The Lakeland evening telegram., 1914-07-18
sssssesSssessssssssssss
!: At The GRAY CASTLE !:
. sy CORA A. cLAUSSEN.

Neri!" she called again, quickly.
What is it,"
J From the side Of the road came
Nerfs voice, soothing and musical, in
MS own Palermese dialect.
Some one has been hurt, signorita.
we very nearly ran over him, but
stopped In time He is half dead,
stabbed, little below the heart
oh. Neri. and we're miles from a
town. Can you lift him in here with
me?"
"Signorita, he is very badly hurt.
There are lights on the mountain yon-
der. Let me 80 for help"
And perhaps find the very people
who stabbed him. NO" shivered
Marjorie. Il hate your Sicilian neigh
borliness. Lift him in, and I'll sit way
over on this side. How far is Aresti?"
Too far for tonight He would not
live. There is castle on the farther
side of this mountain The Rassalioni
family live there. We might find some
help there. A village lies below 1t.
possibly a surgeon and priest. He
will need both before morning"
oh. be cheerful, Neri, please. It's
quite dreadful enough without burying
him already. Can help you?"
She leaned forward, but Nerl had
lifted the man In his arms, and
brought him to the tonneau He was
unconscious. AS Neri propped him
back on the seat, Marjorie saw he was
young, and no peasant type. The car
rolled along at top speed, taking the
rise Of the road easily without jolting.
The castle, signorita," Neri called
back over his shoulder Above them
Marjorie saw lonely mass OF mason
ry, clustering piles around one huge
tower
Neri stopped before a postern door.
Above it hung a lantern lighted Aft
er repeated pulling at an iron ring
fastened to bell rope at the side the
door opened. and an old Italian peered |
out anxously. Neri spoke rapidly to
him, and he took down the lantern to |
hold it before the unconscious face.
Santa Maria" he gasped. Where |
did you find him.
Don't ask questions" Marjorie ex-
claimed. Get some help. He has
been stabbed. Carry him In"
Marjorie waited, silent, restless
figure swathed in gray silk motoring
coat and gray veil, while they bore
the limp form into the shadowy court
yard She followed slowly, under an
arched door into dim old hall, low
ceiled and spacious. Here they laid
him on couch, and Neri talked In
low tones with the old man.
What is it, Neri?" asked his mis-
tress impatiently. Does he know
him."
Know him? Signorita, we have had
the fortune to rescue the Marchese di
Rassalloni He has been set upon by
certain roaming banditti whom he had
threatened. He would have died IL
we had not happened by. The mar
chesa, his mother"
"I know all about her, Neri," Mar
jorie smiled in tantalizing fashion
all her own. Deliberately she went to
the couch and looked down at the face
there. She had been evading meeting
the marchesa for days. Lady Moore
parke had talked of no one else
He says it is dangerous for us to
return tonight" continued Neri. per
haps If you would stay here with the
marchesa, signorita, | could make the
trip, and relieve your fathers mind"
Il think l will stay, Neri," she an
swered.
The following day Ira bradshaw,
conveyed by Lady Mooreparke, called
at the old castle. Marjorie was In the
garden.
Bradshaw stopped under the heavy
Towering vines of the pergola to look
at her. She sat beside couch, lean
ing forward and talking eagerly. Her
lap was filled with roses. She had
tucked a dark red one over her ear
like a Sicilian girl, and another, Its
mate, lay on the marcheses breast.
"You saved my life last night" he
was saying 1T lies In your hands,
signorita, like your roses. to do with
as you please"
Marjorie raised the roses to her lips,
and smiled down at him.
"You are to stay here as our guests
for awhile, did you know that?" he
added.
'I know. told Neri last night to
tell dad | wanted to stay" she said.
"And all the rest is right on the knees
Of the gods. They've started some
thing that interests me-"
He reached for both her hands i'm
petuously, but Marjorie rose, letting
the roses fall.
when you are WELL" she warned.
You mustn't make love with wound
IN your side. And see. 1t Is only one
lay"
1T is the day Of fate" he said husk-
ly. "If you are not kind, / shall hope
% die from the wound"
She bent over him teasingly, yet /