CHAPTER XVI.A WRITTEN CONFESSION.

“A modest way of putting it, my dear young lady, but we will not claim the credit in the least part of aiding you to discover how to overcome the law of gravitation. When we are once more able to resume in our former quiet way, our scientific researches, I want a full account of how this knowledge came to you and how you accomplish the movement,” said Guillermo Gonzales.

“With very great pleasure, Señor Gonzales, I will tell you all I know concerning my ability to overcome the law of gravitation. There is so much to be done for the afflicted before this uprising can be quelled, that I, no doubt like yourself, feel that our first duty is to them,” concluded Miss Hinckley.

“Upon that very idea I have thought much, and now wish to speak to you, my friends. Ah, but excuse me one moment; a messenger is awaiting me in the thought-condensing chamber,” said Governor Lehumada, and at once left the room.

“It is from Juan,” said Helen Hinckley, “that the message comes. He is no longer with Miss Marriet Motuble.”

“How strange, and yet it is not strange, that you should have the power to procure that knowledge,” repliedSeñor Guillermo Gonzales. “That power has always been denied me.”

Helen Hinckley made no answer to his remark, but said: “His Honor and Juan will be here in an instant. His Honor wishes us to know all that has happened.”

Almost at that moment Governor Lehumada entered the room, and a light knock at the door leading into the hall, announced the arrival of some one else. Señor Guillermo Gonzales opened the door, and as prophesied by Miss Hinckley, Juan entered.

His face was ashen, and he trembled so violently that he was placed in a chair by Señor Guillermo Gonzales.

“What is it, Juan?” asked the Governor, as he led Miss Hinckley close to his chair. “What has frightened you?”

“Tell me,” said Juan, gasping for breath, “tell me, do you know that the person who calls himself Doctor Jones, is not a man?”

“Who is she?” asked the Governor, with a smile.

“The big woman who has given me so many frights—I mean Señorita Marriet Motuble,” said Juan.

“It is a fact,” replied Guillermo Gonzales.

“Do Señor Julio Murillo and Miss Motuble speak any language but English?” asked Juan.

“Julio speaks the Spanish fluently. He is, you know, of purely Mexican origin, like myself,” said Governor Lehumada. “But while I have never studied it in my present existence, a complete knowledge of it came to me after I used ‘Memory Fluid.’ Also, Julio had a similar experience. Tell us, man, what caused your great fright,” concluded the Governor.

“You had no sooner left the room, your Honor, than Doctor Jones turned to me and asked if I understood Spanish. I said no. Doctor Jones seemed pleased that I did not, and said: ‘You are behind the times, Juan. You are a full-blooded Mexican. Take “Memory Fluid,” that great “Liquid from the Sun’s Rays,” discovered by one of your own countrymen, a blue-blooded Mexican, and you will remember how to speak the language of your ancient forefathers.’ I had a small bottle of ‘Memory Fluid’ in my pocket—your Honor will pardon me for taking it without asking your permission—I wished to become a subject without the knowledge of anyone.”

The Governor replied: “You were justified, Juan, in taking the fluid. Your desire to become a subject is sufficient excuse. Continue.”

“Doctor Jones immediately began talking Spanish to Señor Julio. I put the vial containing ‘Memory Fluid’ to my lips, and while I was hesitating about taking it, I inhaled it freely, and before I was hardly aware of my act I drank the liquid. Almost instantly I felt as though I were someone else. Then a voice seemed to say: ‘It is yourself and you remember.’ Then I heard Doctor Jones say in Spanish to Señor Julio: ‘It is no use in trying to fool you, friend Julio; no use in the least. Ha! ha! That is a good joke on me.’ To which Señor Julio replied: ‘I knew when your card was brought in, that you were disguised as Doctor Jones. Also this fellow whom you introduced as Francis Maynard, is in disguise. He is the “Plunger from Kansas.” Ah, Señorita Motuble, your little tricks areknown not only to myself, but to Governor Lehumada and Señor Guillermo Gonzales.’ The ‘Plunger from Kansas’ jumped from his seat, grabbed for his hat, and cried: ‘Señorita, I must make tracks out of here.’ Señorita Motuble laughingly cried: ‘The cat is out of the bag, my friend, so we will face the music!’ Señor Julio looked at the Plunger, and said: ‘Be seated, sir. No harm can be done you. You are beyond the pale of civil law. There is no law, civil law, I mean, in the United States of America, that can cause a man to be arrested and punished for crimes committed in a life gone by. There will be a law some day to that effect, and you, my friend, will be the main instrument in making the law.’ Marriet Motuble arose, walked the floor, her thumbs thrust into a pocket on either side of her mannish jacket, and fairly screamed with laughter: ‘Friend Julio, I knew I would be the means of making the Plunger as famous in this life as he was one hundred and fifty years ago, by stealing; or, to be more in line with the popular phraseology of the time, as he was by manipulating successfully the sale of cattle, which he had mortgaged as many as six times without lifting any one of the mortgages. This is a great world, and to use the slang of the nineteenth century, I will add that the Plunger always gets there, even if it is on “the home stretch.”’ The Plunger smiled, and said: ‘I am uneasy. Your words do not give me the assurance I would like to have. The mental torture I have undergone for three existences is enough punishment, without the clutches of the law being thrust upon me. I desire to make a written confession of my misdeeds,refund the money I took from my credulous friends, and call it quits.’ ‘It will be a glorious day when that comes to pass, for the scientists who discovered how to extract liquid from the sun’s rays will prove to the world the use to which their “Memory Fluid” can be put,’ said Señor Julio. Señorita Motuble patted the Plunger on the shoulder, and said: ‘That is correct, sonny. Go up to the mourner’s bench and confess your sins. Friend Julio, let me go after Rev. J. T. Note. Pleading with sinners at the mourner’s bench when they are on the eve of being converted, is not in your line. And the reverend gentleman is in his glory when making a convert.’”

