St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-08-05
A HORRIBLE NIGHT.
A Story of Dark Italians ana
Cleaning KNIVES.


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. 1 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 de Lyon at 7:15 In the even
ing. When the dusk fell the clouds gath
cred. and drove alone through the pour
ing rain to the station. My friends had
brought me flowers and fruits, and they
would have gone to see me OF, but L re-
fused. They were women-why could not
I do as we'll as they? And then there was
the agent of Blank & Son! He was sure to
be- there. What could l want more?
reached the station. The rain beat on
NV unsheltered head as paid the driver
ITice his fee, for the truly feminine reason
mat he demanded it. l went in. No agent
of Blank s. Son was to be seen. L had my
ticket dated my trunk registered, and then
I followed a porter laden with my hand
luggage to the train. All the length OF the
train for Turin we wandered-there was
but one frst-elass carriage to be found.
had nv first-clasS ticket III my hand. and
went up to this one carriage and would TAIN
have entered it. A stold-looking old priest
sat there in solitary state, and as L was
about to climb up he said grizzly that it was
all taken. pleaded for enc little corner,
but in vain. l said:
but. Monsieur, my ticket is irst-class.
and there is no tirSt-clasS carriage but this"
1T is all taken, madame" came his re-
ply. memorable as fate. L turned away in
despair Clearly must either go second
class CT give up my journey for that night.
| could not do the latter, for the friend of
my heart was waiting for me III Venice,
and her plans depended on mine. AT that
moment Icaught sight. for the first time,
of a limp man wearing the livery of Blank
d Son. He was the most knock-kneed,
weak-loOlling creature you could imagine
still he was MeSsrS. Blanks agent. EX-
piring hope was rekindled in my breast.
cried out to him. | showed him my little
book with my tirst-class ticket Slowly, as
if he were going 10 execution, he went up
to the surly priest in the single firSt-clasS
carriage and slowly he came back to me.
'sIfe says It's all taken ma'am."
Eyes, but can't you speak to the chief of
the station?" f,..
There's 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
second-class carriages had been filling fast.
I saw a vacancy in only one. l plunged
into ii and the porter handed in my bag
gage. l glanced then at my companions
two beetle-browed, black-looking men, evil
IDENTIFY Italians smoking tiercely. Terror
took hold on me. l uttered last cry of
despair and a kindly voice. speaking Eng
lish with a French accent, said:
''MaGame. can be OF any service?" and
at the moment the speaker sprang into the
carriage, look his seat in the corner oppo
site me, the door was shut with bang and
the train moved away.
| told NY tale, and the young French
man-who was after all more English than
French, since he had lived in England al
most from his boyhood-tried to comfort
me- At that moment | realized that l 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 a ruby
ring was catching the lamplight, and on the
other a duller glitter betrayed large sap
phire. | had worn the rings for safe-keeping.
but my mind misgaye me as L saw how
earnestly the smoking Italians were regard
ing them. | settled back III my corner and
drew on my gloves, but now some evil at
traction compelled me to look steadfastly
measure.
1t was a task beyond me. l had never
seen such men. The head and face of the
Younger We're exactly the image Of the
murderer in Nine Tussauds 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, ard had come to torment the World
again? I had just read Esoteric Budd-
hism, and this idea seemed most reason
able There was Il sort of evil fascination
for me in The study OF these two ruflianS.
1t seemed to me they looked behind their to-
bacco smoke like demons seen through the
sulphurous clouds of the Inferno. Suddenly
my French Englishman leaned forward and
spoke to ME.
Madame, l have fear of those Italians.
like their looks very ill.,
81 agree with YOU" 1 said. ''That
younger one looks exactly like one of Nine.
Tussaud's murderers."
''lIe makes me less of terror than the
other. He is perhaps too young to contrive
plans for harm; but the other!'' He drew
long breath. 1.-The other has
in his eyes look so ter
rible. SO wicked it gives me fear. And be-
hold them! They are so shabby. Why dc
they pay second-class fare? Would they
not be third but for some mischief they
plan?"
''What shall we do?" whispered back.
81 hope to defend madame while we
wake. They will waitfor us to sleep. We
must not sleep"
Then we settled ourselves back into om
corners and watched the two Italians in ST.
lence. After while they stopped smoking
and the oldest one pulled something black
out of his pocket. Ishuddered. Thought
it was pistol; but no. it was small black
bottle. The man drank from it and theI
handed it to his companion. thought they
were rousing up their courage thus, and
grew cold with terror. Next the big MAJ
took out clasp-lnife nearly a foot long
He opened it, and its bright, keen blad,
cleaned wickedly in the lamp-light. IL,
cut off block Of bread with it from {
long roll for his companion and one for MIN
self, and replaced the weapon. But knew
from henceforth that it was there. l ben
forward and whispered
''Did you see that?"
''Yes, madame, saw it, They think w
will fall asleep in security when we hav
seen them eat and drink"
But" L said, that knife is not reas
suring"
mon Dieu. no, The Italians do mostl
their murders with knives" He whispere,
sepulchrally, as if to ''do MURDERS wer
the natural and legitimate business of tn
Italian nation.
Then again we settled back in our cor
ners, watching, watching and the Italian
went to sleep, or seemed to do so: but
thought l could see them looking cut fror
under their closed lids now and then and
opened my eyes widely and stared har
that they might not for moment think