Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-09-12
cHAPTER. xxy. 1centtnued.l

NOT he epiled c HE mas
known Of too many sham fights TO be
able TO understand a real one DAv-
knows something about that,
too. though he always kills his man
But very often Ii Is sufficient 10
scratch one another with the sword
point so as 70 draw a quarter Of a
drop cf blood, and honor satisfied!
Then the coffee and the giorias are
brought. as suggested by u friend
the landlord
1T Is a ridiculous age, said the Mar
quis, taking his cigar from his rsouth
and ~complacently surveying his small,
supple white hand, thoroughly -idicu-
ious, but / determined 1t should never
make a fool Of me. You see, my dear
Conte, nowadays a duel Is very fre-
quentiy decided with swords rather
thar pistols. and whyf Because cow
ards fancy IL is much more difficult TO
Kill with the sword. But not at all.
Long ago | made up my mind that no
man should continue to live who dared
10 insult me. I therefore studied
sword play as an art. And I assure
Won, { is q simple matter 10 kill with
the sword-remarkably simple. My
opTsoI. rs are astonished at the eas
with which I despatch them!"
Fr.ec!a laughed. de Hamal is a
pupil Of yours. Marquis. is he potT'
II regret to say, yes. He Is mar
vell0usly clumsy. / have OFTEN ear
nestly requested him 10 Eat his swor3
rather than handle il so ~boorishly.
Yet he kills his men, NO, but In a
buteber-like ma~nner-totally without
gface or refinement. ! should say he
was about on a par with our two as
sociates, FerraPi's seconds"
I reused myself from a revcrie into
which i had fallen.
"What men are theyT' I inquired.
"One calls himself Capitano Cha
batii, the other CayaIiere Dursi, at
your service" answered Freccia in
differently. Good both. and
hard drinkers-flled with stock
phrases, such as "our distinguished
dear friend Ferrari,' wrongs which
can only be wiped out by blood'-all
bomhast and braggadocio! These fell
lows would as soon be on one side as
the other"
He resumed his smoking, and we all
three lapsed into silence. The drive
seemed very long. though in reality
tie distance was not great. At last
we passed the Casa Ghirlande, a sup
erh chateau belonging to a distin-
guished nobleman, who in former days
had been a friendly nelghbor 20 me,
and then our vehicle joited down a
gentle decliyity which sloped into a
small valley. where there was a good
sized piece OF smooth fat greensward.
From this spot could be family dis
cerned the castellated turrets of my
own house. the villa Romani. Here
we came 20 9 s.aTah VViHe6Hzo
jumped briskiy down from his seat
beside the cnaehman and assisted -
20 alight. The carriage then .lrova N
TO O retired So rner behind some trees.
We surveyed the g-cgn,i. and saw
that as yet only one person beside eur
selves had arrived. This was the
surgeon, a dapper good humored little
German, who spoke bad French and
worse Italian. and who shook hands
cordially with us all On learning
who / vas he bowed low and smiled
very amiabIy. "The pest / can offer
20 you. SIgnor." be said. lis hat Won
may have no occasion for my services.
You aave reposed yourself? That Is
well-sleep steadies the nerves. Ach,
you SILVER, True. Ii Is, the morning is
cold"
l did indeed experience a passing
sbIidder. bur not ecans the cir was
chilly. liz was because I felt certain,
so terribly certain, OF killing tile man
I had once loved so well. Almost I
wished I could also feel that there
was the slightest possibility Of his kill
lag me, but, MOI all my instincts
4ntd Fnn fhara xsnQ M a1aran nf fhfu
] had a sort Of sick pain at my heart,
and as I thought OF her. the jewell
eyed snake who had wrought all the
evil. my wrath against her increased
tenfold. ! wondered sco~rnfuIly what
she WAS doing, away in the quiet CON
vent where the sacred Host unveiled.
Elittered on the altar like a star of
the morning. No doubt sne slept: IL
was yet too early for her to practice
her sham sanctity. She slept. I'm all
probability most peacefully, while her
husband and her lover called upon
Death 20 come and decide between
them. The slow clear strokes Of a bell
chlming from the city tolled six. and
as it's last echo trembled m%ournfully
on the wind there was n slight stir
among my companions. ! looked and
rd ftiidii dppiudtblhE WIFI HIS w
associates. He walked slowly. and
was muffied In a thick cloak: his hat
was pulled W his brows, and
could not see the expression OF his
face. as he did not turn his head once
In my direction, but stood apart lean
ing against the trunk Of a leafiess tree.
The seconds on both sides now com
menced measuring the ground.
eve are agreed as to the distance.
gentlemen" said the marquis.
S'rwenty PAGES. 1 think p
Twenty PAGES" stiffly returned one
of Ferrari's friends. a battered-look
Ing middle-aged roue with ferocioUs
moustaches. who I presumed was
Captain Caibatti.
They went on measuring carefully
and in silence. During the pause l
turned my back on the whole party.
slipped off my spectacles aud put
them In my pocket Then I lowersd the
brim Of my hat slightly 50 that the
change might not be observed too sud
denly--and resuming my first position,
i waited. IT wns daylight though not
fuIi nnarntnU -fha crtn haH not x,f