St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-10
A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE.
From the Philadelphia News.

A HAO Rk HA BILL EXPERIENCEs
From the Philadelphia News.
I bought my ticket through to Venice of
Blank s. Son, in London. 'sYou will see
our agent in every station and he will save
you all trouble with your luggage, finding
your train, and SO on" said, with bland
smile, the head man of Blank & Son, as he
handed me my little book of coupons and
bowed me out into the chill fog of the
November day. | went next day to Paris
and spent the day after in the gay shops
and streets of that needless, happy, care
forgetting town. | was to leave for Turin
from the Care Gle Lyon at Ills in the even
ing. When the dusk fell the clouds gath
cred, and I drove alone through the pour
ing rain to the station. My friends had
brought me flowers and fru it's, and they
would have gone to see me off, but l re-
fused. They were women-wh could not
L do as well as they? And then there was
the agent of Blank & Son. He was the
first to be there. What could I want more
reached the station. The rain beat on
my unsheltered head as paid the driver
twice his fee for the truly feminine reason
that he demanded it. l went i'll. No agent
of Blank & Son was to be seen. l had my
ticket dated, my trunk registered, and then
| followed a porter laden with my hand
lu gage to the train. All the length of the
train for Turin we wandered-there was but
one first-class carriage to be found [ had
my first-class ticket in my hand and went
llp to this one carriage and would fain have
entered it. A stolid-looking old priest sat
there in solitary state, and as | was about
to climb up ne said grinly that it was all
taken. / pleaded for one little corner, but
in vain. | said:
'sBut, monsieur, my ticket is frst-class
and there is no first-class carriage but this"
ssIt is all taken, madame" came his re-
ply, memorable as fate. l turned away in
despair. Clearly | must either go second
class or give up my journey for that night.
| could not do the latter, for the friend Of
my heart was waiting for me in Venice, and
her plans depended on mine. At that mo-
ment caught sight for the first time of a
limp man wearing the livery of Blank &
Son. He was the most lnock-kneed, weak
looking creature you could imagine still
he was Messrs Blanks agent. Expiring
hope was rekindled in my breast. [ cried
out to him. | showed him my little book
with my first-class ticket. Slowly, as if he
were going to execution, he went up to the
surly priest in the single first-class carriage
and slowly he came back to me.
''He says it's all taken, ma'am."
eyes, but can't you speak to the chief of
the station? ?"
''Theres no time" and he pointed to the
clock, just on the quarter past seven. He
was SO utterly helpless so pitiably weak, l
turned from him desperately. Even the
secend-class carriages had been filling fast.
I saw a vacancy III only one. plunged
! in and the porter handed in my baggage. |
glanced then at my companions beetle
browed, black-looking men, evidently Ital-
ians, smoking fiercely. Terror took hold
ON me. I uttered a last cry Of despair, and
kindly voice, speaking English with a
French accent, Said
Madame, can be of any service?" and
at the moment the speaker sprang into the
carriage, took his seat in the corner oppo-
site me, the door was shut with bang,
and the train moved away.
told my tale and the young French
man-who was, after all, more English
than French, since he had lived in England
almost from his boyhood-tried to comfort
me. At that moment I realized that had
drawn off my gloves the more readily, to
get out my tickets and the small change for
my porter, and that on one hand ruby
ring was catching the lamplight, and on
the other duller glitter betrayed large
sapphire. had worn the rings for safe
keeping, but my mind misgave me as l saw
how earnestly the smoking Italians were re-
garding them. | settled back in my corner
and drew On my gloves, but now some evil
attraction compelled me to look steadfastly
at my companions and try to take their
measure.
1t was task beyond me. [ had never
seen such men. The head and face of the
younger were exactly the image of the
murderer in Nine. Tussaud's chamber of
horrors. Happily for the world. that muir
derer had been hung; but could it be that
his uneasy ghost was reincarnated in this
man, and had come to torment the world
again? 1 had just read Esteoric Buddhism
and this idea seemed most reasonable.
There was sort of evil fascination for me
in the study of these two rufians. 1t seemed
to me they looked behind their tobacco
smoke like demons seen through the sui
phlrous clouds of the Inferno. Suddenly
my French Englishman leaned forward and
spoke to me.
Madame, have fear of those Italians.
like their looks very ILL.,"
81 agree with you," l said. ''That
younger one looks exactly like one of
Nine Tussaud's murderers."
''He makes me less of terror than the
other. He is perhaps too young to contrive
plans for HARM but the Othern' He drew a
long breath. 1.-The other has in his eyes a
look so terrible. so wicked, it gives me fear.
And behold them! They are so shabby!
Why do they pay second-class fare? Would
they not be third but for some mischief they
plan?"
''What shall we do?" whis pered back.
II hope to defend madame while we
wake. They will wait for us to sleep. We
must not sleep"
Then we settled ourselves back into our
corners and watched the two Italians in
silence After awhile they stopped snok
ing and the elder pulled something black out
of his pocket, | shuddered. | thought it
was pistol; but no, it was small, black
bottle. The man drank from it and then
handed it to his companion. l though they
were rOuSing up their courage thus and
grew cold with terror. Next the big man
took out clasp-knife nearly foot long.
He opened it and its bright, keen blade
cleaned wickedly i'll the lamplight. He
cut off block of bread with it from long
roll for his companion and one for himself
and replaced the weapon. But knew
from henceforth that it was there. l bent
forward and whispered:
Ibid you see that?"
Eyes, madame, 1 saw it. They think we
will fall asleep in security when we have
seen them eat and drink"
But" l said, ''that knife is not reassur-
ing"
''Mon Dieu, no! The Italians do mostly
their murders with knives" he whispered
sepulchrally, as if to ''do murders" were
the natural and legitimate business OF the
Italian nation.
Then again we settled back in our corners
watching, watching, and the Italians went
to sleep, or seemed to do so; but | thought
i conld see them looking out from under