The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1905-07-21

I ly, am in some persons way, and
unless the secret Is discovered,
shall, no doubt, be murdered. If you
| can help me, you will win my graft
! tude."
Thus prettily asked, walked be-
| side them, and the old woman came
ambling after, muttering to herself
! things I could not understand, but in
which l frequently heard the name
| Maligni.
| Now, there was more than one rea-
| son why it seemed perfectly proper
for me to accompany Nita and Mau-
| bikeck, and lend what assistance I
could in this time of need. To begin
with, | was much interested in the
! girl herself-personally of
her grand beauty, and the romantic
interest always attached to beautiful
girl in her position.
! Secondly, I was interested In Nita
| Barlotti, as has been shown hereto
! fore, because she closely resembled
the photograph of Charles Gravis-
courts wife. and because in that re-
semblance there bad seemed to be
some shadowy hint that Graviscourt
was not all that he seemed to be be-
| fore tle world. And in striking at
Graviscourt, | was striking a blow
| for my own love, and this is a motive
! that will always stir the heart of a
man whose love is withheld from him
| by another's will
Thirdly, l was interested in the
lion-tamer. He impressed me as be-
ing no ordinary individual-very diff
ferent from the average circus at
tache, as was Barlotti herself, and
in the evidences Of love that l had
seen pass between these two, l had
| seemed to see a reflection Of my
| own, and this claimed my interest,
| if nothing else
Fourthly. l had seen the act of the
man who had set fire to the trapeze
rope, and was, no doubt, the only hui
man being, save himself, who had
seen it. 1t became me, therefore. to
aid Maubikeck and Nita by using the
knowledge | possessed, and by iden-
| tifying the miscreant who had fired
| the rope, ascertain through him his
motive, or, if he had been employed
! to do the thing, the name of his
cowardly employer.
| One of the facts that | learned by
! this adventure was that the stars of
circus lived, when away from the
| glare and tinsel of their profession,
much like other people with plenty
of money to spend.
Leaving the Garden by means Of
one Of the private entrances, Maubi-
keck hailed a carriage. 1t was a
| good one. and was drawn by team
of well-fed, sleeklooking horses, and
| thought it was probably the one he
used every night for his own convey
ance, and we all got into it. Maubi-
keck and Nita sat together, and the
old hag sat with me, with our backs
toward the driver. She was not a
pleasant carriage companion, and
would gladly have exchanged places
with Maubikeck. The old woman
| swayed back and forth, moaned,
wrung her hands, and spoke fiercely
| to Maubikeck, who told her with un-
mistakable emphasis to hold her
| tongue
Il will explain this woman's We
hemence, Signor Wilberton," said the
| lion-tamer. "Pacho Maligni is hard
master and a jealous man. He allows
no one but himself and those hired
for the purpose to come near Nita
Barlotti. Believe me, this is the first
time since we opened in Madison
| Square Garden that l have accom-
! panied the signorina to her hotel. Ma
ligni keeps her constantly under his
| care, and this woman is employed by
him to prevent others-principally
myself-from coming into the pres
ence of the signorina. That we are
enabled to be with her now is due
solely to the mishap which has be-
| fallen Maligni. He may be dead at
this moment or seriously wounded.
That he is wounded is certain, or he
would have been on hand as usual
| to take Nita to the hotel"
And where does Maligni live"
asked.
"At the same hotel"