Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1891-09-05

you alluded the Otnor evening. IL ~
not wise to walk on the edge OF preci-
pice with ones eyes shut Captain
| Ciabattl was the first TO inform me OF
what I now know for fact-namely,
that Ferrari left o will in which every
thing no possessed is made over UNI
| conditIonally TO the Countess Romani.
| You will OF course draw your own con-
clusions, and pardon me II ! am guilty
! of trop de zele In your service. ! have
| now only to tell you that all the UNI
| pleasantness OF this affair is passing
over very smoothly and without scandal
Il have taken care OF that You need
not prolong your absence further than
YOU feel inclined, and /, for one, shall
he charmed to welcome you back TO
Naples. With every sentiment OF the
highest consideration and regard, ! am,
my dear Conte, ''your very true friend
and servitor,
"PHILIrpE D'AvENcoURT.
l folded this letter carefully and put II
aside. The little package he had sent
me lay in my hand-a bundle Of neatly
folded letters tied together with q mar
row ribbon, and strongly perfumed with
a faint sickly perfume ! knew and ABB
| horred. turned them over and over;
| the edges Of the note paper were stained
| with blood-GuidO's blOOd-as though In
| it, last sluggish flowing II had endeav-
ored to obliterate all traces OF the
daintily-penned lies that now awaited
my perusal, Slowly united the ribbon
With methOdical elaboration read one
letter after the other. They were all
IN (nnfdn xayhfln
| he was In Rome. some OF them bearing
dates OF the very days when she had
| feigned to love meme, her newly ac-
cepted husband. One very anorOus
epistle had been written on the self same
evening she had plighted her troth 10
me!-Letters burning and tender, full OF
the most passionate protestatlons OF
fidelity, overlooking with the sweetest
terms of endearment, with such
ring OF truth and love throughout
| them that surely 1t was no wonder that
| Guido's suspicious were all unwakened,
and that he had reason TO believe him
self safe In his fools paradise One
passage In this poetical and romantic
correspondence fixed my attention. 1t
ran thus
"Why do you write so much OF mar
riage to me, Guido milo? II seems to
my mind that all the Joy Of loving will
be taken from us when once the hard
world knows OF our passion. 1t you be-
come my husband you will assuredly
cease to be nv lover, and that would
break my heart. All, my best beloved!
/ desire you to be my lover always as
YOU were when Fabio lived,-why bring
commonplace matrimony into the heaven
OF such passion as ours?"
studied these words atteEtvely. OF
course understood their drift. She had
tried to feel her way with the dead man.
She had wanted to marry me, and yet
retain Guido for her lonely hours, Us
cher lover aiways!" Such pretty, in
Renious plan 1t was! No thief.
no murderer ever laid more cunning
schemes than she; but the law
looks after thieves and murderers. For
such a woman as this Law says, "Di-
vorce her-that is your best remedy"
Divorce her! Let the criminal go scot
freei Others may do 1t that choose
have different ideas Of justice!
Tying up the packet OF letters again,
with their sickening perfume and their
blood stained edges, drew out the last
graciously worded missive / had re-
ceived from Nina. OF course l heard
from her every day,-she was most
faithful correspondent! The same al
fectionate expressions characterized her
letters to me as those that had deluded
her dead lover,-with this difference,
that whereas she lnveighed very much
against the prosiness OF marriage to
Guido, to me she drew the most touch
ing picture Of her desolation. how
lonely she had felt since her ''dear hus-
bands" death, how rejoiced she was to
think she was soon again to be o happy
wife-the wife Of one so noble, so true,
so devoted as ! was! She had left the
convent and was now at home-when
should she have the happiness OF wei
coming me, her best beloved Cesare back
to Naples! She certainly deserved some
credit for artistic lying; / could not
understand how she managed 1t so we'll.
Almost admired her skill, as one some
times admires cOol-headed burglar,
who has more skill, cunning and pluck
than his comrades. i thought with
triumph that though the wording OF
Ferrari's will enabled her to secure all
other letters she might have written TO
him, this one little packet OF documen'
tary evidence was more than sufficient
for my purposes. And resolved to re-
tain IL In my own keeping till the time
came for me to use 1t against her.
And how about D'Avencourts friendly
advice concerning the matrimonial knot?
"a man should not walk on the edge OF
a precipIce with his eyes shut" Very
true. But II his eyes are open and he
has his enemy by the throat, the edge OF
q precipice is q convenient position for
hurting that enemy down TO death In
quiet way, that the world need know
nothing of So for the present ] pre-
ferred the precipIce to walking on level
ground.
rose from my seat near the Punto
d'Angelo It was growing late In the
afternoon. From the little church be-
low me soft bells rang out the Angelus,
1 L. al nd