The herald., 1896-02-16

SmOldering IN the OOdy; auu teiluB
Christine to spread cushions in the
boat, we carried Paolo thither. Scarce,
however, were we in the long canal,
when the gondola of Manin, the paint
er, came sweeping up towards his
home; and at the sight of us and of our
burden, the three men in 1t, first of
whom was Girolamo, cried out to US to
stop, or they would run us through as
we sat. Very tipsily and with loud
words they came humping against us
until the light Of their lantern fell
upon my face and showed then into
! what company they had fallen. Then
crying to one another that they had
run upon a trap, they turned their
| boat towards the island, and ware In
stantly gone from sight.
| ave got Paolo home, whether alive
or dead we knew not; and, having sent
| for surgeon, we laid the body in my
own cham Der. II must have been full
| hour before my man could bring the
! help we needed to us; but when at last
! the surgeon came aud had listened
long for beat of the heart or an eXpi-
ration of the breath, he said that life
was not wholly gone, and if it we're the
same at dawn we might begin to hope;
| with which pronouncement he admin
istered a strong cordial to his patient;
and when he had bathed Paolo's head
and had uudone our clumsy ban ages
| the wounded man himself surprised us
by opening his eyes and turning again
upon his side.
II had no heart to send Christine
! home that night Since we had picked
| I'D the body OF her lover she had not
! ceased to bend over it, covering the
cold lips with her kisses, and happy If
she might hold so much as the fingers
| of a hand. Her father was then at
Fiume; and now she watched with me
until the dawn broke, and for very
weariness she fell asleep with her head
pillowed upon my knees. While she
| slept | thought of her words, 'fo on will
avenge him, Nicolo.' and | knew not
what answer to give her. | was then
growing bent old man; could have
| no part or lot in any lovers quarrel
| there would be an outcry through the
whole city if |, who set up az a master,
| should fall upon the pupil and kill
him in combat. He had committed no
| offense known to the social or the
moral law; the greater number of peo-
| pie would applaud him because he had
| struck his rival down in fair fight
They would admit no right of nine to
| take the quarrel upon my shoulders;
! for ell that l could do, Paolo must die
| with no blow struck for him, and little
Christine must marry Girolamo.
II had made up my mind to do this
when dawn broke upon the city, and
the bells in the neighboring churches
began to ring for the first service. Oar
surgeon was to come again at day break,
and the light was scarce up when L
heard his voice upon the riva. He
found Paolo to bs doing we'll. and
would not have him walked from the
| deep sleep into which he had fallen.
| The wound, he said, was near to the
heart, and could be healed Only by sus-
! tanned rest and quiet. Any movement
might set it bleeding again, and then
| the little flame of life which had been
husbanded with such care, would waver
and die out. He left with this instruc-
| ton and the promise to be in again at
midday and L accompanied him to the
| riva. My own gondola then lay bv his,
and the felze being taken away, L was
| able to see what deep stain OF blood
! there was upon the cushions we had
| spread, aud even upon the boards, but
more to be noticed than this was the
half of sword blade lying near to the
prov, as though tossed in at hazard by
one who had picked it up from the
ground. This fragment OF e blade was
soon in my hands, and while l wa:
looking at it my own boatman, Michele
came up the canal and began to tell me
that he had found it in Manin's gardet
at the moment when we took up tn,
body of Paolo.
"'It is your own blade, excellency,
said he--'the blade you shaped for him
I Strange that it should have snapped
like a rotting bough.'
II said nothing to answer him; my
band trambled as though he had struck
me blow.
"And, my MASTER he went on see
ing nothing Of my distress, look now
the blade is all black and burnt-tht
blade which shone like silver yester
day, for l saw him draw it to make
sure
"Again l said nothing to him, bu
taking the fragment of the blade which
remained, l bent it across my knee and
it snapped like a withered branch. At
this Michele laughed aloud.
"'Yol see now, eXcellency, cried he
what steel he hnd. Oh, that such one
should have come froIu your hsndsn
81 sent him about his business, moi
choosing to dispute with him, and re
turned to Paolo's room, tumult o
strange thoughts ip my mind. How
came the sword to be rotten? VIII!
was it black and burnt? My cunning
gave me in moment the whole secre
of the enigma. The blade had frs
been heated in the fire, then plunged
into water, go becoming brittle as tn
glass in my windows. With such
blade Paolo. who lay there with deatf
for bedfellow, had stood up for hi
life. And the sword that had failed
him WAS the sword of Nicolo!--o
Nicolo Ferrara, the pupil Of Andrea
Oh, cursed day!
"All that morning | sat hugging NJ,
sorrow and asking myself, what vii
the city ssy?' l knew full we'll tina
Girolamo and his fellows would
quick to put abroad the story; sn
how could I answer it until Paol
spoke? Easy enough to stand upo
the Piazza and proclaim that tresct
cry had been busy, but who woul
hearken to defender Of his owl
wares?
"If Paolo died, then indeed was I ut
terly undone. Venice could no longe
be home for me. l must set out, oil
man that / was, and seek a new cit
and new friends. But II Paolo lived