Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-10-20

know how that injury would be HVeng
cd"
II do"
eat the point II the sword And ~
IA at the point Of the sword that your
slight TO the ranch girl must be atoncd
for. A girls heart Is as sacred ms a
princes honor. She II not to be robbed
If 1t any more than the prince is 30
be robbed Of his wife Were We In my
country. instead Of yours you and |
could fan the hammer In each others
face. We could throw the lariat, the
one who won to have the privilege of
knitting the other Those are barba-
rous ways not fit for n prince OF the
blood. Your European ways are far
more attractive There IL romance In
the air In Italy. when the italian
comes to our wild western country his
sentiment lies dormant and he eonsld-
crs only his interest. Then heart Is
nothing 20 him. \ cowboys shooting
match is abhorrcnt But here In his
land Of art, poetry, music, where he
Is reminded by works that have endur
cd for centuries Of the loveliness Of n
Marcus Aurclius and the shame Of
Nero, it is we'll that he should pay the
penalty OF his hcartlcssnoss at the
point OF a Damascus blade and within
the walls Of an empcror's baths"
With the last words she threw back
the wrap that thus far had covered
her and displayed a womans fencing
costume In her left hand she held
two rapiers Taking one of them by
the blade, she held the hilt toward the
prince.
DO not shrink from it, my prince.
1t Is of gold. And did a Fabian ever
shrink from handling a sword? Could
there be anything more befitting a
prince than settling his affairs with n
golden hilted blade. the moonlight
pouring in through breaches In the
walls of the baths of CaracallaW
As the prince shrank away Margaret
advanced.
II will not fight you-a woman-a
woman l have loved, love today.
cannot. Is there nothing that will ap-
pease you? will sign a paper admit
ting my error. l will
you will fight"
by this time she had forced the han
die of the sword into his hand Then
she put herself in the attitude Of
fcnccr.
Hold he cried. a sword is not
your weapon Desist and l will 60 to
your home and II | must defend my
y, at int Of hn
weapon you know so well how to use
the revolver In Gods name, do not
force me here now to die or take your
life"
"On guard"
Il will break my engagement. will
marry YOU"
Il will not break my engagement"
What do you moan?"
u am to marry a rauchcr of New
Mexico, but not till l have wiped out
the stain put upon me by prince of
Italy"
There was something in the last
words as mcrcilcss as a wave rolling
in on a stormy beach. The prince had
no choice but to die or defend himself.
Two of those gentlemen called car
binieri, the national Italian police, who
so always in pairs dressed in swallow
hanging by their sides, happened to be
walking along the road that led past
the ruin when they heard sounds of
the clash Of steel They stopped and
listened. Fancyiug the noise came
from within the walls, they hurried
tacking, the other defending himself.
The carbinieri stepped between the
two and demanded their swords.
"What-prince" exclaimed one of
them. You here fighting ut this time
Of night, and without attendants"
1T was not premeditated."
And you" asked the officer OF Mar
garet-"who are you:"
An American woman"
Gentlemen" said the prince. this
affair must go no further. You know
that his majesty would not wish it
known that a man of my rank was
found fighting with a woman under
such singular circumstances. BESIDES,
the lady's name should not be connect
ed with such an affair"
II have nothing to conceal" said
Margaret.
Then all left the ruin. Margaret was
put into her carriage and the coach
man told to drive her home. The
prince, after a long conversation with
the carbinieri, entered his own car
rlage and returned to the city.
The next morning early Margaret
left Rome, having received polite
message from the kings chamberlain
that his majesty considered her too
dangerous a person to be permitted to
go free among the noblemen of Italy.
A month after her departure she was
married at her horne in the far west,
settled down TO the raising of sheep
and babies and became not only a do
nestle, but in certain respects promi-
nent woman. But the story of her
duel in the baths of Caracalla was
hever divulged till years afterward.
The Pardon Paperweieht.
Under the headline "A Queer Munic.
ipaI Gift" Vienna paper tells this
story: In the year 1869 a private SOL