Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-07-04

@=-A - A@E = y u
right y9z have to a hearty welcome in
NzP1 am only sorry that zny dis
rr=ssI1g ns=s should hare dzrksa=1
the 0e1zssO1 q your return here after
80 ksgg Al absence Permit me 10 ex-
press the hope that IL u1Ay az Ie4sr b.
the 0aly cloud for yog On our southern
s1nshTas
And he extended bis hand Efts that
ready frankn@ss and hs1nhorEa which
are always a part Of the Tr2lizn ten
perzEzen-- and were especially SO Of
h&s A cold sRudder ran throsgh Ely
veins God! could I take his hand in
uiney / mast II / would act Eay part
thoroughly, for should / refuse he
wUuI think IL strange, even rude; I
should bose the gam by one false
EDvs. With q forced SMILE / hest
4ringly hsI oct ny hand also; IL was
g1Te1- yet as he cAsPed IL heartily
In his own warm pressure burnt
through the glove Ike fire. I could
have cried 0uE in agony, - excrucf-
arIag wzs the mental tOrrue which I
endured 81 that moment But IL pass
ed the ordeal was over. and | knew
that from h~encefgrra / should BE- able
% shake hands with him as often and
ss iadi5erently as with any other
-an II was only the first time thar
IL CALLED ne 70 the quick Ferrzu
noticed nothing Of ny emotion; he
was n excellent spirits and turning
% The waiter who had fingered 70
watch Us wAEe each others acQuziuG-
Enc-. b. exclaimed:
More cJ5-. garcoa. and 4 couple
Of gb0riaS" Than booking toward ne,
~YO8 DO not object 70 = gloria, Confer
No That is well And here Is my
card" taking q from his pocket and
laying il on the table. Guido Fer
rzT- az your service, an artist and .
very poor one. We shall celebrate
meeting By drinking each others
h@alth-"
I bowed The waiter vanished ID
execute his orders and Ferrari drew
his chair closer 10 mine.
Il see you smoke" he aid gaily.
Can / offer you one Of my cigars:
They are unusually choice Permit
NE" and be preferred ne a richly EN-
b0ssed and e~mblazoue6 silver cigar
case. with the ROmani arms and coro-
net and my own initials engraven
thereon II was mine, Of course. /
took II with a sensation OF grim
amusement: / had not seen il since
the day / died."
a dne antique l remarked care
lessIy turning IL over IN my hand
curious aud valuable. 4 gift or an
hairlOomT
1T belonged 20 my late friend Count
Pablo" he answered. putting a light
cloud Of smoke in the air as he drew
his cigar from mis- lips 10 speak. It
was found in his pocket by the priest
who saw him die. That and other
trifes which be wore on his person
were delivered 70 his wife. and
she naturally gave you the cigar
2 : as a memento OF your friendE' l
said, interrupJing him.
Just 80. You have guessed IL ex-
actly. Thanks" and he took the case
from me as I returned il 10 him. with
q frank smile.
is the Countess Romani young?" l
forced myself 20 inquire.
young and beautiful as a mid-sum-
mer morning" replied Ferrari with
enthusiasm. Il doubt IL sunlight yer
fell on a more enchanting woman! II
you were a young man, conte, j should
be silent regarding her charms: but
your white hairs inspire one with con-
fidenee. l assure you solemnly. al
though Pablo was my friend, and an
excellent fellow In his way, he was
asTeT worthy Of he woman he mar
riedr'
Indeed" / said coIdly as this dag
ger thrust struck home TO my heart.
Il only knew him when he was quite
a boy. He seemed to me then Of a
warm and loving temperament, gener-
U 10 a fault, perhaps over-credulous,
yet he promised well. His father be-
lieved so; / confess l thought so, too.
Reports have reached me from time
TO time Of the al with which he
managed the immense fortune left
to him. He gave large sums away in
charity, did he not? And was he not
a lover Of books and simple pleas
uresY'
'rOh. I grant you all that" returned
Ferrari, with some impotence. He
was the most moral man In immoral
Naples, II you care for that sort of
thing. Studious, philosophic, parfait
gentilhomme, proud as the devil, vir-
tuOGs. unsuspectiDg, and. withal, a
fooir'
Ny temper rose dangerously: but I
controlled IL. and remembering my
part in the drama / had constructed,
i broke into violent, marsh laughter.
"Brayo" I exclaimed. Zone can
easily see what a frst-rate young fell
low you are! You have no liking for
moral men. Ha! ha! excellent. agree
with you. A virtuous man and a fool
are synonyms nowadays. Yes, / have
lived long enough to know that. And
here ia our coffee; behold also the
glorias. l drink your health with
pleasure, Signor Ferrari; you and /
must be friends"
For a moment he seemed startled by
my sudden outbreak Of mirth; the
next he laughed heartily himself, and,
as the waiter appeared with the coffee
and cognac, inspired by the occasion,
he made an equiyocal, slightly indeli-
cate joke concerning the personal
charms Of a certain Antonietta whom
the garcon was supposed to favor with
an eye TO matrimony. The fellow
grinned, in no wise offended, and
pocketed fresh gratuities from both
Ferrari and myself, departed on new
erTands for other customers, appar-
emily In high humor with himself, An
tonietta and the world In general. Re-
Stunning the interrupted conversation