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I ♦ THUK8DAY, MAT THE BARNWBIX PBOPLE^ENTfNEL, BARNWELL, SOUTBCAROLINA MAN Bj RAFAEL SABATIN1 V.RU.hnk> t THE STORY CHAPTER L—His u*k of pottlac •own Inau bo rd (nation ana one tbo cap- tatoo of hit naaroonarlos, and tho nrnabtnc of poworfnl rlvaU, bains fln- Inhod with tha ruthlaaanaaa which oharaetarlaad him, Oasara Borsla. doka ♦f Valantlnola la ancaar Crar tha aaoapa of cna of his anamlaa, ifattao OrainL It la ballaTad Ifattao la la hid* las with hta racluaa klaaman, Almarloc, at Plarano. Caaara dlapatohaa ana of -Ala followara, Paatalaoaa dasll Ubartl. with a amall troop, to Plaoaao to apy out tha altuatloa, and; TT* Ontal taT~ , * a:fa<J 1 001,1(1 tel1 you more - foaad, to oaptara him. CHAPTER II.—In tha eharactar of 'a wonndad anamy of Valantlnola flaatng from hla ▼angeanca, Pantalaoaa, hta followara ooncaalad, salna antra pea Into Plarano and la mada walooma by Almaiico and hla danghtar. Madonna -Fuhrla, Mattao'a afflanoad wtfa. Thay lira practically alona. Pantalaana la OMTlncad at onca that Ifattao la ta ^^▼Icinlty if not la tha eaatla. Marla, ^^Rallsn of Plaraao, glras Paatalaoaa mad teal attaatloa, aad tha apy la aar* Had to CHAPTER III Pantaleone awaking refreshed upon the morrow, found hla room auffused with the pale sunshine of a January morning and fragrant with the subtle, refreshing perfume of lemon verbena steeped In potent vinegar; he found It orrnpled by the page Kaffaele, a grace ful stripling with a lovely. Impudent face and smooth hair that was tha dolor of hatterenpa. “For lack of a maa to serve yon they have sent me." the page ex plained himself. Pantaleone considered the nupple figure In Ita suit of green that fitted It like a akin. "And what are you 7" he wondered. "A Ilia rdf "I am glad to see you are mending." said the boy. “Impudence, they tell fue. Is a sign of health." "And they tell It yon often. I*ve no doubt, and find you healthy In exceaa," aald Pantaleone, smiling grimly. “tieou !** said the boy, with uplifted eyes. Til bear news of your com plete recovery to my Iprd." "Stay." Pantaleone bade him. dealr- . hu* to have a certain matter explained “Since you were Bent to serve, give me first to oat. There la a bowl yon der, steaming. Let It be employed In the service for which It was designed." ItafTaele fetched the bowl wl^rh con tained a measure of broth, ami with It a platter bearing a amall wheaten loaf. He also fetched a silver basin with water and a napkin. But tbeae Pantaleone waved Impatiently away. He had been reared In camps, not courts, ahd was out of sympathy with the affectations of mincing fellows « carry washing to excesa. e drank a portion of the soup note- broke bread and munched It, con- red the page gravely, and set oat apon hla quest of Information which he conceived was to be gathered. "For lack of men they aent^yps to me," be said, pondering. “How conge they to lack men at Pievanot The Lord Aimedco is a great and potent lord, such as should not want for lackeys. Whence then, this lack of men?" The boy perched himself upon the bed. "Whence are you, Messer Pan taleone?" he Inquired. "I? I am from Perugia," said the condottlero. “And is it not known in Perugia that the Lord Almerico is above all things a man of peace—of peace and books? Be.Is more concerned with Seneca than with any tyrant in Italy." With whom?" asked Pantaleone. “With Seneca,” thp boy repeated. “Who is he?" quoth .Pantaleone, staring. “A philosopher," said Kaffaele. “My lord loves all phllosephers.” "Then he will love me," said Pan taleone, and drank the remainder of his broth. "But you haven’t answered my question.” "I have, indeed. I conveyed to you that my lord keeps here no such fam ily as might be expected in one of his estate. There are but four grooms In his service. Vincenxo who helped ‘ to carry you to bed is my lord’s own servant; Giannone has his duties in the stables, and Andrea has gone down to the borgo an an errand for Madonna.” £That makes but three, and you said were four." fourth is Qiubertl; but then has vanished; be disappeared a week ago." f Pantaleone looked at the celling dreamily, reflecting how the vanishing of this Qiubertl chanced to coincide with the vanishing of Mattao Orslnl aad wondering whether a link existed that would connect tha two. "Ha was dlsmlwad. you meaar ha gnnbblea. T do not think so. It Is. a mystery. But ha haa not been dismissed, for I bars been to his room and his gar ments are all there. Nor did ha leave Piavano, unless ha went on foot, lor there is no horse miaaing from tha etablee. Qn the contrary—and that ta another mystery which nona can solve for me—on the morning after Qlubartl’a disappearance ~i . found aavan horses in the stables Instead of tha usual six. I went there to connt them that I might discover whether Qiubertl had Rope away. As I set little faith ta