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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Fleece, by Julian Hawthorne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Golden Fleece
+
+Author: Julian Hawthorne
+
+Posting Date: October 5, 2008 [EBook #1614]
+Last Updated: November 8, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Keller
+
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN FLEECE
+
+A Romance
+
+
+By Julian Hawthorne
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The professor crossed one long, lean leg over the other, and punched
+down the ashes in his pipe-bowl with the square tip of his middle
+finger. The thermometer on the shady veranda marked eighty-seven degrees
+of heat, and nature wooed the soul to languor and revery; but nothing
+could abate the energy of this bony sage.
+
+“They talk about their Atlantises,--their submerged continents!”
+ he exclaimed, with a sniff through his wide, hairy nostrils. “Why,
+Trednoke, do you realize that we are living literally at the bottom of a
+Mesozoic--at any rate, Cenozoic--sea?”
+
+The gentleman thus indignantly addressed contemplated his questioner
+with the serenity of one conscious of freedom from geologic
+responsibility. He was a man of about the professor’s age,--say, sixty
+years,--but not like him in appearance. His figure was stately and
+massive,--that of one who in his youth must have possessed vast physical
+strength, rigidly developed and disciplined. Well set upon his broad
+shoulders was a noble head, crowned with gray, wavy hair; the eyes and
+eyebrows were black and powerful, but the expression was kindly and
+humorous. His moustache and the Roman convexity of his chin would have
+confirmed your conviction that he was a retired warrior; in which you
+would have been correct, for General Trednoke always appeared what he
+was, both outwardly and inwardly. His great frame, clad in white linen,
+was comfortably disposed in a Japanese straw arm-chair; yet there was
+a soldierly poise in his attitude. He was smoking a large and excellent
+cigar; and a cup of coffee, with a tiny glass of cognac beside it, stood
+on a mahogany stand at his elbow.
+
+“Do you remember, Meschines, the time I licked you at school?” he
+inquired, in a tone of pleasant reminiscence.
+
+“I can’t say I do. What’s more, I venture to challenge your statement.
+And though you are a hundred pounds the better of me in weight, and a
+West Point graduate, I will wager my pipe (which is worth its weight in
+diamonds) against that old woollen shirt of Montezuma’s that you showed
+me yesterday, that I can lick you to-day, and forget all about it before
+bedtime!”
+
+“Well, I guess you could,” returned the general, with a little chuckle,
+“even if I hadn’t that Mexican bullet in my leg. But you couldn’t,
+forty-five years ago, though you tried, and though I was a year younger
+than you, and weighed five pounds less. Come, now: you don’t mean to say
+you’ve forgotten Susan Brown!”
+
+“Oh--ah--hah! Susan Brown! Well, I declare! And what brought her into
+your head, I should like to know?”
+
+“Why, after breaking your heart first, and then mine, I lost sight of
+her, and I don’t think I have seen her since. But it appears she was
+married to a fellow named Parsloe.”
+
+“Don’t fancy that name!” observed the professor, wagging his head and
+frowning. “Has a mean sound to it. But what of it?”
+
+“Well, she died,--rest her soul!--and Parsloe too. But they had a
+daughter, and she survives them.”
+
+“And resembles her mother, eh?--No, Trednoke, the time for that sort of
+thing has gone by with me. Susan might have had me, five-and-forty years
+ago; but I can’t undertake to revive my passion for the benefit of Mrs.
+Parsloe’s daughter. Besides, I’m too busy to think of marriage, and
+not--not old enough!”
+
+At this tour de force, the general laughed softly, and finished his
+coffee. An old Indian, somewhat remarkable in appearance, with shaggy
+white hair hanging down on his shoulders, stepped forward from the room
+where he had been waiting, and removed the cup.
+
+“No letters yet, Kamaiakan?” asked the general, in Spanish.
+
+“In a few minutes, general,” the other replied. “Pablo has just come in
+sight over the hill. There were several errands.”
+
+“Muy buen!--I was going to say, Meschines, her father and mother left
+the girl poor, and she, being, apparently, clever and energetic, took
+to----”
+
+“I know!” the professor interrupted. “They all do it, when they are
+clever and energetic, and that’s the end of them!--School-teaching!”
+
+“Not at all,” returned General Trednoke. “She entered a dry-goods
+store.”
+
+“Entered a dry-goods store! Well, there’s nothing so extraordinary in
+that. I’ve seen quantities of women do it, of all ages, colors, and
+degrees. What did she buy there?”
+
+“Oh, a fiddlestick!” exclaimed the general. “Why don’t you keep quiet
+and listen to my story? I say, she went into a great dry-goods store in
+New York, as sales-woman.”
+
+“Bless my soul! You don’t mean a shop-girl?”
+
+“That’s what I said, isn’t it? And why not?”
+
+“Oh, well!--but, shade of Susan Brown! Ichabod!--what is the feminine of
+Ichabod, by the way, Trednoke? But, seriously, it’s too bad. Susan may
+have been fickle, but she was always aristocratic. And now her daughter
+is a shop-girl. You and I are avenged!”
+
+“You are just as ridiculous, Meschines, as you were thirty or fifty
+years ago,” said the general, tranquilly. “You declaim for the sake
+of hearing your own voice. Besides, what you say is un-American. Grace
+Parsloe, as I was saying, got a place as shop-girl in one of the great
+New York stores. I don’t say she mightn’t have done worse: what I say
+is, I doubt whether she could have done better. That house--I know one
+of its founders, and I know what I’m talking about--is like an enormous
+family, where children are born, year after year, grow up, and take
+their places in life according to their quality and merit. What I mean
+is, that the boy who drives a wagon for them to-day, at three dollars
+a week, may control one of their chief departments, or even become a
+partner, before they’re done with him; and, mutatis mutandis, the same
+with the girls. When these girls marry, it’s apt to be into a higher
+rank of life than they were born in; and that fact, I take it, is a good
+indication that their shop-girl experience has been an education and an
+improvement. They are given work to do, suited to their capacity, be it
+small or great; they are in the way of learning something of the great
+economic laws; they learn self-restraint, courtesy, and----”
+
+“And human nature! Yes, poor things: they see the American buying-woman,
+and that is a discipline more trying than any you West Pointers know
+about! Oh, yes, I see your point. If the fathers of the big family ARE
+fathers, and the children ARE children to them... All the same, I fancy
+the young ladies, when they marry into the higher social circles, as
+you say they do, don’t, as a rule, make their shop girl days a topic of
+conversation at five-o’clock teas, or put ‘Ex-shop-girl to So-and-so’ at
+the bottom of their visiting-cards.”
+
+“I believe, after all, you’re a snob, Meschines,” said the general,
+pensively. “But, as I was about to say, when you interrupted me ten
+minutes ago, Grace Parsloe is coming on here to make us a visit. She
+fell ill, and her employers, after doing what could be done for her in
+the way of medical attendance, made up their minds to give her a change
+of climate. Now, you know, as she had originally gone to them with a
+letter from me, and as I live out here, on the borders of the Southern
+desert, in a climate that has no equal, they naturally thought of
+writing to me about it. And of course I said I’d be delighted to have
+her here, for a month, or a year, or whatever time it may be. She will
+be a pleasure to me, and a friend for Miriam, and she may find a husband
+somewhere up or down the coast, who will give her a fortune, and think
+all the better of her because she, like him, had the ability and the
+pluck to make her own way in the world.”
+
+“Humph! When do you expect her?”
+
+“She may turn up any day. She is coming round by way of the Isthmus.
+From what I hear, she is really a very fine, clever girl. She held a
+responsible position in the shop, and----”
+
+“Well, let us sink the shop, and get back to the rational and
+instructive conversation that we--or, to be more accurate, that I was
+engaged in when this digression began. I presume you are aware that all
+the indications are lacustrine?”
+
+Hereupon, a hammock, suspended near the talkers, and filled with what
+appeared to be a bundle of lace and silken shawls, became agitated, and
+developed at one end a slender arched foot in an open-work silk stocking
+and sandal-slipper, and at the other end a dark, youthful, oval face,
+with glorious eyes and dull black hair. A voice of music asked,--
+
+“What is lacustrine, papa?”
+
+“Oh, so you are awake again, Senorita Miriam?”
+
+“I haven’t been asleep. What is lacustrine?”
+
+“Ask the professor.”
+
+“Lacus, you know, my dear,” said the latter, “means fresh-water
+indications as against salt.”
+
+“Then how does Great Salt Lake----”
+
+“Oh, for that matter, the whole ocean was fresh originally. Moisture,
+evaporation, precipitation. Water is a great solvent: earthquakes break
+the crust, and there you are!”
+
+“Then, before the earthquakes, the Salt Lakes were fresh?” rejoined the
+hammock.
+
+“There was fresh water west of the Rockies and south of---- Why,” cried
+the professor, interrupting himself, “when I was in Wyoming and around
+there, this spring, in what they call the Bad Lands,--cliffs and buttes
+of indurated yellow clay and sandstone, worn and carved out by floods
+long before the Aztecs started to move out of Canada,--I saw fossil
+bones sticking out of the cliffs, the least of which would make the
+fortune of a museum. That was between the Rockies and the Wahsatch.”
+
+“People’s bones?” asked the hammock, agitating itself again, and showing
+a glimpse of a smooth throat and a slender ankle.
+
+“Bless my soul! If there were people in those days they must have had
+an anxious time of it!” returned the sage. “No, no, my dear. There
+was brontosaurus, and atlantosaurus, and hydrosaurus, and
+iguanodon,--lizards, you know, not like these little black fellows that
+run about in the pulverized feldspar here, but chaps eighty or a hundred
+feet long, and twenty or thirty high; and turtles, as big as a house.”
+
+“How did they get there?”
+
+“Got mired while they were feeding, perhaps; or the water drained off
+and left them high and dry.”
+
+“But where did the water go to?”
+
+The general chuckled at this juncture, and lit another cigar. “She
+knows more questions than you do the answers to them,” quoth he. “But I
+wouldn’t mind hearing where the water went to, myself. I should like to
+see some of it back again.”
+
+“Ask the earthquakes, and the sun. There’s a hundred and thirty degrees
+of heat in some of these valleys,--abysses, rather, three or four
+hundred feet below sea-level. The earth is very thin-skinned in this
+region, too, and whatever water wasn’t evaporated from above would be
+likely to come to grief underneath.”
+
+“But, professor,” said the musical voice, “I thought there was a law
+that water always seeks its own level. So how can there be empty places
+below sea-level?”
+
+“It’s the fault of the aneroid barometer, my dear. We were very
+comfortable and commonplace until that came along and revealed
+anomalies. The secret lies, I suppose, in the trend of the strata,
+which is generally north and south. You see the ridges cropping out all
+through the desert; and there’s a good deal of lava oozing over them,
+too. They probably act as walls, to prevent the sea getting in from the
+west, or the Colorado leaking in from the east.”
+
+“In that case,” remarked the general, “a little more seismic disturbance
+might produce a change.”
+
+“It would have to be more than a little, I suspect,” returned Meschines.
+
+“Kamaiakan told me that the Indians have a prophecy that a great lake
+will come back and make the desert fruitful, and that there are some who
+know the very place where the water will begin to flow.” And here the
+hammock, with a final convulsion, gave birth to a beautiful young woman,
+in a diaphanous silk dress and a white lace mantilla. She crossed the
+veranda, and seated herself on the broad arm of her father’s chair.
+
+“Why, that’s important!” said the general, arching his brows. “I wonder
+if Kamaiakan is one of those who know the place? If so, it might be
+worth his while to let me into the secret.”
+
+“Oh, you couldn’t go there! It’s enchanted, and people who go near it
+die. There are bones all about there, now.”
+
+“This Kamaiakan appears to be a remarkable personage: where did you pick
+him up?” inquired the professor.
+
+“It was rather the other way,” Trednoke replied, taking one of his
+daughter’s hands in his, and caressing it. “We are appendages to
+Kamaiakan. You look so natural, sitting there, Meschines, that I forget
+it’s thirty years since we met, and that all the significant events of
+my life have happened in that time,--the Mexican war, my marriage, and
+the rest of it! I have been a widower ten years.”
+
+“And I’ve been a bachelor for over sixty!” said Meschines, with a queer
+expression. “Your wife was Spanish, was she not?”
+
+“Her father was a Mexican of Andalusian descent. But her mother was
+descended from the race of Azatlan: there are records and relics
+indicating that her ancestors were princes in Tenochtitlan before Cortez
+made trouble there.”
+
+“And I’ve been losing my heart to a princess, and never realized my
+audacity!” exclaimed the professor, laying his hand on his waistcoat and
+making an obeisance to Miriam.
+
+She tossed her free foot, and played with the fringe of her reboso.
+
+“I will tell my maid to look for it,” she said; “but I think you must
+have left it in papa’s curiosity-room.”
+
+“No: I’m an Aztec sacrifice!” cried the professor; and they all
+laughed. “One would hardly have anticipated,” he resumed after a pause,
+addressing Trednoke, “that you would have made a double conquest,--first
+of the men, and then of the woman!”
+
+“The woman conquered me, without trying or wishing to, and then, because
+she was a woman, took compassion on me. Whether my country has benefited
+much by the Mexican annexation, I can’t say; but I know Inez--made a
+heaven on earth for me,” concluded the general, in a low voice. His
+countenance, at this moment, wore a solemn and humble expression,
+beautiful to see; and Miriam bent and laid her cheek against his.
+Meschines knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and sighed.
+
+“No woman ever took compassion on me,” he remarked, “and you see the
+result,--ashes!”
+
+“Ashes,--with their wonted fires living in them,” said Trednoke.
+
+“We were talking about this Indian of yours,” said Meschines.
+
+“Ay, to be sure. Well, he was attached to Inez’s family when I first
+knew them. It was a peculiar relation; not like that of a servant. One
+finds such things in Mexico. The conquered race were of as good strain
+as their conquerors; the blood of Montezuma was as blue as the best
+of the Castilian. There were many intermarriages; and there are many
+instances of the survival of traditions and records; though the records
+are often symbolic, and would have no meaning to persons not initiated.
+But they have been sufficient to perpetuate ties of a personal nature
+through generation after generation; and the alliance between Kamaiakan
+and Inez was of this kind. His forefathers, I imagine, were priests, and
+priests were a mighty power in Tenochtitlan. For aught I know, indeed
+Kamaiakan may be an original priest of Montezuma’s; no one knows his
+age, but he does not look an hour older, to-day, than when I first saw
+him, over twenty years ago.”
+
+“He must be!” said Miriam, with some positiveness. “He has told me of
+seeing and doing things hundreds of years ago. And he says----” She
+paused.
+
+“What does he say, Nina adorada?” asked her father.
+
+“It was about the treasure, you know.”
+
+“Let us hear. The professor is one of us.”
+
+“It’s one of our traditions that my mother’s ancestors, at the time of
+Cortez, were very rich people,” continued Miriam, glancing at Meschines,
+and then letting her eyes wander across the garden, blooming with
+roses and fragrant with orange-trees, and so across the trellised vines
+towards the soft outline of the mountains eastward. “A great part of
+their wealth was in the form of jewels and precious stones. When Cortez
+took the city, one of the priests, who was a relative of our family, put
+the jewels in a box, and hid them in a certain place in the desert.”
+
+“And does Kamaiakan know where the place is?” asked the general.
+
+“He can know, when the time comes.”
+
+“Which will be, perhaps, when you are ready for your dowry,” observed
+the professor, genially.
+
+“A spell was put upon the spot,” Miriam went on, with a certain
+imaginative seriousness; for she loved romance and mystery so well, and
+was of a temperament so poetical, that the wildest fairy-tales had a
+sort of reality for her. “No one can find the treasure while the spell
+remains. But Kamaiakan understands the spell, and the conjuration which
+dissolves it; and when he dissolves it, the treasure will be found.”
+
+“And, between ourselves,” added the general, “Kamaiakan is himself the
+priestly relative by whom the spell was wrought. He bears an enchanted
+life, which cannot cease until he has restored the jewels to Miriam’s
+hands.”
+
+“There might be something in it, you know,” said Meschines, after a
+pause. “The treasures of Montezuma have never been found. Is there no
+old chart or writing, in your collection of curiosities and relics, that
+might throw light on it?”
+
+“The scriptures of Anahuac were of the hieroglyphic
+type,--picture-writing,” replied the other. “No, I fear there is nothing
+to the purpose; and if there were, I shouldn’t know how to decipher it.”
+
+“But, papa, the tunic!” exclaimed Miriam.
+
+“Oh! has the tunic anything to do with it?”
+
+“Is that the queer woollen garment with the gold embroidery?” inquired
+the professor, becoming more interested. “I took a fancy to that, you
+remember. Has it a story?”
+
+“Well, it is a kind of an anomaly, I believe,” the general answered,
+looking up at his daughter with a smile. “The Aztecs, you are aware,
+dressed chiefly in cotton. Even their defensive armor was of cotton,
+thickly quilted. Their ornaments were feathers, and embroidery of gold
+and precious stones. But wool, for some reason, they didn’t wear; and
+yet this garment, as you can see for yourself, is pure wool; and that it
+is also pure Aztecan is beyond question.”
+
+“Admitting that, what clue does it give to the treasure?”
+
+“You must ask Kamaiakan,” said Miriam: “only, he wouldn’t tell you.”
+
+“Possibly,” the professor suggested, “the place where the treasure is
+hidden is the place whence the water is to flow out; and the water is
+the treasure.”
+
+“Seriously, do you suppose that such a phenomenon as the return of an
+inland sea is physically practicable?” asked Trednoke.
+
+“No phenomenon, in this part of the world, would surprise me,” returned
+Meschines. “The Colorado might break its barriers; or it is conceivable
+that some huge stream, taking its rise in the heights hundreds of miles
+north and east of us, may be flowing through subterranean passages into
+the sea, emerging from the sea-bottom hundreds of miles to the westward.
+Now, if a rattling good earthquake were to happen along, you might awake
+in the morning to find yourself on an island, or even under water.”
+
+“A moderate Mediterranean would satisfy me,” the general said. “I
+wouldn’t exchange the certainty of it for the treasures of Montezuma.”
+
+“The thirst for gold and for water are synonymous in your case?”
+
+“Give this section a moist climate, and I needn’t tell you that the
+Great American Desert would literally blossom as the rose. Even as
+it is, I expect a great deal of it will be redeemed by scientific
+irrigation. The soil only needs water to become inexhaustibly
+productive. Our desert, as you know, is not sand, like parts of the
+Sahara; it has all the ingredients that go to nourish plants, only their
+present powdery condition makes them unavailable. Now, I can, to-day,
+buy a hundred square miles of desert for a few dollars. You see the
+point, don’t you?”
+
+“And all you want is expert opinion as to the likelihood of finding
+water?”
+
+“The man who solves that question for me in the affirmative is welcome
+to half my share of the results that would ensue from it.”
+
+“Why don’t you engage some expert to investigate?”
+
+“One can’t always trust an expert. I don’t mean as to his expertness
+only, but as to his good faith. He might prefer to sell the idea to
+somebody who could pay cash,--which I cannot.”
+
+“Why, you seem to have given this thing a good deal of thought,
+Trednoke.”
+
+“Well, yes: it has been my hobby for a year past; and I have made some
+investigations myself. But this is the first time I have spoken of it to
+any one.”
+
+“I understand. And what of the investigations?”
+
+“I can say that I found enough to interest me. I’ll tell you about
+it some time. I should be glad to leave Miriam something to make her
+independent.”
+
+“I should say that her Creator had already done that!” said Meschines.
+“By the way, I know a young fellow--if he were only here--who is just
+the man you want, and can be trusted. He’s a civil engineer,--Harvey
+Freeman: the Lord only knows in what part of the world he is at this
+speaking. He has made a special study of these subterranean matters.”
+
+“Don’t you remember, papa, Coleridge’s poem of Kubla Khan?--
+
+     “Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
+     Through caverns measureless to man
+          Down to a sunless sea!”
+
+
+“Our sacred river, when we find it, shall be named Miriam.”
+
+“It ought to be Kamaiakan,” she rejoined; “for, if anybody finds it, it
+will be he.”
+
+“I think I hear the wings of the angel of whom we have been speaking,”
+ said the general. “Yes, here he is; and he has got the letters. Let us
+see! One for you Meschines. And this, I see, is from our friend Miss
+Parsloe, postmarked Santa Barbara. Why, she’ll be here to-morrow, at
+that rate.”
+
+“Here’s a queer coincidence!” exclaimed the professor, who had meanwhile
+opened his envelope and glanced through the contents. “The very man I
+was speaking of,--Harvey Freeman! Says he is in this neighborhood, has
+heard I’m here, and is coming down to pay me a visit. Methinks I hear
+the rolling of the sacred river!”
+
+“But you won’t mention it to him, until----”
+
+“Bless me! Of course not. I’ll bring him over here, in the course
+of human events, and you can take a look at him, and act on your own
+intuitions. I won’t say on Princess Miriam’s, for Harvey is a very
+fine-looking fellow, and her intuitions might get confused.”
+
+“A civil engineer!” said Miriam, with an intonation worthy of the
+daughter of a West-Pointer and the descendant of an Aztec prince.
+
+Kamaiakan (who spoke only Spanish) had been gathering up some cushions
+that had fallen out of the hammock. Having replaced them, and cast a
+quick glance at Meschines, he withdrew.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The Southern Pacific Railway passes, today, not far from the site of
+General Trednoke’s ranch. But the events now to be narrated occurred
+some years before the era of transcontinental railroads: they were in
+the air, but not yet bolted down to the earth. The general, therefore,
+was a pioneer, and was by no means overrun with friends from the East in
+search of an agreeable winter climate. The easiest way to reach him--if
+you were not pressed for time--was round the cape which forms the
+southernmost point of South America and sticks its sharp snout
+inquiringly into the Antarctic solitudes, as if it scented something
+questionable there. The speediest route, though open to strange
+discomforts, was by way of the Isthmus; and then there were always
+the saddle, the wagon, and the stage, with the accompaniments of
+road-agents, tornadoes, deserts, and starvation.
+
+Miss Grace Parsloe came via the Isthmus; and the latter part of her
+journey had been alleviated by the society of a young gentleman from New
+York, Freeman by name. There were other passengers on the vessel; but
+these two discovered sympathies of origin and education which made
+companionship natural. They sat together at table, leaned side by side
+over the taffrail, discussed their fellow-travellers, and investigated
+each other. As he lolled on the bench with folded arms and straw hat
+tilted back from his forehead she, glancing side-long, as her manner
+was, saw a sunburnt aquiline nose, a moustache of a lighter brown than
+the visage which it decorated, a lean, strong jaw, and a muscular neck.
+His forehead, square and impending, was as white as ivory in comparison
+with the face below; his hair, in accordance with the fashion introduced
+by the late war, was cropped close. But what especially moved Miss Grace
+were those long, lazy blue eyes, which seemed to tolerate everything,
+but to be interested in nothing,--hardly even in her. Now, Grace could
+not help knowing she was a pretty girl, and it was somewhat of a novelty
+to her that Freeman should appear so indifferent. It would have been
+difficult to devise a better opportunity than this to monopolize
+masculine admiration, and she fell to speculating as to what sort of
+an experience Mr. Freeman must have had, so to panoply him against her
+magic. On the other hand, she was the recipient of whatever attentions
+he could bring himself to detach from the horizon-line, or from his
+own thoughts (which appeared to amount, practically, to about the same
+thing). She had no other rivals; and a woman will submit amiably to a
+good deal of indifference, provided she be assured that no other woman
+is enjoying what she lacks.
+
+Freeman, for his part, had nothing to complain of. Grace Parsloe was
+a singularly pretty girl. Singular properly qualifies her. She was not
+like the others,--by which phrase he epitomized the numerous comely
+young women whom he had, at various times and in several countries,
+attended, teased, and kissed. Both physically and mentally, she was very
+fine-wrought. Her bones were small; her body and limbs were slender, but
+beautifully fashioned. She was supple and vigorous. Grace is a product
+of brain as well as an effect of bodily symmetry: Grace had the quality
+on both counts. She answered to one’s conception of Mahomet’s houris,
+assuming that the conception is not of a fat person. Her head was small,
+but well proportioned,--compact as to the forehead, rather broad across
+the cheek-bones, thence tapering to the chin. Her eyes were blue, but of
+an Eastern strangeness of shape and setting; they were subject to great
+and sudden changes of expression, depending, apparently, on the varying
+state of her emotions, and betraying an intensity more akin to the
+Oriental temperament than to ours. There was in her something subtle
+and fierce; yet overlaying it, like a smooth and silken skin, were the
+conventional polish and bearing of an American school graduate. She was,
+in deed, noticeably artificial and self-conscious in manner and in the
+intonations of her speech; though it was an aesthetic delight to see
+her move or pose, and the quality of her voice was music’s self. But
+Freeman, after due meditation, came to the conclusion that this was the
+outcome of her recognition of her own singularity: in trying to be like
+other people, she fell into caricature. Freeman, somehow, liked her
+the better for it. Like most men of brain and pith, who have seen and
+thought much, he was thankful for a new thing, because, so far as it
+went, it renewed him. It pleased him to imagine that he could, with a
+word or a look, cause this veil of artifice to be thrown aside, and the
+primitive passion and fierceness behind it to start forth. He allowed
+himself to imagine, with a certain satisfaction, that were he to make
+this young woman jealous she would think nothing of thrusting a dagger
+between his ribs. Reality,--what a delight it is! The actual touch and
+feeling of the spontaneous natural creature have been so buried beneath
+centuries of hypocrisy and humbug that we have ceased to believe in them
+save as a metaphysical abstraction. But even as water, long depressed
+under-ground in perverse channels, surges up to the surface, and above
+it, at last, in a fountain of relief, so Nature, after enduring ages
+of outrage and banishment, leaps back to her rightful domain in some
+individual whom we call extraordinary because he or she is natural.
+Grace Parsloe did not seem (regarded as to her temperament and quality)
+to belong where she was: therefore she was a delightful incident there.
+Had she been met with in the days of the Old Testament, or in the depths
+of Persia or India at the present time, even, she might have appeared
+commonplace. But here she was in conventional costume, with conventional
+manners. And, just as the nautch-girls, and other Oriental dancers and
+posturers, wear a costume which suggests nature more effectively than
+does nature itself, so did Grace’s conventionality suggest to Freeman
+the essential absence of conventionality more forcibly than if he had
+seen her clad in a turban and translucent caftan, dancing off John the
+Baptist’s head, or driving a nail into that of Sisera. Grace certainly
+owed much of her importance to her situation, which rendered her foreign
+and piquante. But, then, everything, in this world, is relative.
+
+Racial types seem to be a failure: when they become very marked, the
+race deteriorates or vanishes. In the counties of England, after only
+a thousand years, the women you meet in the rural districts and country
+towns all look like sisters. The Asiatics, of course, are much more
+sunk in type than the Anglo-Saxons; and they show us the way we would be
+going. Only, there is hope in rapid transit and the cosmopolitan spirit,
+and especially in these United States, which bring together the ends
+of the earth, and place side by side a descendant of the Puritans like
+Freeman, and a daughter of Irak-Ajemi.
+
+“What are you coming to California for, Mr. Freeman?”
+
+Freeman had already told her what he had been in the Isthmus for,--to
+paddle in miasmatic swamps with a view to the possibility of a canal
+in the remote, speculative future. He had given her a graphic and
+entertaining picture of the hideous and inconceivable life he had led
+there for six months, from which he had emerged the only member of a
+party of nineteen (whites, blacks, and yellows) who was not either dead
+by disease, by violence, or by misadventure, or had barely escaped with
+life and a shattered constitution. Freeman, after emerging from the
+miasmatic hell and lake of Gehenna, had taken a succession of baths,
+with soap and friction, had been attended by a barber and a tailor, and
+had himself attended the best table to be found for love or money in the
+charming town of Panama. He had also spent more than half of the week
+of his sojourn there in sleep; and he was now in the best possible
+condition, physical and mental,--though not, he admitted, pecuniary. As
+to morals, they had not reached that discussion yet. But, in all that
+he did say, Freeman exhibited perfect unreserve and frankness, answering
+without hesitation or embarrassment any question she chose to ask (and
+she asked some curious ones).
+
+But when she asked him such an innocent thing as what he was after in
+California--an inquiry, by the way, put more in idleness than out of
+curiosity--Freeman stroked his yellow moustache with the thumb of the
+hand that held his Cuban cigarette, gazed with narrowed eyelids at the
+horizon, and for some time made no reply at all. Finally he said that
+California was a place he had never visited, and that it would be a pity
+to have been so near it and yet not have improved the opportunity of
+taking a look at it.
+
+Grace instantly scented a mystery, and was not less promptly resolved
+to fathom it. And what must be the nature of a mystery attaching to a
+handsome man, unmarried, and evidently no stranger to the gentler sex?
+Of course there must be a woman in it! Her eyes glowed with azure fire.
+
+“You have some acquaintances in California, I suppose?” she said, with
+an air of laborious indifference.
+
+“Well,--yes; I believe I have,” Freeman admitted.
+
+“Have they lived there long?”
+
+“No; not over a few months. I accidentally heard from a person in
+Panama. I dropped a line to say I might turn up.”
+
+“She----you haven’t had time to get an answer, then?”
+
+Freeman inhaled a deep breath through his cigarette, tilted his head
+back, and allowed the smoke to escape slowly through his nostrils. In
+this manner, familiar to his deep-designing sex, he concealed a smile.
+Grace was, in some respects, as transparent as she was subtle. So long
+as the matter in hand did not touch her emotions, she had no difficulty
+in maintaining a deceptive surface; but emotion she could not disguise,
+though she was probably not aware of the fact; for emotion has a
+tendency to shut one’s own eyes and open what they can no longer see in
+one’s self to the gaze of outsiders.
+
+“No,” he said, when he had recovered his composure. “But that won’t make
+any difference. We are on rather intimate terms, you see.”
+
+“Oh! Is it long since you have met?”
+
+“Pretty long; at least it seems so to me.”
+
+Grace turned, and looked full at her companion. He did not meet her
+glance, but kept his profile steadily opposed, and went on smoking with
+a dreamy air, as if lost in memories and anticipations, sad, yet sweet.
+
+“Really, Mr. Freeman, I hardly thought--you have always seemed to care
+so little about anything--I didn’t suspect you of so much sentiment.”
+
+“I am like other men,” he returned, with a sigh. “My affections are
+not given indiscriminately; but when they are given,--you
+understand,--I----”
+
+“Oh, I understand: pray don’t think it necessary to explain. I’m
+sure I’m very far from wishing to listen to confidences about
+another,--to----”
+
+“Yes, but I like to talk about it,” interposed Freeman, earnestly.
+“I haven’t had a chance to open my heart, you know, for at least six
+months. And though you and I haven’t known each other long, I believe
+you to be capable of appreciating what a man feels when he is on his way
+to meet some one who----”
+
+“Thank you! You are most considerate! But I shall be additionally
+obliged if you would tell me in what respect I can have so far forgotten
+myself as to lead you to think me likely to appreciate anything of the
+kind. I assure you, Mr. Freeman, I have never cared for any one; and
+nothing I have seen since I left home makes it probable that I shall
+begin now.”
+
+“I am sorry to hear that,” said Freeman, slowly drawing another
+cigarette out of his bundle, and beginning to re-roll it with a dejected
+air.
+
+“Indeed!”
+
+“Yes: the fact is, I had hoped that you had begun to have a little
+friendly feeling for me. I am more than ready to reciprocate.”
+
+“I hope you will spare me any insults, sir. I have no one to protect me,
+but----”
+
+“I assure you, I mean no insult. You cannot help knowing that I think
+you as beautiful and fascinating a woman as I have ever met; but of
+course you can’t help being beautiful and fascinating. Do I insult you
+by having eyes? If so, I am sorry, but you will have to make the best of
+it.”
+
+With this, he turned in his seat, and calmly confronted her. Beautiful
+she certainly was, at that moment; but it was the beauty of an angry
+serpent. She had a pencil in her hand, with which, a little while
+before, she had been sketching heads of some of the passengers in her
+little notebook. She was now handling this inoffensive object in such
+a way as to justify the fancy that, had it been charged with a deadly
+poison in its point, instead of with a bit of plumbago of the HH
+quality, she would have driven it into Freeman’s heart then and there.
+
+“Is it no insult,” said she, in a sibilant voice, “to talk to me as you
+are doing, when you have just told me that you love another woman, and
+are going to meet her?”
+
+Freeman’s brows gradually knitted themselves in a frown of apparent
+perplexity. “I must say I don’t understand you,” he observed, at length.
+“I am quite sure I have said nothing of the sort. How could I?”
+
+“If you wish to quibble about words, perhaps not. But was not that your
+meaning?”
+
+“No, it wasn’t. You are the only woman who has been in my thoughts
+to-day.”
+
+“Mr. Freeman!”
+
+“Well?”
+
+“You have intimated very clearly that you are engaged--married, for
+aught I know--to a woman whom you are now on your way to meet----”
+
+At this point she stopped. Freeman had interrupted her with a shout of
+laughter.
+
+She had been very pale. She now flushed all over her face, and jumped to
+her feet.
+
+“Sit down,” he said, laying a hand on her dress and (aided by a lurch of
+the vessel) pulling her into her seat again, “and listen to me. And then
+I shall insist upon an apology. This is too much!”
+
+“I shall ask the captain----”
+
+“You will not, I promise you. Look here! When I was in Panama, I met
+there a fellow I used to know in New York. He told me that he had
+recently crossed the continent with Professor Meschines, who used to
+teach geology and botany at Yale College, when he and I were students
+there. The professor had come over partly for the fun of the thing, and
+partly to look for specimens in the line of his profession. My friend
+parted from him at San Francisco: the professor was going farther
+south.”
+
+“What has all this to do with the woman who----”
+
+“It has this to do with it,--that the professor is the woman! He is over
+sixty years old, and has always been a good friend of mine; but I am not
+going to marry him. I am not engaged to him, he is not beautiful, nor
+even fascinating, except in the way of an elderly man of science. And
+he is the only human being, besides yourself, that I know or have ever
+heard of on the Pacific coast. Now for your apology!”
+
+Grace emitted a long breath, and sank back in her seat, with her hands
+clasped in her lap. She raised her hands and covered her face with them.
+She removed them, sat erect, and bent an open-eyed, intent gaze upon her
+companion.
+
+After this pantomime, she exclaimed, in the lowest and most musical of
+tones, “Oh! how hateful you are!” Then she cried out with animation,
+“I believe you did it on purpose!” Finally, she sank back again, with a
+soft laugh and sparkling eyes, at the same time stretching out her right
+arm towards him and placing her hand on his, with a whispered, “There,
+then!”
+
+Freeman, accepting the hand for the apology, kissed it, and continued to
+hold it afterwards.
+
+“Am I not a little goose?” she murmured.
+
+“You certainly are,” replied Freeman.
+
+“You mustn’t hold my hand any more.”
+
+“Do you mean to withdraw your apology?”
+
+“N--no; but it doesn’t follow that----”
+
+“Oh, yes, it does. Besides, when a man receives such a delicate,
+refined, graceful, exquisite apology as this,”--here he lifted the hand,
+looked at it critically, and bestowed another kiss upon it,--“he would
+be a fool not to make the most of it.”
+
+“Ah, I’m afraid you’re dangerous. You are well named--Freeman!”
+
+“My name is Harvey: won’t you call me by it?”
+
+“Oh, I can’t!”
+
+“Try! Would it make it easier if I were to call you by yours?”
+
+“Mine is Miss Parsloe.”
+
+“Pooh! How can that be your name which you are going to change so soon?
+When I look at you, I see your name; when I think of you, I say it to
+myself,--Grace!”
+
+“How do you know I am going to change my name soon--or ever?”
+
+“Whom are you talking to?”
+
+“To you,--Harvey! Oh!” She snatched her hand away and pressed it over
+her lips.
+
+“How do I know you are beautiful, Grace, and--irresistible?”
+
+“But I’m not! You’re making fun of me! Besides, I’m twenty.”
+
+“How many times have you been engaged?”
+
+“Never. Nobody wants to be engaged to a poor girl. Oh me!”
+
+“Do you know what you are made of, Grace? Fire and flowers! Few men in
+the world are men enough to be a match for you. But what have you been
+doing with yourself all this time? Why do you come to a place like
+this?”
+
+“Maybe I had a presentiment that... What nonsense we are talking! But
+what you said reminds me. It’s the strangest coincidence!”
+
+“What is it?”
+
+“Your Professor Meschines----”
+
+“On the contrary, he is a most matter-of-fact old gentleman.”
+
+“Do be quiet, and listen to me! When my mamma was a girl in school,
+there were two boys there,--it was a boy-and-girls’ school,--and they
+were great friends. But they both fell in love with my mamma----”
+
+“I can understand that,” put in Freeman.
+
+“How do you know I am like my mamma? Well, as I was saying, they both
+fell in love with her, and quarrelled with each other, and had a fight.
+The boy that won the fight is the man to whose house I am going.”
+
+“Then he didn’t marry your mamma?”
+
+“Oh, no; that was only a childish affair, and she married another man.”
+
+“The one who got thrashed?”
+
+“Of course not. But the one who got thrashed is your Professor
+Meschines.”
+
+“I see! The poor old professor! And he has remained a bachelor all his
+life.”
+
+“Mamma has often told me the story, and that the Trednoke boy went to
+West Point, and distinguished himself in the Mexican war, and married a
+Mexican woman, and the Meschines boy became a professor in Yale College.
+And now I am going to see one of them, and you to see the other. Isn’t
+that a coincidence?”
+
+“The first of a long series, I trust. Is this West-Pointer a permanent
+settler here?”
+
+“Yes, for ever so long,--twenty years. He’s a widower, but he has a
+daughter---- Oh, I know you’ll fall in love with her!”
+
+“Is she like you?”
+
+“I don’t know. I’ve never seen her, or General Trednoke either.”
+
+“Come to think of it, though, nobody is like you, Grace. Now, will you
+be so good as to apologize again?”
+
+“Don’t you think you’re rather exacting, Harvey?”
+
+However, the apology was finally repeated, and continued, more or less,
+during the rest of the voyage; and Grace quite forgot that she had never
+made Harvey tell what was really the cause of his coming to California.
+But she, on her side, had a secret. She never allowed him to suspect
+that the past eighteen months of her life had been passed as employee in
+a New York dry-goods store.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+General Trednoke’s house was built by Spanish missionaries in the
+sixteenth century; and in its main features it was little altered in
+three hundred years. In a climate where there is no frost, walls of
+adobe last as long as granite. The house consisted, practically, of but
+one story; for although there were rooms under the roof, they were used
+only for storage; no one slept in them. The plan of the building was
+not unlike that of a train of railway-cars,--or, it might be more
+appropriate to say, of emigrant-wagons. There was a series of rooms,
+ranged in a line, access to them being had from a narrow corridor,
+which opened on the rear veranda. Several of the rooms also communicated
+directly with each other, and, through low windows, gave on the veranda
+in front; for the house was merely a comparatively narrow array of
+apartments between two broad verandas, where most of the living,
+including much of the sleeping, was done.
+
+Logically, there can be nothing uglier than a Spanish-American dwelling
+of this type. But, as a matter of fact, they appear seductively
+beautiful. The thick white walls acquire a certain softness of tone; the
+surface scales off here and there, and cracks and crevices appear. In
+a damp country, like England, they would soon become covered with moss;
+but moss is not to be had in this region, though one were to offer for
+it the price of the silk velvet, triple ply, which so much resembles
+it. Nevertheless, there are compensations. The soil is inexhaustibly
+fertile, and its fertility expresses itself in the most inveterate
+beauty. Such colors and varieties of flowers exist nowhere else, and
+they continue all the year round. Climbing vines storm the walls, and
+toss their green ladders all over it, for beauty to walk up and down.
+Huge jars, standing on the verandas, emit volcanoes of lovely blossoms;
+and vases swung from the roof drip and overflow with others, as if water
+had turned to flowers. In the garden, which extends over several acres
+at the front of the house, and, as it were, makes it an island in
+a gorgeous sea of petals, there are roses, almonds, oranges, vines,
+pomegranates, and a hundred rivals whose names are unknown to the
+present historian, marching joyfully and triumphantly through the
+seasons, as the symphony moves through changes along its central theme.
+
+Everything that is not an animal or a mineral seems to be a flower.
+There are too many flowers,--or, rather, there is not enough of anything
+else. The faculty of appreciation wearies, and at last ceases to
+take note. It is like conversing with a person whose every word is
+an epigram. The senses have their limitations, and imagination and
+expectation are half of beauty and delight, and the better half;
+otherwise we should have no souls. A single violet, discovered by chance
+in the by-ways of an April forest in New England, gives a pleasure
+as poignant as, and more spiritual than, the miles upon miles of
+Californian splendors.
+
+Monotony is the ruling characteristic,--monotony of beauty, monotony
+of desolation, monotony even of variety. The glorious blue overhead
+is monotonous: as for the thermometer, it paces up and down within the
+narrowest limits, like a prisoner in his cell, or a meadow-lark hopping
+to and fro in a seven-inch cage. The plan and aspect of the buildings
+are monotonous, and so is the way of life of those who inhabit them.
+Fortunately, the sun does rise and set in Southern California: otherwise
+life there would be at an absolute stand-still, with no past and no
+future. But, as it is, one can look forward to morning, and remember the
+evening.
+
+Then, there are the not infrequent but seldom very destructive
+earthquakes; the occasional cloud-bursts and tornadoes, sudden and
+violent as a gunpowder-explosion; and, finally, the astounding contrast
+between the fertile regions and the desert. There are places where you
+can stand with one foot planted in everlasting sterility and the other
+in immortal verdure. In the midst of an arid and hopeless waste, you
+come suddenly upon the brink of a narrow ravine, sharply defined as
+if cut out with an axe, and packed to the brim with enchanting and
+voluptuous fertility. Or you will come upon mountains which sweep upward
+out of burning death into sumptuous life. When the monotony of life
+meets the monotony of death, Southern California becomes a land of
+contrasts; and the contrasts themselves become monotonous.
+
+General Trednoke’s ranch was very near the borders of these two mighty
+forces. An hour’s easy ride would carry him to a region as barren
+and apparently as irreclaimable as that through which Childe Roland
+journeyed in quest of the Dark Tower; lying, too, in a temperature so
+fiery that it coagulated the blood in the veins, and stopped the beating
+of the heart. Underfoot were fine dust, and whitened bones; the air
+was prismatic and magical, ever conjuring up phantom pictures, whose
+characteristic was that they were at the farthest remove from any
+possible reality. The azure sky descended and became a lake; the
+pulsations of the atmosphere translated themselves into the rhythmic
+lapse of waves; spikes of sage-brush and blades of cactus became sylvan
+glades, and hamlets cheerful with inhabitants. Only, all was silent; and
+as you drew near, the scene trembled, altered, and was gone!
+
+Hideous black lizards and horned toads crawl and hop amid this
+desolation; and the deadly little sidewinder rattlesnake lies basking in
+the blaze of sunshine, which it distils into venom. Sometimes the level
+plain is broken up into savage ridges and awful canons, along whose arid
+bottoms no water streams. As you stagger through their chaotic bottoms,
+you see vast boulders poised overhead, tottering to a fall; a shiver
+of earthquake, a breath of hurricane, and they come crashing and
+splintering in destruction down. Along the sides of these acclivities
+extend long, level lines and furrows, marks of where the ocean flowed
+ages ago. But sometimes the hills are but accumulations of desert dust,
+which shift slowly from place to place under the action of the wind,
+melting away here to be re-erected yonder; mounding themselves, perhaps,
+above a living and struggling human being, to move forward, anon,
+leaving where he was a little heap of withered bones. A fearful place is
+this broad abyss, where once murmured the waters of a prehistoric sea.
+Let us return to the cool and fragrant security of the general’s ranch.
+
+At right angles to the main body of the house extend two wings,
+thus forming three sides of a square, the interior of which is the
+court-yard. Here the business of the establishment is conducted. It is
+the liveliest spot on the premises; though it is liveliness of a very
+indolent sort. The veranda built around these sides is twenty feet
+in breadth, paved with tiles that have been worn into hollows by
+innumerable lazy footsteps, mostly shoeless, for this side of the house
+is frequented chiefly by the servants of the place, who are Mexican
+Indians. Ancient wooden settles are bolted to the walls; from hooks hang
+Indian baskets of bright colors; in one corner are stretched raw hides,
+which serve as beds. Small brown children, half naked, trot, clamber,
+and crawl about. Black-haired, swarthy women squat on the tiled floor,
+pursuing their vocations, or, often, doing nothing at all beyond
+continuing a placid organic existence. Boys and men saunter in and out
+of the court-yard, chatting or calling in their musical patois; once
+in a while there is a thud and clatter of hoofs, a rider arriving or
+departing. It is an entertaining scene, charming in its monotony of
+small changes and evolutions; you can sit watching it in a half-doze for
+twenty years at a stretch, and it may seem only as many minutes, or vice
+versa.
+
+Most of the rooms in the wings are used for the kitchens and other
+servants’ quarters; but one large chamber is devoted to a special
+purpose of the general’s own: it is a museum; the Curiosity-Room, he
+calls it. It is lighted by two windows opening on opposite sides, one
+on the court-yard, the other on an orange grove at the south end of the
+house. Besides being, in itself, a cool and pleasant spot, it is full
+of interest to any one who cares about the relics and antiquities of an
+ancient and vanishing race, concerning whom little is or ever will be
+known. There are two students in it at this moment; though whether they
+are studying antiquities is another matter. Let us give ear to their
+discourse and be instructed.
+
+“But this was made for you to wear, Miss Trednoke. Try it. It fits you
+perfectly, you see. There can be no doubt about your being a princess,
+now!”
+
+“I sometimes feel it,--here!” she said, putting her hand on her bosom.
+She was looking at him as she said it, but her eyes, instead of any
+longer meeting his, seemed to turn their regard inward, and to traverse
+strange regions, not of this world. “I see some one who is myself,
+though I can never have been she: she is surrounded with brightness, and
+people not like ours; she thinks of things that I have never known. It
+is the memory of a dream, I suppose,” she added, in another tone.
+
+“Heredity is a queer thing. You may be Aztecan over again, in mind and
+temperament; and every one knows how impressions are transmitted.
+If features and traits of character, why not particular thoughts and
+feelings?”
+
+“I think it is better not to try to explain these things,” said she,
+with the unconscious haughtiness which maidens acquire who have not seen
+the world and are adored by their family. “They are great mysteries,--or
+else nothing.” She now removed from her head the curious cap or helmet,
+ornamented with gold and with the green feathers of the humming-bird,
+which her companion had crowned her with, and hung it on its nail in the
+cabinet. “Perhaps the thoughts came with the cap,” she remarked, smiling
+slightly. “I don’t feel that way any more. I ought not to have spoken of
+it.”
+
+“I hope the time will come when you will feel that you may trust me.”
+
+“You seem easy to know, Mr. Freeman,” she replied, looking at him
+contemplatively as she spoke, “and yet you are not. There is one of you
+that thinks, and another that speaks. And you are not the same to my
+father, or to Professor Meschines, that you are to me.”
+
+“What is the use of human beings except to take one out of one’s self?”
+
+“But it is not your real self that comes out,” said Miriam, after a
+little pause. She never spoke hurriedly, or until after the coming
+speech had passed into her face.
+
+Freeman laughed. “Well,” he said, “if I’m a hypocrite, I’m one of those
+who are made and not born. As a boy, I was frank enough. But a good
+part of my life has been spent with people who couldn’t be trusted; and
+perhaps the habit of protecting myself against them has grown upon me.
+If I could only live here for a while it would be different.--Here’s an
+odd-looking thing. What do you call that?”
+
+“We call it the Golden Fleece.”
+
+“The Golden Fleece! I can imagine a Medea; but where is the Dragon?”
+
+“If Jason came, the Dragon might appear.”
+
+“I remember reading somewhere that the Dragon was less to be feared than
+Medea’s eyes. But this fleece seems to have lost most of its gold. There
+is only a little gold embroidery.”
+
+“It shows where the gold is hidden.”
+
+“It’s you that are concealing something now, Miss Trednoke. How can a
+woollen garment be a talisman?”
+
+“The secret might be woven into it, perhaps,” replied Miriam, passing
+her fingers caressingly over the soft tunic. “Then, when the right
+person puts it on, it would----But you don’t believe in these things.”
+
+“I don’t know: you don’t give me a chance. But who is the right person?
+The thing seems rather small. I’m sure I couldn’t get it on.”
+
+“It can fit only the one it was made for,” said Miriam, gravely. “And
+if you wanted to find the gold, you would trust to your science, rather
+than to this.”
+
+“Well, gold-hunting is not in my line, at present. Every nugget has been
+paid for more than once, before it is found. Besides, there is something
+better than gold in Southern California,--something worth any labor to
+get.”
+
+“What is it?” asked Miriam, turning her tranquil regard upon him.
+
+Harvey Freeman had never been deficient in audacity. But, standing in
+the dark radiance of this maiden’s eyes, his self-assurance dwindled,
+and he could not bring himself to say to her what he would have said to
+any other pretty woman he had ever met. For he felt that great pride and
+passion were concealed beneath that tranquil surface: it was a nature
+that might give everything to love, and would never pardon any frivolous
+parody thereof. Freeman had been acquainted with Miriam scarcely two
+days, but he had already begun to perceive the main indications of a
+character which a lifetime might not be long enough wholly to explore.
+Marriage had never been among the enterprises he had, in the course of
+his career, proposed to himself: he did not propose it now: yet he dared
+not risk the utterance of a word that would lead Miriam to look at him
+with an offended or contemptuous glance. It was not that she was, from
+the merely physical point of view, transcendently beautiful. His first
+impression of her, indeed, had been that she was merely an unusually
+good example of a type by no means rare in that region. But ere long
+he became sensible of a spiritual quality in her which lifted her to a
+level far above that which can be attained by mere harmony of features
+and proportions. Beneath the outward aspect lay a profound depth of
+being, glimpses of which were occasionally discernible through her eyes,
+in the tones of her voice, in her smile, in unconscious movements of
+her hands and limbs. Demonstrative she could never be; but she could,
+at will, feel with tropical intensity, and act with the swiftness and
+energy of a fanatic.
+
+In Miriam’s company, Freeman forgot every one save her,--even
+himself,--though she certainly made no effort to attract him or (beyond
+the commonplaces of courtesy) to interest him. Consequently he had
+become entirely oblivious of the existence of such a person as Grace
+Parsloe, when, much to his irritation, he heard the voice of that young
+lady, mingled with others, approaching along the veranda. At the same
+moment he experienced acute regret at the whim of fortune which had made
+himself and that sprightly young lady fellow-passengers from Panama, and
+at the idle impulse which had prompted him to flirt with her.
+
+But the past was beyond remedy: it was his concern to deal with the
+present. In a few seconds, Grace entered the curiosity-room, followed by
+Professor Meschines, and by a dashing young Mexican senor, whom Freeman
+had met the previous evening, and who was called Don Miguel de Mendoza.
+The senor, to judge from his manner, had already fallen violently in
+love with Grace, and was almost dislocating his organs of speech in the
+effort to pay her romantic compliments in English. Freeman observed this
+with unalloyed satisfaction. But the look which Grace bent upon him and
+Miriam, on entering, and the ominous change which passed over her mobile
+countenance, went far to counteract this agreeable impression.
+
+One story is good until another is told. Freeman had really thought
+Grace a fascinating girl, until he saw Miriam. There was no harm in
+that: the trouble was, he had allowed Grace to perceive his admiration.
+He had already remarked that she was a creature of violent extremes,
+tempered, but not improved, by a thin polish of subtlety. She was now
+about to give an illustration of the passion of jealousy. But it was not
+her jealousy that Freeman minded: it was the prospect of Miriam’s scorn
+when she should surmise that he had given Grace cause to be jealous.
+Miriam was not the sort of character to enter into a competition with
+any other woman about a lover. He would lose her before he had a chance
+to try to win her.
+
+But fortune proved rather more favorable than Freeman expected, or,
+perhaps, than he deserved. Grace’s attack was too impetuous. She stopped
+just inside the threshold, and said, in an imperious tone, “Come here,
+Mr. Freeman: I wish to speak to you.”
+
+“Thank you,” he replied, resolving at once to widen the breach to the
+utmost extent possible, “I am otherwise engaged.”
+
+“Upon my word,” observed the professor, with a chuckle, “you’re
+no diplomatist, Harvey! What are you two about here? Investigating
+antiquities?”
+
+“The remains of ancient Mexico are more interesting than some of her
+recent products,” returned Freeman, who wished to quarrel with somebody,
+and had promptly decided that Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza was the most
+available person. He bowed to the latter as he spoke.
+
+“You--a--spoken to me?” said the senor, stepping forward with a polite
+grimace. “I no to quite comprehend----”
+
+“Pray don’t exert yourself to converse with me out of your own language,
+senor,” interrupted Freeman, in Spanish. “I was just remarking that the
+Spaniards seem to have degenerated greatly since they colonized Mexico.”
+
+“Senor!” exclaimed Don Miguel, stiffening and staring.
+
+“Of course,” added Freeman, smiling benevolently upon him, “I judge only
+from such specimens of the modern Mexican as I happen to meet with.”
+
+Don Miguel’s sallow countenance turned greenish white. But, before he
+could make a reply, Meschines, who scented mischief in the air, and
+divined that the gentler sex must somehow be at the bottom of it, struck
+in.
+
+“You may consider yourself lucky, Harvey, in making the acquaintance of
+a gentleman like Senor de Mendoza, who exemplifies the undimmed virtues
+of Cortez and Torquemada. For my part, I brought him here in the
+hope that he might be able to throw some light on the mystery of this
+embroidered garment, which I see you’ve been examining. What do you say,
+Don Miguel? Have these designs any significance beyond mere ornament?
+Anything in the nature of hieroglyphics?”
+
+The senor was obliged to examine, and to enter into a discussion,
+though, of course, his ignorance of the subject in dispute was as the
+depths of that abyss which has no bottom. Miriam, who was not fond of
+Don Miguel, but who felt constrained to exceptional courtesy in view
+of Freeman’s unwarrantable attack upon him, stood beside him and the
+Professor; and Freeman and Grace were thus left to fight it out with
+each other.
+
+But Grace had drawn her own conclusions from what had passed. Freeman
+had insulted Don Miguel. Wherefore? Obviously, it could only be because
+he thought that she was flirting with him. In other words, Freeman was
+jealous; and to be jealous is to love. Now, Grace was so constituted
+that, though she did not like to play second fiddle herself, yet she
+had no objection to monopolizing all the members of the male species who
+might happen, at a given moment, to be in sight.
+
+She had, consequently, already forgiven Freeman for his apparent
+unfaithfulness to her, by reason of his manifest jealousy of Don Miguel.
+As a matter of fact, he was not jealous, and he was unfaithful; but
+fate had decreed that there should be, for the moment, a game of
+cross-purposes; and the decrees of fate are incorrigible.
+
+“I had no idea you were so savage,” she said, softly.
+
+“I’m not savage,” replied Freeman. “I am bored.”
+
+“Well, I don’t know as I can blame you,” said Grace, still more softly:
+she fancied he was referring to Miriam. “I don’t much like Spanish
+mixtures myself.”
+
+“One has to take what one can get,” said Freeman, referring to Don
+Miguel.
+
+“But it’s all right now,” rejoined she, meaning that Freeman and herself
+were reconciled after their quarrel.
+
+“If you are satisfied, I am,” observed Freeman, too indifferent to care
+what she meant.
+
+“Only, you mustn’t take that poor young man too seriously,” she went
+on: “these Mexicans are absurdly demonstrative, but they don’t mean
+anything.”
+
+“He won’t, if he values his skin,” said Freeman, meaning that if Don
+Miguel attempted to interfere between himself and Miriam he would wring
+his neck.
+
+“He won’t, I promise you,” said Grace, sparkling with pleasure.
+
+“I don’t quite see how you can help it,” returned Freeman.
+
+“I should hope I could manage a creature like that!” murmured she,
+smiling.
+
+“Well,” said Freeman, after a pause,--for Grace’s seeming change of
+attitude puzzled him a little,--“I’m glad you look at it that way. I
+don’t wish to be meddled with; that’s all.”
+
+“You shan’t be,” she whispered; and then, just when they were
+approaching the point where their eyes might have been opened, in came
+General Trednoke. The group round the Golden Fleece broke up.
+
+The general wore his riding-dress, and his bearing was animated, though
+he was covered with dust.
+
+“I was wondering what had become of you all,” he said, as the others
+gathered about him. “I have been taking a canter to the eastward.
+Kamaiakan said this morning that one of the boys had brought news of a
+cloud-burst in that direction. I rode far enough to ascertain that there
+has really been something of the kind, and I think it has affected the
+arroyo on the farther side of the little sierra. Now, I don’t know how
+you gentlemen feel, but it occurred to me that it might be interesting
+to make up a little party of exploration to-morrow. Would you like to
+try it, Meschines?”
+
+“To be sure I should!” the professor replied. “I imagine I can stand as
+much of the desert as you can! And I want to catch a sidewinder.”
+
+“Good! And you, Mr. Freeman?”
+
+“It would suit me exactly,” said the latter. “In fact, I had been
+intending to gratify my curiosity by making some such expedition on my
+own account.”
+
+“Ah!” said the general, eying him with some intentness. “Well, we may be
+able to show you something more curious than you anticipate.--And now,
+Senor de Mendoza, there is only you left. May we count on your company
+into the desert?”
+
+But the Mexican, with a bow and a grimace, excused himself. Scientific
+curiosity was an unknown emotion to him; but he foresaw an opportunity
+to have Grace all to himself, and he meant to improve it. He also wished
+leisure to think over some plan for getting rid of Senor Freeman, in
+whom he scented a rival, and who, whether a rival or not, had behaved to
+him with a lack of consideration in the presence of ladies.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+General Trednoke’s household went early to bed. As there was
+more accommodation in the old house than sufficed for its present
+inhabitants, it followed that each of them had a regal allowance of
+rooms. And when Grace Parsloe became one of the occupants, she was
+allotted two commodious apartments at the extremity of the left wing.
+They communicated, through long windows, with the veranda in front, and
+by means of doors with the passage, or hall, traversing the house from
+end to end. If, therefore, she happened to be sleepless, she might issue
+forth into the garden, and wander about there without let or hinderance
+until she was ready to accept the wooing of the god of dreams; or, if
+supernatural terrors daunted her, she could in a few seconds transfer
+herself and her fears to Miriam’s chamber, which occupied the same
+position in the right wing that hers did in the left.
+
+The night, as is customary in that climate, where the atmosphere is pure
+and evaporation rapid, was cool and still. By ten o’clock there was no
+sound to indicate that any person was awake; though, to an acute ear,
+the rise and fall of regular breathing, or even an occasional snore,
+might have given evidence of slumber. At the back of the house,
+the Indian retainers were lapped in silence. They were a harmless
+people,--somewhat disposed, perhaps, to small pilferings, in an amiable
+and loyal way, but incapable of anything seriously criminal. There were
+no locks on the doors, and most of them stood ajar. Tramps and burglars
+were unknown.
+
+Miriam, having put on her night-dress, stood a few minutes at her
+window, gazing out on the soft darkness of the garden. All there was
+peacefulness and fragrance. The leaves of the plants hung motionless;
+the blossoms seemed to hush themselves to the enjoyment of their own
+sweetness. The sky was clear, but there was no moon. A beautiful planet,
+however, bright enough to cast a shadow, hung in the southwestern sky,
+and its mysterious light touched Miriam’s face, and cast a dim rectangle
+of radiance on the white matting that carpeted the floor of her room.
+It was the planet Venus,--the star of love. Miriam thought it would be
+a pleasant place to live in. But one need not journey to Venus to find a
+world where love is the ruling passion. Circumstances over which she
+has no control may cause such a world to come into existence in a girl’s
+heart.
+
+She left the window at last, and got into bed, where she soon presented
+an image of perfect repose. Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the
+court-yard at the rear, a dark, pyramidal object abode without motion.
+It might have been taken for a heap of blankets piled up there. But if
+you examined it more narrowly you would have detected in it the vague
+outlines of a human figure, squatting on its haunches, with its head
+resting on its knees, and its arms clasped round them,--somewhat as
+figures sit in Egyptian hieroglyphics, or like Aztecan mummies in the
+tomb. So still was it, it might itself have been a mummy. But ever and
+anon a blinking of the narrow eyes in the bronze countenance told that
+it was no mummy, but a living creature. In fact, it was none other than
+the aged and austere Kamaiakan, who, for reasons best known to himself,
+chose to spend the hours usually devoted to rest in an attitude that
+no European or white American could have maintained with comfort longer
+than five minutes.
+
+An hour--two hours--passed away. Then Kamaiakan noiselessly arose,
+peered about him cautiously for a few moments, and passed out of the
+court-yard through the open gate. He turned to the left, and, stealing
+beneath Miriam’s windows, paused there for an instant and made certain
+gestures with his arms. Anon he continued his way to the garden, and was
+soon concealed by the thick shrubbery.
+
+History requires us to follow him. The garden extended westward, and
+was quite a spacious enclosure: one not familiar with its winding paths
+might easily lose himself there on a dark night. But Kamaiakan knew
+where he was going, and the way thither. He now stalked along more
+swiftly, taking one turn after another, brushing aside the low-hanging
+boughs, and passing the loveliest flowers without a glance. He was as
+one preoccupied with momentous business. Presently he arrived at a small
+open space, remote and secluded. It was completely surrounded by tall
+shrubbery. In the centre was a basin of stone, evidently very ancient,
+filled to the brim with the clear water of a spring, which bubbled up
+from the bottom, and, overflowing by way of a gap in the edge, became a
+small rivulet, which stole away in the direction of the sea. Across the
+slightly undulating surface of the basin trembled the radiance of the
+star.
+
+Kamaiakan knelt down beside it, and, bending over, gazed intently into
+the water. Presently he dipped his hands in it, and sprinkled shining
+drops over his own gaunt person, and over the ground in the vicinity of
+the spring. He made strange movements with his arms, bowed his head
+and erected it again, and traced curious figures on the ground with his
+finger. It appeared as if the venerable Indian had solemnly lost his
+senses and had sought out this lonely spot to indulge the vagaries of
+his insanity. If so, his silence and deliberation afforded an example
+worthy of consideration by other lunatics.
+
+Suddenly he ceased his performance, and held himself in a listening
+attitude. A light, measured sound was audible, accompanied by the
+rustling of leaves. It came nearer. There was a glimpse of whiteness
+through the interstices of the surrounding foliage, and then a slender
+figure, clad in close-fitting raiment, entered the little circle. It
+wore a sort of tunic, reaching half-way to the knees, and leggings of
+the same soft, grayish-white material. The head was covered with a sort
+of hood, which left only the face exposed; and this too might be covered
+by a species of veil or mask, which, however, was now fastened back on
+the headpiece, after the manner of a visor. The front of the tunic was
+embroidered with fantastic devices in gold thread, brightened here and
+there with precious stones; and other devices appeared on the hood.
+The face of this figure was pale and calm, with great dark eyes beneath
+black brows. The stature was no greater than that of a lad of fifteen,
+but the bearing was composed and dignified. The contours of the figure,
+however, even as seen by that dim light, were those of neither a boy nor
+a man. The wearer of the tunic was a girl, just rounding into womanhood,
+and the face was the face of Miriam.
+
+Yet it was not by this name that Kamaiakan addressed her. After making
+a deep obeisance, touching his hand to her foot and then to his own
+forehead and breast, he said, in a language that was neither Spanish nor
+such as the modern Indians of Mexico use,--
+
+“Welcome, Semitzin! May this night be the beginning of high things!”
+
+“I am ready,” replied the other, in a soft and low voice, but with a
+certain stateliness of utterance unlike the usual manner of General
+Trednoke’s daughter: “I was glad to hear you call, and to see again the
+stars and the earth. Have you anything to tell?”
+
+“There are events which may turn to our harm, most revered princess. The
+master of this house----”
+
+“Why do you not call him my father, Kamaiakan?” interposed the other.
+“He is indeed the father of this mortal body which I wear, which (as you
+tell me) bears the name of Miriam. Besides, are not Miriam and I united
+by the thread of descent?”
+
+“Something of the spirit that is you dwells in her also,” said the
+Indian.
+
+“And does she know of it?”
+
+“At times, my princess; but only as one remembers a dream.”
+
+“I wish I might converse with her and instruct her in the truth,”
+ said the princess. “And she, in turn, might speak to me of things that
+perplex me. I live and move in this mortal world, and yet (you tell
+me) three centuries have passed since what is called my death. To me it
+seems as if I had but slept through a night, and were awake again.
+Nor can I tell what has happened--what my life and thoughts have
+been--during this long lapse of time. Yet it must be that I live another
+life: I cannot rest in extinction. Three times you have called me forth;
+yet whence I come hither, or whither I return, is unknown to me.”
+
+“There is a memory of the spirit,” replied Kamaiakan, “and a memory of
+the body. They are separate, and cannot communicate with each other.
+Such is the law.”
+
+“Yet I remember, as if it were yesterday, the things that were done when
+Montezuma was king. And well do I remember you, Kamaiakan!”
+
+“It is true I live again, princess, though not in the flesh and bones
+that died with you in the past. But in the old days I was acquainted
+with mysteries, and learned the secrets of the world of spirits; and
+this science still remained with me after the change, so that I was able
+to know that I was I, and that you could be recalled to speak with me
+through the tongue of Miriam. But there are some things that I do not
+know; and it is for that I have been bold to summon you.”
+
+“What can I tell you that can be of use to you in this present life,
+Kamaiakan, when all whom we knew and loved are gone?”
+
+“To you only, Semitzin, is known the place of concealment of the
+treasure which, in the old times, you and I hid in the desert. I indeed
+remember the event, and somewhat of the region of the hiding; but I
+cannot put my hand upon the very spot. I have tried to discover it; but
+when I approach it my mind becomes confused between the present and the
+past, and I am lost.”
+
+“I remember it well,” said Semitzin. “We rode across the desert,
+carrying the treasure on mules. The air was still, and the heat very
+heavy. The desert descended in a great hollow: you told me it was where,
+in former days, the ocean had been. At last there were rocky hills
+before us; we rode towards a great rock shaped like the pyramid on which
+the sacrifices were held in Tenochtitlan. We passed round its base, and
+entered a deep and narrow valley, that seemed to have been ploughed out
+of the heart of the earth and to descend into it. Then---- But what is
+it you wish to do with this treasure, Kamaiakan?”
+
+“It belongs to your race, princess, and was hidden that the murderers
+of Montezuma might not seize it. I was bound by an oath, after the peril
+was past, to restore it to the rightful owners. But our country remained
+under the rule of the conquerors; and my life went out. But now the
+conquerors have been conquered in their turn, and Miriam is the last
+inheritor of your blood. When I have delivered to her this trust, my
+work will be done, and I can return to the world which you inhabit. The
+time is come; and only by your help can the restitution be made.”
+
+“Was there, then, a time fixed?”
+
+“The stars tell me so. And other events make it certain that there must
+be no delay. The general has it in mind to discover the gates through
+which the waters under-ground may arise and again form the sea which
+flowed hereabouts in the ancient times. Now, this sea will fill the
+ravine in which the treasure lies, and make it forever unattainable. A
+youth has also come here who is skilled in the sciences, and whom the
+general will ask to help him in the thing he is to attempt.”
+
+“Who is this youth?” asked Semitzin.
+
+“He is of the new people who inherit this land: his name is Freeman.”
+
+“There is something in me--I know not what--that seems to tell me I have
+been near such a one. Can it be so?”
+
+“The other self, who now sleeps, knows of him,” replied the ancient
+Indian. “He is a well-looking youth, and I think he has a desire towards
+her we call Miriam.”
+
+“And does she love him?” inquired the princess.
+
+“A maiden’s heart is a riddle, even to herself,” said Kamaiakan.
+
+“But there is a sympathy that makes me feel her heart in my own,”
+ rejoined Semitzin. “Love is a thing that pierces through time, and
+through barriers which separate the mind and memory of the past from the
+present. I--as you know, Kamaiakan--was never wedded; the fate of our
+people, and my early end, kept that from me. But the thought of that
+youth is here,”--she put her hand on her bosom,--“and it seems to me
+that, were we to meet, I should know him. Perhaps, were that to be,
+Miriam and I might thus come to be aware of each other, and live
+henceforth one life.”
+
+“Such matters are beyond my knowledge,” said the Indian, shaking his
+head. “The gods know what will be. It is for us, now, to regain the
+treasure. Are you willing, my princess, to accompany me thither?”
+
+“I am ready. Shall it be now?”
+
+“Not now, but soon. I will call you when the moment comes. The place
+is but a ride of two or three hours from here. None must know of our
+departure, for there are some here whom I do not trust. We must go by
+night. You will wear the garments you now have on, without which all
+might miscarry.”
+
+“How can the garments affect the result, Kamaiakan?”
+
+“A powerful spell is laid upon them, princess. Moreover, the characters
+wrought upon them, with gold thread and jewels, are mystical, and the
+substance of the garment itself has a virtue to preserve the wearer from
+evil. It is the same that was worn by you when the treasure was hidden;
+and it may be, Semitzin, that without its magic aid your spirit could
+not know itself in this world as now it can.”
+
+As he spoke the last words, a low sound, wandering and muttering with
+an inward note, came palpitating on their ears through the night air.
+It seemed to approach from no direction that could be identified, yet
+it was at first remote, and then came nearer, and in a moment trembled
+around them, and shivered in the solid earth beneath their feet; and in
+another instant it had passed on, and was subdued slowly into silence in
+the shadowy distance. No one who has once heard that sound can mistake
+it for any other, or ever can forget it. The air had suddenly become
+close and tense; and now a long breeze swept like a sigh through the
+garden, dying away in a long-drawn wail; and out of the west came a
+hollow murmur, like that of a mighty wave breaking upon the shore of the
+ocean.
+
+“The earthquake!” whispered Kamaiakan, rising to his feet. And then he
+pointed to the stone basin. “Look! the spring!”
+
+“It is gone!” exclaimed Semitzin.
+
+And, in truth, the water, with a strange, sucking noise, disappeared
+through the bottom of the basin, leaving the glistening cavity which had
+held it, green with slimy water-weed, empty.
+
+“The time is near, indeed!” muttered the Indian. “The second shock may
+cause the waters from which this spring came to rise as no living man
+has seen them rise, and make the sea return, and the treasure be lost.
+In a few days all may be over. But you, princess, must vanish: though
+the shock was but slight, some one might be awakened; and were you to be
+discovered, our plans might go wrong.”
+
+“Must I depart so soon?” said Semitzin, regretfully. “The earth is
+beautiful, Kamaiakan: the smell of the flowers is sweet, and the stars
+in the sky are bright. To feel myself alive, to breathe, to walk, to
+see, are sweet. Perhaps I have no other conscious life than this. I
+would like to remain as I am: I would like to see the sun shine, and to
+hear the birds sing, and to see the men and women who live in this age.
+Is there no way of keeping me here?”
+
+“I cannot tell; it may be,--but it must not be now, Semitzin,” the old
+man replied, with a troubled look. “The ways of the gods are not our
+ways. She whose body you inhabit--she has her life to live.”
+
+“But is that girl more worthy to live than I? You have called me into
+being again: you have made me know how pleasant this world is. Miriam
+sleeps: she need never know; she need never awake again. You were
+faithful to me in the old time: have you more care for her than for me?
+I feel all the power and thirst of youth in me: the gods did not let me
+live out my life: may they not intend that I shall take it up again now?
+Besides, I wear Miriam’s body: could I not seem to others to be Miriam
+indeed? How could they guess the truth?”
+
+“I will think of what you say, princess,” said Kamaiakan. “Something
+may perhaps be done; but it must be done gradually: you would need much
+instruction in the ways of the new world before you could safely enter
+into its life. Leave that to me. I am loyal as ever: is it not to fulfil
+the oath made to you that I am here? and what would Miriam be to me,
+were she not your inheritor? Be satisfied for the present: in a few days
+we will meet and speak again.”
+
+“The power is yours, Kamaiakan: it is well to argue, when with a word
+you can banish me forever! Yet what if I were to say that, unless you
+consent to the thing I desire, I will not show you where the treasure
+lies?”
+
+“Princess Semitzin!” exclaimed the Indian, “remember that it is not
+against me, but against the gods, that you would contend. The gods know
+that I have no care for treasure. But they will not forgive a broken
+oath; and they will not hold that one guiltless through whom it is
+brought to naught?”
+
+“Well, we shall meet again,” answered Semitzin, after a pause. “But do
+you remember that you, too, are not free from responsibility in this
+matter. You have called me back: see to it that you do me justice.” She
+waved her hands with a gesture of adieu, turned, and left the enclosure.
+Kamaiakan sank down again beside the empty bowl of the fountain.
+
+Semitzin returned along the path by which she had come, towards the
+house. As she turned round one of the corners, she saw a man’s figure
+before her, strolling slowly along in the same direction in which she
+was going. In a few moments he heard her light footfall, and, facing
+about, confronted her. She continued to advance until she was within
+arm’s reach of him: then she paused, and gazed steadfastly in his face.
+He was the first human being, save Kamaiakan, that she had seen since
+her eyes closed upon the world of Tenochtitlan, three hundred years
+before.
+
+The young man looked upon her with manifest surprise. It was too dark
+to distinguish anything clearly, but it did not take him long to surmise
+that the figure was that of a woman, and her countenance, though changed
+in aspect by the head-dress she were, yet had features which, he knew,
+he had seen before. But could it be Miriam Trednoke who was abroad at
+such an hour and in such a costume? He did not recognize the Golden
+Fleece, but it was evident enough that she was clad as women are not.
+
+Before he could think of anything to say to her, she smiled, and uttered
+some words in a soft, flowing language with which he was entirely
+unacquainted. The next moment she had glided past him, and was out of
+sight round the curve of the path, leaving him in a state of perplexity
+not altogether gratifying.
+
+“What the deuce can it mean?” he muttered to himself. “I can’t be
+mistaken about its being Miriam. And yet she didn’t look at me as if
+she recognized me. What can she be doing out here at midnight? I suppose
+it’s none of my business: in fact, she might very reasonably ask the
+same question of me. And if I were to tell her that I had only ridden
+over to spend a sentimental hour beneath her window, what would she say?
+If she answered in the same lingo she used just now, I should be as wise
+as before. After all, it may have been somebody else. The image in my
+mind projected itself on her countenance. I certainly must be in love!
+I almost wish I’d never come here. This complication about the general’s
+irrigating scheme makes it awkward. I’m bound not to explain things to
+him; and yet, if I don’t, and he discovers (as he can’t help doing) what
+I am here for, nothing will persuade him that I haven’t been playing
+a double game; and that would not be a promising preliminary towards
+becoming a member of his family. If Miriam were only Grace, now, it
+would be plain sailing. Hello! who’s this? Senor Don Miguel, as I’m a
+sinner! What is he up to, pray? Can this be the explanation of
+Miriam’s escapade? I have a strong desire to blow a hole through that
+fellow!--Buenas noches, Senor de Mendoza! I am enchanted to have the
+unexpected honor of meeting you.”
+
+Senor de Mendoza turned round, disagreeably startled. It is only fair to
+explain that he had not come hither with any lover-like designs towards
+Miriam. Grace was the magnet that had drawn his steps to the Trednokes’
+garden, and the truth is that that enterprising young lady was not
+without a suspicion that he might turn up. Could this information have
+been imparted to Freeman, it would have saved much trouble; but, as
+it was, not only did he jump to the conclusion that Don Miguel was his
+rival (and, seemingly, a not unsuccessful one), but a similar misgiving
+as to Freeman’s purposes towards Grace found its way into the heart of
+the Spaniard. It was a most perverse trick of fate.
+
+The two men contemplated each other, each after his own fashion: Don
+Miguel pale, glaring, bristling; Freeman smiling, insolent, hectoring.
+
+“Why are you here, senor?” demanded the former, at length.
+
+“Partly, senor, because such is my pleasure. Partly, to inform you that
+your presence here offends me, and to humbly request you to be off.”
+
+“Senor, this is an impertinence.”
+
+“Senor, one is not impertinent to prowling greasers. One admonishes
+them, and, if they do not obey, one chastises them.”
+
+“Do you talk of chastising Don Miguel de Mendoza? Senor, I will wash out
+that insult with your blood!”
+
+“Excellent! It is at your service for the taking. But, lest we disturb
+the repose of our friends yonder, let us seek a more convenient spot. I
+noticed a very pretty little glade on the right as I rode over here. You
+are armed? Good! we will have this little affair adjusted within half
+an hour. Yonder star--the planet of love, senor--shall see fair play.
+Andamos!”
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Having mounted their steeds, the two sanguinary young gentlemen rode
+onwards, side by side, but in silence; for the souls of those who have
+resolved to slay each other find small delight in vain conversation.
+Moreover, there is that in the conscious proximity of death which
+stimulates to thought much more than to speech. But Freeman preserved an
+outward demeanor of complacent calm, as one who doubts not, nor dreads,
+the issue; and, indeed, this was not the first time by many that he had
+taken his life in his hand and brought it unscathed through dangers.
+Don Miguel, on the other hand, was troubled in spirit, and uneasy in
+the flesh. He was one soon hot and soon cold; and this long ride to the
+decisive event went much against his stomach. If the conflict had
+taken place there in the garden, while the fire of the insult was yet
+scorching him, he could have fought it out with good will; but now the
+night air seemed chiller and chiller, and its frigidity crept into his
+nerves: he doubted of the steadiness of his aim, bethought himself that
+the darkness was detrimental to accurate shooting, and wondered whether
+Senor Freeman would think it necessary to fight across a handkerchief.
+He could not help regretting, too, that the quarrel had not
+been occasioned by some more definite and satisfactory
+provocation,--something which merely to think of would steel the heart
+to irrevocable murderousness. But no blow had passed; even the words,
+though bitter to swallow, had been wrapt in the phrases of courtesy;
+and perhaps the whole affair was the result of some misapprehension.
+He stole a look at the face of his companion; and the latter’s air of
+confident and cheerful serenity made him feel worse than ever. Was he
+being brought out here to be butchered for nothing,--he, Don Miguel de
+Mendoza, who had looked forward to many pleasures in this life? It was
+too bad. It was true, the fortune of war might turn the other way; but
+Don Miguel was aware of a sensation in his bones which made this hope
+weak.
+
+At length Freeman drew rein and glanced around him. They were in a
+lonely and--Don Miguel thought--a most desolate and unattractive spot.
