The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1893-03-24


gilbert STEPPED fo4poard aOtth q smile on
his lips.
The summer days were long and full
of idle hours in the months that elapsed
before Gilbert could make his wishes
known in the Atzlan tongue; the time
hung heavily upon his hands at times,
although when he mastered the Ian
guage he was busy indeed, and he
was then a marvel to the people, for they
rested often and long and busted them
selves little with improvements or even
repairs. Hespent many hours swinging
in the hammocks which hung from tree
to tree, hundreds of them, all over the
courts, common property, for the Atz-
lans loved ease and shade above all
things.
Many hours, too, he spent by the river,
where the white cranes walked in 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. It was
near the last of July, day so warm
and su1try that the blue haze filed the
canyon, making objects indistinct and
distorted. The city's walls looked out
of perspective, as though twisted ard
warped by the heat; the air was so still
that away up there in the woods he could
hear voices from the city's houses, and
the bells of silver on the cattle seemed
startingly near. The birds were all doz-
ing close under the heaviest Ieaved
branches, and the only life in the scene
was given by a group of naked boys
bathing in the river, their brown bodies
rr1icfaoi11or IN, no io,1,A y
perry luster. But even these were in
keeping with the scene, for they splashed
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 1assitude 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 httlo
river, ripping its silver blue satin, bring
ing the eager trout to the surface and
ruff1ing 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 a fiat stone not a rod away was
coiled huge rattlesnake, his oily skin
shining with black and yellow g1ossi-
ness. Gilbert drew his revolver, and
resting it over his left hand aimed at
the ugly fiat 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 q smile
on his lips, and Kulcan, treasured, placed
his sister upon a grassy mound, where
she sat painting for several moments.
Gilbert knelt beside her, and taking her
hand in his stroked it with unconscious
tenderness to quiet her fears. The
warm blood shot up into her cheeks, and
her eyelids fell beneath his gaze. He
felt the sudden thrill rush through him
again, and he caught his breath as he re-
leased her hand, which she pressed
against her bosom with an involuntary
movement, as though to calm her hearts
tumultuous throbbing. To another man
she would have been as transparent as
glass, but Gilbert was so confused, sc
dazed by his unwonted feeling that hS
saw nothing.
Kulcan, however, did see and knew
full we'll the meaning of what he saw
1t pleased him vastly to think that the
god might love his beautiful sister; j
augured well for his own prospects; and
too, he had feared that the celestial Wis
itor might have claimed, and justly, hi
own betrothed Aimee, whose life he had
saved. And ne, being lover and al
ardent one, felt sincere and cordia
sympathy for Gilbert; so, with nat
ural tact and delicacy, he moved away
leayh g the others almost unconsciou
of hi departing, returning to the cit
to explain that the god had caused thr
thunder and destroyed a huge rattle
snake, news which set the gossipl
tongues wagging at once.
The little grassy knoll wherein Lei
was resting was IN the bright sunlight
and Gilbert led her to q shady spos