The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-09-29

nizing him or turning his salute, asked
CURLY what he wanted. My grand
father was rather puzzled at this, fol
the Alcalde was one of the kindest OF
men, and, as l have said, they were
great friends. Now, my grandfather
had quick brain, and instead of tax.
ing offense he was the more convinced
that something serious was on hand
So, thinking to himself, Aqui hay cato
encerrado Qhere is something under
meath this), he answered that he had
| come about some important business,
and that, if only for one moment, he
must speak alone with the Alcslde.
"The Alcalde said something to the
stranger. What it was my grandfather
knew not; but the man gathered up the
papers and went out.
When they were alone, the Alcalde,
who was unusually troubled, got up
and went to the door. He listened q
moment and then locked it-so gently
that the key scarce clicked in the lock.
Then he went to his desk and wrote
something, not more than three words,
and beckoned to my grandfather to
come close.
Ramon he whispered - for it
seemed as if he were afraid of the
sound of his voice--'Ramon, get the
fastest horse you can and ride back to
Bolarque as is il your life depended on
it. Deliver this to the prior himself;
every moment is needed. Nay, man,
do not speak, but gol'
"'But have over q quintal of olives
to sell for the friars lying in the market
place. said my grandfather.
"tQue olvasl Nj que olivasl The
devil take the olives" answered the
Alcalde. Tomorrow there will be
neither prior nor friars at BolarqueP
"My grandfather understood, and
without another word, in less time than
it takes to tell this, he was on his mule
and on the way to Bolarque, riding
like mailman, leaving the friars' olives
lying in the sun in the plaza in the
place where he had left them.
"Ride as he liked, it was night be-
fore he got to the mill, and as you
know it is full quarter of league
from the mill to the convent. He had
had neither bite nor sup all day, and
when he saw the red lights cleaning
from the easements of the mill he was
faint with thirst and hunger. As he
clattered past the dogs barked, and he
heard his wife's voice calling to them.
Nevertheless, on he vent to the con-
vent. My grandfather could scarcely
believe that it was he who was batter
ing on the doors of the monastery in
that unseemly wayne, Ramon Buen-
dia, TO whom it was the most sacred
place in the world. He had some diff
Guilty in getting admittance-not until
the lay friar withdrew the shutter from
the grating and saw for himself that it
was my grandfather and no other.
Even then there was parley, for it
was against the discipline to open the
doors to any at that hour of the night
unless justified by extreme necessity,
and my grandfather was forced to ex-
plain that he had come on an errand OF
life and death before a bolt was with
drawn.
"The prior was reading in his cell.
1t was hot summers evening. The
easement was open, and the noise of
the river came through it, and one
could see the stars twinkling down in
the black waters below. My grand
father saw all this in CLINT of the eye,
and have heard my grandfather tell,
how in the moment he stood there fac
ing the prior, he heard all the noises
one hears on such night as if his ears
had become sharpened-the creaking
of the branches of the almond tree
which stood against the easement, the
cracking of the dried grass as snake
glided through it, nay, he said he heard
the almond blossoms fall as a great,
heavy-winged bat flew into the cell and
out again.
"When the prior read the message
he stood for moment like one stunned.
He did not speak, but my grandfather
heard him whisper softly, as if to him.
self, three words, Fiat, voluntas, TuaP
They were Latin words, it seems, for
my grandfather never rested afterward
until he got them translated to him by
the Cura of Ajatafe.
"Then in moment it seemed to my
grandfather that the whole convent was
in commotion. The changing of bells
drowned the noise of the waters. Friars
were hurrying hither and thither. The
peaceful cloisters were alive with mo.
ton, although he rather felt than heard
it. A lay brother came in and laid be-
IOTo It'll WIG anu lOOu III ZIG pTlOI 3
own cell, and waited until he had eat
en-. Then, for my grandfather was
like one in dream, what with his long
ride and terror of the strange things
that seemed to be menacing his friends
and masters, he found himself-he
knew not how-in the chapter house of
the convent.
"You stood to-day on the precise
spot where he stood that night. If he
thought he was dreaming before he
was sure he dreamed now. The stone
seats which line the walls on either side
were filled with double file of monks.
There they sat, motionless and silent
each in his order of priority, in the
great vaulted chamber, and the red
light of the cressets, as it flickered
here and there into the darkness, seem.
ed to make it more terrifying, and the
chapter house vaster and stranger than
he had ever seen it before. At the
father end the prior sat in his his can
opted stall, under the image of Sar
Juan de la Cruz. 1t, too, seemed tt
have grown larger, and my grandfather
swore to his dying day that the wooden