+An open space of about half an acre was bounded on one side by a growth
+of wild mustard, whose slender stalks rose to more than the height of a
+man’s head. On the other side was a grove of live-oak; and in front, the
+ground fell away in a rugged, bush-grown declivity.
+
+“It strikes me that this is just about what we want,” remarked Freeman,
+in his full, cheerful tones. “We are half a mile from the road;
+the ground is fairly level; and there’s no possibility of our being
+disturbed. I was thinking, this afternoon, as I passed through here,
+what an ideal spot it was for just such a little affair as you and I are
+bent on. But I didn’t venture to anticipate such speedy good fortune as
+your obliging condescension has brought to pass, Don Miguel.”
+
+“Caramba!” muttered the senor, shivering. He might have said more, but
+was unwilling to trust his voice, or to waste nervous energy.
+
+Meanwhile, Freeman had dismounted, and was tethering his horse. It
+occurred to the senor that it would be easy to pull his gun, send a
+bullet through his companion, and gallop away. He did not yield to
+this temptation, partly from traditional feeling that it would not be
+suitable conduct for a De Mendoza, partly because he might miss the shot
+or only inflict a wound, and partly because such deeds demand a nerve
+which, at that moment, was not altogether at his command. Instead,
+he slowly dismounted himself, and wondered whether it would ever be
+vouchsafed him to sit in that saddle again.
+
+Freeman now produced his revolver, a handsome, silver-mounted weapon,
+that looked business-like. “What sort of a machine is yours?” he
+inquired, pleasantly. “You can take your choice. I’m not particular, but
+I can recommend this as a sure thing, if you would like to try it. It
+never misses at twenty paces.”
+
+“Twenty paces?” repeated Don Miguel, with a faint gleam of hope.
+
+“Of course we won’t have any twenty paces to-night,” added Freeman, with
+a laugh. “I thought it might be a good plan to start at, say, fifteen,
+and advance firing. In that way, one or other of us will be certain to
+do something sooner or later. Would that arrangement be agreeable to
+Senor de Mendoza?”
+
+“Valga me Dios! I am content,” said the latter, fetching a deep breath,
+and setting his teeth. “I will keep my weapon.”
+
+“Muy buen,” returned the American. “So now let us take our ground: that
+is, if you are quite ready?”
+
+Accordingly they selected their stations, facing respectively about
+north and south, with the planet of love between them, as it were.
+“Oblige me by giving the word, senor,” said Freeman, cocking his weapon.
+
+But Don Miguel was staring with perturbed visage at something behind
+his antagonist. “Santa Maria!” he faltered, “what is yonder? It is a
+spirit!”
+
+Freeman had his wits about him, and perhaps entertained a not too high
+opinion of Mexican fair play. So, before turning round, he advanced till
+he was alongside his companion. Then he looked, and saw something which
+was certainly enigmatic.
+
+Among the wild-mustard plants there appeared a moving luminosity,
+having an irregular, dancing motion, as of a will-o’-the-wisp singularly
+agitated. Sometimes it uplifted itself on high, then plunged downwards,
+and again jerked itself from side to side; occasionally it would quite
+vanish for an instant. Accompanying this manifestation there was a
+clawing and reaching of shadowy arms: altogether, it was as if some
+titanic spectral grasshopper, with a heart of fire, were writhing and
+kicking in convulsions of phantom agony. Such an apparition, in an hour
+and a place so lonely, might stagger a less superstitious soul than that
+of Don Miguel de Mendoza.
+
+Freeman gazed at it for a moment in silence. It mystified him, and
+then irritated him. When one is bent heart and soul upon an important
+enterprise, any interruption is an annoyance. Perhaps there was in the
+young American’s nature just enough remains of belief in witches and
+hobgoblins to make him feel warranted in resorting to extreme measures.
+At any rate, he lifted his revolver, and fired.
+
+It was a long shot for a revolver: nevertheless it took effect. The
+luminous object disappeared with a faint explosive sound, followed by a
+shout unmistakably human. The long stems of the wild mustard swayed
+and parted, and out sprang a figure, which ran straight towards the two
+young men.
+
+Hereupon, Don Miguel, hissing out an appeal to the Virgin and the
+saints, turned and fled.
+
+Meanwhile, the mysterious figure continued its onward career; and
+Freeman once more levelled his weapon,--when a voice, which gave him
+such a start of surprise as well-nigh caused him to pull the trigger
+for sheer lack of self-command, called out, “Why, you abominable young
+villain! What the mischief do you mean? Do you want to be hanged?”
+
+“Professor Meschines!” faltered Freeman.
+
+It was indeed that worthy personage, and he was on fire with wrath. He
+held in one hand a shattered lantern mounted on the end of a pole, and
+in the other a long-handled net of gauze, such as entomologists use to
+catch moths withal. Under his left arm was slung a brown japanned case,
+in which he presumably deposited the spoils of his skill. Freeman’s shot
+had not only smashed and extinguished the lantern which served as bait
+for the game, but had also given the professor a disagreeable reminder
+that the tenure of human life is as precarious as that of the silly moth
+which allows itself to be lured to destruction by shining promises of
+bliss.
+
+“Upon my soul, professor, I am very sorry,” said Freeman. “You have
+no idea how formidable you looked; and you could hardly expect me to
+imagine that you would be abroad at such an hour----”
+
+“And why not, I should like to know?” shouted the professor, towering
+with indignation. “Was I doing anything to be ashamed of? And what are
+you doing here, pray, with loaded revolvers in your hands?--Hallo! who’s
+this?” he exclaimed, as Don Miguel advanced doubtfully out of the gloom.
+“Senor de Mendoza, as I’m a sinner! and armed, too! Well, really! Are
+you two out on a murdering expedition?--Oho!” he went on, in a changed
+tone, glancing keenly from one to another: “methinks I see the bottom of
+this mystery. You have ridden forth, like the champions of romance,
+to do doughty deeds upon each other!--Is it not so, Don Miguel?” he
+demanded, turning his fierce spectacles suddenly on that young man.
+
+Don Miguel, ignoring a secret gesture from Freeman, admitted that he had
+been on the point of expunging the latter from this mortal sphere.
+
+The professor chuckled sarcastically. “I see! Blood! Wounded honor!
+The code!--But, by the way, I don’t see your seconds! Where are your
+seconds?”
+
+“My dear sir,” said Freeman, “I assure you it’s all a mistake. We just
+happened to meet at the gen--er--happened to meet, and were riding home
+together----”
+
+“Now, listen to me, Harvey,” the professor interrupted, holding up an
+expository finger. “You have known me since some ten years, I think; and
+I have known you. You were a clever boy in your studies; but it was
+your foible to fancy yourself cleverer than you were. Acting under that
+delusion, you pitted yourself against me on one or two occasions; and
+I leave it to your candid recollection whether you or I had the best of
+the encounter. You call yourself a man, now; but I make bold to say
+that the--discrepancy, let us call it--between you and me remains as
+conspicuous as ever it was. I see through you, sir, much more clearly
+than, by this light, I can see you. I am fond of you, Harvey; but I
+feel nothing but contempt for your present attitude. In the first place,
+conscious as you are of your skill with that weapon, you know that this
+affair--even had seconds been present--would have been, not a duel,
+but an assassination. You acted like a coward!--I say it, sir, like a
+coward!--and I hope you may live to be as much ashamed of yourself as
+I am now ashamed for you. Secondly, your conduct, considered in its
+relations to--to certain persons whom I will not name, is that of a boor
+and a blackguard. Suppose you had accomplished the cowardly murder--the
+cowardly murder, I said, sir--that you were bent upon to-night. Do you
+think that would be a grateful and acceptable return for the courtesy
+and confidence that have been shown you in that house?--a house, sir, to
+which I myself introduced you, under the mistaken belief that you were
+a gentleman, or, at least, could feign gentlemanly behavior! But I
+won’t--my feelings won’t allow me to enlarge further upon this point.
+But allow me to add, in the third place, that you have shown yourself
+a purblind donkey. Actually, you haven’t sense enough to know the
+difference between those who pull with you and those who pull against
+you. Now, I happen to know--to know, do you hear?--that had you
+succeeded in what you were just about to attempt, you would have removed
+your surest ally,--the surest, because his interests prompt him to favor
+yours. You pick out the one man who was doing his best to clear the
+obstacle out of your path, and what do you do?--Thank him?--Not you!
+You plot to kill him! But even had he been, as you in your stupidity
+imagined, your rival, do you think the course you adopted would have
+promoted your advantage? Let me tell you, sir, that you don’t know the
+kind of people you are dealing with. You would never have been permitted
+to cross their threshold again. And you may take my word for it, if
+ever you venture to recur to any such folly, I will see to it that you
+receive your deserts.--Well, I think we understand each other, now?”
+
+Freeman’s emotions had undergone several variations during the course of
+the mighty professor’s harangue. But he had ended by admitting the force
+of the argument; and the reminiscences of college lecturings aroused by
+the incident had tickled his sense of humor and quenched his anger. He
+looked at the professor with a sparkle of laughter in his eyes.
+
+“I have done very wrong, sir,” he said, “and I’m very sorry for it. If
+you won’t give me any bad marks this time, I’ll promise to be good in
+future.”
+
+“Ah! very smooth! To begin with, suppose you ask pardon of Senor Don
+Miguel de Mendoza for the affront you have put upon him.”
+
+To a soul really fearless, even an apology has no terrors. Moreover,
+Freeman’s night ride with Don Miguel, though brief in time, had sufficed
+to give him the measure of the Mexican’s character; and he respected
+it so little that he could no longer take the man seriously, or be
+sincerely angry with him. The professor’s assurance as to Don Miguel’s
+inoffensiveness had also its weight; and it was therefore with a quite
+royal gesture of amicable condescension that Freeman turned upon his
+late antagonist and held out his hand.
+
+“Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza,” said he, “I humbly tender you my
+apologies and crave your pardon. My conduct has been inexcusable; I beg
+you to excuse it. I deserve your reprobation; I entreat the favor of
+your friendship. Senor, between men of honor, a misunderstanding is a
+misunderstanding, and an apology is an apology. I lament the existence
+of the first; the professor, here, is witness that I lay the second at
+your feet. May I hope to receive your hand as a pledge that you restore
+me to the privilege of your good will?”
+
+Now, Don Miguel’s soul had been grievously exercised that night: he had
+been insulted, he had shivered beneath the shadow of death, he had been
+a prey to superstitious terrors, and he had been utterly perplexed by
+the professor’s eloquent address, whereof (as it was delivered in good
+American, and with a rapidity of utterance born of strong feeling) he
+had comprehended not a word, and the unexpected effect of which upon his
+late adversary he was at a loss to understand. Although, therefore,
+he had no stomach for battle, he was oppressed by a misgiving lest
+the whole transaction had been in some way planned to expose him
+to ridicule; and for this reason he was disposed to treat Freeman’s
+peaceful overtures with suspicion. His heart did not respond to those
+overtures, but neither was it stout enough to enable him to reject them
+explicitly. Accordingly, he adopted that middle course which, in spite
+of the proverb, is not seldom the least expedient. He disregarded
+the proffered hand, bowed very stiffly, and, saying, “Senor, I am
+satisfied,” stalked off with all the rigidity of one in whose veins
+flows the sangre azul of Old Castile. Freeman smiled superior upon his
+retreat, and then, producing a cigar-case, proceeded to light up with
+the professor. In this fragrant and friendly cloud we will leave them,
+and return for a few minutes to the house of General Trednoke.
+
+It will be remembered that something was said of Grace being privy to
+the nocturnal advances of Senor de Mendoza. We are not to suppose
+that this implies in her anything worse than an aptness to indulge in
+romantic adventure: the young lady enjoyed the mystery of romance,
+and knew that serenades, and whisperings over star-lit balconies, were
+proper to this latitude. It may be open to question whether she really
+was much interested in De Mendoza, save as he was a type of the adoring
+Spaniard. That the scene required: she could imagine him (for the
+time-being) to be the Cid of ancient legend, and she herself would enact
+a role of corresponding elevation. Grace would doubtless have prospered
+better had she been content with one adorer at a time; but, while
+turning to a new love, she was by no means disposed to loosen the chains
+of a former one; and, though herself as jealous as is a tiger-cat of her
+young, she could never recognize the propriety of a similar passion on
+the part of her victims. She had been indignant at Freeman’s apparent
+infidelity with Miriam; but when she had (as she imagined) discovered
+her mistake, she had listened with a heart at ease to the protestations
+of Don Miguel. She had parted from him that evening with a half
+expressed understanding that he was to reappear beneath her window
+before day-light; and she had pictured to herself a charming
+balcony-scene, such as she had beheld in Italian opera. Accordingly, she
+had attired herself in a becoming negligee, and had spent the fore part
+of the night somewhat restlessly, occasionally emerging on the veranda
+and gazing down into the perfumed gloom of the garden. At length she
+fancied that she heard footsteps. Whose could they be, unless Don
+Miguel’s? Grace retreated within her window to await developments. Don
+Miguel did not appear; but presently she descried a phantom-like figure
+ascending the flight of steps to the veranda. Could that be he? If so,
+he was bolder in his wooing than Grace had been prepared for. But surely
+that was a strange costume that he wore; nor did the unconscious harmony
+of the gait at all resemble the senor’s self-conscious strut. And
+whither was he going?
+
+It was but too evident that he was going straight to the room occupied
+by Miriam!
+
+This was too much for Grace’s equanimity. She stepped out of her window,
+and flitted with noiseless step along the veranda. The figure that she
+pursued entered the door of the house, and passed into the corridor
+traversing the wing. Grace was in time to see it cross the threshold of
+Miriam’s door, which stood ajar. She stole to the door, and peeped in.
+There was the figure; but of Miriam there was no trace.
+
+The figure slowly unfastened and threw back the hood which covered
+its head, at the same time turning round, so that its countenance was
+revealed. A torrent of black hair fell down over its shoulders. Grace
+uttered an involuntary exclamation. It was Miriam herself!
+
+The two gazed at each other a moment in silence. “Goodness me, dear!”
+ said Grace at last, in a faint voice, “how you have frightened me! I
+saw you go in, in that dress, and I thought you were a man! How my heart
+beats! What is the matter?”
+
+“This is strange!” murmured the other, after a pause. “I never heard
+such words; and yet I seem to understand, and even to speak them. It
+must be a dream. What are you?”
+
+“Why, Miriam, dear! don’t you know Grace?”
+
+“Oh! you think me Miriam. No; not yet!” She raised her hands, and
+pressed her fingers against her temples. “But I feel her--I feel her
+coming! Not yet, Kamaiakan! not so soon!--Do you know him?” she suddenly
+asked, throwing back her hair, and fixing an eager gaze on Grace.
+
+“Know who? Kamaiakan? Why, yes----”
+
+“No, not him! The youth,--the blue-eyed,--the fair beard above his
+lips----”
+
+“What are you talking about? Not Harvey Freeman!”
+
+“Harvey Freeman! Ah, how sweet a name! Harvey Freeman! I shall know it
+now!--Tell him,” she went on, laying her hand majestically upon Grace’s
+shoulder, and speaking with an impressive earnestness, “that Semitzin
+loves him!”
+
+“Semitzin?” repeated Grace, puzzled, and beginning to feel scared.
+
+“Semitzin!” the other said, pointing to her own heart. “She loves him:
+not as the child Miriam loves, but with the heart and soul of a mighty
+princess. When he knows Semitzin, he will think of Miriam no more.”
+
+“But who is Semitzin?” inquired Grace, with a fearful curiosity.
+
+“The Princess of Tenochtitlan, and the guardian of the great treasure,”
+ was the reply.
+
+“Good gracious! what treasure?”
+
+“The treasure of gold and precious stones hidden in the gorge of the
+desert hills. None knows the place of it but I; and I will give it to
+none but him I love.”
+
+“But you said that... Really, my dear, I don’t understand a bit! As for
+Mr. Freeman, he may care for Semitzin, for aught I know; but, I must
+confess, I think you’re mistaken in supposing he’s in love with you,--if
+that is what you mean. I met him before you did, you know; and if I were
+to tell you all that we----”
+
+“What are you or Miriam to me?--Ah! she comes!--The treasure--by the
+turning of the white pyramid--six hundred paces--on the right--the
+arch----” Her voice died away. She covered her face with her hands, and
+trembled violently. Slowly she let them fall, and stared around her.
+“Grace, is it you? Has anything happened? How came I like this? What is
+it?”
+
+“Well, if you don’t know, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. I had begun to
+think you had gone mad. It must be either that or somnambulism. Who is
+Semitzin?”
+
+“Semitzin? I never heard of him.”
+
+“It isn’t a man: it’s a princess. And the treasure?”
+
+“Am I asleep or awake? What are you saying?”
+
+“The white pyramid, you know----”
+
+“Don’t make game of me, Grace. If I have done anything----”
+
+“My dear, don’t ask me! I tell you frankly, I’m nonplussed. You were
+somebody else a minute ago.... The truth is, of course, you’ve been
+dreaming awake. Has any one else seen you beside me?”
+
+“Have I been out of my room?” asked Miriam, in dismay.
+
+“You must have been, I should think, to get that costume. Well, the best
+plan will be, I suppose, to say nothing about it to anybody. It shall be
+our secret, dear. If I were you, I would have one of the women sleep
+in your room, in case you got restless again. It’s just an attack of
+nervousness, probably,--having so many strangers in the house, all of a
+sudden. Now you must go to bed and get to sleep: it’s awfully late, and
+there’ll be ever so much going on to-morrow.”
+
+Grace herself slept little that night. She could not decide what to make
+of this adventure. Nowadays we are provided with a name for the peculiar
+psychical state which Miriam was undergoing, and with abundant instances
+and illustrations; but we perhaps know what it is no more than we did
+twenty-five or thirty years ago. Grace’s first idea had been that Miriam
+was demented; then she thought she was playing a part; then she did not
+know what to think; and finally she came to the conclusion that it was
+best to quietly await further developments. She would keep an eye on
+Freeman as well as on Miriam; something, too, might be gathered from Don
+Miguel; and then there was that talk about a treasure. Was that all the
+fabric of a dream, or was there truth at the bottom of it? She had
+heard something said about a treasure in the course of the general
+conversation the day before. If there really was a treasure, why might
+not she have a hand in the discovery of it? Miriam, in her abnormal
+state, had let fall some topographical hints that might prove useful.
+Well, she would work out the problem, sooner or later. To-morrow,
+when the others had gone off on their expedition, she would have
+ample leisure to sound Don Miguel, and, if he proved communicative and
+available, who could tell what might happen? But how very odd it all
+was! Who was Semitzin?
+
+While asking herself this question, Grace fell asleep; and by the
+time the summons to breakfast came, she had passed through thrilling
+adventures enough to occupy a new Scheherazade at least three years in
+the telling of them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+By nine o’clock in the morning, Professor Meschines and Harvey Freeman
+had ridden up to the general’s ranch, equipped for the expedition. The
+general’s preparations were not yet quite completed. A couple of mules
+were being loaded with the necessary outfit. It was proposed to be
+out two days, camping in the open during the intervening night. It
+was necessary to take water as well as solid provisions. Leaving their
+horses in the care of a couple of stable-boys, Meschines and Freeman
+mounted the veranda, and were there greeted by General Trednoke.
+
+“I’m afraid we’ll have a hot ride of it,” he observed. “The atmosphere
+is rather oppressive. Kamaiakan tells me there was a touch of earthquake
+last night.”
+
+“I thought I noticed some disturbance,----” returned the professor,
+with a stealthy side-glance at Freeman,--“something in the nature of an
+explosion.”
+
+“Earthquakes are common in this region, aren’t they?” Freeman said.
+
+“They have made it what it is, and may unmake it again,” replied the
+general. “The earthquake is the father of the desert, as the Indians
+say; and it may some day become the father of a more genial offspring.
+Veremos!”
+
+“How are the young ladies?” inquired Freeman.
+
+“Miriam has a little headache, I believe; and I thought Miss Parsloe was
+looking a trifle pale this morning. But you must see for yourself. Here
+they come.”
+
+Grace, who was a little taller than Miriam, had thrown one arm round
+that young lady’s waist, with a view, perhaps, to forming a picture in
+which she should not be the secondary figure. In fact, they were both
+of them very pretty; but Freeman had become blind to any beauty but
+Miriam’s. Moreover, he was resolved to have some private conversation
+with her during the few minutes that were available. A conversation with
+the professor, and some meditations of his own, had suggested to him a
+line of attack upon Grace.
+
+“I’m afraid you were disturbed by the earthquake last night?” he said to
+her.
+
+“An earthquake? Why should you think so?”
+
+“You look as if you had passed a restless night. I saw Senor de Mendoza
+this morning. He seems to have had a restless time of it, too. But he
+is a romantic person, and probably, if an earthquake did not make him
+sleepless, something else might.” He looked at her a moment, and then
+added, with a smile, “But perhaps this is not news to you?”
+
+“He didn’t come--I didn’t see him,” returned Grace, wishing, ere the
+words had left her lips, that she had kept her mouth shut. Freeman
+continued to smile. How much did he know? She felt that it might be
+inexpedient to continue the conversation. Casting about for a pretext
+for retreat, her eyes fell upon Meschines.
+
+“Oh, there’s the dear professor! I must speak to him a moment,” she
+exclaimed, vivaciously; and she slipped her arm from Miriam’s waist, and
+was off, leaving Freeman in possession of the field, and of the monopoly
+of Miriam’s society.
+
+“Miss Trednoke,” said he, gravely, “I have something to tell you, in
+order to clear myself from a possible misunderstanding. It may happen
+that I shall need your vindication with your father. Will you give it?”
+
+“What vindication do you need, that I can give?” asked she, opening her
+dark eyes upon him questioningly.
+
+“That’s what I wish to explain. I am in a difficult position. Would you
+mind stepping down into the garden? It won’t take a minute.”
+
+Curiosity, if not especially feminine, is at least human. Miriam
+descended the steps, Freeman beside her. They strolled down the path,
+amidst the flowers.
+
+“You said, yesterday,” he began, “that I would say one thing and be
+another. Now I am going to tell you what I am. And afterwards I’ll tell
+you why I tell it. In the first place, you know, I’m a civil engineer,
+and that includes, in my case, a good deal of knowledge about geology
+and things of that sort. I have sometimes been commissioned to
+make geological surveys for Eastern capitalists. Lately I’ve been
+canal-digging on the Isthmus; but the other day I got a notification
+from some men in Boston and New York to come out here on a secret
+mission.”
+
+“Secret, Mr. Freeman?”
+
+“Yes: you will understand directly. These men had heard enough about
+the desert valleys of this region to lead them to think that it might be
+reclaimed and so be made very valuable. Such lands can be bought now for
+next to nothing; but, if the theories that control these capitalists
+are correct, they could afterwards be sold at a profit of thousands
+per cent. So it’s indispensable that the object of my being here should
+remain unknown; otherwise, other persons might step in and anticipate
+the designs of this company.”
+
+“If those are your orders, why do you speak to me?”
+
+“There’s a reason for doing it that outweighs the reasons against it. I
+trust you with the secret: yet I don’t mean to bind you to secrecy. You
+will have a perfect right to tell it: the only result would be that I
+should be discredited with my employers; and there is nothing to warrant
+me in supposing that you would be deterred by that.”
+
+“I don’t ask to know your secret: I think you had better say no more.”
+
+Freeman shook his head. “I must speak,” said he. “I don’t care what
+becomes of me, so long as I stand right in your opinion,--your
+father’s and yours. I am here to find out whether this desert can be
+flooded,--irrigated,--whether it’s possible, by any means, to bring
+water upon it. If my report is favorable, the company will purchase
+hundreds, or thousands, of square miles, and, incidentally, my own
+fortune will be made.”
+
+“Why, that’s the very thing----” She stopped.
+
+“The very thing your father had thought of! Yes, so I imagined, though
+he has not told me so in so many words. So I’m in the position of
+surreptitiously taking away the prospective fortune of a man whom I
+respect and honor, and who treats me as a friend.”
+
+Miriam walked on some steps in silence. “It is no fault of yours,” she
+said at last. “You owe us nothing. You must carry out your orders.”
+
+“Yes; but what is to prevent your father from thinking that I stole his
+idea and then used it against him?”
+
+“You can tell him the truth: he could not complain; and why should
+you care if he did? I know that men separate business from--from other
+things.”
+
+They had now come to the little enclosed space where the fountain basin
+was; and by tacit consent they seated themselves upon it. Miriam gave an
+exclamation of surprise. “The water is gone!” she said. “How strange!”
+
+“Perhaps it has gone to meet us at our rendezvous in the desert.--No: if
+I tell your father, I should be unfaithful to my employers. But there’s
+another alternative: I can resign my appointment, and let my place be
+taken by another.”
+
+“And give up your chance of a fortune? You mustn’t do that.”
+
+“What is it to you what becomes of me?”
+
+“I wish nothing but good to come to you,” said she, in a low voice.
+
+“I have never wanted to have a fortune until now. And I must tell you
+the reason of that, too. A man without a fortune does very well by
+himself. He can knock about, and live from hand to mouth. But when he
+wants to live for somebody else,--even if he has only a very faint hope
+of getting the opportunity of doing it,--then he must have some settled
+means of livelihood to justify him. So I say I am in a difficult
+position. For if I give this up, I must go away; and if I go away, I
+must give up even the little hope I have.”
+
+“Don’t go away,” said Miriam, after a pause.
+
+“Do you know what you are saying?” He hesitated a moment, looking at her
+as she looked down at the empty basin. “My hope was that you might love
+me; for I love you, to be my wife.”
+
+The color slowly rose in Miriam’s face: at length she hid it in her
+hands. “Oh, what is it?” she said, almost in a whisper. “I have known
+you only three days. But it seems as if I must have known you before.
+There is something in me that is not like myself. But it is the deepest
+thing in me; and it loves you: yes, I love you!”
+
+Her hands left her face, and there was a light in her eyes which made
+Freeman, in the midst of his rejoicing, feel humble and unworthy. He
+felt himself in contact with something pure and sacred. At the same
+moment, the recollection recurred to him of the figure he had seen the
+night before, with the features of Miriam. Was it she indeed? Was this
+she? To doubt the identity of the individual is to lose one’s footing on
+the solid earth. For the first time it occurred to him that this doubt
+might affect Miriam herself. Was she obscurely conscious of two states
+of being in herself, and did she therefore fear to trust her own
+impulses? But, again, love is the master-passion; its fire fuses all
+things, and gives them unity. Would not this love that they confessed
+for each other burn away all that was abnormal and enigmatic, and leave
+only the unerring human heart, that knows its own and takes it? These
+reflections passed through Freeman’s mind in an instant of time. But
+he was no metaphysician, and he obeyed the sane and wholesome instinct
+which has ever been man’s surest and safest guide through the mysteries
+and bewilderments of existence. He took the beautiful woman in his arms
+and kissed her.
+
+“This is real and right, if anything is,” said he. “If there are ghosts
+about, you and I, at any rate, are flesh and blood, and where we belong.
+As to the irrigation scrape, there must be some way out of it: if not,
+no matter! You and I love each other, and the world begins from this
+moment!”
+
+“My father must know to-morrow,” said Miriam.
+
+“No doubt we shall all know more to-morrow than we do to-day,” returned
+her lover, not knowing how abundantly his prophecy would be fulfilled:
+he was over-flowing with the fearless and enormous joy of a young man
+who has attained at one bound the summit of his desire. “There! they are
+calling for me. Good-by, my darling. Be yourself, and think of nothing
+but me.”
+
+
+A short ride brought the little cavalcade to the borders of the desert.
+Here, by common consent, a halt was made, to draw breath, as it were,
+before taking the final plunge into the fiery furnace.
+
+“Before we go farther,” said General Trednoke, approaching Freeman, as
+he was tightening his girths, “I must tell you what is the object of
+this expedition.”
+
+“It is not necessary, general,” replied the young man, straightening
+himself and looking the other in the face; “for from this point our
+paths lie apart.”
+
+“Why so?” demanded the general, in surprise.
+
+“What’s that?” exclaimed Meschines, coming up, and adjusting his
+spectacles.
+
+“I’m not at liberty, at present, to explain,” Freeman answered. “All I
+can say is that I don’t feel justified in assisting you in your affair,
+and I am not able to confide my own to you. I wish you to put the least
+uncharitable construction you can on my conduct. To-morrow, if we all
+live, I may say more; now, the most I can tell you is that I am not
+entirely a free agent. Meantime--Hasta luego.”
+
+Against this unexpected resolve the general cordially protested and the
+professor scoffed and contended; but Freeman stayed firm. He had with
+him provisions enough to last him three days, and a supply of water;
+and in a small case he carried a compact assortment of instruments for
+scientific observation. “Take your departure in whatever direction
+you like,” said he, “and I will take mine at an angle of not less
+than fifteen degrees from it. If I am not back in three days, you may
+conclude something has happened.”
+
+It was certainly very hot. Freeman had been accustomed to torrid suns in
+the Isthmus; but this was a sun indefinitely multiplied by reflections
+from the dusty surface underfoot. Nor was it the fine, ethereal fire of
+the Sahara: the atmosphere was dead and heavy; for the rider was already
+far below the level of the Pacific, whose cool blue waves rolled and
+rippled many leagues to the westward, as, aeons ago, they had rolled
+and rippled here. There was not a breath of air. Freeman could hear his
+heart beat, and the veins in his temples and wrists throbbed. The sweat
+rose on the surface of his body, but without cooling it. The pony which
+he bestrode, a bony and sinewy beast of the toughest description, trod
+onwards doggedly, but with little animation. Freeman had no desire to
+push him. Were the little animal to overdo itself, nothing in the future
+could be more certain than that his master would never see the Trednoke
+ranch again. It seemed unusually hot, even for that region.
+
+There was little in the way of outward incident to relieve the monotony
+of the journey. Now and then a short, thick rattlesnake, with horns on
+its ugly head, wriggled out of his path. Now and then his horse’s hoof
+almost trod upon a hideous, flat lizard, also horned. Here and there the
+uncouth projections of a cactus pushed upwards out of the dust; some
+of these the mustang nibbled at, for the sake of their juice. Freeman
+wondered where the juice came from. The floor of the desert seemed for
+the most part level, though there was a gradual dip towards the east
+and northeast, and occasionally mounds and ridges of wind-swept dust,
+sometimes upwards of fifty feet in height, broke the uniformity. The
+soil was largely composed of powdered feldspar; but there were also
+tracts of gravel shingle, of yellow loam, and of alkaline dust. In some
+places there appeared a salt efflorescence, sprouting up in a sort of
+ghastly vegetation, as if death itself had acquired a sinister life.
+Elsewhere, the ground quaked and yielded underfoot, and it became
+necessary to make detours to avoid these arid bogs. Once or twice, too,
+Freeman turned aside lest he should trample upon some dry bones that
+protruded in his path,--bones that were their own monument, and told
+their own story of struggle, agony, exhaustion, and despair.
+
+None of these things had any depressing effect on Freeman’s spirit.
+His heart was singing with joy. To a mind logically disposed, there
+was nothing but trouble in sight, whether he succeeded or failed in his
+present mission. In the former case, he would find himself in a hostile
+position as regarded the man he most desired to conciliate; in the
+latter, he would remain the mere rolling stone that he was before, and
+love itself would forbid him to ask the woman he loved to share his
+uncertain existence. But Freeman was not logical: he was happy, and he
+could not help it. He had kissed Miriam, and she loved him.
+
+His course lay a few degrees north of east. Far across the plain,
+dancing and turning somersaults in the fantastic atmosphere, were the
+summits of a range of abrupt hills, the borders of a valley or ravine
+which he wished to explore. Gradually, as he rode, his shadow lengthened
+before him. It was his only companion; and yet he felt no sense of
+loneliness. Miriam was in his heart, and kept it fresh and bold. Even
+hunger and thirst he scarcely felt. Who can estimate the therapeutic and
+hygienic effects of love?
+
+The mustang could not share his rider’s source of content, but he may
+have been conscious, through animal instincts whereof we know nothing,
+of an uplifting and encouraging spirit. At all events, he kept up his
+steady lope without faltering or apparent effort, and seemed to require
+nothing more than the occasional wetting which Freeman administered to
+his nose. There would probably be some vegetation, and perhaps water, on
+the hills; and that prospect may likewise have helped him along.
+
+Nevertheless, man and beast may well have welcomed the hour when the
+craggy acclivities of that lonely range became so near that they seemed
+to loom above their heads. Freeman directed his steps towards the
+southern extremity, where a huge, pallid mass, of almost regular
+pyramidal form, reared itself aloft like a monument. He skirted the base
+of the pyramid, and there opened on his view a narrow, winding valley,
+scarcely half a mile in apparent breadth, and of a very wild and
+savage aspect. Its general direction was nearly north and south, and it
+declined downwards, as if seeking the interior of the earth. In fact, it
+looked not unlike those imaginative pictures of the road to the infernal
+regions described by the ancient poets. One could picture Pluto in his
+chariot, with Proserpine beside him, thundering downwards behind his
+black horses, on the way to those sombre and magnificent regions which
+are hollowed out beneath the surface of the planet.
+
+Freeman, however, presently saw a sight which, if less spectacularly
+impressive, was far more agreeable to his eyes. On a shelf or cup of
+the declivity was a little clump of vegetation, and in the midst of it
+welled up a thin stream of water. The mustang scrambled eagerly towards
+it, and, before Freeman had had time to throw himself out of the saddle,
+he had plunged his muzzle into the rivulet. He sucked it down with such
+satisfaction that it was evident the water was not salt. Freeman laid
+himself prone upon the brink, and followed his steed’s example. The
+draught was cool and pure.
+
+“I didn’t know how much I wanted it!” said he to himself. “It must come
+from a good way down. If I could only bring the parent stream to the
+surface, my mission would be on a fair road to success.”
+
+An examination of the spring revealed the fact that it could not have
+been long in existence. Indeed, there were no traces whatever of long
+continuance. The aperture in the rock through which it trickled bore the
+appearance of having been recently opened; fragments were lying near it
+that seemed to have been just broken off. The bed of the little stream
+was entirely free from moss or weeds; and after proceeding a short
+distance it dwindled and disappeared, either sucked up in vapor by the
+torrid air, or absorbed into the dusty soil. Manifestly, it was a recent
+creation.
+
+“And, to be sure, why not?” ejaculated Freeman. “There was an earthquake
+last night, which swallowed up the spring in the Trednokes’ garden:
+probably that same earthquake brought this stream to light. It vanished
+there, to reappear here. Well, the loss is not important to them, but
+the gain is very important to me. It is as if Miriam had come with a
+cup of water to refresh her lover in the desert. God bless her! She has
+refreshed me indeed, soul and body!”
+
+He removed the saddle from the mustang, and turned him loose to make the
+best of such scanty herbage as he could find. Then he unpacked his
+own provisions, and made a comfortable meal; after which he rolled
+a cigarette and reclined on the spot most available, to rest and
+recuperate. The valley, or gorge, lay before him in the afternoon light.
+It was a strange and savage spectacle. Had it been torn asunder by some
+stupendous explosion, it could not have presented a rougher or more
+chaotic aspect. To look at it was like beholding the secret places of
+the earth. The rocky walls were of different colors, yellow, blue,
+and red, in many shades and gradations. They towered ruggedly upwards,
+sharply shadowed and brightly lighted, mounting in regular pinnacles,
+parting in black crevices; here and there vast masses hung poised on
+bases seemingly insufficient, ready to topple over on the unwary passer
+beneath. A short distance to the northward the ravine had a turn, and a
+projecting promontory hid its further extreme from sight. Freeman made
+up his mind to follow it up on foot, after the descending sun should
+have thrown a shadow over it. The indications, in his judgment, were
+not without promise that a system of judiciously-applied blastings might
+open up a source of water that would transform this dreadful barrenness
+into something quite different.
+
+The shade of the great pyramid fell upon him as he lay, but the
+tumultuous wall opposite was brilliantly illuminated: the sky, over it,
+was of a peculiar brassy hue, but entirely cloudless. The radiations
+from the baked surface, ascending vertically, made the rocky bastion
+seem to quiver, as if it were a reflection cast on undulating water.
+The wreaths of tobacco-smoke that emanated from Freeman’s mouth also
+ascended, until they touched the slant of sunlight overhead. As the
+young man’s eyes followed these, something happened that caused him to
+utter an exclamation and raise himself on one arm.
+
+All at once, in the vacant air diagonally above him, a sort of shadowy
+shimmer seemed to concentrate itself, which was rapidly resolved into
+color and form. It was much as if some unseen artist had swept a mass
+of mingled hues on a canvas and then had worked them with magical speed
+into a picture. There appeared a breadth of rolling country, covered
+with verdure, and in the midst of it the white walls and long, shadowed
+veranda of an adobe house. Freeman saw the vines clambering over the
+eaves and roof, the vases of earthenware suspended between the pillars
+and overflowing with flowers, the long windows, the steps descending
+into the garden. Now a figure clad in white emerged from the door and
+advanced slowly to the end of the veranda. He recognized the gait and
+bearing: he could almost fancy he discerned the beloved features. She
+stood there for a moment, gazing, as it seemed, directly at him.
+She raised her hands, and pressed them to her lips, then threw them
+outwards, with a gesture eloquent of innocent and tender passion.
+Freeman’s heart leaped: involuntarily he stretched out his arms, and
+murmured, “Miriam!” The next moment, a tall, dark figure, with white
+hair, wrapped in a blanket, came stalking behind her, and made a
+beckoning movement. Miriam did not turn, but her bearing changed; her
+hands fell to her sides; she seemed bewildered. Freeman sprang angrily
+to his feet: the picture became blurred; it flowed into streaks of vague
+color; it was gone. There were only the brassy sky, and the painted
+crags quivering in the heat.
+
+“That was not a mirage: it was a miracle,” muttered the young man to
+himself. “Forty miles at least, and it seemed scarcely three hundred
+yards! What does it mean?”
+
+The sun sank behind the hills, and a transparent shadow filled the
+gorge. Freeman, uneasy in mind, and unable to remain inactive, filled
+his canteen at the spring, and descended to the rugged trail at the
+bottom. Clambering over boulders, leaping across narrow chasms, letting
+himself down from ledges, his preoccupation soon left him, and physical
+exertion took the precedence. Half an hour’s work brought him to the
+out-jutting promontory which had concealed the further reaches of
+the valley. These now lay before him, merging imperceptibly into
+indistinctness.
+
+“This atmosphere is unbearable,” said Freeman. “I must get a little
+higher up.” He turned to the right, and saw a natural archway, of
+no great height, formed in the rock. The arch itself was white; the
+super-incumbent stone was of a dull red hue. On the left flank of the
+arch were a series of inscribed characters, which might have been cut by
+a human hand, or might have been a mere natural freak. They looked like
+some rude system of hieroglyphics, and bore no meaning to Freeman’s
+mind.
+
+A sort of crypt or deep recess was hollowed out beneath the arch, the
+full extent of which Freeman was unable to discern. The floor of it
+descended in ridges, like a rough staircase. He stood for a few moments
+peering into the gloom, tempted by curiosity to advance, but restrained
+partly by the gathering darkness, and partly by the oppressiveness of
+the atmosphere, which produced a sensation of giddiness. Something white
+gleamed on the threshold of the crypt. He picked it up. It was a human
+skull; but even as he lifted it it came apart in his hands and crumbled
+into fragments. Freeman’s nerves were strong, but he shuddered
+slightly. The loneliness, the silence, the mystery, and the strange
+light-headedness that was coming over him combined to make him hesitate.
+“I’ll come back to-morrow morning early,” he said to himself.
+
+As if in answer, a deep, appalling roar broke forth apparently under his
+feet, and went rolling and reverberating up and down the canon. It died
+away, but was immediately followed by another yet more loud, and the
+ground shook and swayed beneath his feet. A gigantic boulder, poised
+high up on the other side of the canon, was unseated, and fell with a
+terrific crash. A hot wind swept sighing through the valley, and the
+air rapidly became dark. Again came the sigh, rising to a shriek, with
+roarings and thunderings that seemed to proceed both from the heavens
+and from the earth.
+
+A dazzling flash of lightning split the air, bathing it for an instant
+in the brightness of day: in that instant Freeman saw the bolt strike
+the great white pyramid and splinter its crest into fragments, while the
+whole surface of the gorge heaved and undulated like a stormy sea. He
+had been staggering as best he might to a higher part of the ravine; but
+now he felt a stunning blow on his head: he fell, and knew no more.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Two horsemen, one of whom led a third horse, carrying a pack-saddle, had
+reached the borders of the desert just as the earthquake began. When
+the first shock came, they were riding past a grove of live-oaks: they
+immediately dismounted, made fast their horses, and lay down beside some
+bushes that skirted the grove. Neither the earthquake nor the storm was
+so severe as was the case farther eastward. In an hour all was over, and
+they remounted and continued their journey, guiding their course by the
+stars.
+
+“It was thus that we rode before, Kamaiakan,” remarked the younger of
+the two travellers. “Yonder bright star stood as it does now, and the
+hour of the night was the same. But this shaking of the earth makes
+me fear for the safety of that youth. The sands of the desert may have
+swept over him; or he may have perished in the hills.”
+
+“The purposes of the gods cannot be altered, Semitzin,” replied the old
+Indian, who perhaps would not have much regretted such a calamity as
+she suggested: it would be a simple solution of difficulties which might
+otherwise prove embarrassing. “It is my prayer, at all events, that the
+entrance to the treasure may not be closed.”
+
+“I care nothing for the treasure, unless I may share it with him,” she
+returned. “Since we spoke together beside the fountain, I have seen him.
+He looked upon me doubtfully, being, perhaps, perplexed because of these
+features of the child Miriam, which I am compelled to wear.”
+
+“Truly, princess, what is he, that you should think of him?” muttered
+Kamaiakan.
+
+“He satisfies my heart,” was the reply.
+
+“And I am resolved never again to give up this mortal habitation to her
+you call its rightful owner. I will never again leave this world, which
+I enjoy, for the unknown darkness out of which you called me.”
+
+“Princess, the gods do not permit such dealings. They may, indeed,
+suffer you to live again; but you must return as an infant, in flesh and
+bones of your own.”
+
+“The gods have permitted me to return as I have returned; and you well
+know, Kamaiakan, that, except you use your art to banish me and restore
+Miriam, there is nothing else that can work a change.”
+
+“Murder is not lawful, Semitzin; and to do as you desire would be an act
+not different from murder.”
+
+“On my head be it, then!” exclaimed the princess. “Would it be less a
+murder to send me back to nothingness than to let her remain there? Mine
+is the stronger spirit, and has therefore the better right to live.
+I ask of you only to do nothing. None need ever know that Miriam has
+vanished and that Semitzin lives in her place. I wear her body and her
+features, and I am content to wear her name also, if it must be so.”
+
+Kamaiakan was silent. He may well be pardoned for feeling troubled in
+the presence of a situation which had perhaps never before confronted a
+human being. Two women, both tenants of the same body, both in love with
+the same man, and therefore rivals of each other, and each claiming a
+right to existence: it was a difficult problem. The old Indian heartily
+wished that a separate tenement might be provided for each of these two
+souls, that they might fight out their quarrel in the ordinary way. But
+his magic arts did not extend to the creation of flesh and blood. At
+the same time, he could not but feel to blame for having brought this
+strenuous spirit of Semitzin once more into the world, and he was fain
+to admit that her claim was not without justification. His motives had
+been excellent, but he had not foreseen the consequences in which the
+act was to land him. Yet he more shrank from wronging Miriam than from
+disappointing Semitzin.
+
+But the latter was not to be put off by silence.
+
+“There has been a change since you and I last spoke together,” she
+said. “I am aware of it, though I know not how; but, in some manner,
+the things which Miriam has done are perceptible to me. When I was here
+before, she did but lean towards this youth; now she has given herself
+to him. She means to be united to him; and, if I again should vanish, I
+should never again find my way back. But it shall not be so; and there
+is a way, Kamaiakan, by which I can surely prevent it, even though you
+refuse to aid me.”
+
+“Indeed, princess, I think you mistake regarding the love of Miriam for
+this young man; they have seen little of each other; and it may be, as
+you yourself said, that he has perished in the wilderness.”
+
+“I believe he lives,” she answered: “I should know it, were it
+otherwise. But if I cannot have him, neither shall she. I have told you
+already that, unless you swear to me not to put forth your power upon
+me to dismiss me, I will not lead you to the treasure. But that is not
+enough; for men deceive, and you are a man. But if at any time hereafter
+I feel within me those pangs that tell me you are about to separate
+me from this world, at that moment, Kamaiakan, I will drive this knife
+through the heart of Miriam! If I cannot keep her body, at least it
+shall be but a corpse when I leave it. You know Semitzin; and you know
+that she will keep her word!”
+
+She reined in her horse, as she spoke, and sat gazing upon her companion
+with flashing eyes. The Indian, after a pause, made a gesture of gloomy
+resignation. “It shall be as you say, then, Semitzin; and upon your head
+be it! Henceforth, Miriam is no more. But do you beware of the vengeance
+of the gods, whose laws you have defied.”
+
+“Let the gods deal with me as they will,” replied the Aztecan. “A day of
+happiness with the man I love is worth an age of punishment.”
+
+Kamaiakan made no answer, and the two rode forward in silence.
+
+It was midnight, and a bright star, nearly in the zenith, seemed to hang
+precisely above the summit of the great white pyramid at the mouth of
+the gorge.
+
+“It was here that we stopped,” observed Semitzin. “We tied our horses
+among the shrubbery round yonder point. Thence we must go on foot.
+Follow me.”
+
+She struck her heels against her horse’s sides, and went forward. The
+long ride seemed to have wearied her not a whit. The lean and wiry
+Indian had already betrayed symptoms of fatigue; but the young princess
+appeared as fresh as when she started. Not once had she even taken a
+draught from her canteen; and yet she was closely clad, from head to
+foot, in the doublet and leggings of the Golden Fleece. One might have
+thought it had some magic virtue to preserve its wearer’s vitality; and
+possibly, as is sometimes seen in trance, the energy and concentration
+of the spirit reacted upon the body.
+
+She turned the corner of the pyramid, but had not ridden far when an
+object lying in her path caused her to halt and spring from the saddle.
+Kamaiakan also dismounted and came forward.
+
+The dead body of a mustang lay on the ground, crushed beneath the weight
+of a fragment of rock, which had evidently fallen upon it from a height.
+He had apparently been dead for some hours. He was without either saddle
+or bridle.
+
+“Do you know him?” demanded Semitzin.
+
+“It is Diego,” replied Kamaiakan. “I know him by the white star on his
+muzzle. He was ridden by the Senor Freeman. They must have come here
+before the earthquake. And there lie the saddle and the bridle. But
+where is Senor Freeman?”
+
+“He can be nowhere else than in this valley,” said Semitzin,
+confidently. “I knew that I should find him here. Through all the
+centuries, and across all spaces, we were destined to meet. His horse
+was killed, but he has escaped. I shall save him. Could Miriam have done
+this? Is he not mine by right?”
+
+“It is at least certain, princess,” responded the old man rather dryly,
+“that had it not been for Miriam you would never have met the Senor
+Freeman at all.”
+
+“I thank her for so much; and some time, perhaps, I will reward her by
+permitting her to have a glimpse of him for an hour,--or, at least,
+a minute. But not now, Kamaiakan,--not till I am well assured that no
+thought but of me can ever find its way into his heart. Come, let us go
+forward. We will find the treasure, and I will give it to my lord and
+lover.”
+
+“Shall we bring the pack-horse with us?” asked the Indian.
+
+“Yes, if he can find his way among these rocks. The earthquake has made
+changes here. See how the water pours from this spring! It has already
+made a stream down the valley. It shall guide us whither we are going.”
+
+Leaving their own horses, they advanced with the mule. But the trail,
+rough enough at best, was now well-nigh impassable. Masses of rock had
+fallen from above; large fissures and crevasses had been formed in the
+floor of the gorge, from some of which steaming vapors escaped,
+while others gave forth streams of water. The darkness added to the
+difficulties of the way, for, although the sky was now clear, the gloom
+was deceptive, and things distant seemed near. Occasionally a heavy,
+irregular sound would break the stillness, as some projection of a cliff
+became loosened and tumbled down the steep declivity.
+
+Semitzin, however, held on her way fearlessly and without hesitation,
+and the Indian, with the pack-horse, followed as best he might, now and
+then losing sight for a moment of the slight, grayish figure in front
+of him. At length she disappeared behind the jutting profile of a great
+promontory which formed a main angle of the gorge. When he came up with
+her, she was kneeling beside the prostrate form of a man, supporting his
+head upon her knee.
+
+Kamaiakan approached, and looked at the face of the man, which was
+pale; the eyes were closed. A streak of blood, from a wound on the head,
+descended over the right side of the forehead.
+
+“Is he dead?” the Indian asked.
+
+“He is not dead,” replied Semitzin. “A flying stone has struck him; but
+his heart beats: he will be well again.” She poured some water from her
+canteen over his face, and bent her ear over his lips. “He breathes,”
+ she said. Slipping one arm beneath his neck, she loosened the shirt at
+his throat and then stooped and kissed him. “Be alive for me, love,” she
+murmured. “My life is yours.”
+
+This exhortation seemed to have some effect. The man stirred slightly,
+and emitted a sigh. Presently he muttered, “I can--lick him--yet!”
+
+“He will live, princess,” remarked Kamaiakan. “But where is the
+treasure?”
+
+“My treasure is here!” was her reply; and again she bent to kiss the
+half-conscious man, who knew not of his good fortune. After an interval
+she added, “It is in the hollow beneath that archway. Go down three
+paces: on the wall at the left you will feel a ring. Pull it outwards,
+and the stone will give way. Behind it lies the chest in which the
+jewels are. But remember your promise!”
+
+Kamaiakan peered into the hollow, shook his head as one who loves not
+his errand, and stepped in. The black shadow swallowed him up. Semitzin
+paid no further attention to him, but was absorbed in ministering to her
+patient, whose strength was every moment being augmented, though he was
+not yet aware of his position. But all at once a choking sound came from
+within the cave, and in a few moments Kamaiakan staggered up out of the
+shadow, and sank down across the threshold of the arch.
+
+“Semitzin,” he gasped, in a faint voice, “the curse of the gods is upon
+the spot! The air within is poisonous. It withers the limbs and stops
+the breath. No one may touch the treasure and live. Let us go!”
+
+“The gods do not love those who fear,” replied the princess,
+contemptuously. “But the treasure is mine, and it may well be that no
+other hand may touch it. Fold that blanket, and lay it beneath his head.
+I will bring the jewels.”
+
+“Do not attempt it: it will be death!” exclaimed the old man.
+
+“Shall a princess come to her lover empty-handed? Do you watch beside
+him while I go. Ah, if your Miriam were here, I would not fear to have
+him choose between us!”
+
+With these words, Semitzin stepped across the threshold of the crypt,
+and vanished in its depths. The Indian, still dizzy and faint, knelt on
+the rock without, bowed down by sinister forebodings.
+
+Several minutes passed. “She has perished!” muttered Kamaiakan.
+
+Freeman raised himself on one elbow, and gazed giddily about him. “What
+the deuce has happened?” he demanded, in a sluggish voice. “Is that you,
+professor?”
+
+Suddenly, a rending and rushing sound burst from the cave. Following it,
+Semitzin appeared at the entrance, dragging a heavy metal box, which she
+grasped by a handle at one end. Immediately in her steps broke forth a
+great volume of water, boiling up as if from a caldron. It filled the
+cave, and poured like a cataract into the gorge. The foundations of the
+great deep seemed to be let loose.
+
+Semitzin lifted from her face the woollen mask, or visor, which she had
+closed on entering the cave. She was panting from exertion, but neither
+her physical nor her mental faculties were abated. She spoke sharply and
+imperiously:
+
+“Bring up the mule, and help me fasten the chest upon him. We must reach
+higher ground before the waters overtake us. And now----” She turned
+to Freeman, who by this time was sitting up and regarding her with
+stupefaction.
+
+“Miriam!” was all he could utter.
+
+She shook her head, and smiled. “I am she who loves you, and whom you
+will love. I give you life, and fortune, and myself. But come: can you
+mount and ride?”
+
+“I can’t make this out,” he said, struggling, with her assistance, to
+his feet. “I have read fairy-tales, but this... Kamaiakan, too!”
+
+Semitzin, meanwhile, brought him to the mule, and half mechanically he
+scrambled into the saddle, the chest being made fast to the crupper.
+Semitzin seized the bridle, and started up the gorge, Kamaiakan bringing
+up the rear. The lower levels were already filling with water, which
+came pouring out through the archway in a full flood, seemingly
+inexhaustible.
+
+“I see how it is,” mumbled Freeman, half to himself. “The earthquake--I
+remember! I got hit somehow. They came from the ranch to hunt me up. But
+where are the general and Professor Meschines? How long ago was it?
+And how came Miriam... Could the mirage have had anything to do with
+it?--Here, let me walk,” he called out to her, “and you get up and
+ride.”
+
+She turned her head, smiling again, but hurried on without speaking.
+The roar of the torrent followed them. Once or twice the mule came near
+losing his footing. Freeman, whose head was swimming, and his brains
+buzzing like a hive of bees, had all he could do to maintain his
+equilibrium in the saddle. He was excruciatingly thirsty, and the
+gurgling of waters round about made him wish he might dismount and
+plunge into them. But he lacked power to form a decided purpose, and
+permitted the more energetic will to control him. It might have been
+minutes, or it might have been hours, for all he knew: at last they
+halted, near the base of the white pyramid.
+
+“Here we are safe,” said Semitzin, coming to his side. “Lean on me, my
+love, and I will lift you down.”
+
+“Oh, I’m not quite so bad as that, you know,” said Freeman, with a
+feeble laugh; and, to prove it, he blundered off the saddle, and came
+down on the ground with a thwack. He picked himself up, however, and
+recollecting that he had a flask with brandy in it, he felt for it,
+found it intact, and, with an inarticulate murmur of apology, raised it
+to his lips. It was like the veritable elixir of life: never in his life
+before had Freeman quaffed so deep a draught of the fiery spirit. It was
+just what he wanted.
+
+But he felt oddly embarrassed. He did not know what to make of Miriam.
+It was not her strange costume merely, but she seemed to have put
+on--or put off--something with it that made a difference in her. She was
+assertive, imperious; as loving, certainly, as lover could wish, but not
+in the manner of the Miriam he knew. He might have liked the new Miriam
+better, had he not previously fallen in love with the former one. He
+could not make advances to her: he had no opportunity to do so: she was
+making advances to him!
+
+“My love,” she said, standing before him, “I have come back to the world
+for your sake. Before Semitzin first saw you, her heart was yours. And
+I come to you, not poor, but with the riches and power of the princes of
+Tenochtitlan. You shall see them: they are yours!--Kamaiakan, take down
+the chest.”
+
+“What’s that about Semitzin?” inquired Freeman. “I’m not aware that I
+knew any such person.”
+
+“Kamaiakan!” repeated the other, raising her voice, and not hearing
+Freeman’s last words. Kamaiakan was nowhere to be seen. Both Freeman and
+she had supposed that he was following on behind the mule; but he
+had either dropped behind, or had withdrawn somewhere. “O Kamaiakan!”
+ shouted Freeman, as loud as he could.
+
+A distant hail, from the direction of the desert, seemed to reply.
+
+“That can’t be he,” said Freeman. “It was at least a quarter of a mile
+off, and the wrong direction, too. He’s in the gorge, if he’s anywhere.”
+
+“Hark!” said Semitzin.
+
+They listened, and detected a low murmur, this time from the gorge.
+
+“He’s fallen down and hurt himself,” said Freeman. “Let’s go after him.”
+
+In a few moments they stumbled upon the old Indian, reclining with his
+shoulders against a rock, and gasping heavily.
+
+“My princess,” he whispered, as she bent over him, “I am dying. The
+poisonous air in the cave was fatal to me, though the spell that is upon
+the Golden Fleece protected you. I have done what the gods commanded. I
+am absolved of my vow. The treasure is safe.”
+
+“Nonsense! you’re all right!” exclaimed Freeman. “Here, take a pull at
+this flask. It did me all the good in the world!”
+
+But the old man put it aside, with a feeble gesture of the hand. “My
+time is come,----” said he.--“Semitzin, I have been faithful.”
+
+“Semitzin, again!” muttered Freeman. “What does it mean?”
+
+“But what is this?” cried the girl, suddenly starting to her feet. “I
+feel the sleep coming on me again! I feel Miriam returning! Kamaiakan,
+have you betrayed me at the last?”
+
+“No, no, princess, I have done nothing,” said he, in a voice scarcely
+audible. “But, with death, the strength of my will goes from me, and I
+can no longer keep you in this world. The spirit of Miriam claims her
+rightful body, and you must struggle against her alone. The gods will
+not be defied: it is the law!”
+
+His voice sank away into nothing, and his beard drooped upon his breast.
+
+“He’s dying, sure enough, poor old chap,” said Freeman. “But what is
+all this about? I never heard anything like this language you two talk
+together.”
+
+Semitzin turned towards him, and her eyes were blazing.
+
+“She shall not have you!” she cried. “I have won you--I have saved
+you--you are mine! What is Miriam? Can she be to you what I could
+be?--You shall never have him!” she continued, seeming to address some
+presence invisible to all eyes but hers. “If I must go, you shall go
+with me!” She fumbled in her belt, caught the handle of a knife there,
+and drew it. She lifted it against her heart; but even then there was an
+uncertainty in her movement, as if her mind were divided against itself,
+or had failed fully to retain the thread of its purpose. But Freeman,
+who had passed rapidly from one degree of bewilderment to another, was
+actually relieved to see, at last, something that he could understand.
+Miriam--for some reason best known to herself--was about to do herself
+a mischief. He leaped forward, caught her in his arms, and snatched the
+knife from her grasp.
+
+For a few moments she struggled like a young tiger. And it was
+marvellous and appalling to hear two voices come from her, in
+alternation, or confusedly mingled. One said, “Let me kill her! I will
+not go! Keep back, you pale-faced girl!” and then a lower, troubled
+voice, “Do not let her come! Her face is terrible! What are those
+strange creatures with her? Harvey, where are you?”
+
+At last, with a fierce cry, that died away in a shuddering sigh, the
+form of flesh and blood, so mysteriously possessed, ceased to struggle,
+and sank back in Freeman’s arms. His own strength was well-nigh at an
+end. He laid her on the ground, and, sitting beside her, drew her head
+on his knee. He had been in the land of spirits, contending with unknown
+powers, and he was faint in mind and body.
+
+Yet he was conscious of the approaching tread of horses’ feet, and
+recollected the hail that had come from the desert. Soon loomed up
+the shadowy figures of mounted men, and they came so near that he was
+constrained to call out, “Mind where you’re going! You’ll be over us!”
+
+“Who are you?” said a voice, which sounded like that of General
+Trednoke, as they reined up.
+
+“There’s Kamaiakan, who’s dead; and Miriam Trednoke, who has been out of
+her mind, but she’s got over it now, I guess; and I,--Harvey Freeman.”
+
+“My daughter!” exclaimed General Trednoke.
+
+“My boy!” cried Professor Meschines. “Well, thank God we’ve found you,
+and that some of you are alive, at any rate!”
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+As it was still some hours before dawn, and Freeman was too weak to
+travel, it was decided to encamp beside the pyramid till the following
+evening, and then make the trip across the desert in the comparative
+coolness of starlight. Meanwhile, there was something to be done, and
+much to be explained.
+
+The spirit of Kamaiakan had passed away, apparently at the same moment
+that the peculiar case of “possession” under which Miriam had suffered
+came to an end. They determined to bury him at the foot of the great
+pyramid, which would form a fitting monument of his antique character
+and virtues.
+
+Miriam, after her struggle, had lapsed into a state of partial lethargy,
+from which she was aroused gradually. It was then found that she could
+give no account what ever of how or why she came there. The last thing
+she distinctly remembered was standing on the veranda at the ranch and
+looking towards the east. She was under the impression that Kamaiakan
+had approached and spoken with her, but of that she was not certain. The
+next fact in her consciousness was that she was held in Freeman’s arms,
+with a feeling that she had barely escaped from some great peril. She
+could recall nothing of the journey down the gorge, of the adventure
+at the bottom of it, or of the return. It was only by degrees that some
+partial light was thrown upon this matter. Freeman knew that he was at
+the entrance of the cave when the earthquake began, and he remembered
+receiving a blow on the head. Consequently it must have been at
+that spot that Miriam and the Indian found him. He had, too, a vague
+impression of seeing Miriam coming out of the cave, dragging the chest;
+and there, sure enough, was a metal box, strapped to the saddle of the
+pack-mule. But the mystery remained very dense. And although the
+reader is in a position to analyze events more closely than the actors
+themselves could do, it may be doubted whether the essential mystery is
+much clearer to him than it was to them.
+
+“We know that the ancient Aztecan priests were adepts in magic,”
+ observed the professor, “and it’s natural that some of their learning
+should have descended to their posterity. We have been clever in giving
+names to such phenomena, but we know perhaps even less about their
+esoteric meaning than the Aztecans did. I should judge that Miriam would
+be what is called a good ‘subject.’ Kamaiakan discovered that fact;
+and as for what followed, we can only infer it from the results. I was
+always an admirer of Kamaiakan; but I must say I am the better resigned
+to his departure, from the reflection that Miriam will henceforth be
+undisturbed in the possession of her own individuality.”
+
+“As near as I could make out, she called herself Semitzin,” put in
+Freeman.
+
+“Semitzin?” repeated the general. “Why, if I’m not mistaken, there are
+accounts of an Aztecan princess of that name, an ancestress of my wife’s
+family, in some old documents that I have in a box, at home.”
+
+“That would only add the marvel of heredity to the other marvels,” said
+Meschines. “Suppose we leave the things we can’t understand, and come to
+those we can?”
+
+“I have something to say, General Trednoke,” said Freeman.
+
+“I think I have already guessed what it may be, Mr. Freeman,” returned
+the general, gravely. “Old people have eyes, and hearts too, as well as
+young ones.”
+
+“Come, Trednoke,” interposed the professor, with a chuckle, “your eyes
+might not have seen so much, if I hadn’t held the lantern.”
+
+“I love your daughter, and I told her so yesterday morning,” went on
+Freeman, after a pause. “I meant to tell you on my return. I know
+I don’t appear desirable as a son-in-law. But I came here on a
+commission----”
+
+“Meschines and I have talked it all over,” the general said. “When
+an old West-Pointer and a professor of physics get together, they are
+sometimes able to put two and two together. And, to tell the truth,
+I received a letter from a member of your syndicate, who is also
+an acquaintance of mine, which explained your position. Under the
+circumstances, I consider your course to have been honorable. You and
+I were both in search of the same thing, and now, as it appears, nature
+has sent an earthquake to do our affair for us. No operations of ours
+could have achieved such a result as last night’s disturbance did; and
+if that do not prove effective, nothing else will.”
+
+“If it turns out well, I was promised a share in the benefits,” said
+Freeman, “and that would put me in a rather better condition, from a
+worldly point of view.”
+
+“After all,” interrupted Meschines, “you found your way to the spot from
+which the waters broke forth, and may fairly be entitled to the credit
+of the discovery.--Eh, Trednoke? At any rate, we found nothing.--Yes,
+I think they’ll have to admit you to partnership, Harvey: and Miriam
+too,--who, by the way, seems to be the only one who actually penetrated
+into this cave you speak of. Maybe the removal of the chest pulled
+the plug out of the bung-hole, as it were: the escape of confined air
+through such a vent would be apt to draw water along with it. By the
+way, let’s have a look at this same chest: it looks solid enough to hold
+something valuable.”
+
+“I would like, in the first place, to hear what General Trednoke has to
+say about what I have told him,” said Freeman, clearing his throat.
+
+“Miriam,” said the general, “do you wish to be married to this young
+man?”
+
+The old soldier was sitting with her hand in his, and he turned to her
+as he spoke. She threw her arms round his neck, and pressed her face
+against his shoulder. “He is to me what you were to mamma,” she said, so
+that only he could hear.
+
+“Then be to him what she was to me,” answered the general, kissing her.
+“Ah me, little girl! I am old, but perhaps this is the right way for
+me to grow young again. Well, if you are of the same mind six months
+hence----”
+
+“Worse; it will be much worse, then,” murmured the professor. “Better
+make it three.”
+
+The chest was made of some alloy of steel and nickel, impervious to
+rust, and very hard. It resisted all gentle methods of attack, and it
+was finally found necessary to force the lock with a charge of powder.
+Within was found another case, which was pried open with the point of
+the general’s bowie-knife.
+
+It was filled to the brim with precious stones, most of them removed
+from their settings. But such of the gold-work as remained showed the
+jewels to be of ancient Aztecan origin. There was value enough in the
+box to buy and stock a dozen ranches as big as the general’s, and leave
+heirlooms enough to decorate a family larger than that of the most
+fruitful of the ancient patriarchs.
+
+“I call that quite a respectable dowry,” remarked Meschines. “Upon my
+soul, Miriam, if I had known what you had up your sleeve, I should have
+thought twice before allowing a ‘civil engineer’--do you remember?--to
+run off with you so easily.”
+
+
+At dawn, they prepared the body of old Kamaiakan for its interment. In
+doing this, the professor noted the peculiar appearance of the corpse.
+
+“The flesh is absolutely withered,” said he, “especially those parts
+which were uncovered. It must have been subjected to the action of some
+destructive vapor or gas, fatal not only to breathe, but to come in
+contact with. I have heard of poisonous emanations proceeding from the
+ground in these regions, but I never saw an instance of their effects
+before. That skull that you say you found, Harvey, was probably that of
+a victim of the same cause. But it is strange that Miriam, who must have
+remained some time in the very midst of it, should have escaped without
+a mark, or even any inconvenience.”
+
+“Kamaiakan ascribed it to the magic of the Golden Fleece,” said Freeman.
+
+“Well,” rejoined the other, “he may have been right; but, for my part,
+the only magic that I can find in it lies in the fact that it is made of
+pure wool, which undoubtedly possesses remarkable sanative properties;
+or maybe the fiery soul of Semitzin was powerful enough to repel all
+harmful influences. The poor old fellow himself, being clad in cotton,
+and with no soul but his own, was destroyed. Let us wrap him in his
+blanket, and bid him farewell--and with him, I hope, to all that is
+uncanny and abnormal in the lives of you young folks!”
+
+
+The last rites having been paid to the dead, the party mounted their
+horses and rode out of the gorge on to the long levels of the desert.
+
+“Who come yonder?” said Freeman.
+
+“A couple of Mexicans, I think,” said the general.
+
+“One of them is a woman,” said Meschines.
+
+“They look very weary,” remarked Freeman.
+
+Miriam fixed her eyes on the approaching pair for a moment, and then
+said, “They are Senor de Mendoza and Grace Parsloe.”
+
+And so, indeed, they were; and thus, in this lonely spot, all the
+dramatis personae of this history found themselves united.
+
+In answer to the obvious question, how Grace and De Mendoza happened
+to be there, it transpired that, left to their own devices, they had
+undertaken no less an enterprise than to discover the hidden treasure.
+Grace had communicated to the Mexican such bits of information as she
+had picked up and such surmises as she had formed, and he had been able
+to supplement her knowledge to an extent that seemed to justify them in
+attempting the adventure,--not to mention the fact that Don Miguel (such
+was the ardor of his sentiment for Grace) would, had she desired it,
+have gone with her into a fiery furnace or a den of lions. Grace, who
+was ambitious as well as romantic, and who longed for the power and
+independence that wealth would give, was all alight with the idea of
+capturing the hoard of Montezuma: her social position would be altered
+at a stroke, and the world would be at her feet. Whether she would then
+have rewarded Don Miguel for his devotion, is possibly open to doubt:
+the sudden acquisition of boundless wealth has been known to turn larger
+heads than hers. Fortunately, however, this temptation was withheld from
+her: so far from finding the treasure, she and Don Miguel very soon
+lost themselves in the desert, and had been wandering about ever since,
+dolely uncomfortable, and in no small danger of losing their lives. They
+were already at the end of their last resource when they happened to
+encounter the other party, as we have seen; and immeasurable was their
+joy at the unlooked-for deliverance. So there was another halt, to
+enable them to rest and recuperate; and it was not until the evening of
+that day that the journey was finally resumed.
+
+Meanwhile, Grace had time to think over all that happened, and to arrive
+at certain conclusions. She was at bottom a good girl, though liable
+to be led away by her imagination, her vanity, and her temperament. Don
+Miguel’s best qualities had revealed themselves to her in the desert: he
+had always thought of her before himself, had done all that in him lay
+to save her from fatigue and suffering, and had stuck to her faithfully
+when he might perhaps have increased his own chances of escape by
+abandoning her. Did not such a man deserve to be rewarded?--especially
+as he was a handsome fellow, of good family, and possessed of quite a
+respectable income. Moreover, Harvey Freeman was now beyond her reach:
+he was going to marry Miriam, and she had realized that her own brief
+infatuation for him had had no very deep root after all. Accordingly,
+she smiled encouragingly upon Don Miguel, and before they set out on
+their homeward ride she had vouchsafed him the bliss of knowing that he
+might call her his.
+
+The general, as her guardian, did not withhold his approval; but when
+Grace drew him aside and besought him never to reveal to her intended
+the fact that she had once been a shop-girl, the old warrior smiled.
+
+“You can depend upon me to keep your secret, if you wish it, my dear,”
+ said he; “but I warn you that such concealments between husband and wife
+are not wise. He loves you and would only love you the more for your
+frankness in confessing what you seem to consider a discreditable
+episode: though I for my part am free to tell you that you will be lucky
+if your future life affords you the opportunity of doing anything else
+so much to your credit. But the chances are that he will find it out
+sooner or later; and that may not be so agreeable, either to him or to
+you. Better tell him all now.”
+
+But Grace pictured to herself the aristocratic pride of an hidalgo
+shocked by the suggestion of the plebeianism of trade; and she would not
+consent to the revelation. But the general’s prediction was fulfilled
+sooner than might have been expected.
+
+For, after they were married, Don Miguel decided to visit the Atlantic
+coast on the wedding journey; and one of the first notable places they
+reached was, of course, New York. Don Miguel was delighted, and was
+never weary of strolling up Fifth Avenue and down Broadway, with his
+beautiful wife on his arm. He marvelled at the vast white pile of
+the Fifth Avenue Hotel; he frowned at the Worth Monument; he stared
+inexhaustibly into the shop-windows; he exclaimed with admiration at
+the stupendous piles of masonry which contained the goods of New York’s
+merchant princes. It seemed to be his opinion that the possessors of so
+much palpable wealth must be the true aristocracy of the country.
+
+And one afternoon it happened that as they were strolling along
+Broadway, between Twenty-third Street and Union Square, and were
+crossing one of the side-streets, a horse belonging to one of Lord and
+Taylor’s delivery-wagons became frightened, and bolted round the corner.
+One of the hind wheels of the vehicle came in contact with Grace’s
+shoulder, and knocked her down. The blow and the fall stunned her. Don
+Miguel’s grief and indignation were expressed with tropical energy; and
+a by-stander said, “Better carry her into the store, mister; it’s their
+wagon run her down, and they can’t do less than look after her.”
+
+The counsel seemed reasonable, and Don Miguel, with the assistance of
+a policeman, lifted his wife and bore her into the stately shop. One
+of the floor-walkers met them at the door; he cast a glance at their
+burden, and exclaimed, “Why, it’s Miss Parsloe!” And immediately a
+number of the employees gathered round, all regarding her with interest
+and sympathy, all anxious to help, and--which was what mystified Don
+Miguel--all calling her by name! How came they to know Grace Parsloe?
+Nay, they even glanced at Don Miguel, as if to ask what was HIS business
+with the beautiful unconscious one!
+
+“This lady are my wife,” he said, with dignity. “She not any more Miss
+Parsloe.”
+
+“Oh, Grace has got married!” exclaimed the young ladies, one to another;
+and then an elderly man, evidently in authority, came forward and said,
+“I suppose you are aware, sir, that Miss Parsloe was formerly one of our
+girls here; and a very clever and useful girl she was. I need not say
+how sorry we are for this accident: I have sent for the physician: but
+I cannot but be glad that the misfortune has at least given me the
+opportunity of telling you how highly your wife was valued and respected
+here.”
+
+At this juncture, Grace opened her eyes: she looked from one face to
+another, and knew that fate had brought the truth to light. But the
+physical shock tempered the severity of the mental one: besides, she
+could not help being pleased at the sight of so many well-remembered and
+friendly faces; and, finally, her husband did not look by any means so
+angry and scandalized as she had feared he would. Indeed, he appeared
+almost gratified. The truth probably was, he was flattered to see his
+wife the centre of so much interest and attention, and at the discovery
+that she had been in some way an honored appanage of so imposing an
+establishment. So, by the time Grace was well enough to be driven back
+to her hotel, the senor was prattling cheerfully and familiarly with all
+and sundry, and was promising to bring his wife back there the next day,
+to talk over old times with her former associates.
+
+Such was Grace’s punishment: it was not very severe; but then her fault
+had been a venial one; and the episode was of much moral benefit to her.
+She liked her husband all the better for having nothing more to conceal
+from him; her vanity was rebuked, and her false pride chastened;
+and when, in after-years, her pretty daughters and black-haired sons
+gathered about her knees, she was wont to warn them sagely against the
+un-American absurdity of fearing to work for their living, or being
+ashamed to have it known.
+
+But the married life of Miriam and Harvey Freeman was characteristically
+American in its happiness. The representatives of the oldest and of the
+latest inhabitants of this continent, their union seemed to produce the
+flower of what was best in both. Their wedding is still remembered in
+that region, as being everything that a Southern Californian wedding
+should be; and the bride, as she stood at the altar, looked what she
+was,--one of those women who, more than anything else in this world,
+are fitted to bring back to earth the gentle splendors of the Garden
+of Eden. In her dark eyes, as she fixed them upon Freeman, there was
+a mystic light, telling of fathomless depths of tenderness and
+intelligence: it seemed to her husband that love had expanded and
+uplifted her; or perhaps that other spirit in her, which had battled
+with her own, had now become reconciled, and therefore yielded up
+whatever it had of good and noble to aggrandize the gentle victory of
+its conqueror. Somehow, somewhere, in Miriam’s nature, Semitzin lived;
+and, as a symbol of the peace and atonement that were the issue of
+her strange interior story, her husband preserves with reverence and
+affection the mysterious garment called the Golden Fleece.
+
+
+
+
+
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+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Fleece, by Julian Hawthorne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Golden Fleece
+
+Author: Julian Hawthorne
+
+Release Date: October 5, 2008 [EBook #1614]
+Last Updated: November 8, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Keller, and David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE GOLDEN FLEECE
+    </h1>
+    <h2>
+      A Romance
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By Julian Hawthorne
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      Contents
+    </h3>
+    <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a>
+          </p>
+        </td>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a>
+          </p>
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER I.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The professor crossed one long, lean leg over the other, and punched down
+      the ashes in his pipe-bowl with the square tip of his middle finger. The
+      thermometer on the shady veranda marked eighty-seven degrees of heat, and
+      nature wooed the soul to languor and revery; but nothing could abate the
+      energy of this bony sage.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They talk about their Atlantises,&mdash;their submerged continents!&rdquo; he
+      exclaimed, with a sniff through his wide, hairy nostrils. &ldquo;Why, Trednoke,
+      do you realize that we are living literally at the bottom of a Mesozoic&mdash;at
+      any rate, Cenozoic&mdash;sea?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The gentleman thus indignantly addressed contemplated his questioner with
+      the serenity of one conscious of freedom from geologic responsibility. He
+      was a man of about the professor&rsquo;s age,&mdash;say, sixty years,&mdash;but
+      not like him in appearance. His figure was stately and massive,&mdash;that
+      of one who in his youth must have possessed vast physical strength,
+      rigidly developed and disciplined. Well set upon his broad shoulders was a
+      noble head, crowned with gray, wavy hair; the eyes and eyebrows were black
+      and powerful, but the expression was kindly and humorous. His moustache
+      and the Roman convexity of his chin would have confirmed your conviction
+      that he was a retired warrior; in which you would have been correct, for
+      General Trednoke always appeared what he was, both outwardly and inwardly.
+      His great frame, clad in white linen, was comfortably disposed in a
+      Japanese straw arm-chair; yet there was a soldierly poise in his attitude.
+      He was smoking a large and excellent cigar; and a cup of coffee, with a
+      tiny glass of cognac beside it, stood on a mahogany stand at his elbow.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you remember, Meschines, the time I licked you at school?&rdquo; he
+      inquired, in a tone of pleasant reminiscence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say I do. What&rsquo;s more, I venture to challenge your statement. And
+      though you are a hundred pounds the better of me in weight, and a West
+      Point graduate, I will wager my pipe (which is worth its weight in
+      diamonds) against that old woollen shirt of Montezuma&rsquo;s that you showed me
+      yesterday, that I can lick you to-day, and forget all about it before
+      bedtime!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I guess you could,&rdquo; returned the general, with a little chuckle,
+      &ldquo;even if I hadn&rsquo;t that Mexican bullet in my leg. But you couldn&rsquo;t,
+      forty-five years ago, though you tried, and though I was a year younger
+      than you, and weighed five pounds less. Come, now: you don&rsquo;t mean to say
+      you&rsquo;ve forgotten Susan Brown!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh&mdash;ah&mdash;hah! Susan Brown! Well, I declare! And what brought her
+      into your head, I should like to know?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, after breaking your heart first, and then mine, I lost sight of her,
+      and I don&rsquo;t think I have seen her since. But it appears she was married to
+      a fellow named Parsloe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t fancy that name!&rdquo; observed the professor, wagging his head and
+      frowning. &ldquo;Has a mean sound to it. But what of it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, she died,&mdash;rest her soul!&mdash;and Parsloe too. But they had
+      a daughter, and she survives them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And resembles her mother, eh?&mdash;No, Trednoke, the time for that sort
+      of thing has gone by with me. Susan might have had me, five-and-forty
+      years ago; but I can&rsquo;t undertake to revive my passion for the benefit of
+      Mrs. Parsloe&rsquo;s daughter. Besides, I&rsquo;m too busy to think of marriage, and
+      not&mdash;not old enough!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      At this tour de force, the general laughed softly, and finished his
+      coffee. An old Indian, somewhat remarkable in appearance, with shaggy
+      white hair hanging down on his shoulders, stepped forward from the room
+      where he had been waiting, and removed the cup.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No letters yet, Kamaiakan?&rdquo; asked the general, in Spanish.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In a few minutes, general,&rdquo; the other replied. &ldquo;Pablo has just come in
+      sight over the hill. There were several errands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Muy buen!&mdash;I was going to say, Meschines, her father and mother left
+      the girl poor, and she, being, apparently, clever and energetic, took to&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I know!&rdquo; the professor interrupted. &ldquo;They all do it, when they are clever
+      and energetic, and that&rsquo;s the end of them!&mdash;School-teaching!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; returned General Trednoke. &ldquo;She entered a dry-goods store.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Entered a dry-goods store! Well, there&rsquo;s nothing so extraordinary in
+      that. I&rsquo;ve seen quantities of women do it, of all ages, colors, and
+      degrees. What did she buy there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, a fiddlestick!&rdquo; exclaimed the general. &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you keep quiet and
+      listen to my story? I say, she went into a great dry-goods store in New
+      York, as sales-woman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bless my soul! You don&rsquo;t mean a shop-girl?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I said, isn&rsquo;t it? And why not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, well!&mdash;but, shade of Susan Brown! Ichabod!&mdash;what is the
+      feminine of Ichabod, by the way, Trednoke? But, seriously, it&rsquo;s too bad.
