Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-27

The man at his side laughed shortly
a crisp, crude laugh, that made the
monk feel as if he were shriveling up as
be heard it.
Goods DEATH these friars are pre-
sumptuousl The ministers of God
the servants of heaven-so their creeds
profess, yet they give themselves the
airs Of statesmen and beg to decline the
offices of their professionl Have you
forgotten your vows, sirrah? Have you
forgotten to what service you are conse-
Grated? Nay, then, / will have you
you and none other. See that You move
on before me-" He made as if to impel
the monk by grasping his arm; but the
touch of that hard hand so affected
Friar Lorenzo that he reeled and would
have fallen had not the man released
him.
'What-what would your worship
have of me" he stammered family.
"You go to shrive sinner" and with
that answer his guide halted before a
lofty mansion whose overhanging bal
comics shadowed the street. The somber
cavalier pushed open the great zaguan,
or entrance door, without knocking, al
though, as Friar Lorenzo marked, there
was knocker of peculiar design, quite
distinct from the conventional olenched
hand or lions head-for this was bat
tie ak, falling upon buokler, and the
two glimmered quite strangely clear in
the gloom. The tunnel-like arch of the
zaguan was all in densest darkness,
save where dim ray of light filtered
out from the crack of door on the left
hand, whittier the way was led by the
man who had captured the friar.
This was the apartment usually as
signed as door porter's lodge in great
houses, but here it seemed of dimensions
more spacious than was common. The
dark walls seemed to absorb rather than
reflect the pale rays of the candle, yet
enough of brilliance fell to fash CLEANS
of keen color from the jewels of one who
lay on rough cot in corner, draped
over with q coverlet of rich brocade,
glinting back the candle light from the
golden threads of its embroideries.
The stern man pointed to the out
stretched figure. "Do thou confess her
quickly"
The fIiar drew back with start and
shiver when he had bent over the
woman, for she was fast bound to the
rude bed, made moveless by harsh cords
that held her beautiful naked arms out
stretched by her sides and lashed her
feet, too, closely. An observer of more
worldly knowledge than Friar Lorenzo
would have guessed that she had been
H. 80
and rejoicing, for on her delicate wrists,
and on her exquisite neck, and in the
soft masses of her dark hair blazed
splendid jewels and the zone of her
corsage, showing above the coverlet,
roughly wrapped around her, showed
that the stuff of her garb was of exceed
ing richness.
"Wouldst thou confess, my daugh-
teri" stammered Friar Lorenzo, drawn
back to her despite his fear, less by his
sense of duty than by the appeal in her
eyes, full of great despair and mighty
terror. He turned, when she made q
sign of assent, toward his captor, In
intimation Of the privacy due to a con-
fession, but that somber figure only
laughed, albeit most harshly, and drew
somewhat aside, toward the doorway.
Then Friar Lorenzo, bending low above
the woman, shaken between his fears
and his pity, listened TO her confession.
But she had not yet finished when the
grim watcher strobe forward, caught
the friar by his lean, trembling arms
and cried: "Have donei thou art max
ing pretextsl Too long this wretched
woman has lived alreadyr and so,
against her wild entreaties and the
friar's protests, he dragged the minister
away and thrust him forth into the
street.
The friar, half stunned yet half des-
perate with the thoughts awakened by
his forebodings and the tale heard from
the woman, called, prayed and knocked,
beating his frail hands ON the heavy
bronze bossed portal in very frenzy.
But the massive wood gave back only
the sound of his blows, and that but
DULY. At last, despairing, he FASTENED
from the spot with SO hurried and un-
certain step that the few wayfarers
who now began to appear in the street
shrunk aside from him with more Of
awe than reverence, and murmured,
ooh, the poor padre! his many penances
have made him mad"
Friar Lorenzo was half distracted,
most of all with doubts as to his divided
duty. Did his priestly vows as to the
inviolability of confession exact silence
as to what had happened? Did the du-
ties Of humanity and justice demand
that he give UP to investigation and
punishment the doer or would be doer
Of what he was convinced was a foul
crime? And so. seeking to temporize
for guidance, he would fain tell his
beads to temporize and calm his giddied
senses. But his rosary swung not at his
side, and flash of thought reminded
him that he had laid it upon the couch
beside the doomed woman. That de-
cided him. No fragment of the divine,
thrice sanctifed true cross must not be
left to the unhallowed hands of that
grisly, scofing monster.
Thus Friar Lorenzo set off with eager
though trembling speed for the Palace
Of Justice that stood then. as it stands
now, fronting on the great square 20
calo, or main plaza, and at right angles
to the cathedral and sagrar1o. On the
bridge spanning the canal before the
palacio he met a patrol just setting out
on the last round before sunrise. The