Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-07-25

n cAtd AAur- AAO SAA&1AC AVJA~ - WAo
completely disarmed: his suspicious
Of me melted away Ike mist before
the morning light. His face cleared,
he seized my hand and pressed II
warmly.
Forgive me. Conte," he said with
remorseful feryor; Il fear / have been
rude and unsociable- Your kind words
have pat me right again You viii
think me a jealous mailman. but /
really fancied that you Were begin
ming TO feel an attraction for her :our-
self, and actually,-pardon me, / free
ly entreat OF you'd actually / was max
ing up my mind toto XIII you!"
laughed quietly. ~Veremente.
How very amiable OF you, II vas a
good intention, but you know what
/ place is paved with similar designsy'
"Ah. Conte, II is like your gener-
osity TO take my confession so lightly:
but / assure you, for the last hour 1
have been absolutely w~retchedF'
After the fashion of all lovers, I
suppose" I Observation-Disclosures your
self without necessity, Well, well, il is
very amusing. Ny young friend. when
y0u come 10 my time Of life,
you will prefer the chink OF
gold 10 the laughter and
kisses Of women. How often mus
! repeat 10 you that / am a man abso-
lutely Indifferent TO the tender pas
sion? Believe IL or not, il is true"
He drank off his wine at one gulp
and spoke with some excitement.
Then l viii frankly confide in you.
/ do love the Contessa. Love! IL Is
too weak a word TO describe what 1
feel. The touch of her hand thrills
me-, her voice seems 10 shake my soul,
her eyes burn through me. All! you
cannot know: you could not under
stand the joy, the pain"
Calm yourself" / said in a cool
tone, watching my victim as his pent-
up emotion betrayed itself. 1.-The great
thing is to keep the head cool when
the blood burns. You think she loves
your
Think! Gran Dio! She has" here
he paused and his face flushed deeply
may! ! have no right TO say any
thing on that score. l know she never
cared for her husband"
IL know that too!" / answered quite
steadily. The most casual observer
cannot fail I notice it."
well, and no wonder" he eIclaim-
ed warmly. HE was such an undem-
onstrative fool! What business had
such a fellow as that to marry so ex-
! quisite a creature?"
Ny heart leaped with a sudden in
pulse Of fury, but / controlled my
voice and answered calmly:
"Requiescat In pace! He Is dead
let him rest. Whatever his faults, his
wife Of course was true to him while
he lived; she considered him worthy
of fidelity-is ii not soT'
He lowered his eyes as he replied in
an indistinct tone.
"Oh, certainly"
"And you-you were a most loyal
and faithful friend TO him, in spite OF
the tempting bright eyes of his ladyT'
Again he answered huskily, why,
OF course," But the shapely hand
that rested on the table SO near 10
mine, trembled.
"Well, then" I continued quietly,
"the love you now bear TO his fair
widow is, l imagine, precisely what
he would approve. Being, as you say,
perfectly pure and blameless, what
can l wish otherwise than this; may
it meet with the reward it deserves"
While / spoke he moved ~uneasily in
his chair, and his eyes royed TO my
fathers picture with restless annoy
ance l suppose he saw in it the like
ness TO his dead friend. After a mo
ment or two of silence he turned TO
me with a forced smile.
"And s o you really entertain no ad-
miration for the contessaT"
"Oh, pardon me, ] do entertain a
very strong admiration for her, hut
| not 90 rha Hfn1 -nr, cnan, rn GnSnnor
III ii viii please you, l can guarantee
that / shall never make love to the
lady unless"
Unless what?" he asked eagerly.
Unless she happens to make love to
me, in which case it would be ungal-
liant not 10 reciprocate."
And I laughed harshly. He stared
at me In blank surprise. "She make
love to you"" he exclaimed. You Jest.
She would never do such a thing"
''0f course mott" i answered, rising
and clapping him heavily on the shout
der. women never court men, ii is
quite undeard of; q reverse of the or
der of nature! You are perfectly safe,
my friend; you will certainly win the
recompense you sc richly deserve.
Come, let US go AID drink coffee with
the fair one"
And arm In arm we sauntered out
to the veranda in the most friendly
way possible. Ferrari was completely
restored to good humor, and Nina, 1
thought, was rather glad to see it.
She was evidently afraid of Ferrari,
a good point to remember. She smiled
a welcome to us as we approached,
and began to pour out the fragrant
! coffee. 1t was a glorious evening; the
noe was already high in the heavens
and the ~nightingales' voices echoed
softly from the distant woods. As /
seated myself In a low chair that was
placed inyitingly les hat of my
hostess, my ears were startled by a
long melancholy howl, which changed
every 10 and then to an impatient
whine.
What is thatr' I asked, though the
question was needless, for / knew the
sound.
ooh. 1t is that tiresome dog Wyvis,"
answered Nina in a vexed tone. HE
belonged to Fabio. He makes the
evening quite miserable with his
moaning"
Where Is he?"
"Well, after my husbands death he
became so troublesome roaming all
! over the house N waiiing. and Their