+      Susan may have been fickle, but she was always aristocratic. And now her
+      daughter is a shop-girl. You and I are avenged!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You are just as ridiculous, Meschines, as you were thirty or fifty years
+      ago,&rdquo; said the general, tranquilly. &ldquo;You declaim for the sake of hearing
+      your own voice. Besides, what you say is un-American. Grace Parsloe, as I
+      was saying, got a place as shop-girl in one of the great New York stores.
+      I don&rsquo;t say she mightn&rsquo;t have done worse: what I say is, I doubt whether
+      she could have done better. That house&mdash;I know one of its founders,
+      and I know what I&rsquo;m talking about&mdash;is like an enormous family, where
+      children are born, year after year, grow up, and take their places in life
+      according to their quality and merit. What I mean is, that the boy who
+      drives a wagon for them to-day, at three dollars a week, may control one
+      of their chief departments, or even become a partner, before they&rsquo;re done
+      with him; and, mutatis mutandis, the same with the girls. When these girls
+      marry, it&rsquo;s apt to be into a higher rank of life than they were born in;
+      and that fact, I take it, is a good indication that their shop-girl
+      experience has been an education and an improvement. They are given work
+      to do, suited to their capacity, be it small or great; they are in the way
+      of learning something of the great economic laws; they learn
+      self-restraint, courtesy, and&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And human nature! Yes, poor things: they see the American buying-woman,
+      and that is a discipline more trying than any you West Pointers know
+      about! Oh, yes, I see your point. If the fathers of the big family ARE
+      fathers, and the children ARE children to them... All the same, I fancy
+      the young ladies, when they marry into the higher social circles, as you
+      say they do, don&rsquo;t, as a rule, make their shop girl days a topic of
+      conversation at five-o&rsquo;clock teas, or put &lsquo;Ex-shop-girl to So-and-so&rsquo; at
+      the bottom of their visiting-cards.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe, after all, you&rsquo;re a snob, Meschines,&rdquo; said the general,
+      pensively. &ldquo;But, as I was about to say, when you interrupted me ten
+      minutes ago, Grace Parsloe is coming on here to make us a visit. She fell
+      ill, and her employers, after doing what could be done for her in the way
+      of medical attendance, made up their minds to give her a change of
+      climate. Now, you know, as she had originally gone to them with a letter
+      from me, and as I live out here, on the borders of the Southern desert, in
+      a climate that has no equal, they naturally thought of writing to me about
+      it. And of course I said I&rsquo;d be delighted to have her here, for a month,
+      or a year, or whatever time it may be. She will be a pleasure to me, and a
+      friend for Miriam, and she may find a husband somewhere up or down the
+      coast, who will give her a fortune, and think all the better of her
+      because she, like him, had the ability and the pluck to make her own way
+      in the world.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Humph! When do you expect her?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She may turn up any day. She is coming round by way of the Isthmus. From
+      what I hear, she is really a very fine, clever girl. She held a
+      responsible position in the shop, and&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, let us sink the shop, and get back to the rational and instructive
+      conversation that we&mdash;or, to be more accurate, that I was engaged in
+      when this digression began. I presume you are aware that all the
+      indications are lacustrine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Hereupon, a hammock, suspended near the talkers, and filled with what
+      appeared to be a bundle of lace and silken shawls, became agitated, and
+      developed at one end a slender arched foot in an open-work silk stocking
+      and sandal-slipper, and at the other end a dark, youthful, oval face, with
+      glorious eyes and dull black hair. A voice of music asked,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is lacustrine, papa?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, so you are awake again, Senorita Miriam?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t been asleep. What is lacustrine?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ask the professor.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Lacus, you know, my dear,&rdquo; said the latter, &ldquo;means fresh-water
+      indications as against salt.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then how does Great Salt Lake&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, for that matter, the whole ocean was fresh originally. Moisture,
+      evaporation, precipitation. Water is a great solvent: earthquakes break
+      the crust, and there you are!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then, before the earthquakes, the Salt Lakes were fresh?&rdquo; rejoined the
+      hammock.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There was fresh water west of the Rockies and south of&mdash;&mdash;
+      Why,&rdquo; cried the professor, interrupting himself, &ldquo;when I was in Wyoming
+      and around there, this spring, in what they call the Bad Lands,&mdash;cliffs
+      and buttes of indurated yellow clay and sandstone, worn and carved out by
+      floods long before the Aztecs started to move out of Canada,&mdash;I saw
+      fossil bones sticking out of the cliffs, the least of which would make the
+      fortune of a museum. That was between the Rockies and the Wahsatch.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;People&rsquo;s bones?&rdquo; asked the hammock, agitating itself again, and showing a
+      glimpse of a smooth throat and a slender ankle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bless my soul! If there were people in those days they must have had an
+      anxious time of it!&rdquo; returned the sage. &ldquo;No, no, my dear. There was
+      brontosaurus, and atlantosaurus, and hydrosaurus, and iguanodon,&mdash;lizards,
+      you know, not like these little black fellows that run about in the
+      pulverized feldspar here, but chaps eighty or a hundred feet long, and
+      twenty or thirty high; and turtles, as big as a house.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How did they get there?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Got mired while they were feeding, perhaps; or the water drained off and
+      left them high and dry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But where did the water go to?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The general chuckled at this juncture, and lit another cigar. &ldquo;She knows
+      more questions than you do the answers to them,&rdquo; quoth he. &ldquo;But I wouldn&rsquo;t
+      mind hearing where the water went to, myself. I should like to see some of
+      it back again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ask the earthquakes, and the sun. There&rsquo;s a hundred and thirty degrees of
+      heat in some of these valleys,&mdash;abysses, rather, three or four
+      hundred feet below sea-level. The earth is very thin-skinned in this
+      region, too, and whatever water wasn&rsquo;t evaporated from above would be
+      likely to come to grief underneath.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, professor,&rdquo; said the musical voice, &ldquo;I thought there was a law that
+      water always seeks its own level. So how can there be empty places below
+      sea-level?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the fault of the aneroid barometer, my dear. We were very
+      comfortable and commonplace until that came along and revealed anomalies.
+      The secret lies, I suppose, in the trend of the strata, which is generally
+      north and south. You see the ridges cropping out all through the desert;
+      and there&rsquo;s a good deal of lava oozing over them, too. They probably act
+      as walls, to prevent the sea getting in from the west, or the Colorado
+      leaking in from the east.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;In that case,&rdquo; remarked the general, &ldquo;a little more seismic disturbance
+      might produce a change.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would have to be more than a little, I suspect,&rdquo; returned Meschines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kamaiakan told me that the Indians have a prophecy that a great lake will
+      come back and make the desert fruitful, and that there are some who know
+      the very place where the water will begin to flow.&rdquo; And here the hammock,
+      with a final convulsion, gave birth to a beautiful young woman, in a
+      diaphanous silk dress and a white lace mantilla. She crossed the veranda,
+      and seated herself on the broad arm of her father&rsquo;s chair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, that&rsquo;s important!&rdquo; said the general, arching his brows. &ldquo;I wonder if
+      Kamaiakan is one of those who know the place? If so, it might be worth his
+      while to let me into the secret.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, you couldn&rsquo;t go there! It&rsquo;s enchanted, and people who go near it die.
+      There are bones all about there, now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This Kamaiakan appears to be a remarkable personage: where did you pick
+      him up?&rdquo; inquired the professor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was rather the other way,&rdquo; Trednoke replied, taking one of his
+      daughter&rsquo;s hands in his, and caressing it. &ldquo;We are appendages to
+      Kamaiakan. You look so natural, sitting there, Meschines, that I forget
+      it&rsquo;s thirty years since we met, and that all the significant events of my
+      life have happened in that time,&mdash;the Mexican war, my marriage, and
+      the rest of it! I have been a widower ten years.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve been a bachelor for over sixty!&rdquo; said Meschines, with a queer
+      expression. &ldquo;Your wife was Spanish, was she not?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Her father was a Mexican of Andalusian descent. But her mother was
+      descended from the race of Azatlan: there are records and relics
+      indicating that her ancestors were princes in Tenochtitlan before Cortez
+      made trouble there.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I&rsquo;ve been losing my heart to a princess, and never realized my
+      audacity!&rdquo; exclaimed the professor, laying his hand on his waistcoat and
+      making an obeisance to Miriam.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She tossed her free foot, and played with the fringe of her reboso.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will tell my maid to look for it,&rdquo; she said; &ldquo;but I think you must have
+      left it in papa&rsquo;s curiosity-room.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No: I&rsquo;m an Aztec sacrifice!&rdquo; cried the professor; and they all laughed.
+      &ldquo;One would hardly have anticipated,&rdquo; he resumed after a pause, addressing
+      Trednoke, &ldquo;that you would have made a double conquest,&mdash;first of the
+      men, and then of the woman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The woman conquered me, without trying or wishing to, and then, because
+      she was a woman, took compassion on me. Whether my country has benefited
+      much by the Mexican annexation, I can&rsquo;t say; but I know Inez&mdash;made a
+      heaven on earth for me,&rdquo; concluded the general, in a low voice. His
+      countenance, at this moment, wore a solemn and humble expression,
+      beautiful to see; and Miriam bent and laid her cheek against his.
+      Meschines knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and sighed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No woman ever took compassion on me,&rdquo; he remarked, &ldquo;and you see the
+      result,&mdash;ashes!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ashes,&mdash;with their wonted fires living in them,&rdquo; said Trednoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We were talking about this Indian of yours,&rdquo; said Meschines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ay, to be sure. Well, he was attached to Inez&rsquo;s family when I first knew
+      them. It was a peculiar relation; not like that of a servant. One finds
+      such things in Mexico. The conquered race were of as good strain as their
+      conquerors; the blood of Montezuma was as blue as the best of the
+      Castilian. There were many intermarriages; and there are many instances of
+      the survival of traditions and records; though the records are often
+      symbolic, and would have no meaning to persons not initiated. But they
+      have been sufficient to perpetuate ties of a personal nature through
+      generation after generation; and the alliance between Kamaiakan and Inez
+      was of this kind. His forefathers, I imagine, were priests, and priests
+      were a mighty power in Tenochtitlan. For aught I know, indeed Kamaiakan
+      may be an original priest of Montezuma&rsquo;s; no one knows his age, but he
+      does not look an hour older, to-day, than when I first saw him, over
+      twenty years ago.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He must be!&rdquo; said Miriam, with some positiveness. &ldquo;He has told me of
+      seeing and doing things hundreds of years ago. And he says&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+       She paused.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What does he say, Nina adorada?&rdquo; asked her father.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was about the treasure, you know.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let us hear. The professor is one of us.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of our traditions that my mother&rsquo;s ancestors, at the time of
+      Cortez, were very rich people,&rdquo; continued Miriam, glancing at Meschines,
+      and then letting her eyes wander across the garden, blooming with roses
+      and fragrant with orange-trees, and so across the trellised vines towards
+      the soft outline of the mountains eastward. &ldquo;A great part of their wealth
+      was in the form of jewels and precious stones. When Cortez took the city,
+      one of the priests, who was a relative of our family, put the jewels in a
+      box, and hid them in a certain place in the desert.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And does Kamaiakan know where the place is?&rdquo; asked the general.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He can know, when the time comes.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Which will be, perhaps, when you are ready for your dowry,&rdquo; observed the
+      professor, genially.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A spell was put upon the spot,&rdquo; Miriam went on, with a certain
+      imaginative seriousness; for she loved romance and mystery so well, and
+      was of a temperament so poetical, that the wildest fairy-tales had a sort
+      of reality for her. &ldquo;No one can find the treasure while the spell remains.
+      But Kamaiakan understands the spell, and the conjuration which dissolves
+      it; and when he dissolves it, the treasure will be found.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And, between ourselves,&rdquo; added the general, &ldquo;Kamaiakan is himself the
+      priestly relative by whom the spell was wrought. He bears an enchanted
+      life, which cannot cease until he has restored the jewels to Miriam&rsquo;s
+      hands.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There might be something in it, you know,&rdquo; said Meschines, after a pause.
+      &ldquo;The treasures of Montezuma have never been found. Is there no old chart
+      or writing, in your collection of curiosities and relics, that might throw
+      light on it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The scriptures of Anahuac were of the hieroglyphic type,&mdash;picture-writing,&rdquo;
+       replied the other. &ldquo;No, I fear there is nothing to the purpose; and if
+      there were, I shouldn&rsquo;t know how to decipher it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But, papa, the tunic!&rdquo; exclaimed Miriam.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! has the tunic anything to do with it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is that the queer woollen garment with the gold embroidery?&rdquo; inquired the
+      professor, becoming more interested. &ldquo;I took a fancy to that, you
+      remember. Has it a story?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, it is a kind of an anomaly, I believe,&rdquo; the general answered,
+      looking up at his daughter with a smile. &ldquo;The Aztecs, you are aware,
+      dressed chiefly in cotton. Even their defensive armor was of cotton,
+      thickly quilted. Their ornaments were feathers, and embroidery of gold and
+      precious stones. But wool, for some reason, they didn&rsquo;t wear; and yet this
+      garment, as you can see for yourself, is pure wool; and that it is also
+      pure Aztecan is beyond question.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Admitting that, what clue does it give to the treasure?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must ask Kamaiakan,&rdquo; said Miriam: &ldquo;only, he wouldn&rsquo;t tell you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Possibly,&rdquo; the professor suggested, &ldquo;the place where the treasure is
+      hidden is the place whence the water is to flow out; and the water is the
+      treasure.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Seriously, do you suppose that such a phenomenon as the return of an
+      inland sea is physically practicable?&rdquo; asked Trednoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No phenomenon, in this part of the world, would surprise me,&rdquo; returned
+      Meschines. &ldquo;The Colorado might break its barriers; or it is conceivable
+      that some huge stream, taking its rise in the heights hundreds of miles
+      north and east of us, may be flowing through subterranean passages into
+      the sea, emerging from the sea-bottom hundreds of miles to the westward.
+      Now, if a rattling good earthquake were to happen along, you might awake
+      in the morning to find yourself on an island, or even under water.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A moderate Mediterranean would satisfy me,&rdquo; the general said. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t
+      exchange the certainty of it for the treasures of Montezuma.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The thirst for gold and for water are synonymous in your case?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Give this section a moist climate, and I needn&rsquo;t tell you that the Great
+      American Desert would literally blossom as the rose. Even as it is, I
+      expect a great deal of it will be redeemed by scientific irrigation. The
+      soil only needs water to become inexhaustibly productive. Our desert, as
+      you know, is not sand, like parts of the Sahara; it has all the
+      ingredients that go to nourish plants, only their present powdery
+      condition makes them unavailable. Now, I can, to-day, buy a hundred square
+      miles of desert for a few dollars. You see the point, don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And all you want is expert opinion as to the likelihood of finding
+      water?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The man who solves that question for me in the affirmative is welcome to
+      half my share of the results that would ensue from it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t you engage some expert to investigate?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One can&rsquo;t always trust an expert. I don&rsquo;t mean as to his expertness only,
+      but as to his good faith. He might prefer to sell the idea to somebody who
+      could pay cash,&mdash;which I cannot.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, you seem to have given this thing a good deal of thought, Trednoke.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, yes: it has been my hobby for a year past; and I have made some
+      investigations myself. But this is the first time I have spoken of it to
+      any one.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I understand. And what of the investigations?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can say that I found enough to interest me. I&rsquo;ll tell you about it some
+      time. I should be glad to leave Miriam something to make her independent.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should say that her Creator had already done that!&rdquo; said Meschines. &ldquo;By
+      the way, I know a young fellow&mdash;if he were only here&mdash;who is
+      just the man you want, and can be trusted. He&rsquo;s a civil engineer,&mdash;Harvey
+      Freeman: the Lord only knows in what part of the world he is at this
+      speaking. He has made a special study of these subterranean matters.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you remember, papa, Coleridge&rsquo;s poem of Kubla Khan?&mdash;
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+     &ldquo;Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
+     Through caverns measureless to man
+          Down to a sunless sea!&rdquo;
+ </pre>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Our sacred river, when we find it, shall be named Miriam.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It ought to be Kamaiakan,&rdquo; she rejoined; &ldquo;for, if anybody finds it, it
+      will be he.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I hear the wings of the angel of whom we have been speaking,&rdquo;
+       said the general. &ldquo;Yes, here he is; and he has got the letters. Let us
+      see! One for you Meschines. And this, I see, is from our friend Miss
+      Parsloe, postmarked Santa Barbara. Why, she&rsquo;ll be here to-morrow, at that
+      rate.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s a queer coincidence!&rdquo; exclaimed the professor, who had meanwhile
+      opened his envelope and glanced through the contents. &ldquo;The very man I was
+      speaking of,&mdash;Harvey Freeman! Says he is in this neighborhood, has
+      heard I&rsquo;m here, and is coming down to pay me a visit. Methinks I hear the
+      rolling of the sacred river!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you won&rsquo;t mention it to him, until&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bless me! Of course not. I&rsquo;ll bring him over here, in the course of human
+      events, and you can take a look at him, and act on your own intuitions. I
+      won&rsquo;t say on Princess Miriam&rsquo;s, for Harvey is a very fine-looking fellow,
+      and her intuitions might get confused.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A civil engineer!&rdquo; said Miriam, with an intonation worthy of the daughter
+      of a West-Pointer and the descendant of an Aztec prince.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kamaiakan (who spoke only Spanish) had been gathering up some cushions
+      that had fallen out of the hammock. Having replaced them, and cast a quick
+      glance at Meschines, he withdrew.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER II.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The Southern Pacific Railway passes, today, not far from the site of
+      General Trednoke&rsquo;s ranch. But the events now to be narrated occurred some
+      years before the era of transcontinental railroads: they were in the air,
+      but not yet bolted down to the earth. The general, therefore, was a
+      pioneer, and was by no means overrun with friends from the East in search
+      of an agreeable winter climate. The easiest way to reach him&mdash;if you
+      were not pressed for time&mdash;was round the cape which forms the
+      southernmost point of South America and sticks its sharp snout inquiringly
+      into the Antarctic solitudes, as if it scented something questionable
+      there. The speediest route, though open to strange discomforts, was by way
+      of the Isthmus; and then there were always the saddle, the wagon, and the
+      stage, with the accompaniments of road-agents, tornadoes, deserts, and
+      starvation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miss Grace Parsloe came via the Isthmus; and the latter part of her
+      journey had been alleviated by the society of a young gentleman from New
+      York, Freeman by name. There were other passengers on the vessel; but
+      these two discovered sympathies of origin and education which made
+      companionship natural. They sat together at table, leaned side by side
+      over the taffrail, discussed their fellow-travellers, and investigated
+      each other. As he lolled on the bench with folded arms and straw hat
+      tilted back from his forehead she, glancing side-long, as her manner was,
+      saw a sunburnt aquiline nose, a moustache of a lighter brown than the
+      visage which it decorated, a lean, strong jaw, and a muscular neck. His
+      forehead, square and impending, was as white as ivory in comparison with
+      the face below; his hair, in accordance with the fashion introduced by the
+      late war, was cropped close. But what especially moved Miss Grace were
+      those long, lazy blue eyes, which seemed to tolerate everything, but to be
+      interested in nothing,&mdash;hardly even in her. Now, Grace could not help
+      knowing she was a pretty girl, and it was somewhat of a novelty to her
+      that Freeman should appear so indifferent. It would have been difficult to
+      devise a better opportunity than this to monopolize masculine admiration,
+      and she fell to speculating as to what sort of an experience Mr. Freeman
+      must have had, so to panoply him against her magic. On the other hand, she
+      was the recipient of whatever attentions he could bring himself to detach
+      from the horizon-line, or from his own thoughts (which appeared to amount,
+      practically, to about the same thing). She had no other rivals; and a
+      woman will submit amiably to a good deal of indifference, provided she be
+      assured that no other woman is enjoying what she lacks.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman, for his part, had nothing to complain of. Grace Parsloe was a
+      singularly pretty girl. Singular properly qualifies her. She was not like
+      the others,&mdash;by which phrase he epitomized the numerous comely young
+      women whom he had, at various times and in several countries, attended,
+      teased, and kissed. Both physically and mentally, she was very
+      fine-wrought. Her bones were small; her body and limbs were slender, but
+      beautifully fashioned. She was supple and vigorous. Grace is a product of
+      brain as well as an effect of bodily symmetry: Grace had the quality on
+      both counts. She answered to one&rsquo;s conception of Mahomet&rsquo;s houris,
+      assuming that the conception is not of a fat person. Her head was small,
+      but well proportioned,&mdash;compact as to the forehead, rather broad
+      across the cheek-bones, thence tapering to the chin. Her eyes were blue,
+      but of an Eastern strangeness of shape and setting; they were subject to
+      great and sudden changes of expression, depending, apparently, on the
+      varying state of her emotions, and betraying an intensity more akin to the
+      Oriental temperament than to ours. There was in her something subtle and
+      fierce; yet overlaying it, like a smooth and silken skin, were the
+      conventional polish and bearing of an American school graduate. She was,
+      in deed, noticeably artificial and self-conscious in manner and in the
+      intonations of her speech; though it was an aesthetic delight to see her
+      move or pose, and the quality of her voice was music&rsquo;s self. But Freeman,
+      after due meditation, came to the conclusion that this was the outcome of
+      her recognition of her own singularity: in trying to be like other people,
+      she fell into caricature. Freeman, somehow, liked her the better for it.
+      Like most men of brain and pith, who have seen and thought much, he was
+      thankful for a new thing, because, so far as it went, it renewed him. It
+      pleased him to imagine that he could, with a word or a look, cause this
+      veil of artifice to be thrown aside, and the primitive passion and
+      fierceness behind it to start forth. He allowed himself to imagine, with a
+      certain satisfaction, that were he to make this young woman jealous she
+      would think nothing of thrusting a dagger between his ribs. Reality,&mdash;what
+      a delight it is! The actual touch and feeling of the spontaneous natural
+      creature have been so buried beneath centuries of hypocrisy and humbug
+      that we have ceased to believe in them save as a metaphysical abstraction.
+      But even as water, long depressed under-ground in perverse channels,
+      surges up to the surface, and above it, at last, in a fountain of relief,
+      so Nature, after enduring ages of outrage and banishment, leaps back to
+      her rightful domain in some individual whom we call extraordinary because
+      he or she is natural. Grace Parsloe did not seem (regarded as to her
+      temperament and quality) to belong where she was: therefore she was a
+      delightful incident there. Had she been met with in the days of the Old
+      Testament, or in the depths of Persia or India at the present time, even,
+      she might have appeared commonplace. But here she was in conventional
+      costume, with conventional manners. And, just as the nautch-girls, and
+      other Oriental dancers and posturers, wear a costume which suggests nature
+      more effectively than does nature itself, so did Grace&rsquo;s conventionality
+      suggest to Freeman the essential absence of conventionality more forcibly
+      than if he had seen her clad in a turban and translucent caftan, dancing
+      off John the Baptist&rsquo;s head, or driving a nail into that of Sisera. Grace
+      certainly owed much of her importance to her situation, which rendered her
+      foreign and piquante. But, then, everything, in this world, is relative.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Racial types seem to be a failure: when they become very marked, the race
+      deteriorates or vanishes. In the counties of England, after only a
+      thousand years, the women you meet in the rural districts and country
+      towns all look like sisters. The Asiatics, of course, are much more sunk
+      in type than the Anglo-Saxons; and they show us the way we would be going.
+      Only, there is hope in rapid transit and the cosmopolitan spirit, and
+      especially in these United States, which bring together the ends of the
+      earth, and place side by side a descendant of the Puritans like Freeman,
+      and a daughter of Irak-Ajemi.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What are you coming to California for, Mr. Freeman?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman had already told her what he had been in the Isthmus for,&mdash;to
+      paddle in miasmatic swamps with a view to the possibility of a canal in
+      the remote, speculative future. He had given her a graphic and
+      entertaining picture of the hideous and inconceivable life he had led
+      there for six months, from which he had emerged the only member of a party
+      of nineteen (whites, blacks, and yellows) who was not either dead by
+      disease, by violence, or by misadventure, or had barely escaped with life
+      and a shattered constitution. Freeman, after emerging from the miasmatic
+      hell and lake of Gehenna, had taken a succession of baths, with soap and
+      friction, had been attended by a barber and a tailor, and had himself
+      attended the best table to be found for love or money in the charming town
+      of Panama. He had also spent more than half of the week of his sojourn
+      there in sleep; and he was now in the best possible condition, physical
+      and mental,&mdash;though not, he admitted, pecuniary. As to morals, they
+      had not reached that discussion yet. But, in all that he did say, Freeman
+      exhibited perfect unreserve and frankness, answering without hesitation or
+      embarrassment any question she chose to ask (and she asked some curious
+      ones).
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But when she asked him such an innocent thing as what he was after in
+      California&mdash;an inquiry, by the way, put more in idleness than out of
+      curiosity&mdash;Freeman stroked his yellow moustache with the thumb of the
+      hand that held his Cuban cigarette, gazed with narrowed eyelids at the
+      horizon, and for some time made no reply at all. Finally he said that
+      California was a place he had never visited, and that it would be a pity
+      to have been so near it and yet not have improved the opportunity of
+      taking a look at it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Grace instantly scented a mystery, and was not less promptly resolved to
+      fathom it. And what must be the nature of a mystery attaching to a
+      handsome man, unmarried, and evidently no stranger to the gentler sex? Of
+      course there must be a woman in it! Her eyes glowed with azure fire.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have some acquaintances in California, I suppose?&rdquo; she said, with an
+      air of laborious indifference.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&mdash;yes; I believe I have,&rdquo; Freeman admitted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have they lived there long?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No; not over a few months. I accidentally heard from a person in Panama.
+      I dropped a line to say I might turn up.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She&mdash;&mdash;you haven&rsquo;t had time to get an answer, then?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman inhaled a deep breath through his cigarette, tilted his head back,
+      and allowed the smoke to escape slowly through his nostrils. In this
+      manner, familiar to his deep-designing sex, he concealed a smile. Grace
+      was, in some respects, as transparent as she was subtle. So long as the
+      matter in hand did not touch her emotions, she had no difficulty in
+      maintaining a deceptive surface; but emotion she could not disguise,
+      though she was probably not aware of the fact; for emotion has a tendency
+      to shut one&rsquo;s own eyes and open what they can no longer see in one&rsquo;s self
+      to the gaze of outsiders.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No,&rdquo; he said, when he had recovered his composure. &ldquo;But that won&rsquo;t make
+      any difference. We are on rather intimate terms, you see.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! Is it long since you have met?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pretty long; at least it seems so to me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Grace turned, and looked full at her companion. He did not meet her
+      glance, but kept his profile steadily opposed, and went on smoking with a
+      dreamy air, as if lost in memories and anticipations, sad, yet sweet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Really, Mr. Freeman, I hardly thought&mdash;you have always seemed to
+      care so little about anything&mdash;I didn&rsquo;t suspect you of so much
+      sentiment.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am like other men,&rdquo; he returned, with a sigh. &ldquo;My affections are not
+      given indiscriminately; but when they are given,&mdash;you understand,&mdash;I&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I understand: pray don&rsquo;t think it necessary to explain. I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;m
+      very far from wishing to listen to confidences about another,&mdash;to&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, but I like to talk about it,&rdquo; interposed Freeman, earnestly. &ldquo;I
+      haven&rsquo;t had a chance to open my heart, you know, for at least six months.
+      And though you and I haven&rsquo;t known each other long, I believe you to be
+      capable of appreciating what a man feels when he is on his way to meet
+      some one who&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you! You are most considerate! But I shall be additionally obliged
+      if you would tell me in what respect I can have so far forgotten myself as
+      to lead you to think me likely to appreciate anything of the kind. I
+      assure you, Mr. Freeman, I have never cared for any one; and nothing I
+      have seen since I left home makes it probable that I shall begin now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am sorry to hear that,&rdquo; said Freeman, slowly drawing another cigarette
+      out of his bundle, and beginning to re-roll it with a dejected air.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes: the fact is, I had hoped that you had begun to have a little
+      friendly feeling for me. I am more than ready to reciprocate.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope you will spare me any insults, sir. I have no one to protect me,
+      but&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I assure you, I mean no insult. You cannot help knowing that I think you
+      as beautiful and fascinating a woman as I have ever met; but of course you
+      can&rsquo;t help being beautiful and fascinating. Do I insult you by having
+      eyes? If so, I am sorry, but you will have to make the best of it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      With this, he turned in his seat, and calmly confronted her. Beautiful she
+      certainly was, at that moment; but it was the beauty of an angry serpent.
+      She had a pencil in her hand, with which, a little while before, she had
+      been sketching heads of some of the passengers in her little notebook. She
+      was now handling this inoffensive object in such a way as to justify the
+      fancy that, had it been charged with a deadly poison in its point, instead
+      of with a bit of plumbago of the HH quality, she would have driven it into
+      Freeman&rsquo;s heart then and there.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is it no insult,&rdquo; said she, in a sibilant voice, &ldquo;to talk to me as you
+      are doing, when you have just told me that you love another woman, and are
+      going to meet her?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman&rsquo;s brows gradually knitted themselves in a frown of apparent
+      perplexity. &ldquo;I must say I don&rsquo;t understand you,&rdquo; he observed, at length.
+      &ldquo;I am quite sure I have said nothing of the sort. How could I?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you wish to quibble about words, perhaps not. But was not that your
+      meaning?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, it wasn&rsquo;t. You are the only woman who has been in my thoughts
+      to-day.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mr. Freeman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You have intimated very clearly that you are engaged&mdash;married, for
+      aught I know&mdash;to a woman whom you are now on your way to meet&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      At this point she stopped. Freeman had interrupted her with a shout of
+      laughter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had been very pale. She now flushed all over her face, and jumped to
+      her feet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Sit down,&rdquo; he said, laying a hand on her dress and (aided by a lurch of
+      the vessel) pulling her into her seat again, &ldquo;and listen to me. And then I
+      shall insist upon an apology. This is too much!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I shall ask the captain&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You will not, I promise you. Look here! When I was in Panama, I met there
+      a fellow I used to know in New York. He told me that he had recently
+      crossed the continent with Professor Meschines, who used to teach geology
+      and botany at Yale College, when he and I were students there. The
+      professor had come over partly for the fun of the thing, and partly to
+      look for specimens in the line of his profession. My friend parted from
+      him at San Francisco: the professor was going farther south.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What has all this to do with the woman who&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It has this to do with it,&mdash;that the professor is the woman! He is
+      over sixty years old, and has always been a good friend of mine; but I am
+      not going to marry him. I am not engaged to him, he is not beautiful, nor
+      even fascinating, except in the way of an elderly man of science. And he
+      is the only human being, besides yourself, that I know or have ever heard
+      of on the Pacific coast. Now for your apology!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Grace emitted a long breath, and sank back in her seat, with her hands
+      clasped in her lap. She raised her hands and covered her face with them.
+      She removed them, sat erect, and bent an open-eyed, intent gaze upon her
+      companion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      After this pantomime, she exclaimed, in the lowest and most musical of
+      tones, &ldquo;Oh! how hateful you are!&rdquo; Then she cried out with animation, &ldquo;I
+      believe you did it on purpose!&rdquo; Finally, she sank back again, with a soft
+      laugh and sparkling eyes, at the same time stretching out her right arm
+      towards him and placing her hand on his, with a whispered, &ldquo;There, then!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman, accepting the hand for the apology, kissed it, and continued to
+      hold it afterwards.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Am I not a little goose?&rdquo; she murmured.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You certainly are,&rdquo; replied Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You mustn&rsquo;t hold my hand any more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you mean to withdraw your apology?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;N&mdash;no; but it doesn&rsquo;t follow that&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, yes, it does. Besides, when a man receives such a delicate, refined,
+      graceful, exquisite apology as this,&rdquo;&mdash;here he lifted the hand,
+      looked at it critically, and bestowed another kiss upon it,&mdash;&ldquo;he
+      would be a fool not to make the most of it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah, I&rsquo;m afraid you&rsquo;re dangerous. You are well named&mdash;Freeman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My name is Harvey: won&rsquo;t you call me by it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I can&rsquo;t!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Try! Would it make it easier if I were to call you by yours?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mine is Miss Parsloe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pooh! How can that be your name which you are going to change so soon?
+      When I look at you, I see your name; when I think of you, I say it to
+      myself,&mdash;Grace!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know I am going to change my name soon&mdash;or ever?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Whom are you talking to?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To you,&mdash;Harvey! Oh!&rdquo; She snatched her hand away and pressed it over
+      her lips.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do I know you are beautiful, Grace, and&mdash;irresistible?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not! You&rsquo;re making fun of me! Besides, I&rsquo;m twenty.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How many times have you been engaged?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Never. Nobody wants to be engaged to a poor girl. Oh me!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you know what you are made of, Grace? Fire and flowers! Few men in the
+      world are men enough to be a match for you. But what have you been doing
+      with yourself all this time? Why do you come to a place like this?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Maybe I had a presentiment that... What nonsense we are talking! But what
+      you said reminds me. It&rsquo;s the strangest coincidence!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Your Professor Meschines&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On the contrary, he is a most matter-of-fact old gentleman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do be quiet, and listen to me! When my mamma was a girl in school, there
+      were two boys there,&mdash;it was a boy-and-girls&rsquo; school,&mdash;and they
+      were great friends. But they both fell in love with my mamma&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can understand that,&rdquo; put in Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How do you know I am like my mamma? Well, as I was saying, they both fell
+      in love with her, and quarrelled with each other, and had a fight. The boy
+      that won the fight is the man to whose house I am going.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then he didn&rsquo;t marry your mamma?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, no; that was only a childish affair, and she married another man.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The one who got thrashed?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course not. But the one who got thrashed is your Professor Meschines.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see! The poor old professor! And he has remained a bachelor all his
+      life.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Mamma has often told me the story, and that the Trednoke boy went to West
+      Point, and distinguished himself in the Mexican war, and married a Mexican
+      woman, and the Meschines boy became a professor in Yale College. And now I
+      am going to see one of them, and you to see the other. Isn&rsquo;t that a
+      coincidence?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The first of a long series, I trust. Is this West-Pointer a permanent
+      settler here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, for ever so long,&mdash;twenty years. He&rsquo;s a widower, but he has a
+      daughter&mdash;&mdash; Oh, I know you&rsquo;ll fall in love with her!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is she like you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know. I&rsquo;ve never seen her, or General Trednoke either.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come to think of it, though, nobody is like you, Grace. Now, will you be
+      so good as to apologize again?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t you think you&rsquo;re rather exacting, Harvey?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      However, the apology was finally repeated, and continued, more or less,
+      during the rest of the voyage; and Grace quite forgot that she had never
+      made Harvey tell what was really the cause of his coming to California.
+      But she, on her side, had a secret. She never allowed him to suspect that
+      the past eighteen months of her life had been passed as employee in a New
+      York dry-goods store.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER III.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      General Trednoke&rsquo;s house was built by Spanish missionaries in the
+      sixteenth century; and in its main features it was little altered in three
+      hundred years. In a climate where there is no frost, walls of adobe last
+      as long as granite. The house consisted, practically, of but one story;
+      for although there were rooms under the roof, they were used only for
+      storage; no one slept in them. The plan of the building was not unlike
+      that of a train of railway-cars,&mdash;or, it might be more appropriate to
+      say, of emigrant-wagons. There was a series of rooms, ranged in a line,
+      access to them being had from a narrow corridor, which opened on the rear
+      veranda. Several of the rooms also communicated directly with each other,
+      and, through low windows, gave on the veranda in front; for the house was
+      merely a comparatively narrow array of apartments between two broad
+      verandas, where most of the living, including much of the sleeping, was
+      done.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Logically, there can be nothing uglier than a Spanish-American dwelling of
+      this type. But, as a matter of fact, they appear seductively beautiful.
+      The thick white walls acquire a certain softness of tone; the surface
+      scales off here and there, and cracks and crevices appear. In a damp
+      country, like England, they would soon become covered with moss; but moss
+      is not to be had in this region, though one were to offer for it the price
+      of the silk velvet, triple ply, which so much resembles it. Nevertheless,
+      there are compensations. The soil is inexhaustibly fertile, and its
+      fertility expresses itself in the most inveterate beauty. Such colors and
+      varieties of flowers exist nowhere else, and they continue all the year
+      round. Climbing vines storm the walls, and toss their green ladders all
+      over it, for beauty to walk up and down. Huge jars, standing on the
+      verandas, emit volcanoes of lovely blossoms; and vases swung from the roof
+      drip and overflow with others, as if water had turned to flowers. In the
+      garden, which extends over several acres at the front of the house, and,
+      as it were, makes it an island in a gorgeous sea of petals, there are
+      roses, almonds, oranges, vines, pomegranates, and a hundred rivals whose
+      names are unknown to the present historian, marching joyfully and
+      triumphantly through the seasons, as the symphony moves through changes
+      along its central theme.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Everything that is not an animal or a mineral seems to be a flower. There
+      are too many flowers,&mdash;or, rather, there is not enough of anything
+      else. The faculty of appreciation wearies, and at last ceases to take
+      note. It is like conversing with a person whose every word is an epigram.
+      The senses have their limitations, and imagination and expectation are
+      half of beauty and delight, and the better half; otherwise we should have
+      no souls. A single violet, discovered by chance in the by-ways of an April
+      forest in New England, gives a pleasure as poignant as, and more spiritual
+      than, the miles upon miles of Californian splendors.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Monotony is the ruling characteristic,&mdash;monotony of beauty, monotony
+      of desolation, monotony even of variety. The glorious blue overhead is
+      monotonous: as for the thermometer, it paces up and down within the
+      narrowest limits, like a prisoner in his cell, or a meadow-lark hopping to
+      and fro in a seven-inch cage. The plan and aspect of the buildings are
+      monotonous, and so is the way of life of those who inhabit them.
+      Fortunately, the sun does rise and set in Southern California: otherwise
+      life there would be at an absolute stand-still, with no past and no
+      future. But, as it is, one can look forward to morning, and remember the
+      evening.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, there are the not infrequent but seldom very destructive
+      earthquakes; the occasional cloud-bursts and tornadoes, sudden and violent
+      as a gunpowder-explosion; and, finally, the astounding contrast between
+      the fertile regions and the desert. There are places where you can stand
+      with one foot planted in everlasting sterility and the other in immortal
+      verdure. In the midst of an arid and hopeless waste, you come suddenly
+      upon the brink of a narrow ravine, sharply defined as if cut out with an
+      axe, and packed to the brim with enchanting and voluptuous fertility. Or
+      you will come upon mountains which sweep upward out of burning death into
+      sumptuous life. When the monotony of life meets the monotony of death,
+      Southern California becomes a land of contrasts; and the contrasts
+      themselves become monotonous.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      General Trednoke&rsquo;s ranch was very near the borders of these two mighty
+      forces. An hour&rsquo;s easy ride would carry him to a region as barren and
+      apparently as irreclaimable as that through which Childe Roland journeyed
+      in quest of the Dark Tower; lying, too, in a temperature so fiery that it
+      coagulated the blood in the veins, and stopped the beating of the heart.
+      Underfoot were fine dust, and whitened bones; the air was prismatic and
+      magical, ever conjuring up phantom pictures, whose characteristic was that
+      they were at the farthest remove from any possible reality. The azure sky
+      descended and became a lake; the pulsations of the atmosphere translated
+      themselves into the rhythmic lapse of waves; spikes of sage-brush and
+      blades of cactus became sylvan glades, and hamlets cheerful with
+      inhabitants. Only, all was silent; and as you drew near, the scene
+      trembled, altered, and was gone!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hideous black lizards and horned toads crawl and hop amid this desolation;
+      and the deadly little sidewinder rattlesnake lies basking in the blaze of
+      sunshine, which it distils into venom. Sometimes the level plain is broken
+      up into savage ridges and awful canons, along whose arid bottoms no water
+      streams. As you stagger through their chaotic bottoms, you see vast
+      boulders poised overhead, tottering to a fall; a shiver of earthquake, a
+      breath of hurricane, and they come crashing and splintering in destruction
+      down. Along the sides of these acclivities extend long, level lines and
+      furrows, marks of where the ocean flowed ages ago. But sometimes the hills
+      are but accumulations of desert dust, which shift slowly from place to
+      place under the action of the wind, melting away here to be re-erected
+      yonder; mounding themselves, perhaps, above a living and struggling human
+      being, to move forward, anon, leaving where he was a little heap of
+      withered bones. A fearful place is this broad abyss, where once murmured
+      the waters of a prehistoric sea. Let us return to the cool and fragrant
+      security of the general&rsquo;s ranch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At right angles to the main body of the house extend two wings, thus
+      forming three sides of a square, the interior of which is the court-yard.
+      Here the business of the establishment is conducted. It is the liveliest
+      spot on the premises; though it is liveliness of a very indolent sort. The
+      veranda built around these sides is twenty feet in breadth, paved with
+      tiles that have been worn into hollows by innumerable lazy footsteps,
+      mostly shoeless, for this side of the house is frequented chiefly by the
+      servants of the place, who are Mexican Indians. Ancient wooden settles are
+      bolted to the walls; from hooks hang Indian baskets of bright colors; in
+      one corner are stretched raw hides, which serve as beds. Small brown
+      children, half naked, trot, clamber, and crawl about. Black-haired,
+      swarthy women squat on the tiled floor, pursuing their vocations, or,
+      often, doing nothing at all beyond continuing a placid organic existence.
+      Boys and men saunter in and out of the court-yard, chatting or calling in
+      their musical patois; once in a while there is a thud and clatter of
+      hoofs, a rider arriving or departing. It is an entertaining scene,
+      charming in its monotony of small changes and evolutions; you can sit
+      watching it in a half-doze for twenty years at a stretch, and it may seem
+      only as many minutes, or vice versa.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Most of the rooms in the wings are used for the kitchens and other
+      servants&rsquo; quarters; but one large chamber is devoted to a special purpose
+      of the general&rsquo;s own: it is a museum; the Curiosity-Room, he calls it. It
+      is lighted by two windows opening on opposite sides, one on the
+      court-yard, the other on an orange grove at the south end of the house.
+      Besides being, in itself, a cool and pleasant spot, it is full of interest
+      to any one who cares about the relics and antiquities of an ancient and
+      vanishing race, concerning whom little is or ever will be known. There are
+      two students in it at this moment; though whether they are studying
+      antiquities is another matter. Let us give ear to their discourse and be
+      instructed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But this was made for you to wear, Miss Trednoke. Try it. It fits you
+      perfectly, you see. There can be no doubt about your being a princess,
+      now!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I sometimes feel it,&mdash;here!&rdquo; she said, putting her hand on her
+      bosom. She was looking at him as she said it, but her eyes, instead of any
+      longer meeting his, seemed to turn their regard inward, and to traverse
+      strange regions, not of this world. &ldquo;I see some one who is myself, though
+      I can never have been she: she is surrounded with brightness, and people
+      not like ours; she thinks of things that I have never known. It is the
+      memory of a dream, I suppose,&rdquo; she added, in another tone.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Heredity is a queer thing. You may be Aztecan over again, in mind and
+      temperament; and every one knows how impressions are transmitted. If
+      features and traits of character, why not particular thoughts and
+      feelings?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think it is better not to try to explain these things,&rdquo; said she, with
+      the unconscious haughtiness which maidens acquire who have not seen the
+      world and are adored by their family. &ldquo;They are great mysteries,&mdash;or
+      else nothing.&rdquo; She now removed from her head the curious cap or helmet,
+      ornamented with gold and with the green feathers of the humming-bird,
+      which her companion had crowned her with, and hung it on its nail in the
+      cabinet. &ldquo;Perhaps the thoughts came with the cap,&rdquo; she remarked, smiling
+      slightly. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel that way any more. I ought not to have spoken of
+      it.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I hope the time will come when you will feel that you may trust me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You seem easy to know, Mr. Freeman,&rdquo; she replied, looking at him
+      contemplatively as she spoke, &ldquo;and yet you are not. There is one of you
+      that thinks, and another that speaks. And you are not the same to my
+      father, or to Professor Meschines, that you are to me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is the use of human beings except to take one out of one&rsquo;s self?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it is not your real self that comes out,&rdquo; said Miriam, after a little
+      pause. She never spoke hurriedly, or until after the coming speech had
+      passed into her face.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman laughed. &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;if I&rsquo;m a hypocrite, I&rsquo;m one of those
+      who are made and not born. As a boy, I was frank enough. But a good part
+      of my life has been spent with people who couldn&rsquo;t be trusted; and perhaps
+      the habit of protecting myself against them has grown upon me. If I could
+      only live here for a while it would be different.&mdash;Here&rsquo;s an
+      odd-looking thing. What do you call that?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We call it the Golden Fleece.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Golden Fleece! I can imagine a Medea; but where is the Dragon?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If Jason came, the Dragon might appear.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I remember reading somewhere that the Dragon was less to be feared than
+      Medea&rsquo;s eyes. But this fleece seems to have lost most of its gold. There
+      is only a little gold embroidery.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It shows where the gold is hidden.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It&rsquo;s you that are concealing something now, Miss Trednoke. How can a
+      woollen garment be a talisman?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The secret might be woven into it, perhaps,&rdquo; replied Miriam, passing her
+      fingers caressingly over the soft tunic. &ldquo;Then, when the right person puts
+      it on, it would&mdash;&mdash;But you don&rsquo;t believe in these things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know: you don&rsquo;t give me a chance. But who is the right person?
+      The thing seems rather small. I&rsquo;m sure I couldn&rsquo;t get it on.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It can fit only the one it was made for,&rdquo; said Miriam, gravely. &ldquo;And if
+      you wanted to find the gold, you would trust to your science, rather than
+      to this.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, gold-hunting is not in my line, at present. Every nugget has been
+      paid for more than once, before it is found. Besides, there is something
+      better than gold in Southern California,&mdash;something worth any labor
+      to get.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is it?&rdquo; asked Miriam, turning her tranquil regard upon him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Harvey Freeman had never been deficient in audacity. But, standing in the
+      dark radiance of this maiden&rsquo;s eyes, his self-assurance dwindled, and he
+      could not bring himself to say to her what he would have said to any other
+      pretty woman he had ever met. For he felt that great pride and passion
+      were concealed beneath that tranquil surface: it was a nature that might
+      give everything to love, and would never pardon any frivolous parody
+      thereof. Freeman had been acquainted with Miriam scarcely two days, but he
+      had already begun to perceive the main indications of a character which a
+      lifetime might not be long enough wholly to explore. Marriage had never
+      been among the enterprises he had, in the course of his career, proposed
+      to himself: he did not propose it now: yet he dared not risk the utterance
+      of a word that would lead Miriam to look at him with an offended or
+      contemptuous glance. It was not that she was, from the merely physical
+      point of view, transcendently beautiful. His first impression of her,
+      indeed, had been that she was merely an unusually good example of a type
+      by no means rare in that region. But ere long he became sensible of a
+      spiritual quality in her which lifted her to a level far above that which
+      can be attained by mere harmony of features and proportions. Beneath the
+      outward aspect lay a profound depth of being, glimpses of which were
+      occasionally discernible through her eyes, in the tones of her voice, in
+      her smile, in unconscious movements of her hands and limbs. Demonstrative
+      she could never be; but she could, at will, feel with tropical intensity,
+      and act with the swiftness and energy of a fanatic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In Miriam&rsquo;s company, Freeman forgot every one save her,&mdash;even
+      himself,&mdash;though she certainly made no effort to attract him or
+      (beyond the commonplaces of courtesy) to interest him. Consequently he had
+      become entirely oblivious of the existence of such a person as Grace
+      Parsloe, when, much to his irritation, he heard the voice of that young
+      lady, mingled with others, approaching along the veranda. At the same
+      moment he experienced acute regret at the whim of fortune which had made
+      himself and that sprightly young lady fellow-passengers from Panama, and
+      at the idle impulse which had prompted him to flirt with her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the past was beyond remedy: it was his concern to deal with the
+      present. In a few seconds, Grace entered the curiosity-room, followed by
+      Professor Meschines, and by a dashing young Mexican senor, whom Freeman
+      had met the previous evening, and who was called Don Miguel de Mendoza.
+      The senor, to judge from his manner, had already fallen violently in love
+      with Grace, and was almost dislocating his organs of speech in the effort
+      to pay her romantic compliments in English. Freeman observed this with
+      unalloyed satisfaction. But the look which Grace bent upon him and Miriam,
+      on entering, and the ominous change which passed over her mobile
+      countenance, went far to counteract this agreeable impression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One story is good until another is told. Freeman had really thought Grace
+      a fascinating girl, until he saw Miriam. There was no harm in that: the
+      trouble was, he had allowed Grace to perceive his admiration. He had
+      already remarked that she was a creature of violent extremes, tempered,
+      but not improved, by a thin polish of subtlety. She was now about to give
+      an illustration of the passion of jealousy. But it was not her jealousy
+      that Freeman minded: it was the prospect of Miriam&rsquo;s scorn when she should
+      surmise that he had given Grace cause to be jealous. Miriam was not the
+      sort of character to enter into a competition with any other woman about a
+      lover. He would lose her before he had a chance to try to win her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But fortune proved rather more favorable than Freeman expected, or,
+      perhaps, than he deserved. Grace&rsquo;s attack was too impetuous. She stopped
+      just inside the threshold, and said, in an imperious tone, &ldquo;Come here, Mr.
+      Freeman: I wish to speak to you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; he replied, resolving at once to widen the breach to the
+      utmost extent possible, &ldquo;I am otherwise engaged.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Upon my word,&rdquo; observed the professor, with a chuckle, &ldquo;you&rsquo;re no
+      diplomatist, Harvey! What are you two about here? Investigating
+      antiquities?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The remains of ancient Mexico are more interesting than some of her
+      recent products,&rdquo; returned Freeman, who wished to quarrel with somebody,
+      and had promptly decided that Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza was the most
+      available person. He bowed to the latter as he spoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You&mdash;a&mdash;spoken to me?&rdquo; said the senor, stepping forward with a
+      polite grimace. &ldquo;I no to quite comprehend&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Pray don&rsquo;t exert yourself to converse with me out of your own language,
+      senor,&rdquo; interrupted Freeman, in Spanish. &ldquo;I was just remarking that the
+      Spaniards seem to have degenerated greatly since they colonized Mexico.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Senor!&rdquo; exclaimed Don Miguel, stiffening and staring.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course,&rdquo; added Freeman, smiling benevolently upon him, &ldquo;I judge only
+      from such specimens of the modern Mexican as I happen to meet with.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Don Miguel&rsquo;s sallow countenance turned greenish white. But, before he
+      could make a reply, Meschines, who scented mischief in the air, and
+      divined that the gentler sex must somehow be at the bottom of it, struck
+      in.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You may consider yourself lucky, Harvey, in making the acquaintance of a
+      gentleman like Senor de Mendoza, who exemplifies the undimmed virtues of
+      Cortez and Torquemada. For my part, I brought him here in the hope that he
+      might be able to throw some light on the mystery of this embroidered
+      garment, which I see you&rsquo;ve been examining. What do you say, Don Miguel?
+      Have these designs any significance beyond mere ornament? Anything in the
+      nature of hieroglyphics?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The senor was obliged to examine, and to enter into a discussion, though,
+      of course, his ignorance of the subject in dispute was as the depths of
+      that abyss which has no bottom. Miriam, who was not fond of Don Miguel,
+      but who felt constrained to exceptional courtesy in view of Freeman&rsquo;s
+      unwarrantable attack upon him, stood beside him and the Professor; and
+      Freeman and Grace were thus left to fight it out with each other.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Grace had drawn her own conclusions from what had passed. Freeman had
+      insulted Don Miguel. Wherefore? Obviously, it could only be because he
+      thought that she was flirting with him. In other words, Freeman was
+      jealous; and to be jealous is to love. Now, Grace was so constituted that,
+      though she did not like to play second fiddle herself, yet she had no
+      objection to monopolizing all the members of the male species who might
+      happen, at a given moment, to be in sight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She had, consequently, already forgiven Freeman for his apparent
+      unfaithfulness to her, by reason of his manifest jealousy of Don Miguel.
+      As a matter of fact, he was not jealous, and he was unfaithful; but fate
+      had decreed that there should be, for the moment, a game of
+      cross-purposes; and the decrees of fate are incorrigible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I had no idea you were so savage,&rdquo; she said, softly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not savage,&rdquo; replied Freeman. &ldquo;I am bored.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t know as I can blame you,&rdquo; said Grace, still more softly:
+      she fancied he was referring to Miriam. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t much like Spanish
+      mixtures myself.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One has to take what one can get,&rdquo; said Freeman, referring to Don Miguel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s all right now,&rdquo; rejoined she, meaning that Freeman and herself
+      were reconciled after their quarrel.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If you are satisfied, I am,&rdquo; observed Freeman, too indifferent to care
+      what she meant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Only, you mustn&rsquo;t take that poor young man too seriously,&rdquo; she went on:
+      &ldquo;these Mexicans are absurdly demonstrative, but they don&rsquo;t mean anything.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He won&rsquo;t, if he values his skin,&rdquo; said Freeman, meaning that if Don
+      Miguel attempted to interfere between himself and Miriam he would wring
+      his neck.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He won&rsquo;t, I promise you,&rdquo; said Grace, sparkling with pleasure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t quite see how you can help it,&rdquo; returned Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I should hope I could manage a creature like that!&rdquo; murmured she,
+      smiling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; said Freeman, after a pause,&mdash;for Grace&rsquo;s seeming change of
+      attitude puzzled him a little,&mdash;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad you look at it that way. I
+      don&rsquo;t wish to be meddled with; that&rsquo;s all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You shan&rsquo;t be,&rdquo; she whispered; and then, just when they were approaching
+      the point where their eyes might have been opened, in came General
+      Trednoke. The group round the Golden Fleece broke up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The general wore his riding-dress, and his bearing was animated, though he
+      was covered with dust.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I was wondering what had become of you all,&rdquo; he said, as the others
+      gathered about him. &ldquo;I have been taking a canter to the eastward.
+      Kamaiakan said this morning that one of the boys had brought news of a
+      cloud-burst in that direction. I rode far enough to ascertain that there
+      has really been something of the kind, and I think it has affected the
+      arroyo on the farther side of the little sierra. Now, I don&rsquo;t know how you
+      gentlemen feel, but it occurred to me that it might be interesting to make
+      up a little party of exploration to-morrow. Would you like to try it,
+      Meschines?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To be sure I should!&rdquo; the professor replied. &ldquo;I imagine I can stand as
+      much of the desert as you can! And I want to catch a sidewinder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good! And you, Mr. Freeman?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It would suit me exactly,&rdquo; said the latter. &ldquo;In fact, I had been
+      intending to gratify my curiosity by making some such expedition on my own
+      account.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah!&rdquo; said the general, eying him with some intentness. &ldquo;Well, we may be
+      able to show you something more curious than you anticipate.&mdash;And
+      now, Senor de Mendoza, there is only you left. May we count on your
+      company into the desert?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the Mexican, with a bow and a grimace, excused himself. Scientific
+      curiosity was an unknown emotion to him; but he foresaw an opportunity to
+      have Grace all to himself, and he meant to improve it. He also wished
+      leisure to think over some plan for getting rid of Senor Freeman, in whom
+      he scented a rival, and who, whether a rival or not, had behaved to him
+      with a lack of consideration in the presence of ladies.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER IV.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      General Trednoke&rsquo;s household went early to bed. As there was more
+      accommodation in the old house than sufficed for its present inhabitants,
+      it followed that each of them had a regal allowance of rooms. And when
+      Grace Parsloe became one of the occupants, she was allotted two commodious
+      apartments at the extremity of the left wing. They communicated, through
+      long windows, with the veranda in front, and by means of doors with the
+      passage, or hall, traversing the house from end to end. If, therefore, she
+      happened to be sleepless, she might issue forth into the garden, and
+      wander about there without let or hinderance until she was ready to accept
+      the wooing of the god of dreams; or, if supernatural terrors daunted her,
+      she could in a few seconds transfer herself and her fears to Miriam&rsquo;s
+      chamber, which occupied the same position in the right wing that hers did
+      in the left.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The night, as is customary in that climate, where the atmosphere is pure
+      and evaporation rapid, was cool and still. By ten o&rsquo;clock there was no
+      sound to indicate that any person was awake; though, to an acute ear, the
+      rise and fall of regular breathing, or even an occasional snore, might
+      have given evidence of slumber. At the back of the house, the Indian
+      retainers were lapped in silence. They were a harmless people,&mdash;somewhat
+      disposed, perhaps, to small pilferings, in an amiable and loyal way, but
+      incapable of anything seriously criminal. There were no locks on the
+      doors, and most of them stood ajar. Tramps and burglars were unknown.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miriam, having put on her night-dress, stood a few minutes at her window,
+      gazing out on the soft darkness of the garden. All there was peacefulness
+      and fragrance. The leaves of the plants hung motionless; the blossoms
+      seemed to hush themselves to the enjoyment of their own sweetness. The sky
+      was clear, but there was no moon. A beautiful planet, however, bright
+      enough to cast a shadow, hung in the southwestern sky, and its mysterious
+      light touched Miriam&rsquo;s face, and cast a dim rectangle of radiance on the
+      white matting that carpeted the floor of her room. It was the planet
+      Venus,&mdash;the star of love. Miriam thought it would be a pleasant place
+      to live in. But one need not journey to Venus to find a world where love
+      is the ruling passion. Circumstances over which she has no control may
+      cause such a world to come into existence in a girl&rsquo;s heart.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She left the window at last, and got into bed, where she soon presented an
+      image of perfect repose. Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the court-yard at
+      the rear, a dark, pyramidal object abode without motion. It might have
+      been taken for a heap of blankets piled up there. But if you examined it
+      more narrowly you would have detected in it the vague outlines of a human
+      figure, squatting on its haunches, with its head resting on its knees, and
+      its arms clasped round them,&mdash;somewhat as figures sit in Egyptian
+      hieroglyphics, or like Aztecan mummies in the tomb. So still was it, it
+      might itself have been a mummy. But ever and anon a blinking of the narrow
+      eyes in the bronze countenance told that it was no mummy, but a living
+      creature. In fact, it was none other than the aged and austere Kamaiakan,
+      who, for reasons best known to himself, chose to spend the hours usually
+      devoted to rest in an attitude that no European or white American could
+      have maintained with comfort longer than five minutes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      An hour&mdash;two hours&mdash;passed away. Then Kamaiakan noiselessly
+      arose, peered about him cautiously for a few moments, and passed out of
+      the court-yard through the open gate. He turned to the left, and, stealing
+      beneath Miriam&rsquo;s windows, paused there for an instant and made certain
+      gestures with his arms. Anon he continued his way to the garden, and was
+      soon concealed by the thick shrubbery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      History requires us to follow him. The garden extended westward, and was
+      quite a spacious enclosure: one not familiar with its winding paths might
+      easily lose himself there on a dark night. But Kamaiakan knew where he was
+      going, and the way thither. He now stalked along more swiftly, taking one
+      turn after another, brushing aside the low-hanging boughs, and passing the
+      loveliest flowers without a glance. He was as one preoccupied with
+      momentous business. Presently he arrived at a small open space, remote and
+      secluded. It was completely surrounded by tall shrubbery. In the centre
+      was a basin of stone, evidently very ancient, filled to the brim with the
+      clear water of a spring, which bubbled up from the bottom, and,
+      overflowing by way of a gap in the edge, became a small rivulet, which
+      stole away in the direction of the sea. Across the slightly undulating
+      surface of the basin trembled the radiance of the star.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kamaiakan knelt down beside it, and, bending over, gazed intently into the
+      water. Presently he dipped his hands in it, and sprinkled shining drops
+      over his own gaunt person, and over the ground in the vicinity of the
+      spring. He made strange movements with his arms, bowed his head and
+      erected it again, and traced curious figures on the ground with his
+      finger. It appeared as if the venerable Indian had solemnly lost his
+      senses and had sought out this lonely spot to indulge the vagaries of his
+      insanity. If so, his silence and deliberation afforded an example worthy
+      of consideration by other lunatics.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly he ceased his performance, and held himself in a listening
+      attitude. A light, measured sound was audible, accompanied by the rustling
+      of leaves. It came nearer. There was a glimpse of whiteness through the
+      interstices of the surrounding foliage, and then a slender figure, clad in
+      close-fitting raiment, entered the little circle. It wore a sort of tunic,
+      reaching half-way to the knees, and leggings of the same soft,
+      grayish-white material. The head was covered with a sort of hood, which
+      left only the face exposed; and this too might be covered by a species of
+      veil or mask, which, however, was now fastened back on the headpiece,
+      after the manner of a visor. The front of the tunic was embroidered with
+      fantastic devices in gold thread, brightened here and there with precious
+      stones; and other devices appeared on the hood. The face of this figure
+      was pale and calm, with great dark eyes beneath black brows. The stature
+      was no greater than that of a lad of fifteen, but the bearing was composed
+      and dignified. The contours of the figure, however, even as seen by that
+      dim light, were those of neither a boy nor a man. The wearer of the tunic
+      was a girl, just rounding into womanhood, and the face was the face of
+      Miriam.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet it was not by this name that Kamaiakan addressed her. After making a
+      deep obeisance, touching his hand to her foot and then to his own forehead
+      and breast, he said, in a language that was neither Spanish nor such as
+      the modern Indians of Mexico use,&mdash;
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Welcome, Semitzin! May this night be the beginning of high things!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am ready,&rdquo; replied the other, in a soft and low voice, but with a
+      certain stateliness of utterance unlike the usual manner of General
+      Trednoke&rsquo;s daughter: &ldquo;I was glad to hear you call, and to see again the
+      stars and the earth. Have you anything to tell?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There are events which may turn to our harm, most revered princess. The
+      master of this house&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why do you not call him my father, Kamaiakan?&rdquo; interposed the other. &ldquo;He
+      is indeed the father of this mortal body which I wear, which (as you tell
+      me) bears the name of Miriam. Besides, are not Miriam and I united by the
+      thread of descent?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Something of the spirit that is you dwells in her also,&rdquo; said the Indian.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And does she know of it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;At times, my princess; but only as one remembers a dream.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish I might converse with her and instruct her in the truth,&rdquo; said the
+      princess. &ldquo;And she, in turn, might speak to me of things that perplex me.
+      I live and move in this mortal world, and yet (you tell me) three
+      centuries have passed since what is called my death. To me it seems as if
+      I had but slept through a night, and were awake again. Nor can I tell what
+      has happened&mdash;what my life and thoughts have been&mdash;during this
+      long lapse of time. Yet it must be that I live another life: I cannot rest
+      in extinction. Three times you have called me forth; yet whence I come
+      hither, or whither I return, is unknown to me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is a memory of the spirit,&rdquo; replied Kamaiakan, &ldquo;and a memory of the
+      body. They are separate, and cannot communicate with each other. Such is
+      the law.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yet I remember, as if it were yesterday, the things that were done when
+      Montezuma was king. And well do I remember you, Kamaiakan!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is true I live again, princess, though not in the flesh and bones that
+      died with you in the past. But in the old days I was acquainted with
+      mysteries, and learned the secrets of the world of spirits; and this
+      science still remained with me after the change, so that I was able to
+      know that I was I, and that you could be recalled to speak with me through
+      the tongue of Miriam. But there are some things that I do not know; and it
+      is for that I have been bold to summon you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What can I tell you that can be of use to you in this present life,
+      Kamaiakan, when all whom we knew and loved are gone?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;To you only, Semitzin, is known the place of concealment of the treasure
+      which, in the old times, you and I hid in the desert. I indeed remember
+      the event, and somewhat of the region of the hiding; but I cannot put my
+      hand upon the very spot. I have tried to discover it; but when I approach
+      it my mind becomes confused between the present and the past, and I am
+      lost.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I remember it well,&rdquo; said Semitzin. &ldquo;We rode across the desert, carrying
+      the treasure on mules. The air was still, and the heat very heavy. The
+      desert descended in a great hollow: you told me it was where, in former
+      days, the ocean had been. At last there were rocky hills before us; we
+      rode towards a great rock shaped like the pyramid on which the sacrifices
+      were held in Tenochtitlan. We passed round its base, and entered a deep
+      and narrow valley, that seemed to have been ploughed out of the heart of
+      the earth and to descend into it. Then&mdash;&mdash; But what is it you
+      wish to do with this treasure, Kamaiakan?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It belongs to your race, princess, and was hidden that the murderers of
+      Montezuma might not seize it. I was bound by an oath, after the peril was
+      past, to restore it to the rightful owners. But our country remained under
+      the rule of the conquerors; and my life went out. But now the conquerors
+      have been conquered in their turn, and Miriam is the last inheritor of
+      your blood. When I have delivered to her this trust, my work will be done,
+      and I can return to the world which you inhabit. The time is come; and
+      only by your help can the restitution be made.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Was there, then, a time fixed?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The stars tell me so. And other events make it certain that there must be
+      no delay. The general has it in mind to discover the gates through which
+      the waters under-ground may arise and again form the sea which flowed
+      hereabouts in the ancient times. Now, this sea will fill the ravine in
+      which the treasure lies, and make it forever unattainable. A youth has
+      also come here who is skilled in the sciences, and whom the general will
+      ask to help him in the thing he is to attempt.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who is this youth?&rdquo; asked Semitzin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He is of the new people who inherit this land: his name is Freeman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There is something in me&mdash;I know not what&mdash;that seems to tell
+      me I have been near such a one. Can it be so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The other self, who now sleeps, knows of him,&rdquo; replied the ancient
+      Indian. &ldquo;He is a well-looking youth, and I think he has a desire towards
+      her we call Miriam.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And does she love him?&rdquo; inquired the princess.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A maiden&rsquo;s heart is a riddle, even to herself,&rdquo; said Kamaiakan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But there is a sympathy that makes me feel her heart in my own,&rdquo; rejoined
+      Semitzin. &ldquo;Love is a thing that pierces through time, and through barriers
+      which separate the mind and memory of the past from the present. I&mdash;as
+      you know, Kamaiakan&mdash;was never wedded; the fate of our people, and my
+      early end, kept that from me. But the thought of that youth is here,&rdquo;&mdash;she
+      put her hand on her bosom,&mdash;&ldquo;and it seems to me that, were we to
+      meet, I should know him. Perhaps, were that to be, Miriam and I might thus
+      come to be aware of each other, and live henceforth one life.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Such matters are beyond my knowledge,&rdquo; said the Indian, shaking his head.
+      &ldquo;The gods know what will be. It is for us, now, to regain the treasure.
+      Are you willing, my princess, to accompany me thither?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I am ready. Shall it be now?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Not now, but soon. I will call you when the moment comes. The place is
+      but a ride of two or three hours from here. None must know of our
+      departure, for there are some here whom I do not trust. We must go by
+      night. You will wear the garments you now have on, without which all might
+      miscarry.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How can the garments affect the result, Kamaiakan?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A powerful spell is laid upon them, princess. Moreover, the characters
+      wrought upon them, with gold thread and jewels, are mystical, and the
+      substance of the garment itself has a virtue to preserve the wearer from
+      evil. It is the same that was worn by you when the treasure was hidden;
+      and it may be, Semitzin, that without its magic aid your spirit could not
+      know itself in this world as now it can.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      As he spoke the last words, a low sound, wandering and muttering with an
+      inward note, came palpitating on their ears through the night air. It
+      seemed to approach from no direction that could be identified, yet it was
+      at first remote, and then came nearer, and in a moment trembled around
+      them, and shivered in the solid earth beneath their feet; and in another
+      instant it had passed on, and was subdued slowly into silence in the
+      shadowy distance. No one who has once heard that sound can mistake it for
+      any other, or ever can forget it. The air had suddenly become close and
+      tense; and now a long breeze swept like a sigh through the garden, dying
+      away in a long-drawn wail; and out of the west came a hollow murmur, like
+      that of a mighty wave breaking upon the shore of the ocean.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The earthquake!&rdquo; whispered Kamaiakan, rising to his feet. And then he
+      pointed to the stone basin. &ldquo;Look! the spring!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is gone!&rdquo; exclaimed Semitzin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And, in truth, the water, with a strange, sucking noise, disappeared
+      through the bottom of the basin, leaving the glistening cavity which had
+      held it, green with slimy water-weed, empty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The time is near, indeed!&rdquo; muttered the Indian. &ldquo;The second shock may
+      cause the waters from which this spring came to rise as no living man has
+      seen them rise, and make the sea return, and the treasure be lost. In a
+      few days all may be over. But you, princess, must vanish: though the shock
+      was but slight, some one might be awakened; and were you to be discovered,
+      our plans might go wrong.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Must I depart so soon?&rdquo; said Semitzin, regretfully. &ldquo;The earth is
+      beautiful, Kamaiakan: the smell of the flowers is sweet, and the stars in
+      the sky are bright. To feel myself alive, to breathe, to walk, to see, are
+      sweet. Perhaps I have no other conscious life than this. I would like to
+      remain as I am: I would like to see the sun shine, and to hear the birds
+      sing, and to see the men and women who live in this age. Is there no way
+      of keeping me here?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I cannot tell; it may be,&mdash;but it must not be now, Semitzin,&rdquo; the
+      old man replied, with a troubled look. &ldquo;The ways of the gods are not our
+      ways. She whose body you inhabit&mdash;she has her life to live.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But is that girl more worthy to live than I? You have called me into
+      being again: you have made me know how pleasant this world is. Miriam
+      sleeps: she need never know; she need never awake again. You were faithful
+      to me in the old time: have you more care for her than for me? I feel all
+      the power and thirst of youth in me: the gods did not let me live out my
+      life: may they not intend that I shall take it up again now? Besides, I
+      wear Miriam&rsquo;s body: could I not seem to others to be Miriam indeed? How
+      could they guess the truth?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I will think of what you say, princess,&rdquo; said Kamaiakan. &ldquo;Something may
+      perhaps be done; but it must be done gradually: you would need much
+      instruction in the ways of the new world before you could safely enter
+      into its life. Leave that to me. I am loyal as ever: is it not to fulfil
+      the oath made to you that I am here? and what would Miriam be to me, were
+      she not your inheritor? Be satisfied for the present: in a few days we
+      will meet and speak again.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The power is yours, Kamaiakan: it is well to argue, when with a word you
+      can banish me forever! Yet what if I were to say that, unless you consent
+      to the thing I desire, I will not show you where the treasure lies?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Princess Semitzin!&rdquo; exclaimed the Indian, &ldquo;remember that it is not
+      against me, but against the gods, that you would contend. The gods know
+      that I have no care for treasure. But they will not forgive a broken oath;
+      and they will not hold that one guiltless through whom it is brought to
+      naught?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, we shall meet again,&rdquo; answered Semitzin, after a pause. &ldquo;But do you
+      remember that you, too, are not free from responsibility in this matter.
+      You have called me back: see to it that you do me justice.&rdquo; She waved her
+      hands with a gesture of adieu, turned, and left the enclosure. Kamaiakan
+      sank down again beside the empty bowl of the fountain.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Semitzin returned along the path by which she had come, towards the house.
+      As she turned round one of the corners, she saw a man&rsquo;s figure before her,
+      strolling slowly along in the same direction in which she was going. In a
+      few moments he heard her light footfall, and, facing about, confronted
+      her. She continued to advance until she was within arm&rsquo;s reach of him:
+      then she paused, and gazed steadfastly in his face. He was the first human
+      being, save Kamaiakan, that she had seen since her eyes closed upon the
+      world of Tenochtitlan, three hundred years before.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The young man looked upon her with manifest surprise. It was too dark to
+      distinguish anything clearly, but it did not take him long to surmise that
+      the figure was that of a woman, and her countenance, though changed in
+      aspect by the head-dress she were, yet had features which, he knew, he had
+      seen before. But could it be Miriam Trednoke who was abroad at such an
+      hour and in such a costume? He did not recognize the Golden Fleece, but it
+      was evident enough that she was clad as women are not.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before he could think of anything to say to her, she smiled, and uttered
+      some words in a soft, flowing language with which he was entirely
+      unacquainted. The next moment she had glided past him, and was out of
+      sight round the curve of the path, leaving him in a state of perplexity
+      not altogether gratifying.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What the deuce can it mean?&rdquo; he muttered to himself. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t be mistaken
+      about its being Miriam. And yet she didn&rsquo;t look at me as if she recognized
+      me. What can she be doing out here at midnight? I suppose it&rsquo;s none of my
+      business: in fact, she might very reasonably ask the same question of me.
+      And if I were to tell her that I had only ridden over to spend a
+      sentimental hour beneath her window, what would she say? If she answered
+      in the same lingo she used just now, I should be as wise as before. After
+      all, it may have been somebody else. The image in my mind projected itself
+      on her countenance. I certainly must be in love! I almost wish I&rsquo;d never
+      come here. This complication about the general&rsquo;s irrigating scheme makes
+      it awkward. I&rsquo;m bound not to explain things to him; and yet, if I don&rsquo;t,
+      and he discovers (as he can&rsquo;t help doing) what I am here for, nothing will
+      persuade him that I haven&rsquo;t been playing a double game; and that would not
+      be a promising preliminary towards becoming a member of his family. If
+      Miriam were only Grace, now, it would be plain sailing. Hello! who&rsquo;s this?
+      Senor Don Miguel, as I&rsquo;m a sinner! What is he up to, pray? Can this be the
+      explanation of Miriam&rsquo;s escapade? I have a strong desire to blow a hole
+      through that fellow!&mdash;Buenas noches, Senor de Mendoza! I am enchanted
+      to have the unexpected honor of meeting you.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Senor de Mendoza turned round, disagreeably startled. It is only fair to
+      explain that he had not come hither with any lover-like designs towards
+      Miriam. Grace was the magnet that had drawn his steps to the Trednokes&rsquo; 
+      garden, and the truth is that that enterprising young lady was not without
+      a suspicion that he might turn up. Could this information have been
+      imparted to Freeman, it would have saved much trouble; but, as it was, not
+      only did he jump to the conclusion that Don Miguel was his rival (and,
+      seemingly, a not unsuccessful one), but a similar misgiving as to
+      Freeman&rsquo;s purposes towards Grace found its way into the heart of the
+      Spaniard. It was a most perverse trick of fate.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two men contemplated each other, each after his own fashion: Don
+      Miguel pale, glaring, bristling; Freeman smiling, insolent, hectoring.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why are you here, senor?&rdquo; demanded the former, at length.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Partly, senor, because such is my pleasure. Partly, to inform you that
+      your presence here offends me, and to humbly request you to be off.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Senor, this is an impertinence.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Senor, one is not impertinent to prowling greasers. One admonishes them,
+      and, if they do not obey, one chastises them.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you talk of chastising Don Miguel de Mendoza? Senor, I will wash out
+      that insult with your blood!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Excellent! It is at your service for the taking. But, lest we disturb the
+      repose of our friends yonder, let us seek a more convenient spot. I
+      noticed a very pretty little glade on the right as I rode over here. You
+      are armed? Good! we will have this little affair adjusted within half an
+      hour. Yonder star&mdash;the planet of love, senor&mdash;shall see fair
+      play. Andamos!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER V.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Having mounted their steeds, the two sanguinary young gentlemen rode
+      onwards, side by side, but in silence; for the souls of those who have
+      resolved to slay each other find small delight in vain conversation.
+      Moreover, there is that in the conscious proximity of death which
+      stimulates to thought much more than to speech. But Freeman preserved an
+      outward demeanor of complacent calm, as one who doubts not, nor dreads,
+      the issue; and, indeed, this was not the first time by many that he had
+      taken his life in his hand and brought it unscathed through dangers. Don
+      Miguel, on the other hand, was troubled in spirit, and uneasy in the
+      flesh. He was one soon hot and soon cold; and this long ride to the
+      decisive event went much against his stomach. If the conflict had taken
+      place there in the garden, while the fire of the insult was yet scorching
+      him, he could have fought it out with good will; but now the night air
+      seemed chiller and chiller, and its frigidity crept into his nerves: he
+      doubted of the steadiness of his aim, bethought himself that the darkness
+      was detrimental to accurate shooting, and wondered whether Senor Freeman
+      would think it necessary to fight across a handkerchief. He could not help
+      regretting, too, that the quarrel had not been occasioned by some more
+      definite and satisfactory provocation,&mdash;something which merely to
+      think of would steel the heart to irrevocable murderousness. But no blow
+      had passed; even the words, though bitter to swallow, had been wrapt in
+      the phrases of courtesy; and perhaps the whole affair was the result of
+      some misapprehension. He stole a look at the face of his companion; and
+      the latter&rsquo;s air of confident and cheerful serenity made him feel worse
+      than ever. Was he being brought out here to be butchered for nothing,&mdash;he,
+      Don Miguel de Mendoza, who had looked forward to many pleasures in this
+      life? It was too bad. It was true, the fortune of war might turn the other
+      way; but Don Miguel was aware of a sensation in his bones which made this
+      hope weak.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At length Freeman drew rein and glanced around him. They were in a lonely
+      and&mdash;Don Miguel thought&mdash;a most desolate and unattractive spot.
