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Show ' ' W Vendetta ' " :; cr i ' " :; By ROSE B. ETHERIDGE t ; x ; " (Copyright. U19. by th W.rtern N-paper N-paper Union.) It was In imperial Rome that I had first met Rafael Brose. I was then of the artist community and his pleasant ways and love of pictures had commended com-mended him to every member of our Bohemian group. He was wont to make the round of the studios, an encouraging en-couraging visitor and oftimes a patron. pa-tron. Once or twice he brought with him his sister, Teresa. She was then hnrT, oivroen t. n rt rhe most beautiful being' I had ever met. She and I were fast drifting from mutual friendship into something more fervent when suddenly sud-denly both brother and sister disappeared. disap-peared. It was an old native sculptor who solved the mystery of their vanishment. vanish-ment. It seemed that the Broses were the inheritors of a deadly vendetta which had pursued the family until tuur of its members fell victims to the stiletto. "The last living relative of Rafael fled to America to save his life five years ago," explained my informant "I heard that he had died there. Perhaps Per-haps he has left his fortune to Rafael, and his niece." The memory of the beauty and gen-! gen-! tleness of Teresa did not leave me, even after I bad returned to my home in a Western city, but I learned noth-; noth-; ing of their whereabouts until about a i year later. I had entered a city restaurant res-taurant one day and Just as I seated j myself at a table from the next there I arose a young man and a veiled lady. The former wore a beard, the latter colored glasses, flut I knew them at once. "Rafael, my dear friend I" I exuberated, exuber-ated, rushing up to him and seizing his arm in a transport. In a flash he turned, cast a sweeping glance over the crowded room and said hurriedly : "Not that name in public. Follow-as Follow-as if casually until we get clear of this place." I handed Rafael my card. "Tonight, ' he said In a low, cautious tone. "And It may be late." "At any hour; I shall be waiting up for you." I replied, and they hurried away, Teresa with a slight responsive movement of her hand. . It was after midnight when Brose tapped at the door of my studio. He lingered at the threshold for -a moment mo-ment or two, peering sharply down the street stairway as though fearful of being followed. t. ..nnrra CT,T-TJ tb fl t Rafael 11 as a siinuot vw.J told me. For the sake of his sister he had fled from his native land to evade the desperate menace of the vendetta that had been sworn against them. His uncle had died, bequeathing all he owned to them, but it was in a shape where slow liquidation would be necessary. nec-essary. His dealings had been mainly with a lurge number of foreigners. Rafael had taken up his abode and that of his sister in the poor quarter of the city where his uncle had lived, assumed a new name and pretended to be the attorney at-torney for heirs abroad. Piece by piece, but unostentatiously, he had heen selling off the property. "About a month ago," he told me, "I received a black-hand letter demanding demand-ing a large sum or death would follow. Some one of my enemies abroad, or a local blackmailer has guessed my true idontitv. With fervent haste I am closing up my business, then to seek a new home under less hazardous conditions. con-ditions. I hope within a week to close out all my business and then we can ; welcome you as the esteemed friend that you are." It was one evening, a month later, when mv landlady came rushing to niv room in a state of frantic excite-men. excite-men. "Oh. sir!" she quavered, "a gentleman gen-tleman all blackened and burned Is In , inr with him. n taxi neiuw uuu ....... fainted or dead I" I ran down to the street. Rafael Indeed looked as though he had gone through some terrific tx-perience. tx-perience. He bore his sister in his arms. "Give us .shelter," he spoke. "She has, only fainted from fright. The black hand dynamited our house, but I escaped with a few bruises." My landlady took charge of Teresa. When she had been carried to her room Rafael sat in my apartment telling tell-ing of the vindictive efforts of his persecutors. per-secutors. "I am through with It all, however," he said, almost gaily, "as all the old business has been settled, " and so we sat discussing our plans for a pleasant I . ' ... . .. rn., l ,,f home on tne cohm, a . our old close friendship. There was a tap at the door. A gentle gen-tle voice spoke. It belonged to Teresa. "May I come in?" 1 stood spellbound. There was my old-time love, now veilless. There was the old-time beauty, unmarred. To drive away rude and unwelcome visitors visit-ors she bad disfigured her face with pigments and stains. Now her peerless peer-less beauty shone forth, and, too. In those expressive eyes, divested of glasses, there gleamed the old radiant Tight that told that she still loved me. herc is no echo of the .dark past for Rafael Brose now, for his peerless sister is my wife. In a beautiful home looking down from vine-clad hills upon the placid ocean. I at my easel. Rafael engrossed in new art collections avall-i avall-i able through his fortune he Inherited, I we bask in the sunshine of perfect tontentment and love. |