San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-05-28

tied fast behind hin, and his hands
heavily manacled, was the notorious
Neri as dark and fierce as a mountain
thunderstorm. His head was uncovered,
his thick hair, long and unkempt,
hung in matted locks upon his shoulders,
his heavy moustachieS and beard were
so black and bushy that they almost con-
cealed his coarse and forbidding features.
though / could see the tiger-like gilt
ter of his sharp white teeth as he bit
and gnawed his under-lip IN impotent
fury and despair, land his eyes, like
leaping flames, blazed with
wrathful ferocity from under
hisE shaggy brows, He was huge,
heavy man, broad and muscular, his
two great hands clenched, tied and man.
acted behind him, looked like formtd-
able hammers capable of striking a man
down dead at one blow. his whole aspect
was repulsive and terrible-there was
no redeeming point about him-for even
the apparent fortitude he assumed was
mere INSTRUMENTATION courage,
which the first week of the galleys would
crush out of him as easily as one brushes
the juice out of ripe grape He wore
a nondeScript costume OF vari-coiored
linen, arranged in folds that would have
been the admiration of an artist. 1t was
gathered about him by means of bril-
liant scarlet sash negligently tied. His
brawny arms were bare to the shoulder,
his vest was open, and displayed his
strong brown throat and chest heaving
with the pent-up anger and fear that
ragged within him. His dark grim figure
was set off by a curious effect
of color in the sky,-a long white band
of crimson cloud, as though the sun-god
had thrown down a goblet of ruby wine
and left it to trickle along the smoth
blue fairness of his palace-foor,-a deep
after-glow. which burned redly on the
olive-tinted eager faces of the multitude
that were everywhere upturned in won
der and ill-judged admiration to the bru-
tai black face of the notorious murderer
and thief, whose name had for years
been the terror of Sicily. | pressed
through the crowd to obtain nearer
view, and as | did so a sudden savage
movement of Neri's bound body caused
the gendarmes to CroSt their swords in
front of his eyes with a warning clash.
The brigand laughed hoarselp.
'Corpo di ChriSto!' he muttered--
'think you man tied hand and foot can
run like deer? | am trapped,-l know
it! But tell him." and he indicated some
person in the throug by nod of his
head, tell him to come hither,-I have q
message for him."
The gendarms looked at one another,
and then at the swaying crowd about
them in perpleXity-they did not under
stand.
Carmelo, without wasting more words
upon them, raised himself as uprightly
as he could in his strained and bound
position, and called aloud:
Luigi Biscardi Capitano! Oh he
you thought that could not see you
Dio l should know you in hell Come
near,-I have parting word for you"
At the sound of his strong harsh voice,
a silence half of terror, half of awe, fell
upon the chattering multitude. There
was sudden stir as the people made
way for young man to pass through
their ranks,-a slight, tall, rather hand
some fellow, with pale face and cold
sneerlng ewes. He was dressed with
fastidious care and neatness in
the uniform of the Bersaglieri,
and he elbowed his way
along with the easy audacity of
privileged dandy. He came close up to
a slightly mocking smile playing round
the corners of his mouth,
"Ebbenew he said, ''you are caught at
last, Carmelo! You called me-here 1
am. What do you want with me, ras-
Cal?'
'Neri muttered a ferocous curse be-
tween his teeth, and looked for an in
slant like wild beast ready to spring.
hot ba oil in
yet smothered accents-you followed me,
you hunted me down! Teresa
told me all Yes,-she belongs to you
nOw,-you have got your wish. Go aud
take her She-wailS for you,-make
her speak and tell you how she loves you.
If you can.
s. hing ieering and withal threat
eniu- I'll the rutfians look evidently
startled the young officer, for he ex-
claimed hastily
What do you mean wretch? You have
not. my God! you have not
killed her?"
CarmelO broke into loud savage
laugh.
'She has killed herself!" he cried ex-
ultingly. "Ha ha! thought you would
vince at that! She'Snatched my knife and
stabbed herself with it! Yes,-rather
than see your lying white face again.
rather than feel your accursed touch!
Find her, -She lies dead and smiling up
there in the mountains,-andh her last
kiss was for me-for me,-you under
stand! Now go! and may the devil curse
you!"
Again the gendarmes FLASHED their
swords suggestively, -and the brigand
resumed his sullen attitude of suppressed
wrath, and feigned indifference. But the
man to whom he had spoken staggered
and seemed about to fall,-hiS pale face
grew paler,-he moved away through the