“Ah, but she is an audacious woman,” said the Governor.

“Considering that she ‘remembers,’” joined in Señor Guillermo Gonzales, “makes the question of what disposition to make of her a serious consideration.”

“My friends,” said Helen Hinckley, “do not give her one moment’s thought. She will dispose of herself.”

“We will take your advice, Miss Hinckley. We will give our attention to other matters, and hope that the aggressive señorita will dispose of herself to our satisfaction very promptly,” said the Governor. “Is there anything more, Juan, which you wish to relate?”

“Nothing more, your Honor, except that the Plunger is in an adjoining room writing his confessions, and the señorita has left Señor Julio’s apartments.”

“In that event,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales, “I will attend to friend Julio.”

At that moment a despatch was announced by a servant, and before it could be opened a service messenger delivered a large, bulky envelope, which looked to contain page after page of legal documents.

Juan left the room with the messenger and the household servant, and hurried to Julio Murillo’s room.

The Governor handed the despatch to Guillermo Gonzales. He tore it open and read:

“Washington, D. C.

“In every State where there is an uprising, the militia will be called out to-morrow. If the rebels join forces and organize a large army, the United States troops will be mustered out, and in a fortnight the rebels will be subdued. And in ten days longer, peace and quiet will reign supreme ‘over the land of the free and the home of the brave.’ Dear Governor,” the message continued, “the effect of your ‘Memory Fluid’ on me has been the most wonderful and delightful experience of my life. A great wave from the spirit world has swept over the entire universe, since your wonderful discovery was made known. People are thinking, as they never have thought before, to my knowledge. I congratulate you upon the result you have obtained in your scientific investigations, and I will aid you in every way possible. I have seen the things not seen by the eye and am convinced.

“Command me. I am your obedient servant,

“James Henry Mortingo.”

“From more points of view than one,” said Governor Lehumada, “I am happy to get that message.”

“And I,” said Helen Hinckley. “One needs sympathy in the spiritualistic world more than on the physical plane. The former is lasting, the latter is transient.”

“The results from our researches are being made apparent sooner than I had hoped,” commented Señor Guillermo Gonzales.

“We have much for which to be thankful,” replied the Governor, then added: “This voluminous document would better be opened now. Friend Guillermo, am I not correct?”

“Certainly, Miguey. I will attend to it this moment;” and Señor Guillermo Gonzales took the envelope and without further delay opened it. “Be seated, friends; there is much length to this document, and it will be tiresome to stand through the reading of it.”

Governor Lehumada and Helen Hinckley sat down on a small cane settee. Señor Gonzales seated himself in a large armchair close by, and began reading the document at hand.

“His Honor, Mr. Miguel Lehumada,“Governor of the Great State of Chihuahua,“United States of America.

“His Honor, Mr. Miguel Lehumada,

“Governor of the Great State of Chihuahua,

“United States of America.

“Sir:—After having read the article in the great dailyChihuahuan, of to-day’s issue, your petition in the House of Representatives, which you are praying to become a law; and after long and grave meditation upon the same, I have reached the conclusion which you will shortly know.

“Realizing for the first time in my life how fruitless it is for me to dash my head against a stone wall, therebylosing my own self-respect, and being the cause of keeping hundreds in ignorance and want that I may live in the lap of voluptuous luxury, and increase the number of converts to our faith, and the number ofcentavoswith which the exchequer of the church already groans, I herewith write you this confession. For some time I have seen the inevitable end of all teachings which conflict with free thought scientifically demonstrated; but I have followed the teachings of the church, and have held on with the bulldog tenacity characteristic of the faith,—that same tenacity which led the few teachers to the New Spain, which they held in their iron clasp for more than four hundred years.

