Bargello

“ Technically, his finest endowment was, perhaps, his unique power of expressing swift movement—the best known example of which is the well-known “Mercury” now in the Bargello. Giovanni images the Messenger of the gods as borne on a light zephyr through space. The figure is the very embodiment of energetic action. ”

“ As soon as we reached Rome I went to the customhouse and put in the document relating to Betty’s trunk. The next day it was duly brought to our inn and handed over to Betty.
As Sir B—— M—— had placed the case in my hands I went to the bargello, an important person at Rome, and an expeditious officer when he sees a case clearly and feels sure that the plaintiffs do not mind spending their money. The bargello is rich, and lives well; he has an almost free access to the cardinal-vicar, the governor, and even the Holy Father himself. ”

“ The bargello reported to the Vicar-General the failure of his men, as well as the account given by the spy, and the Prelate, sharing the suspicion of the police, sent to his eminence, our master, requesting him to have the person in question, man or woman, turned out of the palace, unless such persons should happen to be known to his excellency, and therefore above suspicion. Cardinal Acquaviva was made acquainted with these circumstances at nine this morning through the auditor you met in my room, and he promised to have the person sent away unless she belonged to his household. ”

“ A red bird was calling in the woods near by, and the soft south wind had spring in it as it blew across the veil of waters that hid the dam. John Barclay's head was full of music, and he was lounging across the bridge from the mill on his way home to try his new pipe organ. He had spent four hours the day before at his organ bench, [Pg 320] trying to teach his lame foot to keep up with his strong foot. So when General Ward overhauled him, Barclay was annoyed. He was not the man to have his purposes crossed, even when they were whims. ”

“ When we add that Josiana was beautiful, great, young, rich, powerful, and illustrious, while Barkilphedro was ugly, little, old, poor, dependent, obscure,—he must necessarily revenge himself for all this as well. When a man is made of darkness, how can he forgive so many beams of light?
Barkilphedro was an Irishman who had denied Ireland,—a bad type. Barkilphedro had but one thing in his favour,—that he had a very big belly. A big belly passes for a sign of kind-heartedness; but this belly was only an addition to Barkilphedro's hypocrisy, for the man was full of malice. ”

“ He was sure that Barlow had become a renegade, and he was sure also that it was in part Barlow’s influence that was heading these young Cheyennes toward the Southwest and away from Fort Cimarron. Barlow was no more anxious to have the troopers from the fort overtake these Cheyennes than were the Cheyennes themselves.
“I never yet knew a renegade that didn’t end badly,” was Wild Bill’s thought. “Deviltry generally gets paid in its own kind. But I’ll help that girl, and protect her with my life, if I can. ”

“ In a word (or fourteen, actually) , Sir Bargle was a man unlikely to put his personal appetites in second place. The prospect of this knight nuzzling the hair or nibbling the earlobes of Jennifrella was in itself sufficiently revulsive to Sir Philo; the prospect of his becoming king was absolutely unthinkable.
The third reason that the king's advisor was grieved about the "score ahead and wed" method of selecting the princess' groom was that the only person in all the realm who could outshoot Sir Bargle was—Sir Philo. ”

“ Crale,’ he added, turning to the ‘wicked uncle,’ who thereupon produced a bunch of skeleton keys and led the way through my kitchen, followed by the inspector and two constables.
“I told the two bobbies who were left to guard me exactly what I thought of Mr. Crale; but (48) they grinned at my remarks, and one of them said: ‘’E’s done a good turn to us police, anyway. A long time we’ve been searching for the ringleader of your gang, and we shouldn’t never have found you if it ’adn’t ’a’ been for Mr. Crale. A clever gentleman he is.’
“Just then the party came back. ”

“ Presently from out of the fog came the same wild war-cry and the thunder of hoofs. There was another charge with sadly depleted numbers.
For reckless courage Barclay had never seen anything to equal their youthful leader. Again and again he rallied his men and brought them on, until finally, with only about a dozen men, he swept through the deadly zone and on towards the fort.
In the very teeth of the Maxims his black horse literally flew over the high stockade. ”

“ However Barclay urges and pleads with her, her reply still is "I must go by my light." "I cannot submit to the opinions or practice of others, though they have more light than myself." [24]
[24] Not that Barclay aimed at proselytising, but he wished her to take the course which seemed to him the necessary outcome of her views. "I pretend to be no sect master," he writes, "and disgust all such."
At Herford, Barclay left his friends and returned to Amsterdam. In September we find him in London, using his influence with the Duke of York to procure liberty for Friends in Scotland. ”

“ Barlow was furious.
He denounced Kensett as an impostor, and the rival showman had a set-to in the market-place to the infinite diversion of the town’s folk; but all was of no use—​the “wild man of the woods,” “the missing link,” as Kensett termed him, carried everything before him, and Barlow’s show was comparatively deserted.
“Is it possible that people could be so silly as to be taken in with such a barefaced imposture?” said one of the company.
“My dear sir,” returned Peace, “in this world are found people silly enough for anything. ”

“ However, these reflections but half appeased the cravings of Barkilphedro's pride. Consolations, palliations at most. To vex is one thing; to torment would be infinitely better. Barkilphedro had a thought which returned to him without ceasing: his success might not go beyond just irritating the epidermis of Josiana. What could he hope for more—he so obscure against her so radiant? A scratch is worth but little to him who longs to see the crimson blood of his flayed victim, and to hear her cries as she lies before him more than naked, without even that garment the skin! ”

