Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1899-06-14
p II agree one glass eachtof this all round,
and then cavaliere, would you mind hand

@ II agree-one glass each at this all round, |
and then cavaliere, would you mind hand
ing me those glasses ?,'.@@7 ..sz5s<Yq y
Three pccullar-shaped, straw-colored Ve-
netian glasses were close to ME; these ]
passed UPWARDS mechanically to D Ambrose,
and he went ;on, filling the. glasses to the
brim with wine from the; fagon, as he spoke.
81 admired the rare workmanship Of this
fagon last night, and his holiness sent it
home with me, full to the brim with this
FaIernian, which Giulia Bella herself poured
into it. The wine is of priceless brand,
and our lord was good enough to say that it
/ liked it he would send me all in his eel
lars if only let him know"
:. owe will drink this, then, with your emf.
.nence's permission, to the success of the un.
dertaking," said the secretary, posing his
glass in the air.
Fright" said D'Amboise. Gentlemen.
success to our venture!"
He raised the wine to his lips. silently
did the same.
''Hold on!"
We stopped in amaze, and Machiavelli,
who had spoken, quietly emptied his glass
into bowl beside him.
<'What does this mean"' said the cardinal
''This, your eminence," and Machiavelli
held out his hand, on which an opal was
flashing a moment before. The stone was
still there, in the gold band on his finger;
but it was no longer an opal, but something
black as jet, devoid of all luster
Startled by the movement, D'Amboisc
bent over the extended fingers, and i fol-
lowed his example. The red on the cardi-
nails cheek went out, and his lips paled as he
looked at the ring.
POISON! Heart of Jesus!" he muttered
through pale lips.
eyes," said Machiavelli, slowly, with.
drawing his hand, 1.-The ring tells no lies
Diavolo! Was ever SO grim jest? Asking
you to tell him if your eminence liked the
wine!"
1t was too near a matter to be pleasant,
and the hideous jest, and the treachery of
Alexander, filled me with hot anger 1t
had the effect, however, of pulling me to-
gether at once, the sudden presence Of death,
and the danger, recalling me to myself for
all my thoughts of Angola. l breathed a
prayer of thanks for our escape. 1t WAS
good omen. My luck was not yet run out.
DAmkoise sprang to his feet. "By c."
he said, bringing his clenched fist into the
palm Of his hand, "the Borgia will rue this
day; here, give me those glasses" He seized
them, and, drawing back the curtain, flung
them out of the window, where they fell
into the court outside, breaking to splinters
with a little tinkling crash. Then he
emptied out the contents of the fagon and
hurled it into the crate, where it lay, its
fine work crushed and dented, the two en-
erald eyes of the dragon on the stopper
blinking at us wickedly. This outburst
made D'Amboise calmer, and it was with
more composure that he struck small gong,
tod H. e1E a. 49,
did So Burn entered the room.
eve want clear table," said the cardi-
nal; remove these things and hand me that
map"
By the time BURN had done this, his emf.
nence showed no further trace of .excite.
ment, except that his lips were very firmly
set, and there was slight frown on his fore
head as he smoothed out the roll of the map
One corner kept obstinately turning up, and
as Machiavelli quietly put his hand on it to
keep it in position, he said: See! The
ring is as it was before"
We looked at the opal, and, sure enough,
the poison-tint was gone, and under the
pale, semiopaque blue of it's surface lights
of red, of green, and of orange, fitted to and
fro.
1T is wonderful" I said, and D. Amboise
smiled grimly to himself. The cardinal
placed his finger on the map, where the port
of Sinigaglia was marked.
els it here he lands?"
eyes," replied Machiavelli, "and then
straight to Rome.'
"You have sure information?"
eyes" .,.-z, 4 4
''Then will your excellency instruct M.
Donati? As arranged, pledge an imme.
date movement on the part of Tremouille,
at the first sign of success
"Iou have agreed, cavaliere, to undertake
tie task?" and the secretary turned to me.
81 have, your excellency."
Machiavelli then went on, speaking incis-
lively, wasting no words ''In ten days or
Whereabouts from now Monslgnore Bozardo,
the Papal envoy to the Grand Turk, will
land at Sinigaglia and start for Rome. He
brings with him a letter and sum of money,
10000 ducats. These are for his holiness.
Bozardo and the letter may reach, if you
like; the ducats must not"
'FWhere are they to go?'
''To the Duke de la Tremouille."
II follow
Understand that you take this venture
at your own risk"
saw what he meant; if failed l was to
be sacrificed, and my mind was made up.
would accept, with condition.
II quite understand-there is one thing"
"What?'
''Ten days is wide margin. I will stop
Bozardo or die; but propose effecting the
release of the Lady Angola as WELL"
A glad look came into Machiavelli's eyes;
but the cardinal flashed out:
"Nom du Diable What grasshopper have
you got in your head? Leave the demoiselle
to us. You cannot do two things at once"
"Then, with respect to your eminence,
decline the affair Of the ducats."
"You decline-you dare;" but MachiavelN
interposed.
another agent::"
mot now; it is too late now"
And we have no money for active meas.
ures?"
"Not livre"
1T seems to me that the cavaliere has us
in his hands, and we had better agree. After
ALL, he only risks his head twice, instead OF
once"
D'Amboise bit his lips, and with frown
began to drum on the table with his fingers,
I sat silent but resolved, and Machiaveli,
rising, went to the writing table, pulling
out from his vest parchment. In this he
rapidly wrote something, and, busting it
over with drying powder, held it to the fame
of candle. Then he turned back leisurely,
and, as he resumed his seat, handed me the
paper.
II have just filed in your name on this
blank safe-conduct through the Papal
States. took the precaution of obtaining
this from Sforza to-day. When can you