Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-01
CHAPTER II.
PAST AND PRESENT.

himself into the waters OF the Adriatic.
Through the midst Of this hail Of SHOT,
with which the last discharge OF police
agents covered me, passed safe and
sound. The night was very dark. They
! could not see me. the current carried me
out and could not have returned even
lad wished. did not wish 1t more
over. For better die than oe taken again
ana thrown lntO-perhaUs slaughtered in
the dOnjon Of Pisino. should l succumb,
all was ended Should I succeed IN saw
ing myself, could at least pass as one
dead.
"Naught would longer impede me in
the work OF justice, which had sworn to
Count Zathmar, to your father, and to
myself to accomplish, and which l shall
accomplish"
"a work OF justice" repeated Pierre,
whose eyes shown at this word so III
| looked for
Yes, Pierre, and this work-vou will
know, for it is in order 10 associate you
with Myself IN it that l have snatched
| GU, dead like myself, yet living as my
self, from the cemetery Of Ragusa."
Al these words Pierre Ba,nory felt HIM
self carried backward fifteen years, to the
time when his father fen On the place Of
arms OF the Pisino fortress.
before me, - resumed the doctor. clay
the sea as far as the Italian seabOard.
Good swimmer as | was, | could not pre-
tend to traverse it. Unless pr0videntially
/ succored, either by grasping some wreck
| ed 1otsam or by a strange vessel perceiY-
! Ing me on board, was destined to
| perish. But when one has risked ones
| life, one is very strong to defend it, if pos
I sine.
''At first dived once or twice toescape
| from the bullets. Then when 1 was sure
was not seen 1 kept at the surface and
swan out to sea. Ny clothes were not
much in my way as they were very light
] and tight-6tting.
| sit was then about half-Dast 9 at night.
| reckon that / swan away from the
shore for about an hour; and L saw the
! lights OF RoVignO vanish one after the
| other.
Where was going and what was my
| hopey | had no hope, Pierre, but l felt
! within me strength of resistance, a te-
/ uaclty, superhuman will which sus-
/ tanned me. 1t was no longer my life /
/ sought 70 save, but nay future work ]
1 sought 20 do. At that moment had h fish
/ ing boat passed by l would nave diYed t.
avoid Der. On that Austrian coast how
1 many traitors might | not still find ready
/ To hand me over for a reward as Carpena
had done Andrea FeFrat0
And this very thing happened at the
! end of the first hour. A boat did appear
/ in the gloom. She came from the otting
and was beating up to tic coast. AS
| was getting tired had just slipped on my
/ back, but instincuvely turned over
/ again ready to disappear. A fishing boat
/ bound Tor an lstrian port could hardly be
| otherwise than suspicious.
II was soon confirmed in this opinion.
/ | heard one of the sailors say in Dalma-
! tan that it was tune 10 90 about. In
/ stantly l Owed, and the boat passed over
/ my head before those on board of it could
! see me.
almost breathless I cam eto the surface
| and struck out toward the west. The
breeze fell lighter, the waves fell with the
| wind, and | was carried out to sea on the
wide sweeping surge.
"SOmeumes swimming, sometimes
| 1oatlng, l Kept on farther and farther for
/ about another hour. j saw but the object
/ TO attain, and not the road to reach it.
Fifty miles to cross the Adriatic! Yes,
and | was wiling to swim them. Yes
| would swim them. All, Pierre, you
must go through such trials before you
| know of what man Is capable, before you
| know what the human machine can do
when all It's mental and physical forces
are combined.
For the second hour thus kept a6oat
| The Adriatfc seemed absolutely deserted
! The last birds had left it to regain the
1 tcukbo III bub EOChSs ONbIutdu the
| gulls and news no longer circled
| giving forth their plaintive screams.
| Although | felt no fatigue my arms be-
| came heavy, my legs seemed like lead. My
! fingers began to open, and | found it most
| difficult to keep my hands together. Ny
| mead felt as II it were shot on my shout
ders, and began to lose the power Of
keeping myself afoat.
"a kind OF hallucination seized on me
1f,
| Strange associations OF ideas arose in my
troubled brain. l felt that ! could no
longer hear or see properly, but / fancied
that some distance away from me noise
was being produced, and light was ap-
preaching, and was right in its road.
And that proved TO be the case.
"It must have been about midnight
when dull, distant booming arose in the
east-a booming that [ could not explain.
A light flashed through my eyelids, which
had shut ia spite of all l could do. l tried
TO raise my head, and ] could not do so
| without letting myself almost sink. Then
1 looked.
81 give you all these details, Pierre, be-
cause 1t Is necessary you should know
them, and through them know me as
WE'LL"
"There lie no need OF that, doctor
none," answered the young man. 500
| J'h nAaAh NY u1OluCA udo hNNCA AOiu
me what sort OF a man was Matthias SAL
dOrfp'
''She may have known Matthias San
dorf, Pierre, but DR.. Antekirtt she does
not know. And he it is you must know.
Listen then; hear me out.
The noise had heard was made by a
vessel coming from the east and bound
Tor the Italian coast. The light WAS her
white light hanging on her forestry,
which showed her to be q steamer. Her
side lights l also saw, red at port and
green at starboard, and as l saw them
both together the steamer must have been
bearing straight down on me.
That moment was critical one. In
tact, the chances were that the steamer
was an Austrian bound outwards from
Trieste. To ask help from her was tn put
myself again in the power OF the gen.
darmes OF ROVigno. | resolved to do
nothing Of the kind, but 20 take advantage
Of another means OF safety that l had
thought OF.
The steamer was a fast one She grew
rapidly larger AS she neared me, and
saw the foam furrOwed OF white from her
bow. In less than two minutes she would
cut through the place where lay notion
less.
That the steamer was an Austrian
had no doubt. But there was nothing i'm
possible IN her destination being Brindisl
ana Otranto, or at least she might call
there. II so she would arrive Ia less than
twenty-four hours.