The Irish standard., 1909-08-28
CHAPTER ].

heart OF the mountains near a remote
little city of central Asia, unknown
to European travellers; and the secret
of the treasure belongs to the two
chief families of the place, and has
been carefully guarded for many gen.
erations, handed down through the
men from father to son; and often the
children of these two families have
married, yet none of the women ever
learned the way to the mine from
their fathers, or their brothers, or
their husbands, none excepting one
only, and her name was Baraka.
which may perhaps mean Blessed"
but no blessing came to her when she
was born. She was much whittier and
much more beautiful than the other
girls of the little Tartar city; her face
was oval like an ostrich egg, her skin
was as the cream that rises on sleeps
milk at evening, and her eyes were
like the Pools of Peace in the Valley
of Dark Moons; her waist also was q
slender pillar of ivory, and round her
ankle she could make her thumb meet
her second finger; as for her feet,
they were small and quick and silent
as young mice. But she was not
blessed.
When she was in her seventeenth
year traveller came to the little city,
who was not like her own people; he
was goodly to see, and her eyes were
troubled by the sight of him, for the
stranger was tall and very fair, and
his beard was like spun gold, and he
feared neither man nor evil spirit, go
ing about alone by day and night.
Furthermore, he was a great physi-
clan, and possessed a small book,
about the size of mans hand, in
which was contained all the knowl-
edge of the world. By means of this
book, and three small buttons that
tasted of mingled salt and sugar, he
cured Barakas father of mighty
pain IN the midriff which had tor
mented him whole week. He brought
with him also written letter from a
holy man to the chiefs of the town;
therefore they did not kill him,
though he had a good Mauser revol-
yer with ammunition, worth much
money, and other things useful to be-
levers.
Satan entered the heart of Baraka
and she loved the traveller who dwelt
In her fathers house, for she was not
blessed; and she stood before him in
the way when he went out, and when
he returned she was sitting at the
door watching, and she took care to
show her cream-white arm and her
slender ankle, and even her beautiful
face when neither her father nor her
mother was near. But he saw little
and cared less, and was as grave as
her father and the other graybeards
of the town.
When she perceived that he was not
moved by the sight of her, she watched
him more closely; for she said in her
girls heart that the eyes that are
blind to beautiful woman see one of
three things: Gold, or power, or
heaven; but her sight was fixed only
on him. Then her throat was dry, her
heart f1uttered In her maiden breast
like frightened bird, and sometimes,
when she would have tried to speak,
she felt as If her tongue were broken
and useless; the fire ran lightly along
her delicate body, her eyes saw moth
ing clearly, and strange rushing
sound filled her ears; and then, all at
once, a fine dew wet her forehead and
cooled it, and she trembled all over
and was as pale as death-like Sap
pho, when certain god-like man was
near. Yet the stranger saw nothing,
and his look was bright and cold as
winters morning in the mountains.
Almost every day he went out and
climbed the foothills, and when the
sun was lowering he came back bring
ing herbs and flowers, which he dried
carefully and spread between. leaves
of gray paper in large book; and he
wrote spells beside them in an I'M
known tongue, SO that no one dared
to touch the book when he went out,
lest the genii should wake and come
out from between the pages, to blind
the curious and strike the gossips
dumb, and cast leprosy on the thief.
At night he lay on the roof of the
forehouse beside the gate of the court,
because it was cool there Baraka
came to him, before midnight, when
her mother was in deep sleep; she
knelt at his side while he slept in the
starlight, and she laid her head beside
his on the sack that was his pillow.
and for little while she was happy,
being near him, though he did not
know she was there. But presently
she remembered that her mother
might wake and call her, and she
spoke very softly, close to his ear,
fearing greatly lest he should start
from his sleep and cry out
1.-The ruby mine is not far off," she
said. II know the secret place.
Rubies! Rubies! Rubies! You shall
have as many as you can carry of the
blood-red rubies!"
He opened his eyes, and even in the
starlight they were bright and cold.
she stroked his hand softly and then
pressed it little.
Come with me and you shall know