Morgan County democrat. (Versailles, Mo.) 1900-1906, 1903-07-10

should be promptly sent into u CON
vent to take the veil.
AS u consequence. this beautiful
holiday world was a bleak and cheer
less place to-day for the little enc
ita Dolores. AS she stood at her win
| dow. seeing nothing but the horror
of convent walls closing in upon her,
she clutchcd within her hand her
only hope, n tiny. crumplcd scrap Of
paper. on which she read over and
over:
go straight to the Plaza Zocalo. I will
know YOU under any disguise If you will
wear IA white cross en- your shoulder. l
will wait for YOU at the pottery stall Of
old Pancha. Then Mexico adios!'
The girl watched the shadows pet.
Ting down over the festive city. and
summoned all her courage for this
fatcful step. As she looked about
her. she felt the very walls that had
sheltered so many dutiful Cardenas
daughters must cry out against her,
but what else could she do?
The old bishop of ArcAzo, the fam
lily confessor. was holding "A solemn
conclavc in the room below with
Miguel and the sonora. So, slipping
into her disguise, she waited fer the
noises of the household to settle
down into a twilight quiet.
"Thc only safeguard is n convent"
she heard her brother saying as she
crcpt toward the half-open door.
But as they sat so calmly dcliber-
ating upon her fate, little did they
| .Iynut, that AT that n,nt,nnt that
very instant. not three yards from
them, the little rebel was stealing
past them out into the world. Once,
in the course of their discussion,
something had caused the old sonora
TO stop and listen. Vas it Il doc
c%reaking on Il rusty hinge, she asked
herself, or a rat scampcring through
the thick adobe wall? On the other
side of tn" partition the little fugi-
tive stood GREATNESS. The noise was
not repeated, however, so the voice
of the scnora again and droncd
on in its argument as To the respect
i've merits of the different sister
hoods.
The fugitive daughter wondered if
these old souls, who could dispose so
calmly Of another life, had forgot
ten the joys of the hcyday of their
own youth, or if the good rich blood
had aver carouSed through their veins
as hers did now. She crushed her
toy-basket close to her heart to still
the tMmult of it's beating fog fear its
loud knocking must arouse the
house.
The shadows had wrapped the city
in "a mrrciful monotone of gray as
she slipped ont the door, urdrr the
armorial bearings of the hnusc of
t~ardcnas, whose name she vas no
longer to bear. Never before had
she been out in the street alone. Old
tarmrla had always beer as c.uSc as
her shadow: but. as she remembered
she was no longer herself. bat for
the nonces Il m"r" pron toy-vendor,
she held her basket close, and turned
toward the plaza. The tide of travel
was still set in that direction, for
the evening was the gaycSt time of
all So. falling in with tn" throng,
she was oun an insignificant atom in
the crowd.
Arrived upon the plaza. the eyes OF
the Scnorta Cnrdcnas widcncd with
excitement. This was the first time
in her life she had mingled so closely
with the market-place rabblc. The
haggling of the buyers. the solicit
ing of the vendors, the babel OF
tongues, the yclping Of the dog. The
Notwithstanding foreigners. made NJ
a.. - ~. :, Sinbf IA th. cn,nfi1II
brought up little Spanish girl rs tc
. the rankcst outsider. Her checks
glowed and her ayes burned with the
thrill of novelty. and. forgetting
about her toys, she stood lost in won
der at the life about her. The plazf
with its people, its booths. i
groups of bull-tightcrs, fower-girls
and grandees, all iostling shoulder.
, in good-natured haste. might be Il fail
dress rehearsal of "Carmen," sh'
/. thought.
| At every step deeper into the crowt
her safety became surcr. She begai
= % wonder what would happen a
home when they discovered he
= flight. She smiled to herself at thu
: CONSERVATION that would cnsuc when
after deciding finally upon whicl
= convent she should enter, they fOunt
their bird had flown.
just then. a rude party OF Mexi
2 can youths, seeing the smiling Httl
~toy-vendcr, stopped with IA familia
Jest and tried to talk with her. Now
for the first :imc. she realized he
r fOrlorn position. 4 sudden fca
!, c.i/.J mon. that She miuht in som