Show o aso Jt za a- a s a tte n j I j I LOVE o or DEATH l Ii I 1 1 t I I 1 1 1 1 1 BY y 1 1 J s I I i I l. l R acl l Sabatini ab i lini i STORY In In the town of Urbino Italy when It was undo under I the control of ot Cesare Borgia famous military com coin commander i. i mander mandor as well as 9 great rent statesman a n certain Messer Corvinus rogue Is flourishing nourishing as us H It for for- or- or tune teller caster of ot spells and er cr of poisons polson to those these who can afford to pay for thorn thom To him comes In creaL great secrecy the Lady Blanca manc de' de FIoravantI beautiful daughter of the rl rich h and powerful lord of ot the Castle of San J Leo eo which is holding out against a the power of even Cesare Bor Bor- gia gla In In the net act of entering the girl girlis girlis is astounded by the appearance of or what she takes tales for an apparition but who turns turn out to be human as RS 5 h herself andears and ears HT I Z n il aa 3 ue S iF ii sorcerer sor- sor r r. r serer cerer for tor an nn elixir which will compel love and mentions the name of the man she desires desirE's to conquer Lorenzo Castrocaro Castrocaro Castro- Castro caro ciro serving under Cesare Borgia CorvIn Corvinus us for tor a n lar large e sum of ot roy rom vf t her Pr fR n nation notion with dime dime- tc- tc c- c tI h e J. J rhon b 4 I leaves n ves the apparition appears before r. Corvinus He Ito It Is the much dreaded Cesare himself Borgia learns that Corvinus has hns hasa a substance which he declares will re restore re- re store the dead drad to life lire He then accuses the tho man of spreading th the report that the Sultan Diem had been destroyed by the Holy Father F through a subtle poison polson which Corvinus had supplied nl's U Il but bt h has a II pv oon on Cesare to drink It It and res restore lore himself to life liCe The sorcerer secures an emetic and saves saves himself CHAPTER II At n.-At At a council at which Castrocaro Is present the duke Is assured as assured assured as- as by his officers that the castle of ofSan ofSan San Leo Is practically Impregnable an and can only be starved out This will take more time than Cesare Is willing to devote to the task Castrocaro tells the duke he has frequently scaled the mountain on which the castle Is situated situ situ- With a subtle purpose and believing he be lieving Castrocaro Is so insensible to Blancas Blanca's beauty as the girl Irl supposes supposes supposes sup sup- poses be he sends him to her with a message message mes mes- sage that her father Is sick In San Leo The young officer returns from t V Y visit 91 a ap aA aAr ViS r this the to jj w to visit her father I t I lit hill sIlt j was In such sore affliction afflic tion tinn l cried Messer Lorenzo protest protest- log Aye said the duke dryly And she he used you so o kindly eyed you so fond fondly I gave gue you such sweet wine to I i drink that you had no strength th to resist her soft appeal I I i Cesare watching his closely I os 3 ob observed er e the flicker of the J I young mans man's eyelids at the mention of i itile i ithe the tile wine and was satisfied Hut But j I even e J more fully was he to have hae the assurance Cc that h titi he sought I lime litre I been heen spied upon Messer r Lorenzo hotly 1 O t re I re shrugged contemptuously I not d to reply j I You have hale leave lea to go he said In i tn curt III dismissal nl I urn tilt aie Jesser i ser torenzo was in a n darIng dar dar- In Ing mood anti and slow to obey ohey And the HIP authority for Madonna f to Join her father he asked There are nr good reasons why none should enter San an Leo I-eo eo at present was the cold colI reply Since you la lay such store stort l h by y It I r regret ret the tile necessity to deny you ou But nul In time of war fl sly Is Inexorable Chagrined and downcast the con con- ln howell hawed ved and withdrew has Hav Irl lag Inc promised ll and md finding himself now unable to to fulfill the promise made marte to to- to over lJ that cup of wine which she had brought him with her own fair fall hand he cia dared red not present prescot himself to her 1 Instead he dispatched as' as a n s' s page to her with the unwelcome news of the dukes duke's refusal Yet Vet In this matter Cesare Horgia wits W was IS oddly Inconsistent For scarcely v r had tim Castrocaro left his presence than lie Ire turned turned turned-to to his white white faced faced secretary I Write me three lines to to Della Delia Bald Volpe-Bald Mid he ordering that If Ma- Ma II de de- d Flora antl should I 4 1 to st steal al through h his lines and gain gala San Leo he Is ts to otter olTer her no 1 hi hindrance r round pale countenance Jel reelected ct d his biR amazement nt at this tills order ory or or- y der r Hut But Ce Cesare sur e surveying Ing him smiled inscrutably for all reply 1113 anti and win un r his knowledge m of oJ his n master lster and anti f. f that smile A p perceived ell that Cesare was was embarked upon one of those hose tortuous subtle courses whose Joa goal none could perceive until It had hUll reached lie bent to his task and his pen scratched and nOli spluttered briskly Very soon a n m messenger sen er hearIn hear bear lu ln tiP the order ordel was on his way to Delia Belin I rr I b I JI J- J j tamp That flint very ory night Madonna did what the