The Penn's Grove record., 1884-05-17

accompanied by a young woman named
Miss Arabella. She wasa superb Great
ure. scarcely twenty years of age. Adj
mirers were not lacking, and in less
than q week it had become the fashion
to go and see the splendid Arabella aid
in his exercise the celebrated marks
man, Guido Ventura. She stood
proudly, her arms folded, fifteen PAGES
from Guido Ventura, who directed upon
her the vain menace of his pistol, the
infallible ball of which cut a card be-
tween her fingers, broke the bowl of a
pipe two inches from herlips and crush
ed the shell of a nut placed upon her
head. Evidently Guido Ventura loved
this creature like an idol. Was he
jealous also? Certainly; and he must
suffer atrociously, for his companion,
as cOquettish as beautiful, seemed to
delight in exaspeI ating his Jealousy.
On one occasion the manager of the
Alcazar d'Automne stopped her in the
wings as she was escaping with a laugh
from a circle of wine-excited coxcombs.
"'See here, my little one,' he whis-
pered in her ear, you had better take
care. Every evening that man holds
your life at his mercyl' Arabella burst
out laughing.
"He kill me?" said she, Struggling
her shoulders. Get along with you;
he thinks too much of me to harm a
hair of my headl'
"And every night she stood before
the muzzle of the pistol with the same
serene tranquility.
zone evening, a gentleman Of fine
appearance entered the foyer, went
straight to the young woman, who ut
tered a slight cry of surprise, and, TAX
ing her hand, kissed the tips of her
fingers. Guido Ventura who was talk
ing to the manager, turned and sud-
denly grew very pale. The man who
had just entered was a rich Yankee.
whose attentions to Miss ATabella had
made some noise in New York. 1t
was because of him particularly that
the marksman had made his engage
ment in Paris and fastened his depart
ure from America. But this man now
had taken a notion to follow them.
AS soon as he had ascertained where
she had gone he had taken passage upon
the next steamer. That night as she
was returning to her dressing room
Guido Ventura made a terrible scene
with his companion. But the most
terrible scene took place some nights
later. That night, when Arabella was
preparing to assume her pages dress
for the performance, Guido Ventura
saw a paper fall from her corsage. He
picked it up and read it; it was a love
letter. proposing to the young girl an
elopeGent and marriage the next day.
When he came down into the foyer,
the marksman had knitted brows and
a q~uivering lip. He took a pistol and
aimed at his own image in a mirror to
try his hand. His hand did not trem-
bic. Five minutes after he was III the
stage, commencing his exercise. AS
he turned he saw behind him in the
coulisse the American leaning against
a flat. Just at that instant Miss Ara
bella planted herself infront of him, her
arms folded, her nutshell placed upon
her head. She smiled. On whom wa
she smiling? On the man who was
there behind him! Suddenly, her eyes
having moved, she ceased to smile and
a shadow passed across her yisage.
Standing before her Guido Ventura
took aim full at her forehead. The re-
port rang out and Miss Arabella fell
dead upon the boards. When they
tore from his arms the corpse that he
was desperately clasping to his bosom,
Guido Ventura was a mailman. Was
it a crime? Was it an accident? In
Paris the dead are speedily out of mind.
The first excitement over, people for
| got the two heroes of this bloody drama.
| Since that time Guido Ventura has
been here, IN my establishment, pass
ing half his days aiming at that plaster
mask. Once he CHANGED to break it.
| Fora week afterwards he vas delirious.
But he is ~moffensive, as you can see.
We returned TO the pavilion and
found the marksman loading his wea-
pons.
"Not a shot missed the mark, eh?"
said the doctor to him in an affable
tone.
TIE man raised his head, and, point
ing with his hand to the plaster mask,
answered in a hollow voice:
"Not onei Always in the centre of
| the foreheadp'