Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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of a ■ f 1 ■ with a A By RAFAEL SABATIN1 W.N.U.8«*4m ta that countenanc*: the jQrat, Out h« wu.honest; the second, that he con temned her action. A SEA OAJU^ f? BmjMj C Oivfw M. VT OLtb, ovrv t H and bedpacbt her not again to dtgra- gard i ears cas dfasT THE STORY CHAPTBR L—HU task et patttms down InssbordlnotloB amons the oap* talna ot his nercenariea, and the crashing of powerful rivals, being fin ished with the rathlessness which characterised him, Cesare Borgia, duke of Valentinois, is uneasy over the escape of cne of his enemies. Mattes Orslni, It Is believed Matteo is in hid ing with his recluse kinsman. Almeiico, at Plevano. Cesare dispatches one of .ii- **• followers, Pantaleone degll Dberti. with a small troop, to Plevano to spy owt the situation, and. if Orsinl Is found, to capture him. CHAPTER IX.—In the character of a wounded enemy of Valentinois. fleeing from his vengeance, Pantaleone, his followers concealed, gains entrance Into Plevano knd la made welcome by Almertco and his daughter. Madonna Hulvla, Matteo'e affianced wife. They live practically alone. Pantaleone is ^ oohvlnced at once that Matteo le in the vicinity If not In the castle. Marie, oastellan of Plevano, gives Pantaleone jnedlcal attention, and the spy is to bed. CHAPTER IDL—Prom a garrulous young' page, Raffaele. Pantaleone •earns enough to make him sure he Is on the right track. The kindness of his aged host and the beautiful Ma donna have no effect in turning him from his errand of treachery. The girl becomes his companion, and from her the spy learns of the existence of a laser-house tplace of Isolation for smallpox victims) In the castle grounda There are no victims of the pest, so dreaded In the Middle ages. In ft now, she Informs him, but he Is cer tain the building In Matteo’s hiding plaoe. CHAPTER IV.—Determines to wait until he is sure of Matteo'n where abouts. Pantaleone continues his work of spying. Prom a hiding place he sees Mario take food to the lasar- house, and all doubt le ended. Panta leone determines to collect hie fellow- ore next day and demand Matteo. CHAPTER V.—With his followers at hand Pantaleone confronts Almertco and Madonna with the demsnd that Mattes be produced at enoe for con veyance to Valbntlnots. threatening to drag him from the laxar-house If he does not appear. To their reproaches he la Indifferent Madonna pleads with him for a short delay, hinting the proffering of a bribe. Pantaleone's cu pidity aroused, he grants the request Madonna makes the spy an offer. She has a dowry of 10,000 ducats, and,she promises to marry him and make over the.dowry to him If he will conceal Matteo'e presenca Almost unable to believe his ff^od fortune, Pantaleone accepts the offer. It Is arranged that they tide te the town ef Caste! della Pieva next day, where the marriage ceremony will take place, while Matteo edMadonr Mil dell WCHA1 CHAPTER VT.—Madonna has learned that Valentinois Is at Castel della Pieva. and to him she writes, notify ing him of Pantaleone's duplicity. Un known to the spy, there fs a smallpox patient In the lasar-house. Madonna wins Mario to acquiescence In a proj ect whleh horrifies him, but Is not di vulged. According to arrangement, na and Pantaleone ride ha Che- -delta Pieva. "" CHAPTER VTL — Pantaleone. who knew ^nothing of the duke's presenoe la the' town, rides Into the trap. To t, Valentinois, Madonna, on the pretext of appealing for Justlost presents a petition In a sealed cane. Always Syflirto the danger of treachery, the bids Pantaleone open the tube andl,read the petition. In opening It the spy scratches his finger on a con- ' oealed thorn. The message tells of Pantaleone’s betrayal of the duke’s trust, and conveys the Information that the letter and tube are both In- v feeted with the virus of smallppx. Ma donna had of course expected Valeo- tlnpls to open the tube and become In fected. Pantaleone is doomed through the scratch oh his finger, and all know It, but the duke Insists that the girl's agreement to marry the spy must be fulfilled. He agrees, however, that If Matteo surrenders to him Madonna •hall be released. Ifcr glance grew troubled; and It fell. away from hlm^ M r>o you lead the Way then, air,’* she said. ~ "My equerry here accom- Baalea nip, I thtmc And she Indicated Mario, who sat hla horse rigidly be hind her, a dumb angulab In big dark eyes. "Naturally, Madonna, since he Is ta be your messenger. v Forward, da- gone," be commanded; and upon that, tho^groom leading her horse, Dells Volpe striding grimly beside her and Mario riding as grimly in’ her wake, ahe moved forward towand the Com munal palace whliher by Cesare’s or ders they were taking her. * As for the wretched Pantaleone, she scarce bestowed another thought Upon him. He had been no more than; a pawn In this game of hers, even at" ahe was become one now in the deep er game of the duke’s. She had observed, though with but faint Interest, that a batf-doxen ar balesters had charge of him. These men. .under the command of an an cient, showed no relish