The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-05-07
prisonerS He could not tell. After q
every every s aSas f sRs & S sa asi

even CUES. the the isSsI 81 disiin lizard md
q noise as OF bolts and keys at his prison
door. suddenly 1t opened, and food Of
light Illuminated every corner OF his dis.
NAL cell. Dazsled at first by the glare
Of the torches, he could not see the men
by whom they We're carried, but gradual
ly as his eyes grew accustomed to the
light, he saw they were all armed, all
masked and all dressed in black. In the
meantime his hands had been released of
their letters, and his guards Ind quietly
surrounded him. Without a word, with
out sound, they led him on in their
midst. Through dark halls and narrow
staircases, through crooked passages and
low betting doors they marched as noise
lessly rs group of ghosts surrounding
n mortal man.
At last their goal Is reached; door is
flung open, aud Sir John is ushered into
a spacious room. At one end, ON o
raised platform, sit ten judges, all mask
ed and draped in large black cloaks. BY
their sides, but little lower down, are
the scribes of this silent tribunal.
Judges and scribes rs motionless as If
they had been statues, and not human
beings. The first glimpse of dawn strug-
Cling through the painted windows,
powerless as yet to supercede the wax
candles, gave to the whole scene the
most weird aspect. Outside, all was
sleeping; and no sound reached the in
mates of this hall to remind them that q
powerful city, numerous population
surrounded their silent abode. ......
AS soon as the several actors in this
strange scene had reached their proper
places, a man still masked, and dressed
i'll the same dark hue, began III monot-
onous slow tone to give his evidence.
Though mutfled by the folds of his mask,
his voice was peculiarly distinct and
clear, and Sir John at once knew 1t rs
being the same he had heard when he
WAS arrested. Cold and pitiless as steel,
without a tremor and without pause,
the voice repeated all the words used by
the culprit when, in his rash burst OF
passion, he had derided and Knocked the
knowledge and the power of the Serenis-
sima. Slowly and regularly the words
followed each other us the links of a
heightened chain, as steadily as the drops
of rain on spring dry. The pens of the
scribes, creaking rs they hurried over
the paper, made fit accompaniment to
this recital. Except for them, all was
motionless, as still as if no human hearts
were Boating under those black silk
nantes. 1t is ended at last; and with a
sense Of relief Sir John strained his
senses to see, to hear what would follow.
After short pause, the judge who sat
at the center of the table stood up and
addressed him in these terms: "You
have have heard the evidence against
you; now follow us and receive your SEN
tence"
No cross-examination, no defense was
allowed the laws of this council. Rising
together as if moved by single mind
the funeral procession followed its lead
er, and left the hall by the door through
which Sir John had entered it. Again
through the same winding passages,
again down the same narrow steps, ST.
lently and noiselessly they glided like
ghosts returning to their graves. Sur
rounded by his guards, John followed
immediately after the last of the judges,
wondering all the time what was to be
his fate. When they had reached the
lowest floor of the building, and we're
nearing again the loathsome cell from
which he had so lately been taken, the
cortege divided, and Sir John was
brought face to face with the senior
Judge az ~
"You have insulted the Serenlssima;
you have denied its power of furnishing
crime, because you have been robbed of
a paltry handkerchief, and it had not
been Immediately found and given back
to you. Now, look :" As he said these
last words, the masked judge stepped ON
one side and directed Sir Johns gaze to
n darker corner of the dark passage.
There, hanging against the wall, the
rope that encircled his neck disappearing
through the stone, was the corpse Of
man.
Entranced by this sight, and thinking
that perhaps he also was going to be
hanged in the same manner by an un-
seen hand, Sir John felt rooted to the
spot.
After short silence, the Judge con-
tinued: ''This man was the thief; In his
right hand You will find your handker-
chief. Take it. As for you, we ought
not perhaps to be so lenient; but in con-
sideration of your youth, and of the
high position you hold in your country,
we will overlook your fault. You are for
given. Outside this gate gondola
waits for ION; it will take you to Mestre,
and thence you will be conveyed to the
frontier. Go! But remember always
what you have seen tonight.
Selling with trembling hand the lace
hot e
80 much trouble, Sir John wanted to
speak, TO thank his unknown Judge, but
before he could recover his voice, the
phantoms had disappeared, and two jail
ers only were by his side. Without n
word, and apparently without an effort,
these two men opened n secret door lead
ing to the canal, and helped the now
liberated man into a gondola that was
moored to the steps, and in the forepart
Of which lay his luggage. No word was
said, no order was given ; the two gon-
doliers seemed to know their duty, and
they silently padded away from the palace
in which Sir John had spent that dread
full night At Mestre coach was wait
ing for him. In a few hours the frontier
was crossed. Then only did he begin to
breathe freely. But for long time after
ward he avoided any allusion to his Ven
etian adventure; and for many years he
could not bear to speak of it.
Now the Serenissima is gone, the cells
have been sacked by an Infatuated mob,
and innumerable tourists visit the hall
where the secret council held it's nightly
sittings but even now i cannot help
but feel relieved when j have left behind
me Venice, its dark canals and the darker
memories that cling to them. = ..--.- g..