The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-11-07
fore they reached the door Rezanoy and

uSTS. 5f}f%
Il, sConcha, he said, 81 shall come
back It | live.sI make no foolish ows,
SO Idle between ls There is only one
IN this church not later than two years
from today. And altho am in the
very fulness of my health and strength,
with my work but begun, and all my
happiness In the future, and even to a
less sangulne man it would seem that
his course had many years to run, still
nave seen as much as any man of the
lnconsequenee' Of, life, of The insignif-
eance OF the individual, his hopes, am
bltlons, happiness, and even usefulness,
In the complicated machinery Of nat
ural laws. It may be that I shall not
come back. But / wish to take with me
your promise. that if I have not re-
turned at the end of two years or you
nave received no reason for my deten-
ton, you. will believe that I am dead.
There. would be but; one insupportable
drop in the bitterness Of death, the
doubt OF your faith in my word and
my love. Are you too much of a wom-
an to curb your imagination in a long
unbroken si1ence9'' @.'
81 have learned SO much that one
lesson more is no tax on my faith.
And I no longer live in world of
little things. L promise you that I
shall never falter nor Doubt.
the first time without passion, but
solemnly, as had their nuptials in
deed been accomplished, and The great
er mystery of spiritual union isolated
them for moment in that twilight
region where the mortal part did not
enter. q F.. =
:. AS they left the church they saw
that all the Indians of the Mission
and neighborhood, in a gala of color,
had gathered to cheer the Russians as
they rode away. .Concha was to; return
as she had come, beside the carreta of
her mother, and as Rezanov mounted
his horse she stood staring with un-
seeing eyes on the brilliant animated
scene. Suddenly she heard a sup
pressed sob, and felt touch on her
skirt. She looked around and saw
Rosa, kneeling close to the church.
For a moment she continued to stare,
hardly compromising, in the intense
concentration Of her faculties, that
tangible beings, other than herself
and Rezanov, still moved on the earth.
Then her mind relaxed She was nor
NAL in normal world once more.
She stopped and patted the hands
CldSpluS ner Sk1fGS..
Rosa!"
Over the intense green of islands
and hills were long. banners Of yellow
and purple mist, where the wild flow
ers were lifting their heads. The
whole quivering bay was as green as
the land, but far away the mountains
OF the east were pink: Where there
was patch of verdure on the sand
hills the warm golden red of the poppy
haunted in the sunshine. All nature
was in gala attire like the Californians
themselves, as the Juno under. full sail
sped thru '''The Mouth Of the Gulf Of
the ;Farallones. - Fort San JOAQUIN
saluted with seven guns; the Juno re-
turned the compliment with nine. The
comandante, his family and guests,
stood on the hill above the fort, cheer
ing, waving. sombreros and handker-
chiefs Wind and. tide carried the
ship rapidly out the straits. Rezanov
dropped the cooked. hat he had! been
Concha, as ever, stood a: little apart. AS
the ship grew smaller and the COM
pany turned toward the Preside. she
advanced to the edge of the bluff. The
wind lifted her loosened mantilla, bill
lowing It out on one. side, and as she
stood with her hands pressed against
her heart, she nigh ,~.-saue for her
empty arms, have been the ,eidolon of
the Madonna al San Sisto. In her
eyes was the, same EXPRESSION Of Vague
arrested horror as she illookeds oi1t on
that werld ~menaeing imperfections
the blind forces Of nature and man had
created; her body was instinct with the
same nervous, leashed, impotent energy.