The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1913-07-11


through difficulties and dangers; but
they had lelC upon her youthful, al
most childish face, no damaging mark.
1t used to be my standing expression
to tell Alice Clement that she grew
younger every day. And now, as we
sat in the parlor car of fast train to
Chicago, l repeated the stock worn
phrase, and she laughed, as she always
did.
That's because you are growing old
about twice as fast as any one else
in the world" she cried. Il suppose
the next time l see you you will be
hobbling along on stick and wearing
a beard down to your knees"
looked out at the station clock
and noticed that there remained half
hour before time for the train to
leave.
considering that" said, won't
you take pity on me and tell me what
sent you to Europe?"
She seemed to debate a moment
with herself and looked at me once or
twice with that teasing expression l
have come to know so well.
Suppose" she said, Il told you the
story of piece of paper, blind wo-
man and a castle in Italy?"
"a what?" l asked, vaguely.
More than that" was b.; answer;
but will let it come in ~ story.
Il picked up the paper one morning
to read the brief notice that the Ital-
ian section of town near Chicago ave-
nue. was somewhat excited, over the
disappearance of Rosita Cassanelli.
Rosita, it seems, had started to con-
fessional at the Holy Name church
Sunday morning at about seven
o'clock She did not enter the place
of worship, nor did she return to her
home. The case was plain, according
to the newspapers-the Black Hand!
Some way that case interested me.
1 saw the captain and gained permits
sion to work on it. An hour later /
was in the little store of Antonio Cas-
sanelli, obtaining from him in fiery
Italian sentences what he knew about
the kidnapping of his child That was
but little. Rosita had been there and
now she was gone. Any enemies?
Antonio shook his head and spread
his hands. Any chance for ransom?
The italian smiled vaguely at me and
pointed to his meager stock.
1T is all have" he said.
Yet large sums of money are not
always sought by the men who steal
children in Little Italy. To some, one
hundred dollars means a vast amount.
1t was the time of the year when
every lodging house harbored scores
of laborers driven in by the cold
camps. They needed money, they
were not particular as to how they
got it, and the stealing of human flesh
represented the best way of making a
living
Il left the little store and wandered
along the street which l believed Ro-
sta had walked on her way to church,
asking questions through the Italian
policeman who accompanied me, as
we went along. At last l found what
l sought, little child who had seen
Rosita talking to thres men who had
stopped her. That was all the child
knew, with the exception of the fact
that she had seen one of the men
take an envelope from his pocket, tear
the flap from it, scribble something
and then hand it to one of his COM
panions, throwing away the empty
part of the envelope.
The child could give no description
OF the men, nor did she see them lure
Rosita away
But l had what l sought-the
chance of a clue and, together with
my companion, We began the. search
for the piece of envelope. We knew
there was only a small chance that it
could tell us anything; but We must
take that chance. Slowly we walked
along the street, our eyes searching
here and there, staring at every bit of
paper, meeting disappointment after
disappointment. At last l gave a lit
tie cry and leaped forward.
"a fiapless envelope lay wedged be-
tween an ash barrel and a rickety
shed. I seized it and eagerly sought
some bit of writing that hoped might
be there. But was disappointed.
Yet there was something about
that envelope which made me think.
The paper was heavy and of the best
quality. The shape was not that of
the ordinary envelope purchased in
our American stores. l held it tC the
light and then turned to my Italian
friend, my face showing more of in
terest than a case of this ordinary
kind should breed
"'Defeo,' said, Gould there be any
such thing as kidnapping society?'
What do you mean? the police
man asked.
mean an organized band of kid
napers, who have grown wealthy
through the stealing of children and
the holding of them for ransom?'
"Defeo laughed. There can be
most anything in Italy, he said.
Well,' l unused, if this is the case
OF a society, the kidnapping has paid
well enough to insure the owners of
the business in the buying of the best
of everything, stationery included.
Beyond that, there seems to be a
Latin mixed in it. Read this'-I
handed him the envelope and watched
his face as he held it to the light.
His eyes grew wide in astonish-
ment. The house of Immeo!' he said.
Rather familiar, eh?' l uueried.
Zone of the Oldest houses of It.
aly,' he answered. And then burst
forth:
at is the big grand mistake!' no
eriAss How do we know where the en-