The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1880-07-01

How nervous you are, my own
Courage courage, now Just as we need
IL most when we have but to take sin.
gle step aud We may belong to each
other. Oh, the heaven OF that thought!
Ny brain whirls with its mad delight.
Let me have one kiss to assure me it is
true, and / am not dreaming
As he touched her lips, she almost
shrieked, as she shrunk away from him,
shuddering, as with cold.
u must not wait longer. Be careful
Of the jewels-they are our all. At ten
precisely, in the acacia grove. Till then,
adieu 90 not fail me. / tremble-I am
afraidn
"Benedicite, daughter % and the cur
tain Of the confessional fell, and the
graceful form moved quickly, noiselessly
away.
Left alone, the young priest, with
trembling hands, removed his surplice,
aud stopped to gather up the jewels and
place them in an inner pocket OF his
long coat. As be touched the opals, he
started suddenly, dropping them again
in nervous haste.
"Pshaw how foolish I am and yet l
could swear they laughed at me. 'Tis
but superstition-there is nothing in
1t. We cannot be discovered. Don
Pedro knows nothing does not even
suspect that / love his beautiful wife.
Only few hours more, aud she will be
forever my own-my Own-my own %
He picked up the jewels, placed them
securely in his pocket, and went out,
carefully closing and locking the door,
He passed swiftly along, singing softly,
as was his wont, an Ave Maria, not
surely because holy thoughts filled his
mind, for his heart beat fiercely with
mad, uncomfortable passion. Stop
was that a stealty foOtstep? He Is pass
ing the acacia grove, from which, in
short hour, he is TO fly, carrying his
heaven with him; he shivers with
sudden fear-a sense Of some underlined
presence, some unseen danger. He is
no coward, and turns to meet it, only to
mud himself held in a grasp strong
as death, and confronted by the husband
OF the woman he loves.
Vow make your peace with heaven,
II so be you can, for, by my soul, in one
instant / will send you into eternity
The Spaniard is not blind-he can see
but he can wait until he strikes surely.
Give me the jewels They were my
gift to her when she became mine, aud
she shall never be yours-never, never
Now pray, if your guilty lips can frame
a prayer. / raise my hand when IL
falls, you die!'
1t had come, then; 1t was as she said
the opals had brought misfortune. By
the moons soft light, which was Just
then rising, he could see them lying
where the naughty Spaniard had thrown
them, cleaning at him with their imp
ish faces. How tender the moonlight
seemed He wondered If she sat where
1t could illuminate her wondrous
beauty. His lips moved to frame
prayer. Il was only this: "My love
my love ~ Even in this supreme mo-
ment, his thought was of her. He
grasped the merciless hand that was
stretched high above him:
"Waiti l have a favor TO ask. Snare
her; she is innocent; alone am guilty"
The face Of a demon could not be
darker than the one that bent above
him:
"Spare her? l will send her to you
you shall not be separated longn And
swiftly the uplilted hand descended.
The moon rose higher aud higher, its
soft radiance piercing the densest shad-
ows OF acacia grove, where a face fair
and peaceful lay upturned to its caresses.
The musical, silvery chimes struck ten.
Almost 1t the same instant a veiled,
shadowy figure entered the wood, and
stole noiselessly along toward its deep
est shade. The dark eyes were filled
with a slumberous light; one burning
spot glOwed on either cheek the breath
came 10 quick, choking gasps, and the
slender fingers that held the lace cover
ing round the shapely head and throat
clasped and unclasped in q quick, spas
modic way.
81 am sure no one saw me, aud vet /
cannot rid myself Of the idea that am
followed. Why can I not shake of
this horrible depression? Oh, my love!
my -lovel What would 1 not dare for
you what would | not give for you
My life, il needs be, a thousand times
Overri
The heart Of the wood is reached. Il
is all so still, so dark, she is afraid. She
whispers, scarcely above her breath
"Angelol Angelow
HE is here, my love ~ and from be-
hind a dark acacia a tall form comes
quickly toward her.
What is this sudden terror? Sue
cannot speak she is dumb. One glance I
Into the face bending over her, one
shrek, and she turns to flee. A grasp
like iron holds her and drags her swiftly 1
back.
"Hou come TO seek Angelo. He is I
here. Look, he Is waiting for you. He
trusted you so fully, you know he was
so sure you would come; he is sleeping |
while be waits. And see he has 4
brought you jewels for your bridal |
Look how they gleam--hOw like their /
red hearts are TO drops Of blood Let /
me clasp them on your neck, my beauty, I
that he may see them when he wakes" /
In dark horror, as of one in dream, /
she gropes to where his fair dead face .
smiles up 10 her. She tears the opals .
from her throat. Yet they CLEAN red
red with blOod-his blood No need .
for the murderous knife to do its work. /
With one wild cry startling the stiffness /
OF the night, she goes to join her lover, 4
while the pale moOnbeams rest tenderly /
on two white faces iD the heart Of the 1
acacia wood.
"But what became Of the opals ?"
Rap, rap, at the door.
"Will you have the gas lighted,
madam 2n
Flash after fash shoots up, aud falls /
upon the ring still lying in the out
stretched palm. Is IL fancy, or does Il /
change aud darkeu, like a drop Of /
blood "a, IN July Californian.
CAUSE or FATIGUE N READING
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