Show p O ee w fd r r d J = Author of A Prlsonor of Zends I Copyright 1895 by Anthony Hope CHAPTER CONCLUDED I fount Antonio tml the Iatiy of Ri luiio i I I Thus had the day worn to evening ani long had the day seemedto Anj ionio who sat before the mouth of tne cave with Venusta by his side i 6 All day they sat thus alone for LuigI and the two youths had gone to set snares in the wood behind the cave or such was the pretext Luigi made and Antonio had let them go charging them to keep in earshot And as the i hours passed Antonio seeking to entertain en-tertain the lacy < and find amusement f ir her through the hours began to i had done J reciunt to her all that he had seized the sacred bones lu Jit with the ab the tanier of its dealing i faanner and much else But botSil t Frisian bot of l 4mllng Duke Paul he would I of his did he speak not pdk nor love for Lucia till Venusta pressed I him making parade of great sympathy I sympa-thy for him But when he had set his to the task he grew eloquent tongue his eyes gleamed and his cheek he spoke in the low reverent flushou and ertnt voIce that a true lover uses I when he speaks of his mistress as i v ton < wonted accents were rig though and mean for her name And j common listening casting now and sat i Yenust1 > look ut him out of her deep 1 again a and findIng his eyes never on i i eyes filled with the fancied vision J but hers Lucia And at last growing im1 I patiert vf with him she broke out petu i Lint1 then different from all I 1 this girl Is speak of her as others that you she were a goddess though would not have spoken of her r ou pressed me laughed but that you v Yet In my eyes she is a Antonio every maid should be to x 1lddessas llll Venusta love caught a twig from the and broke It sharp acmes I p ground Eoys talk said she and fitng the twig away broken AntcJ1io laughed gently and leaned the rock resting en back Maybe rc said he Yet is there I talks boys talk for you none who not boys she said men a vj love I think I would t I iAnd If I were a man not a goddess 4o a woman chance I doubt not It hEavens Had again laughing tcnlo said t to love ivfi should if chanced I ouad l t 1z z = 1 J s aa3 o if U < V V not have quarrelled wltn the boys talk nor at the ame of goddess She flushed suudenly and bit her lip but she answered in raillery I Indeed had it been so a marvel of a lover I should have had For you have not seen your mistress for three years and yet you are faithful to her Arc you not my lord Small credit not to wander where I you love to rest said Antonio And yet youth goes in waiting and 1 delights missed come not again said I I I she leaning toward him with a light in her eyes and scanning his fair hair and bronzed cheek his broad shoulders j shoul-ders and the shiny hands that nursed his knee It may be that they will not come to me he said For the Duke has a halter ready for my throat if by force or guile he can take me She started at these words searching search-ing his face but he was calm > and innocent in-nocent of any hidden irfeanmg She forced a laugh as she said twisting a curl of her hair round her finger The more reason to waste no time my lord Antonio Antonio shook his head and said lightly But I think he cannot take me by force and I know orno man in all the duchy who world betray me to a shameful death And of no woman 1 she asked glancing at him from under drooping lashes No for I have wronged none and women are not cruel Yet there may be some my lord who call you cruel and therefore would be cruel in vengeance A lover faithful as you can have but one friend among women HI know of none such he laughed And surely the v ngfance would be f too great for the offense if there were suchNay I know not that said Ve nusta frowning I would trust myself to any woman oven though the Duke offered her great rewardsaye as readily as I out faith in Lucia herself or In you You couple me with her In that matter most readily sad Antonio But in nothing else she asked flushing again in anger for still his eyes were distant and he turned them never on her You must pardon me he said my eyes are blinded TTor a moment she sat silent then she said in a low voice But blind eyes have learned to see before now my lord r Then Antonio turned his eyes on h ° rand r-and now she could not meet them but turned her face away For her soul was in tumult and she knew not i now whether she loved or hated him I nor whether she would save or still betray him And the trust he had in her gnawed her guilty heart So that I a sudden passion seized her and she caught Antonio by the arm crying But if a woman held your life in i her hand and asked your love as its i price Antonio It could not be said he wondering wonder-ing i ingNay but it might And if it were i And Antonio marveling more and l more at her vehemence answered Love is dear and honor is dear but we of Haute Velluto hold life of no great price Yet it is a fearful and shameful thing to hang from the city