Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-03-28
HER FORTUNE.
Where Circumstantial Evidence Went
Wrono.

He was working alongside Of Magde-
lima Leoncavallo. They say you cam
serve two masters, and you can't be
a good judge Of lemon and peaches
at the same time either.
| Well. that was in Italy. or more
! grow an awful lot Of lemons. and very
good peaches too-of the variety that
vendettas hang their plots upon. She
! was a buxom lass, to be sure (Which
means that she weighed 1856 pounds,
and could do a mans work in the
fleld.) She packed and boxed her
lemons with the fastest Of them, and
took care of the mother. Magdelina
weight 1856 pounds, had full, red lips
of quality that sent poor Pietro into
rhapsodies Of heaven and other things
that he knew very little about.
But a Sicilian soon tires Of red lips,
especially the same pair. when there
are plenty Of others about. And Pie
tro found that he got just as much
satisfaction out of another pair that
belonged to a slim girl. whose appe-
tite was less likely to prove raven
Gus, and whose chances for dot
made her very popular with the
country gentlemen, who worked in the
vineyards by day and courted by night,
or vice versa. 1t soon began to dawn
on Pietro that he was casting pearls
before swine, so to speak, when he
wasted raptures on Magdelina, who
was short on dowry and long on en-
bonpoint.
Pietro himself had more embon-
point than nerve or else he would
have told Magdelina of this new af-
fair with the slim girl. (Her name
was Marina or Mariana or something
like that: I don't remember her last
name) But as Pietro weighed only
140 he arrived at the conclusion, ex-
pressed before his time, that discre-
ton was the better part Of valor. A
14O pound lover who permits 1S6
pound lady fair to sit in his lap
whether the scene be In lemon grove
or a briar patch, never rushes In to
tell her that he is in love with some
one else of smaller girth. Even with
my limited experience have noticed
that.
The upshot of 1t was that Pietro and
Marina decided to elope. That was the
only way out of their dilemma, as
Marina refused to break the news
gently to her father. who was OF
irascible temper owned his own grape
vineyard and had fine contempt for
any man who earned his living in a
lemon grove; and Pietro refused to
break the news gently or any other
way to Magdelina for reasons pre-.
viously mentioned. So there 1t was
They put their small savings together
took third class passage on an i'm
migrant vessel out Of the nearest port
and in due course of time were sit
ting on top Of their belongings (not
a very substantial sitting place, by
the way) on the Hugh McCloskey dock
(or wherever they dump 'em Off.
From small beginnings big endings
sometimes come, however. No one
would have thought, to see Pietro and
his pretty olive skinned (did you ever
see a Sicilian without an olive skin
in fiction, I mean?), his olive skinned
bride sitting there. disconsolate, on
top of their belongings, no one would
have thought that they would some
day possess their own groggery,
which was the most popular within
a stones throw Of the French Market
But so 1t was. They started with a
little hole in the wall, wine shop and
grocery. But IL was the little res
taurant Roma" that made them
rich. 1t was the happy combination
OF love and business, with Marina In
the role of waitress-until she grew
stout. The slimmest sort Of girl
will sometimes do that, you know.
up $4,000 in the bank and he didn't
mind the extra weight so much.
Then the BLACK Hand" letters be-
gan to arrive, in italian and broken
English. The Malta may be an ex-
elusive organization in Italy, but In
America it Is very democratic. APP
parently every Italian with a crouch
belongs to 1t. There are no restric-
tions as to age or previous condition
of servitude. Even a boy may belong
to it. as was well shown in the case
of Giovanni Bonicelio, who was only
IA years old, and thought the BLACK
Hand" was the most convenient We
hicle in which to take away some OF
the rich Del Orti's money. Here is
sample Of the letters he wrote:
New Orleans, La, Sept. Is, 1906.
"Signor Don Pietro, Dear Mister
pl In q
segar box wich will be in the trash
barell at the corner Of yore store. II
you do not do 1t tonite the Black
Hand will blow up yore store to-
morrer mite with dinermite. Be sure
to do it tonite. You better not look
for me with the perlice. Yore store
will be blowed up with dinermite,
Bewair! The Black Hand is terribul
This skull and bones stands for death,
If you don't put one thousand dollers
in the segar box"
This pleasant communication was
without signature, but this departure
from the etiquette Of correct cores
pondence was more than Offset by an
elaborate establishment Of coffin, and
skull, and crossbones. 1t was evident
ly the work of an amateur and Pietro
paid no attention to 1t. The fact that
il was written in English indicated
that 1t was written by young Italian.
probably born in America, and with
out any deep seated motive for MUIR
dering him other than natural de-
sire to share his savings. He lost very
little sleep over the letter and was not
blown up with dynamite. But then
there came another letter, this time
in Italian and more to the point.
There was no reference to dynamite
or any other explosive, but 1t hinted
darkly to the use of the knife, or to be
more picturesque, stiletto. This let
ter was in terms that Pietro readily
understood and 1t caused him no little
anxiety. But the possibility Of con-
tributing $1,000 to the BLACK Hand
bugbear never once entered his head.
But he decided to break up the nui-
sance by taking the police into his
confidence. The cigar box had again
been suggested as the depository OF his
hard earned cash and midnight was
the appointed hour.
The police planned a coup that
would win promotion for one cor
poral, two regular patrolmen ana
three supernumeraries. to say nothing
of the two detectives who had been as
signed to the case when 1t was origin
ally reported by Del Orti to the In
spector They were stationed at dif-