Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TH1 BAlCWWl^L PMOPUMENTINBL. BARNWELL. SOOTH CAROLINA -of d MAID with a MAN By RAFAEL SABATINI W.ltUSwrlei THE STORY CHAPTER L—HI* task ot put tine •own Insubordination nmonc ths eap* tains ot bis msresnarlss, and tbs erosbln* ot powsrtul rlTals, bstng fln- Isbsd with tbs rntblsssnsss wblcb characterised him. Cssars Bortfa, duks of Valontlnols, Is unsasy oTsr tbs osoaps of, ens of bis snsmlas, Mattso OrsinL It Is bsllsTsd Mattso Is In bid* In* with his rscluss kinsman. Almsrlco, at Plsvano. Cssars dlspatcbss ons of bis followsrs. Pantaloons ds*ll Ubsrtl, with a small troop, to Plsrano to spy out tks situation, and. If Orstal Is found, to oapturs him. CHAPTER IL—In tbs ebaraetsr of’a wounded enemy of Valontlnols, fleeing front bis Tengsancs, Pantaloons, bis followers concealed, gains entranoe Into PiSTano and Is made welcome by Almsrlco and bis daughter. Madonna Pultrla, Matteo’s affianced wlfa They Mrs practically alona Pantaloons la • convinced at ones that Mattso Is la the Tlctnlty If not In tbs castle. Mario, __ Asstellan of Plevano, glree Pantaloons medical attention, and tbs spy Is ear tied to bed. CHAPTER HI.—From a garrulous young page, Raffaele, Pantaloons learns enough to make him euro he Is on the right track. Tbs kindness of his aged host and the beautiful Ma< donna hsTe no effect In turning him from Ms errand of treachery. The girl becomes his companion, and from her the spy learns of the existence of • laxar-house (place of Isolation for smallpox victims) In the castle grounds. There are no victims of the Pest, so dreade]! In the Middle ages. In R now, she Informs him, but he Is cer tain the building Hs Matteo’s hiding place. CHAPTER IV.—Determines to wait until be Is sure of Matteo’s where abouts, Pantaleone continues hla work •f spying. From a hiding place be sees Mario take food to the lasar- house, knd all doubt Is ended. Panta leone determines to collect his follow srs next day and demand Matteo. CHAPTER V.—Wfth his followers at hand Pantaleone confronts Almsrlco and Madonna with the demand that Matteo be produced at once for con veyance to Valentlnols, threatening to drag him from the laser-house If he does not appear. To their reproaches he Is Indifferent Madonna pleads with him for a short delay, hinting the proffering of a bribe. Pantalefbe's cu-( pidlty aroused, he grante the request Madonna makes the spy an offer. She has a dowry of 10,MO ducats, and she promises to marry him and make ove* the dowry, to him If he will conceal Matteo's presence. Almost unable to believe his good fortune, Pantaleone accepts the offer. It' Is arranged that v they ride to the town of Castel della Pleva next day, where the marriage ceremony will take place, while Matteo escapee CHAPTER VL—Madonna bas learned that Valentlnols Is .at Castel della Pleva, and to him she. writes, notify ing him of Pantaleone’s duplicity. Un known to the spy. there la a smallpox patient In the lasar-house Mgdonna wins Mario to acquiescence In a proj ect wblcb horrifies him, bkt Is not di vulged. According to arrangement. Madonna and Pantaleone ride to Cas tel della Pleva. He looked at her, blenching with anger. “God’s Blood!" he swore, and gave tongue to that thought of his. "t never yet knew^i lean woman that , was not sly and a very bag of devil’s tricks. What la In that mind of yoursr'* And then suddenly a hoarse voice hailed . him, and from among the passers-by there rolled forward a grtx- | kied veteran upon sturdy bowed,legs, a swarthy, one-eyed fellow, who creaked and clanked as he, walked, being all ma^l and leather. It was Valentlnols’ 'captain, Taddeo della Volpe." ^ ^ “WeW retumed, my Pantaleone!" he cried. "The ddke named you but yes terday, wondering how you fared." "Did he eo?" said Pantaleone, since he must say something, raging Inward ly to find his retreat cut off by this most Inopportune encounter. The veteran rolled his single eye In the direction of Madonna Fulvla. "Is this, the prisoner you were sent to capture?" quoth *he, and Pantaleone could not be sure that he was not being mocked. . “But I delay yop You’ll' be for the duke. I’U go with you." Now here was Pantaleone to des perate straits. Mechanically he moved forward