SHORT STORY

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 374, 9 July 1903, Page 7

SHORT STORY

•Than you have made up your mind, Hammond, that you will.not go with us ■ to-morrow morning P' ' Most emphatically so; I sm perfectly contested to stay here, or at most to go ashore for as hour, ox two, and look round the place, sample their cuisine, and come off a»ain. I don't see the fun, in such, hot weather as this, to be tramping about"' among hills after a few red-leeged partridges whicD are not worth eating when you have got them But I don't wish, to discourage you and Elphinstone. .You are energetic men, and" V admire energy in others.' ' You are a lszy beggar, . Hammond. You used to be energetic, enough wh|n you rowed in the Taraity-'eight, and got your blue in rackets.* .* • ■/• V" ' I suppose [ exhausted all my stock of energy at that time,' Jhe other laughed. ' Well, the gig shall be ready for you at six; 1 will look after suppose you don't mean to take him with you ?! ' Certainly not. To begin with, he is a quarrelsome little beggar, and never goes ashore without getting • into a row with/ some dog about fmf- tfmaV-his ownsLte j * and in tbe next p'ace we should have to leave him in the house tiedV up when w&r went scooting oriwetahouhj noWgetyw remotest chance The first speaker wasTDick "Hammond, owi« of the auxiliary screw schooner Hebe, a yacht of some 400 tons, now lying off Catania, on the e'ist coast of Bic«ly. His friends were Bobert Clinton and Harry Elphinstone, both old, xollese chums, They bad joined tfe yacht at Genoa, and it was intended to cruise round the Italian coast to Trieste; then to ekirt thereoast of Alabama and Greece, and to spend the month am-ng the .Cyetyndep and lonian Islands. Clinton" had brought with Mm Gyp, who was his inseparable companion 2yp was sot a dog that would meet with le approval of a fancier for its ancestry was terrier predomaHtoaT*lr weighed some four and twenty pounds, haired, and of sH&rigWl*Browii' colour, with a white Bhirt front and fore. r paws. As its master esid r -it-oould do anything but speak. It was a small pup whm CHn|ps bouiht him from a- tinker whowas about to drown him in the Cam, and from that moment Gyp had ttejn. devoted to him, as if well a* are of the fate from which he bad saved him. ■, Gyp t . had been included in the invitation his' master had received, for Hammond was well aware that it would be useless to ■■ ask Clinton" without his dog, and indeed Gyp was a favourite with all of his master's friends. ' Nor, you can't come to-day, Gyp,*. Clinton said, as tfas, dog stood wagging ita - tail as it watched the operation of lowering tine boat; ' you behaved very badly last time you were on shore, and cost me five shillings to satisfy the owner of tjiat brute you nearly telladC'N<», ybii can't go.' Gy/s tail dropped, and he, lay down a little way off with his nose between his paws. *'*"* * {,; " *•''"' •Ihate leaving him, 1 Clinton,Baid,.as he turned to the gangway;'still, for once he must stay on board.' *?■ Hammond had come up in his pyjamas to see them start 'Hind you fellows don't get into any trouble,' he said, laughing. ' Beware of the brigands; you kn#!f*hey «a>-ihat every other man belongs to the Mania.' •We will be careful,' E'phinstom, laughed in wtnraT "ff #**bt& l Wj brigands we winding thsm.GS "as trophies' of our prowess,* «**»•&«•« 'I am only half joking, jrou know,' Hammond said jTyqu don't know mash of. this fellow you iWgoing to/ «Oh! he is all right, andtrverfdebent and civil fallow. I believe he owns no end of land, uuUfefffe nwdbuW that" his--wines are the g J^nf^M l JP# l «|»ot|| l that I have taatwfouc here. The Hebe ha fthMw ftfrittgyf6a* days off Catania. The Jhregj friends bad, gone ashore as soon asitlf anchor dropped, and", as Hammond hsri been recommended by & friend at Meeeina to take in a stock of wine there, and had been told that a Sigoor Facheei was one of the principal Hammond 01 awed six deson of it. They had found the master hioieelf mott civil and court eoua. "He red them'an

