WHY DID HE LOVE HER?

Thames Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9877, 23 February 1901, Page 3

WHY DID HE LOVE HER?

CSAPER XXlV.—Continued.

Berkely hurriedly left -the room, and in

a few moments returned with the letters. In them Isola gave an affecting picture of the condition of her guardian, and detailed the singular occurrences .which were taking place at La' Fontaine. Her father read them with absorbing inter, est; he pressed has lips upon the pages over which her hand had passed, and inhaled the delicate, perfume that exha'.ed from them. With moistened eyes he said;

"The writer of these must be charming I do not wonder that my brother loves her—that you adore her. I, too, feel, that 1 shall share your infatuation when 1

have been enabled to claim her. You are right, George. This Stomers, alias Summerton, haa played bis ro'o of juggler wiih fatiul 'success in my brother's house; yet I fear we must let him escape th^hleavy penalty due to his crimes, because'that evil woman who has aided and abetted him is so nearly connected with my lost ■wife. TEe only punishment I can inflict upon the cujlprits is to wrest from them the wealEh they believe within their grasp Write without delay to your father. Tfe'l him enough to pub him on his guard against these people, and induce him to keep a strict watch upon, them; but I re*peat, my existence must not be revealed till I go in person to put those miscreants to confusion."

George gave the required promise, and in a whorl of feeling sat down to inform his father af the strange facts which had become knowjn, to him.

Fontani had already communicated a plan to him-which promised successi He knew that an old servant of tEe Savelli family yet lived in the cottage they had once occupied; for, only &■ few months previously, he had caused inquiries to be. made concerning those from whom, he had been so long severed. H© had learned that no one was left but this old creature, and his agent could ascertain nothing satisfactory of the sister and niece of his wife. ■ ■ Through old Benetti the baron believed he should find ai clue to. the abductor of his daughter; for he fef.t certain of being able to deal with him either through fear or supddity. If he had been bribed t" j/erform this service he would be equally accessible to a larger bribe to break faith with his employers.

He argued that the necessity of main, taining his paternal character to Iso!i! would force hfim to treat her with respect and he cheerfully said to the despondent lover:

"God would never have permitted this ■qjonderful discovery to be made if he die! not purpose to bring it to a happy termi-. nationi- I shall regain, my daughter, you will find your bride, and, as your reward for giving her back to me, I will "bestov heir ha|nd upon you as soon as we have found her. We will make a bridal 1, trip t( my native land, and. carry with us lii J> and light to my unhappy brother; ruin and disgrace to those inhuman creature. who ha.ye brought to him so.much wretcl edness. My poor Claude! I forgive hiir with all my heart, and I feel that I c;:r> again'embrace him with a .brother's affection." .

A'momentary gjeain . of ■': sa.tisfactk-. flashed over poor George's fuce, but i; waa immediately clouded, for, a^.as! Iso".". was yet to bo found—to be rescued .from he knew not what.

But Fomtani would not listen to doubtsHe insisted that their quest must prove successful, and day after day he was unwearied in making his arrangements to set out for Italy as soon as permission from has imperial master 'arrived. At the end oifl ten days it came, and with it George received his conge from the embassy. " , ..

Within three hours afterwards, the two ■were en route for Rome.

CHAPTER XXXV.

ON THE TRACK.

Once in Rome, Fontani spent a week in tracing the career of Senora Roselli since he last parted fronVher, for he fe]t assured that she was the moving spirit of the whole conspiracy.

He employed a. private spy, who every evening reported to him the progress he had made within the previous twentyfour hours; and the information* thus obtained may be summed up in a few words.

Fiftteen, years before, Sjumjmerton had lived a few months in Rome, where ha married Senora Roselli. Her daughter was then four years old, and she was taken to England, wherel she acquired her knowledge of that country's language. When Savella had attained hoy twelfth year, they returned- to Italy for the purpose of obtaining the best music'n, 1) instruction for the young girl, as connoisseurs declared her voice equal ml promise to that of the finest) singer.

At this time S;ivella was represented ;i* the adopted daughter of her mother, mid the heiress of a great estate in the United

Stoiitesl' Summeilbo^i had(reyurtied to h,is c'-'d profession of mountebank, and gained n

precarious living by the exercises of his various talents. Gradually it was whispered among those whoi knew him that he was a dealer in subtle poisons, which' he knew how to prepare so skilfully that no trace was left to betray the agency of the swift messenger of death. More than

one person w»a spoken of in whispers as having been done to death by "Summerton's B'atOj'* as the preparation was called ; but before thes© suspicions assumed a tangible form, the whole party secretly embarked for the United States, and all due to them waa lost. ' ■ The spy further ascertained that the man who called himself Leonardo Roselld was an old offender against the laws. His rail namp was supposed to be Muldonato,

ns he frequently visited an old woinian who had formerly lived as a domestic in the SavelH family, and it was presumed, that she was his mother, though there was no proof of the faot. For several months past he , had been missed from hi« usual haunts, but within the last ten days he had returned to

Rome, accompanied by a young girl he „ represented as his daughter. She was cer- . tainly placed with the old woman a few days, but ati'present there was no indication of her presence in the cottage, and the agent had not been able to discover .what had become of her. (To be continued.)