The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-05-12
me hot,oa pnt Imam de Novn, when he


former days, that no toe might come near,
to bring upon her unmcriled calamity But
If the old man dreamed that hc Nigh, become
the object of sarruNs vengeance, he took mo-
measures 10 protect himself from violence,
but went aud came at ali hours, wherever he
could give aid. hope or cancellation b suffer
ing humanity
Thu, It happened tbA ne one night uc1rcl
the bridge across p.~ Traza, a, the bells Of
the city tower, sounded midnight, and saw,
without apprehension, in the shadow, the IN.
distinct shape Ot man who leaned on the
parapot Juan de Naya drew near with the
hating step, OF age, and the man IN the
shadow, siuI,terly muillcd, moved forward
20 the footuth, seemingly 10 await the
other
Juan de MAYA, accustomed 10 be hailed AZ
all hours and in all places, In behalf of the
dying or the distressed, paused and spoke 10
the silent figure: "The peace Of God he with
thee, son. Can do aught 10 serve thee"
ayr Domingo Sarraza answered. thou
canst take thyself and thy prating hypocritc
scruplcs where thou wilt interfere no more
with the satisfaction of thy fellows and the
delights of youth and warm blood" aud with
that he raised his arm and struck down
swiftly, aud here was u horrible sound OF
grating rs there crashed through bone and
brain the point Of his dagger, driven home so
deeply that all the force of Sarraza could not
Withdraw it,
The old man fell like n log at the feet Of his
assassin.
Domingo Sarrala made "A great effort 10
detnch the dagger, and finding it futile, gath
L. H. -
in its attenuation, and hurled it over the
parapet into the canal beneath.
At home BeatrIz de MILAN waited for her
adopted father who returned 10 her never
again
Never had Mexico been so excited and
shaken rs over the mysterious disappearance
Of Juan de- Nava There was no system Of
police, save the body Of screnos-thc night
watchmcn-who were shade worse than
nothing since they never dreamed Of inter
fering in the nciarious transactions of night
birds. whereas their lanterns often served as
auxiliaries 10 evil doors. But volunteer
,earchers turned out by hundreds and secured
oyery quarter whore II was imagined the old
man might have fallen alone, victim OF
sudden illness For it was not even remotely
imagined that foul play could have touched
him, beloved ms me wa, by all and known 10
all the city But the waters Of the canal
were silent. and the echoes of the bridge, and
Domingo SarlaHl, too, knew how to keep his
guilty secret
Thus the matter passed among the unfath.
enable mysteries Beatriz de MILAN, ever
mourning over the unknown fate of the
missing man, and left quite alone in the
ID. al l,y4gp tl,uol
more than one home was open TO her for her
own sake and the sake of Juan de Naya.
Years passed The memory of the priest
had become "A sort Of legend of holiness, and
his adopted daughter wa, forgotten. Do.
nIngo SarrdM lived, still kept his youthful
scmblauce, aud st.l continued TO enact the
anchorite in the cburches--and the devil else
where. As Of cid, hc was wont To seek new
prey before the altar, and III the Sagrarlo
ad Joining the cathedral he saw one morning
IA woman who awoke in him the instinct of
pursuit and conquest more strongly than he
had felt it for years past
He saw not her face, for she was closely
yelled, but the charming grace of her move
ments and the elegance Of her figure gave for
Domingo Sarraza the assurance of great
beauty He was tlattered, too by the CONT
nuity with which she cast upon him stolen
chances that burned through the lace of her
yelling, and the mystery of this behavior
heightened the charm of her. He followed
her out of the church, across the plaza,
through the teeming streets, and before lie
knew his bearings he found himself upon the
bridge across the Traza, where he had not
set foot since the death of Juan de Nava.
The woman paused before him, and let him
approach her.
81 dare not linger now" she murmured,
"there are people coming, and am in dan
ger | Will meet you here at midnight. We
will be safe when the bridge is deserted"
And she gliled ON like "A moving shadow, and
was lost TO the sight of Sarraza.
The man was filled with misgiving and
terrors. but he was also bewtched by the
nameless charm of the unknown woman.
Thus it was that he found himself impelled,
albeit, indeed, against his own volition, TO
keep the tryst upon the bridge at midnight.
The clocks were striking the hour rs he
reached the spot, for he had dallied, hoping
that the lady might be before hun; but the
bridge was empty. The violence of the pas
sion he had conceived for the mysterious
woman held Sarra2a spellbound, and he
found n score of reasons to excuse her tardi-
ness. Her rich but sober habit which was
almost the garb of mourning, had made him
suspect that she might be n widow, whose
social position would constrain her to eX-
IRENE precautions against the discovery of
her lcvty Again, he fancied her II married
woman. and the inconyenlent, unsupported
presence of her husband might accOlnt for
her detention. In short, there was no re
source but waiting, for Sarraza was madly
impassioned OF this last victim of his fasci-
nations.
He leaned on the parapet of the bridge and
looked down into the water. The ferns and
water plants On the margin, dimly discerni-
BILE from the bridge in the ghostly moon
light lent a more than common gloom to
the somber canal and its sluggish, heavy
water, that already, at that day, served rs
vehicle for the refuse of the quarter. The
surface of tho water and the depth of the
cutting were full of sinister shadows and
weird reflections,
As Domingo Sarraza gazed downward 1t
seemed to him that there arose from under
the water a horrible sound a dull and awful
clamor. His soul beat and throbbed in hor-
rified revolt against its bodily habtation,
and his body sickened and shivered under the
resistance of its tenant His limbs trembled
with faintneSs, his blood ceased flowing, his
A. IL .,,,l