San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-12-13
CONTINUED from Page 12)

ments had the girl with the candle
paused where, the secret doorway
gaped black as coal. With another
dim creak and a sigh of air it soft
ly closed again. Satan-after that
handful of timeless moments-had
withdrawn himself once more from
his neophyte, Or-to phrase it
otherwise-the dark self of the
HOLY Count, sub-consciously in
touch with the unstable and fever
ish girl-waif whom he had marked
down, had been led by a whim of
instinct to set in motion the turn
ing wall-stone, of the gallery; had
seen, touched. and now retreated,
for the night with its various
business was before him.
The following. night-the night
of All Souls-was set apart for
the nuptials. Usually the dark self
of the Count was discreet as a
fox, but on those occasions when
the folk of his own household had
glimpsed him in his secret comings
and goings they simply accepted
him as an apparition of evil
come, doubtless, to wrestle with
the saint. whose stuffed crocodile
was the last relic of his former
wickedness.
Sidonia, shielding her guttering
candle with one hand, went for
ward again. She also had bust -,
ness to attend to. Satan was her
guardian-her lover. In spirit he
was with her always. Tomorrow
night he would take her. These
tIoughts-these convictions-held
no shrinking quality. There was
not even a grimness in them. They
were triumphant-warm and COM
Portable.
Sidonia had never known pro-
scarcely shelter. But now
she was sustained by an upholding
arm. She was no longer alone
she was guided and desired.
The narrow-bodied leopards
skunk at her side, lifting toward
her their flattened, snakish heads.
The floating serpent-coils en-
braced her as she moved. The
arms beckoned, the hearts, shaped
like skulls of fire, burned with
dull red flame, and the rosy, rep
titan wings beat multitudinously
like the wings of doves. Yet to
the sight of any ordinary person
there was only young girl NOV
ing decorously in an empty pass
age that was like a cave of stone,
The gallery turned, and now, on
the one side, there were two doors
Of oak-the door of the Countess
bedchamber and of the bedcham-
Der of her favorite maids. A little
farther on the gallery ended in
three stone steps, above which was
another ioor. Sidonia mounted
these steps and lifted the door
latch and entered a straitened tur-
ret room. II had been given to
her for her owpuse, having stayed
empty for long period, as it was
believed to be haunted by a dwarf.
with the body of a frog, who at
tempted to strangle persons sleep
ing there.
The turret room, illuminated by
the candle which the girl had
placed upon a three-legged stool,
a wooden bed, set side
lon" to the wall, and a chest that
faced it. Between these the floor
was sparsely strewn with rushes.
Sidonia melt by the chest and
raised the lid, and took from it
the things she needed. It held,
besides, only the velvet cloak,
folded with care, comb and an
other linen shift-necessary gifts
of the Countess. All about her the
family yellow-lit obscurity was
crowded with life and movement.
Like a somnambulist, the girl
rose from her knees, took up the
candle and descended again into
the CALLER. Opening the heavy
door of the Countess chamber,
which turned on quiet hinges, she
entered the musky and stagnant
semi-warmth that lay beyond it.
The great bed bulked. Moving
carefully, she lit from her own the
several candles that were set about
the chamber. They burned with a
bland brilliance. almost overcom-
ing the moonlight that filtered
inward through the two slit-shaped
mingling of argent
and soft gold.
Upon a small table covered with