The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1909-02-06

farther. In this way the young man
was passed from one person to an
other till he came to a lonely place.
where he found one who admitted he
was the messenger. He said mock
ingly that the letter was fIom Scnorita
Carrono. who instructed him to pay to
Carried. the bandit. $4,000 for a ran
son.. Luigi was taken to the robbers
lair. whence he dispatched a letter to
his father stating the case. 1t was I'M
possible for the count to raise so much
money immediately. and the case
dragged.
One evening Maria Bassanio. daugh-
ter Of a farmer dwelling near Count
Bartinelli's estate. was left alone by
her fathers. who did not expect to be
at home till midnight. During the
evening. hearing a knock at the door.
she opened 1t. to find a 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 bis sack
till morning, to which she consented.
Depositing 1t on the floor beside the
fireplace, he departed.
Maria sat down beside a table and
began doing some needlework. She
looked ut the sack. wondering what 1t
contained. While she was looking at
1t she fancied that not far from its
center there seemed to be a very slight
rising and falling motion. Her heart
stood still. The motion was doubtless
produced by some one breathing.
Maria's first motion was a quick
glance at the wall where her father al
ways kept a 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 q slit in the sack.
With one bound Maria reached the
gun on the wall. took 1t from its sup
ports, cooked 1t and fired 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 a 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. Reviving. she gave
her experience. Bassanio, thinking 1t
best to secure assistance, gathered a
number of men who lived along the
road, and. all well armed, the party
went to the house. Opening the sack,
with a charge of shot In the breast.
One of the men present pronounced
him to be Pietro Carried.
From the bandits neck hung a silver
whistle. This indicated tina. his as.
sistants were at hand. Putting put all
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 Carricci's death
and the capture of a part of his band.
One Of the bandits on promise of a
pardon agreed to guide a 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 o
quarter of the ransom and pledged
himself to give an equal amount for
a dowry the day she married. There
was a reward Of $4,000 offered by the
government for Carried dead or alive
and this Maria received also.
Luigi Bartinslli, who for weeks had
been In terror for his life. had NJ soon.
err 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 a modest
delicate creature who wondered how
she, who had been so terribly fright
ened. could have excited the admira
ton Of all Italy. From the time Luig
set yes oil his deliverer he began tt
forget his former love. and a year latel
his father. the count. paid the prom
Used dowry to his own daughter-in-law