The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1898-03-03

will pour in upon the city, destroying
it and its inhabitants"
"Yct the foodgate cannot roll back
Then it is not shut, nor can the waters
low in during the dry season when
hey are not on level with the walls"
answered Maya.
"Thcy cannot, lady; and yet Other
hings may happen. And now to ON
ask. Stranger, give to the Lady May.
rour half of the ancient talisman, tha
he may set it together with the hal
he bears in the place prepared in the
ymbol"
Now, with sigh seeing that it was
100 late to draw back l undid the emer
aid from my neck and gave it to Maya.
who laid it side by side with its count
crpart, upon the palm of her trembling
land, and stepped with it to the altar.
Here she stood for a moment, then
whispered in Il faint voice:
Terror has taken hold of me, and
fear to do this thing
"Yct. it must he done. and not by
me-" said Natal, "or we shall have
come on FOOLS errand and go back,
some of us, to FOOLS DEATH" and he
looked toward me.
II will not do it." | said, answering
his look, mot because fear your gods,
but my own conscience l do fear"
''Then will" said the senor boldly,
''for | fear neither. Give me that
trinket, Maya"
She obeyed, and he had let the two
halves of the talisman fall into their
place in the symbol.
For some seconds, we stood still,
watching the altar with eager eyes,
but the symbol never stirred. Then |
said:
1T seems, Natal, that you must
hide your lying writing elsewhere,
since yonder heart will not open; or if
it will, we have not found the key"
"Wait little" broke in the senior.
Perhaps the springs are rusted" And
he placed his thumb upon the halves of
the emerald and pressed so hard that
the symbol trembled on it's marble
bed.
"Beware!" cried Natal. and before
the echoes of his voice had died away
all of us started in astonishment, for
lol the heart was opening like a flower
Slowly it opened, till the severed
talisman fell from it as its two halves
lay back on the marble of the altar,
revealing something hidden in its
center that shone like an ember in the
lamplight.
In the hollow of the heart laid upon
square plate of gold, which was COW
cred with writing, glared a red Jewel
shaped like human eye, that seemed
to answer stare with stare.
"If we stand like this we shall grow
frightened" said the senior, roughly,
CHANGING round him as he spoke; there
is nothing to fear IN a red stone cut
like an eye"
If you think so, white man." an
swe-ed Natal, in a voice that shook u
little, strive as he would to command
it; lift up the holy thing and give me
the writing that is beneath it. Stay,
first take this, and set it in the symbol,
replacing the eye upon it," and he
handed him the forged tablet
The senior obeyed, nor did anything
happen when he lifted that dreadful
looking jewel and changed the true for
the false.
Read it," said Maya, as the tablet
was passed to Natal; ''you have
knowledge of the ancient writings"
Perhaps it were best left unread, y
he said, doubtfully.
Nay" she answered.; "let us know
the worst. Read it."
Then he read these strange words in
slow and solemn voice:
AhS eye oudb HAS SlepJ ana is dWal&-
encd sees the heart and purpose of the
wicked. l say that in the hour of the
desolation of my city not all the waters
Of the Holy Lake shall wash away their
| SIM
Now the faces of us who heard turned
gray in the lamplight, for, though til
rods of this people were false, we fcl
hat the voice of true prophet spoS,
10 us from that accusing tablet, and
that we had called down upon ouj
heads vengeance which we could nol
measure.
Did not tell you that it were wiser
to leave the writing unread gasped
Natal. letting the ia blet fall from hi
hand as though it were snake.
The CHATTER of it as it struck the mar
bic floor seemed to wake us from ou,
evil dream, for the senior turned on him
and said. dercely:
What does it matter what the thing
says, rogue, seeing that you forged il
as You forged the other"
All would that | had" answered
Natal: "but when doom overtalSes YOU
and oil of us, then shall YOU learn
whether or not l forged this writ
inG." And he lifted it from the floor
and hiding it in the folds OF his robe.
added: Close the heart, white man.
and give back the severed jewel to those
who wear it,
The senior did so, replacing the sillSen
cloth over the symbol so that the ALTA
seemed to be as it had been.
Now let us be going" said Mattai
ana rejoice that if yonder eve has seer
our wiekedness, it is hidden from th,
sight of men. Doubtless the vengeanc,
oil the gods is sure, but that of men is
swift
As he spoke we turned to leave The
sanctuary, and of sudden Mava
screamed, and would have fallen had
not the senior caught her. Well nirht
she scream, for there in the narroyv
niche of the door by which he had en-
tered, stood white figure that at frs;
took to be that of some avenpinp
ghost. 'Ae
Another instant and / saw that in
deed 1t was ghost, the ghost of Zibal-
bay, or rather his body come back from
the boundaries of death to spv upon
our sacrilege before it crossed them
forever. IL
While he had seemed to be scnseless
upon the bed in the chamber. his senses
were awake. and oh, what must he have
suffered when he heard us plan our
fraud upon his sanctuary. Then when
we had left him his fury and despair
unfettercd the limbs that had been
pound so fast and gave him strength 10
follow, though they could not unlock
his frozen tongue.
Oh, never shall | forget the raoe ~