THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING. APRIL 18, 191S.
,-uxTir tiAJtrmjinii'iiirm.' n.ruui i nn t."j"l run-inn i-inJVinqinTiruiruu'inj'i.r-ii'inr - - -
Romance 6f;Sutihypaliorma
By EDITH OGDEN HARRISON
GffllEKClSCM
' 1 : i
in
J ley
and admired
known
CHAPTER XXXIII
HE friendship between
Barrington and Padre
Galvez was a source of
much pleasure to both.
Somehow the old padre
always1 reminded the
young American of the
knights of eld those
men who bad f oughts
to win or die. Interest
between the two was
strengthened by as
sociations of the past
In her girlhood Bar
rlngton's mother had
the young Spaniard
who had become Padre Galvez. The elder
Galvez, his father, had been an uncle of the
King of Spain. He had held an important
post at Madrid. The sonJ?Ricardo, was 27
years of age and already remarkable for his
learning "when he met Barrington's mother,
then in the first flush of youth. :But the
spoiled and lovely girl had also a brilliant
"ititni. She was- quick to discern ft kindred
(spirit in the young Spaniard. The latter
recognized in the imperious beauty a worth
far beyond the physical attraction which she
undoubtedly possessed. Unconsciously they
had been drawn together into a memorable
intimacy. In those days, long ago, Maude
Arslan had said to herself many times :
"Ricardo alone understands me, and it Is
because nis love is not the lore of man forj
woman; it is true comradeship; it will last
.forever." j !
But with all her wisdom and acumen she
had failed to know the heart of Ricardo
Galvez. He loved her with; a passionate bat
silent love. To the serious-minded young
Spaniard -nothing was so alluring as this au
daciously cool Irish girl, whoseybewitching
manners and beauty bewildered him. ;
Yet as strongly attached as Ricardo was to
the girl, when he saw 'that she had given her
heart to John Barrington Jie went his way
and she never dreamed of the true nature of
his devotion. But often, as be walked in the
warm sunlight among the trees and 'flowers,
he would see again, in retrospect, her face as
she had once turned it toward him and whis
pered t . j -: ...:";'... .: ;
"Ricardo, my only-friend, J am so nappy
that you alone have understood my heart
from the very first, because of our warm
friendship. Even John Tjas not understood
sowelL" ' j ' . ? . :
Galves had smiled courageously and kissed
her hand, thanking God that she did not know
his heart as he knew hers. Now, after all
"these years, he could truthfully say that the
: husband was not less dear to hm than this
white love of his youth. The coming of their
son to him had touched the dry places in his
heart, making them to bloom again with
' memories of the past .t
Padre Galvez was tod keen an observer of
men not so see that Barrington's j mind was
weighted with some secret matter of import.
The two men were seated together on the
balcony built around the1 mission turret.
- Everything was in readiness for the festival
which Senora Castellanos was about to give
for the eptertainment of j the fleet. Padre
Galvez felt great satisfaction that the senora
had been placated, for he knew that she could
: be relied upon to dispense true Spanish hos
pitality in her own home. y
Barrington's voice at last broke the still
ness.' ' j :
"Padre," he said, I am in dire distress.
Would you help me if I needed your assist-
r 'V.r.3 :':-!-.! K. s
The old priest looked up in amazement, as
: if trying to grasp the ftoll meaning of his
friend's words. Then he said slowly and as
though a little hurt: f i
. "Can you doubt It, my son?" j "
Instinctively the priest; had put out his
'hand. The younger man grasped and pressed
it Padre Galvez awaited Barrington's con
fidence." -
"Padre, I may ask you for all the help
that your words promise, for mine Is a ques
rtion which the church must decide.' -I
The American got to his feet and paced
restlessly back and, forth as if to regain his
comnoaiusek ' Finally ha eal&f t
'i : "
5 ' " I.- i'
' ;-' ."Padre, I love a woman." His rolee was
low, and tense. "I love her ; with all , the
strength that is in me. I have reason to be
lieve that she is interested In roe, but there is
a duel between us because she feels that it
would be a sin to yield, so she is fighting me."