+      An open space of about half an acre was bounded on one side by a growth of
+      wild mustard, whose slender stalks rose to more than the height of a man&rsquo;s
+      head. On the other side was a grove of live-oak; and in front, the ground
+      fell away in a rugged, bush-grown declivity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It strikes me that this is just about what we want,&rdquo; remarked Freeman, in
+      his full, cheerful tones. &ldquo;We are half a mile from the road; the ground is
+      fairly level; and there&rsquo;s no possibility of our being disturbed. I was
+      thinking, this afternoon, as I passed through here, what an ideal spot it
+      was for just such a little affair as you and I are bent on. But I didn&rsquo;t
+      venture to anticipate such speedy good fortune as your obliging
+      condescension has brought to pass, Don Miguel.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Caramba!&rdquo; muttered the senor, shivering. He might have said more, but was
+      unwilling to trust his voice, or to waste nervous energy.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, Freeman had dismounted, and was tethering his horse. It
+      occurred to the senor that it would be easy to pull his gun, send a bullet
+      through his companion, and gallop away. He did not yield to this
+      temptation, partly from traditional feeling that it would not be suitable
+      conduct for a De Mendoza, partly because he might miss the shot or only
+      inflict a wound, and partly because such deeds demand a nerve which, at
+      that moment, was not altogether at his command. Instead, he slowly
+      dismounted himself, and wondered whether it would ever be vouchsafed him
+      to sit in that saddle again.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman now produced his revolver, a handsome, silver-mounted weapon, that
+      looked business-like. &ldquo;What sort of a machine is yours?&rdquo; he inquired,
+      pleasantly. &ldquo;You can take your choice. I&rsquo;m not particular, but I can
+      recommend this as a sure thing, if you would like to try it. It never
+      misses at twenty paces.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Twenty paces?&rdquo; repeated Don Miguel, with a faint gleam of hope.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Of course we won&rsquo;t have any twenty paces to-night,&rdquo; added Freeman, with a
+      laugh. &ldquo;I thought it might be a good plan to start at, say, fifteen, and
+      advance firing. In that way, one or other of us will be certain to do
+      something sooner or later. Would that arrangement be agreeable to Senor de
+      Mendoza?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Valga me Dios! I am content,&rdquo; said the latter, fetching a deep breath,
+      and setting his teeth. &ldquo;I will keep my weapon.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Muy buen,&rdquo; returned the American. &ldquo;So now let us take our ground: that
+      is, if you are quite ready?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Accordingly they selected their stations, facing respectively about north
+      and south, with the planet of love between them, as it were. &ldquo;Oblige me by
+      giving the word, senor,&rdquo; said Freeman, cocking his weapon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But Don Miguel was staring with perturbed visage at something behind his
+      antagonist. &ldquo;Santa Maria!&rdquo; he faltered, &ldquo;what is yonder? It is a spirit!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman had his wits about him, and perhaps entertained a not too high
+      opinion of Mexican fair play. So, before turning round, he advanced till
+      he was alongside his companion. Then he looked, and saw something which
+      was certainly enigmatic.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Among the wild-mustard plants there appeared a moving luminosity, having
+      an irregular, dancing motion, as of a will-o&rsquo;-the-wisp singularly
+      agitated. Sometimes it uplifted itself on high, then plunged downwards,
+      and again jerked itself from side to side; occasionally it would quite
+      vanish for an instant. Accompanying this manifestation there was a clawing
+      and reaching of shadowy arms: altogether, it was as if some titanic
+      spectral grasshopper, with a heart of fire, were writhing and kicking in
+      convulsions of phantom agony. Such an apparition, in an hour and a place
+      so lonely, might stagger a less superstitious soul than that of Don Miguel
+      de Mendoza.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman gazed at it for a moment in silence. It mystified him, and then
+      irritated him. When one is bent heart and soul upon an important
+      enterprise, any interruption is an annoyance. Perhaps there was in the
+      young American&rsquo;s nature just enough remains of belief in witches and
+      hobgoblins to make him feel warranted in resorting to extreme measures. At
+      any rate, he lifted his revolver, and fired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was a long shot for a revolver: nevertheless it took effect. The
+      luminous object disappeared with a faint explosive sound, followed by a
+      shout unmistakably human. The long stems of the wild mustard swayed and
+      parted, and out sprang a figure, which ran straight towards the two young
+      men.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Hereupon, Don Miguel, hissing out an appeal to the Virgin and the saints,
+      turned and fled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, the mysterious figure continued its onward career; and Freeman
+      once more levelled his weapon,&mdash;when a voice, which gave him such a
+      start of surprise as well-nigh caused him to pull the trigger for sheer
+      lack of self-command, called out, &ldquo;Why, you abominable young villain! What
+      the mischief do you mean? Do you want to be hanged?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Professor Meschines!&rdquo; faltered Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was indeed that worthy personage, and he was on fire with wrath. He
+      held in one hand a shattered lantern mounted on the end of a pole, and in
+      the other a long-handled net of gauze, such as entomologists use to catch
+      moths withal. Under his left arm was slung a brown japanned case, in which
+      he presumably deposited the spoils of his skill. Freeman&rsquo;s shot had not
+      only smashed and extinguished the lantern which served as bait for the
+      game, but had also given the professor a disagreeable reminder that the
+      tenure of human life is as precarious as that of the silly moth which
+      allows itself to be lured to destruction by shining promises of bliss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Upon my soul, professor, I am very sorry,&rdquo; said Freeman. &ldquo;You have no
+      idea how formidable you looked; and you could hardly expect me to imagine
+      that you would be abroad at such an hour&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And why not, I should like to know?&rdquo; shouted the professor, towering with
+      indignation. &ldquo;Was I doing anything to be ashamed of? And what are you
+      doing here, pray, with loaded revolvers in your hands?&mdash;Hallo! who&rsquo;s
+      this?&rdquo; he exclaimed, as Don Miguel advanced doubtfully out of the gloom.
+      &ldquo;Senor de Mendoza, as I&rsquo;m a sinner! and armed, too! Well, really! Are you
+      two out on a murdering expedition?&mdash;Oho!&rdquo; he went on, in a changed
+      tone, glancing keenly from one to another: &ldquo;methinks I see the bottom of
+      this mystery. You have ridden forth, like the champions of romance, to do
+      doughty deeds upon each other!&mdash;Is it not so, Don Miguel?&rdquo; he
+      demanded, turning his fierce spectacles suddenly on that young man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Don Miguel, ignoring a secret gesture from Freeman, admitted that he had
+      been on the point of expunging the latter from this mortal sphere.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The professor chuckled sarcastically. &ldquo;I see! Blood! Wounded honor! The
+      code!&mdash;But, by the way, I don&rsquo;t see your seconds! Where are your
+      seconds?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear sir,&rdquo; said Freeman, &ldquo;I assure you it&rsquo;s all a mistake. We just
+      happened to meet at the gen&mdash;er&mdash;happened to meet, and were
+      riding home together&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Now, listen to me, Harvey,&rdquo; the professor interrupted, holding up an
+      expository finger. &ldquo;You have known me since some ten years, I think; and I
+      have known you. You were a clever boy in your studies; but it was your
+      foible to fancy yourself cleverer than you were. Acting under that
+      delusion, you pitted yourself against me on one or two occasions; and I
+      leave it to your candid recollection whether you or I had the best of the
+      encounter. You call yourself a man, now; but I make bold to say that the&mdash;discrepancy,
+      let us call it&mdash;between you and me remains as conspicuous as ever it
+      was. I see through you, sir, much more clearly than, by this light, I can
+      see you. I am fond of you, Harvey; but I feel nothing but contempt for
+      your present attitude. In the first place, conscious as you are of your
+      skill with that weapon, you know that this affair&mdash;even had seconds
+      been present&mdash;would have been, not a duel, but an assassination. You
+      acted like a coward!&mdash;I say it, sir, like a coward!&mdash;and I hope
+      you may live to be as much ashamed of yourself as I am now ashamed for
+      you. Secondly, your conduct, considered in its relations to&mdash;to
+      certain persons whom I will not name, is that of a boor and a blackguard.
+      Suppose you had accomplished the cowardly murder&mdash;the cowardly
+      murder, I said, sir&mdash;that you were bent upon to-night. Do you think
+      that would be a grateful and acceptable return for the courtesy and
+      confidence that have been shown you in that house?&mdash;a house, sir, to
+      which I myself introduced you, under the mistaken belief that you were a
+      gentleman, or, at least, could feign gentlemanly behavior! But I won&rsquo;t&mdash;my
+      feelings won&rsquo;t allow me to enlarge further upon this point. But allow me
+      to add, in the third place, that you have shown yourself a purblind
+      donkey. Actually, you haven&rsquo;t sense enough to know the difference between
+      those who pull with you and those who pull against you. Now, I happen to
+      know&mdash;to know, do you hear?&mdash;that had you succeeded in what you
+      were just about to attempt, you would have removed your surest ally,&mdash;the
+      surest, because his interests prompt him to favor yours. You pick out the
+      one man who was doing his best to clear the obstacle out of your path, and
+      what do you do?&mdash;Thank him?&mdash;Not you! You plot to kill him! But
+      even had he been, as you in your stupidity imagined, your rival, do you
+      think the course you adopted would have promoted your advantage? Let me
+      tell you, sir, that you don&rsquo;t know the kind of people you are dealing
+      with. You would never have been permitted to cross their threshold again.
+      And you may take my word for it, if ever you venture to recur to any such
+      folly, I will see to it that you receive your deserts.&mdash;Well, I think
+      we understand each other, now?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman&rsquo;s emotions had undergone several variations during the course of
+      the mighty professor&rsquo;s harangue. But he had ended by admitting the force
+      of the argument; and the reminiscences of college lecturings aroused by
+      the incident had tickled his sense of humor and quenched his anger. He
+      looked at the professor with a sparkle of laughter in his eyes.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have done very wrong, sir,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m very sorry for it. If you
+      won&rsquo;t give me any bad marks this time, I&rsquo;ll promise to be good in future.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Ah! very smooth! To begin with, suppose you ask pardon of Senor Don
+      Miguel de Mendoza for the affront you have put upon him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      To a soul really fearless, even an apology has no terrors. Moreover,
+      Freeman&rsquo;s night ride with Don Miguel, though brief in time, had sufficed
+      to give him the measure of the Mexican&rsquo;s character; and he respected it so
+      little that he could no longer take the man seriously, or be sincerely
+      angry with him. The professor&rsquo;s assurance as to Don Miguel&rsquo;s
+      inoffensiveness had also its weight; and it was therefore with a quite
+      royal gesture of amicable condescension that Freeman turned upon his late
+      antagonist and held out his hand.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;I humbly tender you my apologies
+      and crave your pardon. My conduct has been inexcusable; I beg you to
+      excuse it. I deserve your reprobation; I entreat the favor of your
+      friendship. Senor, between men of honor, a misunderstanding is a
+      misunderstanding, and an apology is an apology. I lament the existence of
+      the first; the professor, here, is witness that I lay the second at your
+      feet. May I hope to receive your hand as a pledge that you restore me to
+      the privilege of your good will?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, Don Miguel&rsquo;s soul had been grievously exercised that night: he had
+      been insulted, he had shivered beneath the shadow of death, he had been a
+      prey to superstitious terrors, and he had been utterly perplexed by the
+      professor&rsquo;s eloquent address, whereof (as it was delivered in good
+      American, and with a rapidity of utterance born of strong feeling) he had
+      comprehended not a word, and the unexpected effect of which upon his late
+      adversary he was at a loss to understand. Although, therefore, he had no
+      stomach for battle, he was oppressed by a misgiving lest the whole
+      transaction had been in some way planned to expose him to ridicule; and
+      for this reason he was disposed to treat Freeman&rsquo;s peaceful overtures with
+      suspicion. His heart did not respond to those overtures, but neither was
+      it stout enough to enable him to reject them explicitly. Accordingly, he
+      adopted that middle course which, in spite of the proverb, is not seldom
+      the least expedient. He disregarded the proffered hand, bowed very
+      stiffly, and, saying, &ldquo;Senor, I am satisfied,&rdquo; stalked off with all the
+      rigidity of one in whose veins flows the sangre azul of Old Castile.
+      Freeman smiled superior upon his retreat, and then, producing a
+      cigar-case, proceeded to light up with the professor. In this fragrant and
+      friendly cloud we will leave them, and return for a few minutes to the
+      house of General Trednoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It will be remembered that something was said of Grace being privy to the
+      nocturnal advances of Senor de Mendoza. We are not to suppose that this
+      implies in her anything worse than an aptness to indulge in romantic
+      adventure: the young lady enjoyed the mystery of romance, and knew that
+      serenades, and whisperings over star-lit balconies, were proper to this
+      latitude. It may be open to question whether she really was much
+      interested in De Mendoza, save as he was a type of the adoring Spaniard.
+      That the scene required: she could imagine him (for the time-being) to be
+      the Cid of ancient legend, and she herself would enact a role of
+      corresponding elevation. Grace would doubtless have prospered better had
+      she been content with one adorer at a time; but, while turning to a new
+      love, she was by no means disposed to loosen the chains of a former one;
+      and, though herself as jealous as is a tiger-cat of her young, she could
+      never recognize the propriety of a similar passion on the part of her
+      victims. She had been indignant at Freeman&rsquo;s apparent infidelity with
+      Miriam; but when she had (as she imagined) discovered her mistake, she had
+      listened with a heart at ease to the protestations of Don Miguel. She had
+      parted from him that evening with a half expressed understanding that he
+      was to reappear beneath her window before day-light; and she had pictured
+      to herself a charming balcony-scene, such as she had beheld in Italian
+      opera. Accordingly, she had attired herself in a becoming negligee, and
+      had spent the fore part of the night somewhat restlessly, occasionally
+      emerging on the veranda and gazing down into the perfumed gloom of the
+      garden. At length she fancied that she heard footsteps. Whose could they
+      be, unless Don Miguel&rsquo;s? Grace retreated within her window to await
+      developments. Don Miguel did not appear; but presently she descried a
+      phantom-like figure ascending the flight of steps to the veranda. Could
+      that be he? If so, he was bolder in his wooing than Grace had been
+      prepared for. But surely that was a strange costume that he wore; nor did
+      the unconscious harmony of the gait at all resemble the senor&rsquo;s
+      self-conscious strut. And whither was he going?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was but too evident that he was going straight to the room occupied by
+      Miriam!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      This was too much for Grace&rsquo;s equanimity. She stepped out of her window,
+      and flitted with noiseless step along the veranda. The figure that she
+      pursued entered the door of the house, and passed into the corridor
+      traversing the wing. Grace was in time to see it cross the threshold of
+      Miriam&rsquo;s door, which stood ajar. She stole to the door, and peeped in.
+      There was the figure; but of Miriam there was no trace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The figure slowly unfastened and threw back the hood which covered its
+      head, at the same time turning round, so that its countenance was
+      revealed. A torrent of black hair fell down over its shoulders. Grace
+      uttered an involuntary exclamation. It was Miriam herself!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The two gazed at each other a moment in silence. &ldquo;Goodness me, dear!&rdquo; said
+      Grace at last, in a faint voice, &ldquo;how you have frightened me! I saw you go
+      in, in that dress, and I thought you were a man! How my heart beats! What
+      is the matter?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is strange!&rdquo; murmured the other, after a pause. &ldquo;I never heard such
+      words; and yet I seem to understand, and even to speak them. It must be a
+      dream. What are you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, Miriam, dear! don&rsquo;t you know Grace?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh! you think me Miriam. No; not yet!&rdquo; She raised her hands, and pressed
+      her fingers against her temples. &ldquo;But I feel her&mdash;I feel her coming!
+      Not yet, Kamaiakan! not so soon!&mdash;Do you know him?&rdquo; she suddenly
+      asked, throwing back her hair, and fixing an eager gaze on Grace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Know who? Kamaiakan? Why, yes&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, not him! The youth,&mdash;the blue-eyed,&mdash;the fair beard above
+      his lips&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What are you talking about? Not Harvey Freeman!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Harvey Freeman! Ah, how sweet a name! Harvey Freeman! I shall know it
+      now!&mdash;Tell him,&rdquo; she went on, laying her hand majestically upon
+      Grace&rsquo;s shoulder, and speaking with an impressive earnestness, &ldquo;that
+      Semitzin loves him!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Semitzin?&rdquo; repeated Grace, puzzled, and beginning to feel scared.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Semitzin!&rdquo; the other said, pointing to her own heart. &ldquo;She loves him: not
+      as the child Miriam loves, but with the heart and soul of a mighty
+      princess. When he knows Semitzin, he will think of Miriam no more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But who is Semitzin?&rdquo; inquired Grace, with a fearful curiosity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The Princess of Tenochtitlan, and the guardian of the great treasure,&rdquo;
+       was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Good gracious! what treasure?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The treasure of gold and precious stones hidden in the gorge of the
+      desert hills. None knows the place of it but I; and I will give it to none
+      but him I love.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But you said that... Really, my dear, I don&rsquo;t understand a bit! As for
+      Mr. Freeman, he may care for Semitzin, for aught I know; but, I must
+      confess, I think you&rsquo;re mistaken in supposing he&rsquo;s in love with you,&mdash;if
+      that is what you mean. I met him before you did, you know; and if I were
+      to tell you all that we&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What are you or Miriam to me?&mdash;Ah! she comes!&mdash;The treasure&mdash;by
+      the turning of the white pyramid&mdash;six hundred paces&mdash;on the
+      right&mdash;the arch&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; Her voice died away. She covered her
+      face with her hands, and trembled violently. Slowly she let them fall, and
+      stared around her. &ldquo;Grace, is it you? Has anything happened? How came I
+      like this? What is it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well, if you don&rsquo;t know, I&rsquo;m afraid I can&rsquo;t tell you. I had begun to
+      think you had gone mad. It must be either that or somnambulism. Who is
+      Semitzin?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Semitzin? I never heard of him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It isn&rsquo;t a man: it&rsquo;s a princess. And the treasure?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Am I asleep or awake? What are you saying?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The white pyramid, you know&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t make game of me, Grace. If I have done anything&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My dear, don&rsquo;t ask me! I tell you frankly, I&rsquo;m nonplussed. You were
+      somebody else a minute ago.... The truth is, of course, you&rsquo;ve been
+      dreaming awake. Has any one else seen you beside me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Have I been out of my room?&rdquo; asked Miriam, in dismay.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You must have been, I should think, to get that costume. Well, the best
+      plan will be, I suppose, to say nothing about it to anybody. It shall be
+      our secret, dear. If I were you, I would have one of the women sleep in
+      your room, in case you got restless again. It&rsquo;s just an attack of
+      nervousness, probably,&mdash;having so many strangers in the house, all of
+      a sudden. Now you must go to bed and get to sleep: it&rsquo;s awfully late, and
+      there&rsquo;ll be ever so much going on to-morrow.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Grace herself slept little that night. She could not decide what to make
+      of this adventure. Nowadays we are provided with a name for the peculiar
+      psychical state which Miriam was undergoing, and with abundant instances
+      and illustrations; but we perhaps know what it is no more than we did
+      twenty-five or thirty years ago. Grace&rsquo;s first idea had been that Miriam
+      was demented; then she thought she was playing a part; then she did not
+      know what to think; and finally she came to the conclusion that it was
+      best to quietly await further developments. She would keep an eye on
+      Freeman as well as on Miriam; something, too, might be gathered from Don
+      Miguel; and then there was that talk about a treasure. Was that all the
+      fabric of a dream, or was there truth at the bottom of it? She had heard
+      something said about a treasure in the course of the general conversation
+      the day before. If there really was a treasure, why might not she have a
+      hand in the discovery of it? Miriam, in her abnormal state, had let fall
+      some topographical hints that might prove useful. Well, she would work out
+      the problem, sooner or later. To-morrow, when the others had gone off on
+      their expedition, she would have ample leisure to sound Don Miguel, and,
+      if he proved communicative and available, who could tell what might
+      happen? But how very odd it all was! Who was Semitzin?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      While asking herself this question, Grace fell asleep; and by the time the
+      summons to breakfast came, she had passed through thrilling adventures
+      enough to occupy a new Scheherazade at least three years in the telling of
+      them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VI.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      By nine o&rsquo;clock in the morning, Professor Meschines and Harvey Freeman had
+      ridden up to the general&rsquo;s ranch, equipped for the expedition. The
+      general&rsquo;s preparations were not yet quite completed. A couple of mules
+      were being loaded with the necessary outfit. It was proposed to be out two
+      days, camping in the open during the intervening night. It was necessary
+      to take water as well as solid provisions. Leaving their horses in the
+      care of a couple of stable-boys, Meschines and Freeman mounted the
+      veranda, and were there greeted by General Trednoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid we&rsquo;ll have a hot ride of it,&rdquo; he observed. &ldquo;The atmosphere is
+      rather oppressive. Kamaiakan tells me there was a touch of earthquake last
+      night.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thought I noticed some disturbance,&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; returned the
+      professor, with a stealthy side-glance at Freeman,&mdash;&ldquo;something in the
+      nature of an explosion.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Earthquakes are common in this region, aren&rsquo;t they?&rdquo; Freeman said.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They have made it what it is, and may unmake it again,&rdquo; replied the
+      general. &ldquo;The earthquake is the father of the desert, as the Indians say;
+      and it may some day become the father of a more genial offspring.
+      Veremos!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;How are the young ladies?&rdquo; inquired Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Miriam has a little headache, I believe; and I thought Miss Parsloe was
+      looking a trifle pale this morning. But you must see for yourself. Here
+      they come.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Grace, who was a little taller than Miriam, had thrown one arm round that
+      young lady&rsquo;s waist, with a view, perhaps, to forming a picture in which
+      she should not be the secondary figure. In fact, they were both of them
+      very pretty; but Freeman had become blind to any beauty but Miriam&rsquo;s.
+      Moreover, he was resolved to have some private conversation with her
+      during the few minutes that were available. A conversation with the
+      professor, and some meditations of his own, had suggested to him a line of
+      attack upon Grace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid you were disturbed by the earthquake last night?&rdquo; he said to
+      her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;An earthquake? Why should you think so?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You look as if you had passed a restless night. I saw Senor de Mendoza
+      this morning. He seems to have had a restless time of it, too. But he is a
+      romantic person, and probably, if an earthquake did not make him
+      sleepless, something else might.&rdquo; He looked at her a moment, and then
+      added, with a smile, &ldquo;But perhaps this is not news to you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t come&mdash;I didn&rsquo;t see him,&rdquo; returned Grace, wishing, ere the
+      words had left her lips, that she had kept her mouth shut. Freeman
+      continued to smile. How much did he know? She felt that it might be
+      inexpedient to continue the conversation. Casting about for a pretext for
+      retreat, her eyes fell upon Meschines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, there&rsquo;s the dear professor! I must speak to him a moment,&rdquo; she
+      exclaimed, vivaciously; and she slipped her arm from Miriam&rsquo;s waist, and
+      was off, leaving Freeman in possession of the field, and of the monopoly
+      of Miriam&rsquo;s society.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Miss Trednoke,&rdquo; said he, gravely, &ldquo;I have something to tell you, in order
+      to clear myself from a possible misunderstanding. It may happen that I
+      shall need your vindication with your father. Will you give it?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What vindication do you need, that I can give?&rdquo; asked she, opening her
+      dark eyes upon him questioningly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I wish to explain. I am in a difficult position. Would you
+      mind stepping down into the garden? It won&rsquo;t take a minute.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Curiosity, if not especially feminine, is at least human. Miriam descended
+      the steps, Freeman beside her. They strolled down the path, amidst the
+      flowers.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You said, yesterday,&rdquo; he began, &ldquo;that I would say one thing and be
+      another. Now I am going to tell you what I am. And afterwards I&rsquo;ll tell
+      you why I tell it. In the first place, you know, I&rsquo;m a civil engineer, and
+      that includes, in my case, a good deal of knowledge about geology and
+      things of that sort. I have sometimes been commissioned to make geological
+      surveys for Eastern capitalists. Lately I&rsquo;ve been canal-digging on the
+      Isthmus; but the other day I got a notification from some men in Boston
+      and New York to come out here on a secret mission.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Secret, Mr. Freeman?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes: you will understand directly. These men had heard enough about the
+      desert valleys of this region to lead them to think that it might be
+      reclaimed and so be made very valuable. Such lands can be bought now for
+      next to nothing; but, if the theories that control these capitalists are
+      correct, they could afterwards be sold at a profit of thousands per cent.
+      So it&rsquo;s indispensable that the object of my being here should remain
+      unknown; otherwise, other persons might step in and anticipate the designs
+      of this company.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If those are your orders, why do you speak to me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a reason for doing it that outweighs the reasons against it. I
+      trust you with the secret: yet I don&rsquo;t mean to bind you to secrecy. You
+      will have a perfect right to tell it: the only result would be that I
+      should be discredited with my employers; and there is nothing to warrant
+      me in supposing that you would be deterred by that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t ask to know your secret: I think you had better say no more.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman shook his head. &ldquo;I must speak,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care what
+      becomes of me, so long as I stand right in your opinion,&mdash;your
+      father&rsquo;s and yours. I am here to find out whether this desert can be
+      flooded,&mdash;irrigated,&mdash;whether it&rsquo;s possible, by any means, to
+      bring water upon it. If my report is favorable, the company will purchase
+      hundreds, or thousands, of square miles, and, incidentally, my own fortune
+      will be made.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why, that&rsquo;s the very thing&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; She stopped.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The very thing your father had thought of! Yes, so I imagined, though he
+      has not told me so in so many words. So I&rsquo;m in the position of
+      surreptitiously taking away the prospective fortune of a man whom I
+      respect and honor, and who treats me as a friend.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Miriam walked on some steps in silence. &ldquo;It is no fault of yours,&rdquo; she
+      said at last. &ldquo;You owe us nothing. You must carry out your orders.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes; but what is to prevent your father from thinking that I stole his
+      idea and then used it against him?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can tell him the truth: he could not complain; and why should you
+      care if he did? I know that men separate business from&mdash;from other
+      things.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      They had now come to the little enclosed space where the fountain basin
+      was; and by tacit consent they seated themselves upon it. Miriam gave an
+      exclamation of surprise. &ldquo;The water is gone!&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;How strange!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Perhaps it has gone to meet us at our rendezvous in the desert.&mdash;No:
+      if I tell your father, I should be unfaithful to my employers. But there&rsquo;s
+      another alternative: I can resign my appointment, and let my place be
+      taken by another.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And give up your chance of a fortune? You mustn&rsquo;t do that.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What is it to you what becomes of me?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I wish nothing but good to come to you,&rdquo; said she, in a low voice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have never wanted to have a fortune until now. And I must tell you the
+      reason of that, too. A man without a fortune does very well by himself. He
+      can knock about, and live from hand to mouth. But when he wants to live
+      for somebody else,&mdash;even if he has only a very faint hope of getting
+      the opportunity of doing it,&mdash;then he must have some settled means of
+      livelihood to justify him. So I say I am in a difficult position. For if I
+      give this up, I must go away; and if I go away, I must give up even the
+      little hope I have.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t go away,&rdquo; said Miriam, after a pause.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you know what you are saying?&rdquo; He hesitated a moment, looking at her
+      as she looked down at the empty basin. &ldquo;My hope was that you might love
+      me; for I love you, to be my wife.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The color slowly rose in Miriam&rsquo;s face: at length she hid it in her hands.
+      &ldquo;Oh, what is it?&rdquo; she said, almost in a whisper. &ldquo;I have known you only
+      three days. But it seems as if I must have known you before. There is
+      something in me that is not like myself. But it is the deepest thing in
+      me; and it loves you: yes, I love you!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Her hands left her face, and there was a light in her eyes which made
+      Freeman, in the midst of his rejoicing, feel humble and unworthy. He felt
+      himself in contact with something pure and sacred. At the same moment, the
+      recollection recurred to him of the figure he had seen the night before,
+      with the features of Miriam. Was it she indeed? Was this she? To doubt the
+      identity of the individual is to lose one&rsquo;s footing on the solid earth.
+      For the first time it occurred to him that this doubt might affect Miriam
+      herself. Was she obscurely conscious of two states of being in herself,
+      and did she therefore fear to trust her own impulses? But, again, love is
+      the master-passion; its fire fuses all things, and gives them unity. Would
+      not this love that they confessed for each other burn away all that was
+      abnormal and enigmatic, and leave only the unerring human heart, that
+      knows its own and takes it? These reflections passed through Freeman&rsquo;s
+      mind in an instant of time. But he was no metaphysician, and he obeyed the
+      sane and wholesome instinct which has ever been man&rsquo;s surest and safest
+      guide through the mysteries and bewilderments of existence. He took the
+      beautiful woman in his arms and kissed her.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This is real and right, if anything is,&rdquo; said he. &ldquo;If there are ghosts
+      about, you and I, at any rate, are flesh and blood, and where we belong.
+      As to the irrigation scrape, there must be some way out of it: if not, no
+      matter! You and I love each other, and the world begins from this moment!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My father must know to-morrow,&rdquo; said Miriam.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No doubt we shall all know more to-morrow than we do to-day,&rdquo; returned
+      her lover, not knowing how abundantly his prophecy would be fulfilled: he
+      was over-flowing with the fearless and enormous joy of a young man who has
+      attained at one bound the summit of his desire. &ldquo;There! they are calling
+      for me. Good-by, my darling. Be yourself, and think of nothing but me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      A short ride brought the little cavalcade to the borders of the desert.
+      Here, by common consent, a halt was made, to draw breath, as it were,
+      before taking the final plunge into the fiery furnace.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Before we go farther,&rdquo; said General Trednoke, approaching Freeman, as he
+      was tightening his girths, &ldquo;I must tell you what is the object of this
+      expedition.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is not necessary, general,&rdquo; replied the young man, straightening
+      himself and looking the other in the face; &ldquo;for from this point our paths
+      lie apart.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Why so?&rdquo; demanded the general, in surprise.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s that?&rdquo; exclaimed Meschines, coming up, and adjusting his
+      spectacles.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not at liberty, at present, to explain,&rdquo; Freeman answered. &ldquo;All I can
+      say is that I don&rsquo;t feel justified in assisting you in your affair, and I
+      am not able to confide my own to you. I wish you to put the least
+      uncharitable construction you can on my conduct. To-morrow, if we all
+      live, I may say more; now, the most I can tell you is that I am not
+      entirely a free agent. Meantime&mdash;Hasta luego.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Against this unexpected resolve the general cordially protested and the
+      professor scoffed and contended; but Freeman stayed firm. He had with him
+      provisions enough to last him three days, and a supply of water; and in a
+      small case he carried a compact assortment of instruments for scientific
+      observation. &ldquo;Take your departure in whatever direction you like,&rdquo; said
+      he, &ldquo;and I will take mine at an angle of not less than fifteen degrees
+      from it. If I am not back in three days, you may conclude something has
+      happened.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      It was certainly very hot. Freeman had been accustomed to torrid suns in
+      the Isthmus; but this was a sun indefinitely multiplied by reflections
+      from the dusty surface underfoot. Nor was it the fine, ethereal fire of
+      the Sahara: the atmosphere was dead and heavy; for the rider was already
+      far below the level of the Pacific, whose cool blue waves rolled and
+      rippled many leagues to the westward, as, aeons ago, they had rolled and
+      rippled here. There was not a breath of air. Freeman could hear his heart
+      beat, and the veins in his temples and wrists throbbed. The sweat rose on
+      the surface of his body, but without cooling it. The pony which he
+      bestrode, a bony and sinewy beast of the toughest description, trod
+      onwards doggedly, but with little animation. Freeman had no desire to push
+      him. Were the little animal to overdo itself, nothing in the future could
+      be more certain than that his master would never see the Trednoke ranch
+      again. It seemed unusually hot, even for that region.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      There was little in the way of outward incident to relieve the monotony of
+      the journey. Now and then a short, thick rattlesnake, with horns on its
+      ugly head, wriggled out of his path. Now and then his horse&rsquo;s hoof almost
+      trod upon a hideous, flat lizard, also horned. Here and there the uncouth
+      projections of a cactus pushed upwards out of the dust; some of these the
+      mustang nibbled at, for the sake of their juice. Freeman wondered where
+      the juice came from. The floor of the desert seemed for the most part
+      level, though there was a gradual dip towards the east and northeast, and
+      occasionally mounds and ridges of wind-swept dust, sometimes upwards of
+      fifty feet in height, broke the uniformity. The soil was largely composed
+      of powdered feldspar; but there were also tracts of gravel shingle, of
+      yellow loam, and of alkaline dust. In some places there appeared a salt
+      efflorescence, sprouting up in a sort of ghastly vegetation, as if death
+      itself had acquired a sinister life. Elsewhere, the ground quaked and
+      yielded underfoot, and it became necessary to make detours to avoid these
+      arid bogs. Once or twice, too, Freeman turned aside lest he should trample
+      upon some dry bones that protruded in his path,&mdash;bones that were
+      their own monument, and told their own story of struggle, agony,
+      exhaustion, and despair.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      None of these things had any depressing effect on Freeman&rsquo;s spirit. His
+      heart was singing with joy. To a mind logically disposed, there was
+      nothing but trouble in sight, whether he succeeded or failed in his
+      present mission. In the former case, he would find himself in a hostile
+      position as regarded the man he most desired to conciliate; in the latter,
+      he would remain the mere rolling stone that he was before, and love itself
+      would forbid him to ask the woman he loved to share his uncertain
+      existence. But Freeman was not logical: he was happy, and he could not
+      help it. He had kissed Miriam, and she loved him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His course lay a few degrees north of east. Far across the plain, dancing
+      and turning somersaults in the fantastic atmosphere, were the summits of a
+      range of abrupt hills, the borders of a valley or ravine which he wished
+      to explore. Gradually, as he rode, his shadow lengthened before him. It
+      was his only companion; and yet he felt no sense of loneliness. Miriam was
+      in his heart, and kept it fresh and bold. Even hunger and thirst he
+      scarcely felt. Who can estimate the therapeutic and hygienic effects of
+      love?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The mustang could not share his rider&rsquo;s source of content, but he may have
+      been conscious, through animal instincts whereof we know nothing, of an
+      uplifting and encouraging spirit. At all events, he kept up his steady
+      lope without faltering or apparent effort, and seemed to require nothing
+      more than the occasional wetting which Freeman administered to his nose.
+      There would probably be some vegetation, and perhaps water, on the hills;
+      and that prospect may likewise have helped him along.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nevertheless, man and beast may well have welcomed the hour when the
+      craggy acclivities of that lonely range became so near that they seemed to
+      loom above their heads. Freeman directed his steps towards the southern
+      extremity, where a huge, pallid mass, of almost regular pyramidal form,
+      reared itself aloft like a monument. He skirted the base of the pyramid,
+      and there opened on his view a narrow, winding valley, scarcely half a
+      mile in apparent breadth, and of a very wild and savage aspect. Its
+      general direction was nearly north and south, and it declined downwards,
+      as if seeking the interior of the earth. In fact, it looked not unlike
+      those imaginative pictures of the road to the infernal regions described
+      by the ancient poets. One could picture Pluto in his chariot, with
+      Proserpine beside him, thundering downwards behind his black horses, on
+      the way to those sombre and magnificent regions which are hollowed out
+      beneath the surface of the planet.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman, however, presently saw a sight which, if less spectacularly
+      impressive, was far more agreeable to his eyes. On a shelf or cup of the
+      declivity was a little clump of vegetation, and in the midst of it welled
+      up a thin stream of water. The mustang scrambled eagerly towards it, and,
+      before Freeman had had time to throw himself out of the saddle, he had
+      plunged his muzzle into the rivulet. He sucked it down with such
+      satisfaction that it was evident the water was not salt. Freeman laid
+      himself prone upon the brink, and followed his steed&rsquo;s example. The
+      draught was cool and pure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know how much I wanted it!&rdquo; said he to himself. &ldquo;It must come
+      from a good way down. If I could only bring the parent stream to the
+      surface, my mission would be on a fair road to success.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      An examination of the spring revealed the fact that it could not have been
+      long in existence. Indeed, there were no traces whatever of long
+      continuance. The aperture in the rock through which it trickled bore the
+      appearance of having been recently opened; fragments were lying near it
+      that seemed to have been just broken off. The bed of the little stream was
+      entirely free from moss or weeds; and after proceeding a short distance it
+      dwindled and disappeared, either sucked up in vapor by the torrid air, or
+      absorbed into the dusty soil. Manifestly, it was a recent creation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And, to be sure, why not?&rdquo; ejaculated Freeman. &ldquo;There was an earthquake
+      last night, which swallowed up the spring in the Trednokes&rsquo; garden:
+      probably that same earthquake brought this stream to light. It vanished
+      there, to reappear here. Well, the loss is not important to them, but the
+      gain is very important to me. It is as if Miriam had come with a cup of
+      water to refresh her lover in the desert. God bless her! She has refreshed
+      me indeed, soul and body!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      He removed the saddle from the mustang, and turned him loose to make the
+      best of such scanty herbage as he could find. Then he unpacked his own
+      provisions, and made a comfortable meal; after which he rolled a cigarette
+      and reclined on the spot most available, to rest and recuperate. The
+      valley, or gorge, lay before him in the afternoon light. It was a strange
+      and savage spectacle. Had it been torn asunder by some stupendous
+      explosion, it could not have presented a rougher or more chaotic aspect.
+      To look at it was like beholding the secret places of the earth. The rocky
+      walls were of different colors, yellow, blue, and red, in many shades and
+      gradations. They towered ruggedly upwards, sharply shadowed and brightly
+      lighted, mounting in regular pinnacles, parting in black crevices; here
+      and there vast masses hung poised on bases seemingly insufficient, ready
+      to topple over on the unwary passer beneath. A short distance to the
+      northward the ravine had a turn, and a projecting promontory hid its
+      further extreme from sight. Freeman made up his mind to follow it up on
+      foot, after the descending sun should have thrown a shadow over it. The
+      indications, in his judgment, were not without promise that a system of
+      judiciously-applied blastings might open up a source of water that would
+      transform this dreadful barrenness into something quite different.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The shade of the great pyramid fell upon him as he lay, but the tumultuous
+      wall opposite was brilliantly illuminated: the sky, over it, was of a
+      peculiar brassy hue, but entirely cloudless. The radiations from the baked
+      surface, ascending vertically, made the rocky bastion seem to quiver, as
+      if it were a reflection cast on undulating water. The wreaths of
+      tobacco-smoke that emanated from Freeman&rsquo;s mouth also ascended, until they
+      touched the slant of sunlight overhead. As the young man&rsquo;s eyes followed
+      these, something happened that caused him to utter an exclamation and
+      raise himself on one arm.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      All at once, in the vacant air diagonally above him, a sort of shadowy
+      shimmer seemed to concentrate itself, which was rapidly resolved into
+      color and form. It was much as if some unseen artist had swept a mass of
+      mingled hues on a canvas and then had worked them with magical speed into
+      a picture. There appeared a breadth of rolling country, covered with
+      verdure, and in the midst of it the white walls and long, shadowed veranda
+      of an adobe house. Freeman saw the vines clambering over the eaves and
+      roof, the vases of earthenware suspended between the pillars and
+      overflowing with flowers, the long windows, the steps descending into the
+      garden. Now a figure clad in white emerged from the door and advanced
+      slowly to the end of the veranda. He recognized the gait and bearing: he
+      could almost fancy he discerned the beloved features. She stood there for
+      a moment, gazing, as it seemed, directly at him. She raised her hands, and
+      pressed them to her lips, then threw them outwards, with a gesture
+      eloquent of innocent and tender passion. Freeman&rsquo;s heart leaped:
+      involuntarily he stretched out his arms, and murmured, &ldquo;Miriam!&rdquo; The next
+      moment, a tall, dark figure, with white hair, wrapped in a blanket, came
+      stalking behind her, and made a beckoning movement. Miriam did not turn,
+      but her bearing changed; her hands fell to her sides; she seemed
+      bewildered. Freeman sprang angrily to his feet: the picture became
+      blurred; it flowed into streaks of vague color; it was gone. There were
+      only the brassy sky, and the painted crags quivering in the heat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That was not a mirage: it was a miracle,&rdquo; muttered the young man to
+      himself. &ldquo;Forty miles at least, and it seemed scarcely three hundred
+      yards! What does it mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The sun sank behind the hills, and a transparent shadow filled the gorge.
+      Freeman, uneasy in mind, and unable to remain inactive, filled his canteen
+      at the spring, and descended to the rugged trail at the bottom. Clambering
+      over boulders, leaping across narrow chasms, letting himself down from
+      ledges, his preoccupation soon left him, and physical exertion took the
+      precedence. Half an hour&rsquo;s work brought him to the out-jutting promontory
+      which had concealed the further reaches of the valley. These now lay
+      before him, merging imperceptibly into indistinctness.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This atmosphere is unbearable,&rdquo; said Freeman. &ldquo;I must get a little higher
+      up.&rdquo; He turned to the right, and saw a natural archway, of no great
+      height, formed in the rock. The arch itself was white; the super-incumbent
+      stone was of a dull red hue. On the left flank of the arch were a series
+      of inscribed characters, which might have been cut by a human hand, or
+      might have been a mere natural freak. They looked like some rude system of
+      hieroglyphics, and bore no meaning to Freeman&rsquo;s mind.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A sort of crypt or deep recess was hollowed out beneath the arch, the full
+      extent of which Freeman was unable to discern. The floor of it descended
+      in ridges, like a rough staircase. He stood for a few moments peering into
+      the gloom, tempted by curiosity to advance, but restrained partly by the
+      gathering darkness, and partly by the oppressiveness of the atmosphere,
+      which produced a sensation of giddiness. Something white gleamed on the
+      threshold of the crypt. He picked it up. It was a human skull; but even as
+      he lifted it it came apart in his hands and crumbled into fragments.
+      Freeman&rsquo;s nerves were strong, but he shuddered slightly. The loneliness,
+      the silence, the mystery, and the strange light-headedness that was coming
+      over him combined to make him hesitate. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll come back to-morrow morning
+      early,&rdquo; he said to himself.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As if in answer, a deep, appalling roar broke forth apparently under his
+      feet, and went rolling and reverberating up and down the canon. It died
+      away, but was immediately followed by another yet more loud, and the
+      ground shook and swayed beneath his feet. A gigantic boulder, poised high
+      up on the other side of the canon, was unseated, and fell with a terrific
+      crash. A hot wind swept sighing through the valley, and the air rapidly
+      became dark. Again came the sigh, rising to a shriek, with roarings and
+      thunderings that seemed to proceed both from the heavens and from the
+      earth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A dazzling flash of lightning split the air, bathing it for an instant in
+      the brightness of day: in that instant Freeman saw the bolt strike the
+      great white pyramid and splinter its crest into fragments, while the whole
+      surface of the gorge heaved and undulated like a stormy sea. He had been
+      staggering as best he might to a higher part of the ravine; but now he
+      felt a stunning blow on his head: he fell, and knew no more.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VII.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      Two horsemen, one of whom led a third horse, carrying a pack-saddle, had
+      reached the borders of the desert just as the earthquake began. When the
+      first shock came, they were riding past a grove of live-oaks: they
+      immediately dismounted, made fast their horses, and lay down beside some
+      bushes that skirted the grove. Neither the earthquake nor the storm was so
+      severe as was the case farther eastward. In an hour all was over, and they
+      remounted and continued their journey, guiding their course by the stars.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was thus that we rode before, Kamaiakan,&rdquo; remarked the younger of the
+      two travellers. &ldquo;Yonder bright star stood as it does now, and the hour of
+      the night was the same. But this shaking of the earth makes me fear for
+      the safety of that youth. The sands of the desert may have swept over him;
+      or he may have perished in the hills.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The purposes of the gods cannot be altered, Semitzin,&rdquo; replied the old
+      Indian, who perhaps would not have much regretted such a calamity as she
+      suggested: it would be a simple solution of difficulties which might
+      otherwise prove embarrassing. &ldquo;It is my prayer, at all events, that the
+      entrance to the treasure may not be closed.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I care nothing for the treasure, unless I may share it with him,&rdquo; she
+      returned. &ldquo;Since we spoke together beside the fountain, I have seen him.
+      He looked upon me doubtfully, being, perhaps, perplexed because of these
+      features of the child Miriam, which I am compelled to wear.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Truly, princess, what is he, that you should think of him?&rdquo; muttered
+      Kamaiakan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He satisfies my heart,&rdquo; was the reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;And I am resolved never again to give up this mortal habitation to her
+      you call its rightful owner. I will never again leave this world, which I
+      enjoy, for the unknown darkness out of which you called me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Princess, the gods do not permit such dealings. They may, indeed, suffer
+      you to live again; but you must return as an infant, in flesh and bones of
+      your own.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The gods have permitted me to return as I have returned; and you well
+      know, Kamaiakan, that, except you use your art to banish me and restore
+      Miriam, there is nothing else that can work a change.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Murder is not lawful, Semitzin; and to do as you desire would be an act
+      not different from murder.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;On my head be it, then!&rdquo; exclaimed the princess. &ldquo;Would it be less a
+      murder to send me back to nothingness than to let her remain there? Mine
+      is the stronger spirit, and has therefore the better right to live. I ask
+      of you only to do nothing. None need ever know that Miriam has vanished
+      and that Semitzin lives in her place. I wear her body and her features,
+      and I am content to wear her name also, if it must be so.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Kamaiakan was silent. He may well be pardoned for feeling troubled in the
+      presence of a situation which had perhaps never before confronted a human
+      being. Two women, both tenants of the same body, both in love with the
+      same man, and therefore rivals of each other, and each claiming a right to
+      existence: it was a difficult problem. The old Indian heartily wished that
+      a separate tenement might be provided for each of these two souls, that
+      they might fight out their quarrel in the ordinary way. But his magic arts
+      did not extend to the creation of flesh and blood. At the same time, he
+      could not but feel to blame for having brought this strenuous spirit of
+      Semitzin once more into the world, and he was fain to admit that her claim
+      was not without justification. His motives had been excellent, but he had
+      not foreseen the consequences in which the act was to land him. Yet he
+      more shrank from wronging Miriam than from disappointing Semitzin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the latter was not to be put off by silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There has been a change since you and I last spoke together,&rdquo; she said.
+      &ldquo;I am aware of it, though I know not how; but, in some manner, the things
+      which Miriam has done are perceptible to me. When I was here before, she
+      did but lean towards this youth; now she has given herself to him. She
+      means to be united to him; and, if I again should vanish, I should never
+      again find my way back. But it shall not be so; and there is a way,
+      Kamaiakan, by which I can surely prevent it, even though you refuse to aid
+      me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Indeed, princess, I think you mistake regarding the love of Miriam for
+      this young man; they have seen little of each other; and it may be, as you
+      yourself said, that he has perished in the wilderness.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I believe he lives,&rdquo; she answered: &ldquo;I should know it, were it otherwise.
+      But if I cannot have him, neither shall she. I have told you already that,
+      unless you swear to me not to put forth your power upon me to dismiss me,
+      I will not lead you to the treasure. But that is not enough; for men
+      deceive, and you are a man. But if at any time hereafter I feel within me
+      those pangs that tell me you are about to separate me from this world, at
+      that moment, Kamaiakan, I will drive this knife through the heart of
+      Miriam! If I cannot keep her body, at least it shall be but a corpse when
+      I leave it. You know Semitzin; and you know that she will keep her word!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She reined in her horse, as she spoke, and sat gazing upon her companion
+      with flashing eyes. The Indian, after a pause, made a gesture of gloomy
+      resignation. &ldquo;It shall be as you say, then, Semitzin; and upon your head
+      be it! Henceforth, Miriam is no more. But do you beware of the vengeance
+      of the gods, whose laws you have defied.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Let the gods deal with me as they will,&rdquo; replied the Aztecan. &ldquo;A day of
+      happiness with the man I love is worth an age of punishment.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Kamaiakan made no answer, and the two rode forward in silence.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was midnight, and a bright star, nearly in the zenith, seemed to hang
+      precisely above the summit of the great white pyramid at the mouth of the
+      gorge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It was here that we stopped,&rdquo; observed Semitzin. &ldquo;We tied our horses
+      among the shrubbery round yonder point. Thence we must go on foot. Follow
+      me.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She struck her heels against her horse&rsquo;s sides, and went forward. The long
+      ride seemed to have wearied her not a whit. The lean and wiry Indian had
+      already betrayed symptoms of fatigue; but the young princess appeared as
+      fresh as when she started. Not once had she even taken a draught from her
+      canteen; and yet she was closely clad, from head to foot, in the doublet
+      and leggings of the Golden Fleece. One might have thought it had some
+      magic virtue to preserve its wearer&rsquo;s vitality; and possibly, as is
+      sometimes seen in trance, the energy and concentration of the spirit
+      reacted upon the body.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned the corner of the pyramid, but had not ridden far when an
+      object lying in her path caused her to halt and spring from the saddle.
+      Kamaiakan also dismounted and came forward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The dead body of a mustang lay on the ground, crushed beneath the weight
+      of a fragment of rock, which had evidently fallen upon it from a height.
+      He had apparently been dead for some hours. He was without either saddle
+      or bridle.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do you know him?&rdquo; demanded Semitzin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is Diego,&rdquo; replied Kamaiakan. &ldquo;I know him by the white star on his
+      muzzle. He was ridden by the Senor Freeman. They must have come here
+      before the earthquake. And there lie the saddle and the bridle. But where
+      is Senor Freeman?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He can be nowhere else than in this valley,&rdquo; said Semitzin, confidently.
+      &ldquo;I knew that I should find him here. Through all the centuries, and across
+      all spaces, we were destined to meet. His horse was killed, but he has
+      escaped. I shall save him. Could Miriam have done this? Is he not mine by
+      right?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;It is at least certain, princess,&rdquo; responded the old man rather dryly,
+      &ldquo;that had it not been for Miriam you would never have met the Senor
+      Freeman at all.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I thank her for so much; and some time, perhaps, I will reward her by
+      permitting her to have a glimpse of him for an hour,&mdash;or, at least, a
+      minute. But not now, Kamaiakan,&mdash;not till I am well assured that no
+      thought but of me can ever find its way into his heart. Come, let us go
+      forward. We will find the treasure, and I will give it to my lord and
+      lover.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Shall we bring the pack-horse with us?&rdquo; asked the Indian.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Yes, if he can find his way among these rocks. The earthquake has made
+      changes here. See how the water pours from this spring! It has already
+      made a stream down the valley. It shall guide us whither we are going.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Leaving their own horses, they advanced with the mule. But the trail,
+      rough enough at best, was now well-nigh impassable. Masses of rock had
+      fallen from above; large fissures and crevasses had been formed in the
+      floor of the gorge, from some of which steaming vapors escaped, while
+      others gave forth streams of water. The darkness added to the difficulties
+      of the way, for, although the sky was now clear, the gloom was deceptive,
+      and things distant seemed near. Occasionally a heavy, irregular sound
+      would break the stillness, as some projection of a cliff became loosened
+      and tumbled down the steep declivity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Semitzin, however, held on her way fearlessly and without hesitation, and
+      the Indian, with the pack-horse, followed as best he might, now and then
+      losing sight for a moment of the slight, grayish figure in front of him.
+      At length she disappeared behind the jutting profile of a great promontory
+      which formed a main angle of the gorge. When he came up with her, she was
+      kneeling beside the prostrate form of a man, supporting his head upon her
+      knee.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Kamaiakan approached, and looked at the face of the man, which was pale;
+      the eyes were closed. A streak of blood, from a wound on the head,
+      descended over the right side of the forehead.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Is he dead?&rdquo; the Indian asked.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He is not dead,&rdquo; replied Semitzin. &ldquo;A flying stone has struck him; but
+      his heart beats: he will be well again.&rdquo; She poured some water from her
+      canteen over his face, and bent her ear over his lips. &ldquo;He breathes,&rdquo; she
+      said. Slipping one arm beneath his neck, she loosened the shirt at his
+      throat and then stooped and kissed him. &ldquo;Be alive for me, love,&rdquo; she
+      murmured. &ldquo;My life is yours.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      This exhortation seemed to have some effect. The man stirred slightly, and
+      emitted a sigh. Presently he muttered, &ldquo;I can&mdash;lick him&mdash;yet!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He will live, princess,&rdquo; remarked Kamaiakan. &ldquo;But where is the treasure?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My treasure is here!&rdquo; was her reply; and again she bent to kiss the
+      half-conscious man, who knew not of his good fortune. After an interval
+      she added, &ldquo;It is in the hollow beneath that archway. Go down three paces:
+      on the wall at the left you will feel a ring. Pull it outwards, and the
+      stone will give way. Behind it lies the chest in which the jewels are. But
+      remember your promise!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Kamaiakan peered into the hollow, shook his head as one who loves not his
+      errand, and stepped in. The black shadow swallowed him up. Semitzin paid
+      no further attention to him, but was absorbed in ministering to her
+      patient, whose strength was every moment being augmented, though he was
+      not yet aware of his position. But all at once a choking sound came from
+      within the cave, and in a few moments Kamaiakan staggered up out of the
+      shadow, and sank down across the threshold of the arch.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Semitzin,&rdquo; he gasped, in a faint voice, &ldquo;the curse of the gods is upon
+      the spot! The air within is poisonous. It withers the limbs and stops the
+      breath. No one may touch the treasure and live. Let us go!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The gods do not love those who fear,&rdquo; replied the princess,
+      contemptuously. &ldquo;But the treasure is mine, and it may well be that no
+      other hand may touch it. Fold that blanket, and lay it beneath his head. I
+      will bring the jewels.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Do not attempt it: it will be death!&rdquo; exclaimed the old man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Shall a princess come to her lover empty-handed? Do you watch beside him
+      while I go. Ah, if your Miriam were here, I would not fear to have him
+      choose between us!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      With these words, Semitzin stepped across the threshold of the crypt, and
+      vanished in its depths. The Indian, still dizzy and faint, knelt on the
+      rock without, bowed down by sinister forebodings.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Several minutes passed. &ldquo;She has perished!&rdquo; muttered Kamaiakan.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Freeman raised himself on one elbow, and gazed giddily about him. &ldquo;What
+      the deuce has happened?&rdquo; he demanded, in a sluggish voice. &ldquo;Is that you,
+      professor?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Suddenly, a rending and rushing sound burst from the cave. Following it,
+      Semitzin appeared at the entrance, dragging a heavy metal box, which she
+      grasped by a handle at one end. Immediately in her steps broke forth a
+      great volume of water, boiling up as if from a caldron. It filled the
+      cave, and poured like a cataract into the gorge. The foundations of the
+      great deep seemed to be let loose.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Semitzin lifted from her face the woollen mask, or visor, which she had
+      closed on entering the cave. She was panting from exertion, but neither
+      her physical nor her mental faculties were abated. She spoke sharply and
+      imperiously:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Bring up the mule, and help me fasten the chest upon him. We must reach
+      higher ground before the waters overtake us. And now&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; She
+      turned to Freeman, who by this time was sitting up and regarding her with
+      stupefaction.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Miriam!&rdquo; was all he could utter.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      She shook her head, and smiled. &ldquo;I am she who loves you, and whom you will
+      love. I give you life, and fortune, and myself. But come: can you mount
+      and ride?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t make this out,&rdquo; he said, struggling, with her assistance, to his
+      feet. &ldquo;I have read fairy-tales, but this... Kamaiakan, too!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Semitzin, meanwhile, brought him to the mule, and half mechanically he
+      scrambled into the saddle, the chest being made fast to the crupper.
+      Semitzin seized the bridle, and started up the gorge, Kamaiakan bringing
+      up the rear. The lower levels were already filling with water, which came
+      pouring out through the archway in a full flood, seemingly inexhaustible.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I see how it is,&rdquo; mumbled Freeman, half to himself. &ldquo;The earthquake&mdash;I
+      remember! I got hit somehow. They came from the ranch to hunt me up. But
+      where are the general and Professor Meschines? How long ago was it? And
+      how came Miriam... Could the mirage have had anything to do with it?&mdash;Here,
+      let me walk,&rdquo; he called out to her, &ldquo;and you get up and ride.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      She turned her head, smiling again, but hurried on without speaking. The
+      roar of the torrent followed them. Once or twice the mule came near losing
+      his footing. Freeman, whose head was swimming, and his brains buzzing like
+      a hive of bees, had all he could do to maintain his equilibrium in the
+      saddle. He was excruciatingly thirsty, and the gurgling of waters round
+      about made him wish he might dismount and plunge into them. But he lacked
+      power to form a decided purpose, and permitted the more energetic will to
+      control him. It might have been minutes, or it might have been hours, for
+      all he knew: at last they halted, near the base of the white pyramid.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Here we are safe,&rdquo; said Semitzin, coming to his side. &ldquo;Lean on me, my
+      love, and I will lift you down.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, I&rsquo;m not quite so bad as that, you know,&rdquo; said Freeman, with a feeble
+      laugh; and, to prove it, he blundered off the saddle, and came down on the
+      ground with a thwack. He picked himself up, however, and recollecting that
+      he had a flask with brandy in it, he felt for it, found it intact, and,
+      with an inarticulate murmur of apology, raised it to his lips. It was like
+      the veritable elixir of life: never in his life before had Freeman quaffed
+      so deep a draught of the fiery spirit. It was just what he wanted.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But he felt oddly embarrassed. He did not know what to make of Miriam. It
+      was not her strange costume merely, but she seemed to have put on&mdash;or
+      put off&mdash;something with it that made a difference in her. She was
+      assertive, imperious; as loving, certainly, as lover could wish, but not
+      in the manner of the Miriam he knew. He might have liked the new Miriam
+      better, had he not previously fallen in love with the former one. He could
+      not make advances to her: he had no opportunity to do so: she was making
+      advances to him!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My love,&rdquo; she said, standing before him, &ldquo;I have come back to the world
+      for your sake. Before Semitzin first saw you, her heart was yours. And I
+      come to you, not poor, but with the riches and power of the princes of
+      Tenochtitlan. You shall see them: they are yours!&mdash;Kamaiakan, take
+      down the chest.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;What&rsquo;s that about Semitzin?&rdquo; inquired Freeman. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not aware that I knew
+      any such person.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kamaiakan!&rdquo; repeated the other, raising her voice, and not hearing
+      Freeman&rsquo;s last words. Kamaiakan was nowhere to be seen. Both Freeman and
+      she had supposed that he was following on behind the mule; but he had
+      either dropped behind, or had withdrawn somewhere. &ldquo;O Kamaiakan!&rdquo; shouted
+      Freeman, as loud as he could.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A distant hail, from the direction of the desert, seemed to reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That can&rsquo;t be he,&rdquo; said Freeman. &ldquo;It was at least a quarter of a mile
+      off, and the wrong direction, too. He&rsquo;s in the gorge, if he&rsquo;s anywhere.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Hark!&rdquo; said Semitzin.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      They listened, and detected a low murmur, this time from the gorge.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&rsquo;s fallen down and hurt himself,&rdquo; said Freeman. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go after him.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      In a few moments they stumbled upon the old Indian, reclining with his
+      shoulders against a rock, and gasping heavily.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My princess,&rdquo; he whispered, as she bent over him, &ldquo;I am dying. The
+      poisonous air in the cave was fatal to me, though the spell that is upon
+      the Golden Fleece protected you. I have done what the gods commanded. I am
+      absolved of my vow. The treasure is safe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Nonsense! you&rsquo;re all right!&rdquo; exclaimed Freeman. &ldquo;Here, take a pull at
+      this flask. It did me all the good in the world!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But the old man put it aside, with a feeble gesture of the hand. &ldquo;My time
+      is come,&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo; said he.&mdash;&ldquo;Semitzin, I have been faithful.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Semitzin, again!&rdquo; muttered Freeman. &ldquo;What does it mean?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;But what is this?&rdquo; cried the girl, suddenly starting to her feet. &ldquo;I feel
+      the sleep coming on me again! I feel Miriam returning! Kamaiakan, have you
+      betrayed me at the last?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;No, no, princess, I have done nothing,&rdquo; said he, in a voice scarcely
+      audible. &ldquo;But, with death, the strength of my will goes from me, and I can
+      no longer keep you in this world. The spirit of Miriam claims her rightful
+      body, and you must struggle against her alone. The gods will not be
+      defied: it is the law!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      His voice sank away into nothing, and his beard drooped upon his breast.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;He&rsquo;s dying, sure enough, poor old chap,&rdquo; said Freeman. &ldquo;But what is all
+      this about? I never heard anything like this language you two talk
+      together.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      Semitzin turned towards him, and her eyes were blazing.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;She shall not have you!&rdquo; she cried. &ldquo;I have won you&mdash;I have saved
+      you&mdash;you are mine! What is Miriam? Can she be to you what I could be?&mdash;You
+      shall never have him!&rdquo; she continued, seeming to address some presence
+      invisible to all eyes but hers. &ldquo;If I must go, you shall go with me!&rdquo; She
+      fumbled in her belt, caught the handle of a knife there, and drew it. She
+      lifted it against her heart; but even then there was an uncertainty in her
+      movement, as if her mind were divided against itself, or had failed fully
+      to retain the thread of its purpose. But Freeman, who had passed rapidly
+      from one degree of bewilderment to another, was actually relieved to see,
+      at last, something that he could understand. Miriam&mdash;for some reason
+      best known to herself&mdash;was about to do herself a mischief. He leaped
+      forward, caught her in his arms, and snatched the knife from her grasp.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For a few moments she struggled like a young tiger. And it was marvellous
+      and appalling to hear two voices come from her, in alternation, or
+      confusedly mingled. One said, &ldquo;Let me kill her! I will not go! Keep back,
+      you pale-faced girl!&rdquo; and then a lower, troubled voice, &ldquo;Do not let her
+      come! Her face is terrible! What are those strange creatures with her?
+      Harvey, where are you?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      At last, with a fierce cry, that died away in a shuddering sigh, the form
+      of flesh and blood, so mysteriously possessed, ceased to struggle, and
+      sank back in Freeman&rsquo;s arms. His own strength was well-nigh at an end. He
+      laid her on the ground, and, sitting beside her, drew her head on his
+      knee. He had been in the land of spirits, contending with unknown powers,
+      and he was faint in mind and body.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yet he was conscious of the approaching tread of horses&rsquo; feet, and
+      recollected the hail that had come from the desert. Soon loomed up the
+      shadowy figures of mounted men, and they came so near that he was
+      constrained to call out, &ldquo;Mind where you&rsquo;re going! You&rsquo;ll be over us!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo; said a voice, which sounded like that of General Trednoke,
+      as they reined up.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;There&rsquo;s Kamaiakan, who&rsquo;s dead; and Miriam Trednoke, who has been out of
+      her mind, but she&rsquo;s got over it now, I guess; and I,&mdash;Harvey
+      Freeman.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My daughter!&rdquo; exclaimed General Trednoke.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;My boy!&rdquo; cried Professor Meschines. &ldquo;Well, thank God we&rsquo;ve found you, and
+      that some of you are alive, at any rate!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      CHAPTER VIII.
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      As it was still some hours before dawn, and Freeman was too weak to
+      travel, it was decided to encamp beside the pyramid till the following
+      evening, and then make the trip across the desert in the comparative
+      coolness of starlight. Meanwhile, there was something to be done, and much
+      to be explained.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The spirit of Kamaiakan had passed away, apparently at the same moment
+      that the peculiar case of &ldquo;possession&rdquo; under which Miriam had suffered
+      came to an end. They determined to bury him at the foot of the great
+      pyramid, which would form a fitting monument of his antique character and
+      virtues.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miriam, after her struggle, had lapsed into a state of partial lethargy,
+      from which she was aroused gradually. It was then found that she could
+      give no account what ever of how or why she came there. The last thing she
+      distinctly remembered was standing on the veranda at the ranch and looking
+      towards the east. She was under the impression that Kamaiakan had
+      approached and spoken with her, but of that she was not certain. The next
+      fact in her consciousness was that she was held in Freeman&rsquo;s arms, with a
+      feeling that she had barely escaped from some great peril. She could
+      recall nothing of the journey down the gorge, of the adventure at the
+      bottom of it, or of the return. It was only by degrees that some partial
+      light was thrown upon this matter. Freeman knew that he was at the
+      entrance of the cave when the earthquake began, and he remembered
+      receiving a blow on the head. Consequently it must have been at that spot
+      that Miriam and the Indian found him. He had, too, a vague impression of
+      seeing Miriam coming out of the cave, dragging the chest; and there, sure
+      enough, was a metal box, strapped to the saddle of the pack-mule. But the
+      mystery remained very dense. And although the reader is in a position to
+      analyze events more closely than the actors themselves could do, it may be
+      doubted whether the essential mystery is much clearer to him than it was
+      to them.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;We know that the ancient Aztecan priests were adepts in magic,&rdquo; observed
+      the professor, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s natural that some of their learning should have
+      descended to their posterity. We have been clever in giving names to such
+      phenomena, but we know perhaps even less about their esoteric meaning than
+      the Aztecans did. I should judge that Miriam would be what is called a
+      good &lsquo;subject.&rsquo; Kamaiakan discovered that fact; and as for what followed,
+      we can only infer it from the results. I was always an admirer of
+      Kamaiakan; but I must say I am the better resigned to his departure, from
+      the reflection that Miriam will henceforth be undisturbed in the
+      possession of her own individuality.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;As near as I could make out, she called herself Semitzin,&rdquo; put in
+      Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Semitzin?&rdquo; repeated the general. &ldquo;Why, if I&rsquo;m not mistaken, there are
+      accounts of an Aztecan princess of that name, an ancestress of my wife&rsquo;s
+      family, in some old documents that I have in a box, at home.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;That would only add the marvel of heredity to the other marvels,&rdquo; said
+      Meschines. &ldquo;Suppose we leave the things we can&rsquo;t understand, and come to
+      those we can?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I have something to say, General Trednoke,&rdquo; said Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I think I have already guessed what it may be, Mr. Freeman,&rdquo; returned the
+      general, gravely. &ldquo;Old people have eyes, and hearts too, as well as young
+      ones.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Come, Trednoke,&rdquo; interposed the professor, with a chuckle, &ldquo;your eyes
+      might not have seen so much, if I hadn&rsquo;t held the lantern.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I love your daughter, and I told her so yesterday morning,&rdquo; went on
+      Freeman, after a pause. &ldquo;I meant to tell you on my return. I know I don&rsquo;t
+      appear desirable as a son-in-law. But I came here on a commission&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Meschines and I have talked it all over,&rdquo; the general said. &ldquo;When an old
+      West-Pointer and a professor of physics get together, they are sometimes
+      able to put two and two together. And, to tell the truth, I received a
+      letter from a member of your syndicate, who is also an acquaintance of
+      mine, which explained your position. Under the circumstances, I consider
+      your course to have been honorable. You and I were both in search of the
+      same thing, and now, as it appears, nature has sent an earthquake to do
+      our affair for us. No operations of ours could have achieved such a result
+      as last night&rsquo;s disturbance did; and if that do not prove effective,
+      nothing else will.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;If it turns out well, I was promised a share in the benefits,&rdquo; said
+      Freeman, &ldquo;and that would put me in a rather better condition, from a
+      worldly point of view.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;After all,&rdquo; interrupted Meschines, &ldquo;you found your way to the spot from
+      which the waters broke forth, and may fairly be entitled to the credit of
+      the discovery.&mdash;Eh, Trednoke? At any rate, we found nothing.&mdash;Yes,
+      I think they&rsquo;ll have to admit you to partnership, Harvey: and Miriam too,&mdash;who,
+      by the way, seems to be the only one who actually penetrated into this
+      cave you speak of. Maybe the removal of the chest pulled the plug out of
+      the bung-hole, as it were: the escape of confined air through such a vent
+      would be apt to draw water along with it. By the way, let&rsquo;s have a look at
+      this same chest: it looks solid enough to hold something valuable.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I would like, in the first place, to hear what General Trednoke has to
+      say about what I have told him,&rdquo; said Freeman, clearing his throat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Miriam,&rdquo; said the general, &ldquo;do you wish to be married to this young man?&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The old soldier was sitting with her hand in his, and he turned to her as
+      he spoke. She threw her arms round his neck, and pressed her face against
+      his shoulder. &ldquo;He is to me what you were to mamma,&rdquo; she said, so that only
+      he could hear.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Then be to him what she was to me,&rdquo; answered the general, kissing her.
+      &ldquo;Ah me, little girl! I am old, but perhaps this is the right way for me to
+      grow young again. Well, if you are of the same mind six months hence&mdash;&mdash;&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Worse; it will be much worse, then,&rdquo; murmured the professor. &ldquo;Better make
+      it three.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The chest was made of some alloy of steel and nickel, impervious to rust,
+      and very hard. It resisted all gentle methods of attack, and it was
+      finally found necessary to force the lock with a charge of powder. Within
+      was found another case, which was pried open with the point of the
+      general&rsquo;s bowie-knife.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was filled to the brim with precious stones, most of them removed from
+      their settings. But such of the gold-work as remained showed the jewels to
+      be of ancient Aztecan origin. There was value enough in the box to buy and
+      stock a dozen ranches as big as the general&rsquo;s, and leave heirlooms enough
+      to decorate a family larger than that of the most fruitful of the ancient
+      patriarchs.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;I call that quite a respectable dowry,&rdquo; remarked Meschines. &ldquo;Upon my
+      soul, Miriam, if I had known what you had up your sleeve, I should have
+      thought twice before allowing a &lsquo;civil engineer&rsquo;&mdash;do you remember?&mdash;to
+      run off with you so easily.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      At dawn, they prepared the body of old Kamaiakan for its interment. In
+      doing this, the professor noted the peculiar appearance of the corpse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;The flesh is absolutely withered,&rdquo; said he, &ldquo;especially those parts which
+      were uncovered. It must have been subjected to the action of some
+      destructive vapor or gas, fatal not only to breathe, but to come in
+      contact with. I have heard of poisonous emanations proceeding from the
+      ground in these regions, but I never saw an instance of their effects
+      before. That skull that you say you found, Harvey, was probably that of a
+      victim of the same cause. But it is strange that Miriam, who must have
+      remained some time in the very midst of it, should have escaped without a
+      mark, or even any inconvenience.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Kamaiakan ascribed it to the magic of the Golden Fleece,&rdquo; said Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Well,&rdquo; rejoined the other, &ldquo;he may have been right; but, for my part, the
+      only magic that I can find in it lies in the fact that it is made of pure
+      wool, which undoubtedly possesses remarkable sanative properties; or maybe
+      the fiery soul of Semitzin was powerful enough to repel all harmful
+      influences. The poor old fellow himself, being clad in cotton, and with no
+      soul but his own, was destroyed. Let us wrap him in his blanket, and bid
+      him farewell&mdash;and with him, I hope, to all that is uncanny and
+      abnormal in the lives of you young folks!&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The last rites having been paid to the dead, the party mounted their
+      horses and rode out of the gorge on to the long levels of the desert.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Who come yonder?&rdquo; said Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;A couple of Mexicans, I think,&rdquo; said the general.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;One of them is a woman,&rdquo; said Meschines.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;They look very weary,&rdquo; remarked Freeman.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Miriam fixed her eyes on the approaching pair for a moment, and then said,
+      &ldquo;They are Senor de Mendoza and Grace Parsloe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      And so, indeed, they were; and thus, in this lonely spot, all the dramatis
+      personae of this history found themselves united.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In answer to the obvious question, how Grace and De Mendoza happened to be
+      there, it transpired that, left to their own devices, they had undertaken
+      no less an enterprise than to discover the hidden treasure. Grace had
+      communicated to the Mexican such bits of information as she had picked up
+      and such surmises as she had formed, and he had been able to supplement
+      her knowledge to an extent that seemed to justify them in attempting the
+      adventure,&mdash;not to mention the fact that Don Miguel (such was the
+      ardor of his sentiment for Grace) would, had she desired it, have gone
+      with her into a fiery furnace or a den of lions. Grace, who was ambitious
+      as well as romantic, and who longed for the power and independence that
+      wealth would give, was all alight with the idea of capturing the hoard of
+      Montezuma: her social position would be altered at a stroke, and the world
+      would be at her feet. Whether she would then have rewarded Don Miguel for
+      his devotion, is possibly open to doubt: the sudden acquisition of
+      boundless wealth has been known to turn larger heads than hers.
+      Fortunately, however, this temptation was withheld from her: so far from
+      finding the treasure, she and Don Miguel very soon lost themselves in the
+      desert, and had been wandering about ever since, dolely uncomfortable, and
+      in no small danger of losing their lives. They were already at the end of
+      their last resource when they happened to encounter the other party, as we
+      have seen; and immeasurable was their joy at the unlooked-for deliverance.
+      So there was another halt, to enable them to rest and recuperate; and it
+      was not until the evening of that day that the journey was finally
+      resumed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Meanwhile, Grace had time to think over all that happened, and to arrive
+      at certain conclusions. She was at bottom a good girl, though liable to be
+      led away by her imagination, her vanity, and her temperament. Don Miguel&rsquo;s
+      best qualities had revealed themselves to her in the desert: he had always
+      thought of her before himself, had done all that in him lay to save her
+      from fatigue and suffering, and had stuck to her faithfully when he might
+      perhaps have increased his own chances of escape by abandoning her. Did
+      not such a man deserve to be rewarded?&mdash;especially as he was a
+      handsome fellow, of good family, and possessed of quite a respectable
+      income. Moreover, Harvey Freeman was now beyond her reach: he was going to
+      marry Miriam, and she had realized that her own brief infatuation for him
+      had had no very deep root after all. Accordingly, she smiled encouragingly
+      upon Don Miguel, and before they set out on their homeward ride she had
+      vouchsafed him the bliss of knowing that he might call her his.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The general, as her guardian, did not withhold his approval; but when
+      Grace drew him aside and besought him never to reveal to her intended the
+      fact that she had once been a shop-girl, the old warrior smiled.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;You can depend upon me to keep your secret, if you wish it, my dear,&rdquo;
+       said he; &ldquo;but I warn you that such concealments between husband and wife
+      are not wise. He loves you and would only love you the more for your
+      frankness in confessing what you seem to consider a discreditable episode:
+      though I for my part am free to tell you that you will be lucky if your
+      future life affords you the opportunity of doing anything else so much to
+      your credit. But the chances are that he will find it out sooner or later;
+      and that may not be so agreeable, either to him or to you. Better tell him
+      all now.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      But Grace pictured to herself the aristocratic pride of an hidalgo shocked
+      by the suggestion of the plebeianism of trade; and she would not consent
+      to the revelation. But the general&rsquo;s prediction was fulfilled sooner than
+      might have been expected.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For, after they were married, Don Miguel decided to visit the Atlantic
+      coast on the wedding journey; and one of the first notable places they
+      reached was, of course, New York. Don Miguel was delighted, and was never
+      weary of strolling up Fifth Avenue and down Broadway, with his beautiful
+      wife on his arm. He marvelled at the vast white pile of the Fifth Avenue
+      Hotel; he frowned at the Worth Monument; he stared inexhaustibly into the
+      shop-windows; he exclaimed with admiration at the stupendous piles of
+      masonry which contained the goods of New York&rsquo;s merchant princes. It
+      seemed to be his opinion that the possessors of so much palpable wealth
+      must be the true aristocracy of the country.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And one afternoon it happened that as they were strolling along Broadway,
+      between Twenty-third Street and Union Square, and were crossing one of the
+      side-streets, a horse belonging to one of Lord and Taylor&rsquo;s
+      delivery-wagons became frightened, and bolted round the corner. One of the
+      hind wheels of the vehicle came in contact with Grace&rsquo;s shoulder, and
+      knocked her down. The blow and the fall stunned her. Don Miguel&rsquo;s grief
+      and indignation were expressed with tropical energy; and a by-stander
+      said, &ldquo;Better carry her into the store, mister; it&rsquo;s their wagon run her
+      down, and they can&rsquo;t do less than look after her.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      The counsel seemed reasonable, and Don Miguel, with the assistance of a
+      policeman, lifted his wife and bore her into the stately shop. One of the
+      floor-walkers met them at the door; he cast a glance at their burden, and
+      exclaimed, &ldquo;Why, it&rsquo;s Miss Parsloe!&rdquo; And immediately a number of the
+      employees gathered round, all regarding her with interest and sympathy,
+      all anxious to help, and&mdash;which was what mystified Don Miguel&mdash;all
+      calling her by name! How came they to know Grace Parsloe? Nay, they even
+      glanced at Don Miguel, as if to ask what was HIS business with the
+      beautiful unconscious one!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;This lady are my wife,&rdquo; he said, with dignity. &ldquo;She not any more Miss
+      Parsloe.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      &ldquo;Oh, Grace has got married!&rdquo; exclaimed the young ladies, one to another;
+      and then an elderly man, evidently in authority, came forward and said, &ldquo;I
+      suppose you are aware, sir, that Miss Parsloe was formerly one of our
+      girls here; and a very clever and useful girl she was. I need not say how
+      sorry we are for this accident: I have sent for the physician: but I
+      cannot but be glad that the misfortune has at least given me the
+      opportunity of telling you how highly your wife was valued and respected
+      here.&rdquo;
+     </p>
+    <p>
+      At this juncture, Grace opened her eyes: she looked from one face to
+      another, and knew that fate had brought the truth to light. But the
+      physical shock tempered the severity of the mental one: besides, she could
+      not help being pleased at the sight of so many well-remembered and
+      friendly faces; and, finally, her husband did not look by any means so
+      angry and scandalized as she had feared he would. Indeed, he appeared
+      almost gratified. The truth probably was, he was flattered to see his wife
+      the centre of so much interest and attention, and at the discovery that
+      she had been in some way an honored appanage of so imposing an
+      establishment. So, by the time Grace was well enough to be driven back to
+      her hotel, the senor was prattling cheerfully and familiarly with all and
+      sundry, and was promising to bring his wife back there the next day, to
+      talk over old times with her former associates.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such was Grace&rsquo;s punishment: it was not very severe; but then her fault
+      had been a venial one; and the episode was of much moral benefit to her.
+      She liked her husband all the better for having nothing more to conceal
+      from him; her vanity was rebuked, and her false pride chastened; and when,
+      in after-years, her pretty daughters and black-haired sons gathered about
+      her knees, she was wont to warn them sagely against the un-American
+      absurdity of fearing to work for their living, or being ashamed to have it
+      known.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      But the married life of Miriam and Harvey Freeman was characteristically
+      American in its happiness. The representatives of the oldest and of the
+      latest inhabitants of this continent, their union seemed to produce the
+      flower of what was best in both. Their wedding is still remembered in that
+      region, as being everything that a Southern Californian wedding should be;
+      and the bride, as she stood at the altar, looked what she was,&mdash;one
+      of those women who, more than anything else in this world, are fitted to
+      bring back to earth the gentle splendors of the Garden of Eden. In her
+      dark eyes, as she fixed them upon Freeman, there was a mystic light,
+      telling of fathomless depths of tenderness and intelligence: it seemed to
+      her husband that love had expanded and uplifted her; or perhaps that other
+      spirit in her, which had battled with her own, had now become reconciled,
+      and therefore yielded up whatever it had of good and noble to aggrandize
+      the gentle victory of its conqueror. Somehow, somewhere, in Miriam&rsquo;s
+      nature, Semitzin lived; and, as a symbol of the peace and atonement that
+      were the issue of her strange interior story, her husband preserves with
+      reverence and affection the mysterious garment called the Golden Fleece.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
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+</pre>
+  </body>
+</html>
diff --git a/1614.txt b/1614.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c134aad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/1614.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,3718 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Fleece, by Julian Hawthorne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Golden Fleece
+
+Author: Julian Hawthorne
+
+Posting Date: October 5, 2008 [EBook #1614]
+Release Date: January, 1999
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN FLEECE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Charles Keller
+
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN FLEECE
+
+A Romance
+
+
+By Julian Hawthorne
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The professor crossed one long, lean leg over the other, and punched
+down the ashes in his pipe-bowl with the square tip of his middle
+finger. The thermometer on the shady veranda marked eighty-seven degrees
+of heat, and nature wooed the soul to languor and revery; but nothing
+could abate the energy of this bony sage.