for this task of apprehending one Who was so armed that without raising a finger he could fling death about him. Accord ingly they kept their distance. They made a wlda ring about their prison er, each with a quarrel laid to hla arbalest, and thua they urged him away; threatening to shoot him If. he were disobedient. When at last he had been removed In this fashion, a man In the Borgia livery came forward with a flaming torch to within a couple of yards of the pestilential parchment that still lay where It had fallen. Thence he Hang hla torch upon It, nor went to recover It again. Torch and plague laden parchments were consumed to gether, In spite of which, so runs the story, the good folk of Cltta della Pleve went wide of the spot for days thereafter. , Meanwhile Madonna Fulvla had been condocted to the Communal. A guard was placed outside the door, and another wya set to pace beneath her window; -but at least she was given the freedom of that spacious chamber, and of course Mario was ad mitted to her presence, since he was to be her messenger to Matteo Orsinl. The duke had Judged It well Jhat It should be to, since to the testimony of such letters as she might write Mario would add the confirmation of hla own evidence of a fact which might be disbelieved If related by an other. Alone with his mistress, this frail child whom he had known from her cradle, the old servant now broke down utterly. His grimness deserted him utterly, and the tears rolled down his ghastly furrowed face. * "Madonna mine! Madonna mine!' be sobbed brokenly, and held out his old arms ns If be would have taken her ^o them, paternally to comfort her. "I warned yon. I told yon here was no work for such gentleness as yonrs. I Implored you to let me do this thing In yonr stead. What do 1 matter? I am old; my life has reached Its evening; my loss of a few days more would be nobody’s gain. But you—Oh God of Pftyl" "Calm, Mario I Be calm,” ahe bade him gently. "Calm?” he cried. "Can I be calm when before yon lies the choice be tween betrayal and death, and, Uesu| ■uch a death. Had I carried an ar balest I should have pot a bolt through bis devil’s heart when be pronounced your doom; the fiend, the monsterr "A beautiful davll be la.” aha said. Then ahe dropped her voice. "Mario I” She called him softly. Her eyes flashed to the door, then ahe drew still Not to tne auxe, now- mrm himself when at langth fm to follow began la BbTfnTier headstrong way she re- addraaa himself whan at length ho I thoughts of all. t ■poke. - ' v A I - Tho, for a spoil of awfttl fiUeaeo, Madonna, I have dona your bid- then Cesare's voice rasped out a qoea- dlng. I have brought Ser Matteo.” | tloh harshly—a question that voiced f ' CHAPTER VIII « / t . ^7 Erect and stiff upon her horse sat Madonna Fulvla, bemused, hfflf-daxed. Indifferent to the gaping crowd that fry now surrounded her, but keeping / Its distance out of respect for the dis ease'-with which Pantaleone was ac counted laden. She was roused at length by a groom dressed In black with a bull wrought In red upon the breast of hla doublet, who stepped forward to take her reins, whilst at the tame time Della Volpe addressed her, hla tone respectful, hut hla slngls eye con temptuous. "Madonna,” ha saM, *T pray you go us. I have my lord’* command* your entertainment,’’ ru, --«.ne looked at him, sneering at first at the euphemism he had employed hy which te oenvey to her that she #as a prisoner. But semetUag la that vet- i’a rugged face struck the from her Upe. Twe things sha He Broke Into Proteete. farther from it, over to the window overlooking the square, beckoning him to follow. He want silently, staring. Impressed by the mystery of her bear ing. / By the window, In lowered, mur muring accents she addressed him. “There may yet be a way out of this,” ahe said. "Too shall bear no letters, because you will need none. Listen wnf.” And she gave him her commands. ^ By the time she had done be was ■taring at her, hit Jaw fallen. Then he stirred himself out of hla amase- ment He brake Into protests that ahe was but making her ruin douMj cer tain ; ha sought te dlaeuade her, re minded her that It waa threngh a disregard of hla ceuneels that cam* late hm malned unmoved, her resolve ft rock upon which the torrent bf hla loving eloquence broke am] was dissipated. And so in the end she had- her with him against hla better Judgment, even as last night "And to my lord? What ahall I say to my lord?" he asked. <• As little as you can, and nothing to:' alarm him.” . '« "1 am to He, then.” .... "Even that If need be, out of char ity to blin^” He departed at last and throughout the long afternoon she sat alone In that room of the mezxanlne, save for .