Barrington ceased speaking. Ha nervously
paced tha balcony to ease the stress of, his
emotiona. , . '
The priest did not answer at once. When
be did speak his voice was anite grave.
"Why doe she feel so, my son?
Too are not bound F 1
MNo, padre, but she has . .made a
inistake in her' Ufa, 1 She fancies her
self held by a tow and turns from
ma,-refusing to free herself. Tet no
bonds on earth shall separata us if
I find that her heart is mine. Bight
or wrong, she shall belong to me."
The priest's face paled with
anger and -surprise. He arose and
when he ppoke bis voice was sharp
and thin and lashed Lite a whip.
"Not yet, padre. She fa not yet. ready to
hear the truth from you." h
Reluctantly the priest signified his consent
to silence. His arms went affectionately across
the young man's shoulders.
"If your faith be as great as a grain pf
mustard seed you can move mountains. If
you win her you will gain a wonderful soul
to cherish your life long through, and the
blessings of the holy mother church will be
yours."
The
and the Beauty
of the Nights
Was Upon
Them, The
Man in Him
Was Crying To
Be Heard.
few steps of an intoxicating
waits when ha drew her out
of the pavilion.. In alienee
they walked to a distant cor
ner of the grounds where the
artificial lights could not dis
turb a clear view of the
night .'
" There they found a bench
and rested upon it There
was no moon and the con
stellations looked larger,
more luminous, while the ait
between seemed to twinkle in
purple lights. . Barrington
spoke softly. . '
The whole of nature
seems to change under the
sheen and sparkle of the sky
jewels, don't you think so?"
Clemencia sighed. "No
tongue or. pen can tell the
glory of the heavens," she
answered.
True," he said. "Yet
looking once into that dome
of blue with its Jeweled tap-
Vastnesst ' V .. . SI :
.4f; yi, 9-1 1. 0. . Of maw -
"I retract the offer made a moment ago.
sir. I spoke hastily when I promised to
aid you."
Absorbed in his own. thoughts and for
getting that he had not revealed the nature
of the bond which held Clemencia, Barrington
answered bitterly;
If your God is a just God He,, will give
me the woman I love. But even if the church
refuses its blessing I shall bid her come to me
without it"
You speak blasphemously, sir. You are
no Catholic. No true son of the church
would use such words."
The long, dark face of the priest showed
pinched and drawn in the evening shadows.
The expression in his eyes was the same as
if a knife were being turned in bis heart
He realized how be bad idealized this young
man, the son of the girl whom he had loved,
and he thought he saw bow far his idol had
fallen. Mia words, though spoken in a low,
even tone, were heavy with contempt :
"The bond of marriage is lasting forever
and a day. Divorce never frees a Catholic
man or woman. You cannot marry her and
keep your church." ,
The two men faced each other in a tumult
of distress. As they stood thus there flashed
before Barrington's mental vision the
luminous face of his beloved. ' Her pale
beauty haunted, him. He gave the priest
look for look.
Padre," he said, "I have misled you.
The bond which holds the woman I love is
not marriage" ,
Not marriage)" exclaimed the astonished
priest "What bond then could separate
your svB, , t ;v- .
'"Are there not other vows, my padre,
which are held just as binding in the sight
of our church? Oh, padre, trust me. I can
not tell you more now." V r
The priest grasped the hand extended to
him, but he was puzzled. He could not un
derstand. At that moment however, the bell
in tSI tall spire of the nunnery pealed forth.
The priest suddenly thought of Clemencia, as
he always did whenever the nuns came to his
mind. His spirit was constantly troubled
about the girl, Like an electric shock it
flashed upon him. He knew, of course, of
Arslan's friendship with her. He searched
the young man's face anxiously, and as he
did so his own lighted up with a strange j soft
glOW. : " ' . ' A
The fancied bond," be questioned, "which
holds this woman is a holy one, is it not?"
The American nodded. Padre Galvez's
face was eloquent in its agitation.
"My son," he said, "there is no need to tell
me her name; it is engraved here." The
priest laid his hand upon his heart
"Then, padre," Barrington said impul
sively, "cherish it in that sanctuary as I cher
ish, it in mine, and until she herself speaks
let it be guarded welL" ,
"But my son, why could I not aid you bet
ter if J spoke?"