duke ex- ex peeled of her Slit She slipped past the j j I I I I I II I i I I II t I cs 1 h 7 1 She Slipped Past the Borgia Sentinels Senti nels nets in the Dark Bor Borgia la sentinels In the dark daik and she was In Sun San Leo by br morning though though h In Urbino none knew of this but Cesare Ce Ce- sure sare who hall had word of It privately from Crom Della Delia Volpe Her lIeI palace by bythe bythe I the remained opened as If I I t inhabited by her but Lut to all ull who came cameto I j I to seek seel her it was said suld that she was I IIII in III HI health and kept her Iler chamber i And nd amongst st these was Lorenzo Castrocaro Cas Cas- who up upon on being denied adi admittance ad- ad I i i on this this this' plea concluded that I she site was unary angry with him for fOI having I failed fabled to do llo as he had promised aut and I thereafter grew gew od oddly jy silent and moro mo- mo ro rose e Two days after her night flight came I In r n news ws of Floravanti's death In the grim fortress he defended and was dispatched by the duke dule of or Cesena Cesen 1 I Ion on a u mission which might well have ha 1 I been to a less Important It was ten days later Inter when Ills Ids Immediate return was ordered eyed j I i I I find and In view of ot the terms of that ori or- or or- or tier der he ho wont went upon reaching Urbino nil all dust laden as ns he was Into th the e dukes duke's presence with the dispatches s that he hore sat in council at the time tithe and Delia Della Volpe from the lines line s I San Leo was In attendance You lire jire very ery opportunely returned re re- re I turned was mR his greeting reet n of Messer I Lorenzo and he Ire thrust aside as of no noI I consequence the dispatches which the ther latter r brought ht We are arc met here to consider this resistance of San Leo which Is being helm conducted now by To- To lentino with all nil the firmness that was waR We must make malee an nn end and you Messer Lorenzo are theman theman the man mun to accomplish It It I 17 crl cried d the young soldier j Sit It Cesare bade him and obediently obedi enU Castrocaro took tool a chair at the table Listen io You are arc to understand under tinder stand that I am not commanding you to do tin this thing for I command no noahle valued ahle er of mine so greatly to Imperil lids his life I l but hut show you OU what is our need what need what ml might ht be done byone byone by byone one who has hns your kno knowledge e anti ami whose heart Is stout enough nough to bid him take ulee th the risk wl the thing en tn tails II The nodded his understanding under under- standing his blue eyes set upon the dukes s calm face You told u us here C Cesare sare continued continued contin contin- of ot a n perilous wn way Into hito San Leo Len which Is IR known to few fw nod find to yourself yourself your your- our self amongst th those e few You said that If It a man man were to gain the the plateau pla pla- on the southern rn side of ot the rocks rock's s 's summit he might with n a rope and a grappling hook hoole effect an nn entrance Now v. CI If a man mun were to do this at dead of night choosing his time wisely so as q to tn take e tI the C sentry unawares s stab arro C U o e e t lint y i 3 r ret ch reach tn till flits tillI u s 's a the 1 liars lr the rest real I would be he an easy task 1 Delia iella lIa Volpe's troops would meanwhile have ha crept up by the bridle path to await the signal upon which they would pour forth foith a against the unbarred gate anti and so San Hw Leo Len might be he reduced at lash will willi little 10 lots loss f of life Messer I r Lorenzo considered for some moments tin lilt w duke watching him It ItI ItIs Is I- shrewd he said ln approvingly ly It Is shrewd sh and easy eusy and likely to in succeed provided the man ninn who goes goe I I Its Is one Olle who knows the rock and the I fort for fortress i r ess ss It Itself elf Pro that of ot course said Ce Co- sure care and he lie looked steadily at ot the young o man Messer Lorenzo bore hore that look a moment with the flit self possession that was Vas natural to him Then translating transit transit-it- In lag ing its quiet significance I 1 will go o he said quietly and heaven hea helping me I will succeed You have counted the thc cost of failure fall fall- are ure said Ce Cesare i It needs no counting It Is plain I i j enough A rope and a n beam benm from the cn castle tle wall wail or a d a leap from the rock Itself Then since who gambles should know lenow not only what he may chance to lose but also the stake he stands to win said the duke dulce let me say that If you succeed Ill I'll give you the governorship O of ot the fortress with n a stipend of oC ten tell thousand ducats Messer l Lorenzo flushed In his agreeable agreeable agree agree- able surprise Ills eyes eres sparkled and his tone rang with youths youth's ready rendy confidence con thence In Jn its own powers I will not not fall fall fall- he promised When do I make the attempt Tomorrow night since you have resolved See that you rest betwixt t this and then to fit fit you for the fatigue of such an enterprise And so sirs let us hope that we have at last a n solution to this riddle of San Leo Chapter III You see I hope what Messer Castrocaro Cas Castrocaro did not yet see nor for that matter matte