-one * Interruption when a couple of slender vermilion striplings of the duke’s household brought her food and wine In golden vessels upon sal vers of beaten gold. She fiat on by the window, and to ward evening she saw the duke re turning with his gay cavalcade. Later, as the twilight was deepening, the two vermilion ,pages returned to bid her,In the duke’s name to the supper that waa spread below. She etc used her self. But the pages were gently In sistent. Perceiving not only the uselessness 1 of' further denial, but, further, that her very presence below might ad vance the thing she had set herself to do, she rose and signed to the pages to lead the way. In the corridor an other pair awaited her, each bearing a lighted taper, who went on ahead. In thla ceremonious fashion was she conducted below to the great haM, where a courtly crowd of cavallera and ladles were assembled, making her instantly conscious—very woman that aha was—of her own plain and dusty raiment, so out of place amid all this glittering splendor. The duke himself, tall and graceful In a suit of anlphur-colored silk with silver bands at throat and waist, ad vanced to. the foot of the stairs to re ceive her, bowing to her with the deference he might have used to princess. By the hand, which ahe dl< not dream of denying him, he led her through the throng to the double doors that were thrown open upon an Inner room. *Here long tables were set for supper upon a dais that formed the three aides of s parallelogram. From a fretted - gallery above the doorway came a sound of lutes, arch lutes, and viols, and under cover of the music—his voice so melodious that H almost seemed to sing to It—the dake addressed her. "I rejoice for youC Madonna," he said, "that here Is spread no nuptla feast." She looked at him, and shivered slightly as she turned away again. *Tt would break my heart,” he pur aaed on that murmuring, caressing, nota of hla that lent bla voice a woo ing quality, "It would break my heart to see so much beauty delivered Into- the arms of foul Infection. Hence do I fervently pray that Matteo Or- slni comes tonight." * — "He will come,” she answered him. "Have no doubt of that.” "He owes no less to his manhood,” he said quietly. Then turned his at tention to more Immediate matter. "You do not eat," he reproved her. "I should choke, I think," she an swered frankly. "A cup of wine at least," he urged, and signed to a cellarer who bore a gold vessel of soft Puglia wine. But, seeing her gesture of refusal, he put forth a hand to stay the servant’s pouring. "Walt,” be said, and beck oned a page to him. "A moss agate cup for Madonna Fulvlfl, here,” he bade the stripling, and the page van ished upon hla errand. Madonna’s 4!p curled a little. "There la no need for the precau tion.” ahe said—for moss-agate cnpa were field to burst if poison touched them—"I neither suspect venom nor do I fear It.” "So much I might have known,” he answered, "since you have displayed yourself so subtly learned In the uses of It” He spoke quietly apd gravely, but at th* words she felt herself go hot and cold at once. A scarlet wave suffused her face, then ebbed, to leave It deathly pale. . His words made her perhaps realize that she had no just cause for grievance; she was a poi soner caught flagrante, and the steely treatment he meted oat to her In his . illksn fashion was no more than her desert. Back came the page with the gleam ing moss-agate cap, which he set down before her. The waiting cellarer brimAied It at a sign from him, and his glance now Inviting her she drank to steady her sudden weakness. Bat the meats they placed before her continued unheeded, nor did ahe thereafter heed the duke when he leaned aside to mock her still with that dread gentleneas of his. Her •taring eyes were let expectantly upon the doors at the room’s end. It waxed late, and her Impatience mounted Why did they not come, and thus put an end to the unbearable strain of suspense that racked her very soul? Came pages now with sliver basins, ewers, and napklna. Gallants and la dies dipped their hands and washed their fingers against the serving of the sweetmeats, and then without warn ing—but obeying, no doubt, tho or ders that the duke had left—those portals upon- which Madonna’s eyes had so long been fastened swung open, and between two men-at-arms In steel sha beheld her clay-faced equerry, the faithful Mario, haggard 1 and dust- stained, returned at last The hum of conversation sank down and was stilled as tho sturdy ffillaw advanced op the long the tables and came; still Banked fry Ms guards, ta »< confused and purport was i pause, end ed at last by Oeaara’a short laugh. Body ot God I DM hi need bring ing?" "He did, my lord.” The duke’s glance swept over the noble company. "Too hear,” ho called to thorn, ralalag bis voice. "You perceive the Ipfty spirit of those Or sinl. An Orsinl must needs be brought to ransom his mistress and kinswom an from the fate decreed her." He turned to f the equerry. "Fetch him bltfrer,” he said shortly, with a wave of hla fine hand. But Mario was slow to obey. Not upon the duke but upon Madonna were hla eyes set, as if awaiting her confirmation of that command. She nodded,. whereupon be turoed and strode down the room again upon errand and so out. Cesare leaned back In bis high gilded chair, hla slendqr fingers toying delicately with the strands of hla au burn beard, hla narrowed eyes glanc ing aslant at Madonna Fulvla. He found her manner very odd. It con tained some quality that Intrigued him, and eluded hla miraculous pene