The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1893-03-17
CHAPTER v.
A MIRACLE AND A MEETING.

The shepherd and his fock.
Gilbert had made the rounds of the
great court and the afternoon was near
ly spent when he again repaired to the
temple. He felt that to be the only place
where he could consistently claim ahab-
itation, yet he climbed the causeway
with something of the feelings of an i'm
poster.
There were several priests there with
Iklape1 and Kulcan, and they were evil
IDENTIFY waiting for Gilbert's return, ush-
ering him into the small chamber with
profound obeisance.
He entered and found it prepared for
occupation by the addition of the usual
tAtzlan furniture, consisting of a few
gaudy striped blankets hanging over a
beam suspended from the rafters, and q
large bearskin, evidently an ancient and
greatly cherished object, spread upon
the floor over bed of clean rushes.
There was no fireplace in this room, as
was usually the case, and the walls were
of pure and refreshing whiteness. It
had window on each side, and was an
exceedingly pleasant apartment indeed
aside from the luxury of its gold and
silver exterior.
Gilbert felt that his lines had fallen
in pleasant places as the priests retired
and left him alone.
The unexpected developments of the
day had changed the course of the festi-
val, and the great feast had been forgot
ten; quiet, peaceful sense of relief and
thankfulness filled all hearts, the deeply
religious among the people feeling
hushed into solemn gladness by the days
events, and discussing with much awe
the overthrow of Chalcu, the thunder
Gus coming of Quetzal and the peaceful
future so full of blessings that lay be-
fore them, and when the night settled
down upon the city they sought their
beds with calm sense of security
brooding over them in the presence of
the fair god.
Gilbert, too, went to his couch with
somewhat the same thankful spirit in
his heart.
He awoke on the following morning
with that confused feeling that comes
on awakening in a strange place strong
upon him, and as he lay on his bear
skin robe he let his thoughts run over
the events of the preceding day. In the
realization of his peculiar position there
he had been placed there to accomplish
good. The thought of Pierce's fate
troubled him but slightly, for he knew
that the balloon, hghtened of fully two
thirds of its weight, would rise and
probably convey him safely over the
mountain range into more habitable
and populous. regions.
In the future before him here he saw
Ne e,&,,
for the exercise of his varied talents
The first duty, he knew, would be tc
master the language, and as he was 6
finished and remarkable linguist he ap
pretended little difficulty in that direc
ton. Beyond that the widest, Widest
range of possibilities, verging even upor
the ridiculous, asserted themselves
Then there crept over his thoughts {
memory, dim at first, growing stronger
momentarily, of a dream that had Wis
tied his slumber during the night, ani
it unfolded itself before him, gathering
form and details, as some dreams do, thu
longer one dwells upon them. In it wa
vision of fair, sweet face with blut
eyes-the face he had seen in the even
ing-and he felt a little suggestion of thu
strange, tender thrill again.
Although he was thirty, and, h
thought, had been so madly in Low
again and again that he was familia
with the passion, yet that wild thrill
was a new and weird sensation. H
felt it tingling through him as he unused
and he wondered at it in dreamy way
as a man might look back upon an ex
pertinent in opium smoking or hasheesl
eating-as a sort of curious study in new
emotions or feelings. A close student O
men and of nature, as well as of science
he knew but little after all of women
and had yet to witness the power o
loves strong passion in pure woman
heart.
He rose and looked out the window
The canyons depths were still black a
night, but he heard the voices of tn
shepherds as they drove out their focks
and some pale columns of blush smok
were winding sinuously upward in tn
still air, showing that life was stirrin
in the strange city.
He went out and wandered along tn
bank of the winding river, where tn
pinon orchards grew down to the water
edge, and he saw the trout leap and riI
ple its calm surface. Farther on weT
slight rapids, and he complacently 81
Iected a site for his mill with feelin
of enthusiasm.
There were deliciously picturesqu
spots along the stream, shady nook
with velvety greensward and proo4gs
with flowers unknown to him, for b
was not botanist.
He found he had wandered for quit
a distance from the city by the time th
sun rose, and he returned more hui
riedly, with an appetite for breal1fas
that he hoped would be rewarded.
Kulcan was at the temple when Gil
bert arrived, and had prepared a me-