The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1906-04-13
saarx. osMA was powerful man

m w heavy set, with piercing,
81 steel-blue eyes and heavy
moustache. A rough man
Mxaxx% was Cosma, ever on his
horses back, rife across
his lap, and long knife stuck In bis
belt.
/ am an old man, and have Travelled
through many land and seen much,
but the like Of Cosma Racoare ] never
met. He was Of medium height hony.
sunburned looked Ike the average
man. yet was unlike any Of them.
In those days our country suffered
many fribulaticns, Tur4s and Greeks
devastated our Rumanian land, and our
people lived Id misery and fear. Sor-
Towful times they were. Cosma
seemed the only human being exempt
from suffering. going and coming with
out thought Of tomorrow. All fed
before the enemy, but not SO did ne.
Taken prisoner. they put him In chains:
these he cast of. as BY magic. jumped
on bis horse and fed. 1t was written
in the stars that none but silver bul-
let could harm him. No such man
lives in our time; these were the good
old days. You may have heard OF
the other hero, the son Of the Maid
with the Golden Hair? Well, he stole
in WaIIaehIa. on the other bank Of the
MTlcar River. while Cosma plLndered
in the MuIdan. At nightfall they
would meet and exchange their booty.
NO gendarmes ever caught him, for his
horse was the ieetest of the feet. and
their bullets whistled powerIess about
his ears. He lived In the forests, knew
neither pain. fear nor love. The hour
when he should know the latter was
drawing near
At that time the estate yulturesti
belonged to a Greek. Nicoia Zamfride.
Nearby, at Frasini. lived the beautiful
RnManian, the widow SuItana. Nicola
vowed she should be his. but all efforts
seemed futile; neither soothsayers nor
wItchcraft were powerful enough to
help him. Was he unslghtly. mis-
shapen. On the contrary. he was a
proud Greek, brown-eyed. black
bearded, tall and handsome; yet In
spite OF these physical attractions, she
would none Of him.
One day Nicola sat in his room cogi-
tating. He was thinking Of the young
widow. Why did she reject bis WOO
ings "a few nights ago hired a
gypsy who sang a touching serenade
under her window. but the house re-
manned dark and silent. What must
i dosD Nicola reflects: Il am well to
look at and have clear mind: why
then does she scorn me? She has no
lover. for l have had the house
watched. but no one has been seen
to enter" Nicola loses his temper,
As he steps into the courtyard be sees
a groom currying horse. DO you
call that a well-curried horse:" he bel
lows; and with that he lashes the
poor fellow with his whip. The gar
dener, whom he finds resting In the
shade, fares no better.
But what avails venting ones fury
on innocent partiess
he rtroIls into the garden and Lies
down under linden. Sadly. autumn
winds are signing and golden leaves
like butterflies. flutter to the ground
An old man enters by the garden gate
"vasili, yasili, come here
@What would'st thou, master"
~yasili. thou hast ever been faithful
neither the old soothsayer nor th'
gypsy wench have been able to hell
me; have but you to look to. Vasili
the Suitana must be mine"
@I might counsel, but / dare not
replied yasilI
Here is a ducat; speak"
II know my master will find m,
counsel worth two, yea, three ducatE
nv advice is that the master ride 7
Frasini and carry the Sultana Off b
force"
II VIII do as you say, vasill. Her
are two ducats."
That very night Nicola. accompanie
BY six sturdy young grooms, reache
FrasIni. The castle seems shroude
in gloom. by means OF rope ladders
Nicola and his followers scale the quite
walls. As they enter the open gat'
cries Of ssHelpsv are heard. a doc
opens. and there appears the Sultan
radiant In flowing hair and soft whit
garment. she turns her glowing eye
On Nicola, who. beside himself. a
fempts t0 throw bis arms around her.
4How dare you! And now I see
ia only the worthy Nicola, when ha
feared to face band Of robbers
Suddenly she strikes Nicolas hea
with the Dat or her scimitar blade. q
Is stunned. His men rush to the re
cue One is wounded. the rest tai
10 their horses. BY this time the alarl
il sounded and the Suitana's seryan
come rushing In. Nicola gains b
horse and reaches vulturesti more de'