over ever saw saw knowing knowing nothing of what had happen happened ell on the night when the duke dulce visited lesser Messer Corvinus You see In the dukes duke's choice of him for this enterprise an Instance of that tine discrimination with which Cesare picked his meats ments I who studied the duke dule at ut close cloge quart quarters and who saho worshiped him J as ns the very ery embodiment of ot all the virtues of was no doubt Inspired by ly the dukes duke's unerring I wisdom in the tile choice of ministers to toI devote to the subject a chapter of hl his I The Prince I The first conjecture made malle of c a cI I prince and of his Intellectual capacIty capacity capacity capac capac- ity he lie writes should be based upon a consideration of the men by whom he surrounds himself and when these are ure faithful to him hits and und sufficient for his occasions he Is to be accounted a wise prince for fOl having ha chosen them I sufficient and kept them faithful l writes thus no more than thun l Cesare might himself have hae written written writ writ- ten had he th theorized upon Instead of ot practicing It t Indeed It Is upon Cesare Borgias Borgia's practices as practices as half admits in one place that that the Florentine founded his the the- ones ories So that It t Is hardly an overstatement over over- statement to say that whilst Macchia velli wrote The Prince Cesare Borgia Bor llor gin gia was its real author since his were the conceptions and actions that Mac Mac- converted Into precepts You see him here heie selecting for this task one who although although- the youn youngest est among all his captains was yet u undoubtedly undoubtedly un un- the most sufficient for his particular need And observe the quality of ot his sufficiency In a measure meas ure it was adventitious depending upon Castrocaro's chance acquaintance acquaint acquaint- ance with that bad back way up the rock of San Leo Hut But In a still greater measure it was the result of Cesares Cesare's clever manipulation of circumstances If that Is not yet quite clear to you I it shall become abundantly so ere all allis allis I is 13 told Hut BUI do tint not full fall Into the error I of ln Hint flint n that befell was the result of chance From now onward all happens precisely as Cesare Cesare Ce Ce- I sare are had designed He had I certain 1 1 r force o foU a he Iona til harne har rne r- r ne them ri to his needs setting them upon a course by him predetermined predetermined predetermined mined and marked out lie realized that chance might disturb disturb dis dis- their career and anti fling tUng them out of ot that course but he did not depend upon chance to bear them to the goal at nt which he aimed them On the afternoon of the following day thoroughly rested and refreshed Messer Lorenzo Castrocaro rode out of ot Urbino with a bodyguard of a n half halt and nOli took dozen of ot his men at the road to Della Delia Volpe's camp under San Leo lIe He arrived there without mishap toward nightfall and having supped with the commander of th the helea In the latter's tent he thereafter completed his preparations Toward the third hour of night hesel he set sel out alone upon his hits perilous un un- To lessen the tire risk of ot being perceived perd per by any watcher In the castle he lie had dressed himself entirely In block black taking faking th the precaution to put on under his doublet a shirt of mall which whilst being proof dagger was yet so finely wrought that your our two cupped hands might contain it it He lIe was vas armed with sword and dagger and wise bandolier wise across his body was coiled colled a rope to which h he had attached a n stron strong pronged double-pronged hook grappling very broad brond In the bend all swathed in straw This had bad been heen carefully nod and firmly adjusted upon his back buck so that it should not hamper his movements With Della Delia Volpe he had concerted that tint the latter at nt the head of ot fifty men should quietly approach the fortress by the path bridle and having hav haVe having ing gained the summit lie Ile concealed until the gate should be opened by Castrocaro himself t Then they were I Instantly to spring forward and so effect an entrance It was a line fine clear night of sum sum- r er and a full fun moon rode In the heavens rendering the landscape visible ls vis- IsIble ible for tor miles This was well wen for the earlier part of Messer Lorenzos Lorenzo's climb climb- and before midnight by when he lie hoped to reach the summit that moon would have ha set and darkness would lend him cover Alone then he set out and made his way round to the southern side of the great precipitous hill hili on the crest of which like the capital of a R column the bulk and towers of the fortress showed gray In the white moonlight I At first the ascent was easy and he was able to go forward swiftly soon however the precipice grew more abrupt the foothold became scantier and In places failed almost entirely so that his progress was retarded retarded retarded re re- re- re and for his lifes life's sake he was compelled to move with Infinite caution caution cau cau- tion husbanding his strength against the still more strenuous labor that thai lay before him Hesitation or doubt he had none It was a good ten years since last In ini i L |