St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-09
CHAPTER VII.
THE TRIAL.

Istria, which became part of Austria
| Hungary in accordance with the treaty of
| 1915, is q triangular peninsula, of which
the isthmus forms the base. This penin-
sjlla extends from the Gulf of Trieste to the
Gulf of Quamero; and along its coast-line
are several harbOrs. Amongst others, al
most at the extreme southern point is POla,
which the government were then forming
into a dOckyard and arsenal of the first
rank.
The province, more especially on its
western coast, is still Italian, and even Ven
etian in its customs and language. The
Sclave element still struggles with the Ital-
| ian element, and the German element has
some difficulty in maintaining its influence.
There are several important towns on the
coast and in the interior Amongst these
are Capo dIstria and PiranO, whose popu-
lation is almost entirely employed in the
salt works at the mouths OF the RiSanO and
COSna-Lunga; ParenZo, the headquarters of
the Istrian Diet and the residence of the
bishop; RovignO, rich in its olive trees; and
Pola, where tourists find interest in the SUI
perb monuments of Roman origin, and
which is destined to become the most i'm
portant military port i'll the Adriatic.
But neither of these towns has the right
to call itself the capital of Istria. The
place IildI DedIS lildI IitiC 10
almost in the center of the triangle, and
thither, unknowntO them, the prisoners
were about to be taken after their secret
arrest.
At the door of Zathmar's house post
chaiSe was waiting. The four prisoners
entered it, and two of the Austrian police,
whOwere put in charge during the journey,
took their places beside them. They were
thus prevented from exchanging a word
which might in any way compromise them
or lead to mutual understanding before
their appearance in the dock.
An escort OF twelve mounted gendarmes,
commanded by a lieutenant took up their
positions in front, behind and at the doors
of the carriage, and ten minutes afterward
they were out of the town. Borik was
taken direct to the prison at Trieste and
then put into solitary confinement.
Where Iwere the prisoners going? In
what fortress of the Austrian government
were they to be lodged, since the castle at
Trieste was not to receive them? Count
SandOrf and his friends would have been
glad to know, but they tried to discover in
vain.
The night was dark. BY the light of the
carriage lamps only the first rank of the
mounted escort could be seen. The pace
was rapid. SandOrf, Bathory and Zathmar
remained mOtiOnleSS and silent in their
corners. Sarcany did not seek to break the
silence, either to protest against his arrest
or to ask why the arrest had been made.
After leaving Trieste the post chaise
made a bend which took it Obliquely to-
wards the coast. Count Sandorf. amid the
noise of the trotting horses and the jingling
sabres, could hear the distant murmur of
the surf on the rocks along the shore. For
lirrf,f oh ~,
night. and almost Immediately disappeared
This was the small town of Muggia, which
the post chaiSe had just passed without
halting. Then Sandorf noticed that the
road lay into the interior.
At IL o'clock the chaiSe stopped to change
horses. 1t was only at a farm, where the
horses were waiting ready to be harneSsed.
1t was not pOst-station.
The escort resumed its journey. The
carriage passed along road among the
vineyards where the vines interlaced them
selves in festoons to the branches of the
mulberry trees. The road was flat, and
the carriage made rapid progress. The
darkness now grew more profound, for
heavy clouds, brought up by violent
sirOcco from the SOut beast, covered
the sky, although the windows were
let down from time to time to admit little
fresh air-for the nights are warm in Istria
it was impossible to distinguish anything,
even close at hand. Although Sandorf and
his friends noted every incident on the road,
the direction of the wind and the time
elapsed since their departure, they could
not discover in what direction the carriage
was running. The object was doubtless
to keep it as secret as possible, so that
their place of confinement should not be
known to the public.
About 2 o'clock in the morning they
again changed horses. As at the first
| change, the halt did not last five minutes.
Count Sandorf though he could make out
IN the gloom few houses at the end of a
road, as though on the extreme outskirt of
/ atOwn.
This was Buie, the chief place of dis