The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-14
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
LION AND MALTA.
cOOOe0003@c%c~~ocoaC
BY w. A. CURTIS.

Copyright. 1897, by S. S. Mcclure Coz
Carlo lombard, the celebrated Ameri-
can lion tanner, had arrived at the little
S.c;lian village OF Villabruna. and the
place was much excited thereby. Surely,
no one but a celebrated lion tanner could
hope to subdue the immense lion Lom-
bardi had just brought from Algeria, a
beast so fierce that il was days after his
arrival before any of the villagers plucked
up courage enough to enter the courtyard
where his cage stood. When Lombard
had been in the village six weeks he had
so far SubGued the lion that he could en-
ter the cage at any time after the animal
mad eaten. The villagers were beginning
to regard the trainer as almost a fixture
among them. when the telegraph operator
spread dismay by announcing that a tel
egram had come Summoning lombard to
JOIN his partner at once. The children
gr1eVed because they would no longer be
able to go to see the big lion every day
after school: the owner of the old house
where lombard lodged grieved because
she was about to lose the best lodger she
had had for years.
Wien lombard sat down to the last
dinner he was to eat at Villibruna a
folded paper lay under his plate
My bill?" said he to the lodging keeper
Very well. As 1 leave early in the morn
ing. perhaps l had better pay it now.
woman, uneasily, and 1 do not know who
put il there"
''Signor lombard" read the lion tanner
as you are about TO leave the village,
you will please place the usual traveller S
tax of $50 in the aims box which you
:--ll find fastened TO the shrine of ST.
Paul in the edge of the village toward
Palermo: The red box. not the black
one, which is for the church. 1t must
be there by nightfall. The penalty will be
death Signed. the Malta
The lion tanner had heard of the Malta
the Sicilian order of assassins which i'm
dare.
all citizens who displease its members. all
officers of the law who seek to enforce
the law, and governs Sicily everywhere
outside OF the cities, but he was a North
Italian. blonde. sturdy fellow from the
recon where, on the breakup of the
Roman empire, the Goths and VandalS
mingled with the hardy Celts of Cisalpine
G2ul and formed the best race of Italy,
and he despised the Sieilians, the progeny
of Egyptian Hamites, Carthaginians
4 Creeks Italians, Saracens and the negro
mans and afterwards by Saracens.
L shall not pay the tax"
They will kill you, just as they killed
the Englishman who refused TO pay it,
They will not kill me. A tanner of
; lions always carries weapons and knows
how TO use them. l face the lions of
Africa l am not afraid of the hounds
of Sicily. l am going to the BARRIERS. and
e any more bearers of messages come,
tel them l will not pay
The barber was a garrulous fellow, like
some other BARRIERS. and he talked triskly
to Lombardi.
You received a note from the Malta
today?" he said, as he stropped the
razor.
Nov did you know" asked lombard
You forget my daughter is a servant
where you lodge. She says you will not
pay the tax"
MOP"
No
''Then you know that you must die"
Il have weapons and am not afraid.
They cannot attack me when they will
not find me on my guard"
They will not attack you when you are
on your guard. If it is impossible to kill
you here; they will follow you wherever
You go and kill you at the first opportu-
nifty But you are not always on your
guard. Suppose | were one of the Malta,
and had been at the meeting last night
and had drawn the slip saying. Thou art
necessity of killing you or being killed
myself. You are lying here at my mercy.
How easy il would be to cut your throat.
and lombard. looking in the mirror, saw
TIE BARRIERS arm dart back and slash
to-ard him. but the alert lion tanner,
tense muscled from training the quick
est and most watchful of animals, jerked
rs head TO one side and the razor sank
deeply in the plush cushion of the chair.
Over went the barber under crushing
blow.
i was Only JeSllilS- Let me SO ne
begged cringingly and with some mis-
givings. after bestowing a few hearty
cuffs and some advice to be careful in
his jokes hereafter lombard let him go.
IN DANGER
When Lombardi gave the lion his even
ing meal, lying in the cage he found a
note like the one he had received in the
morning, but the tax was put at SO
They think that my encounter with the
barber has scared me. II they attack me
tonight some of them will bite the dust.
There are no weapons in VillabTuna Ike
my revolvers-
He went to his room and opened his