The Saint Paul globe., 1904-05-08

hind us.
MY daughter, you have to conf1de
your fate to a noble youth of elevated
sentiments, and of truly chivalrous
heart. ="
I trust him." said Seraphina.
And, as heard her say this, it
seemed really to me as if, in very truth,
my sentiments were noble and my
heart ehivalrous. Such is the power
of girls voice. The door closed on
US. and felt very humble.
But in the gallery Father Antonio
leaned heavily on my shoulder.
II shall be a lonely old man." he
whispered family. After all these
years! Two great mobiles; the end of
a great house@a child / had seen grow
up. But | am less afraid for
her now
shall not relate all the plans we
made and rejected. Everything seemed
impossible. We knew from Castro
that O'Brien had gone to Havana,
either to take the news of Don Bal
thasar's death himself, or else to pre-
vent the news spreading there too
soon. Whatever his motive for leav-
Ing Rio Medic, he had left orders that
the house should be respected under
the most awful penalties, and that it
should be watched so that no one left
It, The Englishman was to be killed
at sight. Not a hair on anybody eIse's
head was to be touched
10 escape seemed impossible; then
on the third day the thing came to
pass. The way was found. Castro,
who served me as if Carlos soul had
passed into my body, but looked at me
with saturnine disdain, had arranged
1t all with Father Antonio.
1t was the day of the burial of Car
los and Don Balthasar. That same
day Castro had heard that a ship had
been seen becal1ned a long way out to
sea. 1t was great opportunity; and
the funeral procession would give the
occasion for my escape. There was
IN R1o Medic, as in all Spanish towns
AMONGST the respectable part of the
population, a contra ternity for bury
ing the dead, THE Brothers of PITY"
Who, clothed in black robes and cowls,
with only two holes for the eyes, car
rled the dead to their resting place,
unrecognizable and unrecognized in
that pious work. A Brother of Pity
dress would be brought for me into
Father Antcnio's room. Castro was
confident as to his ability of getting
a boat. 1t would be a very small and
dangerous one, but what would 1 have,
II neither killed my enemy, nor let
anyone else kill him for me, he COM
mented with somber sarcasm.
As.i ~ III lhe Qdy Hdu snort IN
terview with Seraphina. She was
resoIute. Then, long before dark, 1
slipped into Father Antonio's room,
where I was to stay until the moment
to come out and mingle with the
throng of other Brothers Of PITY.
Once with the bodies in the crypt of
the cathedral. was to await Sera-
-phina there, and, together, we should
slip through a. side door on to the
-.
off the scent (three Lugarenos were to
be admitted to see the bodies put in
their coffins), posted two of the Riego
negroes with loaded muskets on guard
before the door of my empty room,
as If to protect me.
just after it had fallen very dark,
Castro brought me the black robes, a
pair of heavy pistols to grid on under
them, and the heavy staff topped by a
crucff1x. He had an air of sarcastic
protest in the dim light Of my room,
and he explained with exaggeratedly
plain words precisely what l was to do
which, as matter of fact, was
neither more nor less than merely
following in his own footsteps.
And, oh, senor," he said sarcasti-
cally, IF you desire again to pillow
your head upon the breast of your
mother; If you would again see your
sister, who, alas! by bewitching my
Carlos, is at the heart of all our trou-
bles; if you desire again to see that
dismal land of yours, which politenesS
forbids me to curse 1 would beg Of
you not to let the mad fury of your
nation break loose in the midst of
these thieves and scoundreIs."
He peered intently into the spec
tacled eyeholes of my cowl, and laid
his hand on his sword hilt. His small
figure, tightly clothed in black velvet
from chin to knee, sWayed gently back
wards and forwards in the light of the
dim candle, and his grotesque shadow
fitted over the ghostly walls of the
great room. He stood gazing silently
for a minute, then turned smartly on
donlc respect, threw open the door for
me-
Pray, senor" he said, chat the
moon may not rise too soon'
We went swiftly down the colon
nades for the last time, in the pitch
darkness and into the blackness of the
vast archway. The dumping staff of
from the fagstones. In the deep sort
of cave behind us, lit by dim Ian
tern, the negroes waited to unbar the
doors. Castro himself began to NUT
ter over his beads. Suddenly he said:
1T is the last time 1 shall stand
mere. NOW, Inere IS not any more a
place for me on earth"
Great flashes of light began to make
suddenly visible the tall pillars of the
immense mournful place, and after a
long time, absolutely without a sound,
save the sputter of enormous torches,
an incredibly ghostly body of figures,
black-robed from head to foot, with
large eyeholes peering Enthusiastically,
swayed into the great arch of the hall.
Above them was the enormous black
coffin. 1t was a sight SO appalling and
unexpected that I stood gazing at them
without any power to move, until
remembered that /, too, was such a
figure. And then, with an ejaculation
of impatience, Tomas Castro caught
at my hand, and whirled me around.
The great doors had swung noise
lessly open, and the black night, be-
spangled with little flames, was framed
in front of me. He suddenly un-
sheathed his portentious sword; and
hanging his great hat upon his manned
arm, Stalked, a pathetic and sinister
figure Of grief, down the great steps.
followed him in the vivid and extraor-
binary compulsion of the sinister body
that, like one fabulous and enormous
monster, swayed impenetrably after
me.
My heart beat TIL my head was in
a tumultuous whirl, when thus, at last,
l stepped out of that house-but I
suppose my grim robes cloaked my
emotions-though, seeing very clearly
through the eyeholes, 1t was almost
incredible to me that I was not my
self seen. But these Brothers of Pity
were a secret society, known to no