The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-17


sage, showing above the ooveElet, roughly
wrapped around her. showed that the stuff
OF her garb was of exceeding richness.
f'Wouldst thou confess, my daughterF
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
a great despair and a mighty terror. DE
turned. when she made sign Of assent,
toward his captor, in imitation OF the
privacy due to a confession. but that somber
figure only laughed, albeit most harshly,
and drew somewhat aside toward the door
way. Then Frlar 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 done thou art making pretexts" and
so, against her wild entreaties and the
friar's protests, he dragged the minister
away aud thrust him forth into the street.
The frIar, half-stunned. yet half desper-
ate with the thoughts awakened by his fore
bodings aud the tale heard from the woman,
called, prayed and knocked. beating his frail
hands on the heavy bronze-bossed portal in
a 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 uncertain
a step that the few wayfarers who now be-
&1u W dppchIs III INC HbloUb unh 0oA0o
from him with mora of awe than Of rover
ence, and mumured: "Ol 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 duties of humanity and
justice demand that he give up to investi-
cation and punishment the doer or would
be doer of what, he was convinced, was a
foul crimea And so, seeking to temporize
for guidance, he would fam tell his beads
to temporize and calm his giddied senses.
But his rosary swung not at his side! and a
flash Of thought reminded him that he had
laid it upon the couch beside the doomed
woman. That decided him. No fragment
of the divine. thrice-sanctdfed true
cross mnst be left to the unhallowed hands
of that grisly, scofing monster.
Thus Frlar Lorenzo set of with eager,
though trembling speed for the palace Of
justice. that stood then, as it stands now,
fronting on the great square Zecalo, or main
plaza, and at right angles to the cathedral
and sagrsrio. On the bridge spanning the
canal before the palacio, he met patrol
just setting out on the last round before
sunrise The friar halted before them. and.
| with knotted tongue and parched, stammer-
ing lips gasped forth his story. The officer
| of the patrol sped back to the guard room
| to summon the alcalde. and moment later
the squad was rattling along at a swinging
pace, the friar whose exhaustion was evil
| dent, borne on the clasped hands of two
stout soldiers. Following his directions,
| they paused at last before the wide zaguan
Of house in the Gale de Olmedo. at
was here, the priest said, shivering.
The officer raised the brazen battle ak Of
the knocker and clashed it against its
! bnckler; but no challenging voice nor sound
- -, al Ino -,
answer. Again he knocked, more loudly,
and no sound arose within but hollow
echoes. Then the alcslde raped with his
| sword. and summoned: "Open in the name
| OF the king his Justice9 aud still no key
ratified in the lock, no clink of bar or chain
| gave promise Of ingress.
By this a crowd had gathered about the
place-for most part Indian hucksters, driv-
| ing their heavy laden donkeys into the city
market, or household servants thus early
| out of doors for the daily sweeping Of the
streets. One of these drew near from a
house across the way-a woman of more
than middle age, bearing the bundle of
long, jointless straw, tied up with string
that make the short, handIeless brooms OF
| Mexico.
"Senors, your worships summon In vain, "
she said, with somewhat OF wonder break
| ing through the composure of her bearing
| "this house has long been vacant
Friar Lorenzo turned in a sort of rage
| upon her, his meekness overborne by bis dis
tress of body and bis souls solicitude.
"Wouldst say lie, impious onea Shall a
priest not know where he has heard oonfes-
! sionl But 1t was here, l tell vel Open
opsn nor tsrry for her prating, lest the
crime be done within our very hearing"
The woman's dark face flushed. She
seemed a decent body. and her countenance
was full of intelligence beyond the COM
mon, as she replied with protest as positive
| as respectful:
| NAY, his reverence, she were, ind Iced, q
bold and irreverent woman who would dis
pute the word of Friar Lorenzo-ayel
| know his fame for holiness, as who does not
among the humble ones OF Mexicos But
his reverence is less young than he once
was, and these dayhreak lights are uncer-
| tain, SO that to mistake one house for an
other is easy. Humbly do l assure ye that
! never once has this door been opened in the
fifty years that l have lived across there
and my mother, who was FORTRESS before
me, has often said that never in her time
had the house a tenant"
"But open openl" Priar Lorenzo shouted
Then the officer, impressed In spite of him.
self by this strange excitement aud insist
ence, babe his men take up massive viga
OF root-beam OF cedar, that lay where some
workmen had been repairing an azotea. and
posing 1t among them, the patrolmen again
and again dashed the heavy timber, in tbs
guise of battering-ram against the door
leaves, whose heavy planks crashed loudly
at the impact; then the bolts sprung open
and into the zagua1 poured the gathered
gazers. No sight or sound or life greeted
the incursion. Once inside the zagusn, il
was no hard matter to shatter the heavy
Anticipated paddock that held the door Civ
ing to the side room; that clumsy defense
was, indeed, half eaten away with rust
and verdigris, and down from the
corners of the door-head swung veri
table curtains Of venerable cobwebs
thick and velvety, like ancient tapestry.
The door fell inward with a crash of rotten
honeycombed wood. and every soul there
but one retreaJed q step or two from the I'M
knownness before them. Only Friar Lorenzo
pushed foIward, with an eagerness that
vauquished mis- decrepitude, aud, then from
the further corner, came his voice:
"Said I, not sol And will ye doubt me
longer, unbelieversl This was the place,
indeed They have taken away the hapless
lady ye must seek her but the proof Of the
place show yel Here it Is, among pile
Of rubbish mine own dear rosary, made OF
olive-stenes from Gethsemane," and he
came forth, as the chief Of the patrol
caught a cresset from the hand Of 9
huokster, and blew into a puugent blaze 1t;
sluTubering bit OF ocotl (Mexicsn pitch pine
or light wood and went forward to rake
curiously, with his short sword. among the