The Shadow of the Czar

s they came to the path m

his fair companion was tired, famished, and

dy timidly ventured to ask his name, which being g

was her answer, which Paul could not but thin

t it a pretty name before, he

more to himself than to his

find my charact

a second name?

r my parentage is unknown to me. Indeed, signor, it

sirous of learning her history he recognized that th

lipped but for Paul's strong arm. The murmur of the sea was now heard; a faint breeze blew coldly; fin

d yards, stood the building t

gs the castle must once have been new, but that once, judging by appearances, was a long time ago. The greater part of the edifi

seemed the portion likeliest to be tenanted, if tenanted at all, for si

ose the gray tower, the sea splashing with

not suggest a place like this, a place seeming to be desolated by the curse of some past tragedy; and as Paul con

had once been a stately loggia, he mounted the mossy fractured steps leading to the door of the tower. On the lintel w

arose from within. His summons had startled into wakefulness a menagerie o

ortal opened immediately, a

t you,

nguage with which Paul had become famil

Familiar perhaps with the attacks of banditti, he was too

ul explained his object in knocking, withholding the fact, however, that the lady with him had

was the answer, when Pau

that handsomely, for

m I will. I have received strict orders from the Master to admit no one during his

dnight a young lady exhausted by a twelve hours' wandering in the forest wit

our would b

. He pictured Barbara's look of distress on annou

use hospitality to an Englishman

t a remarkable cha

you say

el Graysteel, commandant of the

nephew of old 'Fighting Graysteel'? I was with him at Missolonghi. Wait. I'll be down in a moment. Hi, J

ng downstairs, for the baying of the dogs gradually ceased; there were soun

aughter, or servant? Whoever she may be, I am glad

he upper part of the door slid aside revealing an iron grating

you are, speak to me in English, for though I don't talk

nd give me some s

errupted the other with a dry chuckle. "T

is credential of nationality, swung open the

His thin curved nose was extremely suggestive of the beak of an eagle, a resemblance increased by his bright piercing eyes. H

ct marvel of silk, velvet, and rows of silver buttons; a white fustanella or kilt glittering with embroidery of gold; and ga

and in the other a lighted lamp, an

mpanion-in-arms of General Church and Lord Cochrane. You must have heard your uncle talk of me,-Lambro the Turcophage, with whose name Ottoman mothers still frighten their children, by telling them how Lambro, whenever food ran short in the camp, never hesitated to roast and eat his Turkish prisoners. Ah!" Like a ghoul he smacked his lips a

ndependence of Greece in the twenties; in their youth half soldiers and half brigands, but always full of

arbara, whom he found asleep. In a state of weariness she had rested her arm on a stone balustra

you court malaria? Come, there is better rest for you in yon tower, where you will not be the only la

lapidated loggia, and up the steps to the entrance of

shaking hand dropped the lamp, and the hall was plunged into sudden darkness. With the ejaculation of "Kyrie eleison"

ecovered himself, and shouted,

ter?" said a voi

in her ear. "The dead have returned to life. Walk to the door, pick up the la

d her as a little fair-haired woman of subdued deme

Barbara, and immediat

" she murmured,

th a touch of bitterness in her voice,

tood mutely staring at Barbara, who began to feel s

ay with quiet dignity, though her heart sank within

manner, and stepping forward as if to intercept Barbara's departure. "Do not go. We sha

in Lambro, "and then-well, it's hi

forward to the entrance again, where he and Jacintha sto

"though I do not think that you can

n from him, who had none to give, for he was as much perplexed as B

the woman a glance which Paul interpreted as a warning for her to be reticent, and continued: "Now, Jacintha, show our g

Barbara, "but trustworthy, I belie

lter of Castel Nuovo, however strange her entertainers; and accordingly still resting upon Paul's ar

sked of him and ref

Janina. A deal of money, a great deal of money," continued the old fellow, wincing as if he had had a tooth drawn. "I'm doubtful whether I've had the value of it. I cou

old Palicar's society was not exactly of the sort that a matr

k, and furnished with stained-glass casements, blazoned in their centre with the Winged Lion of St. Mark. The roof was richly fretted; the pictures painted on the panelling of the walls were in a fine state of preservation.

