The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-06-21
A VENDETTA.

A VENDETTA.
Paolo Saverinps widow lived With her
only son in q small and humble house o.
the raiipsrts Of Bonifaoio.
Tho town had bssn built on the spur Of :
mountain, and hung in places far above
the sea, overlooking the narrows, bristling
with cliffs. On thu lower side Of Sardinis.
AZ ito feet. on the other side. almost en-
tirsly Surrounding ". . line Of clifs which
resembled . gigantic corridor, did service
% a harbor. aud led mp to the drst houses
Of the town after . long. cirouttous -souss
between swo straight walls. This harbos
vas used BY the little Italian rad Sandman
fishing crafts, and by the old painting
steamer which brought the mails frem
Ajaccio.
The white mountain side WAS thick With
houses, even nsatsE b 4 that OF the widow.
They looked like the nests of sAvaRs birds
psrohed on high, overlooking the danger
ous dehle that no boats dared APPROACH.
The wind blows necessarily there. furionsly
iashing the SEA and the bare COST. The
pillows rush into the narrow strait and
Yavnge ito shores. Tracks Of white foam,
pierced by the dark spots Of the nnumss.
able rocks which rise above the waves. look
like linen shreds floating and daneinR on
the surface of the water.
The widow Haverini's house WAS situated
on the edge of tbs elif. it, three small win
dows facing ths wild and desolats horizon.
Ehe lived there all alone with her son An
tonic and her dog Semillante, q large thin
animal with long shaggy hair. not unlike :
shepherds dog. The younR man used -
when hunting. I,
Oae evening, In q broil, Antonio .6avsrint
was stabbed 80 death by Nicolas hsvolaSt.
Who on the same night escaped to the Sar..
dipian side. When the old mother beheld
the corpse of her son. whteh passsrs-by
carried to her door. she attsrsd NO o'y. bus
gazsd 1t IL without witch OF NE muscles Of
on the dead badly Of her child. she vowed TO
avenRe his murder. She sent them all
away, and looked herself mp with the corpse
and the dog, who howled ineessantly 40 it
lay by the foot of tho bed. IT, hesd turned
upon its dead masters face and its tail
between Its legs. There it stayed 81 nigns
with the mother, who leaned over the life
less BODY Of her SON with staring eyes from
which the tears ran slowly. 3.
Living ]st on his back, with his waist
coat pierced and torn ~ the breast. She
young mar sssned to be asleep. Blood
stained the shirt torn open to stnnoh the
wound, the waistsoat and the trousers, %
Ven a his face and hands. Blood olots
hung in his beard and In his hair.
The old mother began TO talk into the
deafensd ears; and when II heard her veics
the dog stopped barking.
"Never mind. Thou shalt BE- avenged.
my babe. my boy. my poor child! Sleep;
hear! Thy mother promises, and she has
always kept her word; thou knovsst IL
we'll"
She bent over him and pressed her cold
lips to his dead ones. ssmillante resumed
her moan-a terrible, hsartrendinR moan.
They remained together beside the sorpss
On the following day Antonio Saverini
was buried, and the murder was soon for
gotten BY tho good people Of Bonifaeie.
The murdered man had Left behind him
neither brother nor near kinsmen. No
body thought to avenge his death; oaly the
from morning until night. q little white
spot ON the banks of the other side Of the
straits, II 10 a Sandman village. called
Lonposardo, and has long bsen q refuge for
Corsicsp bandits who find themselves
closely pursued. They inhsbit the hamlet
almost exolusively.. which ia In plain view
of their native land. awaiting only the mo-
mont when they can safely return. The
old mother knew that Nicolas Rnvolati had
fed to this village.
Day after day she sat by the window and
brooded over the vendetta. What could
she do, without assistance. infrm and near
The end Of her days2 But .ho had given an
she oould not forget. and she had not much
time to wait. Yet what could che do2 Shs
lay awake at night without peaoe or rest.
ohstin .telv bent on the thounht Of revenge.
ia dog crouohed at her feet, lifting its
head now and then to utter a low moan.
since her masters death she often moaned
and howlsd. apparently ineonsolable for
the loss.
One night, whom Semillants was iAdula-
ing az usual in her plaintive howl. q wild
1erocious Thought flashed through the old
woman's brain. She brooded over IL until
daylight. then At early dawn rose to visit
the church. KnsslinR on the cold stones
before tho altar, the woman implo,ed God
to help her, to sustain her. and to give to
her poor worn-out frame the strength she
needed TO avsngs her Son.
On her return from these strange dsvo-
tions she VEN into tho ya.d. There she
kept an old brokon barrel, in which she
turned Il ever. emptisd II. fastened IL to
tho ground with stakes aud stones. and
chained tSsnillants TO II.
With her eyes fixed upon ths Sandman
coast, the woman returned indoors and
paced necessarily mp and down the room.
The dog bsrked all day and all night. In
the morning the old woman gave IL some
wnter in . pan, but not . morssl OF food.
Another day went bv. ssmillants, weak
from hunger. slept. The second morning
her eyes were lusSrous. her hair bristled,
and she pslled u her chain with all her
might.
But the old woman RETAINED from feed.
Inn Aha 1nn Uuht~h vv~-s~- RuS...
barked hoarsely. Another night passed by.
On The third mo ming Mother Saverini
rspnired to . neighbor and asked for q few
bundles Of straw. She took Some old
clothes, loft by her husband. and stuffed
them with straw in imitation Of . human
body. The dog regarded the straw man
with surprise. and though suffering panRs
of hunger remained quiet for = while.
These strange preparations all being CON-
pleted, tho old woman went 10 q butchers
ahop and bought q long blood pudding,
This she fried over . fire that she built In
the yard near the ba' rel to which the deg
was chained. somillante. almost Wild.
bounded forward and foaneda at the mouth
a. she beheld the frying sausage, the fumes
of which filled her nostrils.
When the old mother had finished her
nseksie aFound the threat Of the lay figure.
interlacing it tightly with the straw. This
she unclaimed the dog.
With ono bound. the animal clutched the
throat OF Tho manikin. aud. with her paws
resting on its shoulders. she began ths work
Of destruetion. The ravenous brute fell
back with . piece OF the sausage In her
NAV, only 10 return again 10 tho attack,
each time buSying her fangR In the fastsn-