“But light dawned upon them, and our power began to wane. It is useless to fight for a lost cause, particularly when you know that that cause cannot ever bring good to the people.

“My great friend, Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir, and myself wish to hereby confess that we are guilty of treason against our great government, and are fully resigned to accept without a murmur the full punishment of the law. It was a bitter struggle for us, for two people who were taught, since remembrance began, to worship the religion and customs of our long-lost Mexico, to hate our adopted mother and all her fair sons and daughters, because of their Anglo-Saxon blood.

“Great and noble Governor, we are repenting to-day in ‘sackcloth and ashes.’ Do not judge us too severely, for we are not wholly to blame.

“There are many things which weigh heavily upon my mind—things for which I cannot account, or rather,impressions of things which have occurred at some time in my life which do not seem definite to me.

“Since I began writing this confession, a beautiful little girl has come into the room, and on entering exclaimed: ‘Ah! I have found you leaders of this riot; I have found you.’ (We are in a vacant house at the foot of Calle de Hidalgo, in hiding.) ‘And now that I have caught up with you, I have not the heart to let the police know, for they will imprison your bodies as your souls are now imprisoned. Imprisoned on account of your own stubbornness and ignorance. Gentlemen,’ continued the pretty child, ‘why do you stand in the way of your own development? It makes me weep to see you caring only for physical enjoyment. Why did you bring on this rebellion? Why did you want to take my papa away from this existence? His work is not done.’

“I interrupted her by asking her name; she replied modestly: ‘I am called Catalina Martinet, but his Honor, Governor Miguel Lehumada, should be my papa, and he will be some day, and that day I wish were here now.’ Rev. J. T. Note, sitting close by, said: ‘That’s a corker! This child must have taken some of that accursed stuff that the three citizens of Chihuahua, who claim to be scientists, call “Memory Fluid.” Say, little Catalina, the freak who wishes she had been born the child of the great and wonderful Governor of Chihuahua, tell me, how can you prove that you are not his child? And come, darling, sit upon my knee, and let me hear thy musical voice tell about the other lives you have lived. For if you are a disciple of the famous Governor, you claim to have lived many, many times.’Then chuckling her under the chin, he continued: ‘Come, pet, tell the Rev. J. T. Note all about it. Of course he believes every word you say.’

“Catalina surprised us all by saying: ‘No, Reverend Hypocrite, I will not talk about things you cannot understand. Excuse me, I can only say I am sorry for you from the bottom of my heart. Should you ever be inclined, take a few drops of the contents of this vial; then you will see things not seen by the eye.’

“Handing his reverence, myself, and my friend, Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir, a similar vial, she left the room. Our brother of Protestant faith made the air reverberate with exclamations not complimentary to the child, yourself, or your coworkers, Mr. Guillermo Gonzales and Julio Murillo. Without his knowledge the cork came out of the vial he held in his hand, and unconsciously he inhaled the liquid. In about one hour he fell forward in a senseless state. We were afraid he was dead, and with the assistance of Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir, I laid him on a bench near by. We were soon relieved of our anxiety. In fifteen minutes he arose, and after looking at us for a moment in a dazed manner, said: ‘I cannot face the world again, gentlemen, for I feel too heavily the force of the long life of sin I have led, not only in this existence, but in the life gone by. Gentlemen, the truth is, Iremember. My spirit is crushed and bleeding. Oh, thou Everlasting God! Take me to Thy bosom, that I may soon return and live the life, the example for which You set for us in the beginning. Help me to the bench again, gentlemen, help me. A great force has taken possession of me which I cannot resist.’

“We assisted him to the bench, upon which he stretched himself full length. His face shone with a smile surpassingly beautiful, and in a moment his soul had left its house of clay.

“My hand trembles, your Honor; I fear I cannot continue. Both Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir and myself will in one second take ‘Memory Fluid’ from the little vial given us by the strange child, Catalina. One moment more, your Honor, before taking ‘Memory Fluid.’ A strange, large, fair-haired woman came in unannounced this very moment. On seeing Rev. J. T. Note lying silent, she said, making much noise with her loud talking and laughing: ‘Brother Note has passed over. The grand panorama, full of sights of his sinful life, which passed before his vision after taking “Memory Fluid,” staggered him so completely, on seeing a picture of the multiplicity of his sins, that he knew he could hardly rally, and he asked to pass away, that he might come again. And he will come; there is no getting rid ofhim, but I will wager a picayune he will not be a missionary a third time. He has sinned and he has repented; now hesees. Gentlemen, the object of my call is to present you with a vial of ebony fluid. It is an easy way to preserve your figure after youwillto pass over the river Styx. Good-bye. If my friend and lover, the great Governor of Chihuahua, asks for me, tell him I am at the hospital, but will soon be taken to the morgue.’

