The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-11-19

i DtOOpou 10 mhk0 .CofLdln bnhb " WAS
thick line Of blood which he had beheld
in the dust of the road. No, he had moi
mistaken. Blood indeed 1t was--bu,
what could 1t mean? Blood was one oi
the last things he would be apt to ~
sociate with his surroundings here, and
curiosity was now rampant In his mind.
He followed the trail few feet and
found that 1t turned towards the vines.
A few steps further and he saw the body
OF q large, fnely-formed man, lying hat
on his back. In almost q single bound
he was beside 1t, and then with an
ejaculation which none but German
throats can possibly utter, he threw up
his arms with mixed feelings Of horror
and anguish. "Mein Gottr' he ex-
claimed, ''who has done thisY' 1t was
enough to shatter stronger nerves than
Anton's, for there, in pool Of his life's
blood, lay his beloved and respected
employer, where between two rows OF
his own carefully tended vines he had
apparently crawled to die.
1t almost seemed as though he had
thought his blood too rich to mingle
with the dirt on the roadside, and had
therefore with his last remaining
strength dragged himself to the soft,
fertile soil which he had for so many
| years titled.
On his face was IN expression horri-
BILE as that which some OF US have seen
on the face Of dead soldier, when
death has come by q bayonet wound,
struck by q hand skilled in the use Of
thatweapon, beside which he lay In list
less attitude. His arms were spread out
ward and one knee bent; while his eyes
were unclosed, and, although covered
by the CLASSY film Of death, seemed to
gaze upward with q wild, weird stare
Every thing pointed to Q cruel, sudden
and unexpected end.
Who has not at one time or another
experienced the awful, inexplicable
sensation which now held full sway
over simple-minded Anton2 Even at
quiet bed-sides, where those whom we
have loved and cherished lie cold in
death after long and tedious sickness
when we stand in the presence Of the
King Of Terrors, after we have been,
perhaps, sadly waiting his arrival for
many days-even then We are prone to
ask: "Can this be our friend sleeping
his last sleep? Can this be he who
took our hand and spoke so cheerily but
o few days since?" And sudden death
only intensihes this dreadful inability
TO grasp and comprehend what is, alas,
SO sternly true.
Yesterday, Mario Delaro in the warm
glow Of perfect healthy manhood: to-
day, a soulless corpse, CHASTITY and
nvidl
1t took Anton some moments to re-
cover from the shock, but when he did,
his first thought was to look for the
cause OF this terrible spectacle.
He examined the breast Of the dead
man, but found no wound; then he
noticed thet tho. Uiood ,had' flowed from
beneath tho left shoulder and he knew
that Mario Delaro, the beloved Of all
who knew him, tho man who never
feared TO face his enemy, had been
struck from behind
he was mystihed, and the terror with
which his soul was filed prevented him
from action, 30 that for many moments
he knelt staring at the corpse, as
though he expected to see IT come to
life.
At last, however, he awakened TO the
necessity OF the hour and arose TO look
around. There was not q being In
sight so without stopping for further
reflection he hastened In the direction
Of the cellars, the entrance 10 which
was scarcely q stones throw from whero
he stood. There he expected he would
find some one. He was not disappointed.
for two Of the oellar-men soon appeared
and In short time he had told them
the dreadful news, as we'll as his ex-
cited state would permit and they all
three made their way 10 the victim Of Q
foul and, at present mysterious crime.
They were all Germans and with |
natural Teutonic caution each refused |
10 touch the corpse until some person |
OF authority was present Ono OF them |
was an old man who had worked around |
the vineyard and cellars for years and
the other tall, gaunt young fellow who
was recent acquisition to the place.
Neither Of the three could advance
any reasonable theories. The old man
knew everybody for miles around. but
could not remember that Mario had an
enemy. Anton had known tho dead
mn n fnr ynara than tvo raara nna IA
never heard bitter word spoken Of
him, while the youngest man Of the
three only knew that during the short
time he had been there he had received
bis pay regularly, and had heard his en-
ployer spoken Of as good fellow
The other two looked to Anton for
some suggestion, and he gave the
only one OF which he could think. II
was that the young man should mako
all haste into the town Of San Paola
and inform the authorities Of what had
happened, without letting any moro
people know OF 1t than was absolutely
necessary.
The messenger was hardly out OF sight
when the two watchers fell 70 talking
of the excellent qualities in the char
acter Of him who had met with such
Violent death. |
With tears in his eyes and n voice
thick with emotion, Anton told Of the
lender regard he had for his dead en-
ployer; he mentioned the many little
sindnesses he had received from Delaro,
and said that he had seldom beard Q
harsh or unlind word from him since the
irst day they had met u III |,
The old man could 70 further back