Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-02-02

had brought him into such company, fo
the mans face was good and even refined
Dom Antonio" said the priest in
soft, girlish voice, II protest against this
Fate has brought me among you, though
against my own will, and / have beer
forced to bear the sight of much evil, bu
l have wrought none. have shriven thu
dying, l have ministered to the sick,
have comforted the oppressed, but 1 have
taken no share of the price of blood.
am priest of our holy church, and if
wed these two before the sight of men they
will be husband and wife till death, and
/ shall have set the seal of the blessing Of
the church upon an act of shame l will
not do it.
4 lyon will not do it, you shaveling
traitorp' screamed Pereira In q voice
hoarse with rage. do you want to fol-
low your brother. then? Look here, my
friend. either you obey me and marry
these two orr and he Missed horrible
threat.
No. no" said Leonard, anxious TO find
an escape from this abominable mockery.
Let him he. What do the cheats prayers
matter? The lady and can do without
Them
II tell you, stranger, that you shall
marry this girl. and this sniveler must
marry you. If you don't, will keep both
her and the gold, and as for him he can
choose. Here, slaves, the sjamboch. -
/ Francisco's delicate face flushed pink
/ Il am no hero that / can suffer thus" he
said. 81 will do your bidding, Dom An
tonia, and may God forgive me the sin!
| For you, Pierre and Juanna, l am about
to make you man and wife, to join you in
q sacrament that is none the less holy and
indissoluble because of the dreadful cir
cumstances under which it is celebrated.
I say to you, Pierre, abandon your wicked
! ness and love and cherish this woman,
lest curse from heaven fall upon you.
say to you, Juanna, put your trust in
| God, the God of the fatherless and op-
| pressed, who will avenge your wrongs
and forgive me. Let water be brought that
/ may conseerate it-water and a ring"
| Here, take this one " said Pereira. lift
ing Leonard S signet ring from the pile of
gold. ~ give it back for luck penny. +"
And he tossed the ring to the priest
Water was brought in basin, and the
father consecrated it.
| Then he babe Leonard stand by the girl
and motioned to the crowd to fall back
from them. All this while Leonard had
been watching Juanna She said no word
and her face was calm, but her eyes told
him the terror and perplexity which tore
her heart.
Once or twice she lifted her clinched
right hand toward her lips then dropped
it without touching them. Leonard knew
but too well what deed she meditated
He knew also the deadly nature of the
| 1r,1s, ha fnnahoI
! lips The suspense was terrible. He could
bear it no longer. Even at the risk of dis
covery he must speak with her In obedi-
enee to the priests direction he sauntered
to her side, laughing; then, still laughing,
with his hand he separated the tresses Of
dark hair, as though to look at the beauty
of her side face, and bent down as II to
kiss her.
She stood pale and rigid, but once more
her hand went toward her mouth.
"Stop!' he whispered swiftly into her
ear, speaking in English. Il have come
to rescue you. Go through this. 1t means
nothing. Then, if l bid you, run for the
drawbridge into the slave camp"
She heard, the light of intelligence
shone in her eyes, and her hand fell again.
Come, stop that, friend Pierre, said
Pereira suspiciously. ''What are you
whispering about9"
81 was telling the bride how beautiful
l think her, " he answered carelessly.
Juanna turned and flashed on him n
well simulated glance of hate and scorn.
Then the ceremony began.
The young priest had a low and beauti
ful voice, and by the light of the moon he
read the Roman Catholic ritual of mar
riage SO solemnly that even the villains
who stood round ceased their jokes and
sneers and were silent. All things were
done in order, though Juanna made no
reply to the usual questions. With much
sham courtesy the loathsome Pereira gave
tho bride away, their hands were Joined,
tho ring was set upon Juanna' s finger, the
blessing was pronounced, and it was fin
ished.
All this while Leonard stood like man
in a dream. He felt as though he were
really being married. 1t even came into
his mind as he looked upon the loveliness
of the mock bride at his side that a worse
fate might befall him. Then of sudden
an incident happened that brought him to
sense of the facts The priest had no
brush with which to sprinkle the conse-
Grated water and looked round for sub
stitute
Here, take this, " said Percira, with an
ugly laugh, as he snatehed three thonged
slave whip from the hand of a man who
stood by and handed it to Francisco. He
took the scourge which was stained with
blood dipped it into the basin and scat
tered the holy drops upon them-drops of
blood and water. Juanna saw and shiver-
ed, and Leonard awoke from his dream
tho farce was played. Now he must try to
escape. There, that is finished, Dom
Antonio, - he said, land think l heard
this lady whisper that with your permits
sion we will bid You good night. My
canoe
Nonsense you will stop here tonight"
said Pcreira.
Thanks, I think not, +" said Leonard
Tomorrow l may return to do little
business of another kind. ] have com
mission for about so, at good price for
the right sort" As Leonard spoke thus,
glancing to the east, he saw dense masses
of yapor rising into the air about hall a
mile away The damp reeds had been fired
at last. The settlement men had not failed
in their task, and soon the flames would
be discovered. He must be gone and
swiftly
We'll, if you must, you must, answer
ed Pereira And Leonard observed that
he looked relieved as he said it, He did not
know the reason at the time. 1t was this:
Juanna had told him that the man who
bought her would find his death in it. He
had superstitious fear of the girl and
believed her Therefore he was glad that
her purchaser should go, lest it might be
said that he had murdered him in order
to retain both the woman and her price
So he babe him farewell, and Leonard
turned to depart, followed by Otter and
Juanna whom he led by the hand.
And now all might have gone well for
that time had it not been for an unlucky
chance. Leonard's scheme was to walk
toward the water gate, but If no better
plan of reaching it should offer to turn
suddenly and run for the drawbridge,
where Soa and the others would be wait
ing.
Already he had started when the great
/ Portuguese, Xavier, who had been watch
ing, plunged in sullen thought, stepped
forward AT least will have kiss for
my trouble, he said, and seizing Juanna
round the waist he drew her toward him.
Then 1t was that Leonard forgot his
caution, as under such circumstances n
man with nerves already strained to
breaking point we'll might do. Doubling
his fist, he struck the giant in the face
with such force that Xavier fell headlong
to the ground, dragging Juanna with
him. Leonard would have done better TO
have suffered her to be insulted, but just
then he remembered only that he was pro-
tecting helpless girl.
Juanna was up in moment and at his