Arizona republican., 1909-05-26

"Capricciosa," he unused aloud.
THAT is not her name"
And l shall not tell 1t you"
But her given name? Just a straw;
something to hold on to; I'm a
drowning man." Hillard's pleadings
would have melted a neart of stone.
1T is Hilda."
"That is German"
"She prefers it to Sonia"
Sonia Hilda it begins well. May
l keep this letter."
Certainly not With that cara
mia? Give it to me-"
He did so. shall 1 seek her?"
This is my advice: don't think of
her after tonight. If lou ever see
or recognize her, avoid her. 1t may
sound theatrical, but she is the inno-
cent cause of two deaths. These men
sought her openly, too"
What has she done?"
"She made a great, though COM
mon, mistake"
"Political?"
Her lips closed firmly, but a smile
lurked in the corners.
He sighed.
Don't be foolish. am sorry
let you see the letter. 1 forgot that
she told me her hiding place"
Her hiding placer"
MY Hillard, she is as far removed
from your orbit as Mars is from
Jupiter's. Forget her."
MY orbit is not limited. / shall
seek her; when I find her l shall
marry her."
But her lips closed again.
Sphinx" he murmured with re-
proach.
Il like you too much, Mr.. Hillard,
to stand by and see you break your
heart against a stone wall"
Don't you see, the deeper the
mystery is the more powerful the at
traction becomes?"
The door to the left opened and
closed noisily. and Hillard turned
negligently. A man sauntered through
the room. The moment he came into
the light Hillard's interest became
lively enough. 1t was the handsome
Italian with the scar
who is that MANI" he whispered
only a few weeks ago l bumped
into him on coming out of the club"
swift glance, then her eyes grew
unfriendly, her shoulders rigid and
repellent
DO not attract his attention" she
answered in low tone Yes. I
know him, and 1 do not wish him
to see me-" 81.
"A Venetian officer and a profit
gate. 1 entertained him once. but I
learned from him that had been
ill-advised."
Hillard saw that this subject would
admit of no further questions The
man with the scar had committed
some inexcusable offense, and Mrs.
Sanford had crossed him off the
list. He knew that the Italian Of
ncer is, more or less, a lady's man;
and the supreme confidence has has
in the power of brass buttons and
gold lace makes him at times insult
ferable
1t was after ten when Hillard and
his friend took their leave. They
would not see their host and hostess
again till they reached New York.
Upon coming out on the Corso. Hill
lard whistled merrily.
Pleasant evening" was Merrihew's
comments.
Hillard continued to whistle.
Good dinner, too"
The whistle went on sereneIy. in
spite Of Merrihew's obvious attempts
to choke it off.
You seemed to have a good deal
to say to Mrs. Sanford. She knows
the lady who was in the house?"
Still the whistle.
Say, wake up" cried Merrihew
impatiently
I'VE shall leave in the morning
for Venice" said Hillard, taking up
the tune again.
Venice? How about Rome and
Florence?"
Which would you prefer: Rome
and the antiquities or Venice and
Kitty Killigrew?"
"She is there with La Signorina
Caprlcciosa. Oh, this is a fine world.
after all, and l was wrong to speak
i'll of it this morning"
IF Kitty's in Venice, I'm an I'M
grateful beggar, too. But 1 do not
see why Kitty's being in Venice ex-
CITES you.
NO? Well, fate writes that Kitty's
mysterious prima donna and my
Lady of the Mask are one and the
same person"
moi"
The two, without further words,
marched along the middle of the
Corso to the hotel, which was only
few steps away. They entered The
concierge started toward them as if
to impart some valuable information,
but suddenly reconsidered. and re-
treated to his bandbox of an office
and busted himself with the ever
increasing debours. The strangeness
of his movements passed unnoticed
by the two men, who continued on
through the lobby, turning into the
first corridor. Hillard inserted his
key in the door of his room, unlock
ed it, and swung it inward. This done
he paused irresolutely on the thresh-
old, and with good cause.
What the devil can this mean?'
he whispered to Merrihew, who peer
ed over his shoulder.
Two dignified carabinieri rose
quickly and approached Hillard.
There was something in the flash
ing eyes and set jaws that made
II,