Beadle's Dime Novels No. 300: The Crested Serpent — page 19: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a. rans a “<i - INITIATORY RITES. * 28 - graceful swell as the music rose in lofty grandeur, and sunk ‘in trembling cadence. At length it folded itself around the ‘Mexican maiden, and its dazzling eyes looked into hers, She uttered an exclamation of terror and closed her sight from the hideous view. : “ Courage, daughter !” came from the priestess, Marta, She felt the serpent around her form and shuddered with fear. The music changed. It grew sonorous and wild, and increased in wolume, and raved as. the sea when lashed to fury. The serpent unwound from Paula Vallejo, and glided back into the aperture. With a moan, Paula Vallejo sunk to the stone sour. Humfredo, who bad been in an inner chamber, and Marta, sprung to her side, raised ber now insensible body and bore it from the parterre to the terrace above. She opened Bee eyes, and, trembling with dread, asked : | ae 5 amfredo: was it all a dréam—the solemn music and the | dreadful serpent ?” i “Tt was no dream. You saw the serpent of the Aztecs.” Marta kneeling down took Paula’s hand, saying: » “aan ore. “Paula, you are now a daughter of the Aztecs. The folds. and of the Crested Serpent have been around your body, and you » yet live. You are now one of our race. In this serpent you> behold the instrument of our revenge. — Its bite is deadly and > its fold fatal when aroused to action. The music that had - such a wonderful effect upon it has power to control its mOve- | ments.” ait The visible terror that affected Paula left her, iat tne thought of the serpent and its deadly bite and cried. “Is there an outlet above ?” she asked of Marta. “There is. Let us ascend.” The lights were extinguished by Humfredo, and through. harrow, winding passages they ascended, until the passage Stopped abruptly. Humfredo applied his strength to what Seemed a huge bowlder that lay in a hollow. It rolled back, aud above them were trees, and through their branches the Stars could be discerned. All around were massive rocks cove ered with the mosses and vines of years, . “There is no passage here for a man on era is : said Humfredo. “The road through the mountain is one league i = -~ Comicbooks.com