San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-12-27
of Preceding Chapter.

Synopsis of Preceding Chapter.
CIDONIA, daughter OF Lame Liza.
- the towns sorceress, brooding
over her loveless state. comes upon
d mob Of witch burners dragging
an old hag to a fire stake N the
forest Her frenzied appeal Tor
mercy incites the rabble with the de-
sire of adding her to the holocaust,
also. But she escapes their wrath,
only to run into the treachery OF
travelling jester and his juggling
companion, who trice her up to a
sapling and are sQuabbling for the
privilege of first tasting her lips
when her cry for help brings to her
rescue a knight in armor. But what
a strange. silent knight! Even while
she is in the refuge of his arms he
fails to speak to her. and her super
stitious mind pictures him not Of this
life but as an angel. Torn with dis
appointment when her mute hero
abandons her In the silence OF ner
doorstep, the witch maiden invokes
the spirit of evil. Immediately the
sable pail of darkness about her takes
form. and a masked figure gathers
her up and eventually deposits her
In. the midst of the Thieves Kitchen,
an underworld brothel. Here, dane
ihg with the masked unknown, she
forgets her angel hero, who Is spend
ing feverish night visiOning the
loneliness of the girl he SO opportune-
ly rescued and then so unceremoni-
ously abandoned. The muffled sound
of Halloween revels chafes the witch
maidens ears as she finds her way
home She remembers how her mother
on such night as this was wont to
invoke the demons of the air. "Ty-
purgus, Aplestus, PhilOkreus. Mas
III Il l...s, Tor
forgetfulness of earthly fears and
cares encompasses her. In dream she
drifts along. tunbling ON the back of
a winged horse and holding converse
with such whimsical inhabitants of
the air as were cats, goat legged
fauns and imps of all sorts ridden by
people of the town some of whom she
recognizes. II was late next day when
the witch maiden awoke to the spec
tacle Of the young Lord Gervais' vic
torious entrance into the town. He
had been to the war and everybody
was out to do him homage. No sooner
does she set foot in the streets,
however. than cry of witch brat"
sends her scurrying into the shelter
of what she discovers is a wealthy
mans home. From this place of
refuge she sees the young lord son
of Arnold the towns ruler. ride by,
and he, looking up discovers in her
the girl who has been troubling his
dreams.
For the first time in her life. SidOnia
enters a church. Something in the
young lords glance lures here there.
She would view the thanksgiving for
his safe return. But even in the edi-
flee. the mobs attacks her. pushing her,
beaten and in tatters. directly under
the feet of the young lord himself as
with his stepmother Sabine and his
father Arnold. the holy count. he Is
leaving the church. Sabine spares the
crumpled figure from further insult
aud connivcs within her heart to use
this witch girl and her nostrums to
pnslave the affections of her stepsOn.
Sidonia. under her patrons protection,
concocts a love philtre. but as she
presses II to the young lords lips in
the seclusion of Sabine's chamber. he
recognizes in her the elusive object OF
his hearts desire and she Is forced to
suffer his embraces to escape Just as
Sabine enters
Appraised now Of his stepmother's
amorous Intentions. the young lord
realizes his disgust and flees as
soon as possible into the secret pas
sages Of his fathers home In quest Of
her In the tower. But Sabine. defin-
ing his purpose and spurred by jeal-
ousy. arouses the household against
the pair. declaring that Sidonia has
bewitched the young lord and should
die for II. In the fight that follows,
Sidonia disappears.