Analy High School - Azalea Yearbook (Sebastopol, CA)

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The Prisoner of Sinai (By MADALYN POST (Second Award) T OILING in the heat of the merciless sun, a human chain of Things bowed beneath the lash of the driver crawled slowly over the arid cliffs of the Sinai mines. At inter¬ vals groans or cries escaped one or .another of the more ani¬ mated ones. They, who could thus give vent to their pent-up agonies, were dumbly envied by those who had grown mute through years of servitude. They learned to be silent after a long struggle, and with that, they gave up also their souls. They were only bodies, hardened soulless bodies, that gave no outw,ard show of their unendurable pain. Sarenchis from the back of his swaying camel viewed his little world. In truth it was nothing but dry sand, barren cliffs, a blazing sun, and the Slaves, but it was his world, and he was lord and master over it. There was everything for his comfort. Choice foods, luscious wines and plenty of crystal clear water, and on the back of his drowsy camel, was a well canopied lioudan which afforded him protection from the sun. Scanning the cowering group, he singled out a youth who bore a huge load upon his back, unfastened his arm-chains, and by way of amusement, had him scourged. At the first stroke the boy emitted a hoarse cry, but as the brutal lashing went on he ground his teeth, and with half closed eyes felt the blood trickle down his n,aked back. Staggering under the weight of pain and the huge burden, he was forced to resume. Anubis tried to overtake the rest of the slaves, but, entirely exhausted from the strain, he fell. Blows reigned upon him and he was prodded with hot irons, but he could not rise. With a howl, the overseer, whose duty it was to watch him until he could go on with the others, re¬ flected with anger th.at the prisoner would probably be unable to move until morning. This meant a night in the desert, un¬ protected from anything that might happen along. What slave should keep him from his wine with the others? Not one, by Hathor! Picking up the fallen burden of the unfor¬ tunate slave, he loaded it upon his horse and left Anubis lying shaekeled and in a deep stupor upon the hot sand. When the red sun gleamed through the jagged cliffs and began to sprinkle its warmth through the chill of the night, 13

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“But La Palomita was no longer La Palomito, but ‘La Bruja’ the witch, for all men feared her and looked the other way when she gave them the glances from her black eyes. And no man loved her ever in the long, dark years that she was doomed to live, for the spirit of the jefe cursed her. Her beauty left her and she grew loathsome to look upon. She, who had been La Palomita the beioved, became La Bruj,a the ac¬ cursed. And little children ran from her, and her lonely heart yearned for the touch of baby hands, and the mother in her longed to fondle and love some little one. But it could never be. Never was she to have husb ( and—babes—or friends; only the memory of the Gringo and that night of horror. “Thus it was, amigo mio, that the first Gringo came to our valley and died in our valley. Men say it is a lie; but my father’s father told me, and showed me where it happened, for the Indios know where the jefe .and the Gringo are mixed. Es verdad! But it is not good for others to know, so we never show that place of ‘Los Sepulcros.’ ” And old Joe Castaneda rolled a thin cigarette, using corn husk in place of the familiar brown papers, for Joe, let it be understood, was a Californiano of the old stock and, as such, observed many of the old customs of the days of the great rancherias.

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Anubis awoke. Stiffened by a sleep in the chill desert air, with no covering but a cloth about his loins, and by the cruel flogging he had received, he was unable to move, but lie lay watching the slowly silvering sun, wondering why he was so long alone. Finally it occurred to him that they had left him for dead, and that if he could escape, he might live for revenge. He raised himself upon his elbow and looked about for his huge pack. Then his gaze wandered to the distance, where he ex¬ pected to espy ,an overseer. Neither did he see. The shadows of the cliffs grew shorter, and the sun, now blazing, slowly pur¬ sued its course over the rugged mountains. A hot wind sprung up and rippled the sand. Anubis lay still propped upon bis elbow, with a glowing sense of freedom and rest creeping through his veins. After a long period of reflection, he rose to his feet, and began mentally to mark out his course. Rapid flight was im¬ possible because his feet were chained so as to allow only a moderate step. Therefore lie must walk, hiding when a fellow human appeared, and braving the grimness of hunger and thirst. He began slowly and painfully, for the cold desert air had chilled his wounds during the night, but his hopes were high and he m,ade the best of his afflictions. He journeyed all day in peace, but toward night a sensation of pain began to gnaw within him. He grew faint from his hunger, so he stretched out upon the still warm sand, and slept. Awakened by the sound of snorting horses, lie raised his eyes to heaven ,and listened intently. He heard the strange sound made by the hoofs of the horses in the loose sand, and voices carrying on a loud conversation. He lay still, hoping to lie unnoticed, for there was nothing about in which to conceal himself. But the bright moon threw his figure into sharp re¬ lief against the gleaming sand as the horsemen drew up. “By Isis,” exclaimed one, “I’d have sworn in the Holy of Holies that we left him five leagues nearer Sinai. He must have—but no, he is still shackled, and he is in the same position in which I left him. Sarenchis gave out some fine wine yester¬ day, but I didn’t think my senses had gone so far astray.” “He’s dead now ,anyway,” said the second, illustrating his statement with a kick at the blood-staned ribs of Anubis, who lay motionless, scarcely daring to breathe. “The wretched cur! He doesn’t belong in the city of the 14