The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1893-04-14

| all AtZlan held of the amb1ing habit.
| Viewing it in the light of modern ideas,
he thought she would be stricken with
horror at the discovery of his folly and
! shame.
He framed plan of gently imparting
| it to her, but it was driven out of his
! mind when moment later he encoun-
tered Leila hurrying with quick, grace
full strides in search of him. She held
! in her hand one of the comica1 Atzlan
dolls made of red clay, whose hideously
painted face, surmounted by a shock of
black bristies, added to her own look of
fright, drove his mission instantly from
| his mind
''Oh, darlingl" she cried, Selling his
arm, 'come quickly. Poor Listah, the
| hermit priest, has fallen from ladder
and broken his leg. He lies there moan
ing so piteously, and I know you can
cure him!"
els that alp" said Eric, smiling with
| true professional unconcern. 81 feared
| that it was something serious. And this?"
| pointing to the doll in her hand. She
looked down, blushed little, and smil-
ingly explained that she had been dress
ing the horrible effigy for little Eliza
when the old priest fell, and she had
hurried in search of him without MOTTO
| ing that she held it. He took it from
her, and looking at it's face said:
''No wonder the old man fell. That
would brighten almost anybody"
j "Why," she retorted, 81 think it the
| incest doll in Atzlan; it is SO hideous,"
:: cuddling it to her. "But come; we must
! go to himr'
/ 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. Bur when Eric arrived
and began to examine his broken limb
he bore the pain with savage stoicism
and uttered not a 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
|
pouring down into the canyon, making
the walls of the city CLEAN like marble
palaces; the air was still moist and filed
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 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 marriages. 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 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:
sob, my darling, don't you know you
are the nobIest, 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 q 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 whis-
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?
Butwhen 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 fed 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 lostl am lost"