wall There are worse things said he I But indeed I want not to do it and he laughed again Venusta sprang to her feet and paced the space between the cave and the river bank with restless stens Once she flung her hands above her head and clasped tr m then holding them clasped in fiorof her she stood by Antonio and bent over him till her hair falling forward as she stooped brushed his forehead and mingled with his air locks and she breathed softly his name Antonio Antonio And he looked up with a great start stretching stretch-ing up his hands as though to stop her but he said nothing And she suddenly sobbing fell on her knees by him yet as suddenly she ceased to sob and a smile came on her lips and she leaned toward him saying again AntonioJ I pray you I pray you he said seeking to stay her courteously Then careless of her secret she j flashed out in wrath Ah you scorn me my lord You care nothing for me I am dirt to you i Yet I hold your life in my hands And then in an instant she grew again softened beseeching Am I so hideous hide-ous dear lord that death is better than my love For if you will love me I will save you I know not that my life is in your hands glad to catch at that and i leave the rest of what Venusta said I I i Is there any path that leads higher up into the mountains she asked Yes there is one said he but if need come now I could not climb it with this wounded foot of mine Luigi and the young men could carry you Yes but what need Tommasino and the band will return soon But she caught him by the hand crying Rise rise call the men and let them carry you Come there is no I time for lingering And if I were you i I my Lord Antonio i If you save me a thousand times Ian I-an do no other than pray you to spare me from what is more painful than death to me said he looking away from her and being himself in great confusion Come come she cried Call them i Perhaps some day Call them Antonio Anto-nio I nioBut as she spoke before Antonio could call there came a great cry from the wood behind the cavethe cry of I a man in some great strait An tonios hand flew to his sword and her he-r < rose to his feet and stood leaning on his sword Then he cried aloud to Luigi And in a moment Luigi and one of the youths came running and Luigi casting one glance at Venusta said breathlessly My lord Jacopos foot slipped and the poor fellow has fallen down a precipice thirty feet high onto the rocks below and we fear that he is sore hurt Venusta sprang a step forward for she suspected what the truth was that Luigi himself had aided the slipping I slip-ping of Jacopos foot by a sudden lurch against him but she said nothing I noth-ing and Antonio bade Luigi go quickly I and look after Jacopo and take the I other youth with him I But we Shan leave you unguarded my lord said Luigi with a cunning i show of solicitude i I I am in no present danger and the youth may be dying Go speedily said Antonio Luigi turned and with the other youth Tommasino told Niccolo hi name but Niccolo had forgotten it i rushed off and even as he went Ven usta cried It is a lie You yourself I brought it about But Luigi did not hear her and Antonio left again alone asked her What mean you 7 Nay I mean naught said she affrighted af-frighted and when fixed by his inquiring in-quiring eyes not daring to confess her treachery I I trust the lad is not killed said Antonio I J care not for a thousand lads Think of yourself my lord And planning I plan-ning to rouse Antonio without betraying betray-ing herself she said I distrust this I i man Luigi Is he faithful The duke I J can offer great rewards I 1 I He has served me well I have no reason to mistrust him said Antonio Ah you trust everyone she cried in passion and in scorn of his simplicity sim-plicity You trust Luigi You trust j I me I meWhy not said he But indeed now I have no choice For they cannot can-not carry both Jacopo and me up the path j pathJacopo You would stay for jaco 1 po she flashed out fiercely If nothing else yet my oath would bind me not to leave him while he lives For we of the band are all i bound to one another as brethren by an oath and it would look ill If I for whom they all have given much were j the first to break the oath So here I i am and here I must stay and Antonio i I An-tonio ended smiling and his foot hurting i hurt-Ing him while he stood sat down again and rested against the rock I It was now late and evening fell and Venusta knew that the dukes men should soon be upon them And she sat down near Antonio and buried her face in her hands and she cried for Antonio had so won upon her by his honor and his gentleness and most of all by his loyal clinging to the poor boy Jacopo that she could not think of her treachery without loathing and horror Yet she dared not tell him that now seemed worse to her than death And while they sat thus Luigi came and told Antonio that the youth was sore hurt and that they could not lift hILt Then stay by him said Antonio