The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 14, 1902, Page 15

Rader. n Francisco g for game. an inland sea which routh of gold, The y of mies n- d missed the Y overed the f San Francisco. They were That mselves among the first stone in nia. The cele- bra: n on October the year when our flag was woven in the events of the rang freedom to the ebrated, the mean of sin and f repentancec. ke seriously, but tenderly. Out of 3 erience with sacred a the nced o humbled himself f the ried interpret ss. He spoke of the ble who, “through the me ' Son, was preserved of original sin.” And ¢ cse e spiritual was in- e Spanish blood. At any s far above the average of £ pearance and mental fur- nishing, and as she passed through the little court_ where cloth half woven and ay piled In one corner, of girls, and left the the northern gate, she attention of every one, way of the cross introduced by the b ciscans, who for hundreds of years bad charge of the sacred places of the Holy Land, is the soul’s devotional path leading through the sufferings of the Sun The soul that follows this wind- wey and pauses at the stations which re become the memor!al of the tender- is reserved for the faithful. this padre led the der feet of Wawa, the red-skinned In- vatched with paternal al progress until be- he sacred altar of the church she cepted the Christian's cross as the sym- bol of her faith and th: as her Divine Mast: dian maiden, and ude her spiri church's Christ “I believe in thee, thee above all * was her declaration of faith. *I d and, although 1 nspires me with hope and con- e meditate on thy , and visit the stations of thy passion in company with thy sorrowful mother and my guardian angel, with the intention of promoting thy honor and saving my soul.” ‘This pledge was the in- spiration of her faithful devotions and her long journey, which was begun with the sincerest intentions. But it led through the wilderness of temptation. T, It was on the 24th of December. The winter rains had freshened the green of the hills. Bright clusters of golden mus- terd and popples and blue flowers waved above the grass. The sun fell upon the bay, whose waters transformed it into a th and colors. The air was crisp and bracing. The curtain of the fog had lift. ed, leaving the mountains in the distance clear-cut against the cloudless sky. It was the day of spiritual preparatfon in the mission and of festive enjoyment in Or! 1 REPENT; SAVE Mu FrOoM MY . \ J )} the presidio. It was the day of the races. Vaqueros on restless mustangs, with gom~ breros and linen shirts and velvet trous- ers and spurs which jingled and glittered in the sun, with wicked cuerdas, were there. Caballeros, {n stately dress; added a touch of the old Spanish aristocracy to the scene. Gallunt officers from the pre- sidio in “their brilllant colonial uniforms moved among the dusky throng of In- dlans. The senors and senoritas even now began to hum the sensucus caballarias of the olden times. A donkey.loaded with cans of vinegar and sweetensd water fol- lowed an old Indian through the path lined by the multitude. A senorita was singing snatches of a song often used in the gala days of Spain. She began to dance and a presidio officer joined her, while the cabelleros raised their voices and sang of a “Spanish Cavaller. The Indlan boys contested id a footrace and the Spanish youths gave exhibitions in fencing. Old Indians added to the amuse- ment with certain athletio tricks, while the padre in the distance walked under the shelter of the mission and meditated on the sins of the world. The Spanish gentlemen In buckskins with long raw- hide riatas vied with the handsome of- ficers of the presidio as they dashed back and forth on their ponies, glistening with silver trappings. The girls in the court of the mission had left their work and their prayers and gathered at the w dows of the mission watching the wild end worldly sceme. Even the old Indian woman who had charge of these girls could not suppress her interest in what was going on in the street, and Wawa, too, looked from one of the windows. At Jast a shout arose and the race, the chief contest of the day, was on. The race was between llario, the vaquero, and the presidio officer. She had not seen Ilario since both had fallen into the hands of the padrs, but not even the sacred ser- vice of the holy church could make her forget him. To-day he was to enter one of the races and compete with a presidio soldier, whose reputation as a gallant rider was well known in the mission. The hour of the race had arrived and the broad path, lined with low adobe huls covered with dark red tile, was cleared and the shout went up, “The race! The racel” The rapid strokes of hoofs, the occasional fall of the stiver- tipped whip, the excited bright colored throng introduced the event of the day. The -horses came, down the broad path neck and neck. The soldier did not ride with military alr, but stood in his carved stirrups and leaned over the embossed saddle after the manner of cowboys and struck his spurs deep until thers was & scariet streak along the flanks. On the return the officer led. As they dashed by the mission Wawa leaned