The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-07-09

man had threatened to stab her to the heart-and would do 1t as soon as look at her--that l knew
 q knew it merely from my knowledge of the Neapolitans, for had no idea who the man might be I knew it, and yet took this detail better than the fact oi the engagement, though now l began te laugh at both. As if I was going to lei her marry anybody elsel As if a hair oi her lovely head should be touched while I lived to protect her! had great mind to row away to blazes with her that very night and never go near the vine- yard again. or let her either. But we had not a lira between us at the time, and only the rags in which we sat bare foot in the boat Besides. l had to know the name of the animal who had threat , ened a woman and such woman as thlF.
 ssFor a long time she refused to tell me, with splendid obduracy, but l was as determined as she, so at last she made conditions. I was a)t to go and get put in prison for sticking a knife Into him he wasn't worth it-apd I did promise not to stab him in the back. Faustina seemed quite satisfied, though little pug zled by my manner. having herself the racial tolerance for cold steel, and next moment she had taken away my breath. Tt Is stefano, she whispered and hung her head.
 And we'll she might, poor thing! Ste fano. of all creatures on Gods earth for heri
 Bunny. he was a miserable little un- derslzed wretch, ill-favored servile surly and second only to his master in bestial cunning and hynrocrisy. His face was enough for me; that was what I read in it. and I don't often make mistakes. He was CorbuccPs confidential body servant, and that alone was enough to damn him in decent eyes; always came out first on the Saturday with the spese to have all ready for his master and current mis- tress, and stayed behind on the Monday to clear and lock up. Stefanoi That worm I could we'll understand his threatening a woman with a knife. What beat me was how any woman could ever have listened to him; above all, that Faustina should be the onei It passed my comprehension. But questioned her as gently as I could, and her explanation was largely the threadbare ons you would expect. Her parents were so poor. They were so many in family. Some of them begged-would I promise never to tell? Then some of them stole-sometimes- and all knew the pains of actual want She looked after the cows, but there were only two of them, and brought the milk to the vineyard and elsewhere, but that was not employment for more than one ana Inere were countess SlSleTS WdlllnB to take her place. Then he was so rich, Stefano.
 "Rich?' I echoed. 'Stefano? "Si, Arturo mio.'
 "Yes, I played the game on that vine yard. Bunny, even to going by my own first name.
 "And how come he to be rich?' I asked suspiciously.
 "She did not know. but he had given her such beautiful jewels, the family had lived on them for months. she pretending an avocat had taken charge of them for her against her marriage. But l cared nothing about all that. " Jewels! Stefanol' l could only nut ter.
 Perhaps the Count has paid for some of them. He is very kind
 "'To you, Is he?'
 " oh. yes, very kind
 "And you would live in his house af- terward?
 " Not now, mia cara-not nowl'
 No, by God. you don'tp said in En- glish. But you would have done so, eh?'
 "'Of course That was arranged. The Count is really very kind.'
 " Do you see anything of him when he comes here?'
 Yes, he had some times brought her It. tie presents, sweetmeats. ribbons and the
 
 made through this toad of a Stefano. Knowing the man, I now know all. But Faustina, she had the pure and simple heart and the white soul, by the God who made it, and for all her kindness to tattered scapegrace who made love to her in broken Italian between the nipples and the stars. She was not to know what was, remember, and beside Corbucci and his henchmen I was the Arehangel Ga- briel come down to earth. 'sWel, as I lay awake that night two more lines of Swinburne came into my head and came to stay. God said, Let him who wins her take and keep Faustina.' .On that couplet I slept at last, and 1t was my text watchword when l awoke ih the morning. I forget how well you know your Swinburne. Bunny, but don't you run away with the idea that there was anything else in common between his Faustina and mine. For the last time let me tell you that poor Faustina was