The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1896-09-17
with sudden movement. but without

had been lifted. and at our feet the
black shaft yawned, from which ascend
ed a sound of waters. They placed us
with our backs resting against the altar,
but Tikal stood in front, and between
him and us lay the mouth of the pit.
Maya, daughter of Zibalbay, white
man, Son of the Sea, Ignatio the Wan
derer, and Natal the Priest, whom,
being dead in the body, we summon in
the spirit, began Dimas, in a cold and
terrible voice, you, by your own con-
fession, are proved guilty of the great
est csimes that can be dreamed of in
the wicked brain of man, and executed
by his impious hands.
This is the sentence of the Council
of the Heart; That your name. Natal,
be erased from the list of the officers of
the Heart; that your memory be pro-
claimed accursed; that your dwelling
place be burned with fire, and the site of
1t strewn with salt; that your corpse
be torn from its grave aud laid upon the
summit of the pyramid till the birds of
the air devour it, and that your soul be
handed over to the tormentors of the
lower world to deal with according to
their pleasure forever and for aye.
This is the sentence of the Council
of the Heart upon you, Maya. daughter
of Zibalbay, white man, Son of the Sea,
and Ignatio, the Wanderer: That your
names be erased from the roll of the
Brethren of the Heart, and proclaimed
accursed in the streets of the city; that
you be gagged, bound hand and foot,
ard chained living to the walls of the
sanctuary, and there be left before the
altar of the god which YOU have
violated. till death from thirst and
hunger shall overtake you; that your
corpses be laid upon the pyramid as a
prey to the birds of the air, and that
your souls be handed over to the tor
mentors OF the under world to deal
with according to tn cir pleasure forever
and for aye.
lit is spoken. Let the sentence of
the council be done. But first, since
this bastard babe is too young TO sin
and suffer punishment, let him be
| handed into the keeping of the god,
| that the god may deal with him accord
| ing to his pleasure"
As the words passed his lips, and be-
fore we fully understood them, dazed
as we were with the terror of our aw-
! full doom, Tikal stepped forward, and
even now i shudder when | write of it
holding the poor infant, which at
this instant began to wall as though
with pain or fear, over the mouth of
the pit, suddenly let it fall into the
depths beneath.
The shrek of the agonized mother
ran round the walls of the holy place,
and before it had died away the senior
had leaped forward, leaped like puma
across the open well, and gripped Tilsal
by the throat and waist. He gripped
him. and, rage giving him strength, he
lifted him high above his head and
hurled him down the dreadful place
where the child had gone before.
With a hoarse scream Tikal vanished
| and for a moment there was silence. II
was broken by the voice of Maya crying
aloud in accents of madness and de
spair:
Not all the waters of the Holy Lake
shall wash away our sin, yet may they
serve to avenge us upon Won, o, YOU
inurderers of a helpless child"
As she spoke, followed by the senol
and myself, who think alone of all tn,
company guessed her mad purpose
Maya ran round the altar, and witt
both her hands grasped the symbol O
the Heart which lay upon 1T.
"Forbear!" cried the voice of Dimas
but she did not heed him. and before
he or any of us could reach her, drag
ging at it with desperate strength, she
had torn the ancient symbol from it
bed, and with loud and moclSing laugh
east it down upon the marble floor
where it shattered into fragments.
From the altar there came a sound al
of harp strings breaking, that was fol
lowed by another and more awfu
sound, the sound of the roar of man,
waters.
Fly! fy!" cried a voice. ''The food
are loosed and destruction is upon u
and upon the People of the Heartr'
Now the Council rushed one and al
toward the door of the sanctuary, bu
|, lgnatio by the grace of Heaven, re
membered the otner door, the secre
door through which we had entered
that the priest had left ajar.
This way" cried in Spanish to tn
senior, and seizing Maya by the arm
dragged her with me into the passage
When all three of us were through
turned to close the door, and as did s.
mouth of the pit before the alta
sprang a vast column of water
which struck the roof of the sane
tuary with such fearful force tina
already the massive marble blocks be
gan to rain down upon the crowd q
fugitives, who struggled and in vain t
open the door. and escape into the Hal
of the Dead.
On we fled before the advancing food
and well was it for us that our cours
lay upward, for otherwise we must hav
been drowned as we searched for th
keys to open the different gates an
doors. But now fortune, which for S
long had been our foe, befriended Us
and the end of II was that we reache
the summit of the pyramid just AS tn
! dawn began to break,
The dawn was breaking, and seldom
perhaps, has the light of day reveale
more wonderful or terrible sight t
the eyes of man. Outside the gates c
the courtyard of the pyramid wer
gathered a great multitude of peopl
waiting to be admitted to celebrate th
feast that on this day of the year wa
to be held, according to custom, upo
the summit of the pyramid. Indeed
they should have already been n!
sembled there, but it was the rule tina
the gates could not be opened until tn
council had left the sanctuary, and thi
night the Council sat late.
As we looked at them a cry of fea
and wonder rose from the multitud,
} and this was the cause of it: Alon
that street which ran from the landin
: place TO the great square rushed vas
wall of water twenty feet or more i
depth by one hundred broad. Now W
learned the truth. The symbol on th
altar, 1 know not how. was connecte
with secret sl3ice gates which fc
many generations had protected tn
City of the Heart from flood. When
: was torn from its bed these sluice gate