San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-02-22

her, and looking at its face said:
NO wonder the old man fell That
would brighten almost anybody"
Why" she retorted, Il think it the
incest doll in Atzlan; it is so hideOus."
cuddling it 20 her. But come: we must
go to him.
Others came running, with eager calls,
to him, and he went with them to where
the old man lay grooming with pain and
exclaiming that it was a Judgment upon
him for breaking his vow of isolation
and coming into the city before his time
had expired. But when Eric arrived
and began to examine his broken limb
he bore the pain with savage stoicism
and uttered not sound. 1t was sim
pie fracture of the left leg, which Gill
bert easily set, and applying splints and
bandages had the old man carried to
his own dwelling, where he could attend
to his needs. Listah was overcome with
gratitude, and declared that he felt the
leg healing already, although he WINGED
more than once as his bearers moved
along.
When Eric saw him resting easily it
had grown dark, and the moonlight was
pouring down into the canyon, making
the walls of the city CLEAN like marble
palaces; the air was still moist and filled
with the sound of the river as it gurgled
and splashed over the shallow ford. Leila
sat just outside his door waiting, with
her cheek upon her hand and her hair
shining in the mellow light like melted
gold.
As he came outside and leaned over
her she looked up and reached her bare
arms up to him, folding them slowly
about his neck with lingering, cling
ing, creeping movement that showed
how fondly she loved, and sent warm
thrill through him, winelike, overpower-
ing. She drew him down and held his
face against hers for a long time, with
closed eyes; then slowly their lips crept
nearer, nearer, until they came together
in one long drawn kiss. 1t was more
it was a marriage-a blending of two
hearts made for each other, a reunion of
two souls that in all the economy of the
universe had been formed to be one that
had been seeking each other for ages per-
haps and had met at last. Such at least
was Eric's belief, and it was with a rev.
erential feeling that he kissed the noble
forehead of this beautiful, angelic crea-
ture who so wondrously found it possible
to love him, rough, blunt, homely,
ungraceful man. He said as much in
fact, and she answered:
"Oh, my darling, don't you know you
are the nOblest, most perfect of all Gods
creatures - the handsomest, bravest,
tenderest, wisest of all men on earth?'
and much more to the same effect, add
ing that the wonder was that he could
find anything to love, to admire in her,
a savage thing, etc. All this was so
new to them, so rare and wonderful,
that they imagined it had never occurred
before
did others ever love as we do?" was
their constant query.
But it was delightful, delicious and
would have reconciled man to endure
any existence whatsoever to dwell in
such bliss. No wonder that for long
time he forgot all about Kulcan's diff
culties and his darling's imminent dan
ger. When he did remember it was
with sudden start that caused her to
look up into his face in alarm and wills:
per, What is it, my own?" in tender
solicitude. Her eyes were on his face
constantly, and she had grown to read
each change of feeling each mood, al
most each thought, as it left its scarcely
perceptible imprint on his countenance
or shone in his dark eyes. She read
there his reluctance to tell the tale of
her brothers misdoings. In truth he
hardly knew how to begin it.
When he did he found to his surprise
that she was not nearly as shocked as he
had expected. She was, in common
with all Atzlans, so used to tales of sud
den risings and fallings in the fortunes
of gamesters that her brothers losses
seemed unworthy of much anxiety, for
when his luck turned would he not win
it all back?
But when Eric, somewhat piqued at
her indifference-the passiveness of a
woman resting in her lovers arms
told her of Kulcan's last and most des-
perate wager the color fled from her
cheeks, leaving them ashen in the moon
light, and with terror in her eyes she
threw her arms wildly about his neck,
crying:
81 am lost! | am LOST"
Not for an instant did she discredit
the legality of the transaction; its full
meaning and horror were plain to her,
and for moment she forgot her lovers
power, seeing only the awful, unavoida-
BILE fate before her-to be torn from his
arms, victim to the lust of a depraved