San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1884-04-17
CHAPTER vi.

CHAPTER vi.
copyrighted BY c. II. Miller, 1884
BURIED IN THE LAKE.
The DANTE leader now beckoned
our party TO move on, bidding ut
leave tho heaviest log-chain behind
The horsemen merely glancodat each
other, They knew what was to be
done, and swung into the saddle as
one man. No Cromwell ever had
troopers obedient Gs wore these
ignorant and desperate follows OF the
false religion in America.
If you who have this question To
settle, sooner or later, will only stop
to consider moment, you will OBJ
serve that NIL such monstrosities that
poor human nature has brought forth
on the earth have two clements fol
their establishment: one, the father
Of them, q learned man, q specifically
learned man, q "crank; and the other
element, o densely ignorant mass OF
mankind TO SOW his doctrines among,
to mature and maintain them when
they take root. And these two ele'
ments are never wanting in recruits.
They never will be while Ignorance
is SO general upon the earth o.
course you cannot destroy the leaders,
the "cranks," men crazy over their
books and about religion. But you
can utterly destroy their following
Plough up the field, cultivate it, and
the tares will perish in time. This is
the remedy. Cultivation, intelligence,
education, association with others,
have already done much, broken oil
tho hard corners OF this.rock in the
sea. But let ignorance prevail there
as it did thirty years ago, and you
will see renewed all the ferocity,
cruelty, and crime in the name Of the
new religion which we knew then.
Destroy these people by war! No,
you cannot destroy them by war,
even though you pour in million
of men with guns and all the treasure
of this universe. You might kill
them every one and confscate their
homes. And yet in Europe-any-
where, everywhere where there is
ignorance to follow and fanaticism to
lead-you might see o Mormon
Church.
Our train moved on. The horse
men galloped along side for little
way after having had. some silent
orders from their giant and iron
hearted leader Then they rode
back. Then they galloped up the
hill alongside again, and SO remained
until we had reached the top of the
steep hill. Here we were ordered to
stop and wait, till we were permitted
again to move on.
No one had spoken to the girl to
say good-by. Hope had been kindled
in her heart. She had even taken o
step forward to fall in with the NOV
ing train and follow us as we started.
A heavy hand fell on her shoulder.
She lifted her eyes to the missionarys,
let them fall, and stopped as still as
the dead.
When we turned about in the full
white moonlight on the hill, and look
ed after the horsemen while they
dashed down the hill in q cloud of
dust, We could SEQ but dimly. But
man who protested to see clearly,
said the giant was leading the girl
down toward his own camp, and the
ugly coffin hiding away there in the
shadows.
One of the horsemen rode to the
mouth of the little stream where it
fell into the lake, and drew a boat
that was hidden there up into q little
cove formed by the waters of the
brook We couldn not see the girl now.
What was being done?
As said before, We could see but
indistinctly. BY and by some ono
SAW the monstrous giant once more
pushing his long black box before
him down toward the lake, and point
ed out the dark object to Others.
The horsemen rode some distance
leisurely behind, with their hats in
their hands. The girl still could not
be seen.
At length adreadful suspicion crept
over us, and a cry burst from one of
the women. She wrung her hands
and cried hysterically that the girl
was in the coffin and they were going
to bury her in the lake.
The woman was silenced with
effort. and all stood still as death.
waiting. waiting. The moon seemed
only a little way above Us. only s
Ettle higher on tie hill, and oh, 80
rs1e sul u.rful AMI sJrrOwlnr she