The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1895-08-24
ANDREANO.
NHalt! Close I'D. there!"

"Halt! Close up, the-e!'
The order rang out sharply, echoins
from rock to rock, and seeming to die
away in hollow murmurs up the pre-
cipitOus and bleak sides of THE hills.
The little band of Italian soldiory closed
up rapidly as their grizzled old captain
spoke and faced him silently with their
carbinas grounded and the look Of dull
and apathetic discipline on their faces
that is characteristic Of their class.
My men," said the weather beaten
and gray headed leader, regarding them
sharply from under his shaggy eyebrows,
1.-THE wolf is driven to his last lair. All,
Or nearly all, Of his people have been
killed off during the weeks that We
have been following them over these
,lreary hills. Ho--tho bandit, tho roo
Der, tho AndreanO Of the hills-CannOt
last out longer now. His hour i, come,
if we are but watchful. Up and up he
has been driven, often nearly falling
INTO our hands, yet as often escaping.
Now, behind him rises the sheer straight
line of the hills, on either side are two
good companies of our men; we stand
IN the front. The great Andreano, terror
Of our hiilS'-tue captain laughed soft
" in his tAroat-''is already as one
dead. You know your orders; he is to
be shot down ike ados by the first man
who sights him. You underestimate
A low, deep murmur Went up from
the men, and then a single voice spoke;
the speaker, who stood in the front
rank, giving the salute rapidly.
But, my captain, what of the child?'
The old man turned on him tiercely.
1.-The childi What child?'
The soldier-a little, 1.-the, swarthy
man, with cleaning white teeth shin
ing under his brown mustache-saluted
again.
''Tle child. my captain, he brought
from Massadno, below there in the val
ley. The child of the M who had
loved him"
The captain, Interested in spite Of
himself, knitted his brows and babe the
soldier proceed.
what of this child: You may
speak.
Thus encouraged, the little nan with
the cleaning teeth salutod onco more,
and with nanny a gesture OF fingers,
shoulders and eyebrows rapidly tod his
story.
q" Twas hu5 a year ago, my captain.
The ls1mau--I know not her n~nG-
had loved h.sn in the days WHOM he was
d lad tiiing the fields down there. She
was alone. Her frialds we're dead or
had Lett her. There WAS 10 Il but the
-,-,- ,,J> o,7Il hot, ba5, md fhn J1ripst
was too poor, What would you?" with
an appealing glance at his fellows and
a rapid shrug of his shoulders. "ahe
had been married--this wOlnan who had
loved The AndreanO-and had a child, 8
girl child, but her man lay in the sandy
graveyard over against the village church
wonder. dead, a year before, OF the fever
Sc sho sent to AndreanO.'
He paused for a moment, spat quick
" upon the ground and went On again.
"ohe sent u message to him up here
in the hills, my captain, and he came tt
her. He came down in the night ant
saw her; came, armed to the teeth, ant
daring all r any to tOuch linn. And IL
the n.orning, when the u was comm:
up oyer the hills, he had gone, and tn
child with him, and the woman VIII
hal t1rod him lay dead, with as,nile o.
heL frrD. That is all, my captain
Iuoman saIuted again and drew back
"Aid the child-Where is 1t now:
asked the captain slowly.
The child is with him, my captain.
What matters it, muttered the cap
tain. "Kill the child too. Kill Off tn
whole brood. Come, we waste time
Furw,rdr
W for all that, as the captain march
ed Al tho he'd of his lucn with knltte
b~CW4, he was very silent and yer.
th9uAhtful and might almost have bee
tn,.pryht to have been IN d9lht. Once O
g. - lie shook his head slowly and mut
1erat a0ncthirg ltneath his breath. He
zoo. had heard the strange story at a
earlier time-had heard how this ter
% ..id sin stained IA with a prlc
u1oo his head, had gone down INTO tn
~yailcy-into the midst of men ready an
willing to sell him-carrylng his life j
az hand, to see a peasant woman VIII
IL, sont for him; he had heard. toe
ho,s tAe robber had carried the chill
intJ t,e'hil)s and had carefully tende
ii tacso ever since.
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