The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1896-02-07

again like man VINO Is drunk. linen
he fellagain, and putting our hands upon
his breast we could feel the contrac-
lions of his heart growing weaker every
moment. till at last they seemed to die
away. But of a sudden, when we had
already abandoned hope, it bounded
violently in his breast, and from every
pore of his skin, which till now had
been parched and dry. there burst so
profuse perspiration that in the light
| of the rising moon we could see it rum
ming down his face.
81 think that the white man will live
now; be has conquered the poison,
said Zilbalbay quietly, and hearing his
words. returned thanks to God in my
heart
Then we laid him in hammock, pill
ing blankets and serapes over him till
at length the perspiration ceased, all
the fluid in his body having evaporated,
taking the venom with it.
For an hour or more he slept, then
awoke and asked for water in faint
voice. We, who were watching, looked
at him in dismay, for we had not sim
gle drop to give, and this we were
obliged to tell him. He groaned and
was silent for awhile, and then said:
ut would have been kinder to let me
die of the poison, for this torment of
thirst is more than can bear"
Can we try the cueva?" faltered
Maya.
1T is impossible" answered her
father. I'VE should all be killed"
"Yes. yes,'' repeated the senior, sit is
impossible Better that one should die
than all four"
Fear not" said to the senior, lit is
the poison that has dried you up, but
thirst will not kill you so soon, and
presently you will feel it less OH
that we had medicine here to make you
sleepr'
He Law silent for awhile. making no
answer, but from the workings of his
hands and face we could see that he
suffered much.
Maya" he said at length, ''can you
find me a cool stone to put in my
mouth?"
She searched and found pebble,
which he sucked, but after a time it fell
from his lips, and we saw that it was as
dry as when it entered them. Then his
brain gave way, and he began to rave
! husl1ily in many languages.
Are you devil?" he asked, that you
suffer me to die in torment for the want
of drink of water? Why do you stand
there and mock me? Oh. have4pity and
give me water"
For awhile we bore it, though per-
haps our agonies were greater than his
own-then Maya rose and looked at his
face. 1t was sunkeu as though with a
heavy illness, thick black rings had ap-
peared beneath his blue eyes, and his
| lips were flecked with blood.
81 can endure this no more" she said
in a drv voice. Watch your friend,
Don Ignatio."
You are right" | answered; this is
no place for q woman. Go and sleep
yonder, so that can wake you if there
| is need"
She looked at me reproachfully, but
went without answering and sat down
behind bush about thirty yards away.
Here, it seems-for all this story she
told me afterward, and for the most
part / do but repeat her words-she be-
! gan to think.
Only one thing could save him
water. In the depths of yonder hill,
within few PAGES of her, doubtless it
lay in plenty, but who would dare to
seek it there? And yet the descent of
the cueva must be possible, since the
ancients used it daily, and why could
she not do what they had done? Yes,
she would try it! When once she had
made up her mind, Maya set about the
task swiftly.
She provided herself with flint, steel,
timber, rope, and a small water-skin
of untanned hide, which she strapped
upon her shoulder. In another minute
she was running across the desert like
a deer. At the entrance to the cueva
she paused to gather up the aloe torches
which had been thrown down there,
and also to look for one moment at the
familiar face of night-the night that
she might never see again. Then she
lit a torch and crept through the narrow
opening.
The place had been awful in the
evening when she visited it in the COM
pany of the rest of Us. Now, alone
and at night, it appalled, her.
She halted on the brink to strip her
self so that there might be as little as
possible to impede her movements in
climbing the stair, and twisted her
hair into a knot. Next she tied the
cord about her middle and the water
skin, to which she fastened the flint
and steel. upon her shoulders. Light
ing two of the largest torches she fixed
them slantingwise in crevices of the
rock, so that their flames .Shone over
the mouth of the shaft. down which she
threw, first bundle of unlit torches,
and lastly one on fire. This torch did
not go out, as she had expected that it
would. for presently looking down the
pit she saw a spark of light shining
one hundred and fifty feet or more be-
meath her.
Now all her preparations were COM
plete, and nothing remained to be done
except to descend and search for the
water.
BY the time that she was third of
the way down the shaft her courage re-
turned to her, and the only fear she
felt was lest some of the inches should
be broken. Fortunately this was not
the ease. although one of them was so
much worn that her toes slipped out of
4 it, and for second or two she hung by
her hands Recovering herself, she
went on from step to step till at length
she stood at the bottom OF the shaft.
After a few minutes pause to t%er
breath, MAYA found one of the I~aloe
stems and lit it at the emh of the
torch. which she had thru down the
pit. Then she looked Ind her to find
herself in a large, nasIral cavern of no
great height, which sloped gently
downward furthe: than she could see.