The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-03-27

the writing that is beneath it. Stay,
first take this, and set it in the symbol,
replacing the eye upon it," and he
handed him the forged tablet.
The senior obeyed, nor did anything
happen when he lifted that dreadful
looking jewel and changed the true for
the false.
Read it." said Maya, as the tablet
was passed to Natal; you have
knowledge of the ancient writings"
Perhaps it were best left unread, !"
he said, doubtfully.
Nay" she answered; "let us know
the worst. Read it."
Then he read these strange words in
a slow and solemn voice:
1.-The eye that has slept and is awak-
ened sees the heart and purpose of the
wicked. l say that in the hour of the
| deSolation of my city not all the waters
of the Holy Lake shall wash away their
sim
Now the faces of us who heard turned
! gray in the lamplight, for, though the
| gods of this people were false, we felt
/ that the voice of a true prophet spoke
to us from that accusing tablet, and
that we had called down upon our
heads a vengeance which we could not
measure.
Ibid l not tell you that it were wiser
to leave the writing unread" gasped
Natal, letting the tablet fall from his
hand as though it were snake.
The clatter of it as it struck the mar
BILE floor seemed to wake us from our
evil dream, for the senior turned on him
and said, fiercely:
what does it matter what the thing
says, rogue, seeing that you forged it
nc H-or, fOyCa1 tho ofha,-
"Ah! would that | had" answered
Natal; but when doom overtakes you
and all of us, then shall you learn
whether or not l forged this writ
ing" And he lifted it from the floor,
and hiding it in the folds of his robe,
added: CLOSE the heart, white man..
and give back the severed jewel to those
who wear it,"
The senior did so, replacing the silken
cloth over the symbol so that the altar
seemed to be as it had been.
Now let us be going" said Natal,
land rejoice that if yonder eye has seem
our wickedness, it is hidden from the
sight of men. Doubtless the vengeance
of the gods is sure, but that of men is.
swift"
AS he spoke we turned to leave the
sanctuary, and of a sudden Maya.
screamed, and would have fallen had
not the senior caught her. Well might:
she scream, for there in the narrow
niche of the door by which he had ems;
tered, stood white figure that at first
l took to be that of some avenging /
ghost. =
Another instant and l saw that int
deed it was a ghost, the ghost of Zibad-
bay, or rather his body come back from
the boundaries of death to spy upon
our sacrilege before it crossed them !
forever. ~
While he had seemed to be senseleSs
upon the bed in the chamber, his senses
We're. awake, and oh, what mist he have
suffered when he heard us plan our
fraud upon his sanctuary. Then when
we had left him his fury and despair
unfettered the limbs that had been
bound so fast and gave him strength to
follow, though they could not unlock
his frozen tongue. =.
Oh, never shall l forget the rage of
his quivering face, or the agony land
horror of his tormented eyes as they
met ours.
He saw our fear, and with last effort
staggered forward toward his daughter,
his clenched hands held above his head.
Then foam, mingled with blood, burst
feet dead.
Somehow we Gained and silenced
Maya; somehow we escaped from that
hateful sanctuary, and by slow degrees
brought her and. the dead body of her
father up the narrow stairs and pas.
sages to the hall above, where we laid
the latter on its bed. Then Natal left
us, and l remember no more till the
next morning, when the mobiles and
leeches came 10 watch by the body OF
the cacique and embalm it in readiness
for the tomb.
The next two days went heavily for
the three of US, oppressed as we were
by the silent gloom of our prison and
the memories of that dreadful night.
At length they carried away the
corpse of Zibalbay to be wrapped in its
winding sheet of gold and set with its
forefathers in the hall of the dead. anc
though Maya wept, l, for my part, was
glad to see the last of him, and so
think was the senior, whose spirit haG
begun to fail him in the presence of sc
much remorse and grief.
That day-it was the day previous tC
the night of the rising of the waters OF
which we were to appear before the
Council of the Heart, in the sanctuary
Tikal came to visit us. To Maya he
bowed low, but on the senior and my
self he looked with an angry eye. with
the eye, indeed, of one who would have
killed us if he dared.
First, he offered her his sympathy |
upon the death of her father. For this |
she returned her thanks, quoting, how |
ever. with a fash of her old spirit, |
certain proverb of her own people. OF |
which the meaning is that the death OF |
one MN is the breath of another.
my father was your foe, Tikal," she |
added, land now that he is gone you |
will be able to sleep and reign in peace"
Not altogether so, lady" he an
swered, seeing that he had left behind |
him a more dangerous rival to my |
power. namely, yourself. | will not |
hide from you, Maya, what you soon
must learn, that a large portion of the |
people. and with them many of the no.
bles accusing me of your fathers muir
der, clamor that | should be deposed |
and that you should be set up in my
place as cacique of the City of the Heart.
''SOme few days ago | might have
stilled their cutlery by commanding you
to be put to death, but now it is too
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