San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-02-18

6is Ij,,s
Ians loved ease and Shade above all
things.
Many hours, too, he spent by the river,
where the white cranes walked i'll solemn
procession along the sands while he lay
in the cool shadows of the pinOn trees
listening to the quail piping and the
wild doves amOrous cooling. 1t was
near the last of July, day so warm
and sultry that the blue haze filled the
canyon, making objects indistinct and
distorted. The city's walls looked out
of perspective, as though twisted and
warped by the heat; the air was so still
that away IN there in the woods he could
hear voices from the City'S houses, and
the bells of silver on the cattle seemed
startinglv near. The birds were all dOZ-
ing close under the heaviest leaved
branches, and the only life in the scene
was given by group of naked boys
bathing in the river, their brown bodies
glistening in the sunlight with cop
perry luster. But even these were in
keeping with the scene, for they splashad
and dived in queer silence, unlike white
lads, who would have made the canyon
ring with shrieks and yells.
Gilbert was under the spell of the day,
feeling an Incidence and lassitude and a
quiet content stealing over him until his
senses were lulled into dreamy repOse.
He felt the delicious languor of enforced
idleness, just tinged with enough of the
consciousness OF the waste of precious
time to add a zest to its charm, as it al
ways does to the naturally busy man. A
passing breath of wind swayed the
grasses and danced across the little
river, ripping its silver blue satin, bring
ing the eager trout to the surface and
ruffling gently the plumage Of the SOL
emn sentrylike cranes. Out from the
shore a dozen turtles were basking on
the rocks, their heads held erect in a
painful and constrained way, their eyes
closed, and their whole bearing evincing
that they were being soaked in rich,
golden sunshine.
On fiat stone not a rod away was
coiled huge rattlesnake, his oily skin
shining with black and yellow glossi-
uCSSs ollDCII ulO" Ills LSNOlNtl, anu
resting it over his left hand aimed at
the ugly fat head and glittering eyes
and fired. The report was followed by
a startled wOman's scream near by, the
turtles slipped with sudden alacrity
into the water, the cranes tapped their
wings as though about to fly, but
thought better of it and walked about
with grave concern, and the snake lay
wriggling and twisting at the foot of
the stone in death agony. Gilbert
looked around and saw Kulcan, with
Leila in his arms, pale and trembling,
and her blue eyes resting on him in ter
ror. kulcan, too, was trembling, for
neither of them had seen his weapon
nor knew what caused the echoes which
were still rolling along the canyon and
causing the people in the sleepy city
to rush out of their houses and ask one
another the meaning of the thunderous
sound.
Gilbert stepped forward with a smile
on his lips, and Kulcan, treasured, placed
his sister upon grassy mound, where
she sat painting for several moments
Gilbert knelt beside her, and taking hel
hand in his stroked it with unconscious
tenderness to quiet her fears. Thu
warm blood shot up into her cheeks, ant
her eyelids fell beneath his gaze. H
felt the sudden thrill rush through hin
again, and he caught his breath as he re
beased her hand, which she pressed
against her bosom with an involuntar,
movement, as though to calm her heart
tumultuOus throbbing. To another maj
she would have been as transparent a
glass, but Gilbert was so confused, S
dazed by his unwOnted feeling that h
saw nothing.
Kulcan, however, did see and kney
full we'll the meaning of what he saw
II nlaasad him rnstlu To thinl. tl,nt IL,