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Show Love or Death1 By Rafael Sabatinl (CoDyrtifht.) WNU Sorvlc WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE In Urblno, Italy, when tt wna under control of Cesare tiorgla, Corvlnus Trlsmeglstua la flourishing flour-ishing as a fortune teller and Welder of Rlleged eunornntural powers. To him cornea the Iady Blanca da' Fioravanti, daughter 0f the lord of Castle tan L,eo, which la -holding out against the power of Borgia. As she enters 8he sees entering; with her a mysterious figure. Blanca asks the sorcerer for an elixir which will gain for her the love of Io-renzo Io-renzo Castrocaro, who serves under un-der Borgia, Corvlnus gives her a phial, with directions for using Its contents. When Blanca leaves, the mysterious figure proves to h Borgia himself. The latter learns Corvlnus has a substance which he says can bring the dead to life- Borgia accuses Corvlnus of spreading the report that the Sultan Djem had been killed by Corvlnus' poison. Corvlnus denies de-nies this, but admits he has a deadly poison. Borgia calls the magician's bluff by Insisting that he drink his own poison. CHAPTER I Continued A Corvlnus blinked nntl pulped. "Would you have me die, my lord?" "Die? Do you, then, confess yourself your-self mortal, Thrice-Mage you the great Corvlnus Trismogistus, whose knowledge is wide and deep as the limitless ocean, you who are so little sensible to the ills and decay of the flesh that already you have lived two thousand years? Is the potency of this powder such that it can slay even the Immortals?" And now. at last, Corvlnus began to apprehend the real scope of Cesare's visit. It was true that he had set It about that Sultan Djem had been poisoned, poi-soned, and that he had boasted that he himself had supplied the Borglas with the fabulous secret drug that at such a distance of time bad killed the Grand Turk's brother; and, as a consequence, he had made great profit by the sale of what he alleged was the same poison a subtle veneno a termine, as he called it so convenient conven-ient for wives -who were anxious for i change of husbands, so serviceable to husbands grown weary of their wives. He understood at last that Cesare, Informed of the defamatory lie that had procured the mage such profit, had sought him out to punish him. And It is a fact that Corvlnus himself, despite his considerable knowledge, actually believed in the drug's fabulous fabu-lous power to slay at such a distance of time. He had found the recipe In an old MS. volume, with many another an-other kindred prescription, and he believed be-lieved in It with all the blind credulity credu-lity of the Cinquecento in such matters, mat-ters, with. In fact, all the credulity of those who came to seek his magician's magi-cian's aid. The duke's sinister mockery, the extraordinary ex-traordinary sense which he even conveyed con-veyed of his power to compel, of the futility of attempting to resist his commands, filled Corvinus with an abject ab-ject dread. "Highness . . . alas ! . . . 1 fear It may be as you say 1" he cried. "But even so, of what are you atraid? Come, man, you are trifling! Have you not said of this elixir that It will restore the dead to life? I pledge you my word that I shall see that It Is administered to you when sou are dead. Come, then; swallow we this powder, and see that you die of It precisely a fortnight hence, or, by my soul's salvation, I'll have you langed for an impostor without giving giv-ing you the benefit afterward of your own dose of resurrection." "My lord my lord !" groaned the unfortunate man. "Now, understand me," said the duke. "If this powder acts as you It will, and kills you at the appointed ap-pointed time, your own elixir shall be Eiven to you to bring you back again to'ife. But if it kills you sooner, you ""J remain dead; and if It kills you not at all why, then I'll hang you, "Wl publish the truth of the whole nutter, that men may know the falsehood false-hood of the manner of D.jem's death Pon which you have been trading! "cfuse me, and" The duke's gesture was significant. Corvinus ' looked Into the young an's beautiful, relentless eyes, and that to hope to turn him from "ls Purpose