dining-hall,"

cintha, observing Barbara embarrass

aving removed the cloak, seated Barbara

and the golden coins twisted in her hair, Pau

ishwoman?" he sa

reply, accompanied by a

tes, and carried to Janina for sale, where she was purchased by Lambro, and brought to Castel Nuovo. Paul's ears tingled at the thought of an Englishwoman being sold in an Al

uch as his school-days had been passed in its neighborhood. His allusion

windows here the steamer from Trieste on its way to England; a few d

ot liking the prospect presented by the last word.-"You have promised as much. I have treated you better than any Turk would. You live in a castle

our death?" asked Jacintha, darting a stran

se you talk! Why don't you ask our

Jacintha turning to Barbara, and enu

smiled Barbara. "Anyt

" said Paul, turning to Lambro.

and as they called no servant to their aid, Paul concluded, an

er of chain-work and jewels. Her figure was beautifully shaped; her features were of pure, classic type, as clear and delicate as if sculptured from alabaster. There was somet

fire, and with her face upturned to

e accompanying you, for this is certai

y captivated Paul. He began to think that it would be a pleasant

ointed to the dining-table and its snowy cloth set with Majolica-ware, cut-glass, and silver. "The Master and his wife I pr

ner now entered, br

e humble Jacintha acted as waitress an

rt; and when Lambro, going down to the castle cellar, returned with a bottle of delicious m

n, while Jacintha at his command took a live coal from the fire by aid of the tongs, and applied it to the bowl of h

f a drowned compatriot. If the signorina requires a new dress we can supply her with one as rich as that she now has. No, I am not a wrecker," he continued, as if in answer to Paul's suspicions. "I simply take the gifts the waves send me, and they send them pretty frequently on this wild rocky coast. Sometimes it is a Turkish vessel that goes to pieces on the reef out yonder," he went

eek, as he sat there cross-legged, tricked out in the finery of the dead,

rbara's account to give a diff

when entire," he said. "The property, is

e of his head. "The marquis sold it s

is evidently

ambro, "the sale

y s

ster's ways

e ask h

bidden me t

treading on delicate ground, coul

he live wh

never

his nat

ually a mys

sed, and as Lambro did not seem to r

oes he visit

in the year, it may

e door, and also from the previous state of this tab

. A loud knock of the door, and there he is! He may arrive to-night, he may not arrive for six months. But present or absent th

ng do his v

pon the mood of

on? Do you m

er is a bachelor and will always remain such. He is a member

e object of

t disposed to be

precatory shake of his head, "you must n

the rebuke wit

no right to pry into hi

gather around the unknown owner of Castel Nuovo, who was so studious of concealing his identity, who without pre

tha reappeared carr

ady like to

for that purpose. Paul held

ght, sig

nclination of her head, and a grateful smile that said as plain

d. A princess could not have found fault with its dainty tasteful appointments. And, surprising to relate, not a particle of d

your own room to me,

ady. I do not

Lambro's statement, was a foe to womankind, it was singular, to say the l

chamber, or both? Had the mysterious "Master," mourning the loss of a wife or a daughter, given command that this apartment should be attended to every day, preserved

point just where a horizontal band of carving that formed the upper border of a panel touched upon the smooth plain oak above. A closer inspection showed that the wax bore the image of a paschal lamb,-an image, tiny indeed, yet perfectly clear. The wax had been stamped with a seal. Why? Children might perhaps find ple

put me in a

. Why, my lady, what do you fear?"

ax with any harm to herself, so Barbara turned away. The d

ped her tired and aching limbs beneath the sheets, Jacintha br

inine, m

ting up in manifest fear, h

ink I have ca

precautions," replie

must be at Zara to-morrow. If I linger here I shall be caught by-Give me the qui

he dining-hall, where in answer to her eager questioning Paul gave an account of the meeting

when he had finished, "why did you s

r who had been drinking somewhat freely of the maraschino turned upon his c

t I mean-by God, I'll cut your throat. Be off

thoroughly in awe of the fiery lit

u may believe me or not, as you will, but it is a fact that Ja

er por

er por

there was evidently some mystery connected with Barbara, a mystery known to Lambro and his consort. Paul intuitively felt that the Palicar's reticence

atia in quest of the strange, the romantic, the wild. I am beginning to think you have found them." He drew his