+
+"They talk about their Atlantises,--their submerged continents!"
+he exclaimed, with a sniff through his wide, hairy nostrils. "Why,
+Trednoke, do you realize that we are living literally at the bottom of a
+Mesozoic--at any rate, Cenozoic--sea?"
+
+The gentleman thus indignantly addressed contemplated his questioner
+with the serenity of one conscious of freedom from geologic
+responsibility. He was a man of about the professor's age,--say, sixty
+years,--but not like him in appearance. His figure was stately and
+massive,--that of one who in his youth must have possessed vast physical
+strength, rigidly developed and disciplined. Well set upon his broad
+shoulders was a noble head, crowned with gray, wavy hair; the eyes and
+eyebrows were black and powerful, but the expression was kindly and
+humorous. His moustache and the Roman convexity of his chin would have
+confirmed your conviction that he was a retired warrior; in which you
+would have been correct, for General Trednoke always appeared what he
+was, both outwardly and inwardly. His great frame, clad in white linen,
+was comfortably disposed in a Japanese straw arm-chair; yet there was
+a soldierly poise in his attitude. He was smoking a large and excellent
+cigar; and a cup of coffee, with a tiny glass of cognac beside it, stood
+on a mahogany stand at his elbow.
+
+"Do you remember, Meschines, the time I licked you at school?" he
+inquired, in a tone of pleasant reminiscence.
+
+"I can't say I do. What's more, I venture to challenge your statement.
+And though you are a hundred pounds the better of me in weight, and a
+West Point graduate, I will wager my pipe (which is worth its weight in
+diamonds) against that old woollen shirt of Montezuma's that you showed
+me yesterday, that I can lick you to-day, and forget all about it before
+bedtime!"
+
+"Well, I guess you could," returned the general, with a little chuckle,
+"even if I hadn't that Mexican bullet in my leg. But you couldn't,
+forty-five years ago, though you tried, and though I was a year younger
+than you, and weighed five pounds less. Come, now: you don't mean to say
+you've forgotten Susan Brown!"
+
+"Oh--ah--hah! Susan Brown! Well, I declare! And what brought her into
+your head, I should like to know?"
+
+"Why, after breaking your heart first, and then mine, I lost sight of
+her, and I don't think I have seen her since. But it appears she was
+married to a fellow named Parsloe."
+
+"Don't fancy that name!" observed the professor, wagging his head and
+frowning. "Has a mean sound to it. But what of it?"
+
+"Well, she died,--rest her soul!--and Parsloe too. But they had a
+daughter, and she survives them."
+
+"And resembles her mother, eh?--No, Trednoke, the time for that sort of
+thing has gone by with me. Susan might have had me, five-and-forty years
+ago; but I can't undertake to revive my passion for the benefit of Mrs.
+Parsloe's daughter. Besides, I'm too busy to think of marriage, and
+not--not old enough!"
+
+At this tour de force, the general laughed softly, and finished his
+coffee. An old Indian, somewhat remarkable in appearance, with shaggy
+white hair hanging down on his shoulders, stepped forward from the room
+where he had been waiting, and removed the cup.
+
+"No letters yet, Kamaiakan?" asked the general, in Spanish.
+
+"In a few minutes, general," the other replied. "Pablo has just come in
+sight over the hill. There were several errands."
+
+"Muy buen!--I was going to say, Meschines, her father and mother left
+the girl poor, and she, being, apparently, clever and energetic, took
+to----"
+
+"I know!" the professor interrupted. "They all do it, when they are
+clever and energetic, and that's the end of them!--School-teaching!"
+
+"Not at all," returned General Trednoke. "She entered a dry-goods
+store."
+
+"Entered a dry-goods store! Well, there's nothing so extraordinary in
+that. I've seen quantities of women do it, of all ages, colors, and
+degrees. What did she buy there?"
+
+"Oh, a fiddlestick!" exclaimed the general. "Why don't you keep quiet
+and listen to my story? I say, she went into a great dry-goods store in
+New York, as sales-woman."
+
+"Bless my soul! You don't mean a shop-girl?"
+
+"That's what I said, isn't it? And why not?"
+
+"Oh, well!--but, shade of Susan Brown! Ichabod!--what is the feminine of
+Ichabod, by the way, Trednoke? But, seriously, it's too bad. Susan may
+have been fickle, but she was always aristocratic. And now her daughter
+is a shop-girl. You and I are avenged!"
+
+"You are just as ridiculous, Meschines, as you were thirty or fifty
+years ago," said the general, tranquilly. "You declaim for the sake
+of hearing your own voice. Besides, what you say is un-American. Grace
+Parsloe, as I was saying, got a place as shop-girl in one of the great
+New York stores. I don't say she mightn't have done worse: what I say
+is, I doubt whether she could have done better. That house--I know one
+of its founders, and I know what I'm talking about--is like an enormous
+family, where children are born, year after year, grow up, and take
+their places in life according to their quality and merit. What I mean
+is, that the boy who drives a wagon for them to-day, at three dollars
+a week, may control one of their chief departments, or even become a
+partner, before they're done with him; and, mutatis mutandis, the same
+with the girls. When these girls marry, it's apt to be into a higher
+rank of life than they were born in; and that fact, I take it, is a good
+indication that their shop-girl experience has been an education and an
+improvement. They are given work to do, suited to their capacity, be it
+small or great; they are in the way of learning something of the great
+economic laws; they learn self-restraint, courtesy, and----"
+
+"And human nature! Yes, poor things: they see the American buying-woman,
+and that is a discipline more trying than any you West Pointers know
+about! Oh, yes, I see your point. If the fathers of the big family ARE
+fathers, and the children ARE children to them... All the same, I fancy
+the young ladies, when they marry into the higher social circles, as
+you say they do, don't, as a rule, make their shop girl days a topic of
+conversation at five-o'clock teas, or put 'Ex-shop-girl to So-and-so' at
+the bottom of their visiting-cards."
+
+"I believe, after all, you're a snob, Meschines," said the general,
+pensively. "But, as I was about to say, when you interrupted me ten
+minutes ago, Grace Parsloe is coming on here to make us a visit. She
+fell ill, and her employers, after doing what could be done for her in
+the way of medical attendance, made up their minds to give her a change
+of climate. Now, you know, as she had originally gone to them with a
+letter from me, and as I live out here, on the borders of the Southern
+desert, in a climate that has no equal, they naturally thought of
+writing to me about it. And of course I said I'd be delighted to have
+her here, for a month, or a year, or whatever time it may be. She will
+be a pleasure to me, and a friend for Miriam, and she may find a husband
+somewhere up or down the coast, who will give her a fortune, and think
+all the better of her because she, like him, had the ability and the
+pluck to make her own way in the world."
+
+"Humph! When do you expect her?"
+
+"She may turn up any day. She is coming round by way of the Isthmus.
+From what I hear, she is really a very fine, clever girl. She held a
+responsible position in the shop, and----"
+
+"Well, let us sink the shop, and get back to the rational and
+instructive conversation that we--or, to be more accurate, that I was
+engaged in when this digression began. I presume you are aware that all
+the indications are lacustrine?"
+
+Hereupon, a hammock, suspended near the talkers, and filled with what
+appeared to be a bundle of lace and silken shawls, became agitated, and
+developed at one end a slender arched foot in an open-work silk stocking
+and sandal-slipper, and at the other end a dark, youthful, oval face,
+with glorious eyes and dull black hair. A voice of music asked,--
+
+"What is lacustrine, papa?"
+
+"Oh, so you are awake again, Senorita Miriam?"
+
+"I haven't been asleep. What is lacustrine?"
+
+"Ask the professor."
+
+"Lacus, you know, my dear," said the latter, "means fresh-water
+indications as against salt."
+
+"Then how does Great Salt Lake----"
+
+"Oh, for that matter, the whole ocean was fresh originally. Moisture,
+evaporation, precipitation. Water is a great solvent: earthquakes break
+the crust, and there you are!"
+
+"Then, before the earthquakes, the Salt Lakes were fresh?" rejoined the
+hammock.
+
+"There was fresh water west of the Rockies and south of---- Why," cried
+the professor, interrupting himself, "when I was in Wyoming and around
+there, this spring, in what they call the Bad Lands,--cliffs and buttes
+of indurated yellow clay and sandstone, worn and carved out by floods
+long before the Aztecs started to move out of Canada,--I saw fossil
+bones sticking out of the cliffs, the least of which would make the
+fortune of a museum. That was between the Rockies and the Wahsatch."
+
+"People's bones?" asked the hammock, agitating itself again, and showing
+a glimpse of a smooth throat and a slender ankle.
+
+"Bless my soul! If there were people in those days they must have had
+an anxious time of it!" returned the sage. "No, no, my dear. There
+was brontosaurus, and atlantosaurus, and hydrosaurus, and
+iguanodon,--lizards, you know, not like these little black fellows that
+run about in the pulverized feldspar here, but chaps eighty or a hundred
+feet long, and twenty or thirty high; and turtles, as big as a house."
+
+"How did they get there?"
+
+"Got mired while they were feeding, perhaps; or the water drained off
+and left them high and dry."
+
+"But where did the water go to?"
+
+The general chuckled at this juncture, and lit another cigar. "She
+knows more questions than you do the answers to them," quoth he. "But I
+wouldn't mind hearing where the water went to, myself. I should like to
+see some of it back again."
+
+"Ask the earthquakes, and the sun. There's a hundred and thirty degrees
+of heat in some of these valleys,--abysses, rather, three or four
+hundred feet below sea-level. The earth is very thin-skinned in this
+region, too, and whatever water wasn't evaporated from above would be
+likely to come to grief underneath."
+
+"But, professor," said the musical voice, "I thought there was a law
+that water always seeks its own level. So how can there be empty places
+below sea-level?"
+
+"It's the fault of the aneroid barometer, my dear. We were very
+comfortable and commonplace until that came along and revealed
+anomalies. The secret lies, I suppose, in the trend of the strata,
+which is generally north and south. You see the ridges cropping out all
+through the desert; and there's a good deal of lava oozing over them,
+too. They probably act as walls, to prevent the sea getting in from the
+west, or the Colorado leaking in from the east."
+
+"In that case," remarked the general, "a little more seismic disturbance
+might produce a change."
+
+"It would have to be more than a little, I suspect," returned Meschines.
+
+"Kamaiakan told me that the Indians have a prophecy that a great lake
+will come back and make the desert fruitful, and that there are some who
+know the very place where the water will begin to flow." And here the
+hammock, with a final convulsion, gave birth to a beautiful young woman,
+in a diaphanous silk dress and a white lace mantilla. She crossed the
+veranda, and seated herself on the broad arm of her father's chair.
+
+"Why, that's important!" said the general, arching his brows. "I wonder
+if Kamaiakan is one of those who know the place? If so, it might be
+worth his while to let me into the secret."
+
+"Oh, you couldn't go there! It's enchanted, and people who go near it
+die. There are bones all about there, now."
+
+"This Kamaiakan appears to be a remarkable personage: where did you pick
+him up?" inquired the professor.
+
+"It was rather the other way," Trednoke replied, taking one of his
+daughter's hands in his, and caressing it. "We are appendages to
+Kamaiakan. You look so natural, sitting there, Meschines, that I forget
+it's thirty years since we met, and that all the significant events of
+my life have happened in that time,--the Mexican war, my marriage, and
+the rest of it! I have been a widower ten years."
+
+"And I've been a bachelor for over sixty!" said Meschines, with a queer
+expression. "Your wife was Spanish, was she not?"
+
+"Her father was a Mexican of Andalusian descent. But her mother was
+descended from the race of Azatlan: there are records and relics
+indicating that her ancestors were princes in Tenochtitlan before Cortez
+made trouble there."
+
+"And I've been losing my heart to a princess, and never realized my
+audacity!" exclaimed the professor, laying his hand on his waistcoat and
+making an obeisance to Miriam.
+
+She tossed her free foot, and played with the fringe of her reboso.
+
+"I will tell my maid to look for it," she said; "but I think you must
+have left it in papa's curiosity-room."
+
+"No: I'm an Aztec sacrifice!" cried the professor; and they all
+laughed. "One would hardly have anticipated," he resumed after a pause,
+addressing Trednoke, "that you would have made a double conquest,--first
+of the men, and then of the woman!"
+
+"The woman conquered me, without trying or wishing to, and then, because
+she was a woman, took compassion on me. Whether my country has benefited
+much by the Mexican annexation, I can't say; but I know Inez--made a
+heaven on earth for me," concluded the general, in a low voice. His
+countenance, at this moment, wore a solemn and humble expression,
+beautiful to see; and Miriam bent and laid her cheek against his.
+Meschines knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and sighed.
+
+"No woman ever took compassion on me," he remarked, "and you see the
+result,--ashes!"
+
+"Ashes,--with their wonted fires living in them," said Trednoke.
+
+"We were talking about this Indian of yours," said Meschines.
+
+"Ay, to be sure. Well, he was attached to Inez's family when I first
+knew them. It was a peculiar relation; not like that of a servant. One
+finds such things in Mexico. The conquered race were of as good strain
+as their conquerors; the blood of Montezuma was as blue as the best
+of the Castilian. There were many intermarriages; and there are many
+instances of the survival of traditions and records; though the records
+are often symbolic, and would have no meaning to persons not initiated.
+But they have been sufficient to perpetuate ties of a personal nature
+through generation after generation; and the alliance between Kamaiakan
+and Inez was of this kind. His forefathers, I imagine, were priests, and
+priests were a mighty power in Tenochtitlan. For aught I know, indeed
+Kamaiakan may be an original priest of Montezuma's; no one knows his
+age, but he does not look an hour older, to-day, than when I first saw
+him, over twenty years ago."
+
+"He must be!" said Miriam, with some positiveness. "He has told me of
+seeing and doing things hundreds of years ago. And he says----" She
+paused.
+
+"What does he say, Nina adorada?" asked her father.
+
+"It was about the treasure, you know."
+
+"Let us hear. The professor is one of us."
+
+"It's one of our traditions that my mother's ancestors, at the time of
+Cortez, were very rich people," continued Miriam, glancing at Meschines,
+and then letting her eyes wander across the garden, blooming with
+roses and fragrant with orange-trees, and so across the trellised vines
+towards the soft outline of the mountains eastward. "A great part of
+their wealth was in the form of jewels and precious stones. When Cortez
+took the city, one of the priests, who was a relative of our family, put
+the jewels in a box, and hid them in a certain place in the desert."
+
+"And does Kamaiakan know where the place is?" asked the general.
+
+"He can know, when the time comes."
+
+"Which will be, perhaps, when you are ready for your dowry," observed
+the professor, genially.
+
+"A spell was put upon the spot," Miriam went on, with a certain
+imaginative seriousness; for she loved romance and mystery so well, and
+was of a temperament so poetical, that the wildest fairy-tales had a
+sort of reality for her. "No one can find the treasure while the spell
+remains. But Kamaiakan understands the spell, and the conjuration which
+dissolves it; and when he dissolves it, the treasure will be found."
+
+"And, between ourselves," added the general, "Kamaiakan is himself the
+priestly relative by whom the spell was wrought. He bears an enchanted
+life, which cannot cease until he has restored the jewels to Miriam's
+hands."
+
+"There might be something in it, you know," said Meschines, after a
+pause. "The treasures of Montezuma have never been found. Is there no
+old chart or writing, in your collection of curiosities and relics, that
+might throw light on it?"
+
+"The scriptures of Anahuac were of the hieroglyphic
+type,--picture-writing," replied the other. "No, I fear there is nothing
+to the purpose; and if there were, I shouldn't know how to decipher it."
+
+"But, papa, the tunic!" exclaimed Miriam.
+
+"Oh! has the tunic anything to do with it?"
+
+"Is that the queer woollen garment with the gold embroidery?" inquired
+the professor, becoming more interested. "I took a fancy to that, you
+remember. Has it a story?"
+
+"Well, it is a kind of an anomaly, I believe," the general answered,
+looking up at his daughter with a smile. "The Aztecs, you are aware,
+dressed chiefly in cotton. Even their defensive armor was of cotton,
+thickly quilted. Their ornaments were feathers, and embroidery of gold
+and precious stones. But wool, for some reason, they didn't wear; and
+yet this garment, as you can see for yourself, is pure wool; and that it
+is also pure Aztecan is beyond question."
+
+"Admitting that, what clue does it give to the treasure?"
+
+"You must ask Kamaiakan," said Miriam: "only, he wouldn't tell you."
+
+"Possibly," the professor suggested, "the place where the treasure is
+hidden is the place whence the water is to flow out; and the water is
+the treasure."
+
+"Seriously, do you suppose that such a phenomenon as the return of an
+inland sea is physically practicable?" asked Trednoke.
+
+"No phenomenon, in this part of the world, would surprise me," returned
+Meschines. "The Colorado might break its barriers; or it is conceivable
+that some huge stream, taking its rise in the heights hundreds of miles
+north and east of us, may be flowing through subterranean passages into
+the sea, emerging from the sea-bottom hundreds of miles to the westward.
+Now, if a rattling good earthquake were to happen along, you might awake
+in the morning to find yourself on an island, or even under water."
+
+"A moderate Mediterranean would satisfy me," the general said. "I
+wouldn't exchange the certainty of it for the treasures of Montezuma."
+
+"The thirst for gold and for water are synonymous in your case?"
+
+"Give this section a moist climate, and I needn't tell you that the
+Great American Desert would literally blossom as the rose. Even as
+it is, I expect a great deal of it will be redeemed by scientific
+irrigation. The soil only needs water to become inexhaustibly
+productive. Our desert, as you know, is not sand, like parts of the
+Sahara; it has all the ingredients that go to nourish plants, only their
+present powdery condition makes them unavailable. Now, I can, to-day,
+buy a hundred square miles of desert for a few dollars. You see the
+point, don't you?"
+
+"And all you want is expert opinion as to the likelihood of finding
+water?"
+
+"The man who solves that question for me in the affirmative is welcome
+to half my share of the results that would ensue from it."
+
+"Why don't you engage some expert to investigate?"
+
+"One can't always trust an expert. I don't mean as to his expertness
+only, but as to his good faith. He might prefer to sell the idea to
+somebody who could pay cash,--which I cannot."
+
+"Why, you seem to have given this thing a good deal of thought,
+Trednoke."
+
+"Well, yes: it has been my hobby for a year past; and I have made some
+investigations myself. But this is the first time I have spoken of it to
+any one."
+
+"I understand. And what of the investigations?"
+
+"I can say that I found enough to interest me. I'll tell you about
+it some time. I should be glad to leave Miriam something to make her
+independent."
+
+"I should say that her Creator had already done that!" said Meschines.
+"By the way, I know a young fellow--if he were only here--who is just
+the man you want, and can be trusted. He's a civil engineer,--Harvey
+Freeman: the Lord only knows in what part of the world he is at this
+speaking. He has made a special study of these subterranean matters."
+
+"Don't you remember, papa, Coleridge's poem of Kubla Khan?--
+
+     "Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
+     Through caverns measureless to man
+          Down to a sunless sea!"
+
+
+"Our sacred river, when we find it, shall be named Miriam."
+
+"It ought to be Kamaiakan," she rejoined; "for, if anybody finds it, it
+will be he."
+
+"I think I hear the wings of the angel of whom we have been speaking,"
+said the general. "Yes, here he is; and he has got the letters. Let us
+see! One for you Meschines. And this, I see, is from our friend Miss
+Parsloe, postmarked Santa Barbara. Why, she'll be here to-morrow, at
+that rate."
+
+"Here's a queer coincidence!" exclaimed the professor, who had meanwhile
+opened his envelope and glanced through the contents. "The very man I
+was speaking of,--Harvey Freeman! Says he is in this neighborhood, has
+heard I'm here, and is coming down to pay me a visit. Methinks I hear
+the rolling of the sacred river!"
+
+"But you won't mention it to him, until----"
+
+"Bless me! Of course not. I'll bring him over here, in the course
+of human events, and you can take a look at him, and act on your own
+intuitions. I won't say on Princess Miriam's, for Harvey is a very
+fine-looking fellow, and her intuitions might get confused."
+
+"A civil engineer!" said Miriam, with an intonation worthy of the
+daughter of a West-Pointer and the descendant of an Aztec prince.
+
+Kamaiakan (who spoke only Spanish) had been gathering up some cushions
+that had fallen out of the hammock. Having replaced them, and cast a
+quick glance at Meschines, he withdrew.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The Southern Pacific Railway passes, today, not far from the site of
+General Trednoke's ranch. But the events now to be narrated occurred
+some years before the era of transcontinental railroads: they were in
+the air, but not yet bolted down to the earth. The general, therefore,
+was a pioneer, and was by no means overrun with friends from the East in
+search of an agreeable winter climate. The easiest way to reach him--if
+you were not pressed for time--was round the cape which forms the
+southernmost point of South America and sticks its sharp snout
+inquiringly into the Antarctic solitudes, as if it scented something
+questionable there. The speediest route, though open to strange
+discomforts, was by way of the Isthmus; and then there were always
+the saddle, the wagon, and the stage, with the accompaniments of
+road-agents, tornadoes, deserts, and starvation.
+
+Miss Grace Parsloe came via the Isthmus; and the latter part of her
+journey had been alleviated by the society of a young gentleman from New
+York, Freeman by name. There were other passengers on the vessel; but
+these two discovered sympathies of origin and education which made
+companionship natural. They sat together at table, leaned side by side
+over the taffrail, discussed their fellow-travellers, and investigated
+each other. As he lolled on the bench with folded arms and straw hat
+tilted back from his forehead she, glancing side-long, as her manner
+was, saw a sunburnt aquiline nose, a moustache of a lighter brown than
+the visage which it decorated, a lean, strong jaw, and a muscular neck.
+His forehead, square and impending, was as white as ivory in comparison
+with the face below; his hair, in accordance with the fashion introduced
+by the late war, was cropped close. But what especially moved Miss Grace
+were those long, lazy blue eyes, which seemed to tolerate everything,
+but to be interested in nothing,--hardly even in her. Now, Grace could
+not help knowing she was a pretty girl, and it was somewhat of a novelty
+to her that Freeman should appear so indifferent. It would have been
+difficult to devise a better opportunity than this to monopolize
+masculine admiration, and she fell to speculating as to what sort of
+an experience Mr. Freeman must have had, so to panoply him against her
+magic. On the other hand, she was the recipient of whatever attentions
+he could bring himself to detach from the horizon-line, or from his
+own thoughts (which appeared to amount, practically, to about the same
+thing). She had no other rivals; and a woman will submit amiably to a
+good deal of indifference, provided she be assured that no other woman
+is enjoying what she lacks.
+
+Freeman, for his part, had nothing to complain of. Grace Parsloe was
+a singularly pretty girl. Singular properly qualifies her. She was not
+like the others,--by which phrase he epitomized the numerous comely
+young women whom he had, at various times and in several countries,
+attended, teased, and kissed. Both physically and mentally, she was very
+fine-wrought. Her bones were small; her body and limbs were slender, but
+beautifully fashioned. She was supple and vigorous. Grace is a product
+of brain as well as an effect of bodily symmetry: Grace had the quality
+on both counts. She answered to one's conception of Mahomet's houris,
+assuming that the conception is not of a fat person. Her head was small,
+but well proportioned,--compact as to the forehead, rather broad across
+the cheek-bones, thence tapering to the chin. Her eyes were blue, but of
+an Eastern strangeness of shape and setting; they were subject to great
+and sudden changes of expression, depending, apparently, on the varying
+state of her emotions, and betraying an intensity more akin to the
+Oriental temperament than to ours. There was in her something subtle
+and fierce; yet overlaying it, like a smooth and silken skin, were the
+conventional polish and bearing of an American school graduate. She was,
+in deed, noticeably artificial and self-conscious in manner and in the
+intonations of her speech; though it was an aesthetic delight to see
+her move or pose, and the quality of her voice was music's self. But
+Freeman, after due meditation, came to the conclusion that this was the
+outcome of her recognition of her own singularity: in trying to be like
+other people, she fell into caricature. Freeman, somehow, liked her
+the better for it. Like most men of brain and pith, who have seen and
+thought much, he was thankful for a new thing, because, so far as it
+went, it renewed him. It pleased him to imagine that he could, with a
+word or a look, cause this veil of artifice to be thrown aside, and the
+primitive passion and fierceness behind it to start forth. He allowed
+himself to imagine, with a certain satisfaction, that were he to make
+this young woman jealous she would think nothing of thrusting a dagger
+between his ribs. Reality,--what a delight it is! The actual touch and
+feeling of the spontaneous natural creature have been so buried beneath
+centuries of hypocrisy and humbug that we have ceased to believe in them
+save as a metaphysical abstraction. But even as water, long depressed
+under-ground in perverse channels, surges up to the surface, and above
+it, at last, in a fountain of relief, so Nature, after enduring ages
+of outrage and banishment, leaps back to her rightful domain in some
+individual whom we call extraordinary because he or she is natural.
+Grace Parsloe did not seem (regarded as to her temperament and quality)
+to belong where she was: therefore she was a delightful incident there.
+Had she been met with in the days of the Old Testament, or in the depths
+of Persia or India at the present time, even, she might have appeared
+commonplace. But here she was in conventional costume, with conventional
+manners. And, just as the nautch-girls, and other Oriental dancers and
+posturers, wear a costume which suggests nature more effectively than
+does nature itself, so did Grace's conventionality suggest to Freeman
+the essential absence of conventionality more forcibly than if he had
+seen her clad in a turban and translucent caftan, dancing off John the
+Baptist's head, or driving a nail into that of Sisera. Grace certainly
+owed much of her importance to her situation, which rendered her foreign
+and piquante. But, then, everything, in this world, is relative.
+
+Racial types seem to be a failure: when they become very marked, the
+race deteriorates or vanishes. In the counties of England, after only
+a thousand years, the women you meet in the rural districts and country
+towns all look like sisters. The Asiatics, of course, are much more
+sunk in type than the Anglo-Saxons; and they show us the way we would be
+going. Only, there is hope in rapid transit and the cosmopolitan spirit,
+and especially in these United States, which bring together the ends
+of the earth, and place side by side a descendant of the Puritans like
+Freeman, and a daughter of Irak-Ajemi.
+
+"What are you coming to California for, Mr. Freeman?"
+
+Freeman had already told her what he had been in the Isthmus for,--to
+paddle in miasmatic swamps with a view to the possibility of a canal
+in the remote, speculative future. He had given her a graphic and
+entertaining picture of the hideous and inconceivable life he had led
+there for six months, from which he had emerged the only member of a
+party of nineteen (whites, blacks, and yellows) who was not either dead
+by disease, by violence, or by misadventure, or had barely escaped with
+life and a shattered constitution. Freeman, after emerging from the
+miasmatic hell and lake of Gehenna, had taken a succession of baths,
+with soap and friction, had been attended by a barber and a tailor, and
+had himself attended the best table to be found for love or money in the
+charming town of Panama. He had also spent more than half of the week
+of his sojourn there in sleep; and he was now in the best possible
+condition, physical and mental,--though not, he admitted, pecuniary. As
+to morals, they had not reached that discussion yet. But, in all that
+he did say, Freeman exhibited perfect unreserve and frankness, answering
+without hesitation or embarrassment any question she chose to ask (and
+she asked some curious ones).
+
+But when she asked him such an innocent thing as what he was after in
+California--an inquiry, by the way, put more in idleness than out of
+curiosity--Freeman stroked his yellow moustache with the thumb of the
+hand that held his Cuban cigarette, gazed with narrowed eyelids at the
+horizon, and for some time made no reply at all. Finally he said that
+California was a place he had never visited, and that it would be a pity
+to have been so near it and yet not have improved the opportunity of
+taking a look at it.
+
+Grace instantly scented a mystery, and was not less promptly resolved
+to fathom it. And what must be the nature of a mystery attaching to a
+handsome man, unmarried, and evidently no stranger to the gentler sex?
+Of course there must be a woman in it! Her eyes glowed with azure fire.
+
+"You have some acquaintances in California, I suppose?" she said, with
+an air of laborious indifference.
+
+"Well,--yes; I believe I have," Freeman admitted.
+
+"Have they lived there long?"
+
+"No; not over a few months. I accidentally heard from a person in
+Panama. I dropped a line to say I might turn up."
+
+"She----you haven't had time to get an answer, then?"
+
+Freeman inhaled a deep breath through his cigarette, tilted his head
+back, and allowed the smoke to escape slowly through his nostrils. In
+this manner, familiar to his deep-designing sex, he concealed a smile.
+Grace was, in some respects, as transparent as she was subtle. So long
+as the matter in hand did not touch her emotions, she had no difficulty
+in maintaining a deceptive surface; but emotion she could not disguise,
+though she was probably not aware of the fact; for emotion has a
+tendency to shut one's own eyes and open what they can no longer see in
+one's self to the gaze of outsiders.
+
+"No," he said, when he had recovered his composure. "But that won't make
+any difference. We are on rather intimate terms, you see."
+
+"Oh! Is it long since you have met?"
+
+"Pretty long; at least it seems so to me."
+
+Grace turned, and looked full at her companion. He did not meet her
+glance, but kept his profile steadily opposed, and went on smoking with
+a dreamy air, as if lost in memories and anticipations, sad, yet sweet.
+
+"Really, Mr. Freeman, I hardly thought--you have always seemed to care
+so little about anything--I didn't suspect you of so much sentiment."
+
+"I am like other men," he returned, with a sigh. "My affections are
+not given indiscriminately; but when they are given,--you
+understand,--I----"
+
+"Oh, I understand: pray don't think it necessary to explain. I'm
+sure I'm very far from wishing to listen to confidences about
+another,--to----"
+
+"Yes, but I like to talk about it," interposed Freeman, earnestly.
+"I haven't had a chance to open my heart, you know, for at least six
+months. And though you and I haven't known each other long, I believe
+you to be capable of appreciating what a man feels when he is on his way
+to meet some one who----"
+
+"Thank you! You are most considerate! But I shall be additionally
+obliged if you would tell me in what respect I can have so far forgotten
+myself as to lead you to think me likely to appreciate anything of the
+kind. I assure you, Mr. Freeman, I have never cared for any one; and
+nothing I have seen since I left home makes it probable that I shall
+begin now."
+
+"I am sorry to hear that," said Freeman, slowly drawing another
+cigarette out of his bundle, and beginning to re-roll it with a dejected
+air.
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Yes: the fact is, I had hoped that you had begun to have a little
+friendly feeling for me. I am more than ready to reciprocate."
+
+"I hope you will spare me any insults, sir. I have no one to protect me,
+but----"
+
+"I assure you, I mean no insult. You cannot help knowing that I think
+you as beautiful and fascinating a woman as I have ever met; but of
+course you can't help being beautiful and fascinating. Do I insult you
+by having eyes? If so, I am sorry, but you will have to make the best of
+it."
+
+With this, he turned in his seat, and calmly confronted her. Beautiful
+she certainly was, at that moment; but it was the beauty of an angry
+serpent. She had a pencil in her hand, with which, a little while
+before, she had been sketching heads of some of the passengers in her
+little notebook. She was now handling this inoffensive object in such
+a way as to justify the fancy that, had it been charged with a deadly
+poison in its point, instead of with a bit of plumbago of the HH
+quality, she would have driven it into Freeman's heart then and there.
+
+"Is it no insult," said she, in a sibilant voice, "to talk to me as you
+are doing, when you have just told me that you love another woman, and
+are going to meet her?"
+
+Freeman's brows gradually knitted themselves in a frown of apparent
+perplexity. "I must say I don't understand you," he observed, at length.
+"I am quite sure I have said nothing of the sort. How could I?"
+
+"If you wish to quibble about words, perhaps not. But was not that your
+meaning?"
+
+"No, it wasn't. You are the only woman who has been in my thoughts
+to-day."
+
+"Mr. Freeman!"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"You have intimated very clearly that you are engaged--married, for
+aught I know--to a woman whom you are now on your way to meet----"
+
+At this point she stopped. Freeman had interrupted her with a shout of
+laughter.
+
+She had been very pale. She now flushed all over her face, and jumped to
+her feet.
+
+"Sit down," he said, laying a hand on her dress and (aided by a lurch of
+the vessel) pulling her into her seat again, "and listen to me. And then
+I shall insist upon an apology. This is too much!"
+
+"I shall ask the captain----"
+
+"You will not, I promise you. Look here! When I was in Panama, I met
+there a fellow I used to know in New York. He told me that he had
+recently crossed the continent with Professor Meschines, who used to
+teach geology and botany at Yale College, when he and I were students
+there. The professor had come over partly for the fun of the thing, and
+partly to look for specimens in the line of his profession. My friend
+parted from him at San Francisco: the professor was going farther
+south."
+
+"What has all this to do with the woman who----"
+
+"It has this to do with it,--that the professor is the woman! He is over
+sixty years old, and has always been a good friend of mine; but I am not
+going to marry him. I am not engaged to him, he is not beautiful, nor
+even fascinating, except in the way of an elderly man of science. And
+he is the only human being, besides yourself, that I know or have ever
+heard of on the Pacific coast. Now for your apology!"
+
+Grace emitted a long breath, and sank back in her seat, with her hands
+clasped in her lap. She raised her hands and covered her face with them.
+She removed them, sat erect, and bent an open-eyed, intent gaze upon her
+companion.
+
+After this pantomime, she exclaimed, in the lowest and most musical of
+tones, "Oh! how hateful you are!" Then she cried out with animation,
+"I believe you did it on purpose!" Finally, she sank back again, with a
+soft laugh and sparkling eyes, at the same time stretching out her right
+arm towards him and placing her hand on his, with a whispered, "There,
+then!"
+
+Freeman, accepting the hand for the apology, kissed it, and continued to
+hold it afterwards.
+
+"Am I not a little goose?" she murmured.
+
+"You certainly are," replied Freeman.
+
+"You mustn't hold my hand any more."
+
+"Do you mean to withdraw your apology?"
+
+"N--no; but it doesn't follow that----"
+
+"Oh, yes, it does. Besides, when a man receives such a delicate,
+refined, graceful, exquisite apology as this,"--here he lifted the hand,
+looked at it critically, and bestowed another kiss upon it,--"he would
+be a fool not to make the most of it."
+
+"Ah, I'm afraid you're dangerous. You are well named--Freeman!"
+
+"My name is Harvey: won't you call me by it?"
+
+"Oh, I can't!"
+
+"Try! Would it make it easier if I were to call you by yours?"
+
+"Mine is Miss Parsloe."
+
+"Pooh! How can that be your name which you are going to change so soon?
+When I look at you, I see your name; when I think of you, I say it to
+myself,--Grace!"
+
+"How do you know I am going to change my name soon--or ever?"
+
+"Whom are you talking to?"
+
+"To you,--Harvey! Oh!" She snatched her hand away and pressed it over
+her lips.
+
+"How do I know you are beautiful, Grace, and--irresistible?"
+
+"But I'm not! You're making fun of me! Besides, I'm twenty."
+
+"How many times have you been engaged?"
+
+"Never. Nobody wants to be engaged to a poor girl. Oh me!"
+
+"Do you know what you are made of, Grace? Fire and flowers! Few men in
+the world are men enough to be a match for you. But what have you been
+doing with yourself all this time? Why do you come to a place like
+this?"
+
+"Maybe I had a presentiment that... What nonsense we are talking! But
+what you said reminds me. It's the strangest coincidence!"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Your Professor Meschines----"
+
+"On the contrary, he is a most matter-of-fact old gentleman."
+
+"Do be quiet, and listen to me! When my mamma was a girl in school,
+there were two boys there,--it was a boy-and-girls' school,--and they
+were great friends. But they both fell in love with my mamma----"
+
+"I can understand that," put in Freeman.
+
+"How do you know I am like my mamma? Well, as I was saying, they both
+fell in love with her, and quarrelled with each other, and had a fight.
+The boy that won the fight is the man to whose house I am going."
+
+"Then he didn't marry your mamma?"
+
+"Oh, no; that was only a childish affair, and she married another man."
+
+"The one who got thrashed?"
+
+"Of course not. But the one who got thrashed is your Professor
+Meschines."
+
+"I see! The poor old professor! And he has remained a bachelor all his
+life."
+
+"Mamma has often told me the story, and that the Trednoke boy went to
+West Point, and distinguished himself in the Mexican war, and married a
+Mexican woman, and the Meschines boy became a professor in Yale College.
+And now I am going to see one of them, and you to see the other. Isn't
+that a coincidence?"
+
+"The first of a long series, I trust. Is this West-Pointer a permanent
+settler here?"
+
+"Yes, for ever so long,--twenty years. He's a widower, but he has a
+daughter---- Oh, I know you'll fall in love with her!"
+
+"Is she like you?"
+
+"I don't know. I've never seen her, or General Trednoke either."
+
+"Come to think of it, though, nobody is like you, Grace. Now, will you
+be so good as to apologize again?"
+
+"Don't you think you're rather exacting, Harvey?"
+
+However, the apology was finally repeated, and continued, more or less,
+during the rest of the voyage; and Grace quite forgot that she had never
+made Harvey tell what was really the cause of his coming to California.
+But she, on her side, had a secret. She never allowed him to suspect
+that the past eighteen months of her life had been passed as employee in
+a New York dry-goods store.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+General Trednoke's house was built by Spanish missionaries in the
+sixteenth century; and in its main features it was little altered in
+three hundred years. In a climate where there is no frost, walls of
+adobe last as long as granite. The house consisted, practically, of but
+one story; for although there were rooms under the roof, they were used
+only for storage; no one slept in them. The plan of the building was
+not unlike that of a train of railway-cars,--or, it might be more
+appropriate to say, of emigrant-wagons. There was a series of rooms,
+ranged in a line, access to them being had from a narrow corridor,
+which opened on the rear veranda. Several of the rooms also communicated
+directly with each other, and, through low windows, gave on the veranda
+in front; for the house was merely a comparatively narrow array of
+apartments between two broad verandas, where most of the living,
+including much of the sleeping, was done.
+
+Logically, there can be nothing uglier than a Spanish-American dwelling
+of this type. But, as a matter of fact, they appear seductively
+beautiful. The thick white walls acquire a certain softness of tone; the
+surface scales off here and there, and cracks and crevices appear. In
+a damp country, like England, they would soon become covered with moss;
+but moss is not to be had in this region, though one were to offer for
+it the price of the silk velvet, triple ply, which so much resembles
+it. Nevertheless, there are compensations. The soil is inexhaustibly
+fertile, and its fertility expresses itself in the most inveterate
+beauty. Such colors and varieties of flowers exist nowhere else, and
+they continue all the year round. Climbing vines storm the walls, and
+toss their green ladders all over it, for beauty to walk up and down.
+Huge jars, standing on the verandas, emit volcanoes of lovely blossoms;
+and vases swung from the roof drip and overflow with others, as if water
+had turned to flowers. In the garden, which extends over several acres
+at the front of the house, and, as it were, makes it an island in
+a gorgeous sea of petals, there are roses, almonds, oranges, vines,
+pomegranates, and a hundred rivals whose names are unknown to the
+present historian, marching joyfully and triumphantly through the
+seasons, as the symphony moves through changes along its central theme.
+
+Everything that is not an animal or a mineral seems to be a flower.
+There are too many flowers,--or, rather, there is not enough of anything
+else. The faculty of appreciation wearies, and at last ceases to
+take note. It is like conversing with a person whose every word is
+an epigram. The senses have their limitations, and imagination and
+expectation are half of beauty and delight, and the better half;
+otherwise we should have no souls. A single violet, discovered by chance
+in the by-ways of an April forest in New England, gives a pleasure
+as poignant as, and more spiritual than, the miles upon miles of
+Californian splendors.
+
+Monotony is the ruling characteristic,--monotony of beauty, monotony
+of desolation, monotony even of variety. The glorious blue overhead
+is monotonous: as for the thermometer, it paces up and down within the
+narrowest limits, like a prisoner in his cell, or a meadow-lark hopping
+to and fro in a seven-inch cage. The plan and aspect of the buildings
+are monotonous, and so is the way of life of those who inhabit them.
+Fortunately, the sun does rise and set in Southern California: otherwise
+life there would be at an absolute stand-still, with no past and no
+future. But, as it is, one can look forward to morning, and remember the
+evening.
+
+Then, there are the not infrequent but seldom very destructive
+earthquakes; the occasional cloud-bursts and tornadoes, sudden and
+violent as a gunpowder-explosion; and, finally, the astounding contrast
+between the fertile regions and the desert. There are places where you
+can stand with one foot planted in everlasting sterility and the other
+in immortal verdure. In the midst of an arid and hopeless waste, you
+come suddenly upon the brink of a narrow ravine, sharply defined as
+if cut out with an axe, and packed to the brim with enchanting and
+voluptuous fertility. Or you will come upon mountains which sweep upward
+out of burning death into sumptuous life. When the monotony of life
+meets the monotony of death, Southern California becomes a land of
+contrasts; and the contrasts themselves become monotonous.
+
+General Trednoke's ranch was very near the borders of these two mighty
+forces. An hour's easy ride would carry him to a region as barren
+and apparently as irreclaimable as that through which Childe Roland
+journeyed in quest of the Dark Tower; lying, too, in a temperature so
+fiery that it coagulated the blood in the veins, and stopped the beating
+of the heart. Underfoot were fine dust, and whitened bones; the air
+was prismatic and magical, ever conjuring up phantom pictures, whose
+characteristic was that they were at the farthest remove from any
+possible reality. The azure sky descended and became a lake; the
+pulsations of the atmosphere translated themselves into the rhythmic
+lapse of waves; spikes of sage-brush and blades of cactus became sylvan
+glades, and hamlets cheerful with inhabitants. Only, all was silent; and
+as you drew near, the scene trembled, altered, and was gone!
+
+Hideous black lizards and horned toads crawl and hop amid this
+desolation; and the deadly little sidewinder rattlesnake lies basking in
+the blaze of sunshine, which it distils into venom. Sometimes the level
+plain is broken up into savage ridges and awful canons, along whose arid
+bottoms no water streams. As you stagger through their chaotic bottoms,
+you see vast boulders poised overhead, tottering to a fall; a shiver
+of earthquake, a breath of hurricane, and they come crashing and
+splintering in destruction down. Along the sides of these acclivities
+extend long, level lines and furrows, marks of where the ocean flowed
+ages ago. But sometimes the hills are but accumulations of desert dust,
+which shift slowly from place to place under the action of the wind,
+melting away here to be re-erected yonder; mounding themselves, perhaps,
+above a living and struggling human being, to move forward, anon,
+leaving where he was a little heap of withered bones. A fearful place is
+this broad abyss, where once murmured the waters of a prehistoric sea.
+Let us return to the cool and fragrant security of the general's ranch.
+
+At right angles to the main body of the house extend two wings,
+thus forming three sides of a square, the interior of which is the
+court-yard. Here the business of the establishment is conducted. It is
+the liveliest spot on the premises; though it is liveliness of a very
+indolent sort. The veranda built around these sides is twenty feet
+in breadth, paved with tiles that have been worn into hollows by
+innumerable lazy footsteps, mostly shoeless, for this side of the house
+is frequented chiefly by the servants of the place, who are Mexican
+Indians. Ancient wooden settles are bolted to the walls; from hooks hang
+Indian baskets of bright colors; in one corner are stretched raw hides,
+which serve as beds. Small brown children, half naked, trot, clamber,
+and crawl about. Black-haired, swarthy women squat on the tiled floor,
+pursuing their vocations, or, often, doing nothing at all beyond
+continuing a placid organic existence. Boys and men saunter in and out
+of the court-yard, chatting or calling in their musical patois; once
+in a while there is a thud and clatter of hoofs, a rider arriving or
+departing. It is an entertaining scene, charming in its monotony of
+small changes and evolutions; you can sit watching it in a half-doze for
+twenty years at a stretch, and it may seem only as many minutes, or vice
+versa.
+
+Most of the rooms in the wings are used for the kitchens and other
+servants' quarters; but one large chamber is devoted to a special
+purpose of the general's own: it is a museum; the Curiosity-Room, he
+calls it. It is lighted by two windows opening on opposite sides, one
+on the court-yard, the other on an orange grove at the south end of the
+house. Besides being, in itself, a cool and pleasant spot, it is full
+of interest to any one who cares about the relics and antiquities of an
+ancient and vanishing race, concerning whom little is or ever will be
+known. There are two students in it at this moment; though whether they
+are studying antiquities is another matter. Let us give ear to their
+discourse and be instructed.
+
+"But this was made for you to wear, Miss Trednoke. Try it. It fits you
+perfectly, you see. There can be no doubt about your being a princess,
+now!"
+
+"I sometimes feel it,--here!" she said, putting her hand on her bosom.
+She was looking at him as she said it, but her eyes, instead of any
+longer meeting his, seemed to turn their regard inward, and to traverse
+strange regions, not of this world. "I see some one who is myself,
+though I can never have been she: she is surrounded with brightness, and
+people not like ours; she thinks of things that I have never known. It
+is the memory of a dream, I suppose," she added, in another tone.
+
+"Heredity is a queer thing. You may be Aztecan over again, in mind and
+temperament; and every one knows how impressions are transmitted.
+If features and traits of character, why not particular thoughts and
+feelings?"
+
+"I think it is better not to try to explain these things," said she,
+with the unconscious haughtiness which maidens acquire who have not seen
+the world and are adored by their family. "They are great mysteries,--or
+else nothing." She now removed from her head the curious cap or helmet,
+ornamented with gold and with the green feathers of the humming-bird,
+which her companion had crowned her with, and hung it on its nail in the
+cabinet. "Perhaps the thoughts came with the cap," she remarked, smiling
+slightly. "I don't feel that way any more. I ought not to have spoken of
+it."
+
+"I hope the time will come when you will feel that you may trust me."
+
+"You seem easy to know, Mr. Freeman," she replied, looking at him
+contemplatively as she spoke, "and yet you are not. There is one of you
+that thinks, and another that speaks. And you are not the same to my
+father, or to Professor Meschines, that you are to me."
+
+"What is the use of human beings except to take one out of one's self?"
+
+"But it is not your real self that comes out," said Miriam, after a
+little pause. She never spoke hurriedly, or until after the coming
+speech had passed into her face.
+
+Freeman laughed. "Well," he said, "if I'm a hypocrite, I'm one of those
+who are made and not born. As a boy, I was frank enough. But a good
+part of my life has been spent with people who couldn't be trusted; and
+perhaps the habit of protecting myself against them has grown upon me.
+If I could only live here for a while it would be different.--Here's an
+odd-looking thing. What do you call that?"
+
+"We call it the Golden Fleece."
+
+"The Golden Fleece! I can imagine a Medea; but where is the Dragon?"
+
+"If Jason came, the Dragon might appear."
+
+"I remember reading somewhere that the Dragon was less to be feared than
+Medea's eyes. But this fleece seems to have lost most of its gold. There
+is only a little gold embroidery."
+
+"It shows where the gold is hidden."
+
+"It's you that are concealing something now, Miss Trednoke. How can a
+woollen garment be a talisman?"
+
+"The secret might be woven into it, perhaps," replied Miriam, passing
+her fingers caressingly over the soft tunic. "Then, when the right
+person puts it on, it would----But you don't believe in these things."
+
+"I don't know: you don't give me a chance. But who is the right person?
+The thing seems rather small. I'm sure I couldn't get it on."
+
+"It can fit only the one it was made for," said Miriam, gravely. "And
+if you wanted to find the gold, you would trust to your science, rather
+than to this."
+
+"Well, gold-hunting is not in my line, at present. Every nugget has been
+paid for more than once, before it is found. Besides, there is something
+better than gold in Southern California,--something worth any labor to
+get."
+
+"What is it?" asked Miriam, turning her tranquil regard upon him.
+
+Harvey Freeman had never been deficient in audacity. But, standing in
+the dark radiance of this maiden's eyes, his self-assurance dwindled,
+and he could not bring himself to say to her what he would have said to
+any other pretty woman he had ever met. For he felt that great pride and
+passion were concealed beneath that tranquil surface: it was a nature
+that might give everything to love, and would never pardon any frivolous
+parody thereof. Freeman had been acquainted with Miriam scarcely two
+days, but he had already begun to perceive the main indications of a
+character which a lifetime might not be long enough wholly to explore.
+Marriage had never been among the enterprises he had, in the course of
+his career, proposed to himself: he did not propose it now: yet he dared
+not risk the utterance of a word that would lead Miriam to look at him
+with an offended or contemptuous glance. It was not that she was, from
+the merely physical point of view, transcendently beautiful. His first
+impression of her, indeed, had been that she was merely an unusually
+good example of a type by no means rare in that region. But ere long
+he became sensible of a spiritual quality in her which lifted her to a
+level far above that which can be attained by mere harmony of features
+and proportions. Beneath the outward aspect lay a profound depth of
+being, glimpses of which were occasionally discernible through her eyes,
+in the tones of her voice, in her smile, in unconscious movements of
+her hands and limbs. Demonstrative she could never be; but she could,
+at will, feel with tropical intensity, and act with the swiftness and
+energy of a fanatic.
+
+In Miriam's company, Freeman forgot every one save her,--even
+himself,--though she certainly made no effort to attract him or (beyond
+the commonplaces of courtesy) to interest him. Consequently he had
+become entirely oblivious of the existence of such a person as Grace
+Parsloe, when, much to his irritation, he heard the voice of that young
+lady, mingled with others, approaching along the veranda. At the same
+moment he experienced acute regret at the whim of fortune which had made
+himself and that sprightly young lady fellow-passengers from Panama, and
+at the idle impulse which had prompted him to flirt with her.
+
+But the past was beyond remedy: it was his concern to deal with the
+present. In a few seconds, Grace entered the curiosity-room, followed by
+Professor Meschines, and by a dashing young Mexican senor, whom Freeman
+had met the previous evening, and who was called Don Miguel de Mendoza.
+The senor, to judge from his manner, had already fallen violently in
+love with Grace, and was almost dislocating his organs of speech in the
+effort to pay her romantic compliments in English. Freeman observed this
+with unalloyed satisfaction. But the look which Grace bent upon him and
+Miriam, on entering, and the ominous change which passed over her mobile
+countenance, went far to counteract this agreeable impression.
+
+One story is good until another is told. Freeman had really thought
+Grace a fascinating girl, until he saw Miriam. There was no harm in
+that: the trouble was, he had allowed Grace to perceive his admiration.
+He had already remarked that she was a creature of violent extremes,
+tempered, but not improved, by a thin polish of subtlety. She was now
+about to give an illustration of the passion of jealousy. But it was not
+her jealousy that Freeman minded: it was the prospect of Miriam's scorn
+when she should surmise that he had given Grace cause to be jealous.
+Miriam was not the sort of character to enter into a competition with
+any other woman about a lover. He would lose her before he had a chance
+to try to win her.
+
+But fortune proved rather more favorable than Freeman expected, or,
+perhaps, than he deserved. Grace's attack was too impetuous. She stopped
+just inside the threshold, and said, in an imperious tone, "Come here,
+Mr. Freeman: I wish to speak to you."
+
+"Thank you," he replied, resolving at once to widen the breach to the
+utmost extent possible, "I am otherwise engaged."
+
+"Upon my word," observed the professor, with a chuckle, "you're
+no diplomatist, Harvey! What are you two about here? Investigating
+antiquities?"
+
+"The remains of ancient Mexico are more interesting than some of her
+recent products," returned Freeman, who wished to quarrel with somebody,
+and had promptly decided that Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza was the most
+available person. He bowed to the latter as he spoke.
+
+"You--a--spoken to me?" said the senor, stepping forward with a polite
+grimace. "I no to quite comprehend----"
+
+"Pray don't exert yourself to converse with me out of your own language,
+senor," interrupted Freeman, in Spanish. "I was just remarking that the
+Spaniards seem to have degenerated greatly since they colonized Mexico."
+
+"Senor!" exclaimed Don Miguel, stiffening and staring.
+
+"Of course," added Freeman, smiling benevolently upon him, "I judge only
+from such specimens of the modern Mexican as I happen to meet with."
+
+Don Miguel's sallow countenance turned greenish white. But, before he
+could make a reply, Meschines, who scented mischief in the air, and
+divined that the gentler sex must somehow be at the bottom of it, struck
+in.
+
+"You may consider yourself lucky, Harvey, in making the acquaintance of
+a gentleman like Senor de Mendoza, who exemplifies the undimmed virtues
+of Cortez and Torquemada. For my part, I brought him here in the
+hope that he might be able to throw some light on the mystery of this
+embroidered garment, which I see you've been examining. What do you say,
+Don Miguel? Have these designs any significance beyond mere ornament?
+Anything in the nature of hieroglyphics?"
+
+The senor was obliged to examine, and to enter into a discussion,
+though, of course, his ignorance of the subject in dispute was as the
+depths of that abyss which has no bottom. Miriam, who was not fond of
+Don Miguel, but who felt constrained to exceptional courtesy in view
+of Freeman's unwarrantable attack upon him, stood beside him and the
+Professor; and Freeman and Grace were thus left to fight it out with
+each other.
+
+But Grace had drawn her own conclusions from what had passed. Freeman
+had insulted Don Miguel. Wherefore? Obviously, it could only be because
+he thought that she was flirting with him. In other words, Freeman was
+jealous; and to be jealous is to love. Now, Grace was so constituted
+that, though she did not like to play second fiddle herself, yet she
+had no objection to monopolizing all the members of the male species who
+might happen, at a given moment, to be in sight.
+
+She had, consequently, already forgiven Freeman for his apparent
+unfaithfulness to her, by reason of his manifest jealousy of Don Miguel.
+As a matter of fact, he was not jealous, and he was unfaithful; but
+fate had decreed that there should be, for the moment, a game of
+cross-purposes; and the decrees of fate are incorrigible.
+
+"I had no idea you were so savage," she said, softly.
+
+"I'm not savage," replied Freeman. "I am bored."
+
+"Well, I don't know as I can blame you," said Grace, still more softly:
+she fancied he was referring to Miriam. "I don't much like Spanish
+mixtures myself."
+
+"One has to take what one can get," said Freeman, referring to Don
+Miguel.
+
+"But it's all right now," rejoined she, meaning that Freeman and herself
+were reconciled after their quarrel.
+
+"If you are satisfied, I am," observed Freeman, too indifferent to care
+what she meant.
+
+"Only, you mustn't take that poor young man too seriously," she went
+on: "these Mexicans are absurdly demonstrative, but they don't mean
+anything."
+
+"He won't, if he values his skin," said Freeman, meaning that if Don
+Miguel attempted to interfere between himself and Miriam he would wring
+his neck.
+
+"He won't, I promise you," said Grace, sparkling with pleasure.
+
+"I don't quite see how you can help it," returned Freeman.
+
+"I should hope I could manage a creature like that!" murmured she,
+smiling.
+
+"Well," said Freeman, after a pause,--for Grace's seeming change of
+attitude puzzled him a little,--"I'm glad you look at it that way. I
+don't wish to be meddled with; that's all."
+
+"You shan't be," she whispered; and then, just when they were
+approaching the point where their eyes might have been opened, in came
+General Trednoke. The group round the Golden Fleece broke up.
+
+The general wore his riding-dress, and his bearing was animated, though
+he was covered with dust.
+
+"I was wondering what had become of you all," he said, as the others
+gathered about him. "I have been taking a canter to the eastward.
+Kamaiakan said this morning that one of the boys had brought news of a
+cloud-burst in that direction. I rode far enough to ascertain that there
+has really been something of the kind, and I think it has affected the
+arroyo on the farther side of the little sierra. Now, I don't know how
+you gentlemen feel, but it occurred to me that it might be interesting
+to make up a little party of exploration to-morrow. Would you like to
+try it, Meschines?"
+
+"To be sure I should!" the professor replied. "I imagine I can stand as
+much of the desert as you can! And I want to catch a sidewinder."
+
+"Good! And you, Mr. Freeman?"
+
+"It would suit me exactly," said the latter. "In fact, I had been
+intending to gratify my curiosity by making some such expedition on my
+own account."
+
+"Ah!" said the general, eying him with some intentness. "Well, we may be
+able to show you something more curious than you anticipate.--And now,
+Senor de Mendoza, there is only you left. May we count on your company
+into the desert?"
+
+But the Mexican, with a bow and a grimace, excused himself. Scientific
+curiosity was an unknown emotion to him; but he foresaw an opportunity
+to have Grace all to himself, and he meant to improve it. He also wished
+leisure to think over some plan for getting rid of Senor Freeman, in
+whom he scented a rival, and who, whether a rival or not, had behaved to
+him with a lack of consideration in the presence of ladies.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+General Trednoke's household went early to bed. As there was
+more accommodation in the old house than sufficed for its present
+inhabitants, it followed that each of them had a regal allowance of
+rooms. And when Grace Parsloe became one of the occupants, she was
+allotted two commodious apartments at the extremity of the left wing.
+They communicated, through long windows, with the veranda in front, and
+by means of doors with the passage, or hall, traversing the house from
+end to end. If, therefore, she happened to be sleepless, she might issue
+forth into the garden, and wander about there without let or hinderance
+until she was ready to accept the wooing of the god of dreams; or, if
+supernatural terrors daunted her, she could in a few seconds transfer
+herself and her fears to Miriam's chamber, which occupied the same
+position in the right wing that hers did in the left.
+
+The night, as is customary in that climate, where the atmosphere is pure
+and evaporation rapid, was cool and still. By ten o'clock there was no
+sound to indicate that any person was awake; though, to an acute ear,
+the rise and fall of regular breathing, or even an occasional snore,
+might have given evidence of slumber. At the back of the house,
+the Indian retainers were lapped in silence. They were a harmless
+people,--somewhat disposed, perhaps, to small pilferings, in an amiable
+and loyal way, but incapable of anything seriously criminal. There were
+no locks on the doors, and most of them stood ajar. Tramps and burglars
+were unknown.
+
+Miriam, having put on her night-dress, stood a few minutes at her
+window, gazing out on the soft darkness of the garden. All there was
+peacefulness and fragrance. The leaves of the plants hung motionless;
+the blossoms seemed to hush themselves to the enjoyment of their own
+sweetness. The sky was clear, but there was no moon. A beautiful planet,
+however, bright enough to cast a shadow, hung in the southwestern sky,
+and its mysterious light touched Miriam's face, and cast a dim rectangle
+of radiance on the white matting that carpeted the floor of her room.
+It was the planet Venus,--the star of love. Miriam thought it would be
+a pleasant place to live in. But one need not journey to Venus to find a
+world where love is the ruling passion. Circumstances over which she
+has no control may cause such a world to come into existence in a girl's
+heart.
+
+She left the window at last, and got into bed, where she soon presented
+an image of perfect repose. Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the
+court-yard at the rear, a dark, pyramidal object abode without motion.
+It might have been taken for a heap of blankets piled up there. But if
+you examined it more narrowly you would have detected in it the vague
+outlines of a human figure, squatting on its haunches, with its head
+resting on its knees, and its arms clasped round them,--somewhat as
+figures sit in Egyptian hieroglyphics, or like Aztecan mummies in the
+tomb. So still was it, it might itself have been a mummy. But ever and
+anon a blinking of the narrow eyes in the bronze countenance told that
+it was no mummy, but a living creature. In fact, it was none other than
+the aged and austere Kamaiakan, who, for reasons best known to himself,
+chose to spend the hours usually devoted to rest in an attitude that
+no European or white American could have maintained with comfort longer
+than five minutes.
+
+An hour--two hours--passed away. Then Kamaiakan noiselessly arose,
+peered about him cautiously for a few moments, and passed out of the
+court-yard through the open gate. He turned to the left, and, stealing
+beneath Miriam's windows, paused there for an instant and made certain
+gestures with his arms. Anon he continued his way to the garden, and was
+soon concealed by the thick shrubbery.
+
+History requires us to follow him. The garden extended westward, and
+was quite a spacious enclosure: one not familiar with its winding paths
+might easily lose himself there on a dark night. But Kamaiakan knew
+where he was going, and the way thither. He now stalked along more
+swiftly, taking one turn after another, brushing aside the low-hanging
+boughs, and passing the loveliest flowers without a glance. He was as
+one preoccupied with momentous business. Presently he arrived at a small
+open space, remote and secluded. It was completely surrounded by tall
+shrubbery. In the centre was a basin of stone, evidently very ancient,
+filled to the brim with the clear water of a spring, which bubbled up
+from the bottom, and, overflowing by way of a gap in the edge, became a
+small rivulet, which stole away in the direction of the sea. Across the
+slightly undulating surface of the basin trembled the radiance of the
+star.
+
+Kamaiakan knelt down beside it, and, bending over, gazed intently into
+the water. Presently he dipped his hands in it, and sprinkled shining
+drops over his own gaunt person, and over the ground in the vicinity of
+the spring. He made strange movements with his arms, bowed his head
+and erected it again, and traced curious figures on the ground with his
+finger. It appeared as if the venerable Indian had solemnly lost his
+senses and had sought out this lonely spot to indulge the vagaries of
+his insanity. If so, his silence and deliberation afforded an example
+worthy of consideration by other lunatics.
+
+Suddenly he ceased his performance, and held himself in a listening
+attitude. A light, measured sound was audible, accompanied by the
+rustling of leaves. It came nearer. There was a glimpse of whiteness
+through the interstices of the surrounding foliage, and then a slender
+figure, clad in close-fitting raiment, entered the little circle. It
+wore a sort of tunic, reaching half-way to the knees, and leggings of
+the same soft, grayish-white material. The head was covered with a sort
+of hood, which left only the face exposed; and this too might be covered
+by a species of veil or mask, which, however, was now fastened back on
+the headpiece, after the manner of a visor. The front of the tunic was
+embroidered with fantastic devices in gold thread, brightened here and
+there with precious stones; and other devices appeared on the hood.
+The face of this figure was pale and calm, with great dark eyes beneath
+black brows. The stature was no greater than that of a lad of fifteen,
+but the bearing was composed and dignified. The contours of the figure,
+however, even as seen by that dim light, were those of neither a boy nor
+a man. The wearer of the tunic was a girl, just rounding into womanhood,
+and the face was the face of Miriam.
+
+Yet it was not by this name that Kamaiakan addressed her. After making
+a deep obeisance, touching his hand to her foot and then to his own
+forehead and breast, he said, in a language that was neither Spanish nor
+such as the modern Indians of Mexico use,--
+
+"Welcome, Semitzin! May this night be the beginning of high things!"
+
+"I am ready," replied the other, in a soft and low voice, but with a
+certain stateliness of utterance unlike the usual manner of General
+Trednoke's daughter: "I was glad to hear you call, and to see again the
+stars and the earth. Have you anything to tell?"
+
+"There are events which may turn to our harm, most revered princess. The
+master of this house----"
+
+"Why do you not call him my father, Kamaiakan?" interposed the other.
+"He is indeed the father of this mortal body which I wear, which (as you
+tell me) bears the name of Miriam. Besides, are not Miriam and I united
+by the thread of descent?"
+
+"Something of the spirit that is you dwells in her also," said the
+Indian.
+
+"And does she know of it?"
+
+"At times, my princess; but only as one remembers a dream."
+
+"I wish I might converse with her and instruct her in the truth,"
+said the princess. "And she, in turn, might speak to me of things that
+perplex me. I live and move in this mortal world, and yet (you tell
+me) three centuries have passed since what is called my death. To me it
+seems as if I had but slept through a night, and were awake again.
+Nor can I tell what has happened--what my life and thoughts have
+been--during this long lapse of time. Yet it must be that I live another
+life: I cannot rest in extinction. Three times you have called me forth;
+yet whence I come hither, or whither I return, is unknown to me."
+
+"There is a memory of the spirit," replied Kamaiakan, "and a memory of
+the body. They are separate, and cannot communicate with each other.
+Such is the law."
+
+"Yet I remember, as if it were yesterday, the things that were done when
+Montezuma was king. And well do I remember you, Kamaiakan!"
+
+"It is true I live again, princess, though not in the flesh and bones
+that died with you in the past. But in the old days I was acquainted
+with mysteries, and learned the secrets of the world of spirits; and
+this science still remained with me after the change, so that I was able
+to know that I was I, and that you could be recalled to speak with me
+through the tongue of Miriam. But there are some things that I do not
+know; and it is for that I have been bold to summon you."
+
+"What can I tell you that can be of use to you in this present life,
+Kamaiakan, when all whom we knew and loved are gone?"
+
+"To you only, Semitzin, is known the place of concealment of the
+treasure which, in the old times, you and I hid in the desert. I indeed
+remember the event, and somewhat of the region of the hiding; but I
+cannot put my hand upon the very spot. I have tried to discover it; but
+when I approach it my mind becomes confused between the present and the
+past, and I am lost."
+
+"I remember it well," said Semitzin. "We rode across the desert,
+carrying the treasure on mules. The air was still, and the heat very
+heavy. The desert descended in a great hollow: you told me it was where,
+in former days, the ocean had been. At last there were rocky hills
+before us; we rode towards a great rock shaped like the pyramid on which
+the sacrifices were held in Tenochtitlan. We passed round its base, and
+entered a deep and narrow valley, that seemed to have been ploughed out
+of the heart of the earth and to descend into it. Then---- But what is
+it you wish to do with this treasure, Kamaiakan?"
+
+"It belongs to your race, princess, and was hidden that the murderers
+of Montezuma might not seize it. I was bound by an oath, after the peril
+was past, to restore it to the rightful owners. But our country remained
+under the rule of the conquerors; and my life went out. But now the
+conquerors have been conquered in their turn, and Miriam is the last
+inheritor of your blood. When I have delivered to her this trust, my
+work will be done, and I can return to the world which you inhabit. The
+time is come; and only by your help can the restitution be made."
+
+"Was there, then, a time fixed?"
+
+"The stars tell me so. And other events make it certain that there must
+be no delay. The general has it in mind to discover the gates through
+which the waters under-ground may arise and again form the sea which
+flowed hereabouts in the ancient times. Now, this sea will fill the
+ravine in which the treasure lies, and make it forever unattainable. A
+youth has also come here who is skilled in the sciences, and whom the
+general will ask to help him in the thing he is to attempt."
+
+"Who is this youth?" asked Semitzin.
+
+"He is of the new people who inherit this land: his name is Freeman."
+
+"There is something in me--I know not what--that seems to tell me I have
+been near such a one. Can it be so?"
+
+"The other self, who now sleeps, knows of him," replied the ancient
+Indian. "He is a well-looking youth, and I think he has a desire towards
+her we call Miriam."
+
+"And does she love him?" inquired the princess.
+
+"A maiden's heart is a riddle, even to herself," said Kamaiakan.
+
+"But there is a sympathy that makes me feel her heart in my own,"
+rejoined Semitzin. "Love is a thing that pierces through time, and
+through barriers which separate the mind and memory of the past from the
+present. I--as you know, Kamaiakan--was never wedded; the fate of our
+people, and my early end, kept that from me. But the thought of that
+youth is here,"--she put her hand on her bosom,--"and it seems to me
+that, were we to meet, I should know him. Perhaps, were that to be,
+Miriam and I might thus come to be aware of each other, and live
+henceforth one life."
+
+"Such matters are beyond my knowledge," said the Indian, shaking his
+head. "The gods know what will be. It is for us, now, to regain the
+treasure. Are you willing, my princess, to accompany me thither?"
+
+"I am ready. Shall it be now?"
+
+"Not now, but soon. I will call you when the moment comes. The place
+is but a ride of two or three hours from here. None must know of our
+departure, for there are some here whom I do not trust. We must go by
+night. You will wear the garments you now have on, without which all
+might miscarry."
+
+"How can the garments affect the result, Kamaiakan?"
+
+"A powerful spell is laid upon them, princess. Moreover, the characters
+wrought upon them, with gold thread and jewels, are mystical, and the
+substance of the garment itself has a virtue to preserve the wearer from
+evil. It is the same that was worn by you when the treasure was hidden;
+and it may be, Semitzin, that without its magic aid your spirit could
+not know itself in this world as now it can."
+
+As he spoke the last words, a low sound, wandering and muttering with
+an inward note, came palpitating on their ears through the night air.
+It seemed to approach from no direction that could be identified, yet
+it was at first remote, and then came nearer, and in a moment trembled
+around them, and shivered in the solid earth beneath their feet; and in
+another instant it had passed on, and was subdued slowly into silence in
+the shadowy distance. No one who has once heard that sound can mistake
+it for any other, or ever can forget it. The air had suddenly become
+close and tense; and now a long breeze swept like a sigh through the
+garden, dying away in a long-drawn wail; and out of the west came a
+hollow murmur, like that of a mighty wave breaking upon the shore of the
+ocean.
+
+"The earthquake!" whispered Kamaiakan, rising to his feet. And then he
+pointed to the stone basin. "Look! the spring!"
+
+"It is gone!" exclaimed Semitzin.
+
+And, in truth, the water, with a strange, sucking noise, disappeared
+through the bottom of the basin, leaving the glistening cavity which had
+held it, green with slimy water-weed, empty.
+
+"The time is near, indeed!" muttered the Indian. "The second shock may
+cause the waters from which this spring came to rise as no living man
+has seen them rise, and make the sea return, and the treasure be lost.
+In a few days all may be over. But you, princess, must vanish: though
+the shock was but slight, some one might be awakened; and were you to be
+discovered, our plans might go wrong."
+
+"Must I depart so soon?" said Semitzin, regretfully. "The earth is
+beautiful, Kamaiakan: the smell of the flowers is sweet, and the stars
+in the sky are bright. To feel myself alive, to breathe, to walk, to
+see, are sweet. Perhaps I have no other conscious life than this. I
+would like to remain as I am: I would like to see the sun shine, and to
+hear the birds sing, and to see the men and women who live in this age.
+Is there no way of keeping me here?"
+
+"I cannot tell; it may be,--but it must not be now, Semitzin," the old
+man replied, with a troubled look. "The ways of the gods are not our
+ways. She whose body you inhabit--she has her life to live."
+
+"But is that girl more worthy to live than I? You have called me into
+being again: you have made me know how pleasant this world is. Miriam
+sleeps: she need never know; she need never awake again. You were
+faithful to me in the old time: have you more care for her than for me?
+I feel all the power and thirst of youth in me: the gods did not let me
+live out my life: may they not intend that I shall take it up again now?
+Besides, I wear Miriam's body: could I not seem to others to be Miriam
+indeed? How could they guess the truth?"
+
+"I will think of what you say, princess," said Kamaiakan. "Something
+may perhaps be done; but it must be done gradually: you would need much
+instruction in the ways of the new world before you could safely enter
+into its life. Leave that to me. I am loyal as ever: is it not to fulfil
+the oath made to you that I am here? and what would Miriam be to me,
+were she not your inheritor? Be satisfied for the present: in a few days
+we will meet and speak again."
+
+"The power is yours, Kamaiakan: it is well to argue, when with a word
+you can banish me forever! Yet what if I were to say that, unless you
+consent to the thing I desire, I will not show you where the treasure
+lies?"
+
+"Princess Semitzin!" exclaimed the Indian, "remember that it is not
+against me, but against the gods, that you would contend. The gods know
+that I have no care for treasure. But they will not forgive a broken
+oath; and they will not hold that one guiltless through whom it is
+brought to naught?"
+
+"Well, we shall meet again," answered Semitzin, after a pause. "But do
+you remember that you, too, are not free from responsibility in this
+matter. You have called me back: see to it that you do me justice." She
+waved her hands with a gesture of adieu, turned, and left the enclosure.
+Kamaiakan sank down again beside the empty bowl of the fountain.
+
+Semitzin returned along the path by which she had come, towards the
+house. As she turned round one of the corners, she saw a man's figure
+before her, strolling slowly along in the same direction in which she
+was going. In a few moments he heard her light footfall, and, facing
+about, confronted her. She continued to advance until she was within
+arm's reach of him: then she paused, and gazed steadfastly in his face.
+He was the first human being, save Kamaiakan, that she had seen since
+her eyes closed upon the world of Tenochtitlan, three hundred years
+before.
+
+The young man looked upon her with manifest surprise. It was too dark
+to distinguish anything clearly, but it did not take him long to surmise
+that the figure was that of a woman, and her countenance, though changed
+in aspect by the head-dress she were, yet had features which, he knew,
+he had seen before. But could it be Miriam Trednoke who was abroad at
+such an hour and in such a costume? He did not recognize the Golden
+Fleece, but it was evident enough that she was clad as women are not.
+
+Before he could think of anything to say to her, she smiled, and uttered
+some words in a soft, flowing language with which he was entirely
+unacquainted. The next moment she had glided past him, and was out of
+sight round the curve of the path, leaving him in a state of perplexity
+not altogether gratifying.
+
+"What the deuce can it mean?" he muttered to himself. "I can't be
+mistaken about its being Miriam. And yet she didn't look at me as if
+she recognized me. What can she be doing out here at midnight? I suppose
+it's none of my business: in fact, she might very reasonably ask the
+same question of me. And if I were to tell her that I had only ridden
+over to spend a sentimental hour beneath her window, what would she say?
+If she answered in the same lingo she used just now, I should be as wise
+as before. After all, it may have been somebody else. The image in my
+mind projected itself on her countenance. I certainly must be in love!
+I almost wish I'd never come here. This complication about the general's
+irrigating scheme makes it awkward. I'm bound not to explain things to
+him; and yet, if I don't, and he discovers (as he can't help doing) what
+I am here for, nothing will persuade him that I haven't been playing
+a double game; and that would not be a promising preliminary towards
+becoming a member of his family. If Miriam were only Grace, now, it
+would be plain sailing. Hello! who's this? Senor Don Miguel, as I'm a
+sinner! What is he up to, pray? Can this be the explanation of
+Miriam's escapade? I have a strong desire to blow a hole through that
+fellow!--Buenas noches, Senor de Mendoza! I am enchanted to have the
+unexpected honor of meeting you."
+
+Senor de Mendoza turned round, disagreeably startled. It is only fair to
+explain that he had not come hither with any lover-like designs towards
+Miriam. Grace was the magnet that had drawn his steps to the Trednokes'
+garden, and the truth is that that enterprising young lady was not
+without a suspicion that he might turn up. Could this information have
+been imparted to Freeman, it would have saved much trouble; but, as
+it was, not only did he jump to the conclusion that Don Miguel was his
+rival (and, seemingly, a not unsuccessful one), but a similar misgiving
+as to Freeman's purposes towards Grace found its way into the heart of
+the Spaniard. It was a most perverse trick of fate.
+
+The two men contemplated each other, each after his own fashion: Don
+Miguel pale, glaring, bristling; Freeman smiling, insolent, hectoring.
+
+"Why are you here, senor?" demanded the former, at length.
+
+"Partly, senor, because such is my pleasure. Partly, to inform you that
+your presence here offends me, and to humbly request you to be off."
+
+"Senor, this is an impertinence."
+
+"Senor, one is not impertinent to prowling greasers. One admonishes
+them, and, if they do not obey, one chastises them."
+
+"Do you talk of chastising Don Miguel de Mendoza? Senor, I will wash out
+that insult with your blood!"
+
+"Excellent! It is at your service for the taking. But, lest we disturb
+the repose of our friends yonder, let us seek a more convenient spot. I
+noticed a very pretty little glade on the right as I rode over here. You
+are armed? Good! we will have this little affair adjusted within half
+an hour. Yonder star--the planet of love, senor--shall see fair play.
+Andamos!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Having mounted their steeds, the two sanguinary young gentlemen rode
+onwards, side by side, but in silence; for the souls of those who have
+resolved to slay each other find small delight in vain conversation.
+Moreover, there is that in the conscious proximity of death which
+stimulates to thought much more than to speech. But Freeman preserved an
+outward demeanor of complacent calm, as one who doubts not, nor dreads,
+the issue; and, indeed, this was not the first time by many that he had
+taken his life in his hand and brought it unscathed through dangers.
+Don Miguel, on the other hand, was troubled in spirit, and uneasy in
+the flesh. He was one soon hot and soon cold; and this long ride to the
+decisive event went much against his stomach. If the conflict had
+taken place there in the garden, while the fire of the insult was yet
+scorching him, he could have fought it out with good will; but now the
+night air seemed chiller and chiller, and its frigidity crept into his
+nerves: he doubted of the steadiness of his aim, bethought himself that
+the darkness was detrimental to accurate shooting, and wondered whether
+Senor Freeman would think it necessary to fight across a handkerchief.
+He could not help regretting, too, that the quarrel had not
+been occasioned by some more definite and satisfactory
+provocation,--something which merely to think of would steel the heart
+to irrevocable murderousness. But no blow had passed; even the words,
+though bitter to swallow, had been wrapt in the phrases of courtesy;
+and perhaps the whole affair was the result of some misapprehension.
+He stole a look at the face of his companion; and the latter's air of
+confident and cheerful serenity made him feel worse than ever. Was he
+being brought out here to be butchered for nothing,--he, Don Miguel de
+Mendoza, who had looked forward to many pleasures in this life? It was
+too bad. It was true, the fortune of war might turn the other way; but
+Don Miguel was aware of a sensation in his bones which made this hope
+weak.
+
+At length Freeman drew rein and glanced around him. They were in a
+lonely and--Don Miguel thought--a most desolate and unattractive spot.
+An open space of about half an acre was bounded on one side by a growth
+of wild mustard, whose slender stalks rose to more than the height of a
+man's head. On the other side was a grove of live-oak; and in front, the
+ground fell away in a rugged, bush-grown declivity.
+
+"It strikes me that this is just about what we want," remarked Freeman,
+in his full, cheerful tones. "We are half a mile from the road;
+the ground is fairly level; and there's no possibility of our being
+disturbed. I was thinking, this afternoon, as I passed through here,
+what an ideal spot it was for just such a little affair as you and I are
+bent on. But I didn't venture to anticipate such speedy good fortune as
+your obliging condescension has brought to pass, Don Miguel."
