The Ladysmith news and Ingram news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1905-1906, 1905-09-09


! Mia and little Mia travel with me in
the circus, but my wife Mia take sick
/, and die Then l haf little Nita put in
a big school in Albany, and she is
| there now.
Il hat pin and locket and
| chain witch little Nita wore, witch |
| aaf kept They will be in the box
with this letter On the pin is the
name Alice The locket hat a >picture
| of a beautiful lady. | took this pic
ture out and put little slip OF paper
under it with the date on it when
found the child.
This is all know love little Nita
| like she was my own. My brothers
name is Charles Sigmotta, but | do
| is at Madame De Longs school in AL
bany, in the Stat of New York.
81 swear by all the holy saints that
what I hat written is true.
.ANTONIO SIGMOTTA."
Here, indeed, was valuable docu-
ment. My exultation was SO great
| that I seemed to have Ralph Gravis-
| IOuIC COllplCIC1y IOuICu, Chd 1LuItIi
| Broughton's sweet face seemed to
smile encouragingly at me from way
across the sea. But after a few min
utes of supreme qualification, the
| thought flashed over me that the
| statement Of Antonio Sigmotta, other
| wise known as Barlotti, did not in any
way connect Ralph Graviscourt with
,1I0 I,
the pin with the name Alice engraved
| upon it and Nita Barlotti's striking
resemblance to the wife Of Charles
| Graviscourt, were to my mind conclu-
| sive evidence, but would the evidence
! hold in law? | knew it would not.
I took the locket from my pocket,
| removed the picture and found a slip
of white paper bearing a date. / ex-
amined this, and my heart throbbed
with excitement when | saw that the
| date of Doctor Sigmotta's attempted
murder of Nita Barlotti was the same
as that inscribed upon the tomb
| stone in Trinity cemetery, New York,
| death. | carefully replaced the paper
| and the picture, and with wild dreams
| of what might occur if | ever escaped
| from the clutches Of the prefetto,
passed the remainder Of the night half
sleeping on a broad, low couch that
stood in one corner of the guard room.
In the morning I was served with
a substantial breakfast and soon
after l had disposed Of it | was con-
Quoted before the prefetto. The elder
| Maligni looked at me with venom
Gus glance, and | saw in the faces Of
the crowd Of men around him not one
g-ance of friendliness.
Among the spectators was rascal
| Unlocking fellow who was called by
the prefetto "Pordino,' and as he
seemed to have the friendship of the
powerful Maligni, l at once identi-
fed him as the Count di Pordino, the
uncle of Henry Chorlans, spoken Of
| by Mutterelli.
Nita was not brought into the room
during the trial, and did not seem to
be an important factor. There was
rot friendly voice raised in my be-
half. 1 made an attempt to speak,
but was ordered to be quiet.
When the testimony was all in, the
prefetto turned to me, and said:
Young man, have listened to the
evidence against you, and I find that
you are guilty of the murder of my
brother. From to-day, you are the
same as dead. The sentence which
shall impose upon you is that you be
put in the Cagliari prison and work
Tor the state during the remainder of
your life That is all l have to say
to you"
Butt" l cried, springing to my feet,
Il am not guilty. | swear to you pre-
fetto, that l do not know who killed
your brother! I had no cause to hate
him or to wish him dead! But others
| had! An attempt at his life was
made in New York. l saw it, but
had nothing to do with it. Your
brother had enemies who have
tracked him here. /"
Enough! You were seen yesterday
in company with another, examining
my villa and grounds. At night my
brother is murdered and you are
found on my property, carrying off
my brothers promised wife. 1t is
enough"
Then turning to the guard, he Ut
tered a command, and l was conduct
ed from this hall of justice to my pris-
on.
AS I entered the great iron gates of
the prison yard, and heard them clang
behind me, I felt the deepest despair.
My clothes were taken from me,
and I was clad in the bi-colored pris-
on suits with which Sardinia clothes
it's prisoners.
These suits are made of stuff very
similar to that in use for the same
purpose in the United States, but the
colors, instead of running in stripes,
are divided in the middle. One-half
measuring from line drawn from the
nose downward, is dark and the other
light. When l had been thus clothed
I had one arm, leg and the right side
of my body black, and the left arm,
leg and half of my body dirty gray.
My watch, the gold locket and pin