with Taddeo, since to obey Ills very natural impulse and turn about to retreat by the way be had come was now utterly impossible. e CHAPTER VII The duke’s army was encamped upon the eastern side of the city, so that Pantaleone had no Inkling of his master's presence there until they had entered the main street and saw the abundant evidences of It in the sol diers that thronged everywhere chat tering in all the dialects of Middle Italy. The part he had played at Ple- vano had so isolated Pantaleone from the outside world, that he had re mained without precise knowledge of Osare Borgia’s whereabouts. His sudden realization that he had ridden almost Into the very presence of the duke was as a shower of cold water upon his heated body. For yon will understand that engaged as he was he had every reason to avoid the duke as he would avoid the devil. He reined In sharply, and his eyes glared mistrustfully at Mhdonna, In stinctively feeling that here was some trap into which like a fool he had been lured by this white-faced girl. It flashed across his mind that It had been hls lifelong practice to mistrust lean women. Their very leanness was in hla eyes an outward algn of their lack 6f femininity, and a woman that . lacks femininity—as all the world knows—Is as often as not a very devil, “By your leave. Madonna," said ho grimly, “we will seek a priest else where." "Why to?" she asked. "Because It Is my will,” be snarled back. She smiled a crooked little amile. She was calm and mistress of herself. "It is early to Impose your will upon . me, and If you are over-insistent now, perhaps you never shall—for I marry jou at Castel della Pleve er I do not marry wod at alL." Nor could be questldtf Madonna as he desired to whilst Della Volpe stalked there beside him. A dozen paces brought them to the open space before the Duomo, and there Pantaleone grew cold with fear to find himself almost face to face with Cesare Borgia himself. As he checked hls horse, mechan ically In hls dismay, B^adonna Fulvla dealt her own a cut across the hams that launched It forward as from a catapult. "Justice 1 !” she cried, brandishing above her head what looked like a short truncheon. “Lord duke ot Val- entlnois; Justice!" —— There was a commotion In the mag nificent group about hls highness. The wild bound of her horse had brought her almost into the midst of It The duke raised hls hand, and the cavalcade came to a sudden halt Hls splendid eyes swept over her, and there was something In hls glance that seemed to scorch her. She beheld for the first time this man, the enemy of her house, one whom she had come to consider a very monster. He was dressed In black, in the Spanish fashion, his doublet scrolled with golden arabesques, hls velvet cap laced with a string of smol dering rubies large as sparrows’ eggs. From under this the wave of hls bronze-colored hair fell to hls shoul ders. The delicate yet essentially male beauty of hls young face was such that for a moment It checked her crnel purpose. A smile, gentle, almost wistful, broke upon that noble countenance, and he spoke In a voice that was soft and full of melody. “What Justice do you seek," Ma donna?" To combat the sweet seduction of hls face and voice she bad need In that hour to bethink her of her cous ins strangled at Assist, of those other kinsmen Jailed In Rome and like to die, and of her own lover, Matteo, In perl! of capture and death. What, then. If this man were a very miracle of male beauty? Was he not the en emy of her race? Did he not seek Matteo’s life? Had he not set that fotil hound of hls to brack Matteo down? Upon the muttered answer to those nnuttered questions she braced her self, steeled her resolve and held out the tube she carried. "It Is all set down here, magnifi cent, In this petition." He moved hls horse forward some pacae from amid bli attendant cour- tlera, and without baste put forth hls gauntleted hand to receive the thing she proffered. He balanced It in his palm a moment, as If weighing It, con sidering It It wgs a hollow cane,, sealed at both ends. A faint smile moved his Ups under cover of hls au burn beard. “Here are great precautions,” was hls gentle comment, and bis eyes stabbed her with questions. “I would not have It