Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-02-02
CHAPTER TX.

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I had determined 10 lose no time in
attempting TO see the document in
FRAY Irracio's box. and. as it proved,
the dinner party helped me materially.
BartoIomeo and the other priests
dropped M upon us before the close OF
the meal and were prevailed upon to
spend the evening. Whether my liking
for the senorita had atthat time awak-
ened a reciprocal feeling. / didn't
know: but She seemed aware of my de-
sire to get the padres in a happy frame
of mind. and aided me i'm every way she
could. ordering PeTe TO bring bottles.
and more bottles. for the deiectation
of the company. Palm brandy, or
aguardieute. is The only brand known
in the Ladrones. and that seldom ap-
pears upon a geutlcman's table. But
light wines. and, for stronger heads,
rum and water. are freely INDUCED in.
The result is rarely drunkenness; the
stuff doesn't act that way in warm eli
mates. But for arly-drooping eyelids
and dreamlcss sleep that works like
anaestherics, give me two bottles of
Spanish vine that have made the voy-
age to Manila or Guajan. The padres
were bulls upon the cistern principle,
all Of tLo;u: but they were practically
asleep before II. at which time they
accepted ,He colonels hospitality and
fell TO snoring peacefully upon the
floor or the rattan sofas, wherever
they happened TO drop.
y.
senorita sJrolied down to the beach
with me before retiring. and have a
hazy recollection Of kissing her
Something Of the sort. anyway, for
she left her cool fingers in mine for
half a minute before she disappeared
This and her personal loveliness in
the moonlight, came near TO interfer-
ing with my progress; for upon reach
ing my room | took an easy chair out
upon the balcony and smoked for over
an hour. thinking of her. The windows
of her room were diagonally opposite
my own, across the patio; and / fancied
once or twice that / could detect her
figure among the shadows. After
awhile, however, it struck me shat if /
were really going to do anything it was
about time to get att. So | opened the
sea chest and took out the electric safe
ty lantern, then silently made my way
along the corridors and down to the
room where the padres were snoring.
L have been told by doctors that fat
men usually sleep more soundly than
their skinny brethren, and my expert
ence that night seemed 10 clinch the as
sertion; for, though l had to feel over
several square feet of Bartolomeo's an
atomy in my search for his bunch of
keys, he never even wiggled. 1t woald
have been possible, of course, TO force
the locks; but that was too risky an
operation when simpler methods were
available.
Stepping across the little square, the
air was So still that l could hear the
tapping of the ripples on the beach,
quarter of a mile away: and / seemed
to be the only living creature awake.
l had no difficulty in finding the key
which opened the postern door at the
rear of the church, and easily stole
through the cloisters as far as the pas
sage leading into the chamber of hor-
rors. This was so pitchy dark that /
turned on the current in my lamp and
was startled at the brilliancy of the
light which shot from its lens. When it
fell upon the ghastly figure with the
diseased wish-bone, cold chill started
the goose-fesh all over me; the con-
trast between the senorita's warm,
breathing loveliness, of which l had
been dreaming, and this semblance of
rotting carrion, was something horri-
ble. l had to take a good pull at my
flask before | could unlock the iron
trap and descend into the vaults
There, also, the foul damprcss, and the
company of real bodies. made my scalp
creep until it felt as though each liz
dfvidual hair were squirming.
When Bartolomeo introduced me to
the remains of Fray Ignacio, that morn
ing, l felt more or less of friendly In
terest in the old chap; we hadn't been
near enough to appreciate the ghastli-
ness of the grinning skull, half hidden
by its gray cowl. But now, when l
placed my light between his toes and
attempted gently to case his stomach
of that heavy box, the bony fingers
clung to it with gruesome strength;
the old bones cracked and wheezed as
/ tugged at it. How l managed to keep
from fainting outright, l never knew.
My efforts to remove the chest from the
old fellows lap seemed to threaten
disarrangement of his skeleton so seri-
Gus that L gave up the attempt and un-
locked it where it lay. To this he made
no objections; he even appeared to take
mild interest in the proceedings, wag-
ging and wabbling his old skull, with
horrid whisperings and creakings,
every time L leaned against him.
The papers in the box were covered
with a thick layer of dust, and, after
another pull at the tlasll-in which the
fray, by a sorrowful wag of the cowl,
refused to join me-I gently lifted the
top ones with a pair of pocket plyers
so as to show the least possible, dis
turbance Realizing that every mo-
ment was precious, l hastily scanned
the other documents until one bearing