The Valiant Runaways [42]
three
young dons in succession, heels were still, and breathing was as
monotonous as his own would be an hour later. At eleven the boys dressed
and swung from their windows, not daring to leave by the courtyard. Nor
did they dare go to the corral and abstract three horses. Much to their
distaste, for there was nothing the Californian hated so much as to
travel on two legs, they were obliged to walk the miles between the Casa
and the hills. But their legs were young and their brains eager; in
little over an hour they were in sight of the Mission.
It looked very white and ghostly in the pale blaze of the moon, a huge
mass, full of prayer and discontent. Close beside it, but without the
walls, the Indians slept in the rancheria, quiescent enough, for they
had no Anastacio. At midnight the great bells in the tower had rung out,
filling the valley with their sweet silver clamour; but as the boys
approached and skirted the wall, some distance to the right, the Mission
might have been as lifeless as it is this year, in its desertion and
decay.
The hills were a mile behind. The Mission, like all of its kind, stood
on a broad open, that no hostile tribe might approach unseen. Cows and
horses lay in their first heavy sleep, their breathing hardly ruffling
the profound stillness. So great an air of repose did the silent walls
and sleeping beasts give to the landscape that the boys felt the quiet
of the night as they had not done in the other valley, and drew closer
together, almost holding their breath lest the priests might hear it. A
quarter of an hour later they were among the hills and standing before
the aperture whose secrets were known only to Padre Osuna. They glanced
at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Brave as they were, they
did not altogether like the idea of a possible encounter with a
rattlesnake or a bear in the dark and narrow confines of a cave. And if
there should be another earthquake! However, they had not come to turn
back, and Roldan pushed boldly in, the others following close.
For a time their way lay along a narrow passage. They had made two
abrupt turns before they dared to light the lantern they had brought.
When Rafael did, it revealed nothing but earthy walls and the imprint of
feet on the ground. After a little, however, the passage suddenly
widened, and it was Adan who uttered the first exclamation of surprise.
It was, indeed, a hoarse gurgle. The walls were veined with what
appeared to be irregular bands of dirty crystal, pricked with glittering
yellow. There were, perhaps, a thousand of these little points bared
from the jealous earth, and they shone with a steady baleful glare,
magnetising six youthful eyes, stirring in three careless brains the
ghosts of ancient gold-lust, whose concrete substance lay in the marble
vaults of Spain. Immediately Roldan's sympathy went out to the priest;
and he knew that that commanding intelligence could teach him one thing
the less.
There was a rough pick on the ground, and many junks of quartz. Roldan
struck and rubbed two pieces together. In a moment his palm was filled
with jagged pieces of yellow metal. He blew on them lovingly, then put
them in his pocket.
"Dios de mi alma!" gasped Rafael, whose eyes were bulging from his head.
"It is as beautiful as the stars of the sky,--the stars in the milky
way with the film over them."
"But we need no more stars," said Adan. "We shall take away our pockets
full, but what shall we do with it? Surely this was not made to rot with
the earth. But it is too small for what you call money, if that is so
big as you say, Roldan. It would make fine nails for a church door."
"Now is not the time to think what you will do with it," said Roldan.
"It is enough that we have it to get. Much is very loose in the crystal.
Rub free all that you can, and fill every pocket. We will take all we
can carry away, and come again and again. Some day, when we are men,
perhaps, we will find a use for it. I for one do not believe that
anything that makes you love it
young dons in succession, heels were still, and breathing was as
monotonous as his own would be an hour later. At eleven the boys dressed
and swung from their windows, not daring to leave by the courtyard. Nor
did they dare go to the corral and abstract three horses. Much to their
distaste, for there was nothing the Californian hated so much as to
travel on two legs, they were obliged to walk the miles between the Casa
and the hills. But their legs were young and their brains eager; in
little over an hour they were in sight of the Mission.
It looked very white and ghostly in the pale blaze of the moon, a huge
mass, full of prayer and discontent. Close beside it, but without the
walls, the Indians slept in the rancheria, quiescent enough, for they
had no Anastacio. At midnight the great bells in the tower had rung out,
filling the valley with their sweet silver clamour; but as the boys
approached and skirted the wall, some distance to the right, the Mission
might have been as lifeless as it is this year, in its desertion and
decay.
The hills were a mile behind. The Mission, like all of its kind, stood
on a broad open, that no hostile tribe might approach unseen. Cows and
horses lay in their first heavy sleep, their breathing hardly ruffling
the profound stillness. So great an air of repose did the silent walls
and sleeping beasts give to the landscape that the boys felt the quiet
of the night as they had not done in the other valley, and drew closer
together, almost holding their breath lest the priests might hear it. A
quarter of an hour later they were among the hills and standing before
the aperture whose secrets were known only to Padre Osuna. They glanced
at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Brave as they were, they
did not altogether like the idea of a possible encounter with a
rattlesnake or a bear in the dark and narrow confines of a cave. And if
there should be another earthquake! However, they had not come to turn
back, and Roldan pushed boldly in, the others following close.
For a time their way lay along a narrow passage. They had made two
abrupt turns before they dared to light the lantern they had brought.
When Rafael did, it revealed nothing but earthy walls and the imprint of
feet on the ground. After a little, however, the passage suddenly
widened, and it was Adan who uttered the first exclamation of surprise.
It was, indeed, a hoarse gurgle. The walls were veined with what
appeared to be irregular bands of dirty crystal, pricked with glittering
yellow. There were, perhaps, a thousand of these little points bared
from the jealous earth, and they shone with a steady baleful glare,
magnetising six youthful eyes, stirring in three careless brains the
ghosts of ancient gold-lust, whose concrete substance lay in the marble
vaults of Spain. Immediately Roldan's sympathy went out to the priest;
and he knew that that commanding intelligence could teach him one thing
the less.
There was a rough pick on the ground, and many junks of quartz. Roldan
struck and rubbed two pieces together. In a moment his palm was filled
with jagged pieces of yellow metal. He blew on them lovingly, then put
them in his pocket.
"Dios de mi alma!" gasped Rafael, whose eyes were bulging from his head.
"It is as beautiful as the stars of the sky,--the stars in the milky
way with the film over them."
"But we need no more stars," said Adan. "We shall take away our pockets
full, but what shall we do with it? Surely this was not made to rot with
the earth. But it is too small for what you call money, if that is so
big as you say, Roldan. It would make fine nails for a church door."
"Now is not the time to think what you will do with it," said Roldan.
"It is enough that we have it to get. Much is very loose in the crystal.
Rub free all that you can, and fill every pocket. We will take all we
can carry away, and come again and again. Some day, when we are men,
perhaps, we will find a use for it. I for one do not believe that
anything that makes you love it