+
+"Caramba!" muttered the senor, shivering. He might have said more, but
+was unwilling to trust his voice, or to waste nervous energy.
+
+Meanwhile, Freeman had dismounted, and was tethering his horse. It
+occurred to the senor that it would be easy to pull his gun, send a
+bullet through his companion, and gallop away. He did not yield to
+this temptation, partly from traditional feeling that it would not be
+suitable conduct for a De Mendoza, partly because he might miss the shot
+or only inflict a wound, and partly because such deeds demand a nerve
+which, at that moment, was not altogether at his command. Instead,
+he slowly dismounted himself, and wondered whether it would ever be
+vouchsafed him to sit in that saddle again.
+
+Freeman now produced his revolver, a handsome, silver-mounted weapon,
+that looked business-like. "What sort of a machine is yours?" he
+inquired, pleasantly. "You can take your choice. I'm not particular, but
+I can recommend this as a sure thing, if you would like to try it. It
+never misses at twenty paces."
+
+"Twenty paces?" repeated Don Miguel, with a faint gleam of hope.
+
+"Of course we won't have any twenty paces to-night," added Freeman, with
+a laugh. "I thought it might be a good plan to start at, say, fifteen,
+and advance firing. In that way, one or other of us will be certain to
+do something sooner or later. Would that arrangement be agreeable to
+Senor de Mendoza?"
+
+"Valga me Dios! I am content," said the latter, fetching a deep breath,
+and setting his teeth. "I will keep my weapon."
+
+"Muy buen," returned the American. "So now let us take our ground: that
+is, if you are quite ready?"
+
+Accordingly they selected their stations, facing respectively about
+north and south, with the planet of love between them, as it were.
+"Oblige me by giving the word, senor," said Freeman, cocking his weapon.
+
+But Don Miguel was staring with perturbed visage at something behind
+his antagonist. "Santa Maria!" he faltered, "what is yonder? It is a
+spirit!"
+
+Freeman had his wits about him, and perhaps entertained a not too high
+opinion of Mexican fair play. So, before turning round, he advanced till
+he was alongside his companion. Then he looked, and saw something which
+was certainly enigmatic.
+
+Among the wild-mustard plants there appeared a moving luminosity,
+having an irregular, dancing motion, as of a will-o'-the-wisp singularly
+agitated. Sometimes it uplifted itself on high, then plunged downwards,
+and again jerked itself from side to side; occasionally it would quite
+vanish for an instant. Accompanying this manifestation there was a
+clawing and reaching of shadowy arms: altogether, it was as if some
+titanic spectral grasshopper, with a heart of fire, were writhing and
+kicking in convulsions of phantom agony. Such an apparition, in an hour
+and a place so lonely, might stagger a less superstitious soul than that
+of Don Miguel de Mendoza.
+
+Freeman gazed at it for a moment in silence. It mystified him, and
+then irritated him. When one is bent heart and soul upon an important
+enterprise, any interruption is an annoyance. Perhaps there was in the
+young American's nature just enough remains of belief in witches and
+hobgoblins to make him feel warranted in resorting to extreme measures.
+At any rate, he lifted his revolver, and fired.
+
+It was a long shot for a revolver: nevertheless it took effect. The
+luminous object disappeared with a faint explosive sound, followed by a
+shout unmistakably human. The long stems of the wild mustard swayed
+and parted, and out sprang a figure, which ran straight towards the two
+young men.
+
+Hereupon, Don Miguel, hissing out an appeal to the Virgin and the
+saints, turned and fled.
+
+Meanwhile, the mysterious figure continued its onward career; and
+Freeman once more levelled his weapon,--when a voice, which gave him
+such a start of surprise as well-nigh caused him to pull the trigger
+for sheer lack of self-command, called out, "Why, you abominable young
+villain! What the mischief do you mean? Do you want to be hanged?"
+
+"Professor Meschines!" faltered Freeman.
+
+It was indeed that worthy personage, and he was on fire with wrath. He
+held in one hand a shattered lantern mounted on the end of a pole, and
+in the other a long-handled net of gauze, such as entomologists use to
+catch moths withal. Under his left arm was slung a brown japanned case,
+in which he presumably deposited the spoils of his skill. Freeman's shot
+had not only smashed and extinguished the lantern which served as bait
+for the game, but had also given the professor a disagreeable reminder
+that the tenure of human life is as precarious as that of the silly moth
+which allows itself to be lured to destruction by shining promises of
+bliss.
+
+"Upon my soul, professor, I am very sorry," said Freeman. "You have
+no idea how formidable you looked; and you could hardly expect me to
+imagine that you would be abroad at such an hour----"
+
+"And why not, I should like to know?" shouted the professor, towering
+with indignation. "Was I doing anything to be ashamed of? And what are
+you doing here, pray, with loaded revolvers in your hands?--Hallo! who's
+this?" he exclaimed, as Don Miguel advanced doubtfully out of the gloom.
+"Senor de Mendoza, as I'm a sinner! and armed, too! Well, really! Are
+you two out on a murdering expedition?--Oho!" he went on, in a changed
+tone, glancing keenly from one to another: "methinks I see the bottom of
+this mystery. You have ridden forth, like the champions of romance,
+to do doughty deeds upon each other!--Is it not so, Don Miguel?" he
+demanded, turning his fierce spectacles suddenly on that young man.
+
+Don Miguel, ignoring a secret gesture from Freeman, admitted that he had
+been on the point of expunging the latter from this mortal sphere.
+
+The professor chuckled sarcastically. "I see! Blood! Wounded honor!
+The code!--But, by the way, I don't see your seconds! Where are your
+seconds?"
+
+"My dear sir," said Freeman, "I assure you it's all a mistake. We just
+happened to meet at the gen--er--happened to meet, and were riding home
+together----"
+
+"Now, listen to me, Harvey," the professor interrupted, holding up an
+expository finger. "You have known me since some ten years, I think; and
+I have known you. You were a clever boy in your studies; but it was
+your foible to fancy yourself cleverer than you were. Acting under that
+delusion, you pitted yourself against me on one or two occasions; and
+I leave it to your candid recollection whether you or I had the best of
+the encounter. You call yourself a man, now; but I make bold to say
+that the--discrepancy, let us call it--between you and me remains as
+conspicuous as ever it was. I see through you, sir, much more clearly
+than, by this light, I can see you. I am fond of you, Harvey; but I
+feel nothing but contempt for your present attitude. In the first place,
+conscious as you are of your skill with that weapon, you know that this
+affair--even had seconds been present--would have been, not a duel,
+but an assassination. You acted like a coward!--I say it, sir, like a
+coward!--and I hope you may live to be as much ashamed of yourself as
+I am now ashamed for you. Secondly, your conduct, considered in its
+relations to--to certain persons whom I will not name, is that of a boor
+and a blackguard. Suppose you had accomplished the cowardly murder--the
+cowardly murder, I said, sir--that you were bent upon to-night. Do you
+think that would be a grateful and acceptable return for the courtesy
+and confidence that have been shown you in that house?--a house, sir, to
+which I myself introduced you, under the mistaken belief that you were
+a gentleman, or, at least, could feign gentlemanly behavior! But I
+won't--my feelings won't allow me to enlarge further upon this point.
+But allow me to add, in the third place, that you have shown yourself
+a purblind donkey. Actually, you haven't sense enough to know the
+difference between those who pull with you and those who pull against
+you. Now, I happen to know--to know, do you hear?--that had you
+succeeded in what you were just about to attempt, you would have removed
+your surest ally,--the surest, because his interests prompt him to favor
+yours. You pick out the one man who was doing his best to clear the
+obstacle out of your path, and what do you do?--Thank him?--Not you!
+You plot to kill him! But even had he been, as you in your stupidity
+imagined, your rival, do you think the course you adopted would have
+promoted your advantage? Let me tell you, sir, that you don't know the
+kind of people you are dealing with. You would never have been permitted
+to cross their threshold again. And you may take my word for it, if
+ever you venture to recur to any such folly, I will see to it that you
+receive your deserts.--Well, I think we understand each other, now?"
+
+Freeman's emotions had undergone several variations during the course of
+the mighty professor's harangue. But he had ended by admitting the force
+of the argument; and the reminiscences of college lecturings aroused by
+the incident had tickled his sense of humor and quenched his anger. He
+looked at the professor with a sparkle of laughter in his eyes.
+
+"I have done very wrong, sir," he said, "and I'm very sorry for it. If
+you won't give me any bad marks this time, I'll promise to be good in
+future."
+
+"Ah! very smooth! To begin with, suppose you ask pardon of Senor Don
+Miguel de Mendoza for the affront you have put upon him."
+
+To a soul really fearless, even an apology has no terrors. Moreover,
+Freeman's night ride with Don Miguel, though brief in time, had sufficed
+to give him the measure of the Mexican's character; and he respected
+it so little that he could no longer take the man seriously, or be
+sincerely angry with him. The professor's assurance as to Don Miguel's
+inoffensiveness had also its weight; and it was therefore with a quite
+royal gesture of amicable condescension that Freeman turned upon his
+late antagonist and held out his hand.
+
+"Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza," said he, "I humbly tender you my
+apologies and crave your pardon. My conduct has been inexcusable; I beg
+you to excuse it. I deserve your reprobation; I entreat the favor of
+your friendship. Senor, between men of honor, a misunderstanding is a
+misunderstanding, and an apology is an apology. I lament the existence
+of the first; the professor, here, is witness that I lay the second at
+your feet. May I hope to receive your hand as a pledge that you restore
+me to the privilege of your good will?"
+
+Now, Don Miguel's soul had been grievously exercised that night: he had
+been insulted, he had shivered beneath the shadow of death, he had been
+a prey to superstitious terrors, and he had been utterly perplexed by
+the professor's eloquent address, whereof (as it was delivered in good
+American, and with a rapidity of utterance born of strong feeling) he
+had comprehended not a word, and the unexpected effect of which upon his
+late adversary he was at a loss to understand. Although, therefore,
+he had no stomach for battle, he was oppressed by a misgiving lest
+the whole transaction had been in some way planned to expose him
+to ridicule; and for this reason he was disposed to treat Freeman's
+peaceful overtures with suspicion. His heart did not respond to those
+overtures, but neither was it stout enough to enable him to reject them
+explicitly. Accordingly, he adopted that middle course which, in spite
+of the proverb, is not seldom the least expedient. He disregarded
+the proffered hand, bowed very stiffly, and, saying, "Senor, I am
+satisfied," stalked off with all the rigidity of one in whose veins
+flows the sangre azul of Old Castile. Freeman smiled superior upon his
+retreat, and then, producing a cigar-case, proceeded to light up with
+the professor. In this fragrant and friendly cloud we will leave them,
+and return for a few minutes to the house of General Trednoke.
+
+It will be remembered that something was said of Grace being privy to
+the nocturnal advances of Senor de Mendoza. We are not to suppose
+that this implies in her anything worse than an aptness to indulge in
+romantic adventure: the young lady enjoyed the mystery of romance,
+and knew that serenades, and whisperings over star-lit balconies, were
+proper to this latitude. It may be open to question whether she really
+was much interested in De Mendoza, save as he was a type of the adoring
+Spaniard. That the scene required: she could imagine him (for the
+time-being) to be the Cid of ancient legend, and she herself would enact
+a role of corresponding elevation. Grace would doubtless have prospered
+better had she been content with one adorer at a time; but, while
+turning to a new love, she was by no means disposed to loosen the chains
+of a former one; and, though herself as jealous as is a tiger-cat of her
+young, she could never recognize the propriety of a similar passion on
+the part of her victims. She had been indignant at Freeman's apparent
+infidelity with Miriam; but when she had (as she imagined) discovered
+her mistake, she had listened with a heart at ease to the protestations
+of Don Miguel. She had parted from him that evening with a half
+expressed understanding that he was to reappear beneath her window
+before day-light; and she had pictured to herself a charming
+balcony-scene, such as she had beheld in Italian opera. Accordingly, she
+had attired herself in a becoming negligee, and had spent the fore part
+of the night somewhat restlessly, occasionally emerging on the veranda
+and gazing down into the perfumed gloom of the garden. At length she
+fancied that she heard footsteps. Whose could they be, unless Don
+Miguel's? Grace retreated within her window to await developments. Don
+Miguel did not appear; but presently she descried a phantom-like figure
+ascending the flight of steps to the veranda. Could that be he? If so,
+he was bolder in his wooing than Grace had been prepared for. But surely
+that was a strange costume that he wore; nor did the unconscious harmony
+of the gait at all resemble the senor's self-conscious strut. And
+whither was he going?
+
+It was but too evident that he was going straight to the room occupied
+by Miriam!
+
+This was too much for Grace's equanimity. She stepped out of her window,
+and flitted with noiseless step along the veranda. The figure that she
+pursued entered the door of the house, and passed into the corridor
+traversing the wing. Grace was in time to see it cross the threshold of
+Miriam's door, which stood ajar. She stole to the door, and peeped in.
+There was the figure; but of Miriam there was no trace.
+
+The figure slowly unfastened and threw back the hood which covered
+its head, at the same time turning round, so that its countenance was
+revealed. A torrent of black hair fell down over its shoulders. Grace
+uttered an involuntary exclamation. It was Miriam herself!
+
+The two gazed at each other a moment in silence. "Goodness me, dear!"
+said Grace at last, in a faint voice, "how you have frightened me! I
+saw you go in, in that dress, and I thought you were a man! How my heart
+beats! What is the matter?"
+
+"This is strange!" murmured the other, after a pause. "I never heard
+such words; and yet I seem to understand, and even to speak them. It
+must be a dream. What are you?"
+
+"Why, Miriam, dear! don't you know Grace?"
+
+"Oh! you think me Miriam. No; not yet!" She raised her hands, and
+pressed her fingers against her temples. "But I feel her--I feel her
+coming! Not yet, Kamaiakan! not so soon!--Do you know him?" she suddenly
+asked, throwing back her hair, and fixing an eager gaze on Grace.
+
+"Know who? Kamaiakan? Why, yes----"
+
+"No, not him! The youth,--the blue-eyed,--the fair beard above his
+lips----"
+
+"What are you talking about? Not Harvey Freeman!"
+
+"Harvey Freeman! Ah, how sweet a name! Harvey Freeman! I shall know it
+now!--Tell him," she went on, laying her hand majestically upon Grace's
+shoulder, and speaking with an impressive earnestness, "that Semitzin
+loves him!"
+
+"Semitzin?" repeated Grace, puzzled, and beginning to feel scared.
+
+"Semitzin!" the other said, pointing to her own heart. "She loves him:
+not as the child Miriam loves, but with the heart and soul of a mighty
+princess. When he knows Semitzin, he will think of Miriam no more."
+
+"But who is Semitzin?" inquired Grace, with a fearful curiosity.
+
+"The Princess of Tenochtitlan, and the guardian of the great treasure,"
+was the reply.
+
+"Good gracious! what treasure?"
+
+"The treasure of gold and precious stones hidden in the gorge of the
+desert hills. None knows the place of it but I; and I will give it to
+none but him I love."
+
+"But you said that... Really, my dear, I don't understand a bit! As for
+Mr. Freeman, he may care for Semitzin, for aught I know; but, I must
+confess, I think you're mistaken in supposing he's in love with you,--if
+that is what you mean. I met him before you did, you know; and if I were
+to tell you all that we----"
+
+"What are you or Miriam to me?--Ah! she comes!--The treasure--by the
+turning of the white pyramid--six hundred paces--on the right--the
+arch----" Her voice died away. She covered her face with her hands, and
+trembled violently. Slowly she let them fall, and stared around her.
+"Grace, is it you? Has anything happened? How came I like this? What is
+it?"
+
+"Well, if you don't know, I'm afraid I can't tell you. I had begun to
+think you had gone mad. It must be either that or somnambulism. Who is
+Semitzin?"
+
+"Semitzin? I never heard of him."
+
+"It isn't a man: it's a princess. And the treasure?"
+
+"Am I asleep or awake? What are you saying?"
+
+"The white pyramid, you know----"
+
+"Don't make game of me, Grace. If I have done anything----"
+
+"My dear, don't ask me! I tell you frankly, I'm nonplussed. You were
+somebody else a minute ago.... The truth is, of course, you've been
+dreaming awake. Has any one else seen you beside me?"
+
+"Have I been out of my room?" asked Miriam, in dismay.
+
+"You must have been, I should think, to get that costume. Well, the best
+plan will be, I suppose, to say nothing about it to anybody. It shall be
+our secret, dear. If I were you, I would have one of the women sleep
+in your room, in case you got restless again. It's just an attack of
+nervousness, probably,--having so many strangers in the house, all of a
+sudden. Now you must go to bed and get to sleep: it's awfully late, and
+there'll be ever so much going on to-morrow."
+
+Grace herself slept little that night. She could not decide what to make
+of this adventure. Nowadays we are provided with a name for the peculiar
+psychical state which Miriam was undergoing, and with abundant instances
+and illustrations; but we perhaps know what it is no more than we did
+twenty-five or thirty years ago. Grace's first idea had been that Miriam
+was demented; then she thought she was playing a part; then she did not
+know what to think; and finally she came to the conclusion that it was
+best to quietly await further developments. She would keep an eye on
+Freeman as well as on Miriam; something, too, might be gathered from Don
+Miguel; and then there was that talk about a treasure. Was that all the
+fabric of a dream, or was there truth at the bottom of it? She had
+heard something said about a treasure in the course of the general
+conversation the day before. If there really was a treasure, why might
+not she have a hand in the discovery of it? Miriam, in her abnormal
+state, had let fall some topographical hints that might prove useful.
+Well, she would work out the problem, sooner or later. To-morrow,
+when the others had gone off on their expedition, she would have
+ample leisure to sound Don Miguel, and, if he proved communicative and
+available, who could tell what might happen? But how very odd it all
+was! Who was Semitzin?
+
+While asking herself this question, Grace fell asleep; and by the
+time the summons to breakfast came, she had passed through thrilling
+adventures enough to occupy a new Scheherazade at least three years in
+the telling of them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+By nine o'clock in the morning, Professor Meschines and Harvey Freeman
+had ridden up to the general's ranch, equipped for the expedition. The
+general's preparations were not yet quite completed. A couple of mules
+were being loaded with the necessary outfit. It was proposed to be
+out two days, camping in the open during the intervening night. It
+was necessary to take water as well as solid provisions. Leaving their
+horses in the care of a couple of stable-boys, Meschines and Freeman
+mounted the veranda, and were there greeted by General Trednoke.
+
+"I'm afraid we'll have a hot ride of it," he observed. "The atmosphere
+is rather oppressive. Kamaiakan tells me there was a touch of earthquake
+last night."
+
+"I thought I noticed some disturbance,----" returned the professor,
+with a stealthy side-glance at Freeman,--"something in the nature of an
+explosion."
+
+"Earthquakes are common in this region, aren't they?" Freeman said.
+
+"They have made it what it is, and may unmake it again," replied the
+general. "The earthquake is the father of the desert, as the Indians
+say; and it may some day become the father of a more genial offspring.
+Veremos!"
+
+"How are the young ladies?" inquired Freeman.
+
+"Miriam has a little headache, I believe; and I thought Miss Parsloe was
+looking a trifle pale this morning. But you must see for yourself. Here
+they come."
+
+Grace, who was a little taller than Miriam, had thrown one arm round
+that young lady's waist, with a view, perhaps, to forming a picture in
+which she should not be the secondary figure. In fact, they were both
+of them very pretty; but Freeman had become blind to any beauty but
+Miriam's. Moreover, he was resolved to have some private conversation
+with her during the few minutes that were available. A conversation with
+the professor, and some meditations of his own, had suggested to him a
+line of attack upon Grace.
+
+"I'm afraid you were disturbed by the earthquake last night?" he said to
+her.
+
+"An earthquake? Why should you think so?"
+
+"You look as if you had passed a restless night. I saw Senor de Mendoza
+this morning. He seems to have had a restless time of it, too. But he
+is a romantic person, and probably, if an earthquake did not make him
+sleepless, something else might." He looked at her a moment, and then
+added, with a smile, "But perhaps this is not news to you?"
+
+"He didn't come--I didn't see him," returned Grace, wishing, ere the
+words had left her lips, that she had kept her mouth shut. Freeman
+continued to smile. How much did he know? She felt that it might be
+inexpedient to continue the conversation. Casting about for a pretext
+for retreat, her eyes fell upon Meschines.
+
+"Oh, there's the dear professor! I must speak to him a moment," she
+exclaimed, vivaciously; and she slipped her arm from Miriam's waist, and
+was off, leaving Freeman in possession of the field, and of the monopoly
+of Miriam's society.
+
+"Miss Trednoke," said he, gravely, "I have something to tell you, in
+order to clear myself from a possible misunderstanding. It may happen
+that I shall need your vindication with your father. Will you give it?"
+
+"What vindication do you need, that I can give?" asked she, opening her
+dark eyes upon him questioningly.
+
+"That's what I wish to explain. I am in a difficult position. Would you
+mind stepping down into the garden? It won't take a minute."
+
+Curiosity, if not especially feminine, is at least human. Miriam
+descended the steps, Freeman beside her. They strolled down the path,
+amidst the flowers.
+
+"You said, yesterday," he began, "that I would say one thing and be
+another. Now I am going to tell you what I am. And afterwards I'll tell
+you why I tell it. In the first place, you know, I'm a civil engineer,
+and that includes, in my case, a good deal of knowledge about geology
+and things of that sort. I have sometimes been commissioned to
+make geological surveys for Eastern capitalists. Lately I've been
+canal-digging on the Isthmus; but the other day I got a notification
+from some men in Boston and New York to come out here on a secret
+mission."
+
+"Secret, Mr. Freeman?"
+
+"Yes: you will understand directly. These men had heard enough about
+the desert valleys of this region to lead them to think that it might be
+reclaimed and so be made very valuable. Such lands can be bought now for
+next to nothing; but, if the theories that control these capitalists
+are correct, they could afterwards be sold at a profit of thousands
+per cent. So it's indispensable that the object of my being here should
+remain unknown; otherwise, other persons might step in and anticipate
+the designs of this company."
+
+"If those are your orders, why do you speak to me?"
+
+"There's a reason for doing it that outweighs the reasons against it. I
+trust you with the secret: yet I don't mean to bind you to secrecy. You
+will have a perfect right to tell it: the only result would be that I
+should be discredited with my employers; and there is nothing to warrant
+me in supposing that you would be deterred by that."
+
+"I don't ask to know your secret: I think you had better say no more."
+
+Freeman shook his head. "I must speak," said he. "I don't care what
+becomes of me, so long as I stand right in your opinion,--your
+father's and yours. I am here to find out whether this desert can be
+flooded,--irrigated,--whether it's possible, by any means, to bring
+water upon it. If my report is favorable, the company will purchase
+hundreds, or thousands, of square miles, and, incidentally, my own
+fortune will be made."
+
+"Why, that's the very thing----" She stopped.
+
+"The very thing your father had thought of! Yes, so I imagined, though
+he has not told me so in so many words. So I'm in the position of
+surreptitiously taking away the prospective fortune of a man whom I
+respect and honor, and who treats me as a friend."
+
+Miriam walked on some steps in silence. "It is no fault of yours," she
+said at last. "You owe us nothing. You must carry out your orders."
+
+"Yes; but what is to prevent your father from thinking that I stole his
+idea and then used it against him?"
+
+"You can tell him the truth: he could not complain; and why should
+you care if he did? I know that men separate business from--from other
+things."
+
+They had now come to the little enclosed space where the fountain basin
+was; and by tacit consent they seated themselves upon it. Miriam gave an
+exclamation of surprise. "The water is gone!" she said. "How strange!"
+
+"Perhaps it has gone to meet us at our rendezvous in the desert.--No: if
+I tell your father, I should be unfaithful to my employers. But there's
+another alternative: I can resign my appointment, and let my place be
+taken by another."
+
+"And give up your chance of a fortune? You mustn't do that."
+
+"What is it to you what becomes of me?"
+
+"I wish nothing but good to come to you," said she, in a low voice.
+
+"I have never wanted to have a fortune until now. And I must tell you
+the reason of that, too. A man without a fortune does very well by
+himself. He can knock about, and live from hand to mouth. But when he
+wants to live for somebody else,--even if he has only a very faint hope
+of getting the opportunity of doing it,--then he must have some settled
+means of livelihood to justify him. So I say I am in a difficult
+position. For if I give this up, I must go away; and if I go away, I
+must give up even the little hope I have."
+
+"Don't go away," said Miriam, after a pause.
+
+"Do you know what you are saying?" He hesitated a moment, looking at her
+as she looked down at the empty basin. "My hope was that you might love
+me; for I love you, to be my wife."
+
+The color slowly rose in Miriam's face: at length she hid it in her
+hands. "Oh, what is it?" she said, almost in a whisper. "I have known
+you only three days. But it seems as if I must have known you before.
+There is something in me that is not like myself. But it is the deepest
+thing in me; and it loves you: yes, I love you!"
+
+Her hands left her face, and there was a light in her eyes which made
+Freeman, in the midst of his rejoicing, feel humble and unworthy. He
+felt himself in contact with something pure and sacred. At the same
+moment, the recollection recurred to him of the figure he had seen the
+night before, with the features of Miriam. Was it she indeed? Was this
+she? To doubt the identity of the individual is to lose one's footing on
+the solid earth. For the first time it occurred to him that this doubt
+might affect Miriam herself. Was she obscurely conscious of two states
+of being in herself, and did she therefore fear to trust her own
+impulses? But, again, love is the master-passion; its fire fuses all
+things, and gives them unity. Would not this love that they confessed
+for each other burn away all that was abnormal and enigmatic, and leave
+only the unerring human heart, that knows its own and takes it? These
+reflections passed through Freeman's mind in an instant of time. But
+he was no metaphysician, and he obeyed the sane and wholesome instinct
+which has ever been man's surest and safest guide through the mysteries
+and bewilderments of existence. He took the beautiful woman in his arms
+and kissed her.
+
+"This is real and right, if anything is," said he. "If there are ghosts
+about, you and I, at any rate, are flesh and blood, and where we belong.
+As to the irrigation scrape, there must be some way out of it: if not,
+no matter! You and I love each other, and the world begins from this
+moment!"
+
+"My father must know to-morrow," said Miriam.
+
+"No doubt we shall all know more to-morrow than we do to-day," returned
+her lover, not knowing how abundantly his prophecy would be fulfilled:
+he was over-flowing with the fearless and enormous joy of a young man
+who has attained at one bound the summit of his desire. "There! they are
+calling for me. Good-by, my darling. Be yourself, and think of nothing
+but me."
+
+
+A short ride brought the little cavalcade to the borders of the desert.
+Here, by common consent, a halt was made, to draw breath, as it were,
+before taking the final plunge into the fiery furnace.
+
+"Before we go farther," said General Trednoke, approaching Freeman, as
+he was tightening his girths, "I must tell you what is the object of
+this expedition."
+
+"It is not necessary, general," replied the young man, straightening
+himself and looking the other in the face; "for from this point our
+paths lie apart."
+
+"Why so?" demanded the general, in surprise.
+
+"What's that?" exclaimed Meschines, coming up, and adjusting his
+spectacles.
+
+"I'm not at liberty, at present, to explain," Freeman answered. "All I
+can say is that I don't feel justified in assisting you in your affair,
+and I am not able to confide my own to you. I wish you to put the least
+uncharitable construction you can on my conduct. To-morrow, if we all
+live, I may say more; now, the most I can tell you is that I am not
+entirely a free agent. Meantime--Hasta luego."
+
+Against this unexpected resolve the general cordially protested and the
+professor scoffed and contended; but Freeman stayed firm. He had with
+him provisions enough to last him three days, and a supply of water;
+and in a small case he carried a compact assortment of instruments for
+scientific observation. "Take your departure in whatever direction
+you like," said he, "and I will take mine at an angle of not less
+than fifteen degrees from it. If I am not back in three days, you may
+conclude something has happened."
+
+It was certainly very hot. Freeman had been accustomed to torrid suns in
+the Isthmus; but this was a sun indefinitely multiplied by reflections
+from the dusty surface underfoot. Nor was it the fine, ethereal fire of
+the Sahara: the atmosphere was dead and heavy; for the rider was already
+far below the level of the Pacific, whose cool blue waves rolled and
+rippled many leagues to the westward, as, aeons ago, they had rolled
+and rippled here. There was not a breath of air. Freeman could hear his
+heart beat, and the veins in his temples and wrists throbbed. The sweat
+rose on the surface of his body, but without cooling it. The pony which
+he bestrode, a bony and sinewy beast of the toughest description, trod
+onwards doggedly, but with little animation. Freeman had no desire to
+push him. Were the little animal to overdo itself, nothing in the future
+could be more certain than that his master would never see the Trednoke
+ranch again. It seemed unusually hot, even for that region.
+
+There was little in the way of outward incident to relieve the monotony
+of the journey. Now and then a short, thick rattlesnake, with horns on
+its ugly head, wriggled out of his path. Now and then his horse's hoof
+almost trod upon a hideous, flat lizard, also horned. Here and there the
+uncouth projections of a cactus pushed upwards out of the dust; some
+of these the mustang nibbled at, for the sake of their juice. Freeman
+wondered where the juice came from. The floor of the desert seemed for
+the most part level, though there was a gradual dip towards the east
+and northeast, and occasionally mounds and ridges of wind-swept dust,
+sometimes upwards of fifty feet in height, broke the uniformity. The
+soil was largely composed of powdered feldspar; but there were also
+tracts of gravel shingle, of yellow loam, and of alkaline dust. In some
+places there appeared a salt efflorescence, sprouting up in a sort of
+ghastly vegetation, as if death itself had acquired a sinister life.
+Elsewhere, the ground quaked and yielded underfoot, and it became
+necessary to make detours to avoid these arid bogs. Once or twice, too,
+Freeman turned aside lest he should trample upon some dry bones that
+protruded in his path,--bones that were their own monument, and told
+their own story of struggle, agony, exhaustion, and despair.
+
+None of these things had any depressing effect on Freeman's spirit.
+His heart was singing with joy. To a mind logically disposed, there
+was nothing but trouble in sight, whether he succeeded or failed in his
+present mission. In the former case, he would find himself in a hostile
+position as regarded the man he most desired to conciliate; in the
+latter, he would remain the mere rolling stone that he was before, and
+love itself would forbid him to ask the woman he loved to share his
+uncertain existence. But Freeman was not logical: he was happy, and he
+could not help it. He had kissed Miriam, and she loved him.
+
+His course lay a few degrees north of east. Far across the plain,
+dancing and turning somersaults in the fantastic atmosphere, were the
+summits of a range of abrupt hills, the borders of a valley or ravine
+which he wished to explore. Gradually, as he rode, his shadow lengthened
+before him. It was his only companion; and yet he felt no sense of
+loneliness. Miriam was in his heart, and kept it fresh and bold. Even
+hunger and thirst he scarcely felt. Who can estimate the therapeutic and
+hygienic effects of love?
+
+The mustang could not share his rider's source of content, but he may
+have been conscious, through animal instincts whereof we know nothing,
+of an uplifting and encouraging spirit. At all events, he kept up his
+steady lope without faltering or apparent effort, and seemed to require
+nothing more than the occasional wetting which Freeman administered to
+his nose. There would probably be some vegetation, and perhaps water, on
+the hills; and that prospect may likewise have helped him along.
+
+Nevertheless, man and beast may well have welcomed the hour when the
+craggy acclivities of that lonely range became so near that they seemed
+to loom above their heads. Freeman directed his steps towards the
+southern extremity, where a huge, pallid mass, of almost regular
+pyramidal form, reared itself aloft like a monument. He skirted the base
+of the pyramid, and there opened on his view a narrow, winding valley,
+scarcely half a mile in apparent breadth, and of a very wild and
+savage aspect. Its general direction was nearly north and south, and it
+declined downwards, as if seeking the interior of the earth. In fact, it
+looked not unlike those imaginative pictures of the road to the infernal
+regions described by the ancient poets. One could picture Pluto in his
+chariot, with Proserpine beside him, thundering downwards behind his
+black horses, on the way to those sombre and magnificent regions which
+are hollowed out beneath the surface of the planet.
+
+Freeman, however, presently saw a sight which, if less spectacularly
+impressive, was far more agreeable to his eyes. On a shelf or cup of
+the declivity was a little clump of vegetation, and in the midst of it
+welled up a thin stream of water. The mustang scrambled eagerly towards
+it, and, before Freeman had had time to throw himself out of the saddle,
+he had plunged his muzzle into the rivulet. He sucked it down with such
+satisfaction that it was evident the water was not salt. Freeman laid
+himself prone upon the brink, and followed his steed's example. The
+draught was cool and pure.
+
+"I didn't know how much I wanted it!" said he to himself. "It must come
+from a good way down. If I could only bring the parent stream to the
+surface, my mission would be on a fair road to success."
+
+An examination of the spring revealed the fact that it could not have
+been long in existence. Indeed, there were no traces whatever of long
+continuance. The aperture in the rock through which it trickled bore the
+appearance of having been recently opened; fragments were lying near it
+that seemed to have been just broken off. The bed of the little stream
+was entirely free from moss or weeds; and after proceeding a short
+distance it dwindled and disappeared, either sucked up in vapor by the
+torrid air, or absorbed into the dusty soil. Manifestly, it was a recent
+creation.
+
+"And, to be sure, why not?" ejaculated Freeman. "There was an earthquake
+last night, which swallowed up the spring in the Trednokes' garden:
+probably that same earthquake brought this stream to light. It vanished
+there, to reappear here. Well, the loss is not important to them, but
+the gain is very important to me. It is as if Miriam had come with a
+cup of water to refresh her lover in the desert. God bless her! She has
+refreshed me indeed, soul and body!"
+
+He removed the saddle from the mustang, and turned him loose to make the
+best of such scanty herbage as he could find. Then he unpacked his
+own provisions, and made a comfortable meal; after which he rolled
+a cigarette and reclined on the spot most available, to rest and
+recuperate. The valley, or gorge, lay before him in the afternoon light.
+It was a strange and savage spectacle. Had it been torn asunder by some
+stupendous explosion, it could not have presented a rougher or more
+chaotic aspect. To look at it was like beholding the secret places of
+the earth. The rocky walls were of different colors, yellow, blue,
+and red, in many shades and gradations. They towered ruggedly upwards,
+sharply shadowed and brightly lighted, mounting in regular pinnacles,
+parting in black crevices; here and there vast masses hung poised on
+bases seemingly insufficient, ready to topple over on the unwary passer
+beneath. A short distance to the northward the ravine had a turn, and a
+projecting promontory hid its further extreme from sight. Freeman made
+up his mind to follow it up on foot, after the descending sun should
+have thrown a shadow over it. The indications, in his judgment, were
+not without promise that a system of judiciously-applied blastings might
+open up a source of water that would transform this dreadful barrenness
+into something quite different.
+
+The shade of the great pyramid fell upon him as he lay, but the
+tumultuous wall opposite was brilliantly illuminated: the sky, over it,
+was of a peculiar brassy hue, but entirely cloudless. The radiations
+from the baked surface, ascending vertically, made the rocky bastion
+seem to quiver, as if it were a reflection cast on undulating water.
+The wreaths of tobacco-smoke that emanated from Freeman's mouth also
+ascended, until they touched the slant of sunlight overhead. As the
+young man's eyes followed these, something happened that caused him to
+utter an exclamation and raise himself on one arm.
+
+All at once, in the vacant air diagonally above him, a sort of shadowy
+shimmer seemed to concentrate itself, which was rapidly resolved into
+color and form. It was much as if some unseen artist had swept a mass
+of mingled hues on a canvas and then had worked them with magical speed
+into a picture. There appeared a breadth of rolling country, covered
+with verdure, and in the midst of it the white walls and long, shadowed
+veranda of an adobe house. Freeman saw the vines clambering over the
+eaves and roof, the vases of earthenware suspended between the pillars
+and overflowing with flowers, the long windows, the steps descending
+into the garden. Now a figure clad in white emerged from the door and
+advanced slowly to the end of the veranda. He recognized the gait and
+bearing: he could almost fancy he discerned the beloved features. She
+stood there for a moment, gazing, as it seemed, directly at him.
+She raised her hands, and pressed them to her lips, then threw them
+outwards, with a gesture eloquent of innocent and tender passion.
+Freeman's heart leaped: involuntarily he stretched out his arms, and
+murmured, "Miriam!" The next moment, a tall, dark figure, with white
+hair, wrapped in a blanket, came stalking behind her, and made a
+beckoning movement. Miriam did not turn, but her bearing changed; her
+hands fell to her sides; she seemed bewildered. Freeman sprang angrily
+to his feet: the picture became blurred; it flowed into streaks of vague
+color; it was gone. There were only the brassy sky, and the painted
+crags quivering in the heat.
+
+"That was not a mirage: it was a miracle," muttered the young man to
+himself. "Forty miles at least, and it seemed scarcely three hundred
+yards! What does it mean?"
+
+The sun sank behind the hills, and a transparent shadow filled the
+gorge. Freeman, uneasy in mind, and unable to remain inactive, filled
+his canteen at the spring, and descended to the rugged trail at the
+bottom. Clambering over boulders, leaping across narrow chasms, letting
+himself down from ledges, his preoccupation soon left him, and physical
+exertion took the precedence. Half an hour's work brought him to the
+out-jutting promontory which had concealed the further reaches of
+the valley. These now lay before him, merging imperceptibly into
+indistinctness.
+
+"This atmosphere is unbearable," said Freeman. "I must get a little
+higher up." He turned to the right, and saw a natural archway, of
+no great height, formed in the rock. The arch itself was white; the
+super-incumbent stone was of a dull red hue. On the left flank of the
+arch were a series of inscribed characters, which might have been cut by
+a human hand, or might have been a mere natural freak. They looked like
+some rude system of hieroglyphics, and bore no meaning to Freeman's
+mind.
+
+A sort of crypt or deep recess was hollowed out beneath the arch, the
+full extent of which Freeman was unable to discern. The floor of it
+descended in ridges, like a rough staircase. He stood for a few moments
+peering into the gloom, tempted by curiosity to advance, but restrained
+partly by the gathering darkness, and partly by the oppressiveness of
+the atmosphere, which produced a sensation of giddiness. Something white
+gleamed on the threshold of the crypt. He picked it up. It was a human
+skull; but even as he lifted it it came apart in his hands and crumbled
+into fragments. Freeman's nerves were strong, but he shuddered
+slightly. The loneliness, the silence, the mystery, and the strange
+light-headedness that was coming over him combined to make him hesitate.
+"I'll come back to-morrow morning early," he said to himself.
+
+As if in answer, a deep, appalling roar broke forth apparently under his
+feet, and went rolling and reverberating up and down the canon. It died
+away, but was immediately followed by another yet more loud, and the
+ground shook and swayed beneath his feet. A gigantic boulder, poised
+high up on the other side of the canon, was unseated, and fell with a
+terrific crash. A hot wind swept sighing through the valley, and the
+air rapidly became dark. Again came the sigh, rising to a shriek, with
+roarings and thunderings that seemed to proceed both from the heavens
+and from the earth.
+
+A dazzling flash of lightning split the air, bathing it for an instant
+in the brightness of day: in that instant Freeman saw the bolt strike
+the great white pyramid and splinter its crest into fragments, while the
+whole surface of the gorge heaved and undulated like a stormy sea. He
+had been staggering as best he might to a higher part of the ravine; but
+now he felt a stunning blow on his head: he fell, and knew no more.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Two horsemen, one of whom led a third horse, carrying a pack-saddle, had
+reached the borders of the desert just as the earthquake began. When
+the first shock came, they were riding past a grove of live-oaks: they
+immediately dismounted, made fast their horses, and lay down beside some
+bushes that skirted the grove. Neither the earthquake nor the storm was
+so severe as was the case farther eastward. In an hour all was over, and
+they remounted and continued their journey, guiding their course by the
+stars.
+
+"It was thus that we rode before, Kamaiakan," remarked the younger of
+the two travellers. "Yonder bright star stood as it does now, and the
+hour of the night was the same. But this shaking of the earth makes
+me fear for the safety of that youth. The sands of the desert may have
+swept over him; or he may have perished in the hills."
+
+"The purposes of the gods cannot be altered, Semitzin," replied the old
+Indian, who perhaps would not have much regretted such a calamity as
+she suggested: it would be a simple solution of difficulties which might
+otherwise prove embarrassing. "It is my prayer, at all events, that the
+entrance to the treasure may not be closed."
+
+"I care nothing for the treasure, unless I may share it with him," she
+returned. "Since we spoke together beside the fountain, I have seen him.
+He looked upon me doubtfully, being, perhaps, perplexed because of these
+features of the child Miriam, which I am compelled to wear."
+
+"Truly, princess, what is he, that you should think of him?" muttered
+Kamaiakan.
+
+"He satisfies my heart," was the reply.
+
+"And I am resolved never again to give up this mortal habitation to her
+you call its rightful owner. I will never again leave this world, which
+I enjoy, for the unknown darkness out of which you called me."
+
+"Princess, the gods do not permit such dealings. They may, indeed,
+suffer you to live again; but you must return as an infant, in flesh and
+bones of your own."
+
+"The gods have permitted me to return as I have returned; and you well
+know, Kamaiakan, that, except you use your art to banish me and restore
+Miriam, there is nothing else that can work a change."
+
+"Murder is not lawful, Semitzin; and to do as you desire would be an act
+not different from murder."
+
+"On my head be it, then!" exclaimed the princess. "Would it be less a
+murder to send me back to nothingness than to let her remain there? Mine
+is the stronger spirit, and has therefore the better right to live.
+I ask of you only to do nothing. None need ever know that Miriam has
+vanished and that Semitzin lives in her place. I wear her body and her
+features, and I am content to wear her name also, if it must be so."
+
+Kamaiakan was silent. He may well be pardoned for feeling troubled in
+the presence of a situation which had perhaps never before confronted a
+human being. Two women, both tenants of the same body, both in love with
+the same man, and therefore rivals of each other, and each claiming a
+right to existence: it was a difficult problem. The old Indian heartily
+wished that a separate tenement might be provided for each of these two
+souls, that they might fight out their quarrel in the ordinary way. But
+his magic arts did not extend to the creation of flesh and blood. At
+the same time, he could not but feel to blame for having brought this
+strenuous spirit of Semitzin once more into the world, and he was fain
+to admit that her claim was not without justification. His motives had
+been excellent, but he had not foreseen the consequences in which the
+act was to land him. Yet he more shrank from wronging Miriam than from
+disappointing Semitzin.
+
+But the latter was not to be put off by silence.
+
+"There has been a change since you and I last spoke together," she
+said. "I am aware of it, though I know not how; but, in some manner,
+the things which Miriam has done are perceptible to me. When I was here
+before, she did but lean towards this youth; now she has given herself
+to him. She means to be united to him; and, if I again should vanish, I
+should never again find my way back. But it shall not be so; and there
+is a way, Kamaiakan, by which I can surely prevent it, even though you
+refuse to aid me."
+
+"Indeed, princess, I think you mistake regarding the love of Miriam for
+this young man; they have seen little of each other; and it may be, as
+you yourself said, that he has perished in the wilderness."
+
+"I believe he lives," she answered: "I should know it, were it
+otherwise. But if I cannot have him, neither shall she. I have told you
+already that, unless you swear to me not to put forth your power upon
+me to dismiss me, I will not lead you to the treasure. But that is not
+enough; for men deceive, and you are a man. But if at any time hereafter
+I feel within me those pangs that tell me you are about to separate
+me from this world, at that moment, Kamaiakan, I will drive this knife
+through the heart of Miriam! If I cannot keep her body, at least it
+shall be but a corpse when I leave it. You know Semitzin; and you know
+that she will keep her word!"
+
+She reined in her horse, as she spoke, and sat gazing upon her companion
+with flashing eyes. The Indian, after a pause, made a gesture of gloomy
+resignation. "It shall be as you say, then, Semitzin; and upon your head
+be it! Henceforth, Miriam is no more. But do you beware of the vengeance
+of the gods, whose laws you have defied."
+
+"Let the gods deal with me as they will," replied the Aztecan. "A day of
+happiness with the man I love is worth an age of punishment."
+
+Kamaiakan made no answer, and the two rode forward in silence.
+
+It was midnight, and a bright star, nearly in the zenith, seemed to hang
+precisely above the summit of the great white pyramid at the mouth of
+the gorge.
+
+"It was here that we stopped," observed Semitzin. "We tied our horses
+among the shrubbery round yonder point. Thence we must go on foot.
+Follow me."
+
+She struck her heels against her horse's sides, and went forward. The
+long ride seemed to have wearied her not a whit. The lean and wiry
+Indian had already betrayed symptoms of fatigue; but the young princess
+appeared as fresh as when she started. Not once had she even taken a
+draught from her canteen; and yet she was closely clad, from head to
+foot, in the doublet and leggings of the Golden Fleece. One might have
+thought it had some magic virtue to preserve its wearer's vitality; and
+possibly, as is sometimes seen in trance, the energy and concentration
+of the spirit reacted upon the body.
+
+She turned the corner of the pyramid, but had not ridden far when an
+object lying in her path caused her to halt and spring from the saddle.
+Kamaiakan also dismounted and came forward.
+
+The dead body of a mustang lay on the ground, crushed beneath the weight
+of a fragment of rock, which had evidently fallen upon it from a height.
+He had apparently been dead for some hours. He was without either saddle
+or bridle.
+
+"Do you know him?" demanded Semitzin.
+
+"It is Diego," replied Kamaiakan. "I know him by the white star on his
+muzzle. He was ridden by the Senor Freeman. They must have come here
+before the earthquake. And there lie the saddle and the bridle. But
+where is Senor Freeman?"
+
+"He can be nowhere else than in this valley," said Semitzin,
+confidently. "I knew that I should find him here. Through all the
+centuries, and across all spaces, we were destined to meet. His horse
+was killed, but he has escaped. I shall save him. Could Miriam have done
+this? Is he not mine by right?"
+
+"It is at least certain, princess," responded the old man rather dryly,
+"that had it not been for Miriam you would never have met the Senor
+Freeman at all."
+
+"I thank her for so much; and some time, perhaps, I will reward her by
+permitting her to have a glimpse of him for an hour,--or, at least,
+a minute. But not now, Kamaiakan,--not till I am well assured that no
+thought but of me can ever find its way into his heart. Come, let us go
+forward. We will find the treasure, and I will give it to my lord and
+lover."
+
+"Shall we bring the pack-horse with us?" asked the Indian.
+
+"Yes, if he can find his way among these rocks. The earthquake has made
+changes here. See how the water pours from this spring! It has already
+made a stream down the valley. It shall guide us whither we are going."
+
+Leaving their own horses, they advanced with the mule. But the trail,
+rough enough at best, was now well-nigh impassable. Masses of rock had
+fallen from above; large fissures and crevasses had been formed in the
+floor of the gorge, from some of which steaming vapors escaped,
+while others gave forth streams of water. The darkness added to the
+difficulties of the way, for, although the sky was now clear, the gloom
+was deceptive, and things distant seemed near. Occasionally a heavy,
+irregular sound would break the stillness, as some projection of a cliff
+became loosened and tumbled down the steep declivity.
+
+Semitzin, however, held on her way fearlessly and without hesitation,
+and the Indian, with the pack-horse, followed as best he might, now and
+then losing sight for a moment of the slight, grayish figure in front
+of him. At length she disappeared behind the jutting profile of a great
+promontory which formed a main angle of the gorge. When he came up with
+her, she was kneeling beside the prostrate form of a man, supporting his
+head upon her knee.
+
+Kamaiakan approached, and looked at the face of the man, which was
+pale; the eyes were closed. A streak of blood, from a wound on the head,
+descended over the right side of the forehead.
+
+"Is he dead?" the Indian asked.
+
+"He is not dead," replied Semitzin. "A flying stone has struck him; but
+his heart beats: he will be well again." She poured some water from her
+canteen over his face, and bent her ear over his lips. "He breathes,"
+she said. Slipping one arm beneath his neck, she loosened the shirt at
+his throat and then stooped and kissed him. "Be alive for me, love," she
+murmured. "My life is yours."
+
+This exhortation seemed to have some effect. The man stirred slightly,
+and emitted a sigh. Presently he muttered, "I can--lick him--yet!"
+
+"He will live, princess," remarked Kamaiakan. "But where is the
+treasure?"
+
+"My treasure is here!" was her reply; and again she bent to kiss the
+half-conscious man, who knew not of his good fortune. After an interval
+she added, "It is in the hollow beneath that archway. Go down three
+paces: on the wall at the left you will feel a ring. Pull it outwards,
+and the stone will give way. Behind it lies the chest in which the
+jewels are. But remember your promise!"
+
+Kamaiakan peered into the hollow, shook his head as one who loves not
+his errand, and stepped in. The black shadow swallowed him up. Semitzin
+paid no further attention to him, but was absorbed in ministering to her
+patient, whose strength was every moment being augmented, though he was
+not yet aware of his position. But all at once a choking sound came from
+within the cave, and in a few moments Kamaiakan staggered up out of the
+shadow, and sank down across the threshold of the arch.
+
+"Semitzin," he gasped, in a faint voice, "the curse of the gods is upon
+the spot! The air within is poisonous. It withers the limbs and stops
+the breath. No one may touch the treasure and live. Let us go!"
+
+"The gods do not love those who fear," replied the princess,
+contemptuously. "But the treasure is mine, and it may well be that no
+other hand may touch it. Fold that blanket, and lay it beneath his head.
+I will bring the jewels."
+
+"Do not attempt it: it will be death!" exclaimed the old man.
+
+"Shall a princess come to her lover empty-handed? Do you watch beside
+him while I go. Ah, if your Miriam were here, I would not fear to have
+him choose between us!"
+
+With these words, Semitzin stepped across the threshold of the crypt,
+and vanished in its depths. The Indian, still dizzy and faint, knelt on
+the rock without, bowed down by sinister forebodings.
+
+Several minutes passed. "She has perished!" muttered Kamaiakan.
+
+Freeman raised himself on one elbow, and gazed giddily about him. "What
+the deuce has happened?" he demanded, in a sluggish voice. "Is that you,
+professor?"
+
+Suddenly, a rending and rushing sound burst from the cave. Following it,
+Semitzin appeared at the entrance, dragging a heavy metal box, which she
+grasped by a handle at one end. Immediately in her steps broke forth a
+great volume of water, boiling up as if from a caldron. It filled the
+cave, and poured like a cataract into the gorge. The foundations of the
+great deep seemed to be let loose.
+
+Semitzin lifted from her face the woollen mask, or visor, which she had
+closed on entering the cave. She was panting from exertion, but neither
+her physical nor her mental faculties were abated. She spoke sharply and
+imperiously:
+
+"Bring up the mule, and help me fasten the chest upon him. We must reach
+higher ground before the waters overtake us. And now----" She turned
+to Freeman, who by this time was sitting up and regarding her with
+stupefaction.
+
+"Miriam!" was all he could utter.
+
+She shook her head, and smiled. "I am she who loves you, and whom you
+will love. I give you life, and fortune, and myself. But come: can you
+mount and ride?"
+
+"I can't make this out," he said, struggling, with her assistance, to
+his feet. "I have read fairy-tales, but this... Kamaiakan, too!"
+
+Semitzin, meanwhile, brought him to the mule, and half mechanically he
+scrambled into the saddle, the chest being made fast to the crupper.
+Semitzin seized the bridle, and started up the gorge, Kamaiakan bringing
+up the rear. The lower levels were already filling with water, which
+came pouring out through the archway in a full flood, seemingly
+inexhaustible.
+
+"I see how it is," mumbled Freeman, half to himself. "The earthquake--I
+remember! I got hit somehow. They came from the ranch to hunt me up. But
+where are the general and Professor Meschines? How long ago was it?
+And how came Miriam... Could the mirage have had anything to do with
+it?--Here, let me walk," he called out to her, "and you get up and
+ride."
+
+She turned her head, smiling again, but hurried on without speaking.
+The roar of the torrent followed them. Once or twice the mule came near
+losing his footing. Freeman, whose head was swimming, and his brains
+buzzing like a hive of bees, had all he could do to maintain his
+equilibrium in the saddle. He was excruciatingly thirsty, and the
+gurgling of waters round about made him wish he might dismount and
+plunge into them. But he lacked power to form a decided purpose, and
+permitted the more energetic will to control him. It might have been
+minutes, or it might have been hours, for all he knew: at last they
+halted, near the base of the white pyramid.
+
+"Here we are safe," said Semitzin, coming to his side. "Lean on me, my
+love, and I will lift you down."
+
+"Oh, I'm not quite so bad as that, you know," said Freeman, with a
+feeble laugh; and, to prove it, he blundered off the saddle, and came
+down on the ground with a thwack. He picked himself up, however, and
+recollecting that he had a flask with brandy in it, he felt for it,
+found it intact, and, with an inarticulate murmur of apology, raised it
+to his lips. It was like the veritable elixir of life: never in his life
+before had Freeman quaffed so deep a draught of the fiery spirit. It was
+just what he wanted.
+
+But he felt oddly embarrassed. He did not know what to make of Miriam.
+It was not her strange costume merely, but she seemed to have put
+on--or put off--something with it that made a difference in her. She was
+assertive, imperious; as loving, certainly, as lover could wish, but not
+in the manner of the Miriam he knew. He might have liked the new Miriam
+better, had he not previously fallen in love with the former one. He
+could not make advances to her: he had no opportunity to do so: she was
+making advances to him!
+
+"My love," she said, standing before him, "I have come back to the world
+for your sake. Before Semitzin first saw you, her heart was yours. And
+I come to you, not poor, but with the riches and power of the princes of
+Tenochtitlan. You shall see them: they are yours!--Kamaiakan, take down
+the chest."
+
+"What's that about Semitzin?" inquired Freeman. "I'm not aware that I
+knew any such person."
+
+"Kamaiakan!" repeated the other, raising her voice, and not hearing
+Freeman's last words. Kamaiakan was nowhere to be seen. Both Freeman and
+she had supposed that he was following on behind the mule; but he
+had either dropped behind, or had withdrawn somewhere. "O Kamaiakan!"
+shouted Freeman, as loud as he could.
+
+A distant hail, from the direction of the desert, seemed to reply.
+
+"That can't be he," said Freeman. "It was at least a quarter of a mile
+off, and the wrong direction, too. He's in the gorge, if he's anywhere."
+
+"Hark!" said Semitzin.
+
+They listened, and detected a low murmur, this time from the gorge.
+
+"He's fallen down and hurt himself," said Freeman. "Let's go after him."
+
+In a few moments they stumbled upon the old Indian, reclining with his
+shoulders against a rock, and gasping heavily.
+
+"My princess," he whispered, as she bent over him, "I am dying. The
+poisonous air in the cave was fatal to me, though the spell that is upon
+the Golden Fleece protected you. I have done what the gods commanded. I
+am absolved of my vow. The treasure is safe."
+
+"Nonsense! you're all right!" exclaimed Freeman. "Here, take a pull at
+this flask. It did me all the good in the world!"
+
+But the old man put it aside, with a feeble gesture of the hand. "My
+time is come,----" said he.--"Semitzin, I have been faithful."
+
+"Semitzin, again!" muttered Freeman. "What does it mean?"
+
+"But what is this?" cried the girl, suddenly starting to her feet. "I
+feel the sleep coming on me again! I feel Miriam returning! Kamaiakan,
+have you betrayed me at the last?"
+
+"No, no, princess, I have done nothing," said he, in a voice scarcely
+audible. "But, with death, the strength of my will goes from me, and I
+can no longer keep you in this world. The spirit of Miriam claims her
+rightful body, and you must struggle against her alone. The gods will
+not be defied: it is the law!"
+
+His voice sank away into nothing, and his beard drooped upon his breast.
+
+"He's dying, sure enough, poor old chap," said Freeman. "But what is
+all this about? I never heard anything like this language you two talk
+together."
+
+Semitzin turned towards him, and her eyes were blazing.
+
+"She shall not have you!" she cried. "I have won you--I have saved
+you--you are mine! What is Miriam? Can she be to you what I could
+be?--You shall never have him!" she continued, seeming to address some
+presence invisible to all eyes but hers. "If I must go, you shall go
+with me!" She fumbled in her belt, caught the handle of a knife there,
+and drew it. She lifted it against her heart; but even then there was an
+uncertainty in her movement, as if her mind were divided against itself,
+or had failed fully to retain the thread of its purpose. But Freeman,
+who had passed rapidly from one degree of bewilderment to another, was
+actually relieved to see, at last, something that he could understand.
+Miriam--for some reason best known to herself--was about to do herself
+a mischief. He leaped forward, caught her in his arms, and snatched the
+knife from her grasp.
+
+For a few moments she struggled like a young tiger. And it was
+marvellous and appalling to hear two voices come from her, in
+alternation, or confusedly mingled. One said, "Let me kill her! I will
+not go! Keep back, you pale-faced girl!" and then a lower, troubled
+voice, "Do not let her come! Her face is terrible! What are those
+strange creatures with her? Harvey, where are you?"
+
+At last, with a fierce cry, that died away in a shuddering sigh, the
+form of flesh and blood, so mysteriously possessed, ceased to struggle,
+and sank back in Freeman's arms. His own strength was well-nigh at an
+end. He laid her on the ground, and, sitting beside her, drew her head
+on his knee. He had been in the land of spirits, contending with unknown
+powers, and he was faint in mind and body.
+
+Yet he was conscious of the approaching tread of horses' feet, and
+recollected the hail that had come from the desert. Soon loomed up
+the shadowy figures of mounted men, and they came so near that he was
+constrained to call out, "Mind where you're going! You'll be over us!"
+
+"Who are you?" said a voice, which sounded like that of General
+Trednoke, as they reined up.
+
+"There's Kamaiakan, who's dead; and Miriam Trednoke, who has been out of
+her mind, but she's got over it now, I guess; and I,--Harvey Freeman."
+
+"My daughter!" exclaimed General Trednoke.
+
+"My boy!" cried Professor Meschines. "Well, thank God we've found you,
+and that some of you are alive, at any rate!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+As it was still some hours before dawn, and Freeman was too weak to
+travel, it was decided to encamp beside the pyramid till the following
+evening, and then make the trip across the desert in the comparative
+coolness of starlight. Meanwhile, there was something to be done, and
+much to be explained.
+
+The spirit of Kamaiakan had passed away, apparently at the same moment
+that the peculiar case of "possession" under which Miriam had suffered
+came to an end. They determined to bury him at the foot of the great
+pyramid, which would form a fitting monument of his antique character
+and virtues.
+
+Miriam, after her struggle, had lapsed into a state of partial lethargy,
+from which she was aroused gradually. It was then found that she could
+give no account what ever of how or why she came there. The last thing
+she distinctly remembered was standing on the veranda at the ranch and
+looking towards the east. She was under the impression that Kamaiakan
+had approached and spoken with her, but of that she was not certain. The
+next fact in her consciousness was that she was held in Freeman's arms,
+with a feeling that she had barely escaped from some great peril. She
+could recall nothing of the journey down the gorge, of the adventure
+at the bottom of it, or of the return. It was only by degrees that some
+partial light was thrown upon this matter. Freeman knew that he was at
+the entrance of the cave when the earthquake began, and he remembered
+receiving a blow on the head. Consequently it must have been at
+that spot that Miriam and the Indian found him. He had, too, a vague
+impression of seeing Miriam coming out of the cave, dragging the chest;
+and there, sure enough, was a metal box, strapped to the saddle of the
+pack-mule. But the mystery remained very dense. And although the
+reader is in a position to analyze events more closely than the actors
+themselves could do, it may be doubted whether the essential mystery is
+much clearer to him than it was to them.
+
+"We know that the ancient Aztecan priests were adepts in magic,"
+observed the professor, "and it's natural that some of their learning
+should have descended to their posterity. We have been clever in giving
+names to such phenomena, but we know perhaps even less about their
+esoteric meaning than the Aztecans did. I should judge that Miriam would
+be what is called a good 'subject.' Kamaiakan discovered that fact;
+and as for what followed, we can only infer it from the results. I was
+always an admirer of Kamaiakan; but I must say I am the better resigned
+to his departure, from the reflection that Miriam will henceforth be
+undisturbed in the possession of her own individuality."
+
+"As near as I could make out, she called herself Semitzin," put in
+Freeman.
+
+"Semitzin?" repeated the general. "Why, if I'm not mistaken, there are
+accounts of an Aztecan princess of that name, an ancestress of my wife's
+family, in some old documents that I have in a box, at home."
+
+"That would only add the marvel of heredity to the other marvels," said
+Meschines. "Suppose we leave the things we can't understand, and come to
+those we can?"
+
+"I have something to say, General Trednoke," said Freeman.
+
+"I think I have already guessed what it may be, Mr. Freeman," returned
+the general, gravely. "Old people have eyes, and hearts too, as well as
+young ones."
+
+"Come, Trednoke," interposed the professor, with a chuckle, "your eyes
+might not have seen so much, if I hadn't held the lantern."
+
+"I love your daughter, and I told her so yesterday morning," went on
+Freeman, after a pause. "I meant to tell you on my return. I know
+I don't appear desirable as a son-in-law. But I came here on a
+commission----"
+
+"Meschines and I have talked it all over," the general said. "When
+an old West-Pointer and a professor of physics get together, they are
+sometimes able to put two and two together. And, to tell the truth,
+I received a letter from a member of your syndicate, who is also
+an acquaintance of mine, which explained your position. Under the
+circumstances, I consider your course to have been honorable. You and
+I were both in search of the same thing, and now, as it appears, nature
+has sent an earthquake to do our affair for us. No operations of ours
+could have achieved such a result as last night's disturbance did; and
+if that do not prove effective, nothing else will."
+
+"If it turns out well, I was promised a share in the benefits," said
+Freeman, "and that would put me in a rather better condition, from a
+worldly point of view."
+
+"After all," interrupted Meschines, "you found your way to the spot from
+which the waters broke forth, and may fairly be entitled to the credit
+of the discovery.--Eh, Trednoke? At any rate, we found nothing.--Yes,
+I think they'll have to admit you to partnership, Harvey: and Miriam
+too,--who, by the way, seems to be the only one who actually penetrated
+into this cave you speak of. Maybe the removal of the chest pulled
+the plug out of the bung-hole, as it were: the escape of confined air
+through such a vent would be apt to draw water along with it. By the
+way, let's have a look at this same chest: it looks solid enough to hold
+something valuable."
+
+"I would like, in the first place, to hear what General Trednoke has to
+say about what I have told him," said Freeman, clearing his throat.
+
+"Miriam," said the general, "do you wish to be married to this young
+man?"
+
+The old soldier was sitting with her hand in his, and he turned to her
+as he spoke. She threw her arms round his neck, and pressed her face
+against his shoulder. "He is to me what you were to mamma," she said, so
+that only he could hear.
+
+"Then be to him what she was to me," answered the general, kissing her.
+"Ah me, little girl! I am old, but perhaps this is the right way for
+me to grow young again. Well, if you are of the same mind six months
+hence----"
+
+"Worse; it will be much worse, then," murmured the professor. "Better
+make it three."
+
+The chest was made of some alloy of steel and nickel, impervious to
+rust, and very hard. It resisted all gentle methods of attack, and it
+was finally found necessary to force the lock with a charge of powder.
+Within was found another case, which was pried open with the point of
+the general's bowie-knife.
+
+It was filled to the brim with precious stones, most of them removed
+from their settings. But such of the gold-work as remained showed the
+jewels to be of ancient Aztecan origin. There was value enough in the
+box to buy and stock a dozen ranches as big as the general's, and leave
+heirlooms enough to decorate a family larger than that of the most
+fruitful of the ancient patriarchs.
+
+"I call that quite a respectable dowry," remarked Meschines. "Upon my
+soul, Miriam, if I had known what you had up your sleeve, I should have
+thought twice before allowing a 'civil engineer'--do you remember?--to
+run off with you so easily."
+
+
+At dawn, they prepared the body of old Kamaiakan for its interment. In
+doing this, the professor noted the peculiar appearance of the corpse.
+
+"The flesh is absolutely withered," said he, "especially those parts
+which were uncovered. It must have been subjected to the action of some
+destructive vapor or gas, fatal not only to breathe, but to come in
+contact with. I have heard of poisonous emanations proceeding from the
+ground in these regions, but I never saw an instance of their effects
+before. That skull that you say you found, Harvey, was probably that of
+a victim of the same cause. But it is strange that Miriam, who must have
+remained some time in the very midst of it, should have escaped without
+a mark, or even any inconvenience."
+
+"Kamaiakan ascribed it to the magic of the Golden Fleece," said Freeman.
+
+"Well," rejoined the other, "he may have been right; but, for my part,
+the only magic that I can find in it lies in the fact that it is made of
+pure wool, which undoubtedly possesses remarkable sanative properties;
+or maybe the fiery soul of Semitzin was powerful enough to repel all
+harmful influences. The poor old fellow himself, being clad in cotton,
+and with no soul but his own, was destroyed. Let us wrap him in his
+blanket, and bid him farewell--and with him, I hope, to all that is
+uncanny and abnormal in the lives of you young folks!"
+
+
+The last rites having been paid to the dead, the party mounted their
+horses and rode out of the gorge on to the long levels of the desert.
+
+"Who come yonder?" said Freeman.
+
+"A couple of Mexicans, I think," said the general.
+
+"One of them is a woman," said Meschines.
+
+"They look very weary," remarked Freeman.
+
+Miriam fixed her eyes on the approaching pair for a moment, and then
+said, "They are Senor de Mendoza and Grace Parsloe."
+
+And so, indeed, they were; and thus, in this lonely spot, all the
+dramatis personae of this history found themselves united.
+
+In answer to the obvious question, how Grace and De Mendoza happened
+to be there, it transpired that, left to their own devices, they had
+undertaken no less an enterprise than to discover the hidden treasure.
+Grace had communicated to the Mexican such bits of information as she
+had picked up and such surmises as she had formed, and he had been able
+to supplement her knowledge to an extent that seemed to justify them in
+attempting the adventure,--not to mention the fact that Don Miguel (such
+was the ardor of his sentiment for Grace) would, had she desired it,
+have gone with her into a fiery furnace or a den of lions. Grace, who
+was ambitious as well as romantic, and who longed for the power and
+independence that wealth would give, was all alight with the idea of
+capturing the hoard of Montezuma: her social position would be altered
+at a stroke, and the world would be at her feet. Whether she would then
+have rewarded Don Miguel for his devotion, is possibly open to doubt:
+the sudden acquisition of boundless wealth has been known to turn larger
+heads than hers. Fortunately, however, this temptation was withheld from
+her: so far from finding the treasure, she and Don Miguel very soon
+lost themselves in the desert, and had been wandering about ever since,
+dolely uncomfortable, and in no small danger of losing their lives. They
+were already at the end of their last resource when they happened to
+encounter the other party, as we have seen; and immeasurable was their
+joy at the unlooked-for deliverance. So there was another halt, to
+enable them to rest and recuperate; and it was not until the evening of
+that day that the journey was finally resumed.
+
+Meanwhile, Grace had time to think over all that happened, and to arrive
+at certain conclusions. She was at bottom a good girl, though liable
+to be led away by her imagination, her vanity, and her temperament. Don
+Miguel's best qualities had revealed themselves to her in the desert: he
+had always thought of her before himself, had done all that in him lay
+to save her from fatigue and suffering, and had stuck to her faithfully
+when he might perhaps have increased his own chances of escape by
+abandoning her. Did not such a man deserve to be rewarded?--especially
+as he was a handsome fellow, of good family, and possessed of quite a
+respectable income. Moreover, Harvey Freeman was now beyond her reach:
+he was going to marry Miriam, and she had realized that her own brief
+infatuation for him had had no very deep root after all. Accordingly,
+she smiled encouragingly upon Don Miguel, and before they set out on
+their homeward ride she had vouchsafed him the bliss of knowing that he
+might call her his.
+
+The general, as her guardian, did not withhold his approval; but when
+Grace drew him aside and besought him never to reveal to her intended
+the fact that she had once been a shop-girl, the old warrior smiled.
+
+"You can depend upon me to keep your secret, if you wish it, my dear,"
+said he; "but I warn you that such concealments between husband and wife
+are not wise. He loves you and would only love you the more for your
+frankness in confessing what you seem to consider a discreditable
+episode: though I for my part am free to tell you that you will be lucky
+if your future life affords you the opportunity of doing anything else
+so much to your credit. But the chances are that he will find it out
+sooner or later; and that may not be so agreeable, either to him or to
+you. Better tell him all now."
+
+But Grace pictured to herself the aristocratic pride of an hidalgo
+shocked by the suggestion of the plebeianism of trade; and she would not
+consent to the revelation. But the general's prediction was fulfilled
+sooner than might have been expected.
+
+For, after they were married, Don Miguel decided to visit the Atlantic
+coast on the wedding journey; and one of the first notable places they
+reached was, of course, New York. Don Miguel was delighted, and was
+never weary of strolling up Fifth Avenue and down Broadway, with his
+beautiful wife on his arm. He marvelled at the vast white pile of
+the Fifth Avenue Hotel; he frowned at the Worth Monument; he stared
+inexhaustibly into the shop-windows; he exclaimed with admiration at
+the stupendous piles of masonry which contained the goods of New York's
+merchant princes. It seemed to be his opinion that the possessors of so
+much palpable wealth must be the true aristocracy of the country.
+
+And one afternoon it happened that as they were strolling along
+Broadway, between Twenty-third Street and Union Square, and were
+crossing one of the side-streets, a horse belonging to one of Lord and
+Taylor's delivery-wagons became frightened, and bolted round the corner.
+One of the hind wheels of the vehicle came in contact with Grace's
+shoulder, and knocked her down. The blow and the fall stunned her. Don
+Miguel's grief and indignation were expressed with tropical energy; and
+a by-stander said, "Better carry her into the store, mister; it's their
+wagon run her down, and they can't do less than look after her."
+
+The counsel seemed reasonable, and Don Miguel, with the assistance of
+a policeman, lifted his wife and bore her into the stately shop. One
+of the floor-walkers met them at the door; he cast a glance at their
+burden, and exclaimed, "Why, it's Miss Parsloe!" And immediately a
+number of the employees gathered round, all regarding her with interest
+and sympathy, all anxious to help, and--which was what mystified Don
+Miguel--all calling her by name! How came they to know Grace Parsloe?
+Nay, they even glanced at Don Miguel, as if to ask what was HIS business
+with the beautiful unconscious one!
+
+"This lady are my wife," he said, with dignity. "She not any more Miss
+Parsloe."
+
+"Oh, Grace has got married!" exclaimed the young ladies, one to another;
+and then an elderly man, evidently in authority, came forward and said,
+"I suppose you are aware, sir, that Miss Parsloe was formerly one of our
+girls here; and a very clever and useful girl she was. I need not say
+how sorry we are for this accident: I have sent for the physician: but
+I cannot but be glad that the misfortune has at least given me the
+opportunity of telling you how highly your wife was valued and respected
+here."
+
+At this juncture, Grace opened her eyes: she looked from one face to
+another, and knew that fate had brought the truth to light. But the
+physical shock tempered the severity of the mental one: besides, she
+could not help being pleased at the sight of so many well-remembered and
+friendly faces; and, finally, her husband did not look by any means so
+angry and scandalized as she had feared he would. Indeed, he appeared
+almost gratified. The truth probably was, he was flattered to see his
+wife the centre of so much interest and attention, and at the discovery
+that she had been in some way an honored appanage of so imposing an
+establishment. So, by the time Grace was well enough to be driven back
+to her hotel, the senor was prattling cheerfully and familiarly with all
+and sundry, and was promising to bring his wife back there the next day,
+to talk over old times with her former associates.
+
+Such was Grace's punishment: it was not very severe; but then her fault
+had been a venial one; and the episode was of much moral benefit to her.
+She liked her husband all the better for having nothing more to conceal
+from him; her vanity was rebuked, and her false pride chastened;
+and when, in after-years, her pretty daughters and black-haired sons
+gathered about her knees, she was wont to warn them sagely against the
+un-American absurdity of fearing to work for their living, or being
+ashamed to have it known.
+
+But the married life of Miriam and Harvey Freeman was characteristically
+American in its happiness. The representatives of the oldest and of the
+latest inhabitants of this continent, their union seemed to produce the
+flower of what was best in both. Their wedding is still remembered in
+that region, as being everything that a Southern Californian wedding
+should be; and the bride, as she stood at the altar, looked what she
+was,--one of those women who, more than anything else in this world,
+are fitted to bring back to earth the gentle splendors of the Garden
+of Eden. In her dark eyes, as she fixed them upon Freeman, there was
+a mystic light, telling of fathomless depths of tenderness and
+intelligence: it seemed to her husband that love had expanded and
+uplifted her; or perhaps that other spirit in her, which had battled
+with her own, had now become reconciled, and therefore yielded up
+whatever it had of good and noble to aggrandize the gentle victory of
+its conqueror. Somehow, somewhere, in Miriam's nature, Semitzin lived;
+and, as a symbol of the peace and atonement that were the issue of
+her strange interior story, her husband preserves with reverence and
+affection the mysterious garment called the Golden Fleece.
+
+
+
+
+
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+Project Gutenberg Etext of The Golden Fleece, by Julian Hawthorne
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+Scanned by Charles Keller with OmniPage Professional OCR software
+donated by Caere Corporation.
+
+
+
+
+
+THE GOLDEN FLEECE
+
+A Romance
+
+by JULIAN HAWTHORNE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+The professor crossed one long, lean leg
+over the other, and punched down the
+ashes in his pipe-bowl with the square tip
+of his middle finger.  The thermometer on
+the shady veranda marked eighty-seven
+degrees of heat, and nature wooed the soul to
+languor and revery; but nothing could abate
+the energy of this bony sage.
+
+"They talk about their Atlantises,--their
+submerged continents!" he exclaimed, with
+a sniff through his wide, hairy nostrils. 
+"Why, Trednoke, do you realize that we
+are living literally at the bottom of a
+Mesozoic--at any rate, Cenozoic--sea?"
+
+The gentleman thus indignantly addressed
+contemplated his questioner with the serenity
+of one conscious of freedom from geologic
+responsibility.  He was a man of about the
+professor's age,--say, sixty years,--but not
+like him in appearance.  His figure was
+stately and massive,--that of one who in
+his youth must have possessed vast physical
+strength, rigidly developed and disciplined. 
+Well set upon his broad shoulders was a
+noble head, crowned with gray, wavy hair;
+the eyes and eyebrows were black and powerful,
+but the expression was kindly and
+humorous.  His moustache and the Roman
+convexity of his chin would have confirmed
+your conviction that he was a retired
+warrior; in which you would have been correct,
+for General Trednoke always appeared what
+he was, both outwardly and inwardly.  His
+great frame, clad in white linen, was
+comfortably disposed in a Japanese straw arm-
+chair; yet there was a soldierly poise in his
+attitude.  He was smoking a large and
+excellent cigar; and a cup of coffee, with a
+tiny glass of cognac beside it, stood on a
+mahogany stand at his elbow.
+
+"Do you remember, Meschines, the time
+I licked you at school?" he inquired, in a
+tone of pleasant reminiscence.
+
+"I can't say I do.  What's more, I
+venture to challenge your statement.  And
+though you are a hundred pounds the better
+of me in weight, and a West Point graduate,
+I will wager my pipe (which is worth its
+weight in diamonds) against that old woollen
+shirt of Montezuma's that you showed me
+yesterday, that I can lick you to-day, and
+forget all about it before bedtime!"
+
+"Well, I guess you could," returned the
+general, with a little chuckle, "even if I
+hadn't that Mexican bullet in my leg.  But
+you couldn't, forty-five years ago, though
+you tried, and though I was a year younger
+than you, and weighed five pounds less. 
+Come, now: you don't mean to say you've
+forgotten Susan Brown!"
+
+"Oh--ah--hah!  Susan Brown!  Well,
+I declare!  And what brought her into your
+head, I should like to know?"
+
+"Why, after breaking your heart first, and
+then mine, I lost sight of her, and I don't
+think I have seen her since.  But it appears
+she was married to a fellow named Parsloe."
+
+"Don't fancy that name!" observed the
+professor, wagging his head and frowning. 
+"Has a mean sound to it.  But what of it?"
+
+"Well, she died,--rest her soul!--and
+Parsloe too.  But they had a daughter, and
+she survives them."
+
+"And resembles her mother, eh?--No,
+Trednoke, the time for that sort of thing
+has gone by with me.  Susan might have
+had me, five-and-forty years ago; but I
+can't undertake to revive my passion for
+the benefit of Mrs. Parsloe's daughter. 
+Besides, I'm too busy to think of marriage,
+and not--not old enough!"
+
+At this tour de force, the general laughed
+softly, and finished his coffee.  An old
+Indian, somewhat remarkable in appearance,
+with shaggy white hair hanging down on
+his shoulders, stepped forward from the
+room where he had been waiting, and
+removed the cup.
+
+"No letters yet, Kamaiakan?" asked the
+general, in Spanish.
+
+"In a few minutes, general," the other
+replied.   "Pablo has just come in sight
+over the hill.  There were several errands."
+
+"Muy buen!--I was going to say,
+Meschines, her father and mother left the girl
+poor, and she, being, apparently, clever and
+energetic, took to----"
+
+"I know!" the professor interrupted. 
+"They all do it, when they are clever and
+energetic, and that's the end of them!--
+School-teaching!"
+
+"Not at all," returned General Trednoke. 
+"She entered a dry-goods store."
+
+"Entered a dry-goods store!  Well,
+there's nothing so extraordinary in that. 
+I've seen quantities of women do it, of all
+ages, colors, and degrees.  What did she
+buy there?"
+
+"Oh, a fiddlestick!" exclaimed the
+general.  "Why don't you keep quiet and
+listen to my story?  I say, she went into a
+great dry-goods store in New York, as sales-
+woman."
+
+"Bless my soul!  You don't mean a
+shop-girl?"
+
+"That's what I said, isn't it?  And why
+not?"
+
+"Oh, well!--but, shade of Susan Brown! 
+Ichabod!--what is the feminine of Ichabod,
+by the way, Trednoke?  But, seriously, it's
+too bad.  Susan may have been fickle, but
+she was always aristocratic.  And now her
+daughter is a shop-girl.  You and I are
+avenged!"
+
+"You are just as ridiculous, Meschines,
+as you were thirty or fifty years ago," said
+the general, tranquilly.   "You declaim for
+the sake of hearing your own voice.  Besides,
+what you say is un-American.  Grace
+Parsloe, as I was saying, got a place as shop-
+girl in one of the great New York stores. 
