The evening world. Newspaper, December 10, 1904, Page 10

A 5 i $ gE ingerly and returned the goblet, which he greedily drained the toss and emack of the drunkard, “Tia!” he ejaculated, “See there! It's Salviatl, who's always His Excellency's heels.” A tall form brushed past us, clad as a Roman gladiator, his not unequal to the role. He was soon lost in the direction the A i Ef I glanced sharply at the hunchback. He was decidedly the worse for his last goblet and fairly recled into the lintel as wo passed from the room of the tables into an adjoining salon, We stopped short at the srango sight before us. a The salon was free of women, but over towards {ts further end a circle male masks was drawn abdcut a short figure, hiding all but the dark head, which turned this way and that, as if stung by the gibes that leapt from the nowy throats of his tormentora, “Oho! The gay Lorenao, sporling the toga of the Patrician!" cried one with cutting mockery, “Who is it, pray, Cacsar or Pompey, or one of the noble Scipli? A fitting mask!" “Dogs! burst forth the subject of these taunts as he broke through the circle and faced about upon them, “Know ye aot the shape of Brutus?” “Aye, aye~Brutus! Brutus!” they re-echoed in chorus, and burst Into a roar ef jeering laughter. “Ay!” erled the puny hero, “Mock—mock—mock you fill, I tell ya ye shall one day know your master, Which one of ye, I say, would dare the deed this hand will do? Not one, not one, I tell ye, ye are cowards all, and do but fawn upon the hand that fays ye!” The bunehback leant forward eagerly. ¢ The group about him thoy called Lorenzo tittered, but fell a little back, and the plgmy Brutus, stratting with a mien that was the very ecstasy of vanity, swung himself across the salon and out into the room we had just quitted, “Herole words,” commented the hunchback grimly, “as becomes the mask, But as for action—faugh! The blood's too white beneath his Mabby skin.” “Who was it?’ I questioned, forecasting the answer, “That,” he returned with a hiccough, “is no other than Lorenzo—a Medici him they dub ‘the Philosopher’ or ‘Lorenzacclo.’ “And now,” he added, stretching himself clumsily upon a couch and shutting his besotted eyes, “I belleve I'll sleop awhile, Adieu, Monsieur! A pleasant evening!’ And with that he passed at once into the land of dreams and set up @ eterterous breathing, The masks that had badgered Lorengacelo had {qllowed him into the main hall, I found mysolf alone in the empty sajon. Unable to bear the quiet which now all at eset , I followed her back into the room of bowered tables, The ttity in an empty place, I ordered a flask of wine and began sipping it cm or other, perhaps @ favorite dance, had drawn off,,most of the tdtmet occupants into the hall, Only two persons saQ near, thelr volcos coming to me from the ng bower, Where had I heard that sonorous, singing note before?’ In” ence? To-night? Why, yes—It wag Strosal, , P “Now, really, my very reverend sister,” he was saying, “ls such an exp Quite the thing for one of your cloth, or petticoats, rather?” A rough, suppressed guffaw followed. “Always so whimsical, my Captain of the Guards,” came the answer & strangely hoarse and guttural Intonation, “But I tell you, Bladch is a rarity in womankind, a pearl among pearls, a gom of gems! My chaplain assures me on the authority of the Abbess that no nunnery of Italy bas ever held so marvelous a novice, Come! I'm In humor for a frolic, Do you and Balviati get together while I post my dangqous Lorenso, Ha! ha! That'll be galt and pepper to the fun, to see his putty face a-scowl among he frightened maids! I would we had Vitelli, He's a coolish hand and something of a ewordsman. But what say you, Strozsi? Our three swords and Salviati's weight should make a pretty scrimmage among the petticoats, It’s but a stone's throw without the city; we'll have e-look at Blanche the marvelous and be back for the end of it here.” What could they be planning, Strozzi and this villainous fellow? I peeped. Over acroms the table In the next bower sat the squat, thick-set figure of a nun, Bhe wore a mask, and through the eye-siits glowed a very fire of hell. “Mon dieu!" I exclaimed under my breath, “The hunchback’s description to a dot It's the Duke!” Confused as I was, I fell to Mstening agaln eagorly, scorning the manners that forbid tho eavesdropper. In ten minutes the whole was roundly planned. The Duke was to withdraw at once and start for the nunnery, while Strozsl wae to see to Lorenzo, A walker stood before me with a allver tray. On the tray was a acrap of parchment neatly folded. Tearing open the note, 1 glanced at the three short Unes. “Refreshment table, Monsieur, Most spicy viands. They say a