Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1898-01-06
Continued.

-,fa7 m tear her dainty flesh; his hon
:, instincts ha1 led him to attempt
.,ygb vengeance on the woman he had
ss4 was his masters foe. And he had
,,a- his fate, and died in the perform
sree If duty. But | said no more on
+bp subject. The dogs death was not
,,luded to again by either Nina or my
,Jf He lay in his messy grave un-
der the cypress boughs-his memory
upr,inted by any lie, ana his fidelity
u.brinei in my heart as a thing good
and gracious, far exceeding the self
interested friendship OF so-called
Christian humanity.
The days passed slowly ON. To the
reyelers who chased the flying steps
n carnival with shouting and laughter
no doubt the hours were brief, being
30 brimful Of merriment; but to me,
who heard nothing save the measured
ticking OF my own time-piece of re-
yeuge, and who saw naught save its
hands, that every second drew nearer
70 the last and fatal figure on the dial.
and very moments seemed long and
laden with WEAKNESS. | roamed the
streets of the city almlessly, feeling
more like a deserted stranger than a
wsil-knOwn and envied nobleman,
whose wealth made him the cynosure
OF all eyes. The riotous glee the
music the color that whirled and
reeled through the great street of To-
iedO at this season bewildered and
panied me. Though | knew and was
accustomed to the wild vagaries OF
carnival yet this year they seemed to
be out Of place, distracting, senseless,
and all unfamiliar
Sometimes | escaped from the city
,umult and wandered out to the Gene
terry. There | would stand, dreamily
looking at the freshly turned sods
above Guido Ferrari's grave No stone
marked the SPOT as yet, but it was
close to the ROmani vault--not more
nan couple of yards away from the
IRON grating that barred the entrance
that dim and fatal charnel- house.
[ had q drear fascination for The place.
a.d more than once | went to the open
.2g OF that secret passage made by the
brigands to ascertain if all was safe
md undisturbeo Everything was as
j had left it, save that the tangle of
h1shwOOd Rad become thicker, and
weeds ana brambles had sprung up,
making it less visible than before, and
probably rendering it more impassa-
a
cured the key Of the vault. | knew
that for family burial-places of this
KIND there are always two keys, one
left in charge of the keeper of the
cemetery, the other possessed by the
person or persons to whom the mauso-
Ieum belongs, and this other / man
aged TO obtain.
On one occasion being left for some
time alone in my own library at the
villa, l remembered that in an upper
drawer of an old oaken escritoire that
Stood there, had always been a few
Keys belonging to the aoors of cellars
ana rooms in the house. | looked, and
FOUND them lying there as usual; they
aII had labels attached to them, signi-
lying their use, and | turned them
over impatiently, not finding what
sought. ! WIS about to give up the
search, when | perceived a large rusty
iron key that had slipped to the back
'l the drawer | pulled it out, and to
my satisfaction it was labeled "Mauso-
ieum.' Immediately took posses
# OLE Il 80, ha, 81
.aI and necessary an implement;
knew that ! should soon need it. The
he-ery was quite deserted at this
.7llTe season-no one visited it TO lay
'.saLhs Of flowers or sacred memen-
ON the last resting-places Of their
trends. In the joys of the carnival
"13 thinks OF the dead? In my fire.
t..at walks there l was always alone;
Wslt have opened my own vault
mo gone down into it without being
IseTed, but | did rot; / contented
A. sef with occasionally trying the
Key ln tAe lock, and assuring myself
mat 10 workea without difficulty.
returning from one of these excur-
''o.s late on mild afternoon toward
.-a end Of the week preceding my
..AsFlage bent my steps toward the
MOO where | saw a picturesque group
3" sulors and girls dancing one of
.lese fantastic, graceful dances of the
"1utry in which impassioned move
uaAt and expressive gesticulation are
ything. Their steps were guided
ana accompanied by the sonorous
hanging OF tull-toned guitar and the
.'uhhng beat OF a tambourine. Theii
'hls'me, animated faces, their fash
Jug eyes and laughing lips, their gay
man y-colored costumes, the glitter o.
'3tes on the brown necks Of the
-t.l eHs, the red caps jauntily perched
.Ae thick black curls Of the fisher
aa made mp a picture full Of
-t and life, thrown up into strong
'' against the pale gray and amber
ot the February sky and sea;
a.e shadowing overhead frowned tbs
.A dark walls Of the Castle Nuovo.
was such a scene as the Englisf
.-.aEer Luke Fildes might love 10 ue,