The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1896-02-27
VI - a \. I. A. A..Nfi
Why. then had he 30 bluntiy refused !?

1t was not from cOwardice: that he
knew. ,lH e hardly understood it him
self. but that he l'ad3an unreasonable
tlislike'of intlicting useless torture. #
And Lola llud called him a coward;
lad refused to hear such childish
excuse, and, with fine scorn, had left
him.
And he had gone back to his little
cane hut, and had lain awake through
the long, dark night, watching the
iwinkling Southern Cross and think
ing about this girl whom he loved
who had mockingly called him
coward!
And lorg before daybreak he left the
hut, and, at sunrise, awoke the padre
and the padre had written letter for
him--at the price Of his last peseta.
And he Lad not seen Lola since, until
in the church procession. But to-day
to-day he would show her that at
least he did not lack the courage!
He heard the shouts and the cheer
ing, as the picadores entered; and he
heard the wild, pulsating notes of the
marimba, sounding far away. and in
distinct. Then he heard an occasional
burst Of applause; and still he sat there
waiting.
At last the guard came to call him.
He rose and took up the short bladed
sword and his other safeguard, the
small, red flag, and passed out into the
sunshine.
He cast one glance about the surging
sea of cNpectant faces, and then looked
longingly up at the hills that rose be-
hind the city. Their blush tops seemed
trembling in the haze, the air seemed
drowned in expectancy, and far-oir
sounds came plainly-alnong them tho
tinkie of a sheep bell far up on the SHIN
4nering mountain side.
Then sharp cry rang out: Guar.
desc, Antonio-guardese!
He caught one glimpse of a girl in
white, who stretched her bare arms out
toward him. Then he turned to avoid
the great, black bull that came rushing
down the redondel. He instinctively
lcaped-only just in time-and the
small, red flag was torn from his hand.
The maddened beast tossed it high in
the air and turned to prepare for Sec
ond attack, while the spectators,
pleased with his agile leap, boisterously
applauded.
The bull paved the ground, with
lowered head, throwing cloud of dust
in the air. His parched tongue hung
from his open jaws, his hot breath
came in painting gasps. the red blood
trick]ed down his sides where the
spears of the chulos had pricked him.
and his bloodlshot eyes shone with mad
ness as he quiclsened his pace to
thunderous charge.
Antonio calmly awaited the assault.
and then-.then the mad beast.stopi,ed
short in his wild onset, trembled, and,
believing, crouched to the ground in
IL spasm of fear. Antonio stupidity
gazed at the bull; then he heard a dull
ru,nbling beneath him and felt the
baked earth lift and surge and sink and
rise, like an angry ocean after a storm.
The hilltops swayed. in the quivering
cir, strong men shriekcd aloud in their
dread and the solid walls OF adobe
groaned and creaked and cracked.
Antonio dropped his now useless
sword and, with q bound, reached the
side OF the ring where he had seen Lola
standing, and where the panic-stricken
spectators were blindly fighting for the
exits. -
''Loia!" he shouted, my Lcla!" and
out CT the surg,ng mass he heard her
calling to him. "Leap!" he cried. with
uplifted arms, and struggling through
the crowd, she obeyed.
Others, gasping thu: prayers to the
saints that their palsied lips failed to
utter. were dropping all about him;
but Antonio caught her skilfully and,
with his light but precious burden.
staggered away from the crulnbling
rcdondcl the earthquake ceased for a
moment; then second series of shocks
began. wide crack opened across the
court, dizziness overpowcred him and
he sank to the hcaving, uncertain earth,
not in the ,nuteness Of terror. nor with
a desperate prayer in his throat, but
with. a welling song i'll his soul, as he
A5Oad NtOSCI. was TIC 1lOV
from the upper Countrywide country
that lay far back of the hills, the high
,nountain land where ,Momotombo's
towering black peaks breathed black
CIR smoke from dawn to dawn and made
the treetops bend and nod to the tune
of the hills 1itful sluml,crs? Why
should he fear the Yuaking earth? Fear
was for those OF the !owlands born;
A[omotombo had rocked his cradle;
and the song that trembled within his
soul was song CT Thanksgiving and
gla1lness-the thrilling note of his vie
brant heart as he pressed his Lola to it.
1t was over again in a moment. The
hilltops RESUMED their still place in the
sky, a welcome wind stirred the tall
mango trees, and Lola shuddered and
opened her eyes, and drew his head
down and kissed him.
One by one men regained courage to
speak. although at first it was only in
whispers.
Antonio assisted Lola to rise, Us her
aged father approached them.
%