+I don't say she mightn't have done worse:
+what I say is, I doubt whether she could
+have done better.  That house--I know one
+of its founders, and I know what I'm talking
+about--is like an enormous family, where
+children are born, year after year, grow up,
+and take their places in life according to
+their quality and merit.  What I mean is,
+that the boy who drives a wagon for them
+to-day, at three dollars a week, may control
+one of their chief departments, or even
+become a partner, before they're done with
+him; and, mutatis mutandis, the same with
+the girls.  When these girls marry, it's apt
+to be into a higher rank of life than they
+were born in; and that fact, I take it, is a
+good indication that their shop-girl
+experience has been an education and an
+improvement.  They are given work to do,
+suited to their capacity, be it small or great;
+they are in the way of learning something
+of the great economic laws; they learn self-
+restraint, courtesy, and----"
+
+"And human nature!  Yes, poor things:
+they see the American buying-woman, and
+that is a discipline more trying than any you
+West Pointers know about!  Oh, yes, I see
+your point.  If the fathers of the big family
+ARE fathers, and the children ARE children to
+them . . .  All the same, I fancy the young
+ladies, when they marry into the higher
+social circles, as you say they do, don't, as
+a rule, make their shop girl days a topic of
+conversation at five-o'clock teas, or put
+'Ex-shop-girl to So-and-so' at the bottom of
+their visiting-cards."
+
+"I believe, after all, you're a snob,
+Meschines," said the general, pensively. "But,
+as I was about to say, when you interrupted
+me ten minutes ago, Grace Parsloe is coming
+on here to make us a visit.  She fell ill, and
+her employers, after doing what could be
+done for her in the way of medical attendance,
+made up their minds to give her a
+change of climate.  Now, you know, as she
+had originally gone to them with a letter
+from me, and as I live out here, on the
+borders of the Southern desert, in a climate
+that has no equal, they naturally thought of
+writing to me about it.  And of course I
+said I'd be delighted to have her here, for a
+month, or a year, or whatever time it may
+be.  She will be a pleasure to me, and a
+friend for Miriam, and she may find a husband
+somewhere up or down the coast, who
+will give her a fortune, and think all the
+better of her because she, like him, had the
+ability and the pluck to make her own way
+in the world."
+
+"Humph!  When do you expect her?"
+
+"She may turn up any day.  She is
+coming round by way of the Isthmus. 
+From what I hear, she is really a very fine,
+clever girl.  She held a responsible position
+in the shop, and----"
+
+"Well, let us sink the shop, and get back
+to the rational and instructive conversation
+that we--or, to be more accurate, that I was
+engaged in when this digression began.  I
+presume you are aware that all the indications
+are lacustrine?"
+
+Hereupon, a hammock, suspended near the
+talkers, and filled with what appeared to be
+a bundle of lace and silken shawls, became
+agitated, and developed at one end a slender
+arched foot in an open-work silk stocking and
+sandal-slipper, and at the other end a dark,
+youthful, oval face, with glorious eyes and
+dull black hair.  A voice of music asked,--
+
+"What is lacustrine, papa?"
+
+"Oh, so you are awake again, Senorita
+Miriam?"
+
+"I haven't been asleep.  What is lacustrine?"
+
+"Ask the professor."
+
+"Lacus, you know, my dear," said the
+latter, "means fresh-water indications as
+against salt."
+
+"Then how does Great Salt Lake----"
+
+"Oh, for that matter, the whole ocean
+was fresh originally.  Moisture, evaporation,
+precipitation.  Water is a great solvent:
+earthquakes break the crust, and
+there you are!"
+
+"Then, before the earthquakes, the Salt
+Lakes were fresh?" rejoined the hammock.
+
+"There was fresh water west of the
+Rockies and south of----  Why," cried
+the professor, interrupting himself, "when
+I was in Wyoming and around there, this
+spring, in what they call the Bad Lands,--
+cliffs and buttes of indurated yellow clay and
+sandstone, worn and carved out by floods
+long before the Aztecs started to move out
+of Canada,--I saw fossil bones sticking out
+of the cliffs, the least of which would make
+the fortune of a museum.  That was between
+the Rockies and the Wahsatch."
+
+"People's bones?" asked the hammock,
+agitating itself again, and showing a glimpse
+of a smooth throat and a slender ankle.
+
+"Bless my soul!  If there were people
+in those days they must have had an anxious
+time of it!" returned the sage.   "No, no,
+my dear.  There was brontosaurus, and
+atlantosaurus, and hydrosaurus, and iguanodon,
+--lizards, you know, not like these little
+black fellows that run about in the pulverized
+feldspar here, but chaps eighty or a hundred
+feet long, and twenty or thirty high; and
+turtles, as big as a house."
+
+"How did they get there?"
+
+"Got mired while they were feeding,
+perhaps; or the water drained off and left
+them high and dry."
+
+"But where did the water go to?"
+
+The general chuckled at this juncture,
+and lit another cigar.  "She knows more
+questions than you do the answers to them,"
+quoth he.  "But I wouldn't mind hearing
+where the water went to, myself.  I should
+like to see some of it back again."
+
+"Ask the earthquakes, and the sun. 
+There's a hundred and thirty degrees of
+heat in some of these valleys,--abysses,
+rather, three or four hundred feet below sea-
+level.  The earth is very thin-skinned in
+this region, too, and whatever water wasn't
+evaporated from above would be likely to
+come to grief underneath."
+
+"But, professor," said the musical voice,
+"I thought there was a law that water
+always seeks its own level.  So how can
+there be empty places below sea-level?"
+
+"It's the fault of the aneroid barometer,
+my dear.  We were very comfortable and
+commonplace until that came along and
+revealed anomalies.  The secret lies, I
+suppose, in the trend of the strata, which is
+generally north and south.  You see the
+ridges cropping out all through the desert;
+and there's a good deal of lava oozing over
+them, too.  They probably act as walls, to
+prevent the sea getting in from the west, or
+the Colorado leaking in from the east."
+
+"In that case," remarked the general, "a
+little more seismic disturbance might produce
+a change."
+
+"It would have to be more than a little, I
+suspect," returned Meschines.
+
+"Kamaiakan told me that the Indians
+have a prophecy that a great lake will come
+back and make the desert fruitful, and that
+there are some who know the very place
+where the water will begin to flow."  And
+here the hammock, with a final convulsion,
+gave birth to a beautiful young woman, in a
+diaphanous silk dress and a white lace
+mantilla.  She crossed the veranda, and seated
+herself on the broad arm of her father's
+chair.
+
+"Why, that's important!" said the
+general, arching his brows.  "I wonder if
+Kamaiakan is one of those who know the
+place?  If so, it might be worth his while
+to let me into the secret."
+
+"Oh, you couldn't go there!  It's
+enchanted, and people who go near it die. 
+There are bones all about there, now."
+
+"This Kamaiakan appears to be a remarkable
+personage: where did you pick him
+up?" inquired the professor.
+
+"It was rather the other way," Trednoke
+replied, taking one of his daughter's hands
+in his, and caressing it.  "We are appendages
+to Kamaiakan.  You look so natural,
+sitting there, Meschines, that I forget it's
+thirty years since we met, and that all the
+significant events of my life have happened
+in that time,--the Mexican war, my marriage,
+and the rest of it!  I have been a
+widower ten years."
+
+"And I've been a bachelor for over
+sixty!" said Meschines, with a queer expression. 
+"Your wife was Spanish, was she not?"
+
+"Her father was a Mexican of Andalusian
+descent.  But her mother was descended
+from the race of Azatlan: there are records
+and relics indicating that her ancestors were
+princes in Tenochtitlan before Cortez made
+trouble there."
+
+"And I've been losing my heart to a
+princess, and never realized my audacity!"
+exclaimed the professor, laying his hand on
+his waistcoat and making an obeisance to
+Miriam.
+
+She tossed her free foot, and played with
+the fringe of her reboso.
+
+"I will tell my maid to look for it," she
+said; "but I think you must have left it in
+papa's curiosity-room."
+
+"No: I'm an Aztec sacrifice!" cried the
+professor; and they all laughed.  "One
+would hardly have anticipated," he resumed
+after a pause, addressing Trednoke, "that
+you would have made a double conquest,--
+first of the men, and then of the woman!"
+
+"The woman conquered me, without
+trying or wishing to, and then, because she
+was a woman, took compassion on me. 
+Whether my country has benefited much by
+the Mexican annexation, I can't say; but I
+know Inez--made a heaven on earth for
+me," concluded the general, in a low voice. 
+His countenance, at this moment, wore a
+solemn and humble expression, beautiful to
+see; and Miriam bent and laid her cheek
+against his.  Meschines knocked the ashes
+out of his pipe, and sighed.
+
+"No woman ever took compassion on
+me," he remarked, "and you see the result,
+--ashes!"
+
+"Ashes,--with their wonted fires living in
+them," said Trednoke.
+
+"We were talking about this Indian of
+yours," said Meschines.
+
+"Ay, to be sure.  Well, he was attached
+to Inez's family when I first knew them.  It
+was a peculiar relation; not like that of a
+servant.  One finds such things in Mexico. 
+The conquered race were of as good strain
+as their conquerors; the blood of Montezuma
+was as blue as the best of the Castilian. 
+There were many intermarriages; and there
+are many instances of the survival of
+traditions and records; though the records are
+often symbolic, and would have no meaning
+to persons not initiated.  But they have
+been sufficient to perpetuate ties of a personal
+nature through generation after generation;
+and the alliance between Kamaiakan
+and Inez was of this kind.  His forefathers,
+I imagine, were priests, and priests were a
+mighty power in Tenochtitlan.  For aught
+I know, indeed Kamaiakan may be an original
+priest of Montezuma's; no one knows
+his age, but he does not look an hour older,
+to-day, than when I first saw him, over
+twenty years ago."
+
+"He must be!" said Miriam, with some
+positiveness.  "He has told me of seeing
+and doing things hundreds of years ago. 
+And he says----"  She paused.
+
+"What does he say, Nina adorada?"
+asked her father.
+
+"It was about the treasure, you know."
+
+"Let us hear.  The professor is one of
+us."
+
+"It's one of our traditions that my
+mother's ancestors, at the time of Cortez,
+were very rich people," continued Miriam,
+glancing at Meschines, and then letting her
+eyes wander across the garden, blooming
+with roses and fragrant with orange-trees,
+and so across the trellised vines towards the
+soft outline of the mountains eastward.  "A
+great part of their wealth was in the form
+of jewels and precious stones.  When Cortez
+took the city, one of the priests, who
+was a relative of our family, put the jewels
+in a box, and hid them in a certain place in
+the desert."
+
+"And does Kamaiakan know where the
+place is?" asked the general.
+
+"He can know, when the time comes."
+
+"Which will be, perhaps, when you are
+ready for your dowry," observed the
+professor, genially.
+
+"A spell was put upon the spot," Miriam
+went on, with a certain imaginative seriousness;
+for she loved romance and mystery so
+well, and was of a temperament so poetical,
+that the wildest fairy-tales had a sort of
+reality for her.  "No one can find the
+treasure while the spell remains.  But
+Kamaiakan understands the spell, and the
+conjuration which dissolves it; and when he
+dissolves it, the treasure will be found."
+
+"And, between ourselves," added the
+general, "Kamaiakan is himself the priestly
+relative by whom the spell was wrought. 
+He bears an enchanted life, which cannot
+cease until he has restored the jewels to
+Miriam's hands."
+
+"There might be something in it, you
+know," said Meschines, after a pause. 
+"The treasures of Montezuma have never
+been found.  Is there no old chart or
+writing, in your collection of curiosities
+and relics, that might throw light on it?"
+
+"The scriptures of Anahuac were of the
+hieroglyphic type,--picture-writing,"
+replied the other.  "No, I fear there is
+nothing to the purpose; and if there were,
+I shouldn't know how to decipher it."
+
+"But, papa, the tunic!" exclaimed
+Miriam.
+
+"Oh! has the tunic anything to do with
+it?"
+
+"Is that the queer woollen garment with
+the gold embroidery?" inquired the professor,
+becoming more interested.  "I took a
+fancy to that, you remember.  Has it a
+story?"
+
+"Well, it is a kind of an anomaly, I
+believe," the general answered, looking up
+at his daughter with a smile.  "The Aztecs,
+you are aware, dressed chiefly in cotton. 
+Even their defensive armor was of cotton,
+thickly quilted.  Their ornaments were
+feathers, and embroidery of gold and precious
+stones.  But wool, for some reason, they
+didn't wear; and yet this garment, as you
+can see for yourself, is pure wool; and that
+it is also pure Aztecan is beyond question."
+
+"Admitting that, what clue does it give
+to the treasure?"
+
+"You must ask Kamaiakan," said Miriam:
+"only, he wouldn't tell you."
+
+"Possibly," the professor suggested, "the
+place where the treasure is hidden is the
+place whence the water is to flow out; and
+the water is the treasure."
+
+"Seriously, do you suppose that such a
+phenomenon as the return of an inland sea
+is physically practicable?" asked Trednoke.
+
+"No phenomenon, in this part of the
+world, would surprise me," returned
+Meschines.  "The Colorado might break its
+barriers; or it is conceivable that some
+huge stream, taking its rise in the heights
+hundreds of miles north and east of us, may
+be flowing through subterranean passages
+into the sea, emerging from the sea-bottom
+hundreds of miles to the westward.  Now,
+if a rattling good earthquake were to happen
+along, you might awake in the morning
+to find yourself on an island, or even under
+water."
+
+"A moderate Mediterranean would satisfy
+me," the general said.  "I wouldn't
+exchange the certainty of it for the treasures
+of Montezuma."
+
+"The thirst for gold and for water are
+synonymous in your case?"
+
+"Give this section a moist climate, and I
+needn't tell you that the Great American
+Desert would literally blossom as the rose. 
+Even as it is, I expect a great deal of it will
+be redeemed by scientific irrigation.  The
+soil only needs water to become inexhaustibly
+productive.  Our desert, as you know,
+is not sand, like parts of the Sahara; it has
+all the ingredients that go to nourish plants,
+only their present powdery condition makes
+them unavailable.  Now, I can, to-day, buy
+a hundred square miles of desert for a few
+dollars.  You see the point, don't you?"
+
+"And all you want is expert opinion as
+to the likelihood of finding water?"
+
+"The man who solves that question for
+me in the affirmative is welcome to half my
+share of the results that would ensue from it."
+
+"Why don't you engage some expert to
+investigate?"
+
+"One can't always trust an expert.  I
+don't mean as to his expertness only, but as
+to his good faith.  He might prefer to sell
+the idea to somebody who could pay cash,
+--which I cannot."
+
+"Why, you seem to have given this thing
+a good deal of thought, Trednoke."
+
+"Well, yes: it has been my hobby for a
+year past; and I have made some investigations
+myself.  But this is the first time I
+have spoken of it to any one."
+
+"I understand.  And what of the investigations?"
+
+"I can say that I found enough to interest
+me.  I'll tell you about it some time.  I
+should be glad to leave Miriam something
+to make her independent."
+
+"I should say that her Creator had already
+done that!" said Meschines.  "By
+the way, I know a young fellow--if he were
+only here--who is just the man you want,
+and can be trusted.  He's a civil engineer,
+--Harvey Freeman: the Lord only knows
+in what part of the world he is at this
+speaking.  He has made a special study of these
+subterranean matters."
+
+"Don't you remember, papa, Coleridge's
+poem of Kubla Khan?--
+
+     "Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
+     Through caverns measureless to man
+          Down to a sunless sea!"
+
+
+"Our sacred river, when we find it, shall
+be named Miriam."
+
+"It ought to be Kamaiakan," she
+rejoined; "for, if anybody finds it, it will
+be he."
+
+"I think I hear the wings of the angel of
+whom we have been speaking," said the
+general.  "Yes, here he is; and he has got
+the letters.  Let us see!  One for you
+Meschines.  And this, I see, is from our friend
+Miss Parsloe, postmarked Santa Barbara. 
+Why, she'll be here to-morrow, at that
+rate."
+
+"Here's a queer coincidence!" exclaimed
+the professor, who had meanwhile opened
+his envelope and glanced through the contents.
+"The very man I was speaking of,
+--Harvey Freeman!  Says he is in this
+neighborhood, has heard I'm here, and is
+coming down to pay me a visit.  Methinks
+I hear the rolling of the sacred river!"
+
+"But you won't mention it to him,
+until----"
+
+"Bless me!  Of course not.  I'll bring
+him over here, in the course of human
+events, and you can take a look at him, and
+act on your own intuitions.  I won't say on
+Princess Miriam's, for Harvey is a very fine-
+looking fellow, and her intuitions might get
+confused."
+
+"A civil engineer!" said Miriam, with
+an intonation worthy of the daughter of a
+West-Pointer and the descendant of an
+Aztec prince.
+
+Kamaiakan (who spoke only Spanish) had
+been gathering up some cushions that had
+fallen out of the hammock.  Having replaced
+them, and cast a quick glance at
+Meschines, he withdrew.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+The Southern Pacific Railway passes, today,
+not far from the site of General
+Trednoke's ranch.  But the events now to
+be narrated occurred some years before the
+era of transcontinental railroads: they were
+in the air, but not yet bolted down to the
+earth.  The general, therefore, was a
+pioneer, and was by no means overrun with
+friends from the East in search of an
+agreeable winter climate.  The easiest way to
+reach him--if you were not pressed for time
+--was round the cape which forms the
+southernmost point of South America and
+sticks its sharp snout inquiringly into the
+Antarctic solitudes, as if it scented something
+questionable there.  The speediest
+route, though open to strange discomforts,
+was by way of the Isthmus; and then there
+were always the saddle, the wagon, and the
+stage, with the accompaniments of road-
+agents, tornadoes, deserts, and starvation.
+
+Miss Grace Parsloe came via the Isthmus;
+and the latter part of her journey had been
+alleviated by the society of a young
+gentleman from New York, Freeman by name. 
+There were other passengers on the vessel;
+but these two discovered sympathies of
+origin and education which made companionship
+natural.  They sat together at table,
+leaned side by side over the taffrail,
+discussed their fellow-travellers, and
+investigated each other.  As he lolled on the
+bench with folded arms and straw hat tilted
+back from his forehead she, glancing side-
+long, as her manner was, saw a sunburnt
+aquiline nose, a moustache of a lighter
+brown than the visage which it decorated,
+a lean, strong jaw, and a muscular neck. 
+His forehead, square and impending, was as
+white as ivory in comparison with the face
+below; his hair, in accordance with the
+fashion introduced by the late war, was
+cropped close.  But what especially moved
+Miss Grace were those long, lazy blue eyes,
+which seemed to tolerate everything, but to
+be interested in nothing,--hardly even in
+her.  Now, Grace could not help knowing
+she was a pretty girl, and it was somewhat
+of a novelty to her that Freeman should
+appear so indifferent.  It would have been
+difficult to devise a better opportunity than
+this to monopolize masculine admiration,
+and she fell to speculating as to what sort of
+an experience Mr. Freeman must have had,
+so to panoply him against her magic.  On
+the other hand, she was the recipient of
+whatever attentions he could bring himself
+to detach from the horizon-line, or from his
+own thoughts (which appeared to amount,
+practically, to about the same thing).  She
+had no other rivals; and a woman will submit
+amiably to a good deal of indifference,
+provided she be assured that no other woman
+is enjoying what she lacks.
+
+Freeman, for his part, had nothing to
+complain of.  Grace Parsloe was a singularly
+pretty girl.  Singular properly qualifies
+her.  She was not like the others,--by
+which phrase he epitomized the numerous
+comely young women whom he had, at
+various times and in several countries,
+attended, teased, and kissed.  Both physically
+and mentally, she was very fine-wrought. 
+Her bones were small; her body and limbs
+were slender, but beautifully fashioned.  She
+was supple and vigorous.  Grace is a product
+of brain as well as an effect of bodily
+symmetry:  Grace had the quality on both
+counts.  She answered to one's conception
+of Mahomet's houris, assuming that the
+conception is not of a fat person.  Her head
+was small, but well proportioned,--compact
+as to the forehead, rather broad across the
+cheek-bones, thence tapering to the chin. 
+Her eyes were blue, but of an Eastern
+strangeness of shape and setting; they were
+subject to great and sudden changes of
+expression, depending, apparently, on the
+varying state of her emotions, and betraying
+an intensity more akin to the Oriental
+temperament than to ours.  There was in her
+something subtle and fierce; yet overlaying
+it, like a smooth and silken skin, were the
+conventional polish and bearing of an
+American school graduate.  She was, in
+deed, noticeably artificial and self-conscious
+in manner and in the intonations of her
+speech; though it was an aesthetic delight
+to see her move or pose, and the quality of
+her voice was music's self.  But Freeman,
+after due meditation, came to the conclusion
+that this was the outcome of her recognition
+of her own singularity: in trying to be like
+other people, she fell into caricature.  Freeman,
+somehow, liked her the better for it. 
+Like most men of brain and pith, who
+have seen and thought much, he was thankful
+for a new thing, because, so far as it
+went, it renewed him.  It pleased him to
+imagine that he could, with a word or a
+look, cause this veil of artifice to be thrown
+aside, and the primitive passion and fierceness
+behind it to start forth.  He allowed
+himself to imagine, with a certain satisfaction,
+that were he to make this young woman
+jealous she would think nothing of thrusting
+a dagger between his ribs.  Reality,--what
+a delight it is!  The actual touch and feeling
+of the spontaneous natural creature have
+been so buried beneath centuries of hypocrisy
+and humbug that we have ceased to
+believe in them save as a metaphysical
+abstraction.  But even as water, long depressed
+under-ground in perverse channels, surges
+up to the surface, and above it, at last, in a
+fountain of relief, so Nature, after enduring
+ages of outrage and banishment, leaps back
+to her rightful domain in some individual
+whom we call extraordinary because he or
+she is natural.  Grace Parsloe did not seem
+(regarded as to her temperament and quality)
+to belong where she was: therefore she was
+a delightful incident there.  Had she been
+met with in the days of the Old Testament,
+or in the depths of Persia or India at the
+present time, even, she might have appeared
+commonplace.  But here she was in conventional
+costume, with conventional manners. 
+And, just as the nautch-girls, and other
+Oriental dancers and posturers, wear a costume
+which suggests nature more effectively
+than does nature itself, so did Grace's
+conventionality suggest to Freeman the essential
+absence of conventionality more forcibly
+than if he had seen her clad in a turban and
+translucent caftan, dancing off John the
+Baptist's head, or driving a nail into that of
+Sisera.  Grace certainly owed much of her
+importance to her situation, which rendered
+her foreign and piquante.  But, then,
+everything, in this world, is relative.
+
+Racial types seem to be a failure: when they
+become very marked, the race deteriorates
+or vanishes.  In the counties of England,
+after only a thousand years, the women you
+meet in the rural districts and country towns
+all look like sisters.  The Asiatics, of course,
+are much more sunk in type than the Anglo-
+Saxons; and they show us the way we would
+be going.  Only, there is hope in rapid
+transit and the cosmopolitan spirit, and
+especially in these United States, which bring
+together the ends of the earth, and place
+side by side a descendant of the Puritans
+like Freeman, and a daughter of Irak-Ajemi.
+
+"What are you coming to California for,
+Mr. Freeman?"
+
+Freeman had already told her what he had
+been in the Isthmus for,--to paddle in miasmatic
+swamps with a view to the possibility
+of a canal in the remote, speculative future. 
+He had given her a graphic and entertaining
+picture of the hideous and inconceivable life
+he had led there for six months, from which
+he had emerged the only member of a party
+of nineteen (whites, blacks, and yellows)
+who was not either dead by disease, by
+violence, or by misadventure, or had barely
+escaped with life and a shattered constitution. 
+Freeman, after emerging from the
+miasmatic hell and lake of Gehenna, had
+taken a succession of baths, with soap and
+friction, had been attended by a barber and
+a tailor, and had himself attended the best
+table to be found for love or money in the
+charming town of Panama.  He had also
+spent more than half of the week of his
+sojourn there in sleep; and he was now in the
+best possible condition, physical and mental,
+--though not, he admitted, pecuniary.  As
+to morals, they had not reached that discussion
+yet.  But, in all that he did say, Freeman
+exhibited perfect unreserve and frankness,
+answering without hesitation or embarrassment
+any question she chose to ask (and
+she asked some curious ones).
+
+But when she asked him such an innocent
+thing as what he was after in California--an
+inquiry, by the way, put more in idleness
+than out of curiosity--Freeman stroked his
+yellow moustache with the thumb of the
+hand that held his Cuban cigarette, gazed
+with narrowed eyelids at the horizon, and
+for some time made no reply at all.  Finally
+he said that California was a place he had
+never visited, and that it would be a pity to
+have been so near it and yet not have improved
+the opportunity of taking a look at it.
+
+Grace instantly scented a mystery, and
+was not less promptly resolved to fathom it. 
+And what must be the nature of a mystery
+attaching to a handsome man, unmarried,
+and evidently no stranger to the gentler sex? 
+Of course there must be a woman in it! 
+Her eyes glowed with azure fire.
+
+"You have some acquaintances in California,
+I suppose?" she said, with an air of
+laborious indifference.
+
+"Well,--yes; I believe I have," Freeman
+admitted.
+
+"Have they lived there long?"
+
+"No; not over a few months.  I accidentally
+heard from a person in Panama.  I
+dropped a line to say I might turn up."
+
+"She----you haven't had time to get an
+answer, then?"
+
+Freeman inhaled a deep breath through
+his cigarette, tilted his head back, and
+allowed the smoke to escape slowly through
+his nostrils.  In this manner, familiar to his
+deep-designing sex, he concealed a smile. 
+Grace was, in some respects, as transparent
+as she was subtle.  So long as the matter in
+hand did not touch her emotions, she had no
+difficulty in maintaining a deceptive surface;
+but emotion she could not disguise, though
+she was probably not aware of the fact; for
+emotion has a tendency to shut one's own
+eyes and open what they can no longer see
+in one's self to the gaze of outsiders.
+
+"No," he said, when he had recovered
+his composure.  "But that won't make any
+difference.  We are on rather intimate terms,
+you see."
+
+"Oh!  Is it long since you have met?"
+
+"Pretty long; at least it seems so to me."
+
+Grace turned, and looked full at her
+companion.  He did not meet her glance, but
+kept his profile steadily opposed, and went
+on smoking with a dreamy air, as if lost in
+memories and anticipations, sad, yet sweet.
+
+"Really, Mr. Freeman, I hardly thought
+--you have always seemed to care so little
+about anything--I didn't suspect you of so
+much sentiment."
+
+"I am like other men," he returned, with
+a sigh.  "My affections are not given
+indiscriminately; but when they are given,--you
+understand,--I----"
+
+"Oh, I understand: pray don't think it
+necessary to explain.  I'm sure I'm very far
+from wishing to listen to confidences about
+another,--to----"
+
+"Yes, but I like to talk about it,"
+interposed Freeman, earnestly.  "I haven't had
+a chance to open my heart, you know, for at
+least six months.  And though you and I
+haven't known each other long, I believe
+you to be capable of appreciating what a
+man feels when he is on his way to meet
+some one who----"
+
+"Thank you!  You are most considerate! 
+But I shall be additionally obliged if you
+would tell me in what respect I can have so
+far forgotten myself as to lead you to think
+me likely to appreciate anything of the
+kind.  I assure you, Mr. Freeman, I have
+never cared for any one; and nothing I
+have seen since I left home makes it probable
+that I shall begin now."
+
+"I am sorry to hear that," said Freeman,
+slowly drawing another cigarette out of his
+bundle, and beginning to re-roll it with a
+dejected air.
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Yes: the fact is, I had hoped that you
+had begun to have a little friendly feeling
+for me.  I am more than ready to reciprocate."
+
+"I hope you will spare me any insults,
+sir.  I have no one to protect me, but----"
+
+"I assure you, I mean no insult.  You
+cannot help knowing that I think you as
+beautiful and fascinating a woman as I have
+ever met; but of course you can't help being
+beautiful and fascinating.  Do I insult
+you by having eyes?  If so, I am sorry, but
+you will have to make the best of it."
+
+With this, he turned in his seat, and
+calmly confronted her.  Beautiful she
+certainly was, at that moment; but it was the
+beauty of an angry serpent.  She had a
+pencil in her hand, with which, a little
+while before, she had been sketching heads
+of some of the passengers in her little notebook. 
+She was now handling this inoffensive
+object in such a way as to justify the
+fancy that, had it been charged with a deadly
+poison in its point, instead of with a bit of
+plumbago of the HH quality, she would
+have driven it into Freeman's heart then
+and there.
+
+"Is it no insult," said she, in a sibilant
+voice, "to talk to me as you are doing, when
+you have just told me that you love another
+woman, and are going to meet her?"
+
+Freeman's brows gradually knitted themselves
+in a frown of apparent perplexity. 
+"I must say I don't understand you," he
+observed, at length.  "I am quite sure I
+have said nothing of the sort.  How could
+I?"
+
+"If you wish to quibble about words,
+perhaps not.  But was not that your meaning?"
+
+"No, it wasn't.  You are the only woman
+who has been in my thoughts to-day."
+
+"Mr. Freeman!"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"You have intimated very clearly that
+you are engaged--married, for aught I know
+--to a woman whom you are now on your
+way to meet----"
+
+At this point she stopped.  Freeman had
+interrupted her with a shout of laughter.
+
+She had been very pale.  She now flushed
+all over her face, and jumped to her feet.
+
+"Sit down," he said, laying a hand on
+her dress and (aided by a lurch of the
+vessel) pulling her into her seat again, "and
+listen to me.  And then I shall insist upon
+an apology.  This is too much!"
+
+"I shall ask the captain----"
+
+"You will not, I promise you.  Look
+here!  When I was in Panama, I met there
+a fellow I used to know in New York.  He
+told me that he had recently crossed the
+continent with Professor Meschines, who
+used to teach geology and botany at Yale
+College, when he and I were students there. 
+The professor had come over partly for the
+fun of the thing, and partly to look for
+specimens in the line of his profession. 
+My friend parted from him at San Francisco:
+the professor was going farther south."
+
+"What has all this to do with the woman
+who----"
+
+"It has this to do with it,--that the
+professor is the woman!  He is over sixty
+years old, and has always been a good friend
+of mine; but I am not going to marry him. 
+I am not engaged to him, he is not beautiful,
+nor even fascinating, except in the way
+of an elderly man of science.  And he is
+the only human being, besides yourself, that
+I know or have ever heard of on the Pacific
+coast.  Now for your apology!"
+
+Grace emitted a long breath, and sank
+back in her seat, with her hands clasped in
+her lap.  She raised her hands and covered
+her face with them.  She removed them,
+sat erect, and bent an open-eyed, intent
+gaze upon her companion.
+
+After this pantomime, she exclaimed, in
+the lowest and most musical of tones, "Oh!
+how hateful you are!"  Then she cried out
+with animation, "I believe you did it on
+purpose!"  Finally, she sank back again,
+with a soft laugh and sparkling eyes, at the
+same time stretching out her right arm
+towards him and placing her hand on his,
+with a whispered, "There, then!"
+
+Freeman, accepting the hand for the
+apology, kissed it, and continued to hold it
+afterwards.
+
+"Am I not a little goose?" she murmured.
+
+"You certainly are," replied Freeman.
+
+"You mustn't hold my hand any more."
+
+"Do you mean to withdraw your apology?"
+
+"N--no; but it doesn't follow that----"
+
+"Oh, yes, it does.  Besides, when a man
+receives such a delicate, refined, graceful,
+exquisite apology as this,"--here he lifted
+the hand, looked at it critically, and
+bestowed another kiss upon it,--"he would
+be a fool not to make the most of it."
+
+"Ah, I'm afraid you're dangerous.  You
+are well named--Freeman!"
+
+"My name is Harvey: won't you call
+me by it?"
+
+"Oh, I can't!"
+
+"Try!  Would it make it easier if I
+were to call you by yours?"
+
+"Mine is Miss Parsloe."
+
+"Pooh!  How can that be your name
+which you are going to change so soon? 
+When I look at you, I see your name; when
+I think of you, I say it to myself,--Grace!"
+
+"How do you know I am going to change
+my name soon--or ever?"
+
+"Whom are you talking to?"
+
+"To you,--Harvey!  Oh!" She snatched
+her hand away and pressed it over her lips.
+
+"How do I know you are beautiful,
+Grace, and--irresistible?"
+
+"But I'm not!  You're making fun of
+me!  Besides, I'm twenty."
+
+"How many times have you been engaged?"
+
+"Never.  Nobody wants to be engaged
+to a poor girl.  Oh me!"
+
+"Do you know what you are made of,
+Grace?  Fire and flowers!  Few men in
+the world are men enough to be a match for
+you.  But what have you been doing with
+yourself all this time?  Why do you come
+to a place like this?"
+
+"Maybe I had a presentiment that . . . 
+What nonsense we are talking!  But what
+you said reminds me.  It's the strangest
+coincidence!"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Your Professor Meschines----"
+
+"On the contrary, he is a most matter-
+of-fact old gentleman."
+
+"Do be quiet, and listen to me!  When
+my mamma was a girl in school, there were
+two boys there,--it was a boy-and-girls'
+school,--and they were great friends.  But
+they both fell in love with my mamma----"
+
+"I can understand that," put in Freeman.
+
+"How do you know I am like my mamma? 
+Well, as I was saying, they both fell in love
+with her, and quarrelled with each other,
+and had a fight.  The boy that won the
+fight is the man to whose house I am going."
+
+"Then he didn't marry your mamma?"
+
+"Oh, no; that was only a childish affair,
+and she married another man."
+
+"The one who got thrashed?"
+
+"Of course not.  But the one who got
+thrashed is your Professor Meschines."
+
+"I see!  The poor old professor!  And
+he has remained a bachelor all his life."
+
+"Mamma has often told me the story, and
+that the Trednoke boy went to West Point,
+and distinguished himself in the Mexican
+war, and married a Mexican woman, and the
+Meschines boy became a professor in Yale
+College.  And now I am going to see one
+of them, and you to see the other.  Isn't
+that a coincidence?"
+
+"The first of a long series, I trust.  Is
+this West-Pointer a permanent settler here?"
+
+"Yes, for ever so long,--twenty years. 
+He's a widower, but he has a daughter---- 
+Oh, I know you'll fall in love with her!"
+
+"Is she like you?"
+
+"I don't know.  I've never seen her, or
+General Trednoke either."
+
+"Come to think of it, though, nobody is
+like you, Grace.  Now, will you be so good
+as to apologize again?"
+
+"Don't you think you're rather exacting,
+Harvey?"
+
+However, the apology was finally repeated,
+and continued, more or less, during the rest
+of the voyage; and Grace quite forgot that
+she had never made Harvey tell what was
+really the cause of his coming to California. 
+But she, on her side, had a secret. 
+She never allowed him to suspect that the
+past eighteen months of her life had been
+passed as employee in a New York dry-
+goods store.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+General Trednoke's house was
+built by Spanish missionaries in the
+sixteenth century; and in its main features
+it was little altered in three hundred years. 
+In a climate where there is no frost, walls of
+adobe last as long as granite.  The house
+consisted, practically, of but one story; for
+although there were rooms under the roof,
+they were used only for storage; no one
+slept in them.  The plan of the building was
+not unlike that of a train of railway-cars,--
+or, it might be more appropriate to say, of
+emigrant-wagons.  There was a series of
+rooms, ranged in a line, access to them being
+had from a narrow corridor, which opened
+on the rear veranda.  Several of the rooms
+also communicated directly with each other,
+and, through low windows, gave on the
+veranda in front; for the house was merely
+a comparatively narrow array of apartments
+between two broad verandas, where most of
+the living, including much of the sleeping,
+was done.
+
+Logically, there can be nothing uglier
+than a Spanish-American dwelling of this
+type.  But, as a matter of fact, they appear
+seductively beautiful.  The thick white walls
+acquire a certain softness of tone; the surface
+scales off here and there, and cracks and
+crevices appear.  In a damp country, like
+England, they would soon become covered
+with moss; but moss is not to be had in this
+region, though one were to offer for it the
+price of the silk velvet, triple ply, which so
+much resembles it.  Nevertheless, there are
+compensations.  The soil is inexhaustibly
+fertile, and its fertility expresses itself in the
+most inveterate beauty.  Such colors and
+varieties of flowers exist nowhere else, and
+they continue all the year round.  Climbing
+vines storm the walls, and toss their green
+ladders all over it, for beauty to walk up and
+down.  Huge jars, standing on the verandas,
+emit volcanoes of lovely blossoms; and
+vases swung from the roof drip and overflow
+with others, as if water had turned to flowers. 
+In the garden, which extends over several
+acres at the front of the house, and, as it
+were, makes it an island in a gorgeous sea of
+petals, there are roses, almonds, oranges,
+vines, pomegranates, and a hundred rivals
+whose names are unknown to the present
+historian, marching joyfully and triumphantly
+through the seasons, as the symphony
+moves through changes along its central
+theme.
+
+Everything that is not an animal or a
+mineral seems to be a flower.  There are too
+many flowers,--or, rather, there is not
+enough of anything else.  The faculty of
+appreciation wearies, and at last ceases to
+take note.  It is like conversing with a
+person whose every word is an epigram.  The
+senses have their limitations, and
+imagination and expectation are half of beauty and
+delight, and the better half; otherwise we
+should have no souls.  A single violet,
+discovered by chance in the by-ways of an
+April forest in New England, gives a pleasure
+as poignant as, and more spiritual than,
+the miles upon miles of Californian splendors.
+
+Monotony is the ruling characteristic,--
+monotony of beauty, monotony of desolation,
+monotony even of variety.  The glorious
+blue overhead is monotonous: as for the
+thermometer, it paces up and down within
+the narrowest limits, like a prisoner in his
+cell, or a meadow-lark hopping to and fro
+in a seven-inch cage.  The plan and aspect
+of the buildings are monotonous, and so is
+the way of life of those who inhabit them. 
+Fortunately, the sun does rise and set in
+Southern California: otherwise life there
+would be at an absolute stand-still, with no
+past and no future.  But, as it is, one can
+look forward to morning, and remember the
+evening.
+
+Then, there are the not infrequent but
+seldom very destructive earthquakes; the
+occasional cloud-bursts and tornadoes,
+sudden and violent as a gunpowder-explosion;
+and, finally, the astounding contrast between
+the fertile regions and the desert.  There
+are places where you can stand with one
+foot planted in everlasting sterility and the
+other in immortal verdure.  In the midst of
+an arid and hopeless waste, you come suddenly
+upon the brink of a narrow ravine,
+sharply defined as if cut out with an axe,
+and packed to the brim with enchanting and
+voluptuous fertility.  Or you will come upon
+mountains which sweep upward out of burning
+death into sumptuous life.  When the
+monotony of life meets the monotony of
+death, Southern California becomes a land
+of contrasts; and the contrasts themselves
+become monotonous.
+
+General Trednoke's ranch was very near
+the borders of these two mighty forces.  An
+hour's easy ride would carry him to a region
+as barren and apparently as irreclaimable as
+that through which Childe Roland journeyed
+in quest of the Dark Tower; lying,
+too, in a temperature so fiery that it
+coagulated the blood in the veins, and stopped
+the beating of the heart.  Underfoot were
+fine dust, and whitened bones; the air was
+prismatic and magical, ever conjuring up
+phantom pictures, whose characteristic was
+that they were at the farthest remove from
+any possible reality.  The azure sky
+descended and became a lake; the pulsations
+of the atmosphere translated themselves into
+the rhythmic lapse of waves; spikes of sage-
+brush and blades of cactus became sylvan
+glades, and hamlets cheerful with inhabitants. 
+Only, all was silent; and as you
+drew near, the scene trembled, altered, and
+was gone!
+
+Hideous black lizards and horned toads
+crawl and hop amid this desolation; and
+the deadly little sidewinder rattlesnake lies
+basking in the blaze of sunshine, which it
+distils into venom.  Sometimes the level
+plain is broken up into savage ridges and
+awful canons, along whose arid bottoms no
+water streams.  As you stagger through their
+chaotic bottoms, you see vast boulders poised
+overhead, tottering to a fall; a shiver of
+earthquake, a breath of hurricane, and they
+come crashing and splintering in destruction
+down.  Along the sides of these acclivities
+extend long, level lines and furrows, marks
+of where the ocean flowed ages ago.  But sometimes
+the hills are but accumulations of desert
+dust, which shift slowly from place to place
+under the action of the wind, melting away
+here to be re-erected yonder; mounding
+themselves, perhaps, above a living and
+struggling human being, to move forward,
+anon, leaving where he was a little heap
+of withered bones.  A fearful place is this
+broad abyss, where once murmured the
+waters of a prehistoric sea.  Let us return
+to the cool and fragrant security of the
+general's ranch.
+
+At right angles to the main body of the
+house extend two wings, thus forming three
+sides of a square, the interior of which is
+the court-yard.  Here the business of the
+establishment is conducted.  It is the liveliest
+spot on the premises; though it is liveliness
+of a very indolent sort.  The veranda
+built around these sides is twenty feet in
+breadth, paved with tiles that have been
+worn into hollows by innumerable lazy footsteps,
+mostly shoeless, for this side of the
+house is frequented chiefly by the servants
+of the place, who are Mexican Indians. 
+Ancient wooden settles are bolted to the
+walls; from hooks hang Indian baskets of
+bright colors; in one corner are stretched
+raw hides, which serve as beds.  Small
+brown children, half naked, trot, clamber,
+and crawl about.  Black-haired, swarthy
+women squat on the tiled floor, pursuing
+their vocations, or, often, doing nothing at
+all beyond continuing a placid organic
+existence.  Boys and men saunter in and out
+of the court-yard, chatting or calling in
+their musical patois; once in a while there
+is a thud and clatter of hoofs, a rider arriving
+or departing.  It is an entertaining scene,
+charming in its monotony of small changes
+and evolutions; you can sit watching it in a
+half-doze for twenty years at a stretch, and
+it may seem only as many minutes, or vice
+versa.
+
+Most of the rooms in the wings are used
+for the kitchens and other servants' quarters;
+but one large chamber is devoted to a
+special purpose of the general's own: it is a
+museum; the Curiosity-Room, he calls it.  It
+is lighted by two windows opening on opposite
+sides, one on the court-yard, the other
+on an orange grove at the south end of the
+house.  Besides being, in itself, a cool and
+pleasant spot, it is full of interest to any
+one who cares about the relics and antiquities
+of an ancient and vanishing race,
+concerning whom little is or ever will be
+known.  There are two students in it at
+this moment; though whether they are
+studying antiquities is another matter.  Let
+us give ear to their discourse and be instructed.
+
+"But this was made for you to wear, Miss
+Trednoke.  Try it.  It fits you perfectly,
+you see.  There can be no doubt about your
+being a princess, now!"
+
+"I sometimes feel it,--here!" she said,
+putting her hand on her bosom.  She was looking
+at him as she said it, but her eyes, instead of
+any longer meeting his, seemed to turn their
+regard inward, and to traverse strange regions,
+not of this world.  "I see some one
+who is myself, though I can never have been
+she: she is surrounded with brightness, and
+people not like ours; she thinks of things
+that I have never known.  It is the memory
+of a dream, I suppose," she added, in another
+tone.
+
+"Heredity is a queer thing.  You may be
+Aztecan over again, in mind and temperament;
+and every one knows how impressions
+are transmitted.  If features and traits
+of character, why not particular thoughts
+and feelings?"
+
+"I think it is better not to try to explain
+these things," said she, with the unconscious
+haughtiness which maidens acquire who have
+not seen the world and are adored by their
+family.  "They are great mysteries,--or
+else nothing."  She now removed from her
+head the curious cap or helmet, ornamented
+with gold and with the green feathers of
+the humming-bird, which her companion
+had crowned her with, and hung it on its
+nail in the cabinet.  "Perhaps the thoughts
+came with the cap," she remarked, smiling
+slightly.  "I don't feel that way any more. 
+I ought not to have spoken of it."
+
+"I hope the time will come when you
+will feel that you may trust me."
+
+"You seem easy to know, Mr. Freeman,"
+she replied, looking at him contemplatively
+as she spoke, "and yet you are not.  There
+is one of you that thinks, and another that
+speaks.  And you are not the same to my
+father, or to Professor Meschines, that you
+are to me."
+
+"What is the use of human beings except
+to take one out of one's self?"
+
+"But it is not your real self that comes
+out," said Miriam, after a little pause. 
+She never spoke hurriedly, or until after
+the coming speech had passed into her
+face.
+
+Freeman laughed.  "Well," he said, "if
+I'm a hypocrite, I'm one of those who are
+made and not born.  As a boy, I was frank
+enough.  But a good part of my life has
+been spent with people who couldn't be
+trusted; and perhaps the habit of protecting
+myself against them has grown upon me.  If
+I could only live here for a while it would
+be different.--Here's an odd-looking thing. 
+What do you call that?"
+
+"We call it the Golden Fleece."
+
+"The Golden Fleece!  I can imagine a
+Medea; but where is the Dragon?"
+
+"If Jason came, the Dragon might appear."
+
+"I remember reading somewhere that the
+Dragon was less to be feared than Medea's
+eyes.  But this fleece seems to have lost
+most of its gold.  There is only a little gold
+embroidery."
+
+"It shows where the gold is hidden."
+
+"It's you that are concealing something
+now, Miss Trednoke.  How can a woollen
+garment be a talisman?"
+
+"The secret might be woven into it,
+perhaps," replied Miriam, passing her fingers
+caressingly over the soft tunic.  "Then, when
+the right person puts it on, it would----But
+you don't believe in these things."
+
+"I don't know: you don't give me a
+chance.  But who is the right person?  The
+thing seems rather small.  I'm sure I
+couldn't get it on."
+
+"It can fit only the one it was made for,"
+said Miriam, gravely.  "And if you wanted
+to find the gold, you would trust to your
+science, rather than to this."
+
+"Well, gold-hunting is not in my line,
+at present.  Every nugget has been paid for
+more than once, before it is found.  Besides,
+there is something better than gold in
+Southern California,--something worth any
+labor to get."
+
+"What is it?" asked Miriam, turning her
+tranquil regard upon him.
+
+Harvey Freeman had never been deficient
+in audacity.  But, standing in the dark
+radiance of this maiden's eyes, his self-
+assurance dwindled, and he could not bring
+himself to say to her what he would have
+said to any other pretty woman he had ever
+met.  For he felt that great pride and
+passion were concealed beneath that tranquil
+surface: it was a nature that might give
+everything to love, and would never pardon
+any frivolous parody thereof.  Freeman had
+been acquainted with Miriam scarcely two
+days, but he had already begun to perceive
+the main indications of a character which a
+lifetime might not be long enough wholly
+to explore.  Marriage had never been among
+the enterprises he had, in the course of his
+career, proposed to himself: he did not
+propose it now: yet he dared not risk the
+utterance of a word that would lead Miriam
+to look at him with an offended or contemptuous
+glance.  It was not that she was, from
+the merely physical point of view, transcendently
+beautiful.  His first impression
+of her, indeed, had been that she was
+merely an unusually good example of a type
+by no means rare in that region.  But ere
+long he became sensible of a spiritual
+quality in her which lifted her to a level far
+above that which can be attained by mere
+harmony of features and proportions. 
+Beneath the outward aspect lay a profound
+depth of being, glimpses of which were
+occasionally discernible through her eyes,
+in the tones of her voice, in her smile, in
+unconscious movements of her hands and
+limbs.  Demonstrative she could never be;
+but she could, at will, feel with tropical
+intensity, and act with the swiftness and
+energy of a fanatic.
+
+In Miriam's company, Freeman forgot
+every one save her,--even himself,--though
+she certainly made no effort to attract him
+or (beyond the commonplaces of courtesy)
+to interest him.  Consequently he had become
+entirely oblivious of the existence of
+such a person as Grace Parsloe, when, much
+to his irritation, he heard the voice of that
+young lady, mingled with others, approaching
+along the veranda.  At the same moment
+he experienced acute regret at the
+whim of fortune which had made himself
+and that sprightly young lady fellow-
+passengers from Panama, and at the idle impulse
+which had prompted him to flirt with her.
+
+But the past was beyond remedy: it was
+his concern to deal with the present.  In a
+few seconds, Grace entered the curiosity-
+room, followed by Professor Meschines, and
+by a dashing young Mexican senor, whom
+Freeman had met the previous evening, and
+who was called Don Miguel de Mendoza. 
+The senor, to judge from his manner, had
+already fallen violently in love with Grace,
+and was almost dislocating his organs of
+speech in the effort to pay her romantic
+compliments in English.  Freeman observed
+this with unalloyed satisfaction.  But the
+look which Grace bent upon him and
+Miriam, on entering, and the ominous
+change which passed over her mobile
+countenance, went far to counteract this
+agreeable impression.
+
+One story is good until another is told. 
+Freeman had really thought Grace a
+fascinating girl, until he saw Miriam.  There
+was no harm in that: the trouble was, he
+had allowed Grace to perceive his admiration. 
+He had already remarked that she
+was a creature of violent extremes,
+tempered, but not improved, by a thin polish
+of subtlety.  She was now about to give an
+illustration of the passion of jealousy.  But
+it was not her jealousy that Freeman minded:
+it was the prospect of Miriam's scorn when
+she should surmise that he had given Grace
+cause to be jealous.  Miriam was not the
+sort of character to enter into a competition
+with any other woman about a lover.  He
+would lose her before he had a chance to
+try to win her.
+
+But fortune proved rather more favorable
+than Freeman expected, or, perhaps, than
+he deserved.  Grace's attack was too
+impetuous.  She stopped just inside the threshold,
+and said, in an imperious tone, "Come
+here, Mr. Freeman: I wish to speak to you."
+
+"Thank you," he replied, resolving at
+once to widen the breach to the utmost
+extent possible, "I am otherwise engaged."
+
+"Upon my word," observed the professor,
+with a chuckle, "you're no diplomatist,
+Harvey!  What are you two about here? 
+Investigating antiquities?"
+
+"The remains of ancient Mexico are
+more interesting than some of her recent
+products," returned Freeman, who wished
+to quarrel with somebody, and had promptly
+decided that Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza
+was the most available person.  He bowed
+to the latter as he spoke.
+
+"You--a--spoken to me?" said the senor,
+stepping forward with a polite grimace.  "I
+no to quite comprehend----"
+
+"Pray don't exert yourself to converse
+with me out of your own language, senor,"
+interrupted Freeman, in Spanish.  "I was
+just remarking that the Spaniards seem to
+have degenerated greatly since they colonized
+Mexico."
+
+"Senor!" exclaimed Don Miguel,
+stiffening and staring.
+
+"Of course," added Freeman, smiling
+benevolently upon him, "I judge only from
+such specimens of the modern Mexican as I
+happen to meet with."
+
+Don Miguel's sallow countenance turned
+greenish white.  But, before he could make
+a reply, Meschines, who scented mischief
+in the air, and divined that the gentler sex
+must somehow be at the bottom of it, struck
+in.
+
+"You may consider yourself lucky, Harvey,
+in making the acquaintance of a gentleman
+like Senor de Mendoza, who exemplifies
+the undimmed virtues of Cortez and
+Torquemada.  For my part, I brought him
+here in the hope that he might be able to
+throw some light on the mystery of this
+embroidered garment, which I see you've
+been examining.  What do you say, Don
+Miguel?  Have these designs any significance
+beyond mere ornament?  Anything
+in the nature of hieroglyphics?"
+
+The senor was obliged to examine, and to
+enter into a discussion, though, of course,
+his ignorance of the subject in dispute was
+as the depths of that abyss which has no
+bottom.  Miriam, who was not fond of Don
+Miguel, but who felt constrained to
+exceptional courtesy in view of Freeman's
+unwarrantable attack upon him, stood beside
+him and the Professor; and Freeman and
+Grace were thus left to fight it out with each
+other.
+
+But Grace had drawn her own conclusions
+from what had passed.  Freeman had
+insulted Don Miguel.  Wherefore?  Obviously,
+it could only be because he thought
+that she was flirting with him.  In other
+words, Freeman was jealous; and to be
+jealous is to love.  Now, Grace was so
+constituted that, though she did not like to
+play second fiddle herself, yet she had no
+objection to monopolizing all the members
+of the male species who might happen, at a
+given moment, to be in sight.
+
+She had, consequently, already forgiven
+Freeman for his apparent unfaithfulness to
+her, by reason of his manifest jealousy of
+Don Miguel.  As a matter of fact, he was
+not jealous, and he was unfaithful; but fate
+had decreed that there should be, for the
+moment, a game of cross-purposes; and the
+decrees of fate are incorrigible.
+
+"I had no idea you were so savage," she
+said, softly.
+
+"I'm not savage," replied Freeman.  "I
+am bored."
+
+"Well, I don't know as I can blame you,"
+said Grace, still more softly: she fancied he
+was referring to Miriam.  "I don't much
+like Spanish mixtures myself."
+
+"One has to take what one can get,"
+said Freeman, referring to Don Miguel.
+
+"But it's all right now," rejoined she,
+meaning that Freeman and herself were
+reconciled after their quarrel.
+
+"If you are satisfied, I am," observed
+Freeman, too indifferent to care what she
+meant.
+
+"Only, you mustn't take that poor young
+man too seriously," she went on: "these
+Mexicans are absurdly demonstrative, but
+they don't mean anything."
+
+"He won't, if he values his skin," said
+Freeman, meaning that if Don Miguel
+attempted to interfere between himself and
+Miriam he would wring his neck.
+
+"He won't, I promise you," said Grace,
+sparkling with pleasure.
+
+"I don't quite see how you can help it,"
+returned Freeman.
+
+"I should hope I could manage a creature
+like that!" murmured she, smiling.
+
+"Well," said Freeman, after a pause,--
+for Grace's seeming change of attitude puzzled
+him a little,--"I'm glad you look at it
+that way.  I don't wish to be meddled
+with; that's all."
+
+"You shan't be," she whispered; and
+then, just when they were approaching the
+point where their eyes might have been
+opened, in came General Trednoke.  The
+group round the Golden Fleece broke
+up.
+
+The general wore his riding-dress, and
+his bearing was animated, though he was
+covered with dust.
+
+"I was wondering what had become of
+you all," he said, as the others gathered
+about him.  "I have been taking a canter
+to the eastward.  Kamaiakan said this morning
+that one of the boys had brought news
+of a cloud-burst in that direction.  I rode
+far enough to ascertain that there has really
+been something of the kind, and I think it
+has affected the arroyo on the farther side
+of the little sierra.  Now, I don't know
+how you gentlemen feel, but it occurred to
+me that it might be interesting to make up
+a little party of exploration to-morrow. 
+Would you like to try it, Meschines?"
+
+"To be sure I should!" the professor
+replied.  "I imagine I can stand as much
+of the desert as you can!  And I want to
+catch a sidewinder."
+
+"Good!  And you, Mr. Freeman?"
+
+"It would suit me exactly," said the
+latter.  "In fact, I had been intending to
+gratify my curiosity by making some such
+expedition on my own account."
+
+"Ah!" said the general, eying him with
+some intentness.  "Well, we may be able
+to show you something more curious than
+you anticipate.--And now, Senor de Mendoza,
+there is only you left.  May we count
+on your company into the desert?"
+
+But the Mexican, with a bow and a
+grimace, excused himself.  Scientific
+curiosity was an unknown emotion to him; but
+he foresaw an opportunity to have Grace all
+to himself, and he meant to improve it.  He
+also wished leisure to think over some plan
+for getting rid of Senor Freeman, in whom
+he scented a rival, and who, whether a rival
+or not, had behaved to him with a lack of
+consideration in the presence of ladies.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+General Trednoke's household
+went early to bed.  As there was
+more accommodation in the old house than
+sufficed for its present inhabitants, it
+followed that each of them had a regal
+allowance of rooms.  And when Grace Parsloe
+became one of the occupants, she was allotted
+two commodious apartments at the extremity
+of the left wing.  They communicated,
+through long windows, with the veranda in
+front, and by means of doors with the passage,
+or hall, traversing the house from end
+to end.  If, therefore, she happened to be
+sleepless, she might issue forth into the
+garden, and wander about there without let
+or hinderance until she was ready to accept
+the wooing of the god of dreams; or, if
+supernatural terrors daunted her, she could
+in a few seconds transfer herself and her
+fears to Miriam's chamber, which occupied
+the same position in the right wing that hers
+did in the left.
+
+The night, as is customary in that climate,
+where the atmosphere is pure and evaporation
+rapid, was cool and still.  By ten
+o'clock there was no sound to indicate that
+any person was awake; though, to an acute
+ear, the rise and fall of regular breathing,
+or even an occasional snore, might have
+given evidence of slumber.  At the back of
+the house, the Indian retainers were lapped
+in silence.  They were a harmless people,--
+somewhat disposed, perhaps, to small pilferings,
+in an amiable and loyal way, but
+incapable of anything seriously criminal. 
+There were no locks on the doors, and most
+of them stood ajar.  Tramps and burglars
+were unknown.
+
+Miriam, having put on her night-dress,
+stood a few minutes at her window, gazing
+out on the soft darkness of the garden.  All
+there was peacefulness and fragrance.  The
+leaves of the plants hung motionless; the
+blossoms seemed to hush themselves to the
+enjoyment of their own sweetness.  The sky
+was clear, but there was no moon.  A beautiful
+planet, however, bright enough to cast
+a shadow, hung in the southwestern sky, and
+its mysterious light touched Miriam's face,
+and cast a dim rectangle of radiance on the
+white matting that carpeted the floor of her
+room.  It was the planet Venus,--the star of
+love.  Miriam thought it would be a pleasant
+place to live in.  But one need not journey
+to Venus to find a world where love is the
+ruling passion.  Circumstances over which
+she has no control may cause such a world
+to come into existence in a girl's heart.
+
+She left the window at last, and got into
+bed, where she soon presented an image of
+perfect repose.  Meanwhile, in a dark corner
+of the court-yard at the rear, a dark,
+pyramidal object abode without motion.  It
+might have been taken for a heap of blankets
+piled up there.  But if you examined it
+more narrowly you would have detected in
+it the vague outlines of a human figure,
+squatting on its haunches, with its head resting
+on its knees, and its arms clasped round
+them,--somewhat as figures sit in Egyptian
+hieroglyphics, or like Aztecan mummies in
+the tomb.  So still was it, it might itself
+have been a mummy.  But ever and anon a
+blinking of the narrow eyes in the bronze
+countenance told that it was no mummy, but
+a living creature.  In fact, it was none other
+than the aged and austere Kamaiakan, who,
+for reasons best known to himself, chose to
+spend the hours usually devoted to rest in an
+attitude that no European or white American
+could have maintained with comfort longer
+than five minutes.
+
+An hour--two hours--passed away.  Then
+Kamaiakan noiselessly arose, peered about
+him cautiously for a few moments, and
+passed out of the court-yard through the
+open gate.  He turned to the left, and,
+stealing beneath Miriam's windows, paused
+there for an instant and made certain
+gestures with his arms.  Anon he continued
+his way to the garden, and was soon concealed
+by the thick shrubbery.
+
+History requires us to follow him.  The
+garden extended westward, and was quite a
+spacious enclosure: one not familiar with its
+winding paths might easily lose himself
+there on a dark night.  But Kamaiakan
+knew where he was going, and the way
+thither.  He now stalked along more swiftly,
+taking one turn after another, brushing aside
+the low-hanging boughs, and passing the
+loveliest flowers without a glance.  He was
+as one preoccupied with momentous business. 
+Presently he arrived at a small open space,
+remote and secluded.  It was completely
+surrounded by tall shrubbery.  In the centre
+was a basin of stone, evidently very
+ancient, filled to the brim with the clear
+water of a spring, which bubbled up from
+the bottom, and, overflowing by way of a
+gap in the edge, became a small rivulet,
+which stole away in the direction of the sea. 
+Across the slightly undulating surface of the
+basin trembled the radiance of the star.
+
+Kamaiakan knelt down beside it, and,
+bending over, gazed intently into the water. 
+Presently he dipped his hands in it, and
+sprinkled shining drops over his own gaunt
+person, and over the ground in the vicinity
+of the spring.  He made strange movements
+with his arms, bowed his head and erected it
+again, and traced curious figures on the
+ground with his finger.  It appeared as if
+the venerable Indian had solemnly lost his
+senses and had sought out this lonely spot to
+indulge the vagaries of his insanity.  If so,
+his silence and deliberation afforded an
+example worthy of consideration by other
+lunatics.
+
+Suddenly he ceased his performance, and
+held himself in a listening attitude.  A light,
+measured sound was audible, accompanied
+by the rustling of leaves.  It came nearer. 
+There was a glimpse of whiteness through
+the interstices of the surrounding foliage,
+and then a slender figure, clad in close-fitting
+raiment, entered the little circle.  It
+wore a sort of tunic, reaching half-way to
+the knees, and leggings of the same soft,
+grayish-white material.  The head was covered
+with a sort of hood, which left only the
+face exposed; and this too might be covered
+by a species of veil or mask, which, however,
+was now fastened back on the headpiece,
+after the manner of a visor.  The
+front of the tunic was embroidered with
+fantastic devices in gold thread, brightened
+here and there with precious stones; and
+other devices appeared on the hood.  The
+face of this figure was pale and calm, with
+great dark eyes beneath black brows.  The
+stature was no greater than that of a lad of
+fifteen, but the bearing was composed and
+dignified.  The contours of the figure,
+however, even as seen by that dim light, were
+those of neither a boy nor a man.  The
+wearer of the tunic was a girl, just rounding
+into womanhood, and the face was the face
+of Miriam.
+
+Yet it was not by this name that Kamaiakan
+addressed her.  After making a deep
+obeisance, touching his hand to her foot and
+then to his own forehead and breast, he said,
+in a language that was neither Spanish nor
+such as the modern Indians of Mexico use,--
+
+"Welcome, Semitzin!  May this night
+be the beginning of high things!"
+
+"I am ready," replied the other, in a
+soft and low voice, but with a certain stateliness
+of utterance unlike the usual manner
+of General Trednoke's daughter:  "I was
+glad to hear you call, and to see again the
+stars and the earth.  Have you anything to
+tell?"
+
+"There are events which may turn to our
+harm, most revered princess.  The master
+of this house----"
+
+"Why do you not call him my father,
+Kamaiakan?" interposed the other.  "He
+is indeed the father of this mortal body
+which I wear, which (as you tell me) bears
+the name of Miriam.  Besides, are not
+Miriam and I united by the thread of
+descent?"
+
+"Something of the spirit that is you
+dwells in her also," said the Indian.
+
+"And does she know of it?"
+
+"At times, my princess; but only as one
+remembers a dream."
+
+"I wish I might converse with her and
+instruct her in the truth," said the princess. 
+"And she, in turn, might speak to me of
+things that perplex me.  I live and move in
+this mortal world, and yet (you tell me)
+three centuries have passed since what is
+called my death.  To me it seems as if I
+had but slept through a night, and were
+awake again.  Nor can I tell what has
+happened--what my life and thoughts have
+been--during this long lapse of time.  Yet
+it must be that I live another life: I cannot
+rest in extinction.  Three times you have
+called me forth; yet whence I come hither,
+or whither I return, is unknown to me."
+
+"There is a memory of the spirit,"
+replied Kamaiakan, "and a memory of the
+body.  They are separate, and cannot
+communicate with each other.  Such is the
+law."
+
+"Yet I remember, as if it were yesterday,
+the things that were done when Montezuma
+was king.  And well do I remember you,
+Kamaiakan!"
+
+"It is true I live again, princess, though
+not in the flesh and bones that died with
+you in the past.  But in the old days I was
+acquainted with mysteries, and learned the
+secrets of the world of spirits; and this
+science still remained with me after the
+change, so that I was able to know that I
+was I, and that you could be recalled to
+speak with me through the tongue of Miriam. 
+But there are some things that I do not
+know; and it is for that I have been bold
+to summon you."
+
+"What can I tell you that can be of use
+to you in this present life, Kamaiakan, when
+all whom we knew and loved are gone?"
+
+"To you only, Semitzin, is known the
+place of concealment of the treasure which,
+in the old times, you and I hid in the
+desert.  I indeed remember the event, and
+somewhat of the region of the hiding; but
+I cannot put my hand upon the very spot. 
+I have tried to discover it; but when I
+approach it my mind becomes confused
+between the present and the past, and I am
+lost."
+
+"I remember it well," said Semitzin. 
+"We rode across the desert, carrying the
+treasure on mules.  The air was still, and
+the heat very heavy.  The desert descended
+in a great hollow: you told me it was where,
+in former days, the ocean had been.  At
+last there were rocky hills before us; we
+rode towards a great rock shaped like the
+pyramid on which the sacrifices were held
+in Tenochtitlan.  We passed round its base,
+and entered a deep and narrow valley, that
+seemed to have been ploughed out of the
+heart of the earth and to descend into it. 
+Then----  But what is it you wish to do
+with this treasure, Kamaiakan?"
+
+"It belongs to your race, princess, and
+was hidden that the murderers of Montezuma
+might not seize it.  I was bound by
+an oath, after the peril was past, to restore
+it to the rightful owners.  But our country
+remained under the rule of the conquerors;
+and my life went out.  But now the
+conquerors have been conquered in their turn,
+and Miriam is the last inheritor of your
+blood.  When I have delivered to her this
+trust, my work will be done, and I can return
+to the world which you inhabit.  The
+time is come; and only by your help can
+the restitution be made."
+
+"Was there, then, a time fixed?"
+
+"The stars tell me so.  And other events
+make it certain that there must be no delay. 
+The general has it in mind to discover the
+gates through which the waters under-ground
+may arise and again form the sea which flowed
+hereabouts in the ancient times.  Now, this
+sea will fill the ravine in which the treasure
+lies, and make it forever unattainable.  A
+youth has also come here who is skilled in
+the sciences, and whom the general will ask
+to help him in the thing he is to attempt."
+
+"Who is this youth?" asked Semitzin.
+
+"He is of the new people who inherit
+this land: his name is Freeman."
+
+"There is something in me--I know not
+what--that seems to tell me I have been
+near such a one.  Can it be so?"
+
+"The other self, who now sleeps, knows
+of him," replied the ancient Indian.  "He
+is a well-looking youth, and I think he
+has a desire towards her we call Miriam."
+
+"And does she love him?" inquired the
+princess.
+
+"A maiden's heart is a riddle, even to
+herself," said Kamaiakan.
+
+"But there is a sympathy that makes me
+feel her heart in my own," rejoined Semitzin. 
+"Love is a thing that pierces through
+time, and through barriers which separate
+the mind and memory of the past from the
+present.  I--as you know, Kamaiakan--was
+never wedded; the fate of our people, and
+my early end, kept that from me.  But the
+thought of that youth is here,"--she put
+her hand on her bosom,--"and it seems to
+me that, were we to meet, I should know
+him.  Perhaps, were that to be, Miriam and
+I might thus come to be aware of each
+other, and live henceforth one life."
+
+"Such matters are beyond my knowledge,"
+said the Indian, shaking his head. 
+"The gods know what will be.  It is for
+us, now, to regain the treasure.  Are you
+willing, my princess, to accompany me
+thither?"
+
+"I am ready.  Shall it be now?"
+
+"Not now, but soon.  I will call you
+when the moment comes.  The place is but
+a ride of two or three hours from here. 
+None must know of our departure, for there
+are some here whom I do not trust.  We
+must go by night.  You will wear the
+garments you now have on, without which all
+might miscarry."
+
+"How can the garments affect the result,
+Kamaiakan?"
+
+"A powerful spell is laid upon them,
+princess.  Moreover, the characters wrought
+upon them, with gold thread and jewels, are
+mystical, and the substance of the garment
+itself has a virtue to preserve the wearer
+from evil.  It is the same that was worn by
+you when the treasure was hidden; and it
+may be, Semitzin, that without its magic aid
+your spirit could not know itself in this
+world as now it can."
+
+As he spoke the last words, a low sound,
+wandering and muttering with an inward
+note, came palpitating on their ears through
+the night air.  It seemed to approach from
+no direction that could be identified, yet it
+was at first remote, and then came nearer,
+and in a moment trembled around them,
+and shivered in the solid earth beneath their
+feet; and in another instant it had passed
+on, and was subdued slowly into silence in
+the shadowy distance.  No one who has
+once heard that sound can mistake it for
+any other, or ever can forget it.  The air
+had suddenly become close and tense; and
+now a long breeze swept like a sigh through
+the garden, dying away in a long-drawn
+wail; and out of the west came a hollow
+murmur, like that of a mighty wave breaking
+upon the shore of the ocean.
+
+"The earthquake!" whispered Kamaiakan,
+rising to his feet.  And then he pointed
+to the stone basin.  "Look! the spring!"
+
+"It is gone!" exclaimed Semitzin.
+
+And, in truth, the water, with a strange,
+sucking noise, disappeared through the
+bottom of the basin, leaving the glistening
+cavity which had held it, green with slimy
+water-weed, empty.
+
+"The time is near, indeed!" muttered
+the Indian.  "The second shock may cause
+the waters from which this spring came to
+rise as no living man has seen them rise, and
+make the sea return, and the treasure be
+lost.  In a few days all may be over.  But
+you, princess, must vanish: though the shock
+was but slight, some one might be awakened;
+and were you to be discovered, our plans
+might go wrong."
+
+"Must I depart so soon?" said Semitzin,
+regretfully.  "The earth is beautiful,
+Kamaiakan: the smell of the flowers is sweet,
+and the stars in the sky are bright.  To feel
+myself alive, to breathe, to walk, to see, are
+sweet.  Perhaps I have no other conscious life
+than this.  I would like to remain as I am:  I
+would like to see the sun shine, and to hear
+the birds sing, and to see the men and
+women who live in this age.  Is there no
+way of keeping me here?"
+
+"I cannot tell; it may be,--but it must
+not be now, Semitzin," the old man replied,
+with a troubled look.  "The ways of the
+gods are not our ways.  She whose body
+you inhabit--she has her life to live."
+
+"But is that girl more worthy to live than
+I?  You have called me into being again:
+you have made me know how pleasant this
+world is.  Miriam sleeps: she need never
+know; she need never awake again.  You
+were faithful to me in the old time: have
+you more care for her than for me?  I feel
+all the power and thirst of youth in me: the
+gods did not let me live out my life: may
+they not intend that I shall take it up again
+now?  Besides, I wear Miriam's body:
+could I not seem to others to be Miriam
+indeed?  How could they guess the truth?"
+
+"I will think of what you say, princess,"
+said Kamaiakan.  "Something may perhaps
+be done; but it must be done gradually:
+you would need much instruction in the
+ways of the new world before you could
+safely enter into its life.  Leave that to me. 
+I am loyal as ever: is it not to fulfil the
+oath made to you that I am here? and what
+would Miriam be to me, were she not your
+inheritor?  Be satisfied for the present: in
+a few days we will meet and speak again."
+
+"The power is yours, Kamaiakan: it is
+well to argue, when with a word you can
+banish me forever!  Yet what if I were to
+say that, unless you consent to the thing I
+desire, I will not show you where the treasure
+lies?"
+
+"Princess Semitzin!" exclaimed the
+Indian, "remember that it is not against me,
+but against the gods, that you would contend. 
+The gods know that I have no care for
+treasure.  But they will not forgive a broken
+oath; and they will not hold that one guiltless
+through whom it is brought to naught?"
+
+"Well, we shall meet again," answered
+Semitzin, after a pause.  "But do you
+remember that you, too, are not free from
+responsibility in this matter.  You have
+called me back: see to it that you do me
+justice."  She waved her hands with a gesture
+of adieu, turned, and left the enclosure. 
+Kamaiakan sank down again beside the
+empty bowl of the fountain.
+
+Semitzin returned along the path by which
+she had come, towards the house.  As she
+turned round one of the corners, she saw a
+man's figure before her, strolling slowly
+along in the same direction in which she
+was going.  In a few moments he heard her
+light footfall, and, facing about, confronted
+her.  She continued to advance until she
+was within arm's reach of him: then she
+paused, and gazed steadfastly in his face. 
+He was the first human being, save Kamaiakan,
+that she had seen since her eyes closed
+upon the world of Tenochtitlan, three hundred
+years before.
+
+The young man looked upon her with
+manifest surprise.  It was too dark to
+distinguish anything clearly, but it did not take
+him long to surmise that the figure was that
+of a woman, and her countenance, though
+changed in aspect by the head-dress she
+were, yet had features which, he knew, he
+had seen before.  But could it be Miriam
+Trednoke who was abroad at such an hour
+and in such a costume?  He did not recognize
+the Golden Fleece, but it was evident
+enough that she was clad as women are not.
+
+Before he could think of anything to say
+to her, she smiled, and uttered some words
+in a soft, flowing language with which he
+was entirely unacquainted.  The next moment
+she had glided past him, and was out
+of sight round the curve of the path, leaving
+him in a state of perplexity not altogether
+gratifying.
+
+"What the deuce can it mean?" he
+muttered to himself.  "I can't be mistaken
+about its being Miriam.  And yet she didn't
+look at me as if she recognized me.  What
+can she be doing out here at midnight?  I
+suppose it's none of my business: in fact,
+she might very reasonably ask the same question
+of me.  And if I were to tell her that
+I had only ridden over to spend a
+sentimental hour beneath her window, what
+would she say?  If she answered in the
+same lingo she used just now, I should be
+as wise as before.  After all, it may have
+been somebody else.  The image in my
+mind projected itself on her countenance. 
+I certainly must be in love!  I almost wish
+I'd never come here.  This complication
+about the general's irrigating scheme makes
+it awkward.  I'm bound not to explain
+things to him; and yet, if I don't, and he
+discovers (as he can't help doing) what I
+am here for, nothing will persuade him that
+I haven't been playing a double game; and
+that would not be a promising preliminary
+towards becoming a member of his family. 
+If Miriam were only Grace, now, it would
+be plain sailing.  Hello! who's this?  Senor
+Don Miguel, as I'm a sinner!  What is he
+up to, pray?  Can this be the explanation
+of Miriam's escapade?  I have a strong
+desire to blow a hole through that fellow! 
+--Buenas noches, Senor de Mendoza!  I
+am enchanted to have the unexpected honor
+of meeting you."
+
+Senor de Mendoza turned round,
+disagreeably startled.  It is only fair to explain
+that he had not come hither with any lover-
+like designs towards Miriam.  Grace was
+the magnet that had drawn his steps to the
+Trednokes' garden, and the truth is that
+that enterprising young lady was not without
+a suspicion that he might turn up. 
+Could this information have been imparted
+to Freeman, it would have saved much
+trouble; but, as it was, not only did he
+jump to the conclusion that Don Miguel
+was his rival (and, seemingly, a not
+unsuccessful one), but a similar misgiving as to
+Freeman's purposes towards Grace found its
+way into the heart of the Spaniard.  It was
+a most perverse trick of fate.
+
+The two men contemplated each other,
+each after his own fashion:  Don Miguel
+pale, glaring, bristling; Freeman smiling,
+insolent, hectoring.
+
+"Why are you here, senor?" demanded
+the former, at length.
+
+"Partly, senor, because such is my
+pleasure.  Partly, to inform you that your
+presence here offends me, and to humbly request
+you to be off."
+
+"Senor, this is an impertinence."
+
+"Senor, one is not impertinent to prowling
+greasers.  One admonishes them, and,
+if they do not obey, one chastises them."
+
+"Do you talk of chastising Don Miguel
+de Mendoza? Senor, I will wash out that
+insult with your blood!"
+
+"Excellent!  It is at your service for the
+taking.  But, lest we disturb the repose of
+our friends yonder, let us seek a more
+convenient spot.  I noticed a very pretty little
+glade on the right as I rode over here.  You
+are armed?  Good! we will have this little
+affair adjusted within half an hour.  Yonder
+star--the planet of love, senor--shall see
+fair play.  Andamos!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Having mounted their steeds, the two
+sanguinary young gentlemen rode onwards,
+side by side, but in silence; for the
+souls of those who have resolved to slay each
+other find small delight in vain
+conversation.  Moreover, there is that in the
+conscious proximity of death which stimulates
+to thought much more than to speech.  But
+Freeman preserved an outward demeanor of
+complacent calm, as one who doubts not,
+nor dreads, the issue; and, indeed, this was
+not the first time by many that he had taken
+his life in his hand and brought it unscathed
+through dangers.  Don Miguel, on the other
+hand, was troubled in spirit, and uneasy in
+the flesh.  He was one soon hot and soon
+cold; and this long ride to the decisive
+event went much against his stomach.  If
+the conflict had taken place there in the
+garden, while the fire of the insult was yet
+scorching him, he could have fought it out
+with good will; but now the night air seemed
+chiller and chiller, and its frigidity crept
+into his nerves: he doubted of the steadiness
+of his aim, bethought himself that the
+darkness was detrimental to accurate shooting,
+and wondered whether Senor Freeman
+would think it necessary to fight across a
+handkerchief.  He could not help regretting,
+too, that the quarrel had not been occasioned
+by some more definite and satisfactory
+provocation,--something which merely to think
+of would steel the heart to irrevocable
+murderousness.  But no blow had passed; even
+the words, though bitter to swallow, had
+been wrapt in the phrases of courtesy; and
+perhaps the whole affair was the result of
+some misapprehension.  He stole a look at
+the face of his companion; and the latter's
+air of confident and cheerful serenity made
+him feel worse than ever.  Was he being
+brought out here to be butchered for
+nothing,--he, Don Miguel de Mendoza, who
+had looked forward to many pleasures in
+this life?  It was too bad.  It was true, the
+fortune of war might turn the other way;
+but Don Miguel was aware of a sensation in
+his bones which made this hope weak.
+
+At length Freeman drew rein and glanced
+around him.  They were in a lonely and--
+Don Miguel thought--a most desolate and
+unattractive spot.  An open space of about
+half an acre was bounded on one side by a
+growth of wild mustard, whose slender stalks
+rose to more than the height of a man's
+head.  On the other side was a grove of
+live-oak; and in front, the ground fell away
+in a rugged, bush-grown declivity.
+
+"It strikes me that this is just about what
+we want," remarked Freeman, in his full,
+cheerful tones.  "We are half a mile from
+the road; the ground is fairly level; and
+there's no possibility of our being disturbed. 
+I was thinking, this afternoon, as I passed
+through here, what an ideal spot it was for
+just such a little affair as you and I are bent
+on.  But I didn't venture to anticipate
+such speedy good fortune as your obliging
+condescension has brought to pass, Don
+Miguel."
+
+"Caramba!" muttered the senor,
+shivering.  He might have said more, but was
+unwilling to trust his voice, or to waste
+nervous energy.