polluted on Its. way to your august hands,” she ex plained. Hls smile broadened. He Inclined hls head as if to acknowledge the courtliness of her speech. Then hls glance went beyond her and rested on the scared and savage Pantaleone. Cesare’s brows were faintly raised, “Why, Messer Pantaleone!" he cried. “You are well returned, and most op portunely. Here, break me these seals and read me the parchment this tube contains." There was a sudden stir of Interest In the gay flock of attendants, a move ment of horses and a craning of necks, which quickened when Madonna Fal- via Intervened. "No, no, magnificent!" Her voice was sharp with a sadden anxiety. "It Is for your eyes alone." He pondered her white face nntll she felt as she would faint under his Ha Saizad It to Pull Forth the Parch ment. regard, such was the terror with which It was beginning to Inspire her. He smiled with a sweetness as Inef fable as it was terrible and he ad- l r jdressed tier in' hls sUklest accents. - “Since beholding you, Madonna, my eyea are something dazzled. I must borrow ’Ser* Pantaleone’s, there, and be content to employ my eaiu.” Then to Pantaleone on a sadden note ol sharp command: “Come, sir," he said "we wait.” Pantaleone, n little dazed by hls - terror, took the thing In hla shaking hands, and not daring to demur ot show hesitation, broke one of tho seals with clumsy, fumbling fingers, ■liken cord protruded from tbe tube. pd It to put! forth the parch- ien with a sharp exclamation MONEY TO LOAN Loans made same day application received. No Red Tape HARLEY & BLATT. Attorneys-at-Law Barnwell, S. C. He seize; ment, th he drew back bis hand as If he had been stnng—as Indeed he had been. There was a speck of blood on hls thumb and another on bis forefinger. Madonna Fulvla shot a fearful glance at Valentlnols. She saw here the miscarriage of her crafty plan, throngh the obe factor which she had left out of consideration—the circum stance that Cesare Borgia, living and moving In an environment of treach ery, amid foes both secret and avowed, took no chances of falling a victim either to their force or their guile. She had not reckoned that he would appoint Pantaleone In this mat ter to an office akin to that filled at hls table by tbe venom-taster. “Come, come.” tbe duke was admon ishing the hesitating Pantaleone, more sharply now. "Are we to wait here In the cold all day? Tbe petition, man!" Desperately Pantaleone now grasped the cord, taking care this time to avoid the thorn that accident or de sign—and he did not greatly care which, since he counted himself lost In any case—had lodged In the strands of the silk. He drew forth a cylinder of parchment, let fall the cane that had contained It, unrolled the petition with shaking hands, and studied It awhile, hls brow wrinkled by the ef fort, for he was an Indifferent scholar. ••Well,- sir? Will you read?” Precipitately he responded to that command, and fell to reading aloud, hls voice hoarse: "Magnificent—By these presents I make appeal to you for Justice against one who has proved as treacherous to you In tbe performance of the task to which yon set him as was treacher ous that task Itself—" .He broke off, looking up with tbe wild eyes of a hunted thing. "It—it la not true!" be protested, faltering. "I—" „ . "Who bade you Judge?" Cesare asked. “I bade you read; no more. Read on, then. Should It prove to concern you your answer to It can follow." Under the suasion of that imperious will, Pantaleone bent bis eyes to tbe parchment again, and pursued bis reading. “—Believing that Matteo Orsini, whom he was bidden to arrest. Is In hiding at Plevano, he has consented to connive at-hls escape and thus be tray your trust In him upon the con dition that I become hls wife and my dowry ; hls possession.' Again he broke off. “By the Ryes of God, It Is false! As false as hell!" he cried, a sob of agony breaking hls voice. “Read on !" The duke’s voice and mien were alike terrible. Dominated once more, Pantaleone returned yet again to the parchment. ". . . Escape may or may not be for Matteo, but at least there can be no escape for you who read, by the time you have read thus far. We have another guest at Plevano In our lazgr- house there—the smallpox. And'these presents