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

little and ate much. st. Armanic passed
by the wine, drinking only water, and in re-
ply to a question of mine answered that he
was under VOW.
Eve can absolve you here easily, cheva-
Her" said LIE Clerc, who overheard the re-
mark, "here is some Orvieto which l can
recommend" and he pushed the flask to-
wards st. Armande.
The latter, however, would not be tempt
ed, and LIE Clerc shook his head.
"a wiilful man must have his own way,
chevalier; but that Orvieto was present
from Pierrot, our lords most favored serv-
ant"
Indeed" said the Spaniard; "then can
safely say it is the last present you will re-
ceive from Don Pierrot."
How so!''
''Cesare arrived last night, very suddenly,
with two, men only, they. say. He has not,
however, yet seen his holiness - although
he is in the vatican"
LIE Clerc remained silent, but St. Ar.
mande asked in his low voice:
81 do not follow, sir. Could you not en-
plain? Unless I ask too much. You see
] am stranger in Rome"
The Spaniard smiled grimly.
at means, chevalier, that Pierrot was
found this morning with dagger sticking
up to the hilt in his heart"
St. Armande turned pale, and LIE Clerc
asked in a low tone:
care you sure of this? When did it hap
pen?''
CAS- sure as I sit here. It happened an
hour or so after Cesare's coming. The pope
is said to be overcome with grief" and the
lips of Don Diego de Leyva took a sarcastic
curve.
"Great heavens!" said LIE Clerc. Poor
Pierrot!"
The chaplain rose from his seat with a
slight apology, and approaching D'Amboise,
leaned over him and whispered a few
words in his ear. The cardinal nodded with
apparent unconcern, and LIE Clerc came
back; but watching D'Amboise narrowly,
1 saw that although he still appeared to
laugh and Jest, his eyes were grave and his
brow troubled. In fact, shortly afterwards,
the high table broke up, and we followed
suit very soon. Despite his effeminate ap-
pearance, I had begun to take liking to
st. Armande, and as the next few hours
were at our disposal, invited him to ride
out with me, as had mind to try Cas-
tors PAGES. This, however, he. declined,
with the somewhat shy air that marked his
manner, and, leaving him to his devices,
ordered Castor to be saddled and took him
out. When l returned, about FIVE in the
afternoon, felt that all that had been said
of the generous beast I rode moderated his
value, and that l possessed a matchless
steed, who was fit to run for kingdom.
For the next few days the routine of my
life was exactly the same, the morning at
tendance at the cardinals levee, the daily
dinner in public, and long rides with Cas-
tor in the afternoons, in which l was some
times accompanied by St. Armande; but
this was not always possible, as he was
closely attached to D'Amboise's person.
D'Amboise frequently asked ne to accom-
pany him to the vatican; but up to now
had begged permission to decline his invi-
tation, on the plea that, with the business
before me, it would perhaps be well for me
to live as much in retreat as possible. The
| cardinal said, with that good-tempered
laugh OF his, which entirely belied his as
tute scheming nature, that as was as yet
ignorant of my task [ need not be 80 care
full. replied to his eminence that it was
just because was in the dark that was
so circumspect, and he was then good
enough to agree with me. / was, however,
naturally anxious to see something of the
vatican, and one of my reasons for refus-
ing, besides that of prudence, was that l
was not sufficiently we'll equipped. This,
however, with the funds at my disposal,
was soon mended, but from some cause or
other, 1 had up to now not gone. Jacopo
was not SO successful as he anticipated he
would be, in raising his men. 1t was, above
all, necessary to have them trustworthy,
and it was difficult to get men of this class for
merely temporary employment, such as
l offered. At last the matter was ar
ranged, and by the end of the week mus
tered body OF six stout fellows, all of them
fairly well mounted, and, what was bet
ter, all of them trained soldiers. 1 had
them lodged near the Ripetta, and the car
dinals table afforded them free dinner,
of which they were not slow to take advan-
tage. In order to keep them employed, l
took them out with me every afternoon, dis
| missing them upon my return, with orders
to join the nightly escort of the cardinal
| and Bayard, to and from the vatican.
| saw q good deal of Bayard, and at times ex.
pressed myself with impotence at being
kept to cool my heels. He told me that
he was not at liberty to mention the de-
tails of the business on which was to be
employed, and advised me to bide my time
with patient heart. Amongst other mat
tiers we spoke of was the murder of Pierrot,
and Bayard told me that Cesare Borgia had
left Rome the next day without seeing his
father, the pope, and that he was crushing
out completely the stand made against him
by my old chief Vitelli of Citta del CASTILLO,
and others.
took Bayard's advice and held patience
by the tail, although I longed for work
to begin. My men were in good fettle. They
had enough work to keep them out of mis-