excellent cigar, and they had sat and chatted with him for half an hour, as ha had btea in England and spoke, the language fairly: On the following day h* had come tff to the jacht, and, had given K them an invitation to go. up with him to a place be had, some twelve miles 1 in' the ■'■ country, for a day's shooing. s.Joucm sleep there/ hi 'eaid* j 'and as you were . saying inteadad ;to mate 'the accent of Etna, I will, if yon like, arrange the. « matter tor joa, asd will have ponies and guide in readiness to start witfa you the nezt morning. My place is on the way, bo it will save you some distance.' Tbo invitation bad been accepted, but Hammond bad on the last day decided to •remain ob bond. 'I bate.landing,' he mid, * and the chances axe that after all the grind of climbing the mountain there will be a cloud on its top when you get there.* Signer Fachesi was awaiting them on the landing place with a trap, fie expressed inu.-n regret that their friesd did not Boooiupany them, but as they explained that hi did Hot feel equal to the climb, their host accepted the excuse courteously, though be was evidently put out. However, he soon rallied,' and- as they drove out chatted brightly with them. .;--. «f < .£ - &»■ '=»*£ 'How about brigandsP' Clinton asked. • We heard all sorts of tales of them at Messina.' The Italian smiled: • Ah!' he j»j,thj" waywHh-' them. A ship like yours spends a good deal of money, and naturally they like to_ keep her there as fern*, as possible; and eo I try to prevent your touching hw*. There are outlaws in Me mountains—men who have stabbed e«aft one in ; a brawl, or who have otherwifiejjnjken the la w-rbut there is Bo fear oftrouble Sith them. Thp. mountain is vess? large, aMd they are few' in number, and dwell principally among the forests on the other side.' 'lt is a pity that they can't be done

r r f In the Hands of Brigands

away with altogether,' Elphinstone said • We heard frcm some English friends at Messina that-the Carabinieri would soon put them down were it not for the Madia, which, they say, contains people of all classes, and is so dreaded that even when these fellows are captured the judges dare not condemn them.' The Italian shrugged his Bhoulders,,,. ~. •** 'Theseare"lxtravagaHces7Tie said'."* J know about, the Mill, and there is no > doubt that ft is very, formidable-=-so < forraidabie that were you Italians I should not venture to speak „of it, for" one never ! knowß who may belong to-it There is no doubt that? their influence is very great, though I am far from saying that it is great enough to affect the course of justice. There can be no doubt, however, that ita members do their beat to waist each other; that it is a dangerous thing . for any one to meddle" with their affairs j and that it is largely due to them that the Caiabinieri find it next to'impossible • to arrest any criminal. I myself have more than once had carts of wine seized on their way down from the vineyards; . but I know better than to make a fiissvof ifc> : If one wants to liva a qrfle£ ; lifeyhj " one has to shut one*8 vX eyeß "to >! 1 things.' - The-day-was spent 'pleasantly. ~' ! There were abundance of-birds. Signor although he did not shoot himself, accompanied them In the middle of the day . one of the servants brought put luncheon, and apon-their return they found an excellent dinner prepared. •** ''• Eirlythe next'morning* four ponies,twcf|for tßeir riding and two to carry bia&etp Ifid provisions, were at the door • *Bd*r rne'charge pf two men, while another, who their hos". assured them knew* the mountain thoroughly, was to act' as - their'guide. _- .;-"',-•• ; * L»te that evening Signor Pacbesi, came off tp the,yacht in a boat. As soon as he entered the cabin Hammond saw that something was wrong, for he looked greatly distressed and agitated. ' What is the matter, signor P' he u asked, q Tnave bad news—terrible news. Your friends started this morning at daybreak, and late this .afternoon their guide and muleteers returned. They reported that, thfij[ -bad J- wb^- ; Buacreßxy, just before they left the forest, a party of brigands Sprang out and ■ ~- seized the 'gentlemen-before they Wild unfiling their guns. They did not interfere with the men, but tojd £hem Ih&t they were to inform me that a ransom of £IO.OOO must be taken to the spot on the -* twelfuiaay. It must be brought by tbef- s man who acted as guide. If it was not ' brought on that day.the. .prisoners would' be killed, and they would be killed at once if the Carabinieri were sent in pursuit. I deeply deplore that this should , have happened, signor, and myself would willingly contribute one thousand out of the ten demanded..'. _.-.. ■■ --. > ~;V 'lt is a bad business, indeed, signor,' . -Hammond said Blowly. 'How,.! wonder, * can 'the brigands have known that my friends were going. up. Etna, to-day. Notice must have been sent them of "their -intentions,' 10 'Thai is what I feeL- signor. .i Of course I had made all the arrangements the day before and one of the men employed in my place must have taken the news to I them. That is" what afflicts me so greatly.' -'lt? is a bad business—a terribly bad 'Business,' Hammond said. y I must think ■ the matter over. lean no doubt procure the money; but it will take" some time. I shall have to return to Messina to see a banker there, and shall telegraph to my bankers in England, requesting them to hoirbur it. Still, I suppose iff can be done in twelve days. However, I must think the-matter over. I am obliged to you for "** f jrdur" offer to pay a thousand-of it; but I"