have lain an hoar upon the breast of one who is dying of It, and ^ On a sudden outcry of terror Panta leone brought his reading abruptly to an end. The plague-laden parchment floated from hit-hands that were sud denly turned limp. It reached the ground, and there was s sudden alarmed movement on all sides to back •way beyond the radius of Its venom, beyond the’ danger of the dreac scourge that ft exuded. Dully through Pantaleone’s be numbed wits tbe reatyxstlon thrust itself that the thorn In . the silk ha< been no accident It had been net there of Intent so dint It might open t way by which the terrible infection should travel the more swiftly and surely Into the reader's veins. He ter felnaatf tar • who might count himself under sen tence of death, since the cbancee of winning alive through an attack of that pestilence were eo slight as to be almost negligible. Ashen-faced he stared straight before him, what time indignation add horror found voice on every side, and continued clagunt until the duke raised an imperious hand to demand silence. j He alone remained unmoved, or.'at least showed no outward sign of such anger as be may have felt When next be addressed tbe. white-faced lady, who had made this desperate at tempt upon hls life, hls voice was as smooth and silken as It had been be fore, hls* returning smile as sweet. And perhaps because of that tbe doom he pronounced was the mote awful. “Of course," he said, "since Ser Pantaleone has fulfilled hls part of the bargain, yon. Madonna, will now fulfill yours. You will wed him as you undertook." Wide-eyed, she^stared, and It was a long moment ere she understood the poetic Justice that' he meted out to her. When at last her voice came. It came In a hoarse cry of horror. “Wed him? Wed him! He is In fected—” * "With your venom," Cesare cut In crisply. And he continued calmly as one reasoning with a wayward child “It Is your duty to yourself and him. You arejn honor bound by your com pact The poor fellow could not fore see all this. You had not made him privy to yonr plans. Yon called to me for justice. Madonna,” he remind ed her. "Thus you receive It It l* complete, I think. I hope It satieties yo u ” Her anger shivered Itself nnuttered against that Iron dominance of hls. Before It her spirit left her utterly, her high courage ebbed like water, and she became again the prey or fear and horror. "Oh, not that! Not that I" she cried te him. “Mercy I Mercy I As you would hope for mercy In your need, have mercy on me now.” He looked sardonically at Ser Pantaleone. who sat hls horse, benumbed In body and Id brain. "Madonna Fulvla does not flatter you. Pantaleone,” said he. “She has little fancy for you as a bridegroom. It appears. Yet, fool, you believed her when she promised to take you to hus band. You believed her! Hal What was It Fra Seraflno said of you?" He fell thoughtfuL “I remember I He found you too full In tbe lips to be trusted with a woman. He-knows hls world, Fm Seraflno. So you suc cumbed to her promises I But be com forted. She shall fulfill them, where she thought to chest you. She shall take you to that white breast of hers —yon and tbe plague you carry with you." "Oh God!" the panted. "Will you wed me to death?" Is It possible,” he wondered, "that yon can find death more’ repulalve than ’antaleone? Yet-consider,” he begged her, reasoning dispassionately, "thdt I do naught by you that you would not lave done by me." He began with Infinite caution to peel off the heavy gauntlet of buffalo hide with which le had handled that death-dealing tube. "After all," he resumed, "If to keep your word Is beyond messure odious to you—a family trait with you. Madonna, as I have cause to know—I may show'you the way to escape Its consequences. There Is a way that some would account to be consistent with honor. Cancel the bargain that you made with him, and thus cancel tbe obligation to fulfill your part and to submit to hls em brace.". “Cancel it? How cancel Ul“ the asked. "Is It not plain? By surrendering Matteo Qralnl to me. Deliver him up to me this dsy, and the night shall be free from nuptials that are dis tasteful to you." She understood at once tbe satanlc subtlety' of this man; she saw bow far removed be was from any