Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-02-24
!. rI thought stefano had been


"I saw him-I spotted hint was
went for him with my bare hands;
not fists, Bunny: not fists for a thing
like that. meant getting my fingers
into his vile little heart and tearing 1t
out by the roots. I was stark mad.
But he had the revoiyer-hers. He
blazed 1t at arms length and missed.
And that steadied me. had smashed
his funny bone against the rock before
he could blaze again. The revolver
fell with q rattle. but without going
Of. In an instant I had 1t tight and
the little swine at my mercy at last"
you didn't show him anyT
Mercy? with Faustina dead at my
feet? I should have deserved none in
the next world IL had shown him any
In this! No; I Just stood over him,
with the revolver in both hands, feel
ing the chambers with my thumb, and
as / stood he stabbed at me, but 1
stepped back to that one and brought
him down with bullet In his CUTS.
And can spare you two or three
more I said, for my poor girl could
not have fired a shot. Take that one
and that-and THAR
''Then I started coughing and wheel
ing like the count himself, for the place
was full of smoke. When IL cleared my
man was very dead, and tipped him
into the sea to defile that rather than
Faustina's cave. And then-and then
we were alone for the last time, she
and I, in our own pet haunt, and /
could scarcely see her. yet would not
strike a match, for I knew she would
not have me see her as she was. l
could say goodby to her without that.
1 said it, and left her like a man and
up the first open air steps with my
head in the air and the stars all sharp
in the sky. Then suddenly they SWAN.
and back 1 went like a lunatic to see
If she was really dead, to bring her
back to life Bunny, I can't tell you
any more"
Not of the COUNT" / murmured at
last
Not even Of the count" said Rallies,
turning round with sigh. Il left him
pretty sorry for himself, but what was
the good Of that? 1 had taken blood for
blood, and it was not Corbucci who
had killed Faustina. No; the plan was
his, but that was not part of the plan.
They had found out about our meet
ings in the cave; nothing simpler than
to have me kept hard at it overhead
and to carry of Faustina by brute
force in the boat. 1t was their only
chance, for she had said more to Ste
fano than she had admitted to me and
more than 1 am going to repeat about
myself. No persuasion would have in
duced her to listen to him again, SO
they tried force, and she drew Cor
buccfs revolver on them, but they had
taken her by surprise, and Stefano
stabbed her before she could fire."
'But how do you know all that?" l |
asked Raffies, for his tale was going to |
pieces In the telling, and the tragic end |
Of poor Faustina was no ending for me. |
"Oh," said he, Il had 1t from Corbucci |
at his own revolver's point. He was
waiting at his window, and 1 could |
have ported him at my ease where he |
stood against the light listening hard |
enough, but not seeing a thing. So he |
asked whether it was Stefano, and l
whispered, Isl, signore,' and then |
whether he had finished Arturo. and / |
brought the same shot off again. He |
had let me in before he knew who was
finished and who was not"
'And did you finish him?'
NO. That was too good for Corbuc-
Ct, but I bound and gagged him about
as tight as a man was ever gagged or
bound, and left him in his room, with
the shutters shut and the house locked
Up. The shutters OF that old place were
six inches thick and the wallis nearly
six feet. That was on the Saturday
night, and the count wasn't expected
at the vineyard before the following
Saturday. Meanwhile he was suppos-
ed to be IN Rome, but the dead would
doubtless be discovered next day, and |
I am afraid this would lead to his own
discovery, with the life still in him.
believe he figured on that himself, for
he sat threatening me gamely till the
last You never saw such a sight as he
was, with his head split in two by a
ruler tied at the back of 1t, and his
great mustache pushed up into his
bullying eyes, but I locked him up In
the dark without qualm, and wish.
ed and still wish him every torment Of
the damned"
And them"
The night was still young, and with
In ten miles there was the best Of ports
I'm storm and hundreds of holds for |
the humble stowaway to choose from,
but 1 didn't want to go farther than
Genoa, for by this time my Italian
would wash. so chose the old Nord-
deutscher Lloyd and had an excellent
voyage In one of the boats slung in
board over the bridge. That's better
that any hold, Bunny, and 1 did spien- I
didly on oranges brought from the
And at Genoa?'
AT Genoa I took to my wits once
more and have been living on nothing
else ever since, but there I had to be- /.
gin all over again and at the very bot !:
tom of the ladder. I slept in the
streets. begged. did all mannersof (.
terrible things, rather hoping for a bad