The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-05-09

with the patience of the blood of my
mother RS people until they had drawn
| the curtains. Then, with the silence
of a spirit, / crossed the floor and ris-
| ing at the foot of the bed loosed the
sack in which the RATHER was confined.
The great snake leaped out and fell
! directly between them. AS he touched
their warm flesh he struck, first one
then the other, twining his great coils
around them, binding them together in
a death embrace.
How l laughed Their screams were
music to my ears, and / lighted the
candles so that l might the better OBJ
serve their struggles. And then it was
that Mia recognized me. L can see
| her yet, bound by the death grip of
the serpent to the man she had wed;
her dark eyes dilated with fear, her
warm, soft flesh creeping at the pres
sure of the scaly body which held her
in a last embrace; vainly trying to
ward off the big fat head with it's
forked tongue and poisoned fangs.
"And Morelos S face! All, I was
revenged.
"The poison was rapid. Their
screams soon ceased. The door was
strong and those who hammered with
out could not enter. In a soft voice,
like that of Morelos, 1 told them that
my wife had been frightened by naught,
and they went away.
81 waited. The serpents still held
them and their struggles grew less and
less; only the convulsive twitching of
their muscles showed that the spark of
life was not extinct. Still I watched.
Before the end 'Nita looked at me as
I stood there, grim and menacing.
Juan, though you are fend, you
are still a priest she said in a voice
which came in a feeble whisper, give
me absolution ere I close my eyes for
ever. l have sinned, been punished, SO
pardon me-
"But the wrong to my heart had
been too great. I laughed and cursed
her and him. I consigned her soul to
everlasting torments, so that her last
moments might be as bitter as possible.
She screamed feebly at my words, and
her slight movement caused the snake |
to draw tighter the coils that held her.
Then she in turn cursed me. She told
me that I would be an outcast from
all; that I should live and die alone;
and that the revenge / had secured
would turn to ashes in my mouth-and
it has been even so.
"MoreIos from the first had been
paralyzed with fear, for he was cow
ard at heart. The poison had acted
quickly on him. And then she died.
hastily seized the serpent, replaced it
in the sack and after Strengthening out
their limbs I silently left. I took one
last look as I went out the window. In
the cold gray of the morning they lay
on their bridal bed, stiff and silent.
sfThat day put many miles between
me and the mission, for I feared the
crackers would be on my trail. I car
ried the serpent as long as could, and
then 7 killed it and took the skin. But
my fear of pursuit was groundless, for
none suspected me save, possibly, Padre
Antonio, and he said nothing. It was
looked upon as Judgment from heaven
on 'Nita, because it was known that
because of her I was sent away.
cit was more than twenty-five years
before I again set foot in the peaceful
Carmelo Valley, and stood in the shad-
ow of the old mis- Con. It was the
same, but different. There were none
alive that knew me, and few who had
even nearu OF Juan ODelong, Anlta
D 'Acosta, or Jose Morelos. The Amer
icanos had come and commerce was dis
turbing the peace of the valley. Padre
Antonio had for many years lain in
the tomb at the, foot of the altar, and
the old D'Aeosta hacienda was in ruins.
cit was with difficulty that found
Mia s grave, but 1 did locate it and
I have always kept it green. One night
in dream I saw her and she looked
as she did when I first knew her. She
told me she had repented and that /,
too, had almost expiated my sin.
'sThat, senior, is the reason why |
viii not sell you the snake skin; it is
the emblem of the Seourge of the
Gods. -
San Francisco, April, 1909