That night Padre Galvez knelt in the
sanctuary of the mission. He lit two candles
and stayed through all the , hours that they
burned. In bis heart the good old priest was
saying exultantly:
"Her son Is a knight of King Arthurhe
is straight like a cedar of Lebanon straight
and strong. He is worthy of her." ;
P
CHAPTER XXXIV.
ERHAPS the prime requisite for a suc
cessful career is adaptability. Unless
one can adapt one's self to change much
suffering lies along and at the end of the road.
Often if grave and serious matters are de
termined upon in early youth we find later
these principles, nave assumed the grotesque.
But Senora Castellanos! was not adapt
able ; she was of another time than the pres
ent ; nor was she of those women who shape
events to their own ends. ; The senora was
an old-school Spaniard to the core. Her
hatred of all things American was proverbial
among those who knew her. Added to this
national dislike, which was ingrained in the
old dowager, was that closer and more per
sonal hatred which centered about the tragic
life of her beloved daughter, Clemencia's
mother.
Small wonder, then, that the good resi
dents of Santa Barbara were deeply sur
prised when they learned that the. Senora
Castellanos had consented to open her mag
nificent grounds and her home for a fete in
honor of the American fleet.
But though the acquaintances of the
senora knew of her hate for men and things
American, they did not guess of the poison
of her rancor. Not even Pa'dre Galvez, who
was her confessor, knew, and often as the old
priest paced his pillared cloister, reading his
breviary and meditating upon the evanescence
of earthly things, he sighed eadly as he
thought of the stern old woman and of the
girl who was her grandchild. More than once
the padre and the Senora! Castellanos had
spoken on the subject of Clemencia,
"It- is not , true," be had said on one occa
sion, ".that God always demands sacrifices
from his elect" j -
To this the senora bad answered :
"But these are the impressionable years
the years during which she should learn the
sterner side of life."
"Nay," said the priest "I would rather see
Clemencia less - serious-minded and more
j taken by the frivolities natural to one of
bet age."
I
I Santa Barbara was welcoming the stately
great ships. Bronze-faced bluejackets and
jocular marines, no less tanned, thronged the
streets of the California city. ' By day and by
night processions bearing banners on which
were written welcoming legends paraded the
Wide thoroughfares.
' : :- V"
This was the night of the Senora Castel
lanos' festival. cry regal she looked as she
Stood with her granddaughter to receive the
guests In the large reception hall which ran
the entire length of the patio. Her hair,
nowy white, was drawn simply back and
Without adornment Her black dress was re
lieved of somberness by trimmings of price
less lace. The old woman's darkly patrician
face and her vivid black eyes lent her the
appearance of some aged yet still vital em
press who gave audiences to those who paid
her fealty.
.
j Clemencia, like a slender Illy, jewelless,
stood beside her. In her simplicity she was
strikingly beautiful. Her garments, like, the
inorning mists, were filmy white, but she
slf od In them like Phoebe emerging, from the
clouds. Manuel Sanchez, the,, nearest' rela
tive, was there also. At the senora 's request
be was dispensing hospitality as man of the
house. Handsome in bis dark, daredevil way,
be mingled with the guests and was con
spicuous wherever he went Near-by Padre
Galvez, dignified and courtly, held his coterie,
and the few priests present coming and going
in their dark gowns among the gayly dressed
women and gold-braided officers, seemed to
add to the charm peculiar to that wonderful
valley of California,
There is no more courtly class in the world
than the cultivated Spaniard. Padre Galvez
and his hostess each showed the marks of
gentle blood in their bearing, though they rep
resented widely dissimilar types. Clemencia
was representative of still another type; the
blood of a younger and more virile race
flowed warmly in her veins.
'
The grandmother, perhaps, was the most
strongly individualized of the three. And
yet the austerely calm face of the padre was
one to remember. In It shone the light of a
great spiritual happiness, a happiness which
clothes 'only those who give their lives, for
others. Ha believed that the real workers of
the human race, hearing the cry of destiny
and pushing onward with heads erect will in
time overcome all obstacles, because, above
the silence of the stars, their work is planned,
and that some day, the great work accom
pushed, we shall reach the peaks of wisdom.
