A Servant of Satan: Romantic Career of Prado the Assassin — page 72: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

64 | A SERVANT OF SATAN. . have a communication to make to you of such importance that our lives are endangered thereby. Oh, my love, my love! Why are you so cruel?” With a stifled curse Frederick crushed the note in his hand and thrust it into one of the outside pockets of his jacket. ‘Then, giving his unfortunate pony a vicious dig with his spurs, he started off at a sharp canter, and fifteen minutes later he alighted at the palace of the widow, who, having become insanely jealous, was making his life a per- fect burden to him. ~QOn that particular morning she was more than usually fractious and exacting, and it was only by playing the part of an enthusiastic and passionate lover that he could in any way pacify her. When at length he reached home he was in a State of exasperation bordering on frenzy. Flnging himself upon the couch in his room he gaye way to a most violent fit of rage. Suddenly remembering Florence’s note he put his hand into his pocket, with the object of reading it once more. ‘lhe letter, however, was gone. It was in vain that he turned all his pockets inside out; the note had disappeared. This caused him a moment of anxiety, but on second thought he remembered that it bore neither signature nor address, and, taking it for granted that it had dropped from his pocket while riding, he dismissed the sub- ject from his mind. Shortly after sundown he started to walk through the wood to the little temple of Jain where Florence had re- quested him to meet her. It was a lovely and romantic spot. ‘I'he small temple, built of delicately chiseled stone forming a kind of open trellis work, was surmounted by ~ nine little carved domes and tiny fretted minarets. All round the building rose half-broken columns, the ruins of a mosque, while huge trees covered the spot with deep shade, and Barbary figs, cactuses and poisonous euphorbias en- . veloped the ancient stones. Thousands of parrots and comicbooks com — ~ 4 ar . 7 a 4, “ ee ee oR: > «6 2 a Pe ELT ae