Arizona -- Fiction; Grand Canyon (Ariz.) -- Fiction; Western stories
"That's right," Na-che nodded approval. "There's an old trail to it,
see!" she led Diana beyond the camp pine, and pointed to the faint
black line, that was traceable in the sand under the trees. The pine
forest was absolutely clear of undergrowth.
"Come on, Enoch," laughed Diana, and Enoch, chuckling, joined her,
while the two magicians stood by the fire, interest and satisfaction
showing in every line of their faces.
Diana had little difficulty following the trail. To Enoch's
unaccustomed eyes and feet, the ease with which she led the way was
astonishing. She walked swiftly under the trees for ten minutes, then
paused on the edge of a wide amphitheater, rich in starlight. In the
center lay a huge flat stone. They made their way through the sand to
this. Dimly they could discern that the sides of the rock were covered
with hieroglyphics. Diana laid the eagle's feather in a crevice at the
end of the rock.
"See!" exclaimed Enoch. "Other lovers have been here before!" He
pointed to feathers at different points in the rock. "It must indeed
be strong magic!"
He folded one blanket for a seat, another he pulled over their
shoulders, for in spite of the brisk walk, they both were shivering
with the cold.
"What do you suppose the world at large would say," chuckled Diana, "if
it would see the Secretary of the Interior, at this moment."
"I think it would say that as a human being, it was beginning to have
hope of him," replied Enoch.
Then they fell silent. The great trees that widely encircled them were
motionless. The heavens seemed made of stars. Enoch drew Diana close
against him, and leaned his cheek upon her hair. Slowly a jack rabbit
loped toward the ancient grave, stopped to gaze with burning eyes at
the two motionless figures, twitched his ears and slowly hopped away.
Shortly a cottontail deliberately crossed the circle, then another and
another. Suddenly Diana touched Enoch's hand softly.
"In the trees, opposite!" she breathed.
Two pairs of fiery eyes moved slowly out until the starlight revealed
two tiny antelope, gray, graceful shadows of the desert night. The
pair stared motionless at the ancient grave, then gently trotted away.
Now came a long interval in which neither sound nor motion was
perceptible in the silvery dusk. Then like little gray ghosts with
glowing eyes half a dozen antelope moved tranquilly across the
amphitheater. Enoch and Diana watched breathlessly but for many
moments more there was no sign of living creature. And suddenly a
great star flashed across the radiant heavens.
"The magic!" whispered Diana, "the desert magic!"
"Diana," murmured Enoch in reply, "this is as near heaven as mortals
may hope to reach."
"Desert magic!" repeated Diana softly. "Come, dear, we must go back to
camp."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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