“She is gone. We have drunk ‘Memory Fluid.’ My pen drops away. I see. Thank God, I see!

“Father Hernandez.”

After the reading of the strange confession was completed, the two scientists and Miss Hinckley remained completely absorbed in their own thought for some time.

Señor Guillermo Gonzales walked the room, back and forth, rapidly, many times. The shadows of the early evening were fast crowding over the room, intensifying the somberness of the scene.

“The reading of the document has simply overwhelmed me with joy,” said Governor Lehumada, as he wiped visible moisture from his eyes.

“It is sufficient cause, dear Miguey, if it be true,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales.

“If it be true!” exclaimed Miss Hinckley; “if it be true! The authenticity of it cannot be doubted.”

“Oh, I thank you, Miss Hinckley,” exclaimed the Governor, “I thank you very much! You relieve me of the terrible fear with which friend Guillermo’s words seized me.”

“I have not the power to see the world of thought, as Miss Hinckley has. Forget not, my friends, the short length of time I have had the power, my age at present, and the grossness of my body, caused by a long life of voluptuous living, and judge me accordingly.”

“There is no grim judge, Guillermo, in the physical world, who has the power to judge of the unseen. And the Great Cause is not grim, but is the embodiment of justice and kindliness,” replied the Governor.

“What you have always shown me, dear Miguey. I sometimes shudder at the thought of what my future existence would have been had I notrememberedin this life. I owe all of it to you, dear friend of my other life,” said Señor Guillermo Gonzales.

“Do not letfearenter your thoughts, Señor Gonzales. The Supreme is the completion of Love. To those who are wholly in touch with the Hiddenfearis a word unknown,” said Miss Hinckley.

“We do not know Law as you do, Miss Hinckley. The privileges long accorded man and denied women, have made our beings less easy to be in tune with the spirit world. A good woman, a pure woman—pure in thought and action—one who reaches out daily for knowledge of life—the life of Love and harmony—is the highest type of creation the world can produce. To me, friend Guillermo, Miss Hinckley is that type; she is the other life I have longed to meet on earth. She is the one for whom I sought in two lives gone by, and on account of the grossness of my nature I was unable to find her. Yet the knowledge of her existence possessed me constantly, and I searched in vain.”

“You were not wholly living upon the physical realm, my own,” said Miss Hinckley, with much feeling. “You were then endeavoring to discover a means to perpetuate memory. You told me through the thought-world of your desire. I hoped for you, I lived for you. I worked to perfect my life, so when you couldseeme, I would be worthy of your great love.”

Don Guillermo Gonzales reached forth his hand and clasping the Governor’s hand, warmly said: “My Miguey! My beloved friend of my other boyhood and manhood, this approaches the completion of earthly happiness! She is the other self. She alone can satiate the longing of your soul. Without her, your life is incomplete.”

Taking Miss Hinckley by the hands, which he kissed fondly, he placed them in the large, strong ones of his friend, the Governor of Chihuahua, and said: “Miguey, a parting must never be. She is the power behind the throne, that has kept you from evil and led you in the path of purity. To her is due the success.”

“No, no,” cried Helen Hinckley, through her tears. “Señor Gonzales, do not, do not overestimate my knowledge of the law of God. I am only a creature of the earth, who lives not the highest law of God, but the highest she knows. Do not attribute to me qualities I do not possess. Your Honor, I entreat you to see things only as they are.”

Señor Guillermo Gonzales stepped nearer to Miss Hinckley, and addressing the Governor, said: “With your permission, Miguey, I will bestow a kiss upon the brow of your future wife.”

The Governor did not answer him in words, but gave his consent by a nod of the head, and said: “My Helen, he is my brother, the one I love next to you. His life, next to thy own, is more in tune with mine than that of any other being upon earth. He has kept me from falling by the wayside, when my physical life was too rank to feel thy beautiful influence, before my eyes were opened.” He gently wiped the tears from her eyes, his hand trembling with emotion.

Señor Guillermo Gonzales embraced her after the fashion of a devoted father, and bestowed a kiss of respect and admiration upon her brow. Then, turning to the Governor, he embraced him after the fashion of the men long, long ago in Mexico, before it became a part of the great United States of America.

Governor Lehumada clasped the bride of his past, his present, and his future physical and spiritual life, in his arms, and whispered in her ear:

“Thou art my other life I have longed to meet,Without which life my own is incomplete.Oh, dearer, sweeter self! Like me thou wert astray!Straying, like me, to find the breastOn which alone can weary heart find rest.”

“Thou art my other life I have longed to meet,

Without which life my own is incomplete.

Oh, dearer, sweeter self! Like me thou wert astray!

Straying, like me, to find the breast

On which alone can weary heart find rest.”

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