The Glenwood post., 1916-07-01

ing surface beasts. fowls and reptiles
struggled, mad-eyed, for life. Here
and there bloated carcass brought
down from far up the river, blundered
blindly through the living and brought
screams of terror from the swimming
horses, and gasping lows from the
struggling cattle.
From the middle of the sea rose the
old plantation house still high and dry
on its mound. It seemed very tiny
toy house on lonely islet
"A great, open, white umbrella lined
with green sailed gayly along. 1t
caught in the branches of Gerry's tree
Uprootcd cotton bushes f1oated by, and
cane, snapped off, sometimes torn up
In whole hills, banked up against the
tree and formed a vast, unstable
island, toward which swan the delud-
ed stock.
From the. mouth of the cleft in the
river gorge issued u laundering cata-
ract. 1t had burst through the walls
of the ditch and even unseated a sec
ton of the rocky crag against which
the sluice-gate had been buttressed.
The ditch was gone. 1t could never
be again. for the water was tearing
the channel of the cleft deeper and
deeper. The turbid flood devoured the
silt of the valley, accumulated since
man was, and carried it, seething. out
towards the river. The valley would
ho loft CT
of life.
Gerry's tree had crawled away from
the main current In vast eddy it
approached the mound whereon squat
ted the old plantation house. Dona
Maria stood at the edge of the waters.
Her two hands were clenched and held
above her gray head. Thin wisps of
hair hung about her face. Her face
was distorted. She was cursing Gerry,
cursing the day of his birth, the day of
his coming. the day he had opened his
ditch. She swept her arms over the
terrible scene and called down the
curse Of all the ruin and death on his
head. But Gerry was beyond hearing.
In all the world there was none to hear
the old woman. She stood alone; about
her the silent waters, above her the
blazing blue sky.
The tree shot out of the eddy. The
current, the main current from the
cleft, caught It squarely and swept it
away. It suddenly shook its long trail
Of rinraff, and turning and turning.
more and more swiftly, swan out on
to the churning bosom Of the great
river.
The valley had disappeared. Squat
ting on the very level Of the far-dung
waters, the old house still stood. The
bright sun struck CLINT of light from
its white walls and gave rich colors to
its moss-grown tiles. The roof was
crowded with fowl and strange med
ley of heavy flying birds. glad of
perch on which to rest. Dona Maria
went into the house. She closed the
great board shutters. The house looked
as If it had closed its eyes in a last
renunciation.
Gerry's tree doated down the river.
1t swung slowly along near the north
shore. Just below it were houses.
They were perched on the cliff. Below
them were more houses and under
these the tiled roofs of still other
houses just topped the food. The
houses were what was left of Piran-
has.
From the shore canoes in search
of loot began to shoot out on the
quietening waters. One of them hap
pened upon Gerry's tree and then
upon Gerry. Gerry's eyes opened and
then closed again. He scarcely felt
the arms that lifted him. They car
ried him to the old inn, the miserable
little inn he had left behind on that
plOrjouS morning nf an 1onp 400