far out and with a wild, shrill scream urged on her llario, who, lashing on his pony without mercy, won the race by half a length. Races then, as now, brought their tran- sient rewards in the ecstasy of success or in the despair of defeat. The hilarious enthusiasm with which Ilario was greeted as he led his panting pony back lato the throng of Spanish girls, cabelleros and Indians did not change his determination to talk with the fascinating person whose dark-skinned face was like a radlant por- trait framed by the baked mud of the mission window. He stopped under the window and threw a faded poppy st the Indian. It fell short and as she leaned out, violating the behavior of the mis- sion inmates, he said: “Meet me to-night at 12, here—be prepared to flee.” BShe an- swered with her countenance rather than with her lips and disappeared from view. That afterncon Wawa spent with her- self. She was to choose between right and wrong, between the call of the church and the call of the world. Two voices spoke to her soul and she strug- gied, but apparently in vain. She forgot the secular festivities of the day and bowed almost absent-mindedly before the Holy Virgin. Her prayers seemeéd to lin- ger on her lips. One glimpse of the bright outside world touched her old nature and against her better judgment impelled her to decide to escapes and flee to, the hills, to sin and shame—perhaps to the life of freedom and romance of Monterey. The night wore away painfully slow. Once she was awakened out of a troubled sleep by & voice, but it was the weird wail of a solitary coyote out among the sands, It was nearly midnight when she heard the approach of horses and crept stealthily to the window. The night was perfect, the stars twinkled in the deep blue of the San Francisco sky, but the fog was creeping over the summits of the peaks and Wawa felt the deep silence of the vast spaces before her. She thought of her fathers in the dis- tant rancherias, sheltered by the tules, so lonely, so barren. Ilarios was Dbelow. ““Take this hide,” he sald, “fasten it and descend.” He threw the lariat and she caught it, but hesitating threw it back. She pointed to the front of the chapel and said, “Meet me there.” Then she dis- appedred. With her own key she opened the door, descended into the court below and was ahout to attempt an. entrance into the side door of the chapel. At that moment the bells pealed out the first note of Christmas morning, and she stopped and crouched under the walls and wait- ed. A light shone through the hailf-open door of the chapel, for already the padres ‘were celebrating mass. She entered with the stealth of a fox, but with a palpi- tating heart, and stood in the shadow of the chapel, not knowing what next to do. Dusky faces loomed in the shadows and the forms of the padres were before the altars. From what appeared to be an in- visible choir she heard a carol of triumph in the chanting “Te Deum.” Like & frightened animal she moved from the sa- cred nest of the chapel corner and start- ed for the door. Stumbling against the bench, she found herself face to face with Padre Palou. Holding In one hand a taper, he presented a striking pleture—a Nemesis to her consclence, a splendid re- buke to her conduct. ‘“Where goest. thou, child?* he sald. At first she would not answer—she simply stared In a dazed sort of way, dropped her eyes, covered her face with her hands, then looked-at his sweet face, that had always beamed upon her lfke a bene- diction, and gasped, “Forgive me!” and with a bound attempted to force her way by -him, but he caught her by the arm and held her fast. They looked each oth- er in the face. Sald the priest: “Speak, Wawa, and ex- plain. Thy soul s in great danger. Thou hast proved thyself false to Him who is thy Savior. Dost thou not know the sins of the world—that they traduce and de- stroy? Hast thou forgotten the story of the shepherds who came to the men at Bethlehem and gave gifts to Christ? Dost thou pot know, thou wayward girl, these bells have just rung in the birthday of the Lord? I charge thee stay, and resist the desire.” The. chapel was still melodious with the Christmas music, and in the Interlude she heard the Intonations of the priests, ‘whose voices found response in her own soul. . “Forgive me,” she sald, “forgive me. Tlario loves me, I love Ilario, and we ‘were escaping. His horses stand at the door, ' But,” she choked, “by the holy father and by the Blessed Virgin, I swear 1 eannot, I will not go. I repent; oh, I repent; save me from my sins. This, in- deed, is the birthday of Christ, and he is here. He is yonder with my fathers, and they know him not.” The dusky forms of the Indians seemed to rise from all parts,of the chapel and move toward the old padre and the maid- en. But he waved them back. She fell at the padre’s feet with a penitential scream and lay motionless while the padre, holding the taper in one hand, lifted the glittering cross In the other, and while all the padres and Indlans bowed in reverent silence prayed: “May the Lord receive this sacrifice from thy hands to the praise and glory of His own name, for our benefit and that of his holy child. Amen.”