"And that animal,--I saw it!" moaned Doña Jocasta. "Mother of God! that I should deny a priest who would only offer prayers for that wicked one who is to be tortured on it! Señor, for the love of God give me a horse and let me go into the desert to that storm, any place,--any place out of sight and sound of this most desolate house! The merciful God himself has forsaken Soledad!"
As she spoke he realized that time had passed while he read and re-read and dreamed a dream because of the letter. The sun was far out of sight, only low hues of yellow and blue melting into green to show the illumined path it had taken. By refraction rays of copper light reached the zenith and gave momentarily an unearthly glow to the mesa and far desert, but it was only as a belated flash, for the dusk of night touched the edge of it.
And the priest locked in with Conrad had been forgotten by him! At any moment that girl with the key might give some signal for the ceremony, whatever it was, of the death of the German beast!
"Sure, señora, I promise you," he said soothingly, patting her hand clinging to him. "There is my horse in the plaza, and there is Marto's. We will get the padre, and both of you can ride to the little adobe down the valley where Elena's old father lives. He is Mexican, not Indian. It is better even to kneel in prayer there all the night than to try to rest in Soledad while this lasts. At the dawn I will surely go for you. Come,--we will ask for the key."
Together they approached Tula, whose eyes stared straight out seeing none of the dark faces lifted to hers, she seemed not to see Kit who stopped beside her.
"Little sister," he said, touching her shoulder, "the padre waits to be let out of the room of El Aleman, and the key is needed."
She nodded her head, and held up the key.
"Let me be the one," begged Doña Jocasta,--"I should do penance! I was not gentle in my words to the padre, yet he is a man of God, and devoted. Let me be the one!"
The Indian girl looked up at that, and drew back the key. Then some memory, perhaps that kneeling of Doña Jocasta with the women of Palomitas, influenced her to trust, and after a glance at Kit she nodded her head and put the key in her hand.