The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-28

~" N3NN-
Thsn, Z win .sla The senior; boldly. for I
halves Of the ~talsrnan fall into their Appointed
R,sSsb en- Tn the SOUND sound they 'p made tss a. s shey ifnti Esi
against the stone struck ms ear so sharply that
For some seconds, perhaps twenty. we stood
still, watching the altar With eager eyes, but the
'yn1p s.t nT.eI M isitsfoI hat men go : 's mus, hide vorr
writing elsewhere, since yonder heart Wilt not
open; OF u 4 vii, re have not found the key
the springs are rusted.; And befor. any OF ~
could interfere TO stop him he placed his thumb
hard that the symbol trembied on its marble bed.
"Bewarel", cried Natal. and before the echoes
. o. nli EHnSs Ia ao G' ioi tSs heart ar " was so op sssE,sd INK IN
Slowly It opened, till the severed tsiismsn fell
o. the altar, revealing something hidden in its
centre that shone like an ember in the lampliRht.
silent and half afraid. for in the hollow Of the
heart laid upon a SQUARE plate OF gold, which
Il. S1 tts s2Y IiTs ! g snns mT ess, ;hs sl: .csms : rcd re answer 5swsl
IT: we stand like thl. we. shall grow fright.
SRsa a, he Ss's sp OK 's stSere |. Tnothlns 70 Fear rO IN 3
red stone cut like an eye"
tai in q voice that shook q little. strive a. he
would TO command u lift ,np the holy thing
FIRST set. this in the symbol, replacing the eye
upon IL, and he bsndedhim the forged tablet.
The se12r obeyed, nor did anything happen
o1 "Rssd i it.s said Maya, as is the tablet wa. passed
TO Malta. you have knowledge Of the ancient
."Perhsps 1t were best left unread" he said.
Way" she answered, "let us know the worst.
Read it,
Then he read these strange words in a slow
The eye that has slept and 4. awakened sees
the heart and purpose Of the wicked. I say that
the waters of the Holy Lake shall wash away
Now the faces Of us who heard turned gray in
the lsmplight, fol. though the gods Of this peo-
pie were false we felt that the voice NJ n true
prophet spoks e us from that accusing tablet.
vengeance which we could not measure.
" Did ! not tell you that it we're wiser to leave
tablet fall from his hand as IL II were a snake.
The clatter Of It as IL struck the marble floor
senior turned on him and said fercely:
VIVA does II matter what the thing says.
rogue, seeing hat you forged 1t as you forged
All! would that I had ans wered Natal.
but when doom overtskes you and all 9f Us.
writing. And he lifted Il from the floor, and
hiding It in his robe added. Close the heart,
Shits man, and give back the severed jewel to
The seaor did 50. replacing the silkep cloth
Now let us be going" said Natal. and re-
1 nsss q sh 4 hidden 4 Eanf from sy yse s sish se ef m os5 T bouS,.
less the vengeance of the gods is sure. but that
AZ he spoke we turned to leave the sanctuary.
and Of q sudden Maya screamed. and would
have fallen had not the senior caught her. Well
o %' &. s sns sfr Soop b l9T When ihefe We ,n ins n entered ni and
framed In II as n corpse Is framed In its coffin.
stood a white figure that at first | took to be that
OF some avenging ghost. so ghostlike were the
wrappings, the snowy beard and hair. and the
a ghost. the ghost of .Zibelbay, or rather his
body come back from the boundaries OF death
to spy upon our sacrilege before 1t crossed them
While he had seemed to be senseless upon the
bed in the hambe his senses were awake. and
high priest OF the nameless God. heard ms plan
our fraud upon his sanctuary. Then when we
limbs that had been bound 50 fast and gave him
strength to follow, though they could not unlock
He had followed; painfully he had crept down
the stairs, slong the passages. and through the
q r. d9oTi for ,Tn ih e. pr .ns Tai h. k rs%s to % ~, fin; .. even
entrance OF the sanctuary. And here once more
his force had left him: here. unable 70 speak or
and heard all that was done and said.
Oh. never shall I forget the rage OF his culver
mented eyes as they met ours. No curse could
have been so awful as that look which he let fall
mon could have seemed more terrible to the hu-
man sight than the tall figure of this d lying man,
iariv aod. even when ~ df E. had ID Iloiased f IN them nSrq most 8,
ancient holy o: HOLES. Never have ] seen such
a dreadful sight, and never again may I do so
either in this world or the next.
He saw our fear. and. with a last enort stag:
gered forward toward his daughter. his clenched
stood before her as she lay upon her lovers arm,
staring up at him like a bird at a snake. while
about 10 strike. Then OF a sudden foam, min
gled with blood. burst from his lips. and he sank
down at her feet dead; dying In a silence that
OF ali that followed | need not write. In
deed, | cannot do 80. for so great was my horror
put upon my vital force during these hours, that
! haye little memory Of what ctnnced after
Somehow We calmed and siienced Maya;
s sG%T anS nv We slow degrees Ir.b brought a a her and Sn' the
dead body OF her father up the narrow stairs
later on its bed. Then Mattailef US, and / re-
member no more till the next morning. when
the mobiles and leeches. came. TO watch by the
body Of the cacique and embalm IL in readiness
The next two days went heavily for the three
OF ouB prison and the memories OF that dreadful
night. The love between Maya and her father
With each Other: still now that he was dead
she mourned him, and more. perhaps, because
+. had 1sao SisI aH f4oG 1 S"t s .ap4rsit esS; s ft. asf pofs
OF the writing, in the symbol. but her fathers
maledictions she never could forget. and. though
she were willing to EARN and to bear these for
the sake OF her love for the sehor, | think that
their memory 10y between them like a shadow.
"Oh! why did | ever love you - she would
say. What have you to do with me, whom
race and Law and fate have set apart from me-"
And yet she went on loving him ever more dearly.
also WAS unhappy. for though | pat little
faith in these omens, or In the ysDorlnRs OF dead
prophets. and the tricks Of living charlAtans, |
felt that the ill-luck which had chung To me in
the past was with me still Things had gone
cross with me: Zibalhay was dead, and the
woman. the inevitable. had drawn away the
heart OF my friend aud dragged me and my
plans into the whirlpool OF her passion, whence,
II at all. they must emerge ruined and shApeles=.
still. summoning the patience of my race to
my aid. I bore these secret troubles as ! might,
giving counsel aud comfort to the lovers, who,
lost in their own doubts and difdculties, thought.
- " as natural. little OF me and my ambitions:
Al length they carried away the corpSe of
10 be wrapped in its winding sheet OF
gold and set with It's fOretathers ia tbs hall OF
the dead, and though Maya Hspt, J., for my
part. was glad To see the last Of him. and 20 WAS
the sehor. whose spirits had begun 20 fail him
In the presence OF 80 much remOrse and grief
day. IL was the day previous TO the night