Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-26

point: uncle? I want to know the history
of this man
Once more Ravenspur commenced his
walk up and down the room. He seemed
TO be towering between two minds.
Perhaps 1t would be wiser if l were to
tell You everything" he said. Il did not
intend to do So but to a certain extent you
have forced my hand and 1t would be
much more prudent for you to know where
you stand. You asked me just now what
knew of this man Silva. Eighteen years
ago he was In the employ of great friend
of mine Count Boris Flavio. My unfortu-
nate friend Is forgotten now, but at the
time OF which l am speaking he enjoyed
almost a European reputation. To begin
had one of the most beautiful places on the
continent. situated not far from Florence.
had he been poor, FlaviO would have shone
IN any line he chose to take up. He was a
fine artist, notable sculptor and one or
two of his books attracted great attention
In addition to this, he had few rivals as an
all-round sportsman. His conversation was
brilliant. his appearance and manners left
nothing to be desired. Out of the scores of
notable men l have met in my time there
Is not one of them to whom l was so
deeply attached as 1 was to Boris Flavio
His views, his sympathies his extraordi-
nary grasp of character all appealed
strongly to me. So far as / know, he had
no secrets from me. and 1t came almost as
a shock one day when I had a letter from
him saying that he about to be mar
ried Naturally one expected such a man
to make brilliant match but, on the con-
trary, Flavio chose a wife from people of
whom one had hardly heard. On the score
of family Carlotta Descarti had nothing
with which to reproach herself. And here
comes in the strange part of the affair.
The Descartis and the Flavios had estates
which touched one another, and between
the two families there had been a feud for
centuries. 1t was a veritable Montague
and Capulet business, and daresay it was
THIS factor in the case that SO strongly ap
pealed to my friend Flavio. Mind you.
did not learn these facts till long after, and
1t SO happened that circumstances pre-
vented my attending F>avio's wedding and
/ never saw his wife. Two years later 1
received an urgent and mysterious message
from F'lavio to go and see him secretly,
and meet him In the grounds Of his estate
without letting a soul know that l was
there. l never saw a man SO
changed as my unhappy friend. 1t ap-
peared that he had married a woman who
was a perfect fiend She had made more
than one attempt upon his life and he felt
certain that the end was not far off. When
l asked him why he tolerated such state
of things, he told me 1t was for the sake of
his little girl, to whom he was passionately
attached. And then he bound me to an ex-
traordinary promise. Mind you l would
not have made that rash promise to any
other friend. but such was the charm and
magnetism of the man that 1 never even
hesitated And this is what had to do
If anything happened to my friend If he
died mysteriousy, was to go to Italy at
once, and. by fair means or foul, get the
child away from the baneful influence of
her mother. Oh you may look at me with
astonishment, Walter, but stranger things
happen every day.
Il went away fully intending to keep my
promise II occasion arose. and l was not
surprised to hear a few months later that
poor Flavio had been found dead in his
room. 1t was proved that he had been
poisoned. and suspicion Immediately fell
upon his wife. On and off. the case lasted
three four years, and caused a ire
mendous sensation throughout Europe Be
yond all question the wife was guilty enough,
but she managed to prove an extraordinary
disagreed no fewer than five times After
that the authorities recognized the futility
of further proceedings and the countess
was released. What became of her l don't
know. for she disappeared. and, as far as
1 can tell. has never been seen from that
day to this. But most aSSuredly she would
have been convicted had 1t not been for the
devotion OF q servant of hers whom she
had brought from her old home with her
This servants name was Luigi Silva. 1t
was he who saved his mistress. l am firm
ly convinced it was he who eng neered that
marvellous alibi, and coached his witnesses
so cleverly that there flaw in Their
evidence l was not present at any of the
trials. because l could not manage to get
away, but l read enough to convince me-
that this Luigi Silva had talents and cour-
age far above the common
And the child?' Walter asked with
pardonable curiosity
"Oh. l had almost forgotten the main
part of my story, PAY snspur proca aded.
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