wizardry I am not pre pared to accept the simple explanation that Qiubertl has been changed into a horse. Had it been an ass, now, I could have believed it—for no great metamorphosis would * feave been needed. But there It is: we have lost a biped and acquired a quadruped. An engaging mystery.” Pantaleone smiled lazily at the boy and encouraged him with flattery to let the stream of hls chatter flow more freely. \ "By the Host," he approved him, “although you may be no more than a lad you have a man’s wit; indeed, more wit than many a man that I have known. You should go far.” The boy curled his green legs nnder him upoE? the bed, and smiled, well gratified. . “You miss nothing,” Pantaleone spurred him on. "Indeed, not much,” the boy agreed. For in-' Stance, it happens that Mario’s wife has also disappeared. Mario is our castellan—he with the posg-marked face, who bore you to bed last night- and bled you. Mario's wife had charge of the kitchen, and she vanished to gether with Qiubertl. Now that is a circumstance that Intrigues me great ly." “It might Intrigue you less If you were older," said Pantaleone, Imply ing something which he-did not him self believe, and implying it solely as a goad. Kaffaele threw back his head, and considered the soldier with some scorn. ■ “You said well when yon said that I had more wit than many a man,” he Informed Pantaleone with pointed significance. “A man. of course, would blunder here to a prompt and lewd conclusion. Bah, slrj I am a boy, not a cherub In a fresco. You have but to see Colomba—Mario’s wife—to be assured of the chastity of her rela tions with Qiubertl or with any man.” “Precocioua ape,” aald Pantaleone. "Your discourse la a scandal to a poor aoldler's ears. Fd have the rodi to you If you were boy of mine.” He flung bock the bedetotbea an th»t the lad was momentarily smothered In them, and rooa to drew himself. Ha had loarnt •all that Raffael could tell him. —— - "It la the mystery of It all that In- tiigues me.” babbled the page, un abashed “Can you aolva tbo riddle, Sot Pantaleone?" "I’ll try, 4 said Pantaleone struggling with hla boae, but Raffael for all hla precocity missed the grimneaa of that answer. Thus, then, you aee our adventurer in possession of certain facta that seemed to him tolerably dear: fhe dis appearance of the groom. Qiubertl, and of the woman, Colomba, synchro nising with the appearance of an addi tional horse In the stables and hence, presumably, with the arrival at Pie- Pantaleone Inferred" that meanwhile the lord of Piavano had consulted with Matteo, aad that Matteo had told him —since in fact no man could have denied It—that hla story waa very pos sibly true, and that^he had been friendly with Paolo Oralnl as ho aald. Hence, superfluously new, the dream- stance of Matteo*! pretence was con firmed to him yet again. Intent upon hla task, he would have gone forth at once daimlng tbo need to take the air. But here., tho clay- faced Mario Interpoaed with all tho pompous authority of a medical ad viser. "What, air? Go forth—In your con dition? It were 4 madness. Last night you had the fever, and you were bled. You must rest and recover, or I will not answer for your Ufa Forth “Your Discourse la a Scandal for a Poor Soldier's Ears." vano of Matteo Orslnl, indicated that the care of him had been entrusted to those two servants. Now, since, had Matteo Orslnl remained in the castle itself, so much would have been un necessary, it was further to be in ferred that—no doubt for greater se- crecy—he bad been lodged elsewhere, though doubtless (and the presence of the horse confirmed this) somewhere within the precincts of the citadel. So far Ser Pantaleone was clear, and already he accounted the half of his task accompUshed. His next step must- be to ascertain what quarters outside the actual rocca the place con tained. He dressed himself with care in the garments which the page had brought him from the kitchen, where they had been sedulously dried. The pert Kaf faele ushered him Into the presence of Messer Almerico and Madonna Ful- vla. They received him cordially, ex pressing genuine pi ensure at hla evi dent recovery. All heal tattoo and mis trust a pea red to the old maals yon do not go save at your peril, at the peril of undoing all the good I have done." * And then to Mario’a persuasions were those of Orslnl and hla daugh ter, until in the end, seeing that to insist further might be to awaken sus picions dormant now, Ser Pantaleone, chafing Inwardly but still laughing outwardly, submitted. He spent^ the day indoors, and found the time hang heavily, despite the kindly efforts ex erted by his host and his host’s daugh ter to lighten It for him. The kindness which they, lavished upon him, the fact that he sat at tSWe and broke bread with them, made no slightest Impression upon Ser Pantale one. The hideous treachery of the thing he