should die, but did not forget his feelings about Rima. Of all the things which Abel had done that would have made Rima angry, he could now be forgiven and know that if Rima were alive and came to him she would not look on him any different than she had the last time he had been with her.