Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-09-10

II
| sions of Zibaibay."
Thar is or desire" answered Tika1,
taking the severed emerald and its
| counterpart, which Maya gave TO him.
Let the white man, Son OF the Sea,
be placed without the sanctuary and
guarded there awhile, for at least he
viii gain time to prepare himself for
! death. Fear not, lady," he added,
noting Maya's anxious face. mo harm
shall be done to him till this matter of
the prophecy is made clear"
Now for the second time the senior
was removed. and when he was gone
! Tikal spoke, tracing the history of the
prophecy SO far as it was known, and
recIting its substance; that when once
more the two halves of the symbol Of
the Heart were laid side by side in their
place on the altar in the sanctuary,
then from that hour the people should
be great again
I'm all this" he said. 81 have little
faith; still ZibaIbay, who in bis way
was wise, believed in it, and tie story
having gone abroad, the people clamor
that it should be put to the lest. Is
this your viii also?"
1T is our will" answered tIo coun-
cillors.
Good. Then let it be done. and on
your heads be it if harm should come
Z
you to set these fragments in tie hol-
low Of the symbol"
If that be the will of the cornell I
have no choice but to obey" said
Natal. let, though none else have
done so, ] give my voice against it, for
1 hold that this is childishness, and
never did l know any good to spring
from prophecies" and he paused as
though waiting for an answer.
81, F.,
curiosity had got hold of them, and
they Grained their necIzs forward to see
what might happen.
Obey" repeated Til1al. ''Bat beware
how You shake the symbol, lest we
should perish in the doom of waters"
Then Natal set the two halves OF
the talisman in the hollow of the
Heart, and as before, in the midst of
an utter silence, the heart opened like
a flower. Leaning forward. l saw the
eve within its hollow, but it seemed to
me that the fire had faded from the
heart of the jewel, for it now cleaned
coldly, like the eye of a man who is
two hours dead. 1 think that Natal
noted this also, for a. the symbol
opened he started and his hand shook.
Now, when they saw the marvel, a
gasp Of wonder rose from the council;
then Tikal spoke, saying:
1T seems that there was wisdom in
Zibalbay's madness, for the Heart has
opened indeed, and within it is stone
eye resting upon plate of gold that is
covered with writing"
Read the writing" they cried.
Displacing the eye he lifted the plate
of gold and scanned it.
Il cannot" he said, shaking his head.
sit is written in character more an
Gent than any have studied. Take
it, Natal, for you are learned in such
signs"
Now Natal took the tablet and
studied it long with an anxious face,
upon which at length light broke that
changed anon to wonder, or rather,
blank amaze, so that /, watching him,
began to think, not knowing all the
cleverness OF Natal, that the senior was
right, and the tablet had been tam
pered with since we saw it.
Read Readr' cried the council.
Brethren he said. 1.-The words seem
clear, and yet so strange is this writing
that fear my learning is at fault and
that had best give it to others to de-
cipher"
mo. read. read" they cried again,
almost aDgrily.
Then he road: This IS the voice of the
nameIess god that his prophet heard in the
graved upon a tablet of gold which he set in a
secret place in the symbol Of the sanctuary, to
be declared in the far-on hour when the lost |
is found and the signs OF the Day and the |
Night are come together
chief to be. whose name is the name of a ma |
ton. When my people are grown old and |
their number are leSSened and their heart is |
faint. then, maiden, take to thyself husband |
a man of the race Of the white god. son |
Of the Seafoam, whom thou shalt lead hither |
across the desert; for so my people shall once
shall be to thy child and the child of the god. |
east and west. and north and south. farther /
than my eagles wing between sunrise and set" |
Now as he read the face of Tikal |
grew black with rage, and before ever
the echoes of his voice had died away, |
he sprang from his seat, crying:
Whoever it was that wrote this lying |
prophecy, god or man, let him be ac-
cursed. Shall the Lady Maya, for her
it must be whose name is the name of a
nation, be given in marriage to the
white dog who awaits his doom without
that door, and shall his son rule over
Us? First will / see her dead and him
with herr
Now one of the oldest of the council.
D man named Dimas, who, as | learned
had been foster brother tC
rose and answered angrily:
''It seems to me that these things
must be SO, Tillal, and beware how you
utter threats of death, lest they should
LdiI U I1OA Y our own uSdu we nave called
upon the god, and the god has spoken
N no uncertain voice. The Lady Mage
must become wife to the white man.
Son of the Sea, and then things shall
0efall as they are fated."
''What?" answered Tixal, sis this
stranger to be set over s1e
and all of us?"
THAT do not know" said the coua-
,illor; ''the writing does not say so; the
writing SAYS that his son shall be set
over us, and as yet he has no son. But
his is certain that the Lady Maya must
De given to him in marriage, and in her
light he well may rule, seeing that sh;
S the lawful heir to her father and moi
Tou, Til1al, although you have usurped
1er place"
Now many voices called upon Maya,
md she stood forward and spoke with
lowncast eyes.
What shall I say" she began, lex
.ept one thing, that my will is the will
# the gods. and if it is fated that ]
should be given to the white man in
why, so let it be.
For many years / was taught to look
elsewhere. but he " no was to have beeR
nv husbard'-and sEe pointed toward
himself another wife,
md now see that he did this not alto
yether of his own will, but because it
Eas so decreed. Ono thing more: /,
whom am but a woman, have no desire
o rule or to take the place that tho
LADY Nahua now holds. The writing
ays that in n day to come, far-off
lay, some child of mine. If indeed | am
hat DAUGHTER of a chief whose name is