were worse than idle. As soon, then, risk the powder as accept " ! certainty of the rope, with perhaps foretaste of hell upon the rack. Bees, Be-es, some chemical skill he had, ami timely emetic might save him that M flight. Which shows the precise "'wit of his faith in his elixir of life. th trembling hands he took the Powder. "see that you spill none of It," Ce-76 Ce-76 artmnlshed hlra." or the stran- ' shall valet you, Thrice-Mage !" iwi '0rd' my lord!" quavered the ''Mercyf WarIock- hls eres bulging. therdhuekolaon' or the strungler." said WfY68?811"' Hml yet hpartenIrK nlra' 'IntwV thouSlit of the emetic, Cor- Mien i tlle eclge of the box t0 hl3 month h knd emPtled Into his tare fulut,y musty contents, Ce-Vb.e Ce-Vb.e , hln8 him closely the while. fian ' Was tlone' the 0PP""ed math. ma-th. Tk "mpl'v t0 his clmlr- ksviz '""Shed softly, replaced ibd ?' Hinging his ample cloak tin strode towarii the curtains " sked the doo. JuVTUy' TI,rlpe-MW." "e said, L.l you." m0Ckery- HI ShM Watching him depart, so confidently, so u terly fMrless unponce nZl T W"S nSS""ed l,y rnSe nd a "ce temptation to extinguish the ght and try conclusions with Cesare n the dark, summoning the Nubian to i s aid. It was with that thought in his n, nd that he smote the gong. But, hlls the note of It still rang upon tne air, he abandoned a notion so desperate. des-perate. It would not save him if he were poisoned, whilst if he allowed t esare to depart unmolested he would be the sooner gone, and the sooner Cesare were gone the sooner would Corvinus be free to administer him: self the emetic that was now his only hope. The curtains flashed back, and the Mibian appeared. On the threshold Cesare paused, and over his shoulder, ever mocking, he flung the warlock his valediction : "Fare you well, Thrlce-Mnge !" he said; and, with a laugh, passed out. Corvinus dashed wildly to his shelves in quest of that emetic, fiercely fierce-ly cursing the duke of Valentinois and all the Borgia brood. Chapter II As the Nubian opened, the door of the mage's house to give egress to the duke, he felt himself suddenly caught about the neck in the crook of a steely, strangling arm, whilst the shrill note of a whistle soundecT almost al-most In his very ear. Instantly the hitherto silent and deserted de-serted street awoke to life. From out of doorways darted swift-footed men in answer to the duke's "summons. Messer Corvinus Had Been Taken In the Very Act of Mixing a Drug. Into the hands of two of these he delivered de-livered the writhing Nubian ; to the others he Issued' a brief command. "In !" he said, waving a hand down the passage. "In, and take him." And upon that he stepped out into the street and so departed. Later that evening word was brought him at the palace of how Messer Corvinus had been taken in the very act of mixing a drug. "The antidote, no doubt," said Cesare Ce-sare to the officer who bore him the Information. "You would be Just in time to save my experiment from being be-ing frustrated. A wicked, faithless, inconsiderate fellow, this Corvinus. Let him be kept In close confinement, guarded by men whom you can trust, until you hear from me again." Thereafter Cesare summoned a council of his officers Corella the Venetian, Ve-netian, Naklo the Forlivese, Itamiro de Lorqua, his lieutenant general or Romagna, Delia Volpe the one-eyed, and Lorenzo Castrocaro. A fill clean-limbed young man was this last, very proud in his bearing verv splendid in his apparel, with golden hair and handsome, dreamy eves of a blue as dark as sapphires. Cesare held him In great regard kn,vlng him valiant, resourceful and ..mbltlous. Tonight he regarded I m with a fresh interest, in view of what the magician's he had overheard The duke waved his officers to their seats about his council board an. craved of Delia Volpe, who vw,s in charge of the siege operations, news of the fortress of San Leo. T e veteran's swarthy face wa gioomy. H' "lc "-he "ud U'St the other hi the duke's lerrlc avoided his master', penetrans glance. He sighed wearily. "We make no progress," he confessed con-fessed "nor can make any. San Leo is not a place to be carried by assault, as-sault, as your Magnificence well knows. It stands there upon