Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-07-18

was not apprehended.
What was he l.ke?' asked the count.
with sudden interest.
We'll. the curious part of the story ls
the fact that 1 never set eyes on him. l
heard of his arrival. conversed with those
who had arranged to take lessons from
him, and was even in the house he had
leased for his stay In Madrid. but never
came face to face with the man himself"
The count breathed easier. He turned
to Barnes:
And our distinguished foreigner. your
professor of Italian" he Queried taunt-
ingly. was d"
Yes" interrupted Barnes. was a revo-
lut.onist or the hacker of a flibuster.ng
expedition. or an anarchist. or whatever
title you choose to give him.. l call him
my man Of mystery"
Didn't the government ave a descrip-
ton OF him?" asked Harvey.
"Oh. yes" replied Barnes. ''They issued
a circular offering u reward for his appre-
hension. I ave one here now" and
reaching into his inside pocket he pulled
out q long red sheet of paper printed in
spanish with heavy black type.
The counts eyes fairly danced in his
head.
How about the vessel that brought
these boxes?' asked Harvey.
Barnes laid the circular on the cushioned
~~S 0SAOtc 0hA0
THAT was another remarkable thing"
he said. when they went to And the
master of the vessel early the next MORN
ing the craft had disappeared-d.sap-
peared as completely as il 1t had dropped
to the bottom of the sea. You can imagine
how chagrined the officials felt. 1t was,
perhaps. the boldness Of the thing that
made 1t even a possibility. OF course the
papers were permitted to print little or
nothing about it; but the facts leaked out.
as such facts Will. despite the rigor OF
Madrid censorship, and 1t was the talk of
the city for many weeks"
What became Of the servant who vas
left in the .house?"
He is still in prison, and will probably
remain there for a long while. although
no one-not even the Spanish ~pOlice-be-
lieve him guilty of anything unlawful.
They believe he was merely the dupe of
a designing man"
Let Barnes read his description" in
terrupted Harvey. That may give us
some idea of the man.
The chief reached for the circular-and
it was gone. He bent over and looked on
the floor. but there was no trace Of 1t.
C of the hit of paper,
That's certainly sTense." exclaimed
Clancy. --~sAseSA-. -.
Yes said Barnes. dryly. stranger
than the story itself"
Sec here" exclaimed Harvey to the
customs officer. wasn't there any sequel
to your story? 1t seemed so romantic"
II can't say there was any sequel re-
marked Barnes. with his eyes glued on
the count. but there is a little episode
that is collateral to 1t. and it might be
called the story of the Woman in Red"
Tell It," chorused the others.
wen. about the time the distinguished
foreigner was organizing his classes in
Italian and preparing for his consignment
OF BOOKS a very talented and. l might add,
a very dangerous woman appeared in the
disaffected section of the country and in
st:tuted a propaganda of revolution among
the people. Now I want you to know that
this Spanish government, which Is usually
severe. at times has lapses from this Sc
verify and becomes-what shall I call it,
lax. That is to say. there are periods
when the government feels like permitting
and anarchists to so to the end
RI their rope before bouncing upon them
with the strong arm OF the law"
I've heard of such things said the
count. nodding his head knowingly.
This seemed to be one Of the occa-
sions." continued Barnes. watching Velas-
Quez narrowly. The woman went by the
name of Louise de Mally, although no one
believed that this was her real name.
affected an ~eccentr.city In dress which
attracted universal attention. wearing a
blood red dress and a straw hat, with a
red rose on each side. In her arms she
invariably carried a big. overfed Maltese
cat
The count blinlked at this, as IL the re-
cital affected his eyesight.
I'm the beginning" said Barnes, she
lectures, to- her followers, in
which she did not hesitate to suggest as
s~ass.nation as a remdy for political In
equal.tfes. Indeed 1t was said that she
mad from her very youth evoted herself
to the cause Of anarchy n that only
lack of opportunity had prevented her
from putting her doctrines into practical
erect. Hell theories were so dangerous
that many who had gone with her at
first gradually withdrew. She never lacked
money. and one of her receptions was
attended by the distinguished foreigner
who was 30 singularly connected with the
strange shipment Of the foreign books.
Indeed. all the odd people Of the locality
participated in the affair. They included
believers IN socialism. poets. novelists
whose books were frowned upon by the
government. men of genius who never an.
peared to utilize their gifts. and, finally,
some rich and influential Span:ards who
thought the kingdom was m~isgoyerned
and who had the courage to proclaim the.
e' W euSir preSeHce AT tnlS OOO rune
ton. But the lion and the l:oness of the
occasion were the italian book man and
the woman with the red dress. OF course,
l speak from hearsay-from what has been
told me-for 1 never met this remarkable
woman and was as ignorant of what she
actually looked like as I was Of the per-
sonai appearance Of the curious mar who
figured In the Italian book episode.
"One night. at a largely attended meet
Ing. she worked her hearers up to q per-
fect frenzy. She said there was always
work for pure hearts and willing hands,
and as IN illustration OF this told in q
melodramic manner the story Of the
Paris Commune. After that meeting the
woman In red was carried about III
crowded parts OF the city amid the shouts
and the cheers Of the multitude. Imagine