Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-09-10

ken aback by the impassibility OF one
he already considers his captive. II
must say, signore pittore, you take
things coolly. You're probably not
aware OF how they stand with you; il
not, you'll soon learn"
Even to this insinuated threat he gets
no reply, the artist only laying down
his brush and staring him straight in
the face with provoking sangfroid. and
an expression which seems to saw:
who the deuce are you, sir, and what
may you be wanting?"
"Sangue di Cristo." vociferates the
robber, somewhat nettled at being so
~nonchalantly regarded. Come. sirl I
want your answer. Do you accept my
terms?"
NO" is the laconic response, spoken
firmly and with an emphasis that tells
of determination.
mol" echoes the bandit, in blank
establishment, his hand mechanically
moving towards the butt of one Of his
pistols. Then. recovering himself and
keeping his temper in check. he asks:
For what reason do you refuse?"
i've two reasons answer the art
list, initiating his moderation, and
speaking in less sullen tones
PRAY let me hear them"
"One is that I don't paint portraits
am not a portrait painter. My special
ty is the landscape. AS you see, l was
just commencing one, when you inter-
rupted me. l won't say rudely, as l
suppose you didn't intend it in that
sense"
Never mind about my intention;
we'll talk of that by and by. The res-
son you've given for refusing to paint
my portrait seems fair enough. Bu&
you say you have two. What's the
other?"
81 never paint upon compulsion."
ooh, indeedi But you were waAt-
ing me. just now you said So"
"True, l admit having expressed .
wish to put a figure or two in the
sketch
"Well, I'm good for one. Surely I'll
suit? Possibly you prefer a group? In
that case / can also accommodate you.
/ keep a stock of models, much more
life-like, or at all events l~ivelier, than
those you are in the habit Of getting in
the Via Margutta. You can have a
look at them, and judge for yourself"
AT this, and without waiting for the
artist to signify assent, he clutches a
silver whistle-a sort OF dog-call seen
dangling from one of his waistcoat but
tons-raises it to his lips, and sounds
three notes, clear and distinct from one
another. While the last of them is yet
reverberating along the cliffs, there is
a r~ustling OF scattered leaves. here and
there the swish of a bent ~rebounding
branch, the crash OF one breaking. and
then a half score Of meni They appear
on all sides; some coming out OF the
bushes, some dropping down from the
rocks-above and observation-disclosures
ly closing towards a common centre.
the platform upon which he who sum
moned them Is still conspicuously stand
ing.
In twenty seconds they are beside
him, one after another leaping lightly
up and clustering around their chief.
For that he is this is evident from his
air of authority. as theirs of obedience.
Besides, his appearance Is more impos-
ing than any. though in point of Pic
t-uresqueness there are several who
might contest the palm with him. Most
of them are gaudily dressed, their
dresses bedecked, though in different
degrees Of splendor, and all armed one
way or another; some carrying car
bines, some ordinary shotguns, with a
profusion Of pistols. knives and stilet-
toes, these hanging behind on their
hips, or stuck, smuggler fashion,
through their waist belts in front.
Henry Harding has now risen to his
feet. and stands silently regarding
them, though not with the eye OF an
artist. Under other circumstance he
might have been enchanted to see such
a group OF figures as that before him.
Not all the models collected from all
the studios in London, OF Rome itself,
But he has no thoughts OF this now.
There Is something else than art to oc-
u his mind. Contemplating the
faces before him, he can read in them
an expression which tells him that not
only is his purse in peril, but his liberty
even his life. A more c%ut-throat-
looking crew he has never set eyes on;
indeed. never supposed to exist. Fancy
itself could scarce c~onjure up so many
faces Of the brutal type, "a many sets
OF f~orDidding features in such close con-
tiguity. 1t IS a cartoon Of the purely
diaboIical, such as might have been inn
agined by Dante while engaged in the
composition OF the Inferno" There 10
outlawry in their looks, ruflanism in
their attitudes and gestures, blood and