did, the vileness of the man ner in which he had Insinuated him self into their confidence, left him un touched. It was naught to him that he should sit there in Pievano receiv ing the hospitality that la bestowed upon a friend. This Pantaleone was a man without sensibilities, an egotist with g brutally practical mind which harbored no con siderations but those of worldly ad vancement Honor to him was no more than one of the infirmities of vain men. Shame was a sentiment unknown to him. Marchlavelll might have honored him for the fine single ness of pun>ose by which he was ever guided towards the given end In view. On the morrow at last he had his way, despite Mario’s lingering doubts that' It was unwise for him to go abroad. He w'ould have taken ‘ the page with him fur company, thinking that the chatterbox might be of serv ice to him, but the excessive hospital ity of Pievano ordained otherwise. Since he would not he denied his de sire to take the air. Madonna Fulvia should be his guide. He protested that It wax to do him too much honor— as Indeed 1%, was. Nevertheless she Insisted, afid utgether they went forth. The gardens of Pievano ran In a flight of terraces up the steep sides of the hill behind tha castle, the whole of It enclosed by massive, gray, raa rblrolated walls that had stood two hundred years and more; and resisted more than one siege In the past— though that waa before the days of such artillery as Ceaare Borgia now commanded. They came alowly to the topmost terrace—there were six of them In aU. whence a fine view waa to be com manded of all that broad valley. Hfre they found a sheltered spot under the western wall, where a seat hewn out of granite was set before a deep tank sunk to its rim into the ground—one of a aeries that were used in summer for Irrigation purposes. Ser Pantaleone slipped hla great red cloak from hla shoulders, and spread It on the seat for his companion. She demurred awhile. Waa he wise to sit, waa not the air too chill, and was he not perhaps heated from hla walk? Thus, shaping her tender solicitude In questions, she warned him. But. he reassured her with a buoyant langh that made a mock of any assumption of weakness in his own condition. ' So aide by aide they sat on that hewn granite Mat So might a pair of lovers have aat; but if she had no thoughts of love for her companion —her devotion being all given to an other, as we know—he had still less for her. It was not that he waa usu ally sluggish to dalliance. Those full red lips of his told a different story, as Fra Seraflno had observed. But in the first place, his taste waa all for generously hipped, deep-bosomed Hebes, and in the second his thoughts were all concerned with the enuclea tion of this problem of Matteo Orslnl’s hiding place. His bold, black eyes were questing nearer home, raking the disposition of the outbuildings to the left of the rocca, and an odd pavilion on the other side occupying the middle of a quadrangular terram that was all walled about so as to form, as It were, a hortus indusus. # He stretched his long, lithe legs, ahd took a deep breath of the clean moun tain air, noisily like a draught that is relished. Then he sighed. “Helgh-o! If It were mine to choose my estate in life, I would be lord of some such lordship as this of Pievano. “The ambition Is a modest one, r said she. “To have more Is to have the power to work mischief, and who works mis chief raises up enemies, and who raises up enemies goes In anxiety and may not know the pure joys of a con tented life." “My father would agree with you. Such Is his own philosophy. That Is why he has lived ever here, nor ever troubled himself to strive for more." “He choee the better part, indeed," Ser Pantaleone agreed. “He has enough, and who has enough Is Mott" - "Ah, but who ever thinks that he haa enough?" • "Tour father thought so, and so should I think were I lord of name It may seem no mors then medi ocrity. Compared with what might be yours mediocrity It is. Therein lies the secret of your happiness." “Ton make sort that I am happy," ■aid aha. He looked at her, aad for a moment was In peril of straying Into by-ways concerned-with her own affairs. But he conquered this. ' ^ "I were blind not to see It," he said in a tone of finality. "Though when I said ‘you* I meant not only yotrseif, but your father also. And hera lles cause enough. A noble lordship com modious yet compact, the vllleina In the borgo' yonder paying tribute and fealty, the rocca Itself with all acces sory buildings dose-packed under Its mothering wing—saving perhaps that pavilion yonder in the enclosed gar den,” he excepted, waving hla hand and speaking Idly, glHng no sign that thus at last, having reached It by slow and careful degrees, he came upon the goal which had been his since first he took his seat beside her. “That, TIME FOk. CHAMiC IN MENTAL HABITS