Cardinal sent them, ‘They have an edge for a Duke, Respectfully, JACQUES,” I easily translated this as follows; “Cone to the refreshment tables, I have an important communication to make, Some fellows are here from Rome, armed for an attack upon the Ife of the Duke.” Behind one of the refreshment tables stood Jacques, He served me briskly, with raised cyebrows and an attentive ear. “When?” I asked quickly, “To-night, Monsieur.” “We'll go.” “Yea, Monaleur,” ‘ “Ten minutes,” “Yes, Monsieur.” I sauntered careleasly towards the door, keeping a sharp lookout for the four men who were to take part in the unmanly frolle proposed by His Ex- cellency. Not one of them was visible, I stopped out into the street, wishing I had said five minutes instead of ten, But Jacques was there awaiting me. CHAPTER It, The Duke’s Lead. HEY are gone, Monsieur,” he sald, with a tone of regret, “and 1 $$ know not in what direction,” 7 . “Then T'll tell you,” said I, and I reeited the streets which the Duke had name to Strozszt, Jacques stared. We made what epeed we could. As near as T could tell, the Duke’s party had at least twenty minutes’ start of us; the fellows Jacques had epled upon were probably pressing them close; and since we did not know how near or how distant the nunnery might be, it seemed best to lose no time. “Monsieur has some definite Intention, perhaps?’ inquired Jacques with an effort to appear tmdifferent. “Yes and no,” IT answered; and then, ashamed of myself for having kept him $0 long in the dark, I told him, “Ah, Monsieur,” was his comment, “gallantry In Italy és a difficult thing,” “But tho lady is French,” I replied. “There were seven of the murderers,” he continued, half to himself, And four, Monsieur eays, in the Duke's party. Now If we side with the Duke, it's even chances, six to seven, But Monsieur has no intention of siding with the Duke Quite the contrary, Then it's four to two If we engage with the Duke alone, or nine to four if the hirelings lend a hand to help us." “Would you have me join with Ippolito’s assassins, Jacques,” I interrupted, laughing. “It may come to a question of skins,” he protested, “What would you suggest?" I asked, ; “What does Monsleur say to warning the Duke?” “To what end?” I demanded. “That he may find himself indebted to Monsieur.” The idea was a good one, I turned it over and over. “Tf we can to the nunnery In time,” I sald finally, “Lat us run,” proposed Jacques. Buddenly upon the quiet broke a shrill ery, and another, and another, in dif- ferent women's voices, We aprang forward at top speed, and at a turn came ful pom the nunnery, | - oors two sides, Directly beyond the radling, over the stairs, was an upper hall in which the shadows of several figures fitted and danced against the whitenell walls. I went in quickly and mounted the stairs far enough to bring the tigures to the level of my eyes. Alessandro, sti!) in his nun’s mask, with Stroazi, also masked, beside him, and the two other men in the background. The Duke was gosticulating with awkward violence to the Abbess, who, with @ crucifix In one upraised hand, her cheeks pale, her eyes wide and cold, her ips ” set in straight lines of determination, stood quiet and digni‘ied before him, “But I tell you, my imprudent woman,” the Duke was declaiming tyrannously, “I am Alessandro, the Duke of Wlorence, and what I will must be. I desire to see this pretty novice of yours, and I'll see her if I have to set the place ablaze and set the whole covey afight into the gardens, Away! Give me the keys, or I'll fetch you to my palace and strip the dirty meal-sack from your starved ribs and jay you on a bed to which your pallets were a couch of down, I'll teach you tor-' ments that'll make your whippings and your pricking-belts seom balm and unction, Oive me the keys, I say! Mere—qutck, and jeavo your prating.” But the Abbess drow herself up stiffly, clulching the crucifix with one hand, whose tight-drawn tendons were the only sign of (he mortal terror that bad selsed her, For a moment all stood silent. Then the Duke, who had begun fairly to foam at the mouth, sprang forward, calling to Salviati, who came quickly to his help, Together they taid hold of ber and shook her brutally, Alessandro crying: “The keys, you preaching cat, the keys!” I had been eo spellbound as spectator as to forgot that 1 must be an actor, and at once. Retreating down the stairs to the door I sounded sharply upon the knocker, calling out as 1 did so: “Ho! Is His Excellency the Duke within?” The struggle in the upper hall ceased abruptly. Strozzi's form: appeared at the railing. “Who seeks the Duke?” he demanded In quiet tones. Then, getting a better giimpse of me as I hastened forward, he started slightly, frowned, and thea smiled, “Then the Duke is here,"’ I erled, felgning relief from a great anxiety. “How fortunate! Permit me to have but two words with His Excellency and I dare count on his pardon for this !ntrusion.” r, king of devils!’ shouted a voice from the hall above, “Let the man ! Nay, aside, I say, I'll speak with him myself.” q h a dark look. I bounded gestion, There Charles when he t whence, had Drpttl cellency’s death. I wood below, overh soon to povket for The passion of sought to throw into “What aay you, mounted the stairs true. Shall we credit Before Strozal co my recital, took a q from the Duke with “Credit it!" he a! but too thin, The for rlece like a parrot till tenlng in corners and 6 pay!” I started at the made a visible imprbs ?” be sald, turning to th was standing a close listener, is infamous tale?” reply, Salviati, who hal crept fp step forward, drawing his 5 and felt my hand jerk for che bik of. my sword. jati's lead, drew also, and sti over, back to the Duke, ." he declared, ‘fhe letters that he held were forged. I This Monsieur d'Aubray, as he calls himself, mala- into my palace aprick for news of treachery to the told them at the first pert and fluent, has Medici!" Lorensacelo, seeing 41s side four to one, joined the others, and three sword points glinted in the ering Ught. But si I did not draw. “I swear!” cried L “Swearing won't help you, my bold biue-Jay,” retorted Salviat!. “Come, La. renzo, we'll turn bim first, and trounce him first alone, And so with the rest, éf fest there be.” He fell into position tn a flash, and tunged before I could well pluck my sword, Lorenzo, lithe as a cat, sprang about me, badgering me. ‘The Duke was listening to Strozzi's whispered suggestions, and nodding his head at each quick-spoken sentence. Aé length he swore a loud cath, and, point- ing to me, shouted: “At him, Strossi. Spit him, spit him, all of youl” Strosai came upon me with a rush. I had backed to the rafling so ¢hat he should nat flank me, and, drawing my pontlard, I There was a springing step in the hall, a flash upon the stairs, and Jacques knocked up Strozst’s sword, which flew the length of the hall and fell at the side of the Abbess, who was watching with clasped hands and a heaving breast, The Abbess stooped, picked up the eword, and flung it through the open casenrent, Strozal swore in Latin, snatched Alessandro’s sword from its scabbard ang set upon Jacques with the dash and sinew of a tiger. But Jacques was equal to the test. I had never known a swordsman even pink him. The whole play on our pert was defensive. With Jacques at my aide I found my breath, and, as I fought, I shouted clear and loud: “Watch, Your Excellency! See, I could have spitted him like a pultet for the roast, But mark, I scratch him not. And yet they are two to one, We but pro- tect ourselves, Bid them draw off and I will prove past question that I spoke tho truth.” “Heed him not!’ ented Salviati, who was beside himself at not reaching me. “What!” piped in a shrill key Lorenzaccio, who, for all his paleness, had a steely arm and was pressing me even harder than the sweating Salviatl. “Be- Heve you now, my spy? Who's this second cut-throat that's just Joined ust” “He's the devil himself!" breathed Strozzl, whose soll] was idle, “Slash him from the side, Lorenzo, and we'll join upon the forger,” Lorenzacclo obeyed, slashing at Jacques tn the effort to beat down his guard. “Your Excellency!” I called again, “one Kireting sfw us getting over the nun- nery walls, If they follow, they may be even now upon us, Let them come! We'll show you what they're made of. Jacques and I alone will drive them from the gardens.” 1 “Riraggart!” snarled Salviatt. “On, you pack of blunderers!” yelled the Duke, “What, Strozzl!—What, Lo renzo! Is this your boasted «word-play?” He kept hopping about in his eager- pess, feeling nervousty for his vanished hilt. Jacques had caught the trick of his opponent's fence. “Monsieur,” ho breathed, “the odds will turn.” ad I understood. He had spled upon the hirelings. They were coming to the nunnery. “Upon my life,” awore the Duke, “Tll rack ye one and all for faithless dogs, ye toothless whelps that do but hark and cannot bite, Have at them! ‘Thrust, Lorenzo! Now, Salviath-now—now!” But at that very moment, with a chorus of hoarse cheers, the seven stormed tuto the lower hall, swords drawn, shouting: “Alessandro, Alessandro!” “Now, Sir Duke,” I cried at the top of my voice, “my word is proved. Speak, and we'll clear the hall. Bpeak, Stroszi! Will you have us with you or against - you?" “With ust” gapped Stross! in a flash. And the Duke, swearing a fearful oath, echoed: “You spoke truth, Fresebinen, Wight for dt”