San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-11-29

He was CHASTITY under the CRIME,
and visibly sweating. His black
nailed forefnger shook as he
pointed it at the girl.
'Tt's true-it's true as the Cos
pels! saw i'll was there my
self. She's witchw
The stocky, pock-marked Jug
gler was spluttering with earnest
ness and excitement.
Sidonia had taken several steps
back the instant she recognized the
jester. She remained stiffly at
gaze, one hand clutching the black
cloak whose tatters parodied the
scalloped fringes of state trap
pings.
"She's the witch's daughterw
piped a boys voice. Devils brati
Devils bratw
The shrill sing-song was in the
key of the puerile gutter-raillery
of children.
. "Devil's brat! Devils bratv'-a
dozen ragamuffins Joined in, at the
top Of their voices.
A semi-circle of hostile eyes re-
garded the ragged, bare-footed girl
as if she were toad exposed by
the overturning of stone. Sidonia
was pale. Her face, framed by
the two long, dark plaits, had a
frozen look. Her unique eyes were
fixed, expressionless. The clamor-
ing bells and the freed doves were
in world of sunshine high above
the muddy trench of the lane.
A clot Of dirt, badly aimed,
splattered against a wall behind
the girl. A rotten egg, culled from
the lanes refuse struck her, foul
ing the wretched cloak that was
wrapped closely about her.
"Devil's brat! Devils bratr'
Ignominy, attack-the accusa-
ton of the reeking, mongrel fellow
who had tried to caress her
And she-Yes! she was Satan's!
Fury, and a hot, twisted pride
swept through her, and she
trembled.
What were these men and
women with their holiday clothes
and their blank faces-these yelp-
ing lads and malicious children COM
pared with her, who Jas Satan's?
She could call on demons;
she could ride the night wind; the
power of perdition overshadowed
her with its glooms and splendors;
she had known the lips of Satan,
and he was with her.
All this was presented to her
with the instantaneousness Of a
glare of lightning. Throwing off
the filth-splashed cloak with
shrinking and abrupt movement
that seemed to come right on the
heels of the last cutlery, she flung
up her hand.
"You! How dare you? Who
have l injured-who have l hurt?
Several missiles struck the wall.
There was the surge of forward
movement like the clustered half
rush of a little pack that is eager
but afraid.
The girl, her sallow body and
straight, sun-stained limbs revealed
through dozen rents and hanging
tatters, stood like a spear planted
in the ground-a spear that quiv-
ers. She lifted her thin, bramble-
scratched arms. Her eyes seemed
to see everyone, yet no one.
"Stop! ! tell you you can
not come any nearer! You can
not! I'm stronger than you
are-than all of you! Not
one of you can hurt me-you can't
take another step forward!
You can'tp'
Her head tilted back and she
laughed as though it was the best
joke in the world. 1t was a ring
ing, rising laugh-unbridled. Her
arms had dropped. The ting
ling sureness that possessed Sid
onia was similar to the confidence
that had gripped her when she in
voked the demons of the air, only
twenty times more intense. Her
faith was shadowless. She was tri-
umphant-inviolate. 1t was the
wild joy of it that prompted her
to laugh. They could do nothing
nothing.
The irresolute forward lunge
had been halted by her cry Of
"StOpw
Boys and youths, some with
stones in their hands, stood awk-
ward, their face muscles relaxed,
their mouths little open. When
she began to laugh their jaws
dropped still further; the eyes of
the other watchers became fish
like for roundness, and the jester
covered his face with his dirty,
trembling hands. But one lad-a
brutal jawed youngster with his
hair over his eyes-made a move
ment as if to advance, the blood
lust being upon him. =
Abruptly he uttered a scream,