St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1858-06-10

y
strides to the table, scizes a sheet OF
paper, and, pen in hand, scratches the
barely lcgible words. Il did it, Gia.
como" He takes his poniard from
his glrdle and sewers a lock from the
trcsses of that poor victim of his vic.
tory: And, as he came, noiselessly and
stealthiiy, left the room.
They found the bride and her bus
l band next day +; but saving that sim
pie piece of paper with the words, 81
did it. Giacomo.", they found no clue
TO the detection of the perpetrators OF
the outrage or the cause which led to
it. And Giacomo was gone.
x
We are now on the Appenines. Our
mission is to the cave of the bandit,
Lulho, whose very name was the tails
man of fear and the destroyer of cour-
age, never mentioned unless the check
was blanched with the horrible rapa-
cities with which it was coupled. The
whole world constituted the enemies
of Luiho, and bitter foe he proved
to them. In his mountain Businesses
Luiho was invincibIe, and no village
but abounded with the horrid relation
OF his exploits, and the details were
heightened until the brain sickened
and the fancy dimmed with the might
Of the story of his wickedness.
The cave of Luho contained num-
berless apartments furnished with the
spoils OF his foraging parties; an al
most oriental taste characterized the
whole arrangement of the place, and
the lip could not speak all of its lux
ury. The cave itself opened from a
ledge of rock, on three sides of which
were unfathomable precipices, the base
of which had only been reached by
the manglcd forms of Luihos victims.
In an inner apartment of the cave
sat two men. The oldest was perhaps
of sixty years, with a frame of iron
muscle, and herculcan massivcncss
which dcticd the ravagcs of time on
other human beings. The gray hair,
which alone betokencd his age, was
cut close to the skull, and red close
fitting cap, composed his head dress.
His companion was much younger.
but his frame partook of the same pro-
portions of the older, and a more than
resemblance between the two had
often occurred to their followers, for
AbeIIo, his ncuttiniaaat.t tho Bapdit, and
armed with pistol, dagger and rapicr.
On the table before them the empty
bottle which had formed the vehicle of
stirring up their thoughts to action.
Come, Luiho, we are getting dread.
ful dull, | must think. We shall new
er keep alive till Pedro returns. Be
stir thy brains, captain; something
I've never heard, be it ever so uninter-
csting, till our comrades arrive. Some
love story of your sunny youth, good
captain; come, the first love of Luiho.
the bandit ha ! twill be capital
Truce, Abello in truth, | care not
to talk of these things; my adventures
now | mind not to repeat but | nev-
er loved but once, and that so long
ago. I'll sing you a stavc | heard
long ago"
No, no, my pious captain love
story we must have. Now, that lock
of hair l found in your trunk the other
day-truly, dark curling tress. You
seemed displeased then at my finding
it. Come, another glass and the story
of the maid of the tresses."
Abello," said Luiho, "you have
never betrayed me yet | know you
we'll enough to trust you still farther
You are wrong in connecting that
lock with love affair it is connect
ed with something deeper than love );
it weighs heavy on my conscience, so
heavy that it occupies all | ever had
of that quality and leaves me none for
present use. Twill ease my mind to
tell you the story you can, if you
! will, but bctray me, and | care not to
die"
The comrades took brimming
glass of wine, and, while the younger
placed himself in listening attitude,
the elder began his narrative.
81 married when very young. My
wife was the belle of our village, and
l parted with all of good in my soul
when | lost her. l loved her devoted
ly; she was the centre of all the af-
fections of my soul but we were poor
and, as | was honest then, we made
but little more than enabled us to live !;
withal we laborcd both hard and long
l had four boys, three died in infancy
with the other and my wife to support
l was often driven to frenzy by the
torturing thoughts of seeing them
snatched from us by want.
"While my boy was still in infancy
| accepted position as servant at Il
place miles away from my native vii.
lage. By dint of energy and perse-
verance, twelvemonth enabled me
to contemplate the removal of my
family to my late residence. l sent
for my wife and she set out to rejoin
me. The second night saw Giulia and
her infant boy at the gate of man
sion on the road; she was faint and
wearied of walking, for my means ha6
not allowed me to remit enough fol
her wants; her impatincc to reach mt
had induced her to extraordinary toll
and, wearied and fatigued as she was
by order of the master of that mansion
T she was refused admittance. Pursu
ing her way through the forest intri
cacies in the gloom of night, she was
reduced by fatigue and fright to ;
state of unequalled misery. The re
pulse she had met with at that house
unnerved her for any other application
, and the night had not yet passed whel
: nature was overcome and she saul
bewildered to the ground. She wa
, brought to me how, she knew not
4 but probably from some words mel
toned, during her rawlings, by whic
, those who brought her became awar
t of her destination. Of the child's fat
: she remembered nothing he had dis
S appeared, and from that time hav