The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1857-04-02

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been watched, and had fallen into an am
bush.
When the man upon whose shoulders he
was thus borne stopped, Picaud calculated
that his bearer had walked rapidly nearly
hall an hour. Enveloped in the cloak. he
himself had seen none of the places on his
route. When he was freed from his wrap
per and the gag, he Cound himself laid on a
truckle bed. The air WAS thick, and heavy.
and s,agnant, as if from long confinement:
aud as he cast his balefui eyes fearfullv
round he perceived tina, he was i'm u cav.
ern, belonging apparently TO an abandoned
quarry or mine. II was furnished in some
sort; there WAS a stove, he smoke of which,
found its way upwards through some Gran.
MES; an iron lamp threw ftful and mel
ancholy gleam around. and its lurid light
fell ullupon figure standing erect and with
folded arms in front of Pcaud. Ii was the
man who had brought him there.
The murky state Of the place, the agi,a
tion which shook the body and soul of Pi
caud, the change which ten years of misery
and despair bring upon the human face.
forbad the assassin of Loupian To recognise
the individual who appeared to him like
stare and in fearful silence the whitening
features and flushing eyes that gared upon
h'm, waiting in agonzing expectation for
word-one word that might tell him his
fate. Ten minutes (Which seemed to Pi
caud hours) passed before either of these
men exchanged SYLLABLE.
"Well, PicauJ,' said the other, "wha,
name would you prefer now? Shall it be
that which you received from your father
or that which you took when you were let
out of Fcnestrelle-wiIl you be the Able
Baldini, or the waiter Prosperei Or, will
your ingenuity furnish fiihl To thee
vengeance doubtless is mere sport Blu,
no; thou slirlnkest. Ay, doSt thou begin 10
perceive that thou hast given thyself up TO
furious mania, at which thou-thou thy.
selt-wouldst have shuddered, If thou hads,
not sold ,hyself to the demoml Ay, thou
AIT right-thou hast sacrificed the last ten
years of thy life in pursuing three wretched
men whom thou mightest have spared
Thou canst shudder now. Thou hast com.
mitted horrible-most horrble--c:imes.
Thou art lost forever-and thou has, drag.
ged Me into the abyss"
Thee D. thee! Who art thou,"
81 am they accomplice-a wretch who,
Tor gold. sold TO thee the life Of my friends.
Thy gold bath been fatal to me. The en-
pidity lighted up by thee in my soul has
never been extinguished The thirst of
riches made me furious and guilty. KILL
ED THE MAN WHO CHEATED ME. fled with
my wife. She died in exile, and IL WA.
arrested, judged no matter for whnt-aud
condemned to the galicyS. | underwent
exposure, the scuurgc. and the brand
know the weight OF the chain aud the bul
let. At last having escaped in my turn, ii
was my will to find aud punish this Able
i'adin, who SO well finds and Furnishes
others. has,eued to Naples lie w;,
not known there. | sought for the tomb
of Picaud, and | learned that Picaud lived.
low did l know thisl Neither thuu nor
the Pope shall force that secre, from me
Immediately | set forth in pursuit of ,hi,
pretended corpse; but when | had found
him, two assassinations had already signal
lied his vengeance. The children of Lou.
| plan were ruined; his house burned; his
fortune destroyed. This very evening was
gong 10 that unfortunate 10 tell him all:
but again thou hast been beforehand with
me. The demon gave thee the precedence
and Loupian had fallen under tlv blow be-
fore God, who conducted me, permitted me
10 snatch thy last victim from death. Wha,
does 1t signify after all HAVE THEE! Ia
my turn | can render unto tl;re the evil
thou hast done unto me. have been able
TO prove 10 thee that the men of our coun.
Try have as good AIMS as they have memo
rles. ! AN ANTOINE ALLUTl
nd n
breath, as If for the purpose of raising am
oulcry; but if lie had any such intention ii
was Immediately frustrated By Allut, who
again gagged him. As he lay, strange
thoughts passed through his soul. Sustain
ed up To this moment 10y the intoxica,ion
y: vengeance, he had in great degree for
gotten his immense fortune, and all the
pleasures 1t would command. But his re.
venge was now fed full; now it WAS time
TO think of living the life of the rich; aud
now he had fallen into the hands Of II
man as implacable as himself These re.
iiections shot through his brain with the
rap'dity OF galvanic spark; and in an
agony OF rage, lie convulsively bit the gag
which Antoine had replaced.
"Ne' e'ihoIess, thought lie, ''rcii as
am, cannot | with fair words and in any
case by making real sacrifice, get rid Of
my enemy. have given more than one
hundred thousand francs to learn the
names Of my victims; cannot give as
much, or twice as much, to escape from the
peril in which ami"
But He to whom vengeance belongeih
permitted the thick mist Of avarce TO ob.
scuro the brightness of this thought. The
posseSser of sixteen millions nj least, shrank
from giving up the sum which might be
demanded. the love Of gold, omnipotent
In his miserly soul. slifed even the love Of
life and the voice Of the flesh, which cried
for ransom at any price. Gold became his
flesh, his blood, his whole existence.
"Oh," thonaht he In his secret soul .Ihe