The echo of laughter and merry talk was
everywhere. It seemed - as If some gay
magician had waved a mysterious wand over
the house and grounds of the Castellanos.
All about the place were hung Innumerable
little Chinese lanterns, and above the open
and wooden floored tents for the dancers flut
tered vivid pennants. Soft-footed servants
glided in and out among the guests.
A number of festivities had been planned,
but the feature of the evening would be the
dancing of a bevy of Spanish girls and their
partners In the patio at 10 o'clock. The
dance would end all entertainment save the
dancing of the guests. A hush fell upon the
crowd when promptly at 10 o'clock the four
dancing girls entered; They were followed
by four young men. The girls wore brilliant
yellow j gowns with trimmings of gold, and
represented priestesses of the Sun God. The
dress of the men were of the same color, with
sashes! of red, symbolizing the fiery beams
of the sun. All of them carried sunlike disks
as shields.
,
- ' .
: They then began a weird and curious
dance, with graceful and intricate figures rep
resenting ceremonies sacred to the Sun 'God.
In and out the gayly appareled dancers
trod to the measure of music that sometimes
spoke in, low tones of passion and sometimes
sounded trumpets of battle.
Barrington bad never before witnessed
the Sun dance. Ha found that it stirred him
strangely, and be wondered just how fine the
line is that separates the so-called love of cul
ture and civilization from the savage. "
The young naval officer was quick to dis
cern that the one whom be loved was also
deeply moved. She stood at some distance
and on the other side of the dancers from
him, but in her heightened color, her glowing
eyes and the quick tapping of her right foot
on the floor be read other emotions than those
which welcome Uebind the peaceful doors of a
nunnery. -..
Quick and hearty applause marked the end
of the dance, after which the patio wss de
serted for the pavilions. . -.
.Barrington and Clemencia had taken but a
eatry, even though he should never see it
again, the soul of man could never forget"
"I feel as you do. Those tiny curtains of
flame fluttering between dusk and dawn have
no match in the whole universe for charm
and mystery."
The vastness and the beauty of the night
was upon them both. It was the first time
for several days that they had been alone.
The man in him was crying to be heard. He
could not neglect this opportunity. ;
j''-
j "Miss Castellanos," Barrington's voice was
very soft and pleading, "I frightened you the
other night by my vehemence. I entreat your
pardon. My feelings carried me to the point
of selfishness. I wished to cpnvlnce you by
reason that you had no right to become a nuu.
I failed utterly because the personal note was
too strong."
"Why is it" she answered in a cool voice
which ignored a part of his sentence, "that
tnn nanlcf In Mvnv that T ha nn t-1 h f tn
become a nun?"
"I will tell you," he said, his voice gaining ,
strengtov ."l"ou bave no right to become a
nun because deep down in your nature you '
realize that you were bound by a promise be
fore you understood the import of the oath
that you took, and because, though once ig
norant and therefore happy, you have now
awakened to the seriousness of your vow.
There is in you now a dumb protest You
know now that you will not be content in a
nunnery, is It not true?" ,
Barrington's eyes were full of fire ss he
spoke, and Clemencia shrank from his gaze.
TTi m(nf am a a ohina nt artM thmicrhf
What was this elemental tumult within her?
Y v v
. CHAPTER XXXV.
ITU a pang of fear the girl sensed
that this man's, argument carried a
dangerous appeaL The fear was .
not lessened when she found that his view
point did not outrage her own feelings.
What If, after all, she were only a re-
ligious fanatic? But her grandmother
Surely her grandmother, who loved her best
was right This man spoke only out of his
own worldly wisdom.
"You are mistaken; I am quite free to
choose. ! No one compels my choice."
Clemencia's color was heightened and her
breathing was rapid, but she looked straight
into Barrington's eyes . with an undisturbed
glance. The man gazed back at her and
voiced a little laugh.
(To be Continued Xext Week)
(Copyright 1915, By Edith Ogden Harrison.
w