San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-03

animal, she disappeared as silently
and leisurely as she had come.
The young lord and the witch's
daughter, sitting close in the coarse
grass and laughing little with
each other, knee touching knee and
shoulder lying to shoulder, shared
the cheese, the bread and the ap-
Piles. Both had never before been
so happy-nor even imagined such
happiness. They might have been
in Paradise-their souls seemed to
them golden and each was more
than a miracle to the other. After
they had eaten, Gervais stretched
his fine length and pillowed his
head upon Sidonia's knees. Her
face assumed the look of mother
-rapt, brooding, soft with divine
anxiety. And time passed like
gray water that does not appear
to flow.
The heaviness of the air dark
ened imperceptibly. 1t seemed to
thicken. One shuddered suddenly
without knowing why. The horse,
that for some time had ceased to
Craze, blew a tremulous, snorting
breath through its nostrils, as
though it sensed the presence of
wolves.
"The night is coming" said Ger
vais, and he rose to his feet, draw
ing the witch's daughter with him.
They were dazed and could scarce
ly have said for how long or how
short a time they had been in this
place. A certain starkness of re-
atty was returning to them. Ger
vais remembered Satan, whom he
must presently encounter, and the
arm that he had put about the girl
stiffened. They stood breast to
breast, and Sidonia, on an impulse,
slid both her arms about his neck
and locked them there, straining
up toward him, for he was much
taller than she.
"Leave mew she said breathless-
ly. "Let me die as | meant to!
You shall not fight with the Master
for me! You shall not wed mel
love you too much!
Love shook her, physically press
ing her to him, spiritually striving
to rend her from him.
"We are one-our blood has al
ready mixed. Nothing shall sepa-
rate usr
They held to each other in 81
lence. Sidonia began to tremble
convulsively. Reaction was upon
her. Her man could have taken
her and broken her to pieces if he
would. But Satan must first be
overcome.
The clinging moment of danger
passed. The girl was lifted to the
saddle, upon which she sat side
ways, holding to the pommel and
the name, and Gervais took the
bride, leading the horse.
"Where?" he said, looking up at
her in the twilight. He had not
asked before.
"The crypt of the Church of st.
Saviour. II have been told how
to enter it"
1t was like death to confess these
things. The knowledge that she
had-even though it was half
against her will-desired the Mas
ter was fiery torment to Sidonia
now. The torturer's heated pin
GERS could hardly have inflicted
greater hurt to her body than her
own thoughts did to her soul.
The ascent of the slope was pre-
carious, the dark stallion scram-
bling heavily. Sidonia was forced
to change her position, and sat
astrlde, her bare feet in the looped
stirrup feathers, for she could not
reach the stirrups. But when the
slope was topped and some stony
and broken ground traversed, they
came on faint forest path that
the man, the girl and the horse
each knew instinctively led back
to the open land that was before
the town. Here Gervais himself
vaulted into the saddle, and the
horse, doubly burdened, took its
way slowly through the fog-like
dusk that was made still binder
by the innumerable following
leaves, and that smelt of incense
and death and chilling damp.
Neither of the two that the
hairy-fetlocked stallion bore for
ward spoke. The heaviness of fate
pressed down on them like the
weight of the featureless night that
dropped ever lower and lower
toward the earth. Sidonia was
quiescent. There was nothing to
be done save that which she was
passively about to do; nothing
could be altered. She leaned back
against the breast of love with
half-closed eyes. Their muffled
progress was like drifting pass
age through some limbo.
When the forest yielded to tree
less land the whole world was blind
and dark. Only the jumping
flames of fire-basket, set on the
battlements sixty feet above the
towns one gate, pulsed like an
star. AS the stallion, bear
ing man and girl, trod Slowly
through the short tunnel opening,
above which the toothed portcullis
hung, the light of torches fell
across their faces. The men-at-
arms stared as though at an APP
partition. All knew that the young
lord had ridden like a mailman
from the town that morning be-
cause the witch-maiden-the vam-
pire-had vanished, taking with
her his wits and his neace of mind