tration. She sat there with ashen face and wide, staring eyes; so might a corpse have sat, and a corpse you might have deemed her but for the convulsive heave of her alight boeom. And then a sound of voices beyond the door—of voices raised In sudden altercation—broke upon the general expectancy. "You cannot enter I" came a gtUff shout “You cannot take—" And then they heard Mario’s voice, harsh, vibrant and compelling inter rupting and overbearing the objector. "Did you not hear the doke’s ox- prees commands that I should bear Matteo Orsinl to him? I have Matteo Orsinl here, and I hot obey his po tency’s commands. Out of my way, then." But other voices broke In upon him, all speaking together so that they made no more than a bawling chorus whose not to be discerned. Suddenly Cesare rose In hla place, hla eyes flaming. “What’s thla?" he cried. "By the Host! Am I kept waiting? Set me wide those doors l" There was a scurry of lackeys to obey that Imperious voice. The duke sank back Into hla chair as the doors were violently pulled open. Beyond it a line of a half-dozen men-at-arms made a screen that concealed what ever lay behind them. "My lord—” began one of these, a grizzled ancient, raising his hand In appeal ' - . Bat Cesare Jet him get no further. Hla clenched hand descended violent ly upon the table. "Stand back, I say, and let him enter. Instantly that line of steel-clad men melted and vanished, and where It had been stood Mario now. He paused a moment on the threshold, hla face set and grim. Then he stalked forward up the long room again be tween the tables. Bat no one heeded him. Every eye was fixed in amazed and uncomprehending horror upon that which followed after him. Came four Brother* of the Mlaert- cordia In black, funereal habits, their heads cowled, their eyes gleaming faintly from the eye boles cut in their shapeless visors. Among them they carried a bier, whose trappings of black velvet edged with silver swept the ground as they solemnly advanced. They were midway up that room before the company broke from the spell of horror which thla grim spec tacle bad laid upon it A loud eat* cry seemed to burst from every throat •t on*e. Then the duke leapt to hla feet and the whole company with him, and In the sudden attr and con fusion nods observed that Madonna Fulvla left her place at the duke’a dde. - v- "What's this?" hla potency demand 'd, anger ringing In hla voice. "What lest la this yon dare to put upon meF And as he spoke he swung aside to where Madonna Fulvla bad been; then, finding hey place now vacant his flaming eyes swept around In quest of her, and discovered her at last standi ilk there beside the bier. "No Jest magnificent," she an swered him, her head thrown back, a smile of bitter, tragic triumph on her white face. "Faithful and utter com pliance with your behest—no more. You commaodftl that Matteo Orsfhl should be delivered Into your bands. Provided I did that you would re lease me of my compact to wed your Jackal Pantaleone degll UbertL I hold yon to your word, my lord. I have dbne my part. Matteo Orsinl la here.” And she flung an arm out and downwards to Indicate the bier. .."Here?* be questioned, and added "the further question—"Dead F "Bid your guards hack off the lid that you may assure yourself tig he. I promise you h* will offer no resist* ance now." * Considering him, she took satisfac tion In the perception that at last aba bad wiped that hateful, gently mock ing smile from hi* face. He was scowling upon her, hla eyes ‘amaze with such a passion as no man In all Italy would willingly have confronted. The rest of them, the whole of that splendid company, was ranged against the waHs aa for as possible from that hideous thine below, in their minds, aa in Cesare's, there stirred a memory of what had befallen earlier that day —of that letter that had bean infect ed and of tho manner of that tnfec- a anaplclan of what in part that general and terrible sus picion : "How died beF . -V Came Uka a thunderbolt her an swer, shrilly delivered en.fi high note of figratitegalUtlon—"He died of tho amallpox^Saternlght. H*ck off the lid,” She added. "Hack off the Ud, and take him." ^ ‘ ~ Bqt that last mocking invitation which she hurled at the duke waa teat in-(he sadden uproar In tha arise of the wild stampede that followed her announcement Mad With fean men who had shown themselves fearless npon a field Of stricken battle turned this way and that necking a way out Cursing, they hurled themselves against the long windows that opened npon'the little clauatral garden ot the Communal and screaming, tainting df Jlfi. that .was bring forced It would 5fifi- duke to bavf restrained wild panic, la breaths the dean eeld air. Is quit tainted atmosphere, to Ip thla plague-spot Nor did Ossara any effort to dria^tha* With skivering of glass apd lag of splintered window-doors were swept away. Out of the room headlong, aa a river that has burst Its dam. sfrrm that —^ ly. terror-stricken mob; into II the pur*, keen air of tfre January night. (CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.) 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