The daily Alaskan., 1912-09-06
A Woman s
 Vengeance
3, BLANCA CARROLL

aiges were. some or them. as uuSh given to adventure as the men. About the middle of the sixteenth century the Mancinl family were prominent and rich at Venice X brother and q sister ln the family were devoted to each other, the brother being deli- cate young man given to study rather than to arms BiaDca. his sister. was, unlike him. fond of manly sports and constantly regretted that she had not been born man that she might tn. dulge in them without restraint Pos sibly this dissimilarity Is what united the brother and sister. The one was gentle. refined. intellectual. the other naturally aggressive and without much mental cultivation.
 Nevertheless Blanca possessed a fair face and figure and had q number ot suitors Among them was Leonardo Donadio. a man with a bad reputation and therefore undesirable. Blanca told him. as she had told all the others, that she would not marry because she did not wish to be separated from her brother.
 One afternoon. when she was loung ing with the social magnates, as was the custom on St Marks square. look ing down the Grand canal she saw a goudola approaching, and when It came nearer she recognized her family colors. The gondola was pulled ar near the pillar bearing the winged lions Of St Marks, and Blanca, under presentiment that something bad gone wrong. went to meet It. As the boat came up. there. tying tn the gon dola. his cloak red with blood. was the dead body of her brother. She stood gazing at 1t for some moments, para lyzed. She did not faint; she did not cry out Her irst words were:
 "who has done this murder?"
 Leonardo Donadio. slEnorina," re piled the gondolier He met your brother ou the Rialto and said to hlm. You will pot stand long between me and your sister. They fought and your brother fell pierced to the heart He was DO match for that rutiian, who Is the best sworCisman sn Venice
 Those were queer times and Donadio had a faint hope that even after what he had done he might still win Blanca She was not seen abroad after her brothers death. and finally it was learned that she had left Venice. Where she had gone or what she bad gone for was not known.
 SIX months passed. during which time nothing was seen or heard Of Blanca. Douadio. who was wildly in love with her. seemed crazed by Der withdrawal Had sbe remained tn Venice and lashed him with torrent of Invective he could have borne up under it. but this vacancy she had left this nothingIess, was agouizinG. He shut himself up In his house and would not go out Of It
 One day while gondola was pass lng under bis window be heard two men in it speaking Of a young man who had recently arrived from Naples and had opened fencing academy. As they were passing out of bearing be heard one Of them say, Not even the skin of Donadio could prevail against him"
 This was the only thing that could have aroused the recluse from bts de- spoudency. He would go and see this tencer. and if he appeared to be wor' thy of his steel he would insult Dim and, by killing him, would show that Donadio's match bad not yet appeared
 The next day he left bis house Tor the first time. not by water, but oy taking one of the narrow Interior pas saces. He had scarcely closed the door behind hIm wheD the narrow way was blocked by young man, whose black beard covered his whole face The beard entrusted with the mans complexion. which was soft and cleSr, more like wax than Iesh and blood,
 How now. Signot DonadioT said the man. "wbere are you going after NONT tpUE SlaN HIAN NV tu Ntui AS'
 Donadio. thinking the man some one be had met. but forgotten. told him that be was going to new fencing school be had heard had been opened
 "You do not need to % there to meet the new fencing master He stands before you"
 Putting on the beard, the stranger displayed the features of Blanca Man cinl Donadio recoiled. for with the other hand Blanca drew her rapier.
 "You got rid of what you considered the only barrier between you and me my brother. You now see another bar rier. myself. which you are to dispose \ of in the same way. have been edu' cated under the best masters of the art of fencing in Rome and Naples Drawi I returned 10 meet you, but since you never left your home have been obliged to draw you out by stratagem
 Donadio could not SO aside not straight ahead. the passage being blocked Thinking to dominate the wo man. he drew his sword. resolving to ! disarm her first and talk with her aft | erward. He was soon astonished at ! the skill with which she parried his thrusts. She did not at once assume
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