Evening journal., 1891-09-17

all .hat the Arabs had made him suffer dur
ing his captivity.
The real cause Of the enterprise, however,
did not once occur to any. Who, indeed,
would have thought that an expedition in
which so many valiant Christians persisted
was to help toward the qualification Of an
unworthy passion.
The knight became intoxicated with the
love which he had excited in the breast Of
the beautiful Moor, and neither lent an ear
to the counsels of his friends, nor needed the
murmurs and complaints OF his disheartened
soldiers. In vain did they plead with their
commander to leave the walls, as it was
probable the Arabs would attack them with
great force as soon as they recovered from
their panic. Indeed, it happened just as they
had predicted. The Moorish chief gathered
men from all the adjoining towns
One morning the sentinel who was on duty
up in the watch tower hurried down to warn
the lovers that throughout the mountains, as
far as the eye could reach, beyond the rocks,
a cloud Of warriors we're fast approaching
the fortress, and well might il be supposed
| that Moordom in a body was about to fall
upon the castle. The daughter Of the chief
/ on hearing this turned as pale as death The
/ knight in a loud voice called for his arms,
/ and all was astir in the camp. The soldiers
rushed out in tumult from their quarters,
/ the chiefs gave their orders, the portcullises
were lowered, the drawbridge raised and the
towers were crowded with archers.
| A few hours later the assault began; the
castle with justice might well be called inn
pregnable. Only by storm could the Chris
tians make themselves masters Of IT, only by
40 a I 49, -. -
tenders resisted from one to ten assaults
The Moors then changed their tactics, sur
rounded the fort and resolved TO force the
besieged to surrender by famine.
Famine eventually made horrible ravages
among the Christians, still they yielded not
and those who Ind most bitterly reproved
the conduct Of their leader, knowing that his
life and honor were at stake, swore TO perish
In his defense. The Moors impatient for
success resolved upon a midnight attack,
which proved to be a furious one The re-
distance was desperate, the shock terrible.
During the fray, the Moorish chief, with
brow cleft open by an AK stroke, fell into the
moat below from the tower heights which he
had scaled. At the same time the knight,
who had just encountered him in hand to
hand fight, fell mortally wounded.
The Christians wavered and retreated As
quick as thought the Moorish girl rushed
70 her lover who lay dying on the ground,
and bending over him, seized him in her
arms. lmpelled by a supernatural force
which came to her with despair and the re-
ali2ation Of danger, she dragged him to the
court. There she pressed upon a hidden
spring, and through the opening which was
thus disclosed in the rock she soon disap-
peared within, carrying with her her precious
charge and proceeded in her descent until
she reached the bottom OF the cave.
When the knight returned to his senses he |
cast about him a look full OF bewildered sur
prise, and cried, ~ am thirsty / am burn
ingi Dyinglp and then fell into that de-
lirinm which is so often the precursor Of |
death. From his parched lips, through !
which wheezed his scanty breathing, only 4
came these worlds II am thirsty Waterl ,
water watern
The girl knew that her subterranean re. 1
treat had an exit leading to the valley, /
through which flows the river. This valley |
aud its vicinity were closely guarded by the 4
Arabs, who, after having taken possession Of /
the fortress, were on the alert for the l
Christian chief and his lady love, wishing to I
Stake in their blood their thirst for exter- |
mination
a moment Taking the helmet Of the dying
man, she glided like a shadow through the
thick shrubbery which covered the mouth OF
the cave and noiselessly stole down to the
river bank Already had she taken the
water; already was she fastening back to the
side Of her lover, when there resounded a
whistle, and cry OF anguish was heard. The
Moorish warriors who were on guard around
the fortress had dispatched their arrows in
the direction where the foliage seemed to
move. The beautiful, brave girl, wounded
unto death, dragged herself to the mouth Of
the cave; then soon joined her lord
He, on seeing her thus bathed in her own
blood, recovered consciousness, and in that
short moment recognized the hideousness Of
the sin he was so cruelty expiating. Raising
his eyes to heaven, he took the water which
his beloved handed him, and without carry
ing il TO his lips asked of her: "Wouldst thou
be a Christians Dost thou wish to be Of
my faith, and If / be saved, DO saved with
mef The Moorish girl, who had fallen to
the ground fainting through loss of blood,
made a slightly acquiescent motion with her
shapely head, upon which the knight poured
the regenerating waters OF baptism, at the
same time invoking the name of the ALI
powerful.
On the following day the very soldiers who
had struck the fatal blow saw traces OF blood
from the river bank to the cave wherein they
found the bodies Of the Christian chief and
the Moorish girl; and she it is who still
comes in the dead Of night to wander in lone
illness about the old fortress OF Fitero. Trans
lated from the Spanish of Gustav Becquer
for The New Orleans Picayune by Corinne
Castellanos