I need nothing I And Luigi bowed and turning went back to the other youth and bade him o stay by Jacopo while he went by An tonios orders to seek for some one to aid in carrying him I may chance said he to find some shepherds She S-he went but not to seek shepherds but to seek the dukes men and tell them that they might safely come upon up-on Antonio for he had now none to guard him Then Antonio said to Venusta Why do you sit and weep For he thought that she wept because be-cause he had scorned the love in which her words had declared her to hold him and he was sorry But she made no answer And he went on I pray you do not weep For do not think I am blind to your beauty or to the sweet kindness which you have bestwed upon me And in all things that I may I will truly and faithfully serve you to my death Then she raised her head and she saidThat will not be long Antonio I know not but for so long as it may be said he it will not be long she said again and burst into quick passionate sobs that shook her and left her at last I breathless and exhausted And he looked at her for a while and saidThere is something that you do not tell me Yet if it be anything that causes you pain or shame you may tell me as readily as you would any man For I am not a hard man and I have many things on my conscience that forbid me to judge harshly of another an-other She raised her head and she lifted her hand into the air The stillness of evening had fallen and a light wind I blew up from the plain There was no sound save from the flowing of the I river and the gentle rustle of the I treesHark said she Hark Hark and with every repetition of the word her voice rose until it ended in a cry of terror Antonio set his hand to his ear and listened intently It is the sound of mens feet on the rocky path said he smiling Tom masino returns and I doubt not that he brings your jewels with him Will you not give him a smiling welcome Aye and to me too your smiles would be welcome Your weeping pierces my heart and the dimness of your eyes is like a cloud across the sun Venustas sobs had ceased and she looked at Antonio with a face calm white and set It is not the Lord Tommasino she said The men you hear are the dukes men and then there she told him the whole Yet she spoke as I though neither he nor any other were there and as though she rehearsed for her own ear some lesson that she had learned so lifeless and monotonous was her voice as it related the shameful shame-ful thing And at last she ended sayIng say-Ing Thus in an hour you will be dead or captured and heldfor a worse death It is I who have done it And she bent her head again to meet her hands yet she did not cover her face but rested her chin on her hands and her eyes were fixea immovably on Count Antonio For the space of a minute or two heat 1 he-at silent Then he said uI fear then that Tommasino and i I I I the rest have had a fight against great I odds But they are stout fellows Tommasino and old Bena and the rest I hope it is well with them Then after a pause he went on Yes the sound of the steps comes I nearer They will be here before long I now But I had not thought it of Luigi The rogue I trust they will not I find the two lads Venusta sat silent waiting for him Ito I-to reproach her He read her thought on her face and he smiled at her and said to her I Go and meet them if you will away I up the path For you should not be here when the end comes Then she flung herself at his feet I asking forgiveness but finding no words for her prayer I Aye aye said he gently But of j God you must ask it in prayers and good deeds And he dragged himself to the cave ajid set himself with his I I back against the rock and his face toward i which the dukes ward the path along I men must come And he called again to Venusta saying I pray you do not stay here I But she heeded him not but sat again on the grdund her chin resting on her hands and her eyes on his Hark they are near now said he And he looked around at sky and trees and at the rippling swift river and at the long dark shadows of the hills and he listened to the faint sounds of the I birds and living creatures in the wood And a great lust of life came over him and for a moment his lip quivered and his head fell he was very loath to die Yet soon he smiled again I and raised his head and so leaned easily against the rock I I Now the Lord Lorenzo and his twenty men conceiving that the lieutenant lieu-tenant of the guard could without difficulty hold Tommasino had come along leisurely desiring to be in good order and not weary when they met Antonio for they feared him And thus it was evening when they came near the cave and halted a moment to make their plans and here Luigi met them and told them how Antonio was I alone and unguarded But Lorenzo desired if it were possible to take Antonio alive and carry him alive to I the duke knowing that thus he would win his highness greatest thanks And while they talked how this might