The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-07-16
An italian Gifts
Vengeance
A Story Of Sorrento
BY r. a. mitchell

Sorrento, the famous Italian seaside
resort, i built on . ctiR several hun
dred feet high. The cliff 10 curved,
the northern end danked by Mount We
.suvius, the southern end pointing to
the Mediterranean sea. The town is
composed chiefly Of hotels and villas,
some Of them set In the center Of or
ange groves. At the base Of the cliff
are the homes Of fisher folk, their boats
moored on a narrow beach. There is
no sea view in the world more beauti-
full than that from Sorrento. One may
gaze upon the ever changing hue Of
the waters beneath, the islands Of Is
CHA and Capri, here and there q ship
or the little white steamer that car
ries passengers between Naples and
the islands, while shoreward to the
right is the one Vesuvius with it's
mist Of smoke about its summit.
Julian Hemstreet, q young American
Of fortune who was travelling abroad
previous to settling down to the man.
agement Of his estate, went to Sor-
rento and was so charmed with 1t that
he was in no hurry to move on. Hav-
ing sailor instincts he was drawn to-
ward the shore directly beneath where
the feet Of fishing craft was either
hauled up on the beach Or nodding at
anchor.
Entering q wine shop, he asked a
girl he found there how he should pro-
coed to hire a boat. He knew enough
of the Italian language to converse
fairly well, and she gave him the nee
essary information. While she was
doing SO Julian ordered a liter Of wine,
which she brought and set on a table
before him. There was nothing in the
shop to look at except the girl, SO Ju-
liam fixed his eyes upon her, and the
longer he looked the more he found
food for admiration.
Lita-that was her name-was dress
ed in the costume of Italy, which has
In it a good deal Of color. Like all, or
nearly all, Italians, she was brunette,
with a wealth Of black hair and eyes
Of q dark brown. She was comely in
her way, but not beautiful; nevertheless
there was a novelty for Julian in her
makeup, especially her costume. 1t
was not long before be was paying her
compliments, which meant little to
him, but meant much to the girl.
Julian, having learned where he
the bay, for he was accustomed to
handling such craft, and when he re
turned called at the shop for another
liter Of wine. He was q handsome
fellow, entirely different from the men
to whom the girl who served him had
been accustomed. 1t is a question how
far a nan is responsible for q girls
falling in love with him. In this case
Julian would not have prevented it even
by refraining from the little compli-
ments that he considered due any wo-
man. She was confronted by that
which dazzled her and was dazzled.
Possibly II Julian had realized the
damage being done he would have
withdrawn, though later, when it be-
came plain to him, he did no such
thing. But then 1t would have been
much more difficult to withdraw than
at the beginning.
One morning Julian was In the
orange grove that surrounded his hotel
plucking the ripe fruit, when from
another part Of the grove came q rip
pie Of feminine laughter, and a mo-
ment later "a girl appeared from among
the trees. On seeing a young man her
features changed from mirth to serious
ness and she passed on into the hotel.
There could be no greater difference
between two women than between this
girl and the Italian at the foot of the
cli6. The former was a blond whose
complexion was still soft as that Of a
child, a rose tint mingled with its
Wilderness. The eyes were blue, the
hair what Is commonly called golden.
She was Mildred Twining, a member Of
IN American family who were touring
in Europe. Julian, who was Of an age
to be easily impressed with feminine
beauty, was much pleased at the sud-
den change on the face OF the girl, on
coming upon him 80 suddenly. Sev-
eral other persons with whom she had
been In the grove, including a child,
followed her into the house, passing
him closely, but 90 charmed was he
with the girl that he took no note of
the others.
Americans abroad are as prone ia
make friends with one another as they
r to stand apart at home. and it was
not long before Julian formed the &C.
quaintance Of the party Of which Miss
Twining was a member. The ease
with which tourists become friends IL
extended to the sexes, and there is nc
more prolific our Of uniting hearts
than sightseeing in foreign lands. Ju.
liam Hemstreet attached himself to the
Twining party. or, rather, to Mildred
Twining, and everywhere they went
he went.
One day Julian proposed to his new
found friends to take them to sail on
the bay. They accepted his invitation
and, having descended to the beach,
stood waiting while Julian was making
preparation for the debarkation. Lita,
tho vino ahOD pirl 90 the nor<v ooA