The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-10-13
with its rent and gas bill. bsthed hin,

14P
undivided one-twentieth interest in an
adjacent tenement, represented the
very pinnacle Of financial soundness.
In Palermo, this humble tailor might
be u yeritable prince he reflected; a
yeritable prince in Palerme-the bare
utterance of the name impelled him
toward his guitar. Soon his falsetto
was uplifted in temporary forgetful-
ness of his plight.
'Ogni sera di soto al milo balcone,"
he walled, and rolled his eyes, while
G%insburg, on the other side of the par
tition, emitted a succession of .'phoo-
ees" to the bolts of wooden that lined
the walls of his store.
Had his neighbor been visible to An
nIoale through the scantling party wall,
the sight might have afforded him
more solace than his song; for this
was no opulent landlord ~ laborious-
ly scrawled figures on b esback of an
envelope.
The ownership of an undivided one-
twentieth interest in a tenement house
has its disadvantages. They-that is
to say, the syndicate of twenty, had
purchased real estate to sell at a quick
profit and not as an investment, but an
untimely slump in prices had frustrat-
ed their plans. Only two short weeks
must elapse before a payment of S.
900 would fall due on the purchase
money mortgage which the syndicate
had executed to its seller.
In vain did Ginsburg cover the back
or his envelope with intricate computa-
t1on-the staggering deficit of a hun
dred odd dollars confronted; for what
looked like a retiring competency to
AnnlDale, represented the paltry sum
of $125.
Inc distracted landowner glanced
around the little store and mentally ap-
praised the wooden piece goods on the
shelves.
"St1ckers," he Kissed; mot a hundred
dollar bill. in der whole store. und dot
gentle sings YETI
Inc melody came in shrill gusts
through the scantling partition. This
lime 1t was a popular Neapolitan song
and Annibale threw back his head as
he trolled forth the romantic stave:
"Occn1 neri, perche mi sorridete," he
sang; "occhi neri, perche mi sorri"-
The entrance of the mail carrier
caught him midway in the refrain.
where be paused to receive a letter in
closed in a blue envelope.
Annibale's schooling had been of
such primitive order that he was un-
bic to decipher script and could only
read Roman capitals with some diff
Guilty. He made out the postmark to
be New York. but obviously this could
not be the gas bill, for it was too early
In the month, and, besides. the gas
bill came in a white envelope. Once
before he had received a letter other
than the gas company's missive, which
proved to contain an invitation to the
grand ball of the Societa San Rocco di
Savoia di Lucania.
What a sensation he had created in
his hired dress suit, which fitted him
as though he really owned it, 1t had
I been a most enjoyable occasion from
every point of view. There had been
ANi'A LIN lhS 1uOld
of good looking girls. the whole end
ing with as pretty a free-for-all fight
as he had eve witnessed-fve casual.
ties, with a mortality of 40 per cent.
Perhaps, he reflected, there was to
be another dance. In that event he
could utilize the diamond ring, which
had a convertible setting, as a shirt
stud. After all, youth is the time for
enjoying oneself. Let Ginsburg have
his bank roll and tenement house; he
Qomonte) would be merry while he
could.
He, Lomonte. would show-he con-
tinued to reflect as he tore open the
envelope-would show that premature
ly aged Hebrew that he, Lomonte. was
no-he withdrew the inclosed sheet
was no fossil. No. indeed. he-'Santa
Resale" he shrieked as he spread the
, unfolded paper on his knee.
Almost its entire surface was over
laid with the impression of a human
hand in printers ink, from beneath
which there grinned a skull and cross.
bones neatly executed in carmine. II
bore an italian legend in capital let,
tiers, the import of which even Lo,
monte's agitation could not render diff
fcult of apprehension;
Do you want to die? Then disobey our
will. We demand $500. The time, next
Friday, at noon. The place, in front of
the restaurant of the three Abruzzi, on
Mott street. There one will say to you
Monte Pellegrino.' Speak of this to not
man nor woman nor child.
LA MANO NERA.
Annibale stared into vacancy and re.
peated mechanically, LA Mano. Nera"
(the Black Handl. while his throat
grew parched and his heart thumped
wildly in his breast. He sank into a
lethargy of panic from which be was
aroused by Ginsburg's bedtime sup
plications.
Apparently Morris could perform nc
office of his daily life without sancti-
flying it with ritualiStic color. Did he
----l~ Ia. I-..l, +1a, NnfhalA u-n