+
+Meanwhile, Freeman had dismounted,
+and was tethering his horse.  It occurred
+to the senor that it would be easy to pull
+his gun, send a bullet through his
+companion, and gallop away.  He did not
+yield to this temptation, partly from
+traditional feeling that it would not be suitable
+conduct for a De Mendoza, partly because
+he might miss the shot or only inflict a
+wound, and partly because such deeds
+demand a nerve which, at that moment, was
+not altogether at his command.  Instead,
+he slowly dismounted himself, and wondered
+whether it would ever be vouchsafed him to
+sit in that saddle again.
+
+Freeman now produced his revolver, a
+handsome, silver-mounted weapon, that
+looked business-like.  "What sort of a
+machine is yours?" he inquired, pleasantly. 
+"You can take your choice.  I'm not
+particular, but I can recommend this as a sure
+thing, if you would like to try it.  It never
+misses at twenty paces."
+
+"Twenty paces?" repeated Don Miguel,
+with a faint gleam of hope.
+
+"Of course we won't have any twenty
+paces to-night, "added Freeman, with a
+laugh.  "I thought it might be a good
+plan to start at, say, fifteen, and advance
+firing.  In that way, one or other of us
+will be certain to do something sooner or
+later.  Would that arrangement be agreeable
+to Senor de Mendoza?"
+
+"Valga me Dios!  I am content," said
+the latter, fetching a deep breath, and setting
+his teeth.  "I will keep my weapon."
+
+"Muy buen," returned the American. 
+"So now let us take our ground: that is, if
+you are quite ready?"
+
+Accordingly they selected their stations,
+facing respectively about north and south,
+with the planet of love between them, as it
+were.  "Oblige me by giving the word,
+senor," said Freeman, cocking his weapon.
+
+But Don Miguel was staring with perturbed
+visage at something behind his antagonist. 
+"Santa Maria!" he faltered,
+"what is yonder?  It is a spirit!"
+
+Freeman had his wits about him, and
+perhaps entertained a not too high opinion
+of Mexican fair play.  So, before turning
+round, he advanced till he was alongside
+his companion.  Then he looked, and saw
+something which was certainly enigmatic.
+
+Among the wild-mustard plants there
+appeared a moving luminosity, having an
+irregular, dancing motion, as of a will-o'-the-
+wisp singularly agitated.  Sometimes it
+uplifted itself on high, then plunged
+downwards, and again jerked itself from side to
+side; occasionally it would quite vanish for
+an instant.  Accompanying this manifestation
+there was a clawing and reaching of
+shadowy arms: altogether, it was as if some
+titanic spectral grasshopper, with a heart of
+fire, were writhing and kicking in convulsions
+of phantom agony.  Such an apparition,
+in an hour and a place so lonely,
+might stagger a less superstitious soul than
+that of Don Miguel de Mendoza.
+
+Freeman gazed at it for a moment in
+silence.  It mystified him, and then irritated
+him.  When one is bent heart and soul upon
+an important enterprise, any interruption is
+an annoyance.  Perhaps there was in the
+young American's nature just enough remains
+of belief in witches and hobgoblins
+to make him feel warranted in resorting to
+extreme measures.  At any rate, he lifted
+his revolver, and fired.
+
+It was a long shot for a revolver:
+nevertheless it took effect.  The luminous object
+disappeared with a faint explosive sound,
+followed by a shout unmistakably human. 
+The long stems of the wild mustard swayed
+and parted, and out sprang a figure, which
+ran straight towards the two young men.
+
+Hereupon, Don Miguel, hissing out an appeal
+to the Virgin and the saints, turned and
+fled.
+
+Meanwhile, the mysterious figure
+continued its onward career; and Freeman
+once more levelled his weapon,--when a
+voice, which gave him such a start of
+surprise as well-nigh caused him to pull the
+trigger for sheer lack of self-command,
+called out, "Why, you abominable young
+villain!  What the mischief do you mean? 
+Do you want to be hanged?"
+
+"Professor Meschines!" faltered Freeman.
+
+It was indeed that worthy personage, and
+he was on fire with wrath.  He held in one
+hand a shattered lantern mounted on the
+end of a pole, and in the other a long-
+handled net of gauze, such as entomologists
+use to catch moths withal.  Under his left
+arm was slung a brown japanned case, in
+which he presumably deposited the spoils
+of his skill.  Freeman's shot had not only
+smashed and extinguished the lantern which
+served as bait for the game, but had also
+given the professor a disagreeable reminder
+that the tenure of human life is as precarious
+as that of the silly moth which allows itself
+to be lured to destruction by shining promises
+of bliss.
+
+"Upon my soul, professor, I am very
+sorry," said Freeman.  "You have no idea
+how formidable you looked; and you could
+hardly expect me to imagine that you would
+be abroad at such an hour----"
+
+"And why not, I should like to know?"
+shouted the professor, towering with
+indignation.  "Was I doing anything to be
+ashamed of?  And what are you doing here,
+pray, with loaded revolvers in your hands? 
+--Hallo! who's this?" he exclaimed, as
+Don Miguel advanced doubtfully out of the
+gloom.  "Senor de Mendoza, as I'm a
+sinner! and armed, too!  Well, really! 
+Are you two out on a murdering expedition? 
+--Oho!" he went on, in a changed tone,
+glancing keenly from one to another: 
+"methinks I see the bottom of this mystery.
+You have ridden forth, like the champions
+of romance, to do doughty deeds upon each
+other!--Is it not so, Don Miguel?" he
+demanded, turning his fierce spectacles
+suddenly on that young man.
+
+Don Miguel, ignoring a secret gesture
+from Freeman, admitted that he had been
+on the point of expunging the latter from
+this mortal sphere.
+
+The professor chuckled sarcastically.  "I
+see!  Blood!  Wounded honor!  The code!
+--But, by the way, I don't see your seconds! 
+Where are your seconds?"
+
+"My dear sir," said Freeman, "I assure
+you it's all a mistake.  We just happened
+to meet at the gen--er--happened to meet,
+and were riding home together----"
+
+"Now, listen to me, Harvey," the
+professor interrupted, holding up an expository
+finger.  "You have known me since some
+ten years, I think; and I have known you. 
+You were a clever boy in your studies; but
+it was your foible to fancy yourself cleverer
+than you were.  Acting under that delusion,
+you pitted yourself against me on one or
+two occasions; and I leave it to your candid
+recollection whether you or I had the best
+of the encounter.  You call yourself a man,
+now; but I make bold to say that the--
+discrepancy, let us call it--between you and me
+remains as conspicuous as ever it was.  I see
+through you, sir, much more clearly than, by
+this light, I can see you.  I am fond of you,
+Harvey; but I feel nothing but contempt
+for your present attitude.  In the first place,
+conscious as you are of your skill with that
+weapon, you know that this affair--even had
+seconds been present--would have been, not
+a duel, but an assassination.  You acted like
+a coward!--I say it, sir, like a coward!--
+and I hope you may live to be as much
+ashamed of yourself as I am now ashamed
+for you.  Secondly, your conduct, considered
+in its relations to--to certain persons
+whom I will not name, is that of a boor and
+a blackguard.  Suppose you had accomplished
+the cowardly murder--the cowardly
+murder, I said, sir--that you were bent upon
+to-night.  Do you think that would be a
+grateful and acceptable return for the courtesy
+and confidence that have been shown
+you in that house?--a house, sir, to which I
+myself introduced you, under the mistaken
+belief that you were a gentleman, or, at
+least, could feign gentlemanly behavior! 
+But I won't--my feelings won't allow me to
+enlarge further upon this point.  But allow
+me to add, in the third place, that you have
+shown yourself a purblind donkey.  Actually,
+you haven't sense enough to know the difference
+between those who pull with you and
+those who pull against you.  Now, I happen
+to know--to know, do you hear?--that had
+you succeeded in what you were just about
+to attempt, you would have removed your
+surest ally,--the surest, because his interests
+prompt him to favor yours.  You pick out
+the one man who was doing his best to clear
+the obstacle out of your path, and what do
+you do?--Thank him?--Not you!  You plot
+to kill him!  But even had he been, as you
+in your stupidity imagined, your rival, do
+you think the course you adopted would
+have promoted your advantage?  Let me
+tell you, sir, that you don't know the kind
+of people you are dealing with.  You would
+never have been permitted to cross their
+threshold again.  And you may take my
+word for it, if ever you venture to recur to
+any such folly, I will see to it that you
+receive your deserts.--Well, I think we
+understand each other, now?"
+
+Freeman's emotions had undergone
+several variations during the course of the
+mighty professor's harangue.  But he had
+ended by admitting the force of the
+argument; and the reminiscences of college
+lecturings aroused by the incident had
+tickled his sense of humor and quenched
+his anger.  He looked at the professor with
+a sparkle of laughter in his eyes.
+
+"I have done very wrong, sir," he said,
+"and I'm very sorry for it.  If you won't
+give me any bad marks this time, I'll
+promise to be good in future."
+
+"Ah! very smooth!  To begin with,
+suppose you ask pardon of Senor Don
+Miguel de Mendoza for the affront you
+have put upon him."
+
+To a soul really fearless, even an apology
+has no terrors.  Moreover, Freeman's night
+ride with Don Miguel, though brief in time,
+had sufficed to give him the measure of the
+Mexican's character; and he respected it so
+little that he could no longer take the man
+seriously, or be sincerely angry with him. 
+The professor's assurance as to Don Miguel's
+inoffensiveness had also its weight; and it
+was therefore with a quite royal gesture
+of amicable condescension that Freeman
+turned upon his late antagonist and held out
+his hand.
+
+"Senor Don Miguel de Mendoza," said
+he, "I humbly tender you my apologies
+and crave your pardon.  My conduct has
+been inexcusable; I beg you to excuse it. 
+I deserve your reprobation; I entreat the
+favor of your friendship.  Senor, between
+men of honor, a misunderstanding is a
+misunderstanding, and an apology is an
+apology.  I lament the existence of the
+first; the professor, here, is witness that I
+lay the second at your feet.  May I hope
+to receive your hand as a pledge that you
+restore me to the privilege of your good
+will?"
+
+Now, Don Miguel's soul had been grievously
+exercised that night: he had been
+insulted, he had shivered beneath the shadow
+of death, he had been a prey to superstitious
+terrors, and he had been utterly perplexed
+by the professor's eloquent address, whereof
+(as it was delivered in good American, and
+with a rapidity of utterance born of strong
+feeling) he had comprehended not a word,
+and the unexpected effect of which upon
+his late adversary he was at a loss to
+understand.  Although, therefore, he had no
+stomach for battle, he was oppressed by a
+misgiving lest the whole transaction had
+been in some way planned to expose him to
+ridicule; and for this reason he was
+disposed to treat Freeman's peaceful overtures
+with suspicion.  His heart did not respond
+to those overtures, but neither was it stout
+enough to enable him to reject them
+explicitly.  Accordingly, he adopted that
+middle course which, in spite of the
+proverb, is not seldom the least expedient. 
+He disregarded the proffered hand, bowed
+very stiffly, and, saying, "Senor, I am
+satisfied," stalked off with all the rigidity
+of one in whose veins flows the sangre azul
+of Old Castile.  Freeman smiled superior
+upon his retreat, and then, producing a
+cigar-case, proceeded to light up with the
+professor.  In this fragrant and friendly
+cloud we will leave them, and return for a
+few minutes to the house of General Trednoke.
+
+It will be remembered that something was
+said of Grace being privy to the nocturnal
+advances of Senor de Mendoza.  We are
+not to suppose that this implies in her
+anything worse than an aptness to indulge in
+romantic adventure: the young lady
+enjoyed the mystery of romance, and knew
+that serenades, and whisperings over star-lit
+balconies, were proper to this latitude.  It
+may be open to question whether she really
+was much interested in De Mendoza, save
+as he was a type of the adoring Spaniard. 
+That the scene required: she could imagine
+him (for the time-being) to be the Cid of
+ancient legend, and she herself would enact
+a role of corresponding elevation.  Grace
+would doubtless have prospered better had
+she been content with one adorer at a time;
+but, while turning to a new love, she was by
+no means disposed to loosen the chains of a
+former one; and, though herself as jealous
+as is a tiger-cat of her young, she could
+never recognize the propriety of a similar
+passion on the part of her victims.  She
+had been indignant at Freeman's apparent
+infidelity with Miriam; but when she had
+(as she imagined) discovered her mistake,
+she had listened with a heart at ease to
+the protestations of Don Miguel.  She had
+parted from him that evening with a half
+expressed understanding that he was to
+reappear beneath her window before day-
+light; and she had pictured to herself a
+charming balcony-scene, such as she had
+beheld in Italian opera.  Accordingly, she
+had attired herself in a becoming negligee,
+and had spent the fore part of the night
+somewhat restlessly, occasionally emerging
+on the veranda and gazing down into the
+perfumed gloom of the garden.  At length she
+fancied that she heard footsteps.  Whose
+could they be, unless Don Miguel's?  Grace
+retreated within her window to await
+developments.  Don Miguel did not appear;
+but presently she descried a phantom-like
+figure ascending the flight of steps to the
+veranda.  Could that be he?  If so, he
+was bolder in his wooing than Grace had
+been prepared for.  But surely that was a
+strange costume that he wore; nor did the
+unconscious harmony of the gait at all resemble
+the senor's self-conscious strut.  And
+whither was he going?
+
+It was but too evident that he was going
+straight to the room occupied by Miriam!
+
+This was too much for Grace's equanimity.
+She stepped out of her window,
+and flitted with noiseless step along the
+veranda.  The figure that she pursued
+entered the door of the house, and passed into
+the corridor traversing the wing.  Grace
+was in time to see it cross the threshold of
+Miriam's door, which stood ajar.  She stole
+to the door, and peeped in.  There was the
+figure; but of Miriam there was no trace.
+
+The figure slowly unfastened and threw
+back the hood which covered its head, at
+the same time turning round, so that its
+countenance was revealed.  A torrent of
+black hair fell down over its shoulders. 
+Grace uttered an involuntary exclamation.
+It was Miriam herself!
+
+The two gazed at each other a moment in
+silence.  "Goodness me, dear!" said Grace
+at last, in a faint voice, "how you have
+frightened me!  I saw you go in, in that
+dress, and I thought you were a man! 
+How my heart beats!  What is the matter?"
+
+"This is strange!" murmured the other,
+after a pause.  "I never heard such words;
+and yet I seem to understand, and even to
+speak them.  It must be a dream.  What
+are you?"
+
+"Why, Miriam, dear! don't you know
+Grace?"
+
+"Oh! you think me Miriam.  No; not
+yet!"  She raised her hands, and pressed
+her fingers against her temples.  "But I
+feel her--I feel her coming!  Not yet,
+Kamaiakan! not so soon!--Do you know
+him?" she suddenly asked, throwing back
+her hair, and fixing an eager gaze on
+Grace.
+
+"Know who?  Kamaiakan?  Why,
+yes----"
+
+"No, not him!  The youth,--the blue-
+eyed,--the fair beard above his lips----"
+
+"What are you talking about?  Not
+Harvey Freeman!"
+
+"Harvey Freeman!  Ah, how sweet a
+name!  Harvey Freeman!  I shall know it
+now!--Tell him," she went on, laying her
+hand majestically upon Grace's shoulder,
+and speaking with an impressive earnestness,
+"that Semitzin loves him!"
+
+"Semitzin?" repeated Grace, puzzled,
+and beginning to feel scared.
+
+"Semitzin!" the other said, pointing to
+her own heart.  "She loves him: not as
+the child Miriam loves, but with the heart
+and soul of a mighty princess.  When he
+knows Semitzin, he will think of Miriam no
+more."
+
+"But who is Semitzin?" inquired Grace,
+with a fearful curiosity.
+
+"The Princess of Tenochtitlan, and the
+guardian of the great treasure, "was the
+reply.
+
+"Good gracious! what treasure?"
+
+"The treasure of gold and precious
+stones hidden in the gorge of the desert
+hills.  None knows the place of it but I;
+and I will give it to none but him I love."
+
+"But you said that . . .  Really, my
+dear, I don't understand a bit!  As for Mr.
+Freeman, he may care for Semitzin, for
+aught I know; but, I must confess, I think
+you're mistaken in supposing he's in love
+with you,--if that is what you mean.  I
+met him before you did, you know; and if
+I were to tell you all that we----"
+
+"What are you or Miriam to me?--Ah!
+she comes!--The treasure--by the turning
+of the white pyramid--six hundred paces--
+on the right--the arch----"  Her voice
+died away.  She covered her face with her
+hands, and trembled violently.  Slowly she
+let them fall, and stared around her. 
+"Grace, is it you?  Has anything happened? 
+How came I like this?  What is
+it?"
+
+"Well, if you don't know, I'm afraid I
+can't tell you.  I had begun to think you
+had gone mad.  It must be either that or
+somnambulism.  Who is Semitzin?"
+
+"Semitzin? I never heard of him."
+
+"It isn't a man: it's a princess.  And
+the treasure?"
+
+"Am I asleep or awake?  What are you
+saying?"
+
+"The white pyramid, you know----"
+
+"Don't make game of me, Grace.  If
+I have done anything----"
+
+"My dear, don't ask me!  I tell you
+frankly, I'm nonplussed.  You were somebody
+else a minute ago. . . .  The truth is,
+of course, you've been dreaming awake. 
+Has any one else seen you beside me?"
+
+"Have I been out of my room?" asked
+Miriam, in dismay.
+
+"You must have been, I should think, to
+get that costume.  Well, the best plan will
+be, I suppose, to say nothing about it to
+anybody.  It shall be our secret, dear.  If I
+were you, I would have one of the women
+sleep in your room, in case you got restless
+again.  It's just an attack of nervousness,
+probably,--having so many strangers in the
+house, all of a sudden.  Now you must go
+to bed and get to sleep: it's awfully late,
+and there'll be ever so much going on to-
+morrow."
+
+Grace herself slept little that night.  She
+could not decide what to make of this
+adventure.  Nowadays we are provided with
+a name for the peculiar psychical state
+which Miriam was undergoing, and with
+abundant instances and illustrations; but
+we perhaps know what it is no more than
+we did twenty-five or thirty years ago. 
+Grace's first idea had been that Miriam was
+demented; then she thought she was playing
+a part; then she did not know what to
+think; and finally she came to the conclusion
+that it was best to quietly await further
+developments.  She would keep an eye
+on Freeman as well as on Miriam; something,
+too, might be gathered from Don
+Miguel; and then there was that talk about
+a treasure.  Was that all the fabric of a
+dream, or was there truth at the bottom of
+it?  She had heard something said about a
+treasure in the course of the general
+conversation the day before.  If there really
+was a treasure, why might not she have a
+hand in the discovery of it?  Miriam, in
+her abnormal state, had let fall some
+topographical hints that might prove useful. 
+Well, she would work out the problem,
+sooner or later.  To-morrow, when the
+others had gone off on their expedition, she
+would have ample leisure to sound Don
+Miguel, and, if he proved communicative
+and available, who could tell what might
+happen?  But how very odd it all was! 
+Who was Semitzin?
+
+While asking herself this question, Grace
+fell asleep; and by the time the summons
+to breakfast came, she had passed through
+thrilling adventures enough to occupy a new
+Scheherazade at least three years in the
+telling of them.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+By nine o'clock in the morning,
+Professor Meschines and Harvey Freeman
+had ridden up to the general's ranch,
+equipped for the expedition.  The general's
+preparations were not yet quite completed. 
+A couple of mules were being loaded with
+the necessary outfit.  It was proposed to be
+out two days, camping in the open during
+the intervening night.  It was necessary to
+take water as well as solid provisions. 
+Leaving their horses in the care of a couple
+of stable-boys, Meschines and Freeman
+mounted the veranda, and were there
+greeted by General Trednoke.
+
+"I'm afraid we'll have a hot ride of it,"
+he observed.  "The atmosphere is rather
+oppressive.  Kamaiakan tells me there was
+a touch of earthquake last night."
+
+"I thought I noticed some disturbance,----"
+returned the professor, with a stealthy side-
+glance at Freeman,--"something in the
+nature of an explosion."
+
+"Earthquakes are common in this region,
+aren't they?" Freeman said.
+
+"They have made it what it is, and may
+unmake it again," replied the general. 
+"The earthquake is the father of the desert,
+as the Indians say; and it may some day
+become the father of a more genial offspring. 
+Veremos!"
+
+"How are the young ladies?" inquired
+Freeman.
+
+"Miriam has a little headache, I
+believe; and I thought Miss Parsloe was
+looking a trifle pale this morning.  But
+you must see for yourself.  Here they
+come."
+
+Grace, who was a little taller than
+Miriam, had thrown one arm round that
+young lady's waist, with a view, perhaps, to
+forming a picture in which she should not
+be the secondary figure.  In fact, they were
+both of them very pretty; but Freeman had
+become blind to any beauty but Miriam's. 
+Moreover, he was resolved to have some
+private conversation with her during the
+few minutes that were available.  A
+conversation with the professor, and some
+meditations of his own, had suggested to him a
+line of attack upon Grace.
+
+"I'm afraid you were disturbed by the
+earthquake last night?" he said to her.
+
+"An earthquake?  Why should you
+think so?"
+
+"You look as if you had passed a restless
+night.  I saw Senor de Mendoza this morning. 
+He seems to have had a restless time
+of it, too.  But he is a romantic person,
+and probably, if an earthquake did not
+make him sleepless, something else might." 
+He looked at her a moment, and then
+added, with a smile, "But perhaps this is
+not news to you?"
+
+"He didn't come--I didn't see him,"
+returned Grace, wishing, ere the words had
+left her lips, that she had kept her mouth
+shut.  Freeman continued to smile.  How
+much did he know?  She felt that it might
+be inexpedient to continue the conversation. 
+Casting about for a pretext for
+retreat, her eyes fell upon Meschines.
+
+"Oh, there's the dear professor!  I must
+speak to him a moment," she exclaimed,
+vivaciously; and she slipped her arm from
+Miriam's waist, and was off, leaving Freeman
+in possession of the field, and of the
+monopoly of Miriam's society.
+
+"Miss Trednoke," said he, gravely, "I
+have something to tell you, in order to clear
+myself from a possible misunderstanding. 
+It may happen that I shall need your
+vindication with your father.  Will you give
+it?"
+
+"What vindication do you need, that I
+can give?" asked she, opening her dark
+eyes upon him questioningly.
+
+"That's what I wish to explain.  I am
+in a difficult position.  Would you mind
+stepping down into the garden?  It won't
+take a minute."
+
+Curiosity, if not especially feminine, is
+at least human.  Miriam descended the
+steps, Freeman beside her.  They strolled
+down the path, amidst the flowers.
+
+"You said, yesterday," he began, "that
+I would say one thing and be another. 
+Now I am going to tell you what I am. 
+And afterwards I'll tell you why I tell it. 
+In the first place, you know, I'm a civil
+engineer, and that includes, in my case, a
+good deal of knowledge about geology and
+things of that sort.  I have sometimes been
+commissioned to make geological surveys
+for Eastern capitalists.  Lately I've been
+canal-digging on the Isthmus; but the other
+day I got a notification from some men in
+Boston and New York to come out here on a
+secret mission."
+
+"Secret, Mr. Freeman?"
+
+"Yes: you will understand directly. 
+These men had heard enough about the
+desert valleys of this region to lead them to
+think that it might be reclaimed and so be
+made very valuable.  Such lands can be
+bought now for next to nothing; but, if the
+theories that control these capitalists are
+correct, they could afterwards be sold at a
+profit of thousands per cent.  So it's
+indispensable that the object of my being
+here should remain unknown; otherwise,
+other persons might step in and anticipate
+the designs of this company."
+
+"If those are your orders, why do you
+speak to me?"
+
+"There's a reason for doing it that
+outweighs the reasons against it.  I trust you
+with the secret: yet I don't mean to bind
+you to secrecy.  You will have a perfect
+right to tell it: the only result would be
+that I should be discredited with my
+employers; and there is nothing to warrant me
+in supposing that you would be deterred by
+that."
+
+"I don't ask to know your secret:  I
+think you had better say no more."
+
+Freeman shook his head.  "I must
+speak," said he.  "I don't care what
+becomes of me, so long as I stand right in
+your opinion,--your father's and yours.  I
+am here to find out whether this desert can
+be flooded,--irrigated,--whether it's possible,
+by any means, to bring water upon it. 
+If my report is favorable, the company will
+purchase hundreds, or thousands, of square
+miles, and, incidentally, my own fortune
+will be made."
+
+"Why, that's the very thing----"  She
+stopped.
+
+"The very thing your father had thought
+of!  Yes, so I imagined, though he has not
+told me so in so many words.  So I'm in
+the position of surreptitiously taking away
+the prospective fortune of a man whom I
+respect and honor, and who treats me as a
+friend."
+
+Miriam walked on some steps in silence. 
+"It is no fault of yours," she said at last. 
+"You owe us nothing.  You must carry out
+your orders."
+
+"Yes; but what is to prevent your father
+from thinking that I stole his idea and then
+used it against him?"
+
+"You can tell him the truth: he could
+not complain; and why should you care if
+he did?  I know that men separate business
+from--from other things."
+
+They had now come to the little enclosed
+space where the fountain basin was; and by
+tacit consent they seated themselves upon it. 
+Miriam gave an exclamation of surprise.
+"The water is gone!" she said.  "How
+strange!"
+
+"Perhaps it has gone to meet us at our
+rendezvous in the desert.--No: if I tell
+your father, I should be unfaithful to my
+employers.  But there's another alternative:
+I can resign my appointment, and let my
+place be taken by another."
+
+"And give up your chance of a fortune? 
+You mustn't do that."
+
+"What is it to you what becomes of
+me?"
+
+"I wish nothing but good to come to
+you," said she, in a low voice.
+
+"I have never wanted to have a fortune
+until now.  And I must tell you the reason
+of that, too.  A man without a fortune does
+very well by himself.  He can knock about,
+and live from hand to mouth.  But when
+he wants to live for somebody else,--even
+if he has only a very faint hope of getting
+the opportunity of doing it,--then he must
+have some settled means of livelihood to
+justify him.  So I say I am in a difficult
+position.  For if I give this up, I must go
+away; and if I go away, I must give up
+even the little hope I have."
+
+"Don't go away," said Miriam, after a
+pause.
+
+"Do you know what you are saying?" 
+He hesitated a moment, looking at her as
+she looked down at the empty basin.  "My
+hope was that you might love me; for I
+love you, to be my wife."
+
+The color slowly rose in Miriam's face:
+at length she hid it in her hands.  "Oh,
+what is it?" she said, almost in a whisper. 
+"I have known you only three days.  But
+it seems as if I must have known you before. 
+There is something in me that is not like
+myself.  But it is the deepest thing in me;
+and it loves you: yes, I love you!"
+
+Her hands left her face, and there was a
+light in her eyes which made Freeman, in
+the midst of his rejoicing, feel humble and
+unworthy.  He felt himself in contact with
+something pure and sacred.  At the same
+moment, the recollection recurred to him
+of the figure he had seen the night before,
+with the features of Miriam.  Was it she
+indeed?  Was this she?  To doubt the
+identity of the individual is to lose one's
+footing on the solid earth.  For the first
+time it occurred to him that this doubt
+might affect Miriam herself.  Was she
+obscurely conscious of two states of being in
+herself, and did she therefore fear to trust
+her own impulses?  But, again, love is the
+master-passion; its fire fuses all things, and
+gives them unity.  Would not this love that
+they confessed for each other burn away all
+that was abnormal and enigmatic, and leave
+only the unerring human heart, that knows
+its own and takes it?  These reflections
+passed through Freeman's mind in an
+instant of time.  But he was no metaphysician,
+and he obeyed the sane and wholesome
+instinct which has ever been man's
+surest and safest guide through the
+mysteries and bewilderments of existence.  He
+took the beautiful woman in his arms and
+kissed her.
+
+"This is real and right, if anything is,"
+said he.  "If there are ghosts about, you
+and I, at any rate, are flesh and blood, and
+where we belong.  As to the irrigation
+scrape, there must be some way out of it:
+if not, no matter!  You and I love each
+other, and the world begins from this moment!"
+
+"My father must know to-morrow," said
+Miriam.
+
+"No doubt we shall all know more to-
+morrow than we do to-day," returned her
+lover, not knowing how abundantly his
+prophecy would be fulfilled: he was over-
+flowing with the fearless and enormous joy
+of a young man who has attained at one
+bound the summit of his desire.  "There!
+they are calling for me.  Good-by, my
+darling.  Be yourself, and think of nothing
+but me."
+
+
+A short ride brought the little cavalcade
+to the borders of the desert.  Here, by
+common consent, a halt was made, to draw
+breath, as it were, before taking the final
+plunge into the fiery furnace.
+
+"Before we go farther," said General
+Trednoke, approaching Freeman, as he was
+tightening his girths, "I must tell you what
+is the object of this expedition."
+
+"It is not necessary, general," replied
+the young man, straightening himself and
+looking the other in the face; "for from
+this point our paths lie apart."
+
+"Why so?" demanded the general, in
+surprise.
+
+"What's that?" exclaimed Meschines,
+coming up, and adjusting his spectacles.
+
+"I'm not at liberty, at present, to
+explain," Freeman answered.  "All I can
+say is that I don't feel justified in assisting
+you in your affair, and I am not able to
+confide my own to you.  I wish you to put
+the least uncharitable construction you can
+on my conduct.  To-morrow, if we all live,
+I may say more; now, the most I can tell
+you is that I am not entirely a free agent. 
+Meantime--Hasta luego."
+
+Against this unexpected resolve the
+general cordially protested and the professor
+scoffed and contended; but Freeman stayed
+firm.  He had with him provisions enough
+to last him three days, and a supply of
+water; and in a small case he carried a
+compact assortment of instruments for
+scientific observation.  "Take your departure
+in whatever direction you like," said he,
+"and I will take mine at an angle of not
+less than fifteen degrees from it.  If I am
+not back in three days, you may conclude
+something has happened."
+
+It was certainly very hot.  Freeman had
+been accustomed to torrid suns in the Isthmus;
+but this was a sun indefinitely multiplied
+by reflections from the dusty surface
+underfoot.  Nor was it the fine, ethereal fire
+of the Sahara: the atmosphere was dead
+and heavy; for the rider was already far
+below the level of the Pacific, whose cool
+blue waves rolled and rippled many leagues
+to the westward, as, aeons ago, they had
+rolled and rippled here.  There was not a
+breath of air.  Freeman could hear his
+heart beat, and the veins in his temples and
+wrists throbbed.  The sweat rose on the
+surface of his body, but without cooling it. 
+The pony which he bestrode, a bony and
+sinewy beast of the toughest description,
+trod onwards doggedly, but with little
+animation.  Freeman had no desire to push
+him.  Were the little animal to overdo
+itself, nothing in the future could be more
+certain than that his master would never see
+the Trednoke ranch again.  It seemed
+unusually hot, even for that region.
+
+There was little in the way of outward
+incident to relieve the monotony of the
+journey.  Now and then a short, thick
+rattlesnake, with horns on its ugly head,
+wriggled out of his path.  Now and then his
+horse's hoof almost trod upon a hideous,
+flat lizard, also horned.  Here and there
+the uncouth projections of a cactus pushed
+upwards out of the dust; some of these the
+mustang nibbled at, for the sake of their
+juice.  Freeman wondered where the juice
+came from.  The floor of the desert seemed
+for the most part level, though there was a
+gradual dip towards the east and northeast,
+and occasionally mounds and ridges of
+wind-swept dust, sometimes upwards of fifty
+feet in height, broke the uniformity.  The
+soil was largely composed of powdered feldspar;
+but there were also tracts of gravel
+shingle, of yellow loam, and of alkaline
+dust.  In some places there appeared a salt
+efflorescence, sprouting up in a sort of
+ghastly vegetation, as if death itself had
+acquired a sinister life.  Elsewhere, the
+ground quaked and yielded underfoot, and
+it became necessary to make detours to
+avoid these arid bogs.  Once or twice, too,
+Freeman turned aside lest he should trample
+upon some dry bones that protruded in his
+path,--bones that were their own monument,
+and told their own story of struggle,
+agony, exhaustion, and despair.
+
+None of these things had any depressing
+effect on Freeman's spirit.  His heart was
+singing with joy.  To a mind logically
+disposed, there was nothing but trouble in
+sight, whether he succeeded or failed in his
+present mission.  In the former case, he
+would find himself in a hostile position as
+regarded the man he most desired to
+conciliate; in the latter, he would remain the
+mere rolling stone that he was before, and
+love itself would forbid him to ask the
+woman he loved to share his uncertain
+existence.  But Freeman was not logical: he
+was happy, and he could not help it.  He
+had kissed Miriam, and she loved him.
+
+His course lay a few degrees north of
+east.  Far across the plain, dancing and
+turning somersaults in the fantastic atmosphere,
+were the summits of a range of abrupt
+hills, the borders of a valley or ravine
+which he wished to explore.  Gradually, as
+he rode, his shadow lengthened before him. 
+It was his only companion; and yet he felt
+no sense of loneliness.  Miriam was in his
+heart, and kept it fresh and bold.  Even
+hunger and thirst he scarcely felt.  Who
+can estimate the therapeutic and hygienic
+effects of love?
+
+The mustang could not share his rider's
+source of content, but he may have been
+conscious, through animal instincts whereof
+we know nothing, of an uplifting and
+encouraging spirit.  At all events, he kept up
+his steady lope without faltering or apparent
+effort, and seemed to require nothing more
+than the occasional wetting which Freeman
+administered to his nose.  There would
+probably be some vegetation, and perhaps
+water, on the hills; and that prospect may
+likewise have helped him along.
+
+Nevertheless, man and beast may well
+have welcomed the hour when the craggy
+acclivities of that lonely range became so
+near that they seemed to loom above their
+heads.  Freeman directed his steps towards
+the southern extremity, where a huge, pallid
+mass, of almost regular pyramidal form,
+reared itself aloft like a monument.  He
+skirted the base of the pyramid, and there
+opened on his view a narrow, winding valley,
+scarcely half a mile in apparent breadth,
+and of a very wild and savage aspect.  Its
+general direction was nearly north and
+south, and it declined downwards, as if
+seeking the interior of the earth.  In fact,
+it looked not unlike those imaginative
+pictures of the road to the infernal regions
+described by the ancient poets.  One could
+picture Pluto in his chariot, with Proserpine
+beside him, thundering downwards behind
+his black horses, on the way to those sombre
+and magnificent regions which are hollowed
+out beneath the surface of the planet.
+
+Freeman, however, presently saw a sight
+which, if less spectacularly impressive, was
+far more agreeable to his eyes.  On a shelf
+or cup of the declivity was a little clump of
+vegetation, and in the midst of it welled up
+a thin stream of water.  The mustang
+scrambled eagerly towards it, and, before
+Freeman had had time to throw himself out
+of the saddle, he had plunged his muzzle
+into the rivulet.  He sucked it down with
+such satisfaction that it was evident the
+water was not salt.  Freeman laid himself
+prone upon the brink, and followed his
+steed's example.  The draught was cool
+and pure.
+
+"I didn't know how much I wanted it!"
+said he to himself.  "It must come from a
+good way down.  If I could only bring the
+parent stream to the surface, my mission
+would be on a fair road to success."
+
+An examination of the spring revealed the
+fact that it could not have been long in
+existence.  Indeed, there were no traces
+whatever of long continuance.  The aperture in
+the rock through which it trickled bore the
+appearance of having been recently opened;
+fragments were lying near it that seemed to
+have been just broken off.  The bed of the little
+stream was entirely free from moss or weeds;
+and after proceeding a short distance it
+dwindled and disappeared, either sucked up in
+vapor by the torrid air, or absorbed into
+the dusty soil.  Manifestly, it was a recent
+creation.
+
+"And, to be sure, why not?" ejaculated
+Freeman.  "There was an earthquake last
+night, which swallowed up the spring in
+the Trednokes' garden: probably that same
+earthquake brought this stream to light.  It
+vanished there, to reappear here.  Well, the
+loss is not important to them, but the gain is
+very important to me.  It is as if Miriam
+had come with a cup of water to refresh her
+lover in the desert.  God bless her!  She
+has refreshed me indeed, soul and body!"
+
+He removed the saddle from the mustang,
+and turned him loose to make the best of
+such scanty herbage as he could find.  Then
+he unpacked his own provisions, and made a
+comfortable meal; after which he rolled a
+cigarette and reclined on the spot most available,
+to rest and recuperate.  The valley, or
+gorge, lay before him in the afternoon light. 
+It was a strange and savage spectacle.  Had
+it been torn asunder by some stupendous
+explosion, it could not have presented a rougher
+or more chaotic aspect.  To look at it was
+like beholding the secret places of the earth. 
+The rocky walls were of different colors,
+yellow, blue, and red, in many shades and
+gradations.  They towered ruggedly upwards,
+sharply shadowed and brightly lighted,
+mounting in regular pinnacles, parting in
+black crevices; here and there vast masses
+hung poised on bases seemingly insufficient,
+ready to topple over on the unwary passer
+beneath.  A short distance to the northward
+the ravine had a turn, and a projecting
+promontory hid its further extreme from sight. 
+Freeman made up his mind to follow it up
+on foot, after the descending sun should
+have thrown a shadow over it.  The indications,
+in his judgment, were not without
+promise that a system of judiciously-applied
+blastings might open up a source of water
+that would transform this dreadful barrenness
+into something quite different.
+
+The shade of the great pyramid fell upon
+him as he lay, but the tumultuous wall opposite
+was brilliantly illuminated: the sky, over
+it, was of a peculiar brassy hue, but entirely
+cloudless.  The radiations from the baked
+surface, ascending vertically, made the rocky
+bastion seem to quiver, as if it were a reflection
+cast on undulating water.  The wreaths
+of tobacco-smoke that emanated from Freeman's
+mouth also ascended, until they touched
+the slant of sunlight overhead.  As the
+young man's eyes followed these, something
+happened that caused him to utter an
+exclamation and raise himself on one arm.
+
+All at once, in the vacant air diagonally
+above him, a sort of shadowy shimmer
+seemed to concentrate itself, which was
+rapidly resolved into color and form.  It was
+much as if some unseen artist had swept a
+mass of mingled hues on a canvas and then
+had worked them with magical speed into a
+picture.  There appeared a breadth of rolling
+country, covered with verdure, and in
+the midst of it the white walls and long,
+shadowed veranda of an adobe house.  Freeman
+saw the vines clambering over the eaves
+and roof, the vases of earthenware suspended
+between the pillars and overflowing with
+flowers, the long windows, the steps descending
+into the garden.  Now a figure clad in
+white emerged from the door and advanced
+slowly to the end of the veranda.  He
+recognized the gait and bearing: he could almost
+fancy he discerned the beloved features. 
+She stood there for a moment, gazing, as it
+seemed, directly at him.  She raised her
+hands, and pressed them to her lips, then
+threw them outwards, with a gesture eloquent
+of innocent and tender passion.  Freeman's
+heart leaped: involuntarily he stretched out
+his arms, and murmured, "Miriam!"  The
+next moment, a tall, dark figure, with white
+hair, wrapped in a blanket, came stalking
+behind her, and made a beckoning movement. 
+Miriam did not turn, but her bearing
+changed; her hands fell to her sides;
+she seemed bewildered.  Freeman sprang
+angrily to his feet: the picture became
+blurred; it flowed into streaks of vague
+color; it was gone.  There were only the
+brassy sky, and the painted crags quivering
+in the heat.
+
+"That was not a mirage: it was a miracle,"
+muttered the young man to himself. 
+"Forty miles at least, and it seemed
+scarcely three hundred yards!  What does
+it mean?"
+
+The sun sank behind the hills, and a
+transparent shadow filled the gorge.  Freeman,
+uneasy in mind, and unable to remain
+inactive, filled his canteen at the spring, and
+descended to the rugged trail at the bottom. 
+Clambering over boulders, leaping across
+narrow chasms, letting himself down from
+ledges, his preoccupation soon left him, and
+physical exertion took the precedence.  Half
+an hour's work brought him to the out-
+jutting promontory which had concealed
+the further reaches of the valley.  These
+now lay before him, merging imperceptibly
+into indistinctness.
+
+"This atmosphere is unbearable," said
+Freeman.  "I must get a little higher up." 
+He turned to the right, and saw a natural
+archway, of no great height, formed in the
+rock.  The arch itself was white; the super-
+incumbent stone was of a dull red hue.  On
+the left flank of the arch were a series of
+inscribed characters, which might have been
+cut by a human hand, or might have been a
+mere natural freak.  They looked like some
+rude system of hieroglyphics, and bore no
+meaning to Freeman's mind.
+
+A sort of crypt or deep recess was
+hollowed out beneath the arch, the full extent
+of which Freeman was unable to discern. 
+The floor of it descended in ridges, like a
+rough staircase.  He stood for a few moments
+peering into the gloom, tempted by
+curiosity to advance, but restrained partly
+by the gathering darkness, and partly by the
+oppressiveness of the atmosphere, which
+produced a sensation of giddiness.  Something
+white gleamed on the threshold of the crypt. 
+He picked it up.  It was a human skull;
+but even as he lifted it it came apart in his
+hands and crumbled into fragments.  Freeman's
+nerves were strong, but he shuddered
+slightly.  The loneliness, the silence, the
+mystery, and the strange light-headedness
+that was coming over him combined to make
+him hesitate.  "I'll come back to-morrow
+morning early," he said to himself.
+
+As if in answer, a deep, appalling roar
+broke forth apparently under his feet, and
+went rolling and reverberating up and down
+the canon.  It died away, but was
+immediately followed by another yet more loud,
+and the ground shook and swayed beneath
+his feet.  A gigantic boulder, poised high
+up on the other side of the canon, was
+unseated, and fell with a terrific crash.  A hot
+wind swept sighing through the valley, and
+the air rapidly became dark.  Again came
+the sigh, rising to a shriek, with roarings
+and thunderings that seemed to proceed
+both from the heavens and from the earth.
+
+A dazzling flash of lightning split the air,
+bathing it for an instant in the brightness
+of day: in that instant Freeman saw the
+bolt strike the great white pyramid and
+splinter its crest into fragments, while the
+whole surface of the gorge heaved and
+undulated like a stormy sea.  He had been
+staggering as best he might to a higher part
+of the ravine; but now he felt a stunning
+blow on his head: he fell, and knew no
+more.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Two horsemen, one of whom led a third
+horse, carrying a pack-saddle, had
+reached the borders of the desert just as the
+earthquake began.  When the first shock
+came, they were riding past a grove of live-
+oaks: they immediately dismounted, made
+fast their horses, and lay down beside some
+bushes that skirted the grove.  Neither the
+earthquake nor the storm was so severe as
+was the case farther eastward.  In an hour
+all was over, and they remounted and
+continued their journey, guiding their course
+by the stars.
+
+"It was thus that we rode before,
+Kamaiakan," remarked the younger of the two
+travellers.  "Yonder bright star stood as it
+does now, and the hour of the night was
+the same.  But this shaking of the earth
+makes me fear for the safety of that youth. 
+The sands of the desert may have swept
+over him; or he may have perished in the
+hills."
+
+"The purposes of the gods cannot be
+altered, Semitzin," replied the old Indian,
+who perhaps would not have much regretted
+such a calamity as she suggested: it would
+be a simple solution of difficulties which
+might otherwise prove embarrassing.  "It
+is my prayer, at all events, that the entrance
+to the treasure may not be closed."
+
+"I care nothing for the treasure, unless
+I may share it with him," she returned. 
+"Since we spoke together beside the fountain,
+I have seen him.  He looked upon me
+doubtfully, being, perhaps, perplexed
+because of these features of the child Miriam,
+which I am compelled to wear."
+
+"Truly, princess, what is he, that you
+should think of him?" muttered Kamaiakan.
+
+"He satisfies my heart," was the reply.
+
+"And I am resolved never again to give up
+this mortal habitation to her you call its
+rightful owner.  I will never again leave
+this world, which I enjoy, for the unknown
+darkness out of which you called me."
+
+"Princess, the gods do not permit such
+dealings.  They may, indeed, suffer you to
+live again; but you must return as an
+infant, in flesh and bones of your own."
+
+"The gods have permitted me to return
+as I have returned; and you well know,
+Kamaiakan, that, except you use your art
+to banish me and restore Miriam, there is
+nothing else that can work a change."
+
+"Murder is not lawful, Semitzin; and to
+do as you desire would be an act not different
+from murder."
+
+"On my head be it, then!" exclaimed
+the princess.  "Would it be less a murder
+to send me back to nothingness than to let
+her remain there?  Mine is the stronger
+spirit, and has therefore the better right to
+live.  I ask of you only to do nothing. 
+None need ever know that Miriam has
+vanished and that Semitzin lives in her place. 
+I wear her body and her features, and I am
+content to wear her name also, if it must be
+so."
+
+Kamaiakan was silent.  He may well be
+pardoned for feeling troubled in the presence
+of a situation which had perhaps never
+before confronted a human being.  Two
+women, both tenants of the same body,
+both in love with the same man, and therefore
+rivals of each other, and each claiming
+a right to existence: it was a difficult
+problem.  The old Indian heartily wished that a
+separate tenement might be provided for
+each of these two souls, that they might
+fight out their quarrel in the ordinary way. 
+But his magic arts did not extend to the
+creation of flesh and blood.  At the same
+time, he could not but feel to blame for
+having brought this strenuous spirit of
+Semitzin once more into the world, and he
+was fain to admit that her claim was not
+without justification.  His motives had been
+excellent, but he had not foreseen the
+consequences in which the act was to land him. 
+Yet he more shrank from wronging Miriam
+than from disappointing Semitzin.
+
+But the latter was not to be put off by
+silence.
+
+"There has been a change since you and
+I last spoke together," she said.  "I am
+aware of it, though I know not how; but,
+in some manner, the things which Miriam
+has done are perceptible to me.  When I
+was here before, she did but lean towards
+this youth; now she has given herself to
+him.  She means to be united to him; and,
+if I again should vanish, I should never
+again find my way back.  But it shall not
+be so; and there is a way, Kamaiakan, by
+which I can surely prevent it, even though
+you refuse to aid me."
+
+"Indeed, princess, I think you mistake
+regarding the love of Miriam for this young
+man; they have seen little of each other;
+and it may be, as you yourself said, that he
+has perished in the wilderness."
+
+"I believe he lives," she answered:  "I
+should know it, were it otherwise.  But if I
+cannot have him, neither shall she.  I have
+told you already that, unless you swear to
+me not to put forth your power upon me to
+dismiss me, I will not lead you to the treasure. 
+But that is not enough; for men deceive,
+and you are a man.  But if at any
+time hereafter I feel within me those pangs
+that tell me you are about to separate me
+from this world, at that moment, Kamaiakan,
+I will drive this knife through the
+heart of Miriam!  If I cannot keep her
+body, at least it shall be but a corpse when
+I leave it.  You know Semitzin; and you
+know that she will keep her word!"
+
+She reined in her horse, as she spoke, and
+sat gazing upon her companion with flashing
+eyes.  The Indian, after a pause, made a
+gesture of gloomy resignation.  "It shall be
+as you say, then, Semitzin; and upon your
+head be it!  Henceforth, Miriam is no
+more.  But do you beware of the vengeance
+of the gods, whose laws you have defied."
+
+"Let the gods deal with me as they will,"
+replied the Aztecan.  "A day of happiness
+with the man I love is worth an age of
+punishment."
+
+Kamaiakan made no answer, and the two
+rode forward in silence.
+
+It was midnight, and a bright star, nearly
+in the zenith, seemed to hang precisely above
+the summit of the great white pyramid at
+the mouth of the gorge.
+
+"It was here that we stopped," observed
+Semitzin.  "We tied our horses among the
+shrubbery round yonder point.  Thence we
+must go on foot.  Follow me."
+
+She struck her heels against her horse's
+sides, and went forward.  The long ride
+seemed to have wearied her not a whit.  The
+lean and wiry Indian had already betrayed
+symptoms of fatigue; but the young princess
+appeared as fresh as when she started.  Not
+once had she even taken a draught from her
+canteen; and yet she was closely clad, from
+head to foot, in the doublet and leggings of
+the Golden Fleece.  One might have thought
+it had some magic virtue to preserve its
+wearer's vitality; and possibly, as is sometimes
+seen in trance, the energy and concentration
+of the spirit reacted upon the body.
+
+She turned the corner of the pyramid, but
+had not ridden far when an object lying in
+her path caused her to halt and spring from
+the saddle.  Kamaiakan also dismounted and
+came forward.
+
+The dead body of a mustang lay on the
+ground, crushed beneath the weight of a
+fragment of rock, which had evidently fallen
+upon it from a height.  He had apparently
+been dead for some hours.  He was without
+either saddle or bridle.
+
+"Do you know him?" demanded Semitzin.
+
+"It is Diego," replied Kamaiakan.  "I
+know him by the white star on his muzzle. 
+He was ridden by the Senor Freeman.  They
+must have come here before the earthquake. 
+And there lie the saddle and the bridle. 
+But where is Senor Freeman?"
+
+"He can be nowhere else than in this
+valley," said Semitzin, confidently.  "I
+knew that I should find him here.  Through
+all the centuries, and across all spaces, we
+were destined to meet.  His horse was killed,
+but he has escaped.  I shall save him.  Could
+Miriam have done this?  Is he not mine by
+right?"
+
+"It is at least certain, princess," responded
+the old man rather dryly, "that had it not
+been for Miriam you would never have met
+the Senor Freeman at all."
+
+"I thank her for so much; and some time,
+perhaps, I will reward her by permitting her
+to have a glimpse of him for an hour,--or,
+at least, a minute.  But not now, Kamaiakan,
+--not till I am well assured that no thought
+but of me can ever find its way into his
+heart.  Come, let us go forward.  We will
+find the treasure, and I will give it to my
+lord and lover."
+
+"Shall we bring the pack-horse with us?"
+asked the Indian.
+
+"Yes, if he can find his way among these
+rocks.  The earthquake has made changes
+here.  See how the water pours from this
+spring!  It has already made a stream down
+the valley.  It shall guide us whither we are
+going."
+
+Leaving their own horses, they advanced
+with the mule.  But the trail, rough enough
+at best, was now well-nigh impassable. 
+Masses of rock had fallen from above; large
+fissures and crevasses had been formed in
+the floor of the gorge, from some of which
+steaming vapors escaped, while others gave
+forth streams of water.  The darkness added
+to the difficulties of the way, for, although
+the sky was now clear, the gloom was
+deceptive, and things distant seemed near. 
+Occasionally a heavy, irregular sound would
+break the stillness, as some projection of a
+cliff became loosened and tumbled down the
+steep declivity.
+
+Semitzin, however, held on her way
+fearlessly and without hesitation, and the Indian,
+with the pack-horse, followed as best he
+might, now and then losing sight for a moment
+of the slight, grayish figure in front of
+him.  At length she disappeared behind the
+jutting profile of a great promontory which
+formed a main angle of the gorge.  When
+he came up with her, she was kneeling
+beside the prostrate form of a man, supporting
+his head upon her knee.
+
+Kamaiakan approached, and looked at the
+face of the man, which was pale; the eyes
+were closed.  A streak of blood, from a
+wound on the head, descended over the
+right side of the forehead.
+
+"Is he dead?" the Indian asked.
+
+"He is not dead," replied Semitzin.  "A
+flying stone has struck him; but his heart
+beats: he will be well again."  She poured
+some water from her canteen over his face,
+and bent her ear over his lips.  "He
+breathes," she said.  Slipping one arm
+beneath his neck, she loosened the shirt at his
+throat and then stooped and kissed him. 
+"Be alive for me, love," she murmured. 
+"My life is yours."
+
+This exhortation seemed to have some
+effect.  The man stirred slightly, and emitted
+a sigh.  Presently he muttered, "I can--
+lick him--yet!"
+
+"He will live, princess," remarked
+Kamaiakan.  "But where is the treasure?"
+
+"My treasure is here!" was her reply;
+and again she bent to kiss the half-conscious
+man, who knew not of his good fortune. 
+After an interval she added, "It is in the
+hollow beneath that archway.  Go down
+three paces: on the wall at the left you will
+feel a ring.  Pull it outwards, and the stone
+will give way.  Behind it lies the chest in
+which the jewels are.  But remember your
+promise!"
+
+Kamaiakan peered into the hollow, shook
+his head as one who loves not his errand,
+and stepped in.  The black shadow swallowed
+him up.  Semitzin paid no further
+attention to him, but was absorbed in
+ministering to her patient, whose strength was
+every moment being augmented, though he
+was not yet aware of his position.  But all
+at once a choking sound came from within
+the cave, and in a few moments Kamaiakan
+staggered up out of the shadow, and sank
+down across the threshold of the arch.
+
+"Semitzin," he gasped, in a faint voice,
+"the curse of the gods is upon the spot! 
+The air within is poisonous.  It withers the
+limbs and stops the breath.  No one may
+touch the treasure and live.  Let us
+go!"
+
+"The gods do not love those who fear,"
+replied the princess, contemptuously.  "But
+the treasure is mine, and it may well be that
+no other hand may touch it.  Fold that
+blanket, and lay it beneath his head.  I will
+bring the jewels."
+
+"Do not attempt it: it will be death!"
+exclaimed the old man.
+
+"Shall a princess come to her lover
+empty-handed?  Do you watch beside him
+while I go.  Ah, if your Miriam were here,
+I would not fear to have him choose between
+us!"
+
+With these words, Semitzin stepped across
+the threshold of the crypt, and vanished in
+its depths.  The Indian, still dizzy and
+faint, knelt on the rock without, bowed
+down by sinister forebodings.
+
+Several minutes passed.  "She has
+perished!" muttered Kamaiakan.
+
+Freeman raised himself on one elbow,
+and gazed giddily about him.  "What the
+deuce has happened?" he demanded, in a
+sluggish voice.  "Is that you, professor?"
+
+Suddenly, a rending and rushing sound
+burst from the cave.  Following it, Semitzin
+appeared at the entrance, dragging a heavy
+metal box, which she grasped by a handle
+at one end.  Immediately in her steps broke
+forth a great volume of water, boiling up as
+if from a caldron.  It filled the cave, and
+poured like a cataract into the gorge.  The
+foundations of the great deep seemed to be
+let loose.
+
+Semitzin lifted from her face the woollen
+mask, or visor, which she had closed on
+entering the cave.  She was panting from
+exertion, but neither her physical nor her
+mental faculties were abated.  She spoke
+sharply and imperiously:
+
+"Bring up the mule, and help me fasten
+the chest upon him.  We must reach higher
+ground before the waters overtake us.  And
+now----"  She turned to Freeman, who by
+this time was sitting up and regarding her
+with stupefaction.
+
+"Miriam!" was all he could utter.
+
+She shook her head, and smiled.  "I am
+she who loves you, and whom you will love. 
+I give you life, and fortune, and myself. 
+But come: can you mount and ride?"
+
+"I can't make this out," he said,
+struggling, with her assistance, to his feet.  "I
+have read fairy-tales, but this . . . Kamaiakan,
+too!"
+
+Semitzin, meanwhile, brought him to the
+mule, and half mechanically he scrambled
+into the saddle, the chest being made fast to
+the crupper.  Semitzin seized the bridle,
+and started up the gorge, Kamaiakan bringing
+up the rear.  The lower levels were
+already filling with water, which came
+pouring out through the archway in a full flood,
+seemingly inexhaustible.
+
+"I see how it is," mumbled Freeman,
+half to himself.  "The earthquake--I
+remember!  I got hit somehow.  They
+came from the ranch to hunt me up.  But
+where are the general and Professor
+Meschines?  How long ago was it?  And how
+came Miriam . . .  Could the mirage have
+had anything to do with it?--Here, let me
+walk," he called out to her, "and you get
+up and ride."
+
+She turned her head, smiling again, but
+hurried on without speaking.  The roar of
+the torrent followed them.  Once or twice
+the mule came near losing his footing. 
+Freeman, whose head was swimming, and
+his brains buzzing like a hive of bees, had
+all he could do to maintain his equilibrium
+in the saddle.  He was excruciatingly
+thirsty, and the gurgling of waters round
+about made him wish he might dismount and
+plunge into them.  But he lacked power to
+form a decided purpose, and permitted the
+more energetic will to control him.  It
+might have been minutes, or it might have
+been hours, for all he knew: at last they
+halted, near the base of the white pyramid.
+
+"Here we are safe," said Semitzin,
+coming to his side.  "Lean on me, my
+love, and I will lift you down."
+
+"Oh, I'm not quite so bad as that, you
+know," said Freeman, with a feeble laugh;
+and, to prove it, he blundered off the saddle,
+and came down on the ground with a
+thwack.  He picked himself up, however,
+and recollecting that he had a flask with
+brandy in it, he felt for it, found it
+intact, and, with an inarticulate murmur of
+apology, raised it to his lips.  It was like
+the veritable elixir of life: never in his life
+before had Freeman quaffed so deep a
+draught of the fiery spirit.  It was just what
+he wanted.
+
+But he felt oddly embarrassed.  He did
+not know what to make of Miriam.  It was
+not her strange costume merely, but she
+seemed to have put on--or put off--something
+with it that made a difference in her. 
+She was assertive, imperious; as loving,
+certainly, as lover could wish, but not in the
+manner of the Miriam he knew.  He might
+have liked the new Miriam better, had he
+not previously fallen in love with the former
+one.  He could not make advances to her:
+he had no opportunity to do so: she was
+making advances to him!
+
+"My love," she said, standing before
+him, "I have come back to the world for
+your sake.  Before Semitzin first saw you,
+her heart was yours.  And I come to you,
+not poor, but with the riches and power of
+the princes of Tenochtitlan.  You shall see
+them: they are yours!--Kamaiakan, take
+down the chest."
+
+"What's that about Semitzin?" inquired
+Freeman.  "I'm not aware that I knew any
+such person."
+
+"Kamaiakan!" repeated the other, raising
+her voice, and not hearing Freeman's last
+words.  Kamaiakan was nowhere to be seen. 
+Both Freeman and she had supposed that he
+was following on behind the mule; but he
+had either dropped behind, or had
+withdrawn somewhere.  "O Kamaiakan!"
+shouted Freeman, as loud as he could.
+
+A distant hail, from the direction of the
+desert, seemed to reply.
+
+"That can't be he," said Freeman.  "It
+was at least a quarter of a mile off, and the
+wrong direction, too.  He's in the gorge,
+if he's anywhere."
+
+"Hark!" said Semitzin.
+
+They listened, and detected a low murmur,
+this time from the gorge.
+
+"He's fallen down and hurt himself,"
+said Freeman.  "Let's go after him."
+
+In a few moments they stumbled upon the
+old Indian, reclining with his shoulders
+against a rock, and gasping heavily.
+
+"My princess," he whispered, as she bent
+over him, "I am dying.  The poisonous
+air in the cave was fatal to me, though the
+spell that is upon the Golden Fleece
+protected you.  I have done what the gods
+commanded.  I am absolved of my vow. 
+The treasure is safe."
+
+"Nonsense! you're all right!" exclaimed
+Freeman.  "Here, take a pull at this flask. 
+It did me all the good in the world!"
+
+But the old man put it aside, with a feeble
+gesture of the hand.  "My time is come,----"
+said he.--"Semitzin, I have been faithful."
+
+"Semitzin, again!" muttered Freeman. 
+"What does it mean?"
+
+"But what is this?" cried the girl,
+suddenly starting to her feet.  "I feel the sleep
+coming on me again!  I feel Miriam returning! 
+Kamaiakan, have you betrayed me at
+the last?"
+
+"No, no, princess, I have done nothing,"
+said he, in a voice scarcely audible.  "But,
+with death, the strength of my will goes
+from me, and I can no longer keep you in
+this world.  The spirit of Miriam claims
+her rightful body, and you must struggle
+against her alone.  The gods will not be
+defied: it is the law!"
+
+His voice sank away into nothing, and his
+beard drooped upon his breast.
+
+"He's dying, sure enough, poor old
+chap," said Freeman.  "But what is all
+this about?  I never heard anything like
+this language you two talk together."
+
+Semitzin turned towards him, and her eyes
+were blazing.
+
+"She shall not have you!" she cried.  "I
+have won you--I have saved you--you are
+mine!  What is Miriam?  Can she be to
+you what I could be?--You shall never have
+him!" she continued, seeming to address
+some presence invisible to all eyes but hers. 
+"If I must go, you shall go with me!" 
+She fumbled in her belt, caught the handle
+of a knife there, and drew it.  She lifted it
+against her heart; but even then there was
+an uncertainty in her movement, as if her
+mind were divided against itself, or had
+failed fully to retain the thread of its
+purpose.  But Freeman, who had passed rapidly
+from one degree of bewilderment to another,
+was actually relieved to see, at last,
+something that he could understand.  Miriam--
+for some reason best known to herself--was
+about to do herself a mischief.  He leaped
+forward, caught her in his arms, and snatched
+the knife from her grasp.
+
+For a few moments she struggled like a
+young tiger.  And it was marvellous and
+appalling to hear two voices come from her,
+in alternation, or confusedly mingled.  One
+said, "Let me kill her!  I will not go! 
+Keep back, you pale-faced girl!" and then a
+lower, troubled voice, "Do not let her come! 
+Her face is terrible!  What are those strange
+creatures with her?  Harvey, where are
+you?"
+
+At last, with a fierce cry, that died away
+in a shuddering sigh, the form of flesh and
+blood, so mysteriously possessed, ceased
+to struggle, and sank back in Freeman's
+arms.  His own strength was well-nigh at
+an end.  He laid her on the ground, and,
+sitting beside her, drew her head on his
+knee.  He had been in the land of spirits,
+contending with unknown powers, and he
+was faint in mind and body.
+
+Yet he was conscious of the approaching
+tread of horses' feet, and recollected the
+hail that had come from the desert.  Soon
+loomed up the shadowy figures of mounted
+men, and they came so near that he was
+constrained to call out, "Mind where you're
+going!  You'll be over us!"
+
+"Who are you?" said a voice, which
+sounded like that of General Trednoke, as
+they reined up.
+
+"There's Kamaiakan, who's dead; and
+Miriam Trednoke, who has been out of her
+mind, but she's got over it now, I guess;
+and I,--Harvey Freeman."
+
+"My daughter!" exclaimed General Trednoke.
+
+"My boy!" cried Professor Meschines. 
+"Well, thank God we've found you, and
+that some of you are alive, at any rate!"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+As it was still some hours before dawn,
+and Freeman was too weak to travel,
+it was decided to encamp beside the pyramid
+till the following evening, and then
+make the trip across the desert in the
+comparative coolness of starlight.  Meanwhile,
+there was something to be done, and much
+to be explained.
+
+The spirit of Kamaiakan had passed away,
+apparently at the same moment that the
+peculiar case of "possession" under which
+Miriam had suffered came to an end.  They
+determined to bury him at the foot of the
+great pyramid, which would form a fitting
+monument of his antique character and virtues.
+
+Miriam, after her struggle, had lapsed
+into a state of partial lethargy, from which
+she was aroused gradually.  It was then
+found that she could give no account what
+ever of how or why she came there.  The
+last thing she distinctly remembered was
+standing on the veranda at the ranch and
+looking towards the east.  She was under
+the impression that Kamaiakan had approached
+and spoken with her, but of that
+she was not certain.  The next fact in her
+consciousness was that she was held in
+Freeman's arms, with a feeling that she had
+barely escaped from some great peril.  She
+could recall nothing of the journey down the
+gorge, of the adventure at the bottom of it,
+or of the return.  It was only by degrees
+that some partial light was thrown upon this
+matter.  Freeman knew that he was at the
+entrance of the cave when the earthquake
+began, and he remembered receiving a blow
+on the head.  Consequently it must have
+been at that spot that Miriam and the Indian
+found him.  He had, too, a vague impression
+of seeing Miriam coming out of the cave,
+dragging the chest; and there, sure enough,
+was a metal box, strapped to the saddle of
+the pack-mule.  But the mystery remained
+very dense.  And although the reader is in
+a position to analyze events more closely
+than the actors themselves could do, it may
+be doubted whether the essential mystery
+is much clearer to him than it was to
+them.
+
+"We know that the ancient Aztecan
+priests were adepts in magic," observed the
+professor, "and it's natural that some of
+their learning should have descended to
+their posterity.  We have been clever in
+giving names to such phenomena, but we
+know perhaps even less about their esoteric
+meaning than the Aztecans did.  I should
+judge that Miriam would be what is called a
+good 'subject.'  Kamaiakan discovered that
+fact; and as for what followed, we can only
+infer it from the results.  I was always an
+admirer of Kamaiakan; but I must say I
+am the better resigned to his departure,
+from the reflection that Miriam will
+henceforth be undisturbed in the possession
+of her own individuality."
+
+"As near as I could make out, she called
+herself Semitzin," put in Freeman.
+
+"Semitzin?" repeated the general. 
+"Why, if I'm not mistaken, there are
+accounts of an Aztecan princess of that name,
+an ancestress of my wife's family, in some
+old documents that I have in a box, at
+home."
+
+"That would only add the marvel of
+heredity to the other marvels," said
+Meschines.  "Suppose we leave the things we
+can't understand, and come to those we can?"
+
+"I have something to say, General
+Trednoke," said Freeman.
+
+"I think I have already guessed what it
+may be, Mr. Freeman," returned the general,
+gravely.  "Old people have eyes, and
+hearts too, as well as young ones."
+
+"Come, Trednoke," interposed the
+professor, with a chuckle, "your eyes might
+not have seen so much, if I hadn't held the
+lantern."
+
+"I love your daughter, and I told her
+so yesterday morning," went on Freeman,
+after a pause.  "I meant to tell you on my
+return.  I know I don't appear desirable as
+a son-in-law.  But I came here on a
+commission----"
+
+"Meschines and I have talked it all
+over," the general said.  "When an old
+West-Pointer and a professor of physics get
+together, they are sometimes able to put two
+and two together.  And, to tell the truth, I
+received a letter from a member of your
+syndicate, who is also an acquaintance of mine,
+which explained your position.  Under the
+circumstances, I consider your course to
+have been honorable.  You and I were
+both in search of the same thing, and now,
+as it appears, nature has sent an earthquake
+to do our affair for us.  No operations of
+ours could have achieved such a result as
+last night's disturbance did; and if that do
+not prove effective, nothing else will."
+
+"If it turns out well, I was promised a
+share in the benefits," said Freeman, "and
+that would put me in a rather better condition,
+from a worldly point of view."
+
+"After all," interrupted Meschines, "you
+found your way to the spot from which the
+waters broke forth, and may fairly be
+entitled to the credit of the discovery.--Eh,
+Trednoke?  At any rate, we found nothing. 
+--Yes, I think they'll have to admit you
+to partnership, Harvey: and Miriam too,--
+who, by the way, seems to be the only one
+who actually penetrated into this cave you
+speak of.  Maybe the removal of the chest
+pulled the plug out of the bung-hole, as it
+were: the escape of confined air through
+such a vent would be apt to draw water
+along with it.  By the way, let's have a
+look at this same chest: it looks solid
+enough to hold something valuable."
+
+"I would like, in the first place, to hear
+what General Trednoke has to say about
+what I have told him," said Freeman, clearing
+his throat.
+
+"Miriam," said the general, "do you
+wish to be married to this young man?"
+
+The old soldier was sitting with her hand
+in his, and he turned to her as he spoke. 
+She threw her arms round his neck, and
+pressed her face against his shoulder.  "He
+is to me what you were to mamma," she
+said, so that only he could hear.
+
+"Then be to him what she was to me,"
+answered the general, kissing her.  "Ah
+me, little girl!  I am old, but perhaps this is
+the right way for me to grow young again. 
+Well, if you are of the same mind six
+months hence----"
+
+"Worse; it will be much worse, then,"
+murmured the professor.  "Better make it
+three."
+
+The chest was made of some alloy of steel
+and nickel, impervious to rust, and very
+hard.  It resisted all gentle methods of
+attack, and it was finally found necessary to
+force the lock with a charge of powder. 
+Within was found another case, which was
+pried open with the point of the general's
+bowie-knife.
+
+It was filled to the brim with precious
+stones, most of them removed from their
+settings.  But such of the gold-work as
+remained showed the jewels to be of ancient
+Aztecan origin.  There was value enough
+in the box to buy and stock a dozen ranches
+as big as the general's, and leave heirlooms
+enough to decorate a family larger than that
+of the most fruitful of the ancient patriarchs.
+
+"I call that quite a respectable dowry,"
+remarked Meschines.  "Upon my soul,
+Miriam, if I had known what you had up
+your sleeve, I should have thought twice
+before allowing a 'civil engineer'--do you
+remember?--to run off with you so easily."
+
+
+At dawn, they prepared the body of old
+Kamaiakan for its interment.  In doing
+this, the professor noted the peculiar
+appearance of the corpse.
+
+"The flesh is absolutely withered," said
+he, "especially those parts which were
+uncovered.  It must have been subjected to
+the action of some destructive vapor or gas,
+fatal not only to breathe, but to come in
+contact with.  I have heard of poisonous
+emanations proceeding from the ground in
+these regions, but I never saw an instance
+of their effects before.  That skull that you
+say you found, Harvey, was probably that
+of a victim of the same cause.  But it is
+strange that Miriam, who must have
+remained some time in the very midst of it,
+should have escaped without a mark, or
+even any inconvenience."
+
+"Kamaiakan ascribed it to the magic of
+the Golden Fleece," said Freeman.
+
+"Well," rejoined the other, "he may
+have been right; but, for my part, the only
+magic that I can find in it lies in the fact
+that it is made of pure wool, which undoubtedly
+possesses remarkable sanative properties;
+or maybe the fiery soul of Semitzin was
+powerful enough to repel all harmful
+influences.  The poor old fellow himself, being
+clad in cotton, and with no soul but his
+own, was destroyed.  Let us wrap him in
+his blanket, and bid him farewell--and
+with him, I hope, to all that is uncanny
+and abnormal in the lives of you young
+folks!"
+
+
+The last rites having been paid to the
+dead, the party mounted their horses and
+rode out of the gorge on to the long levels
+of the desert.
+
+"Who come yonder?" said Freeman.
+
+"A couple of Mexicans, I think," said
+the general.
+
+"One of them is a woman," said Meschines.
+
+"They look very weary," remarked Freeman.
+
+Miriam fixed her eyes on the approaching
+pair for a moment, and then said, "They
+are Senor de Mendoza and Grace Parsloe."
+
+And so, indeed, they were; and thus, in
+this lonely spot, all the dramatis personae of
+this history found themselves united.
+
+In answer to the obvious question, how
+Grace and De Mendoza happened to be
+there, it transpired that, left to their own
+devices, they had undertaken no less an
+enterprise than to discover the hidden treasure. 
+Grace had communicated to the Mexican
+such bits of information as she had
+picked up and such surmises as she had
+formed, and he had been able to supplement
+her knowledge to an extent that seemed to
+justify them in attempting the adventure,--
+not to mention the fact that Don Miguel
+(such was the ardor of his sentiment for
+Grace) would, had she desired it, have gone
+with her into a fiery furnace or a den of
+lions.  Grace, who was ambitious as well as
+romantic, and who longed for the power
+and independence that wealth would give,
+was all alight with the idea of capturing the
+hoard of Montezuma: her social position
+would be altered at a stroke, and the world
+would be at her feet.  Whether she would
+then have rewarded Don Miguel for his
+devotion, is possibly open to doubt: the
+sudden acquisition of boundless wealth has been
+known to turn larger heads than hers. 
+Fortunately, however, this temptation was
+withheld from her: so far from finding the
+treasure, she and Don Miguel very soon lost
+themselves in the desert, and had been
+wandering about ever since, dolely uncomfortable,
+and in no small danger of losing
+their lives.  They were already at the end
+of their last resource when they happened
+to encounter the other party, as we have
+seen; and immeasurable was their joy at the
+unlooked-for deliverance.  So there was
+another halt, to enable them to rest and
+recuperate; and it was not until the evening of
+that day that the journey was finally resumed.
+
+Meanwhile, Grace had time to think over
+all that happened, and to arrive at certain
+conclusions.  She was at bottom a good
+girl, though liable to be led away by her
+imagination, her vanity, and her temperament. 
+Don Miguel's best qualities had revealed
+themselves to her in the desert: he
+had always thought of her before himself,
+had done all that in him lay to save her
+from fatigue and suffering, and had stuck to
+her faithfully when he might perhaps have
+increased his own chances of escape by
+abandoning her.  Did not such a man deserve to
+be rewarded?--especially as he was a handsome
+fellow, of good family, and possessed
+of quite a respectable income.  Moreover,
+Harvey Freeman was now beyond her reach:
+he was going to marry Miriam, and she had
+realized that her own brief infatuation for
+him had had no very deep root after all. 
+Accordingly, she smiled encouragingly upon
+Don Miguel, and before they set out on
+their homeward ride she had vouchsafed him
+the bliss of knowing that he might call her
+his.
+
+The general, as her guardian, did not
+withhold his approval; but when Grace drew
+him aside and besought him never to reveal
+to her intended the fact that she had once
+been a shop-girl, the old warrior smiled.
+
+"You can depend upon me to keep your
+secret, if you wish it, my dear," said he;
+"but I warn you that such concealments
+between husband and wife are not wise.  He
+loves you and would only love you the
+more for your frankness in confessing what
+you seem to consider a discreditable episode:
+though I for my part am free to tell you that
+you will be lucky if your future life affords
+you the opportunity of doing anything else
+so much to your credit.  But the chances
+are that he will find it out sooner or later;
+and that may not be so agreeable, either to
+him or to you.  Better tell him all now."
+
+But Grace pictured to herself the aristocratic
+pride of an hidalgo shocked by the
+suggestion of the plebeianism of trade; and
+she would not consent to the revelation. 
+But the general's prediction was fulfilled
+sooner than might have been expected.
+
+For, after they were married, Don Miguel
+decided to visit the Atlantic coast on the
+wedding journey; and one of the first notable
+places they reached was, of course, New
+York.  Don Miguel was delighted, and was
+never weary of strolling up Fifth Avenue
+and down Broadway, with his beautiful wife
+on his arm.  He marvelled at the vast white
+pile of the Fifth Avenue Hotel; he frowned
+at the Worth Monument; he stared inexhaustibly
+into the shop-windows; he exclaimed
+with admiration at the stupendous
+piles of masonry which contained the goods
+of New York's merchant princes.  It seemed
+to be his opinion that the possessors of so
+much palpable wealth must be the true
+aristocracy of the country.
+
+And one afternoon it happened that as
+they were strolling along Broadway, between
+Twenty-third Street and Union Square, and
+were crossing one of the side-streets, a horse
+belonging to one of Lord and Taylor's delivery-
+wagons became frightened, and bolted
+round the corner.  One of the hind wheels
+of the vehicle came in contact with Grace's
+shoulder, and knocked her down.  The blow
+and the fall stunned her.  Don Miguel's
+grief and indignation were expressed with
+tropical energy; and a by-stander said,
+"Better carry her into the store, mister; it's
+their wagon run her down, and they can't
+do less than look after her."
+
+The counsel seemed reasonable, and Don
+Miguel, with the assistance of a policeman,
+lifted his wife and bore her into the stately
+shop.  One of the floor-walkers met them at
+the door; he cast a glance at their burden,
+and exclaimed, "Why, it's Miss Parsloe!" 
+And immediately a number of the employees
+gathered round, all regarding her with
+interest and sympathy, all anxious to help,
+and--which was what mystified Don Miguel
+--all calling her by name!  How came they
+to know Grace Parsloe?  Nay, they even
+glanced at Don Miguel, as if to ask what
+was HIS business with the beautiful unconscious
+one!
+
+"This lady are my wife," he said, with
+dignity.  "She not any more Miss Parsloe."
+
+"Oh, Grace has got married!" exclaimed
+the young ladies, one to another; and then
+an elderly man, evidently in authority, came
+forward and said, "I suppose you are aware,
+sir, that Miss Parsloe was formerly one of
+our girls here; and a very clever and useful
+girl she was.  I need not say how sorry we
+are for this accident: I have sent for the
+physician: but I cannot but be glad that
+the misfortune has at least given me the
+opportunity of telling you how highly your
+wife was valued and respected here."
+
+At this juncture, Grace opened her eyes:
+she looked from one face to another, and
+knew that fate had brought the truth to
+light.  But the physical shock tempered the
+severity of the mental one: besides, she
+could not help being pleased at the sight of
+so many well-remembered and friendly faces;
+and, finally, her husband did not look by
+any means so angry and scandalized as she
+had feared he would.  Indeed, he appeared
+almost gratified.  The truth probably was,
+he was flattered to see his wife the centre of
+so much interest and attention, and at the
+discovery that she had been in some way an
+honored appanage of so imposing an
+establishment.  So, by the time Grace was well
+enough to be driven back to her hotel, the
+senor was prattling cheerfully and familiarly
+with all and sundry, and was promising to
+bring his wife back there the next day, to
+talk over old times with her former associates.
+
+Such was Grace's punishment: it was not
+very severe; but then her fault had been a
+venial one; and the episode was of much
+moral benefit to her.  She liked her husband
+all the better for having nothing more
+to conceal from him; her vanity was rebuked,
+and her false pride chastened; and
+when, in after-years, her pretty daughters
+and black-haired sons gathered about her
+knees, she was wont to warn them sagely
+against the un-American absurdity of
+fearing to work for their living, or being
+ashamed to have it known.
+
+But the married life of Miriam and
+Harvey Freeman was characteristically American
+in its happiness.  The representatives of the
+oldest and of the latest inhabitants of this
+continent, their union seemed to produce
+the flower of what was best in both.  Their
+wedding is still remembered in that region,
+as being everything that a Southern Californian
+wedding should be; and the bride, as
+she stood at the altar, looked what she was,--
+one of those women who, more than anything
+else in this world, are fitted to bring back to
+earth the gentle splendors of the Garden of
+Eden.  In her dark eyes, as she fixed them
+upon Freeman, there was a mystic light,
+telling of fathomless depths of tenderness
+and intelligence: it seemed to her husband
+that love had expanded and uplifted her;
+or perhaps that other spirit in her, which
+had battled with her own, had now become
+reconciled, and therefore yielded up whatever
+it had of good and noble to aggrandize
+the gentle victory of its conqueror.  Somehow,
+somewhere, in Miriam's nature, Semitzin
+lived; and, as a symbol of the peace
+and atonement that were the issue of her
+strange interior story, her husband preserves
+with reverence and affection the mysterious
+garment called the Golden Fleece.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg etext of The Golden Fleece.
+
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