Its mountain-top like a monument upon a plinth, approached by a bridle path I offering no cover. And, for all that It Is reported to be held by scarcely ' more than a score of men, a thousand ! cannot take it. There is no foothold ! at the summit for more than a dozen men at a time, and as for using guns against It, It were easier to mount a park of artillery upon a fiddle string." "Yet until Run Leo Is ours we are not fully masters of Urbiuo," said the duke. "We cannot leave the place in the hands of Fiornvantl." i "We shall have to starve him out, then," said Delia Volpe. "And that would take a year at least," put in Corella, who had been gathering information. "They have great store of wheat and other victuals vict-uals and they are watered by a well in the inner bailie of the fortress. I With few mouths to feed, as they ' have, they can hold us In check forever." for-ever." "There Is a rumor today," said Delia Volpe. "that the Lord FloravantI Is sick, and that It ls feared he may not live." "Not a doubt but Venice will say I poisoned him," said Cesare, sneering. "Still, even if he dies, It will be no gain to us. There is his castellan, Tolentino, to take his place; and To-lentino To-lentino Is the more obstinate of the two. We must consider some way to" he vigilant, and hold the path against all." Delia Volpe inclined his head. "I have taken all my measures for that," he said. And now young Castrocaro stirred In his chair, leaning forward across the table. "By your leave," said he, "those measures may not suffice." Delia Volpe frowned, rolled his single eye, which was preternaturally fierce, and scowled contemptuously upon this young cockerel whose pretense pre-tense it seemed to be to teach that war-battered old captain the art of beleaguering. "There Is another way to reach San Leo," Castrocaro explained ; and drew upon himself the attention of all, particularly par-ticularly the duke, In whose fine eyes there gleamed now an eager Interest very unusual In him. Castrocaro met with a confident smile this sudden and general alertness alert-ness he had provoked. "It IS not," he explained, "such a way hy which a company can go, but sufficient to enable a bold man who ls acquainted with It to hear a message, mes-sage, and, at need, even victuals Into the fortress. Therefore It will be necessary nec-essary that Messer della Volpe surround sur-round the entire base of the rock If he would be sure that none shall slip through his lines." "You are certain of what you tell us?" quoth the duke sharply. "Certain 1" echoed Castrocaro; and he smiled. "The way of which I speak lies mainly to the south of the rock. It ls perilous even for a goat, yet It ls practicable with care to one who knows It. Myself, as a boy, have made the ascent mora often than I should have cared to tell my mother. In quest of an eagle's nest I have more than once reached the little plateau that thrusts out under the very wall of the fortress on the southern south-ern side. Thence, to enter the castle, all that would be needed would be a rope and a grappling hook; for the wall ls extremely low Just there not more than twelve feet high." The duke pondered the young soldier sol-dier with very thoughtful eyes, In silence, si-lence, for some moments. "I shall further consider this," he said at length. "Meanwhile, I thank you for the Information. You have heard, Delia Volpe. You will profit by what Castrocaro tells us, encircling the base entirely with your troops." Della Volpe bowed, and upon that j the council rose. Next morning Cesare Borgia summoned sum-moned Castrocaro to his presence. He received the young condottiero In the noble library of the palace, a spacious spa-cious chamber, its lofty ceiling gloriously glori-ously frescoed by Mantegna, Us walla hung with costly tapestries and cloth of gold, Its shelves stocked with a priceless and Imposing- array of vol- umes, all in manuscript; for, al- , though the new German Invention ol ; the printing press was already at work by not a single vulgar produc- , lion 'of that machine would Duke Guidobaldo have contaminated his ; cherished and marvelous collection. Is the duke telling the truth? Or is this a subtle plot? (TO BE CONTINUED.) i |