The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1908-09-10
II Heroine.



walk right into trap and then hold
them for ransom. The country round
about his JAZZ suffered from many OF
bis tricks. but the bandit never used
tho same ruse twice, 80 that each new
one worked as well as the preceding.
Young Luigi oldest son and heir OF
Count BartlnellI. was known to be q
sutton for the hand OF BeatrIcla Car.
rono. whose father had other plans for
her. One day Luigi while walking on
road near his fathers villa was &C.
costed by a man, who asked him II
he were not Luigi Bartineli, and when
he said yes the man told him that a
man a short distance up the road was
looking for him with letter from a
lady, marked Immediate" Luigi, be.
lieying the note to be from Beatricia,
started In the direction indicated, over
took man whom he supposed 10 be
the messenger. but was directed TO go
farther. In this way the young man
was passed from one person to an.
other till he came TO lonely place,
where he found one who admitted he
was the messenger. He said mock.
ingly that the letter was from Senorlta
Carrono, who instructed him to pay to
Carried, the bandit, $4,000 for ran.
som. Luigi was taken to the robbers
lair, whence he dispatched a letter to
his father stating the case. II was i'm
possible for the count to raise so much
money Immediately. and the case
dragged.
One evening Maria Bassanio daugh.
Ger Of farmer dwelling near Count
Bartlnelli's estate, was left alone By
her father, who did not expect to be
nt home till midnight During the
evening. hearing a knock at the door
she opened II, TO find stranger carry
ing on his back a heavy sack. under
which he staggered and seemed very
weary. He begged a lodging for the
night but the girl refused Then he
begged permission TO leave his sack
till morning, to which she consented
Depositing II on the floor beside the
fireplace. he departed
Maria sat down beside a table and
began doing some needlework. She
looked at the sack. wondering what II
contained. While she was looking at
It she fancled that not far from its
center there seemed to be very slight
rising and falling motion. Her heart
stood still. The motion was doubtless
produced by some one breathing.
Marias first motion was a quick
glance at the wall where her father al
ways kept gun. CHANGING again at
the sack. she saw something glisten in
the lamplight. 1t was the point OF a
knife protruding through the sack.
In another moment the blade began to
move, making a slit in the sack.
With one bound Maria reached the |
gun on the wall. took 1t from its sup
ports, cooked 1t and fred at random at
the sack. There was a spasmodic mo-
ton; then all was still again. In an
other moment something red stained
the sack and trickled through 1t on to |
the floor. 1t was blood.
Terror stricken, Maria rushed to the
door and out TO the road, down which
she fed as If on the wind. She had
not gone far before she ran right into |
the arms of man. So frightened was
she that she did not know him till he
eagerly begged her to tell him what
had happened Then, recognizing her
father, she lost Consciousness.
But not for long. Reviying. she gave
her experience. Bassanio thinking it |
best to secure assistance, gathered
number of men who lived along the
road, and, all well armed, the party
went to the house. Opening the sack,
they found the dead body of a man
with charge of shot in the breast. I
One of the men present pronounced /
him to be Pietro Carried
From the bandits neck hung a silver
whistle. This indicated that his as.
sistants were at hand. Putting out all I
lights, the company kept quiet for a
time. Then Bassanio went out in front /
of the house, and a shrill, sharp whis-
tie rung out on the still night air.
Presently footsteps were heard, and
several men came down the road.
They had no sooner passed the gate
than they were seized from behind
and disarmed
A messenger was sent to Count Bar
tinelli with the news of Carriccfs death
and the capture of part Of bis band.
One Of the bandits on promise Of a
pardon agreed to guide force of gen.
darmes to the place where Luigi Bar
tinelli was held captive The expedi-
ton was successful. The lair and all
In 1t were captured, and the young
man was released without ransom.
Count Bartinelli realized the fact
that but for Maria's courageous act he
would either have lost his son or that
sons ransom. He at once gave her
quarter of the ransom and pledged
himself TO give an equal amount for
q dowry the day she married. There
was reward of $4,000 offered by the
government for Carried dead or alive,
and this Maria received also.
Luigi Bartinelli. who for weeks had
been in terror for his life, had no soon
er regained his freedom than he de-
sired to see the girl who had killed
his captor and made the destruction of
the band possible. He found modest.
delicate creature who wondered how
she. who had been so terribly fright
ened. could have excited the admira-
finn Of ali Ifalv Ernnn tho Tina ,,irri