petty vengeance such as she had suspected him to be gratifying; she was but an Insignificant pawn in the deep game he played; her feelings were to him no more than the means to the one end of which never for an instant had be lost sight—the capture of Matteo OrHnL That was all that mattered te him, and be was not to be turned •elde by any considerations of auger teward herself. He had terrified her with, the threat of this unutterable marriage, simply that he might ren der her pliant to hls will, ready to pay any price of treachery to escape that ghastly fate. “Deliver him up to you?” she said, and It was her turn to smile at last, but with Infinitely bitter scorn. “Could anght be easier?" he asked: •There Is no need to tell me even where he lurks. I do not ask you to betray him, or do aught that would huit your tender Orsini sensibilities.” Hls sarcasm was as a sword of fire. “You need but to send him word of the plight Into which yonr essay* in poisoning has landed yon. That Is alL As he is a man, he most come hither to ransom you from the consequences of your deed. Let him come before nightfall, or else"—he shrugged, flung hls gauntlets down Into the mud, and nodded hla head toward the stricken Pantaleone—“you keep your bargain; you pay the price agreed upon for hls escape, and myself I shall provide the nuptial banquet" She looked at him with a deep ma lignity aroused by hls own relentlese- uess and by the hatefifi suavity In which he cloaked It And then her wits roused themselves to do battle with hls own. She saw bow subtlety, might yet defeat subtlety. And aa resolute aa It met nis own. “Be It so," she said. “You leave me no cKqfc£ megnifleent" Her voice came harsh and something mocking. Tt shall be as you desire. 1 krill send my servant to him, bow." He gave her a long, searching glance which at first wad grave and doubt ing, and ended by becoming almost contemptuous. Ha made a sign te his* cavaliers. / • v "Let us on, sirs. Here la no more to do." But he stooped from hls sad dle to Issue an order In an undertone to Della Volpe who throughout bad stood beside. Jdm. Then, flicking hie horser with the slight whip which he carried, he moved on across the square, hls fluttering attendants with him. He rode away with contempt In hls heart He knew this Orsini brood. They were all tbe same. Bold to de vise, bat craven to execute; their brains were stouter than their hearts. Their stiffness crumpled st the touch. (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.) Scwtt'a Firwi No—l “Waveriy" was the first ef Om of famous novels written by Hr Wai ter Sqott produced to 1814. Tbe 0* cret of the authorship wag wsil kept for years. Tbe book gtvsa a flae pic ture of the hopes and fours that ani mated political partfoi In Great Brit ain to |745, tbs year of the uprising ted by ChVrles Stuart the Yeung Pro* tender. Its name to tahn from Wa veriy, near Hindhead, to Surrey, Eng land. , Ozark Afacnatafoa The upland ares commealy spoken of as ths Ozark monntatea or tbe Osarito He# mainly to southern Mis souri and is separated from the Ap palachians by the lowland* of the Mississippi basin and from the Rocky mountains hy the Great plains. The United States geological samp says that the Osarks art not regardad by .geologists as a part of either syatocm but aa a distinct unit ^ Vacation Time TRY THE COOL PLACES ~ ~ < ► < ► < ► < ► IN THE Southern Appalachian Mountains :: OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA EASTERN TENNESSEE AND NORTH GEORGIA ,..r “The Land of the Sky Jersey Seashore Resorts Virginia Beach, Including new Hotel Cavalier Beaches at Charleston, Savannah Brunswick and Jacksonville Mountain Region of New England Resorts on the Great Lakes Lake Region in Canada Canadian Northwest Pacific Northwest Colorado Resorts, Etc. 99 REDUCED FARES TO ALL SUMMER TOURIST RESORTS TICKETS ON SALE DAILY BEGINNING MAY 15th, GOOD UNTIL OCTOBER Slat. Write for List of Summer Resort Hotels and Boarding Houses; also Boys’ Camps and Girls* Camps. CONSULT TICKET AGENTS Southern Railway System Wedding Invitations A bride wants only the most fashionable and correct wedding stationery, and obsolete styles and sizes will not answer. 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