The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1899-12-22

Now to business, and keep your ears open
and your head clear. How do We stand as
regards funds"
Jacopo, to whom I had intrusted my
ed the contents.
"There are fve-and-thirty crowns with
me, signore, and five gave your worship
7 this mornlng, making 10 in al" and he re-
stored the purse to its hiding place under his
belt.
Enough for our needs at present, and
| more will be Forthcoming soon, for there is
| business in hand"
81 said that luck would turn" repeated
Jacopo, his face showing JOY at the news.
Never mind the luck, but attend to me.
I want to enlist half q dozen good men, men
who will 60 anywhere and do anything.
They must bring their own arms and horses,
| and will engage them for month, and pay
| each man five crowns"
..That is at the rate of 60 crowns year
| for each man. We could enlist hail Rome
| for that"
Probably, but it isn't half Rome, only
half a dozen men l want
Very true, your worship, and l will
doubtless be able to find them; but, excel
| lency-"
"What is it,"
''Six men at five crowns each makes so
crowns. and"
''Did 1 not say more will be forthcoming?
You need not pay them in advance. Two
| CROWNS each on enlisting, and the remainder
on completion of the task. Will that Go?"
st is enough, surely"
every well, then you may set about this
at once, and remember that they should be
lodged close at hand, and be ready to go any
where at a moments notice."
''Excellency.'
Whilst this conversation was going on
had effected such change in my attire as
| was possible resolving to take the first op-
| portunity the following day to summon 4
tailor and give him orders for things for
which I stood in need. Jacopo was just
about to depart when Defaure, the page,
appeared, bearing with him note and a
rouleau, which he said was from his emil
| nence. These he left with me and retired,
saying there was no answer. The note was
brief, merely hoping I was in comfort, and
sending me in the rouleau hundred crowns
with the intimation that if I needed them
another hundred was ready for me. The
| sum, however, was more than ample, and,
giving Jacopo further directions to engage
a couple of lackeys, / sent him away, re-
joicing at my good fortune, with present of
| ten crowns for himself, which the honest fell
| low at first refused to take, and only ac-
copied on my pressing the sum on him.
This being done there was nothing left
| for me but to await the dinner hour, and I
strolled down to the stables to look at the
| horses, which were in truth in such luxury
as perhaps the poor beasts had never en-
| joyed. A groom of the cardinals establish
ment had attended to them, aud l slipped
4 piece Of silver into his hand for his trouble.
| He bit this to test whether it was genuine
| or not and then settled himself on heap Of
| hay to mend some saddlery.
l left him to his occupation, and, with 4
parting caress to my beasts, moved further
| en- to look at the other animals. And here,
| meeting the head groom, I had some CONVEX
| sation with him, admlring the cardinal 3
stud.
Eyes, excellency," he said, '"they are good
| horses, notably the two barbs which the
| Sedan Diem presented to his eminence, but
there are other two now in our stables, be-
longing to the Sieur de Bayard, the like of
| which 1 have never seen. They are this
| way, eXcellency, if you will but accompany
me-"
I readily assented, and, passing by the
| barbs, whose slight, delicate frames telied
/ their powers of speed and endurance, we
| came to a couple Of stalls, in which there
were pair of war horses that fully justified
| the head groom's praise. They were both
| English, and l recognized the breed, as
| Hardwood had brought three or four with
| him from Britain, saying, and with truth,
| that they were the only animals that could
| ever carry him when in full mail. But the
| two before me in the stables were as su-
perior to Hawkwood's as barb is to mule.
| One was the great bay Bayard was riding
| on the day of my trial, when he accompanied
| the duke and his staff back to Arezzo. The
other was blue roam, whose color did not
show off his size to advantage, but whose
broad chest, sloping shoulders and lean
| tanks marked his power. His eyes were
mild and soft, yet full of fire, and his small
head was set like that of stag upon his
strong neck. Two grooms, bearing On their
liveries the arms of the house of Terrail, of
which the Seigneur de Bayard was chief,
were in attendance, and set to work with a
somewhat unnecessary zeal on our appear
ance to polish the coats of their charges,
which already shone like satin. Whilst en-
gagged in admirlng these splendid animals
1 heard the deep bay of the hound behind
me, and, turning, saw Bayard himself, who
had come to visit his favorites. / compli-
| mentcd him on the possession of two such
steeds, as who would not have done, and
Dayard said:
eyes, they are fine animals, truly the finest
I have ever seen, except perhaps the one
| eyed Savoy, who was also of the same
breed; and yet am not sure" and he ran
his eyes over the horses. ''They were given
to me. along with Bran here''-he touched