Adventure Magazine Cover — page 189: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Mahogany Garden Almost completed was his meal when a gleam of something among the twigs of the narrow pallet caught his eye and, reaching over, he drew it forth—a little coral and silver beaded rosary with a medallion en- graved with ‘“Emalia Rosanna Ortegas y Escalendon.’”’ The rosary she had worn as she rode to his help! ‘Nacion,” he said breathlessly, ‘is this the Sefiorita Emalia’s chamber?”’ “Tt is now for you, sefior.”’ ‘And she?” “The sefiorita will be with my sister.” On the cake in his hands he now saw the unmistakable print of her little fingers! It seemed that the mouthful he had been about to swallow would choke him, and sudden, surprising hot tears sprang to hiseyes. He bent his head lest the mozo should see. “Will you bring her, ’Nacion?” he said huskily, and when the Indian had gone, he stared at the coals, while between them and his eyes rose the vision of a queenly, haughty slip of a girl poised proudly on the steps of the ancient hacienda stair, the stair at the portal of her ancestral home. A rustle of the vines! Springing to his feet he faced her and noted, beyond her, the sister of ’Nacion standing with crossed hands and dropped eyes as becomes the duenna. The two approached, his eyes bent intently on her face in which the color rose and fled in quick alternation, her eyes wavering away but coming back constantly to his as if com- pelled, while her fingers tugged childishly at the seams of the sides of her native riding- garb. More than two arms’ length apart they paused, and there was a little silence. CHAPTER X LOVE AND A PLEA TOR LIFE Se it is strange that we meet ? here, but it is the blessing of heaven that I see you again at all. It is not enough that I twice owe you my life; that you have suffered cruelly at the hands of your own flesh and blood to save a stranger; that you have even cut yourself off from your home and come toa life among savages? Is all that not enough, that you should seek to thrust on me your poor little comforts, and—and with your own hands do for me what there was no one else to do?” “And you are angry, sefior?’’ she qua- vered, the hurt tears in her eyes. “Angry! No, you beloved child, no! —only my heart melted within me. You were angry with me. Do you remember? I could not help loving you at once, angry as you were, and now 2 She had pressed her hands palm to palm on her breast. A look of amazed, half-in-. credulous rapture stole over her face at his words, and a slow smile of incomparable sweetness dwelt on her parted lips. He faltered and moved toward her, his hands outstretched, eager inquiry and the adoration of a strong man blended in his face. “Why—why, little Emalia, did you do this for me?”’ She yielded herself into his arms with a little sigh that caught in her throat almost like a sob, and presently she answered: “Because I, too, have loved you since I first saw you, and it was sweeter than any- thing I have ever done in my whole life to work for you!” & IN A LITTLE while some flash of re- Siz membrance of conventions cut into ™ the dream of her love, and she drew away from him shamefacedly, glancing at the patient figure by the door, then she laughed merrily. “T forgot that I had no one to reprove me but myself. Now I am yours and I may love you as much as I can love, and it is all without wrong or your reproof—is it not wholly good?” The sweet phrases made his heart thrill. “Tt is—it is wholly good!” he answered with reverent earnestness. In the light of fresh twigs placed on the brazier they sat and talked of the present situation. He took counsel with her as the American does with his wife and true love, and she was amazed and proud beyond utterance, but when the whole matter had been reviewed she said: “You should have gone when I told you. You should have gone when ’Nacion told you. You should have obeyed Nufiez Paola. Your compania has no right to take these trees, and I am sure of it, because l know that whoever gave them to my father, my grandfather and his father had no right to do so. They belong to the Itzchen- Maya.” “This forest was your father’s. How did COMICOOC|KKS. ECO 753