The Calumet news., 1911-04-13
CHAPTER XXIII.


m OF until.the dungeon door was
IN shut did Costa and his men
lS75T5sl release me.
IkskAfJ 81 almost wish we had
come a moment too late" Costa said.
az should have killed herg' l Kissed
al believe you would"
az was a fool not to do 1t the night
she attempted TO plunge dagger into
me-"
"You were," he answered.
He evidently had no doubt what he
himself would have done under SINH
lar circumstances.
Fortunately the blows had missed
nv eyes, on one side by less than a
quarter of an inch. Had she struck
little higher / had not lived TO write
this history. I should have perished
miserably on the rack. For before me
I had work which required keen sight,
although did not know 1t just then.
AS It was. the blows had struck deep,
laying one cheek open to the bone.
carry the mark to this day, an angry
fame across my face. am never like
ly to forget the woman who put 1t
there. Under Costa's care. however.
the wounds healed rapidly. He had an
herbal ointment which did wonders,
but it seemed mockery that !, who
was so soon to be tortured to death,
should be so carefully tended for what
was, after all, minor evil.
when is my day coming, Costa?" l
asked. 'It is weary work waiting"
He shook his head.
"It has been longer than expected"
he answered.
"Can that woman do me any harm
with the executioners, j mean? She
threatened that she would pay them
well If they turned the levers slowly
enough"
/, "You may trust them. They are not
made of sentimental stuff and think
more of one man than they do of a
hundred women"
satisfied myself every morning that
Darla was still safe, putting Costa on
his oath to be truthful to me.
One evening my dungeon door
opened and Costa entered with Organ
and guard of half a dozen men.
"By his majesty's command you
will tomorrow be questioned as to your
knowledge of various matters his maj.
esty wishes information upon. You
will be questioned in such a manner as
shall insure the truth, and since there
is no limit to the mercy his majesty
may extend toward you you are ad-
vised to answer quickly. But since
certain knowledge has come 10 his
majesty's ears concerning you-that by
nature or by artifce your limbs are
coarser than is usual with men and
that by reason of this and other causes
you may not be induced to speak truly.
the pain able to be inflicted not being
sufficient-and since it is considered
necessary to strike where there is
most likelihood of success II is his
majesty's pleasure that you shall first
be taken from this dungeon to that of
the woman sometimes called the
Princess Daria and shall there be a
witness of her questioning"
Costa recited the sentence in mono
| tone without feeling, as though the
matter were Of no real interest to him.
Then he gave a word of command to
the guard, who tramped out of the cell
and left me alone with Costa and
Organ.
"That she devil is responsible for
this"
He nodded.
"Can / trust the executionersr
ayes. She will die quickly, butt
He paused.
"Well?"
"If this woman or Count vasca or
some other special enemy is there
they may say that the executioners
bungled at their work and demand
that others shall deal with you. There
would be no time to make friends with
them"
$50 long as she dies quickly care
not"
"You are brave man. trust all
may go well with you"
He held out his hand. shook 1t
and thanked him for all he had done.
He had indeed been a gentle jailer.
Then Organ held out his hand. /
took it for the sake of the past
"There is long night before you."
said Costa. "Shall stay with you for
awhile. or would you sooner be alone?"
At that moment Organ grasped my
hand sharply. There was no doubt
about 1t this time. What did he mean?
II would be Alone" said.
Costa bowed tremendously as he