Earl Wayland Bowman

“ From his throat came the hissing, his face was blotched and hideous, his eyes were the eyes of a demon, and the odor from his mouth was the odor of the gila monster—the reptile diablo.
Padre Algonza worked all day and part of the night, but could not save the son of Don Julio.
Again "Senorita Serpente," who had been gone for two days and two nights, appeared, more fascinating than ever, at the ranchito in Socorro—yet, in her eyes at times there was a look that could not be understood. It was a mingling of recklessness, of horror, of dread. ”

“ Who is he—the dark-eyed one—he that plays at the monte?" "Senorita Serpente" breathed eagerly to Senor Skinny, her body close against his breast in the dance. "His look—it—it fills me with—with dread! His eyes—they seem to—to—know!" The last word was almost a gasp.
Senor Skinny glanced indifferently toward th' Ramblin' Kid, seated already at the table where they gamble with the cards—
"That's just th' Ramblin' Kid," "Senor" Skinny replied lightly—"a good old scout, in some ways, but not dangerous! He ain’t much for the ladies. He don't understand 'em like I do, for instance!" ”

“ Cortesana Serrano, most beautiful, most alluring of all the ladies in the ranchito at Socorro, or for that matter throughout the whole of San Bendito, was also the "Senorita Serpente," and lovers who tasted her lips died quickly, or worse!
It is hard to believe. ”

“ But they who are skeptical know not of the mysteries that take place in the land of the Azteccas, where whispering voices, evil and good, come from the Llano Sonora at night; and in the darkness of the Sierra Negrito gorges there is enchantment. ”

“ Padre Algonza de Reya, the holy priest who cares for the Mission at Magdalena and has seen many things, both pleasant and terrible, saw three men, all strong in body, young and with souls when they went to the hacienda La Queratto, where Cortesana Serrano had enticed them ”