Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-10-02

beautiful Countess or YOU would not
have such good luck at cards. The
man still had the face to joke at ray
expense. Ny heart beat as ii it would
burst when he shutiled the ninth time.
There il is, you've won again e
I Fekete struckthe table with his fist SO
chat the gold jingled, and rose from
/ bis seat If you went on winning
I like this, old gentleman. I Iaight in
au hour lose all tie money of the
neighborhood, he cried, with laugh,
/ putting the remaining places Of money
/ III his pocket.
( Trembling, | yentured to offer biS
/ the SUM which 1 had won Prod as
hidalgo, he cast a glance Of wither-
ing scorn at me.
What do you take me for sir? Put
your money into your pocket, or
will throw you and it out Of tho win
dow
Good God What was / to do with
this money, which had doubtless AL.
ready been the cause Of bloodshed
and wouid probably lead eventually
to my own distinctions
In my trepidation | threw it. large
sum as it war to the gypsies. Ire
GREETED the act at cuce it betrayed the
fact that was rich, sand that money
was no object TO me. The gypsies
overwhelmed me with thanks, ard
offered to play ms anything I liked
I sent them to the Countess to be rid
Of them Without much pressing the
/ Countess, with the voice Of siren,
set up one Of her favorite Yolksl eder
Forgetting in the perfection of the
mel0dyrall the surrounding circum-
stances, ! applaudded as Inadly as if
I We're ia my opera. box at Pesth. The
bandit captain applauded just as
heartily, aud volunteered to sing him
self He favored us with one oil those
indigenous melodies which may be
heard ia every village at the corner
Of every street. the song ended, he
turned to me;
Now, old gentleman, it is your
turn; we must have your song"
was ia a sad quandary. 1 sing2-
under such circumstances, tool
who, except the song Fare thee well,
thou silent housed had never been
able to learn q tune la my life.
IL can not sing-I can't sine at
allW
(The iiend Of a woman who had got
us into this fix always laughs I'M
moderately when / absently begin 20
hum an operate air. / have a high
squeakirg voice. a. peacock is more
ImelodioUs)
The Countess begged me in French
to sing something as my refusal might
be hurtful TO all That was all that
was wautng-what was / TO do2
Couvulsed with terror, nay heart
translixed as it were with fear, / com.
menced: "Fare thee well, thou silent
house"
I sang in soulstirring, yet ear
splitting fashion. Painfully enough
/ got halfway through ay song; when
in my third strophe, by an unlucky
mischance, | made an agonizlng
shrek The Countess could nc lon
ger contain herself, but burst into 8
hearty laugh The bandits also began
70 laugh and, lastly, | myself joined
IN the chorus, though / had little cause
for merriment.
The dance was then renewed The
Countess was unwearying. They dane
ed ill dawn. Not till the suns first
rays began to peep through the wind
Ows did she interrupt the festivities,
and beg her partner, as it was high
time, to have the horses put to.
'Weshall now see their true aspect, "
though [ may God have mercy on
our s0uls"
The robber went out, reused the
coachnan and servants, had the horses
/ harnessed. and then announced that
( the carriage was ready for our depar-
/ ture
"Of course, they meant to murder
US on our way, thought l.
1 | rot inside the carriage with more
alarm than / alighted. 1t seemed so
suspicious to me that they did not de-
mand my purse. The chief Of the
4 band Of the same time mounted his
/ horse and accompanied us to the high
road; after directing us on our way,
and expressing hopes that we should
enjoy the ball. he took leave OF us and
rode OFT 10 rejoin his companions.
/ ! did not breath freely until we
reached Zeried. | then began to re-
proach the Countess with her very
/ ihoughtless conduct, and to remind
her how great had been the danger to
which she was exposed, from which
my authority alone had rescued her.
/ Who knows what might have hap
pened to the Countess had l not been
with herr The humiliation, too, OF
dancing the esarda with Betyars till
day
She listened quietly to my re-
proaches; when ! had finished, she
said:
"Apropos of daybreak, dear baron,
are YOU not sleepy"
mot IN the least, | answered
Grossly
''rhen be so good as to sing nae the
song which you left unfinished
You may imagine how quickly l
became sleepy.
/ had battered myself that the
countess would fain purchase my
silence with some Of the sweetest
marks OF her favor. How mistaken l