Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-07-23

danger in staying here than IN pushing
forward
Il am glad that you are going. since
you go of your own free will" she said,
| smiling. May our fears be COMPOUNDED
and your journey and ours prove pros
porous And now let Us rest. for you
must be very weary, as / am. and we
should be stirring before the dawn"
Next morning at the first break OF
light we started on our journey, riding
| on three of the mules that
we had captured, and leading
the fourth laden with our goods
and water skins. Very glad were
all of US to see the last of that ruined
temple, and yet it was sad to me to
leave it, for there, hidden beneath some
of the masses of the fallen masonry, lay
all that was left of my friend and fos-
ter brother, Molas, he whose bravery
| and wit had saved our lives at the cost
of his own.
Our plan was to avoid villages where
we might be seen by men, and keep our
selves hidden in the forest, for we
feared lest we should be followed and
| brought to account because of the
death of Don Pedro and his companions:
and this we were able to 90, since hav-
ing guns and ammunition in plenty we
shot birds and deer for our daily food.
our strength returned to US, even to the
| old man Zilbalbay, who had suffered
the most from fatigue and from H.
treatment at the hands of the white
men. In something less than a week
we had passed through the inhabited
districts of Yucatan and far out of the
| reach of the white man, and now were
iourneying through the forest toward
the great sierra that lies beyond.
81
tioning the silent Zilbalbay as to the
| history or rather the legend of the land
| through which we journeyed, or of lis
| tening to the lady Maya's description of
| the City of the Heart, till even she
grew tired and begged him to speak in
stead of the country across the water
where he was born. of the ceaseless
| busy life, and the wonders of civiliza-
| ton.
Strange as it may seem, ], who watched
| them both from day to day, know it to
| be true that she was in mind the more
modern of the two. so much so indeed
| that in listening to their talk l might
have fancied that she was the child of
| the new world, filed with the spirit of
to-day, aud he the heir of proud and
secret race dying beneath its weight of
years.
81 cannot understand you," she would
tories and ruins and stories of people
that have long been dead? hate them.
Once they lived, and doubtless were
well enough in their place and time,
but now they are past and done with,
and it is we who live, live, live" and
she stretched out her arms as though
she would clasp the sunshine to her
breast.
Il tell YOU" she went on, 'that this
home of mine of which YOU are SO fond
of talking is nothing but great bury
| ing place, and those who dwell in it are
| like ghosts who wander to and fro
| thinking of the things that they did, or
| did not do, thousand years before.
Ibid my father but knowit, he wastes
! time and trouble in making plans for
| the redemption of the People of the
| Heart, who think him mad for his
| pains. They cannot be redeemed. If
| | could have my will while / am still
young, ! would turn my back upon this
| cityswhich you so desired to see, taking
| with me the wealth that is useless there,
| but which it seems would bring me
many good things in other lands, and
| live out my time among people who
have a present and future as we'll as
| a past"
Then the senior would laugh, and
argue that the past is more than the
present, and that it is better to be dead
! than alive, and many other such follies;
| and / would grow angry and reprove
| her for her words which shocked me,
| whereat she would yawn and talk Of
something else, for and my discourses
wearied her Only Zibalbay took no
| heed, for his mind was set upon other
things, even if he heard us, which
| dOubt