Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-01-18
HEART OF THE WORLD.
RY n. RIDER HAGGARD.
Strange Story Taken
Mexican Indian to His Friend corade, an
Englishman
Copyrighted. 1894, By e. Rider Hassard

house and entered, and there by the
| fire sat the same man and his wife
| whom we had found in this room a
year ago.
"Who are you?" he cried, springing
up. Pardon, lady, but in that garb I
did not know you"
ut is best that you should not know
u.s." said Maya. eve are wanderers
who have lost our way out hunting:
Give us food, as you are bound to do. y
Then the man and his wife, who were
and set off the best they had before us.
We ate, and after eating slept, for we
were very weary, bidding the man
watch and tell us if saw any stranger
approaching the house. Before dawn
he woke us and we rose. A few min
utes later he came into my room and
told me that large body of men were
In sight of the house. Then 1 knew
that it was finished and called the
others.
Nov, there are three things that we
can do, said. Fly toward the pass,
defend this house, or surrender our.
selves"
"There is no time to fly" answered
the senior, therefore it is my counsel
that we fight"
This is folly" broke in Maya.
"There is but one thing to do; yield
ourselves and trust to fortune, if, in
deed, fortune has any good in store for
us. Only wish that we had done 1t
before we undertook this weary jour.
ney."
Now, as she spoke by the light of the
rising sun we saw a great number Of
men forming circle round the house.
With them We're several captains and
lords, and among these I recognized
Dimas and TilSal.
''Let us put bold face on it," said
Maya. So we opened the door, walked
out, and came into the presence of
Tikal, Dimas and the other lords.
"Whom do you seek that you come
with an armed force?" asked Maya.
'Whom should seek but your fair
self, cousin?" answered Tikal, and I
saw that his eye was wild, as though
with drink.
.Tell us of what we are charged
that you follow us as though we were
evildoers."
Lady" the old priest answered,
gravely, ''it would seem that you have
earned this name, you and your COM
panions together. Listen, two DAYS
since you were missing and the lady
Nahua was also missinY. Search was
made, and at last your private apart
ments We're broken open, and there she
was discovered bound and gagged.
From her we learned the secret of your
| flight and followed after YOU"
IBID she then tell you why we fled?"
asked Maya. ibid she tell YOU that
she crept to my ehamber like a thief in
the night, and there was found in the
act of doing murder on my child?"
No, lady, she told us nothing of all
| this. Indeed. her manner was strange.
| for so soon as she was recovered some
| what she took back her words, and
said that she knew nothing of you or
| your plans, and that if you had fed we
| should do well to let you go before
worse things happened. But knowing
that for all this she had reasons easy to
be guessed, we followed you and found
| you, and now we arrest you, to answer
before the council for your great sins,
In that you have broken your solemn
| oaths by attempting to leave the land
| without the consent of the council, and
have added to your crimes by taking
| with you this child, the Heaven-sent
| deliverer, on whom rests the hope of
our race"
1T we have broken our oaths," said
Maya, 1--WE broke them to save our
lives. Were we then to stop in the city
| till the knife of the assassin found us
| quite On the very night of my marriage
murderer was set upon my husband,
| and perhaps one stands there" and she
pointed to Tikal, who could tell us
who he was and whence he came. Three
days ago another murderer sought
the life of our child, and that muir
derer the wife of the Lord Tikal. Is it
then sin that we should take from the
land one whose life is not safe with.
in it?'
"All these matters you can lay be.
fore the council, lady" answered
Dimas, land if Nahua is what you say,
without doubt she must suffer for her
crime. Yet her evildoing cannot pay
for yours, for when YOU found YOUR.
selves in danger you should have
claimed protection from those who
could give it, and not have betalsen
yourself to fight like thieves in terror
| of the watch. Come, enter the litter
that is prepared for you, and let us be
going"
Then we started. OF our Journey
hack there is nothing to tell, unless II
is to say that after Its own fashion it
was even more wretched than that
which we had just accomplished Then,
indeed, we We're footsore, hungry and
racked with fears, but at least the
hope of freedom shone before us like
guiding star, whereas now, although
we Travelled in comfort, it was to find
shame, exposure and death awaiting us
at last.
Maya and the senior had each other
and their child to console them. but |
had nothing except such friendship as
they chose to spare me, the memory OF
my many failures, the clinging bitter
ness OF conscience, the fear Of ven
geance to be wreaked, and the hope Of
| peace beyond the end. Therefore
an outworn and disappointed man, was
prepared to welcome the doom that
awaited me, but how would ii be with
the others who We're still full of love
and youth?
Late that night we reached the cit,
and were led, not to the palace where
we lived, but toward the Enclosure O.
the pyramid.
How is this?" asked Maya of the
captain OF the guard. sour road lies
| yonder."
''No, my lady" he answered; "my
orders are to take you up the STAIRWAY
Of the pyramid"
Now Maya pressed her face agains
the face OF her child and sobbed, fo,
she knew that once more we must in
habit the darlssome vault where her ia
Their had been taken to die. They let
us up the stair and down the narrow
way till we stood in the lamplit hal
and heard our prison gates clash behind
us. Then they gave us food and lef
us alone.
AS unused thus, even through tn,
massive walls of the vault I heard
woman scream, and, springing from