The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-01-18

can guess for whom.
This time / spent the night in q diff
ferent hotel / did not care to run the
slight risk OF being detected i'm my dis
guise. It might have been awkward,
you see.
And so tho following morning I set
out again as i had set out before.
Now, gentlemen, you will not think
me a very soft sort of coon, I hope,
when I say The nearer / got to the little
village with the small white church in
the midst-the village to which Cate
rina's fathers chalet belongedAthe less
resentment ! felt for the old mans past
m%urderous attempt upon my life. / car
ried a scar or two as the result Of that
knock and that horrible tip over the
cliff, but / was more affected by the
thought Of seeing Caterina again. And,
sure enough, i soon saw her.
The man was toying with an ak upon
q pine log in front Of the house. / saw
his teeth CLEAN at me while / was yet
some little distance away. You see, I
had made myself into q middle aged
person of great responsibility and ap-
parent wealth. a German botanist or
geologist or something Of that kind. /
fiattered myself ! should prove an ire
sistible bait.
And so I did.
MY friend, I inquired OF him be-
fore he had the chance to speak, 'tis
there not a short cut to Berisal from
here?''
"Yes, sir" he replied promptly. ST
shall take the liberty of showing it to
you" n
/ had changed my voice as we'll as
my appearance. It seemed to me un-
likely in the extreme that Caterina
could recognize me, and yet ere the man
could get his coat and take his stick, a
villainous sort of club, who should look
out but Caterina herself.
/ tell you, gentlemen, / was near Civ
ing up my little plan of revenge at sight
of her or at least of compromising il
then and there. She was the same Ca
terina, with a difference-there was
more sadness in her than before. And
when she cried, Father, do not CO."
this time also it exacted all my self
control to help me to dissemble.
We began our climb. When we
reached the old mule track, / declined
to go first. We had a little wrestle in
politeness, as it appeared, but 1 won the
day. .
My gentleman stopped nearly at the
very spot which had seen my misadven-
ture and turned upon me, with a plea
of fatigue. 1t was just here, too, that ]
designed giving him his punishment.
Eyes, we will rest, " / said. And
then in my natural voice, MS I covered
him with a revolver and held out with
the other hand the bracelets I had bought
foc the purpose, ! babe him slip his
wrists into the things
l could have enjoyed the r~ascal's dis
comforture if he had been any ones IA
Their except Caterina's. As it was, /
had to keep my wits about me. When
he had got oven the first shock at the
sight of me land it was a genuine shock
to him. he was clearly bent on trying
to get me over the precipice q second
time.
But l did not allow him the smallest
opening on that score. / had him hand
cuffed and then set him to return before
me to the chalet. His cloak gave him
v for his shame in case we should
meet any other travellers.
There was some fine drama in the
scene that ensued when I had thus
brought him back to his domestic hearth.
Look, girl!' he cried to his daugh-
ter, raising his manacled hands when
we were inside the house.
AS for me. / could only add, 'tIt liz
l." and l blushed rs I spoke.
Caterina seemed for q moment thun-
derstruck. / might, if I had not been
in love, have expected q joint attack,
in which / should a~ssuredly have been
annihilated. But / had not misread her
interest in me. There was more joy i'm
her face eventually at the realization
that / lived than there was sorrow at
her fathers ~predicament.
Watching her, / forgot her father and
cared nothing for the vengeance I had
craved. / was, as / had believed, pas
~sionately in love.
Well, gentlemen, it only remains for
me to tell you that / married this vii
lain's daughter, and that / have never
regretted it. If criminal instincts are
hereditary, rs a wise men nowadays
tell rs they are, there must be excep-
tions. My wife has been a success, and
my children do not promise to be az
traordinarily bad in character.
The young listeners to this story SEEM
ed surprised at its issua
"But, sir, said one of them, what
in goodness did you do with your IA
ther-in-law?''
II arranged for his emigration to
America"
Not North America, I do hope"
"Oh, dear, no-South. Million.