best be effected they in their turn heard the sound of men coming up the road these sounds being made by Tommasino Bena and their party who had ridden as fast as the weariness I weari-ness of their horses let them But because be-cause they had ridden fast their horses I were foundered and they had dismounted dis-mounted and were now coming on foot and Lorenzo heard them coming just as he also had decided to go forward for-ward on foot and had caused the horses to be led into the wood and tethered here And he asked Who are these Then one of his men a skilled woodsman woods-man and hunter listening answered They are short of a dozen my lord They must be come with tidings from the lieutenant of the guard For they would be more if the lieutenant came I himself or if by chance Tommasmos band had eluded him I I Come said Lorenzo The capture of the count must be ours not theirs C Let us go forward without delay Thus Lorenzo and his men pushed on and but the half of a mile behind 11 came Tommasino and his and again three or ir miles behind them came J the Heu sent and his and all these I companies were pressing on toward the cae where Antonio and Venusta were But Tommasmos men still marched the quicker and they gained on Lorenzo while the lieutenant did not gain on them yet by reason of the unceasing windings of the way as It I twisted up round rocks and skimmed precipices they did not come in sight of Lorenzo nor did he see them indeed in-deed he thought now of nothing but ot coming first on Antonio and of securIng secur-ing the glory of taking him before the lieutenant came up And Tommasino drawing near the cave gave his men orders to walk very silently for he hoped to surprise Lorenzo unawares Thus as the sun sank out of sight Lorenzo came to the cave and to the open space between it and the river and beheld Antonio standing with his back against the rock and his drawn sword in his hand and Venusta crouching on the ground some paces 1 away When Venusta saw Lorenzo she gave a sharp stifled cry but did not move Antonio smiled and drew himself to his full height Your tricks have served you well f my lord he said Here I am alone I and crippled Then yeild yourself up said Lorenzo We are twenty to one I will not yield said Antonio I j can die here as well as at Forniola I and a s rust is better than a noose t Then Lorenzo being a gentleman of i high spirit and courage waved his men back and they stood still ten i paces off watching Intently as j j Lorenzo advanced toward Antonio for I though Antonio was lame yet they looked to see fine fighting And Lorenzo advanced toward Antonio i and said again I Yield yourself my lord 1 I will not yield said Antonio again At this Instant the woodsman who was with Lorenzo raised his hand to his ear and listened for a moment but 1 Tommasino came softly and the I woodsman was deceived It is but J leaves Jie said and turned again to 1 I watch Lorenzo And that lord new sprang fiercely on Antonio and the swords crossed And as they crossed Venusta crawled on her knees nearer j and as the swords played nearer still 1 she came none noticing her till at length she was within three yards of I Lorenzo He was now pressing Auto nio hard for the count was in great pain from his foot and so often as 1 was compelled to rest his we it it came near to failim I could he follow up any might gain against J passed three or four counter And the Hark here co Ii Quick my lord 0 glory Then Ion I-on Antonio Y 1 other spra sprang th zos me aid in J turned I with ama calapu and this man Bena was a = treat fighter And n ° w te was all J flame with love and fear tor Count c lAntonlo And he > crashcd through the ranks and spllt the head of the I t woodsman with the heavy sword he carried and thus he came to Lorenzo But there In amazement he stood still 1 t For Antonio and Lorenzo had dropped C theIr points and fought no more But both stood with their eyes on the slim figure of a girl that lay on the C ground between them and blood was pouring from a wound in her breast and she moaned softly And while k the rest fought fiercely these three r stood looking on the girl and Lorenzo looked also on his sword which was dyed three inches up the blade For as he ciirast most fiercely at Antonio Venusta had sprung at him with the spring of a young tiger a dagger flashing flash-ing in her hand and in the instinct that sudden danger brings he had turned his blade against her and the point of it was deep in her breast before be-fore he drew it back with horror and a cry of Christ I have killed her And she fell full on the ground at the feet of Count Antonio who had stood motionless in astonishment with his sword In rest t Now the stillness and secrecy of Tommasinos approach had served him I well for he had come upon Lorenzos men when he had not thought of an I I enemy but stood crowded together I shoulder to shoulder and several of them were slain and more hurt before I rc I they could use their swords