Evening star., 1909-04-18


and for all eternity. and the time will come
when her intercession may drag you back from
the hell your cruel deed deserves!'
With a mighty effort, Bower regained the
self conceit that Stampa's words, no less than
the depressing environment, had shocked out
of him The grotesque nature of the proposal
was tonic in itself. :" If / had expected any
such folly on your part. l should not have come
with you" he said, speaking with something
monstrous How can marry dead womanf"
Stampa expression changed instantly. Its
| meek sorrow yielded to a feroclty that was ap-
palling. Already bent, he crouched like wild
| beast gathering itself for attack Do you
refuse?' he asked, in a low note of intense
passion
Yes curse you'll And mutter your prayers
| in your own behalf! You need them more
| than
Bower planted himself firmly, right in the
gateway He clenched his fists and savagely
resolved to batter this lunatic's face into a
pulp. He had a notion that Stampa would
rush straight at him, and give him an Oppor-
| tunity to strike from the shoulder hard and
true. He was bitterly uudeceived The man
who was nearly twenty years his senior jumped
from the top of a low monument to the fiat
coping stones of the wall From that greater
height he leaped down on Bower who struck
out wildly, but without a tithe of the force
needed to stop the impact of heavily built ad
| versary. He had to change feet, too, and he
was borne to the earth by that catamount
spring before he could avoid it For few
seconds the two writhed in the snow in deadly
embrace Then Stampa remained uppermost
He had pinned Bower to the ground face down
ward kneeling on his shoulders with the left
hand gripping his neck and the right clutching
his hair and scalp, he pulled back the wretched
mans head till it was a miracle that the spinal
column was not broken.
"Nowi' he growled, are you content!"
There was no reply 1t was physical i'm
possibility that Bower should speak Even in
his tempest of rage Stampa realized this, and
loosened his grip sufficiently to give his op-
ponent a moment of precious breath
| Answer he muttered again. Promise
YOU will obey, you brute, or | crack your
neckE'
Bower g,1,sled something that sounded like
| an appeal for mercy. Stampa rose at once, but
took the precaution to close the gate, since they
had rolled into the cemetery during their short
fight
first who deemed me helpless because of my
crooked leg. You might have run from me.
Marcus Bower: you could never fight me
Were ! at deaths door. | should still have
strength left to throttle you if once my fingers
closed round your throat!''
Bower raised himself on hands and knees
He cut an abject figure. but he was beyond all
thought of appearances. For one dread mo-
ment his life had trembled in the balance
That glimpse of death and Of the gloomy
path beyond wins aHfighting He would do
Il
love itself, what were they, each>an all, when
viewed from the threshold Of that Barrier
which admits man once andforever?
In deep, laboring gasps his breath came
back. The blood conlrsed freely again In his
veins. He hvedl All! that was everything
He still hvedt He scrambled to his feet, bare
| headed, yellow skinned dazed. and trembling
His eyes dwelt on Stampa with timidity
He found difficulty In Strengthening his limbs.
He was quite insensible of his ridiculous aspect
! His clothing, even his HAIR was matted with
soft snow In a curiously servile way, he
stopped to pick up his cap.
| Stampa 1urched toward the tiny patch Of
grass from which he had cleared the snow soon
after daybreak "Kneel here at her feeti" he
| said
POWER approached with a slow. dragging
movement. Without word of protest, he
| sank to his knees. The snow IN his hair began
| to melt. He passed his hands over his face as
| though shutting out some horrifc vision.
| Stampa produced from his pocket frayed
| and tattered prayer book, an Italian edition of
| the Paroissien Roman. He opened it at a
marked page, and began to read the marriage
ritual Though the words were Latin, and he
was no better educated than any other peasant
| in the district, he pronounced the sonorous
phrases with extraordinary accuracy. OF
| course he was an Italian, and Latin was not
such an ncomprehensible tongue to HIM as it
would prove to German an Englishman of
his class. Moreover, the liturgy of the Church of
| Rome is familiar to its people, no matter what
| their race.