Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-11-07


Good God" 1 exclaimed, startled,
"what savagery!"
Jean looked at me gravely.
Monsieur must remember that she
was a young wife," he said.
1 glanced at the American, his eyes
cleaned, his face was set like flint.
''Then, l suppose, the drama was
ended by the father or brother of
Luigi putting an end to SerafnoT' 1
asked.
mo, monsieur, 1t is strange, but 1t
was not so. For months Francesca
Peretti lay In wait for him at all his
accustomed resorts, but Serafino was
seen no more. Some think that after
paying his debt to Peretti he ended all
by throwing himself into the gulf
but me, 1 do not know" said Jean,
wagging his head sagely; "the Peretti
family are many, and many, also, are
the caves In the macchie where a corpse
might lie for a hundred years, with
none but the lizards to see. What was
the fate Of Seraflno none knew-and
none will ever know, now, for nearly
forty years have come and gone since.
he disappeared" The man beside
me sighed heavily.
The day drew near on which stern
necessity would compel my return to
my own land. On Wednesday the stout
old Vile de Bastia would carry me
back to Marseilles. Talking over my
plans with my Argentine friend, l
found that he was again to be my fell
low passenger.
eyes," he said, sadly, as we smoked
our cigarettes on the balcony, on Mon
day night, "there is nothing to keep me
here. But l could not die until had
seen 1t once again"
"You knew the island before, thenY
l asked, with some curiosity. He seem
ed not to hear my question. His eyes
wandered over the palms and orange
trees of the garden below, over the
roofs OF the quiet town, over the wa
tiers of the bay, shimmering like molten
silver in the brilliant moonlight, over
the dusty outlines Of the olive woods
around Chiavari Then he turned and
let them rest upon the Cauro Hills.
The thick, sweet perfume Of orange and
lemon mingled with the subtle, arc
matte breath of the macchie-the night
ingales poured out their passionate
hearts In an ecstacy Of song.
l started from vague dreams Of de-
light when a servitor at my elbow pre-
scented the card of Mons. lie Procureur
de la Republique. 1 found my visitor
waiting In the lounge-hall, empty, ex
cept for q man who sat in corner,
absorbed in newspaper. In the casual
glance l gave him, recognized a Wis
itor from the town, who, of late, had
dined several times at the hotel.
The Procureur held out his hand In
greeting. He was a courteous, intellect
ual gentleman, and, since our chance
meeting on the steamer, we had seen
a good deal of each other. But tonight
lie seemed i'll at ease. After a few
commonplaces, Monsieur" he said, 81
observe that you and the gentleman
from Argentina have become great
friends"
"Why, yes" replied, 1--WE go about
a good deal together; he is, like myself,
a keen fisherman"
!"--his eyes were fixed on the.
cigarette he was rolling-'have you any
idea whether he is making a long stay?"
In some surprise / replied that, like
myself, he was leaving the day after
tomorrow.
AS 1 spoke, my eye happened to fall
on the visitor in the corner; his keen
gaze met mine for a moment; then he
resumed his study of the newspaper.
sch, bien!" said the Procureur, with
what sounded like sigh Of relief, $50
much the better-I fear this island is
sometimes unhealthy for those who re-
visit it,
l looked at him inquiringly, but he
vouchsafed no explanation, and after a
few polite remarks and good wishes for
my voyage, he took his departure.
Next morning the Americana and
awaited the carriage which was to take
us out for our final grand and glorious
onslaught upon the trout of the Pru-
nelli. Presently it arrived-but not
Jeans carriage, or Jean himself
An owlish little man sat huddled up
upon the box; a hooked nose and parch-
ment skin peeped out from the folds of
the cloak which, thrown across his
shoulder, concealed the lower part of
his face.
whats this?" 1 cried to the con-
cierge, what has happened to Jean?"
This one tells me, monsieur" exe
planned the concierge, waving his hand
towards the old man, who sat immov-
able on his box, "that to-day Jean has
the fever upon him, and the old one
is taking his work"
"Oh, all right" We stepped into