San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-02-15

TO occur, ana the people pressed one an
other closer in their desire to obtain a
nearer view. Very many slipped from
the ranks and mounted to the highest
housetops in order to witness every de-
tail of the awful scene.
Iklapel, standing mOtionless on the
temple, felt that the procession was
nearing him. A strange commingling
of fear and hope moved him, for the
memory of the voice in the storm was
fresh in his mind, and he felt that the
hour had come for the manifestation or
intervention which he expected. The
head of the procession had already nearly
reached the temple summit He heard
the measured tread of feet as they
mounted the graded causeway, and knew
that in another moment kulcan with
MS charge would stand beside him.
Had Iklapel's vision been what it was
of old, and had his eyes been directed
upward toward the frowning cliffs, he
would have been startled to see a face
peering down upon the wondrous scene
"a face in which establishment and
qualification We're mingled, for the own
er of it saw white faces in the multitude
below him and felt himself safe. He
would have seen a body belonging to
the face emerge and descend the crum-
bling, ladderlike pathway, rifle and bird
in hand, in eager anticipation of a well
come which meant food and drink to a
hungry and thirsty man. But lklapel
saw nothing, nor did one eye turn in all
that host of gazing faces upward toward
the real sun-to the golden emblem of
which they sacrificed
Each face was turned toward the tenn
pie in a fixed expectancy, eager to catch
every action of the priests and the vic
tim. Many We're there who had seen
but one such sight, when children; chill
dren were there to see it for the first
time-were to be held up so that they
might see and hold it in their minds;
aged and middle aged, who had seen it
before, some of them many times-all
waited the last dread act in the tragedy.
The litter containing Aimee was at
last placed before the altar, and to the
surprise of all the girl stepped from it
calmly and with firmness. Her face
bore no trace of the Intoxicating aitsi,
its effects having passed away in the
trying hours of the morning. Borne up,
even until the last terrible moment, by
firm conviction that Kulcan, her
| avOwed lover, would devise some means
to save her, she faced the four dread fig
ures of the death priests and suffered
them to bind her shapely arms behind
| her without a movement or a shudder.
But when Iklapel stepped forward as
the weird chant of the Kabilo began and
handed Kulcan the sacrifcial knife she
| started, and her eyes were filled with a
fearless appeal. Even yet her faith in
his wisdom and his love did not desert
her, but when she saw that he trembled
and averted his eyes a chill swept her
frame and the awful truth burst upon
her in a moment. Casting her eyes up
ward in a wild, terrified gaze, she saw
what Gained her in an instant, and she
faced her lover with confident, tender
smile upon her face.
| Kulcan had taken the knife, an ancient
blade of white quartZ-a material which
supplied so many beautiful stone weapons
to the prehistoric races-and he stood
before Aimee with a pallid face, the cold
perspiration upon his brow glistening in
the sunlight, in an attitude of prayer.
He had come to the supreme test of his
| priesthood and his love, and the priest
had conquered the lover, but he wanted
the courage to strike the blow; the mo-
ment was one of the deepest torture to
him and to most of the spectators, who,
spellbound with emotion, stood in deep
est silence, unbroken by even a breath.
Chalpa, the second priest, standing
close to Iklapel, his dark face, drawn
lips and set teeth making him a living
resemblance of the god of evil himself,
cursed under his breath at the delay.
The coward dare not strike" he NUT
tered. "Ah, would that he dared re,
fuse! Then should hold his place this
day, for the people would tear him tc
pieces for spelling this goodly sport
Let me but grasp the knife and they
would be rarely served. Aha! the dog
will do it after alp for Kulcan had
raised his head, and with one long de
spairing look deep into the girls smiling
eyes placed the blade against her bar,
throat with hand whose trembling
made the weapon flash in the light like {
row of diamonds. AS he drew in hi
, breath with shuddering effort tn,
multitude gave an audible, gasping res
piration; then, with one quick movement
he raised the knife aloft, his eyes fixeC
on the spot upon her throat where tn
! blow must fall
, But while it trembled against tn
shadow of the cliff, darting back il