I shall go and warn the
soldiers, and every priest and brother will sleep on his pistol to-
night. But I don't think they are organised as yet. Before dawn I shall
send a messenger to the nearest town for reinforcements. Go, my son. You
are a brave and clever lad."
Roldan ran down the corridor and secured admission to the church. When
he had locked the door behind him, the vast dark building, beneath whose
tiles priests lay buried, shook his spirit as night and the plains had
not done, and he wished that he had brought Adan. Then he jerked his
shoulders, reflected that cowards did not carry off the prizes of the
world, and determined that his first should be the admiration and
approval of the priests and soldiers of this great Mission. He walked
rapidly down the nave, trying not to hear the hollow echo of his
footsteps, then opened several doors before he found the one behind
which was the spiral stair leading to the belfry. His supple legs
carried him swiftly up the steep ascent, and in a moment he was
straining his eyes in the direction of the rancheria.
The belfry was about ten feet square. The massive walls contained three
large apertures, through which the clear sonorous notes of the great
bells carried far.
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