Simple Rmlm far Cmidanee ofMMUJLfd. Many persons who have managed to Mldhoods now " he continued, musing, “la an odd construction. I cannot think for what purpose it can have been built There was a. .question plainly in the statement and at once she answered it . “It Is a lasar-house,” she said. Startled, Ser Pantaleone shifted un easily, and there was no boldness now In the black eyes that stared at her. There waa a sinister ring In the word that brought horrors leaping before the eyes of a man’s Imagination. “A lasar-house?" he said, aghast She explained: It happened in the days when my father wax no more than a boy. There wa» the plague in Flor ence, and it was carried thither to the borgo. Men were dying like files at close of autumn. To succor them my * grandfather ordered that pavilion to be built with others that have since been demolished, and he had the place enclosed by walls.” Ser Pantaleone twisted bis features in a grimace of disgust “And do you keep that as a monu ment In honor of so ugly an event?” i he asked. “Why, no. "There were other build ings there; but, as 1 have told you, they were demolished. That waa the only one retained." “But why?" he asked. “It has Ita uses.” He looked at her with raised eye brows, expressing a faint Incredulity. “You will not tell me that it la tenanted?" he asked In a note that was faintly jesting. '. “No, no.” . She spoke too quickly, he noted; and her voice had trembled, whilst those deep loyal eyes of hers bad fallen guiltily away from hla regard. “No, no,” the repeated. “Of course, it Is not tenanted now.” He looked Idly away toward the spot. She had lied to him, he waa convinced already. Yet he would taake assurance doubly sure. Suddenly be drew his legs under him end started half-rising with a sudden exclamation, his face averted from her and turned toward the enclosed garden. And then he felt her band upon his sleeve. “What Is It?" she asked, and her voice was breathless. “Surely . , , surely, you are wrong." he said. “It Is tenanted. It seemed to me that I saw something or some one move there‘In the shadow." “Oh, no, no—Impossible! You were mistaken! There la no one there!" Agitation quivered In every syllable of that breathless denial. He had drawn from her the answer to the question he had not asked. Satisfied, he craftily made haste to reassure her. “Why, no," he aald, and laughed In self-derlsion. "I see now what It to— thg shadow of that gnarled olive de ceived me." She rose. "Come, air, you have sat here too long for one in yonr condi tion.’’ “Long enough," said Pantaleone with more truth than she suspected, and he rose obediently to depart. It was as he said. He had aat there long enough to achieve his ends, and the very suddenness with which now she urged his departure waa yet a further confirmation of what he had discovered. She desired to draw him from that spot before he should chance, indeed, to see what she be lieved him to have Imagined he had seen. Very willingly, then, he went (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.) ^ ^ ^ * get through the years of dM)' youth fairly wall find that ' habits are not adequate for the de mands and changes of middle age. The unhappy are always wrong, says Dr. Alice E. Johnson in the Survey. So If one finds oneself middle agul and unhappy, the only thing to do to to change one’s menial habits. Of course this Is easier said than dona. Tot It to not impossible, for whUe childhood Is the Ideal time to establish right habits of thinking and reacting, the tows of mental hygiene are. valid at all ages and need only be applied. Frankness and courage will be needed for the-task. Senti mentality and vanity mnst be thrown oveH>oard along with worn-out ideals. One must learn to discriminate be tween reasons and excuses and to discard the excuses. Only in this way can a life of reality be submitted for one of mere wishes. To aid in this readjustment of men tal life, four rules may be followed Rule 1 Is “Do not say yes and no at the same time." The wobbler la al ways unhappy and so art his friends. It is better to make mistakes than te do nothing. If a person can learn to see a thing- as a whole, he will easily decide what is good. He should remember that everything has Its price and that vain regret la self-in dulgence. Rule 2 is “Do not allow an accumu lation of unfinished business." Each problem should be aoswered as It arises. Questions that are postponed evaded and repressed return in a dox en forms to destroy one’s peace, an 1 they soon develop Into the excessive fears of the neurotic. , “Keep your mind open to new as pects of truth" Is rule 8. By the time middle age Is reached the hypercriti cal, fault-finding attitude of childhood ihould be left behind. Freedom, that •peclal gift of the middle years of life, can only be achieved by letting 1 go of the past. The open mind sees the