The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1885-10-15
The reference to this wedding once

perate tit of moodiness, but once more
Lisa successfully exerted herself to
make him forget for the time being his
yexation. She led the talk to his past
and with skill probably born of long
years practice in holding her own
against the free tongues or a brigand
band, she managed TO direct the con-
versation without his suspecting it. He
told her OF his youth and of certain
wild escapades which he had not con-
fided even to the pretty Caterina VINO
was to be his bride tomorrow; Cateri-
ma, whose beauty. had the young lover
had the wit to know it, was to that OF
Lisa as water to wine.
why, L was always scapegraee,
he said. Il wonder | never came to
harm before. Would you believe it,
elopgd when was eight years old and
carried off girl into the mountains;
what do you think OF that?h
There was Il moments silence before
the maiden answered. She laid down
her distaff and arranged the bunch of
flowers at the top Of ner bodice. Then
she looked up into the patch OF blue
sky which showed through the broken
cave roof as ii one gazed up from the
narrow courtyard OF an embattled cas-
tie. Then she took Il marigold from
the posy and began TO pull it 10 pieces,
scattering the orange petals on the
dull yellow rug at her feet.
That sounds like fairy story. Old
Lucia here" indicating by backward
movement Of her shapely head the
wrinkled mother of Guicche behind her,
used TO tell me tales that were like
that. but never believed them"
But this is really true" the young
innkeeper retorted eagerly. cit was
little Lisa whose father was vinedres-
ser, and who lived next door. We
were very much in love with each
other. | swear to you; though they on
ly laughed when we talked about being
married. But we were determined, :,
and so we ran off. We had a fine plan
in it all. We thought we could find a
cave somewhere, perhaps not so sump-
tuous as this, but where we could live;
we were little fools, YOU know. We
meant to eat berries a while and then
we'd let them find us, and by that time
we expected our people would be so
glad to see us that they'd let us do as
we liked about marrying or anything
else.n
The sun had begun to slide down
from its high noon elevation, so that
the patch of golden light on the cave
floor was smaller than it had been, but
nevertheless Lisa pushed the saddle
against which she leaned farther back
towards the shadow.
How did it all turn out?" she
asked, arranging her cushions Gas
you expected?'
The young fellow laughed; then
grew grave.
Poor LisaH' he said, signing and
crossing himself. The wolves eat her.
Vergine SanttSsjnsai What horrible
things happen in this world If she
ware alive | should not be going to
be married to CatoIIna tomorrow; or
to have meant to be-, he concluded
irritably, a consciousness of his situa-
ton suddenly changing the current of
his feelings.
The girl leaned back and looked at
him with wide open eyes. 1t gave her
so strange a feeling to hear herself
talked about in this way. She had
known Andrea when they had brought
him in last night before he had spoken
q word, and before old Tonic, who
recognized him, haG told Guicche who
the prisoner was. 1t seemed wonder
full that the young man should be SO
blind, and that the same instinct which
taught her to recognize him had not
given him power to see in her the little
Lisa he believed the wolves to have
eaten. Twelve years after all is not sucn
q measureless span, although it did
seem to her an eternity since Guicche
had found her asleep where Andrea
had left her while he went in search of
berries, and had brought her here to
be q daughter TO OLD Lucia. At first
she had not been able to escape; then
she had never been sure enough that
she really desired her freedom to run
the risk of an endeavor to regain it.
Lately when Guicche had become so
much more importunate in his love-
making, she had thought more often
than OF old of hcr boy lover, and had
carefully gathered whatever tidings
about Pelago and the state OF things
there chance brought in her way. She
could hardly have been in love with
boy of eight years, and such was An
drea when she had seen him last; but
some ideal which she had fashioned in
long hours of isolated loneliness, she
had adored with all the passionate fer
vor OF her stubborn and liery nature.
As i child she mad hated old Lucia
and Guicche because they kept her
from her home and from Andrea. As
time wore on and she knew her father
was dead, she was astonished at her
want OF emotion in the matter; and
custom had at lcngth so moulded her
TO her life among the brigands that she
was hardly able even to imagine her
self in any other. She would scarcely
have been willing, it is very likely, Io
put her hand into that of Andrea, hand
some and sturdy though he had grown,
and go back from this free, lawless ex-
istence TO that OF quiet. old Pelago,
nestled so 1ictucesqucly in its hollow
ut the foot OF The hllis; yet to find him
vowed to another, to be deprived of
the possibility OF being his bride, filled
Liza Tor the moment with unspeakable
pain.
land Caterina?' she asked after an
interval during which each speaker
had carried on train of perplexed
musing. SIS she beautiful"
Yes" returned the lover, although
perhaps not quite as rapturously as
might have been expected. ''She is
beautiful, and she is the best girl in all
Pelago; aud she has some neat dowry
of her own. Not" he continued re-
flective,y, '.that Caterina is as beauti-
full as Lisa, poor little Lisa that the
wolves have eaten, rest her soul. u
She looked at him with growing in
tentness. Her lips trembled as if she
would speak, but at the moment there
suddenly fell from above, fluttering
down rs if from the blue sky, a purple
anemone, large as a poppy. Lisa start
ed and drew back as if n hand had
touched her. Then she went forward
and picked up the flower. A moment
she stood, hesitating with it in her Tin
gers. Then she stuck it into her belt
You shall be back in Peiago and
married, too, she said, 10y sunset to-
morrow. Guicche is coming home ear