to any F purpose and Tommasinos men had r fallen on them with great fury and l had broken through them even as t Bena had and getting above them t were now step by step driving them down tim path and formed a rampart between them and the three who stood k by the dying lady And when Bena r I perceived this advantage wasting little C lit-tle thought on Venusta he was a hard man this Bena he cried to Antonio Leave him to me my lord We have him sure and in an instant he would L have sprung at Lorenzo who finding himself between two enemies knew tt t that his state was perilous but was yet minded to defend himself But Antonio f An-tonio suddenly cried in a loud voice t Stay and arrested by his voice all stood still Lorenzo where he was 1 i Tcmmasino and his men at the head F of the path and his guards just below them And Antonio leaning on his sword stepped a pace forward and said to Lorenzo My lord the dice have fallen against you But I would not fight over this ladys body The truth of all she did I know yet she has at last died that I might live See my men are between you and your men It is the hazard of war said Lop Lo-p pn7n Aye said Bena He had killed I you my Lord Antonio had we not come But Antonio pointed to the body of Venusta And she at the instant moaned again and turned on her back and gasped and died Yet just be ifore she died her eyes sought Antonios yes and he dropped suddenly on his knees beside her and took her hand and kissed her brow And they saw I that she smiled in dying Then Loren f zo brushed a hand across his eyes and said to Antonio t Suffer me to go back with my men and for a week there shall be a truc between us Let it be so said Antonio And Bena smiled for he knew that the lieutenant of the guard must now be near at hand But this he did not 1 tell Antonio fearing that Antonio would tell Lorenzo Then Lorenzo with uncovered head passed through the ranks of Tommasinos men and he took up his dead and with them went down the path leaving Venusta where she lay And when he had gone two miles he met the lieutenant and his party pressing on Yet when the two companies had joined they were no more than seventeen whole and sound men so many of Lorenzos had Tommasinos party slam or hurt Therefore Lorenzo in his heart was not much grieved at the truce for it had been hard with seventeen to force the path to the cave against ten all unhurt I un-hurt and sound And having sorely chidden the lieutenant of the guard he rode back and rested that night in Venustas house at Rilano and the next day rode on to Forniola and told Duke Valentine how the expedition had sped Then said Duke Valentine Force I have tried and guile I have tried and yet this man is delivered from my hand Fortune fights for him and in chagrin and displeasure he went into his cabinet and spoke to no man and showed himself nowhere in the city in the space of three days But the townsmen though they dared make no display rejoiced that Antonio Anto-nio was safe and the more because the duke had lain so cunning and treacherous a snare for him Now Antonio Tommasino and the rest when they were left alone stood round the corpse of Venasta and Antonio I An-tonio told them briefly all the story of sher treachery as she herself had told I It to him And when he was finished I Sena cried I She has deserved her death But Tommasino stooped down and composed her limbs and her raiment gently with his hands and when he rose up his eyes were dim and he said Yes but at the last she gave her Jife for Antonio And though she deserved de-served death it grieves me that she has gone to her account thus without confession pardon or the rights of holy church Then Antonio said Behold her death is her confession and the same would be her pardon And for the rites He bent over her and he dipped the I tip of his linger in the ladys blood that had flowed from the wounded breast and lightly with his finger tip I he signed the cross in her own blood said he shall on her brow That be her unction and I think Tomma sino it will serve Thus the Lady Venusta died and they carried her body down to Rilano and buried it there And in after days a tomb was raised over her which may still be seen But Count Antonio beIng rejoined by such of his company as had escaped by flight from the pursuit pur-suit of the dukes troops abode still in the hills and albeit that his force was less yet by the dread of his name and of the deeds that he had done he still defied the power of the duke and was I not brought to submission And whether or not the poor youth whom Luigi pushed over the precipice lived or died Niccolo knsw not But Luigi having entered the service of l toe duke played false to him also and being convicted in sure evidence by taking to himself certain moneys that the duke had charged him to distribute to the poor was hanged In the great square two years to the very day after af-ter Venusta diedwhereat let him grieve who willI grieve not To be continued |