good and bad in everything and looks for the ultimate meaning of things. Those who disregard this rule live a narrow, sterile life with the prospect of an Irritable, unlovely •Id age. “Disregard what to merely per sonal," rule 4 reads. Most of the de- •tractive emotions such as fear, ha tred. Jealousy and envy are personal and since no life la lived alone, theae should be discarded. The same to true for grouches and moodiness. Tbs reason for moodiness la not tempera ment, hut self-love, and there to no txcuse for It, Unless a feeling can be translated Into useful action It need not be considered. By following these rules, by learn ing If one cannot get what Is wanted, to accept cheerfully what cornea, by taring yes to life, one may be free from the uncertainties of youth and will aee no catastrophe in the passing of the years. Although the of cryatolRigraphy satisfactorily explained tbs «f. crystals, charted thsC* respect to tot definitely under tato conditions, as for rassons for the psllaeldlty of crystals, or under what asdenta wart lad to usa crystato, or baryte. In their practice of Avtou- tton hr of "gastog." Tha beautiful “giaxa stones" for centsrlas considered to have . natural abilities, an* even today u large crystal to a part of the para phernalia of moat magicians, so- called. Spirits wain supposed to make crystato their habitat, and Andrew Lang, famous British author, onca do- dared that there might be something more than saperatltlon attached to the reports of amaxing things said to be read within the crystals of even the moderns. Although the origin of crystallog raphy Is somewhat obscure, both Prdf. M. Dumas of the College of Franc* and the eminent savant Prof. F. 01 Oalvart, credit Swedenborg, the ex traordinary universal genius of ton Eighteenth century, with haying beau the first to comprehenstfratyr aat forth the reasons for crystaUlc formations, and with having computed ami char acterized the arrangement of crystal spheres and an glee. Ntcolas Stenno, fifty years earlier (lilt), waa prob- ably tha first of thd .moderns, to least, to give public utterance to some aspects of the sabject Crystals, a pa it from their precious value, have been in commercial use In optics snd for watch glamss. ete, .while there Is always some demand among jewelers for curtain types. cfntly, two magfilfieehtimported Bur mese crystato, cut by natives with ■mall Meal hatchsU. war* sold at a New \ork auction room for ISdJXto. f . r*m Although many a< salaries daring their them do not have the sight to lay any of it sway-for too Inevitable "rainy day.” points SEt BO- He Burke, the weil-knoyn former ac tress. la an Interview with h Burke in Liberty Sidney reports her as saying: “Many play the stock market,” aha “usually on a tip whispered by friend In Wall street; they; tshly in real estate; they wildcat stocks In mines and ofl fields; they epend huge sums oa jewels ami clothing and travel. And some have a hat friend. This tost invaetamnt la a joe can't gfJfe'fobaBk nuch on greal oriea, which are about all this meot brings." A reAwo/ogicoi Treaturei Golden relics of the Fifth century were recently discovered by Professor Mora, director of the Municipal mu seum of Szeged, Hungary, according to a dispatch In the Frankfurter 2ei- tung. The professor saw a group of children playing with something that looked like ■ copper baton. It turned out to be a portion of a finely chiseled scepter found In a garden. Digging there, be quae upon 92 gold coins end several gold cups and dishes, believed to be treasure from the tomb of one of the kings of Qeptdae, an early Ger manic tribe.—Chicago Tribune. Houi Mi Sinister History The little villa at Qarobete, France, where Bluebeard Landru murdered and burned at least five of the eleven wives for whose death*.JJe went to the guillotine In Veraalllea, la falling ruin. Nobody wishes to live in place of gruesome memories aad the proprietor refuses to go to the expense of demolishing It Tourists traveling In the neighborhood sometimes deslra to look over the place, hut they art not permitted to eater. Autqmobll turn their eyes for a few seconds the road ahead to look at tha dwelling. The villagers who knpw Landru slightly do not believe that the mlld-looklng bearded occupant of ttm villa can possibly have bean tha frightful series of a which he suffered toe death Advertise in Tha i * > :: :: Wedding Invitations Hiltiary Eld ridge of Oaklaad. Calif., has perfected an electrical furnace wbereia steel is melted from Monterey black tarrd, an in- veatioa which may rcvolationisc the industry.. A bride wants only the most fashionable and correct wedding stationery, and obsolete styles and sized will not answer. Our con nection with a reliable concern of 2,5 years of service to high-class trade enables us to guarantee these. 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