The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-11-02

flank and flashing eve, almost within reach
of me. Yet he still dsdained to even SO
much as look at me. His head was far
above me as | crouched there on the farther
edge of my column his flashing eyes were
lifted far above me and beyond me. Maybe
lie was on the lookout over the desert for
the coming of his companion.
Soon, however, lie set his huge paws on
the very edge of the great Stat on which he
stood and then suddenly threw his right
paw out toward me and against the edge of
my column with the force and velocity Of a
catapult!
| heard the sharp, keen claws strike and
serape on the granite as II they had been
hooks of STEEL
Then he threw himself on his breast, and
hitching himself little to one side he threw
his right paw SO far that it landed full in
the center of my columns top and tore bit
of my coat sleeve. Then he hitched his
huge body little farther on over the edge
ana again threw his huge paw right at my
face. 1t fell short of its mark only few
inches, as it seemed to me. But having
hastily gathered in my garments his claws
did rot find anything to faSten on and they
drew back empty.
out against the golden east on the yellow
sands, and looked intently at us with their
enormous heads high in the air. And now
the beast slowly arose and moved on. a
lions head seems always disproportionately
large, but when he is exercising for an appe-
title to eat you it looks large indeed.
The monster who was occupying the
platform with us surely saw his followers :;
indeed lie must have seen them long before {;
but his unbending dignity seemed to forbid
that he should take any heed of them
The newborn hope that he would de-
scend and join his followers died as he came
on around.
And now something strange and notable
tran pired. This one incident is my excuse
for thus celebrating this otherwise passive
and tedi0usly dull sketch Of this night l
has risen to my feet, and as the lion came
on around, this woman, with force that
was irresistible, sprang to my side, thrust
me behind her, and stepping forward with a
single spring she stood on the edge of the
column nearest the lion.
/ would have followed, but that same
force, which | can now understand was a
mental force and not at all physical force,
held me hard and fast to where l stood
She had let her robe fall as she sprang
forward and now stood only as the hand of
God had fashioned her-a snow white sill
h0uette Of perfect c0meliness against the ter
rible and bloody mouth and tossing name of
the lion. She leaned forward as he came on
around and close to the edge of his SLAB.
She looked him firmly and steadily in the
face her wundrUuS eyes, her midnight eyes
of all Israel, the child of the wilderness had
once more met the lion Of the desert as
of old.
Who was this woman here who stepped
between death and me and stood looking a
wounded lion in the face? Was this Judith
again incarnate? Or was this something
more than judith? Was it the Priestess
and Prophecies Miriam, back once more 10
the banks of the Nile? Was it the old and
forgotten mastery of all things animate
which Moses and his sister knew that gave
her dominion over the king of the desert?
Or was her name Mary? That other
Mary if you will, who won all things to
her SIde-God in heaven, God upon earth
by the sad, sweet pity of her face and the
story of holy love that was written
there? The lions head for a moment
forgot its lofty defiance as she leaned lit
tie forward. Then the tossed and troubled
name rose up and rolled forward like an in
flowing sea. Ii never seemed so terrible.
He was surely about to spring. And she,
too, Her right foot settled so!idiy back,
her left knee bent like bow, her shapely
and snowy shoulders under their glory of
black hair bowed low. Her dauntleSS and
defiant spirit bad already precipitated itself
forward ana was shifting the imperious
beast full in his blazing eyes l knew that
her body would follow her spirit in an in
slant more.
Face to face! Spirit to spirit! Soul to
soul! a second only the combat lasted
The awful feroclty and force Of the brute
was beaten down, melted like lofty battle
ments Of snow before the burning arrows
of the sun, and he slowly, surlily shrank in
size, in spirit, in space. A paw drew back
flom the edge of the block, the eyes
dropped, the head dropped little and the
terrible name seemed terrible no more, as
slowly, doggedly, nightly. aye doggedly
and majestically. too, at the same time this
noble creature forced himself sidewiSe and
back little.
Then he hesitated. Rebellion was in his
mighty heart. He turned suddenly and
looked her fun in the face once more. All
tie beast that was in him rose up. The ter
rlbe name now seemed more terrible than
before. With great head tossed, tail
whipped back and teeth in the air, talons
unsheathed and legs gathered under him,
he was about 10 bound forward.
But the woman was before him. With
eyes still fastened en- his face. she with one
long leap forward drove not only her shin
ing soul but her glowy body right against
his teeth. Or rather, she had surely done
SO had not the lion half turned about, Shrank
back as she leapt forward. Then slowly,
looking back with his blazing but GOVERN g
eyes, feeling back, with his spirit still def
ant if but to see whether her courage failed
her i'll the least or her mighty spirit was still
in battle armor, and then he passed. His
companions had drawn back aud into a de-
preston in the desert, where lie slowly and
sullenly joined them.
One, TWO, three, four dim yet distinct
black silhouettes against the yellow east I;
then but single confused black etching
away, away, smaller and smaller, gonel
l gathered up her robe, crossed over, and
letting it fall on her shoulders, where she
still stood looking down and after the
beast | picked up my pistol from where it
had fallen few feet below, and as she
turned about carefully reloaded it from
cartridges by chance in my veSt-pocket.
Returning to the summit | found her
again resting on her couch at the corner of
the huge slab TRANQUILITY as if we had not
been disturbed l did not speak. Not a
single word had been uttered all this time.
sat down at the feet of this woman, not
at her SIDE as before, and let my own feet
bangle down over the edge on the side
farthpSt away from the isolated columns.
Neither of us spoke, nor did she move hand
or foot till morning.
THE END.
Copyright, 1900. Al rights reseyredl