Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-01

lnaI nc Is nero 10 nUu OUT our 1lduss iit
shall know nothing"
But II" began.
Your story, MIR, Gerald know to be
absolutely true"
And you know. then can he trustcd?'
II can read my human nature Mgr,
Rcux laughed YES. when you once may
be committed" he added.
We were still over our coffee, for had not
gono on to my hotel to dress nor to Dues
dale, who was that year on the English
lcgation-nor to my bankers to make in
quires. My intorst in the affair was too
absorbing, aud became more so when the
three Dalmatian gentlemen entered. the
Marquis Bianchi, Sig. Redi ana the Count
Balbi We began to talk italian over the
situation a tongue | understand very well
! from some experience in Italy. The Dalma-
tians have continued to speak Italian since
their land was field of the Venetian re-
! public. and many of their great family
names arc Italian to this day.
/ At first these gentlemen regarded me with
! some suspicion. when | recklessly told them
| would contribute out Of my own resources
very considerable sum toward the cause
| OF the Romiga. Mgr. ReuN assured them oil
| my sincerity and the personal experiences
| interesting me In the Dplmatian situation.
When they were convinced they talked to me
with greater afrsblity They, too, agreed
! that MasSimO, In approaching Mgr. ReuN,
| hrd not dropped his character OF Russian
agent. | was glad to hear this, for |
/ IOSlltl'u W lullh WHAT iiANi' Wv - ''N
Baron Massimo had appeared in that room.
! ! certainly would have tried on him good
| left-hander. However, that contingency did
not appear, and really felt better over the
| position had taken when found that had
| Mas3imo's wiles to fight.
Ono point was clearly brought out by TINS
| little conference, and that the Importance OF
crossing the Adriatic from Venice to cara,
[ aud freeing the Princess Beatrice. AS soon
as she should have been freed bioodless
revolution would follow, every one decided,
| agreeing that the governmental policy in
sci2ing the young lady, who is hereditary
head Of the Romaga, was founded in strong
| common sense, which the Romaga must
combat.
The Venetian adventure charmed me, and
| | asked to be in It, At last this was allowed
my enthusiasm carrying my end | believe
For | thought OF the Princess Beatrice
| Once she had thrown herself on my prO'ec-
ticn, and now | should try to help her.
Yet neither my new friends nor j myself
undcrratcd the danger of the attempt which
put me at once completely beyond any
| chance of my own governments protection
| At once became ayowedly a political in
| triguer. a meddler in the policy of another
| nation. But the spirit of adventure stirred.
| and my blood was warm fer the undertaking,
and all my previous life seemed to have had
| hoploss monotony from which now pos
| sibly might escape.
| did indeed, I'll say, remember my duties,
| l wired beth New York and my sister, and
! looked up Lord Due dale, one of my best
! friends, VINO rated me souudly On my method
| Of disappearing. But did not explain even
! 20 Kim | considered that Mgr. RCuN had
| made me a conflant-that my honor was
| pledged to the plot for the restoration of the
| ROma-a in Dalmala.
4 week later | was en- route for Venice,
whero one evening sat again at a table at
! FiOrian' n's-whero first | had seen Beatrice
| R1mGEa-and where. as on that occasion, the
| restless, gay Venetian crowd surgCd past,
| and san Marco faced the scene, its brill
| liancy merged into the darkening blue.
CHAPTER tx.
HOW WE SAILED OUT or VENICE AT
DAWN.
To go out from Venice at dawn, while
your gondOlier sings and the craft that is
| 20 bear you on the Adriatic lies at the edge
OF the lagoons-ths is to enter at once into
! the land OF imagination while the canals
| The palaces, the rcd-stained sails of the
| luEgcrs take on an infinite variety. 1t was
| still as we walked the Plaza, where the
| doves were cooling. and Venice slept still
| 3s wo embarked on the g0ndolas waiting In
! tho Grand canal, and over all was that
| mystery cf God which in the sordianess Of
! lifc-of the struggle Of the survival Of the
| htteSt-wo call beauty.
Fiyc gondoas held Balb Reni. me and
| BalOl's twelve men from his Tuscan cs-
! tatcs Mgr lslnce he has been created
|
| expedition, we had left in Paris. lie was
| cousin of tho Princess Beatrice Romaga, his
! mother having been Of that family. His
| clevorness was behind the whole attempt
| which was in its nature foolhardy, yet II
| successful, the very step to foil the policy
| Of the reigning German house in Dalmatia.
| Balbi and ! talked IL over. The counts
| black eyes flashed, end he looked very
| brave. very handsome, while the sea breezes
! famed his face. bringing a languid color
| .hnrp francesca Ralli is
| but his race traces itself to the Romans. In
| the old days his family had preserved an
| independence in a Tuscan fastness against
| king. prince. duke and city, and now there
| was something of that old blood kindline
| him to the adventure. Sig. Reni is an older
| man than either Balb or |. He may be
| 30 or any age almost, yet his muscles are
| 1.-the, his wits quick. He was here because
| no was first a Dalmatisn, and because he
| hated the foreigner who occupied the throne.
| Hc would have sooner had the red re
| publlcans hold Dalmatia; rather almost an
| archy.
| | had been piqued, because | was weary
| of the ordinary, and because had the yell
| low hair and dark eyes of Beatrice Romaga
| always in my mind.
| Near the Lido a sloop was waiting and
paying our gondolers, and the wind being
| favorable, we put to sea. The master,
Dalmatlan was in the secret. and that we
| intended landing near the coast fortress OF
| Bergamo where we had information the
| Princess Beatrice was detained. The men
| from Balbi's Tuscan estates did not once
| question their masters right to do exactly
| IS he wished for the mediaeyalism still lin
| gers in that part OF Tuscany.
The morning wind whstled softly in the
shrouds The garrulous inquistive Nene-
| tian gondoliers were far astern. The panO-
| rama of roof and tower of the seaport city
was left. In all the world are Constantine
| pie, New York and Venice most dstin-
| guished by the sea, which surrounds them
all and lends them beauty-and the sweep
| of the wind out of the spaces-and the OPP
| portunities for the commerce that humblcs
| the world.
We beat ont toward the sun. The sailors
sang. The gorgeousness Of the colors
changed into gray and blue and bright yell
| low, and the day was over the Adriatic;
| and back in the canals Venice was stirring
sleepily, and the many-colored sails of the
! fishing craft scattered the horizon.
| The day passed laZly. We talked over our
plans. and Balbi and grew into that warm
friendship which makes his memory dear
| Reni, the older man, while know him well
never has been so near me as Francesca
| Balbi.
1t was long past dusk when we heard the
| breakers on the Dalmatian coast, not far
from Bergamo, which, in ancient day a
stronghold of the Romaga, who held 1t
| against the Venetial corsairs, was at this
| time n nnlitical DrisOn of the government