it. inyi<^Biy tibn to Etna was their Vora;piopoßal, and' ...,jgu did your best fe fdrfaM; Site you brought jjfito the a l Men who were piefcgjjt. when my ; friendswere seizidf' -s.-i'-* <.•■■•■'.* I brongnt'. the guide down here-with. = , n?e; might like to question fTHS « rather question him at once. ' -Signer, la** anxious to know all the de-.. rj you would sendglip ai^fibs ; m^^, '■ i Orfsbbie^^jrwfflljf^ipbefore he comes off I "will keep him here tol n : trht and tend him ashore-in the.; & SS& with renewed expressions of * regret, went off, and Hammond sent for I bis skipper, and told him what had ock(3 curred. * '^M

'.The money must be paid if we can do it no otVer way, Felloweß,' he said;.' but it will go against the grain terribly. If one had but an idea where these fellows a have taken my friends I would land an armed party and go after them; but one might as well bundle of straw. Of course, the guide would take ub to the point where they ■ were siered, but he could go jno further. The chances, tob, areten to one that he is in colluaion with the scoundrels, and it is quite possible that the fellow who has just come off is also' in the plot. I believe that men of all classes belong to the conspiracy they ca'l the Mama; it is the curse of the island.! His offer to fiad a thousand towards the ransom was in itself suspicious. . Italians are not' so free in part ing with their money. However, at the present moment that does not concern us. The question is how • are" we to find them?' :■ '■ l v " •Ah!" he broke. efr^as : Gyp, who had been restless at the absence of his master, j whined uneasily; 'Gyp might; be our? guide. I have heard his master.isay.that it can follow his footsteps any distance, and that when it. has been tied up to prevent its accompanying him, when he went it has got out in theafter--1 "lioxra, followed his footsteps wherever he has gone, and come up to him just at the end of a day's work.' -. ••> * It is worth trying, bit.' ,„, J.JS&&-B 0 1 00 * Fellowes; but no time *-*mxßßfr"be~'loßt or the scent will get so faiut that the dog cannot find it. We ■ . must take the guide with us.. They drove ' up to Pdchesi's place; and started home li from' there on horseback, oo we could . - t hardly-hope that the dog could trace them '' until they dismounted. We have twenty |: hands an told; we'll leave the steward '; and th 6 engineer,, who is too old for the work that we should have to do, as caretakers, and land the rest. That will make twenty with buwelves; "Fortunately we ' jiave enough guns and cutlasses for all. I

! 4ioee islands. The gnide is coming off I presently. As soon as the boat brings (him and goes back to shore, lower the- gig can wars the?, pen at will be wanted, and for [ what reason. Get their arms ready and J distributed, and tell the steward to serve i oat to each man two or three pounds of bread and a two-pound tin of preserved meat, and a bottle of strong grog. We are sure to come upon mountain streams to water it with, and we can take three or four tin mugs. We will land a short distance from the town, and the guide must take us first to Pachesi's farm and then fallow the course be took this morning. It is most important that no one should see us. Half the peasants are in league with Iha brigands, and if news were taken up to them that we bad landed we should never fiad them, though probably we should find the dead bodies of my friends.' < (To:be concluded next week.)