The Saint Paul globe., 1904-05-08

IT n
peared an Immensely long iourney.
ana then, as we went at last IN tba
caInedraI steps, a voice cried harshIv
Deatn to the heretic!" NV heart
sd $1,000 stll | clutched frantically at
ene y, handle of pistol that I could nor
InistehsaSe from folds Of black cloth.
, Dut, as matter of fact, the cry was
purely a general one: I was supposed
" ne ne smut up in the palace stiD.
h me sudden glow, the hush, the warm
h nlSdlh OF incense, and the blaze of
light @ turned me suddenly faint; INV
eal,s eals ouzzed, and 1 heard strange
The cathedral was 4 mass of heads
everyone in Rio Medic was nresenf
~ come trooping in behind us. The
Litter pgtler class was clustered near the
go $50 " slIdIng, mottled marble, wax
4reS' eiS' ana black and purple draperv
el enat vaulted over the two black cof-
Ing Ing III She cholr. Down in the unlit
pody of the church the riffraff ne
'Br1en kept the doors.
MONKS began to sing; great brass
instrument grunted lamentablv. III the
Dody or the building there was silence
Inc bishop and his supporters moved
anout, as if aimlessly in front of the
aitar; the chains of the gold censers
t,i5 SiGhea ceaselessly. Seraphina's head
udd sunk forward out of my sight All
the heads of the cathedral howad
uoWn, and suddenly, from round the
slde OF the stall, a hand touched mine.
and voice said, 1T is time" Very
SoItly, as If it were part of the rite
was drawn round the stall through
door IN the side of the screen. AS
we, we went out, In his turnings, the old
oIShop gave US the benediction Then
the, door closed on the glory Of his
ropes, and in minute, in the darkness
we We're rustling down a circular mar
IoW staircase into the dimness of a
ctyPt, ut by the little blue flame Of an
on on lamp. From above came sounds
me me thunder, Immense, vibrating; we
TE,.e,i Immediately LI under the choir
through the cracks round large stone
sAo"ea parallelogram Of light.
IN the dlmness l had a glimpse Of
!ile race OF my conductor thin, Won
qerIuIIy hollow checked law brother
ne began, with great gentleness. to as
he said: ''--u 'iieA
The senorita will be here very soon
with the Senor Tomas and then add
ed' with an infinitely sad and tender.
dim smile:
"Will not the Senior Caballero. II If
IS not repugnant say prayer for the
repose OF Carlos?" He pointed gently
upWdrds as TO the great f1agstone above
Whlch was the coffin Of Don Balth9sar
and Carlos. The priest himself was
one OF those very holy, very touching
perhaps, very stupid-men that one
mas IN such places. With his dim.
WlstIul lace he is ever present in NV
memory. He added: "And that the
Soou 900 OF US all may keep it in the
Senor Caballero's heart to care well
Tor the soul of the dear senorita.,
am a very old man." he whis-
pefed' after a pause. He was indeed an
old man, quite worn out quite without
nope on earth. Il have loved the Sc
norlta since she was a child. The
Senor Caballero takes her from us
would have him pray-to be made
worthy"
Whilst l was doing it, the place be-
gan TO be alive with whispers of gar
ments, of hushed footsteps, a small
exclamation in a gruff voice. Then
the stone above moved out of it's
place, and a blaze Of light fell down
from the choir above.
saw beside me Seraphina's face,
brilliantly lit, looking upwards. Tomas
Castro said
Come quickly come ouick-
ly the prayers are ending:
there will be people in the street"
And from above an enormous voice
intOned:
"Tu - ba mi
irum =" The
end of a great box covered with black
velvet glided forward above our heads;
ropes were fastened round it. The
priest had opened the door in the
shadoWy distance, beside a white mar
BILE tablet in the thick walls. The
coffin up above moved forward a little
again; the ropes were readjusted with
rattling, wooden sound. "A dry, for
NAL voice intoned from above:
"Er1t justus Alb
auditione ="
From above the open door the priest
ratified his keys and said, Come.
come" impatientiy.
l was horribly afraid that Seraphina
would shrek or faint, or refuse to
move. There was very little time.
The pirates might stream out of the
front of the cathedral as we came from
the back; the bishop had promised to
accentuate the length of the service.
But Seraphina glided towards the
open door; a breath of fresh air
reached us. She looked back once.
The coffin was swinging right over the
hole, shutting out the light. Tomas
Castro shook her hand and said, Come
come" with infinite tender
ness.
He had been sobbing convulsively.
We went up some steps, and the door
shut behind us with a sound like a
sigh Of relief.
We went very fast, in perfect black
ness and solitude, on the deserted
beach between the old town and the
cathedral. Every soul was near the
cathedral. A boat lay half afoat. To
the left in the distance the light of the
schooner opposite the Casa Riego wa
vered on still water.
Suddenly Tomas Castro said:
''The senorita never before set foot
to the open ground"
At once I lifted her into the boat.
"Shove off, Tomas" l said, with q
beating heart.
(To be Continued.)