“ As soon as he was safe in this village, Barlow had the girl placed in one of the lodges, in care of an old Indian squaw, assuring the girl that it was the best he could do, and that she would not be harmed there. Then he began a search for the old medicine man who was said to have that store of sacred gold nuggets.
He found the medicine man without trouble, for the old fellow had a lodge of immense size not far from the heart of the village, where he mumbled his charms and incantations, and performed the mysterious rites which awed the Cheyennes and gave him so much power over them. ”

“ Barling, but it would be a hard year indeed that frowned continuously, and last night, for the first time, luck had smiled upon him. The smile had come in the singular form of a railway accident. Not a serious accident, but with little to do but to catch flies in his City office, it was better than nothing. Mr. Barling had wired to the company's office, and now, well wrapped up and his face touched with artistic white, sat in his flat in Ashley Gardens and awaited the arrival of the company's representative.
"Can you see a gentleman, Sir?" ”

“ Only when the approaching rider came close and threw up a gauntleted hand to the wide black hat, saluting laughingly, did they recognize this for the same youth who had come with Ruiz Rios to Ortega's gambling house.
"Zoraida Castelmar!" gasped Kendric.
Turning in his amazement to his companion he caught a strange look in Barlow's eyes, a strange flush in Barlow's cheeks. Then he saw only the girl's dark, passionate face and scarlet lips and burning eyes as she called softly:
"Welcome to the Hacienda Montezuma! The gods have willed that you come. The gods and I!" ”

“ Here Barclay drew up for battle, supposing Bagration's army to be but a short distance to the south. In the course of the night intelligence arrived that Bagration's army was nowhere near the rallying-point, but had been driven back towards Smolensko. Barclay immediately gave up the thought of fighting a battle, and took the road to Smolensko himself, leaving his watch-fires burning. His movement was unperceived by the French; the retreat was made in good order; and the two severed Russian armies at length effected their junction at a point three hundred miles distant from the frontier. ”

“ Barclay’s broad mouth tightened, but he said nothing.
“Mahoney picked you for a sucker—no offense, cap’n. He showed you our plant and sold you his own stock—printed by one of these fly-by-night gangs. The quotes in the paper were ours—but he twisted the initials to suit his bogus firm, the shipyard company. Probably that stock-certificate is worth ten cents, maybe less. We can’t do anything for you.”
“I guess you can’t.” Barclay spoke quietly. He was not the one to whine over a loss. “I’ll have the law on that man Braddock.”
“Hold on,” Henderson checked him. “What can you do? ”

“ Not yet had Kendric agreed to go adventuring with Twisty Barlow. But in his soul he knew that he would go, and so did Barlow. There was nothing to hold him here; from elsewhere the voice which seldom grew quiet was singing in his ears. He knew something of the gulf into which Barlow meant to lead him, and of that defiant, legend-infested strip of little-known land which lay in a seven hundred mile strip along its edge; he knew that if a man found nothing else he would stand his chance of finding life running large. ”

“ Barlow's plans were not at Kendric's disposal; the sailor might be counting on the vessel and he might not. At any rate he and Betty could slip down the gulf in it and either take ship at La Paz, sending it back up the gulf then, or steer on to San Diego. Of course he would seek to get in touch with Barlow; he could send a message of some sort. But after all Barlow had taken the game into his own hands and had said that it was now each man for himself.
"We can make the trip during the night, if we can make the get-away," he told her. ”

“ You will not break a leg, and I should not eat you if you did, for you haven't any flesh on you to eat."
"Nevertheless, Rector, I want you to promise me that in case I should fall and disable myself, so that I cannot get on, you will not leave me here to die alone, but will kill me with your axe instead."
"Nonsense, Barlow; you are weak and nervous, but you are not going to be disabled, nor eaten, nor killed. Keep up man; we shall reach Oregon City yet." ”

“ The next morning when Neal Ward went out of the office at the mill, John Barclay sat shivering with wrath and horror. Every second stamped him with its indelible finger, as a day, or a month, puts its stain on other men. ”

“ Barclay had made no pretence of being a cavalryman on the strength of his assignment to that arm. He started with the assertion that he had everything to learn, and then surprised his subaltern by an extensive knowledge of what we then called "the tactics." He was certainly not as much at home in saddle as on foot, and did not pretend to be, but he was by no means a poor or ungraceful rider. He had a light, gentle hand, at least,—a thing much harder for most men to acquire than a good seat. ”

“ Ito paused to pepper his soup, “and bought curios.”
The quick retort on Barclay’s lips remained unspoken as Shively stopped at their table.
“The engineer is making up time,” he said, clinging to the table as the train went around a mountain curve and unbalanced him for the moment. “We’ll be in Spartanburg very soon. Norcross and I are sitting here,” and he joined the professor at the table directly across from them.
Barclay passed a relish to the Japanese in silence, and still without speaking they continued their dinner, each apparently immersed in his own thoughts. ”

“ Barlow. Yes, almost too fine to be shut up in-doors. Why aren’t you driving, or—or playing golf, or—ah—or being out-doors somewhere? You need exercise, old man; you look a little pale. (Aside.) I must get him away from here somehow. Deuced awkward having another fellow about when you mean to propose to a woman.
Yardsley. Oh, I’m well enough!
Barlow (solicitously) . You don’t look it—by Jove you don’t. (Suddenly inspired.) No, you don’t, Bob. You overestimate your strength. It’s very wrong to overestimate one’s strength. People—ah—people have died of it. ”

“ A cry of rage broke from Barlow.
“Hickok,” he shouted, “you lie; you lie like a dog!”
The hot blood reddened the face of the bound man.
“You’ll have a chance to take that back, if these red gentlemen don’t make short work of me,” he said. “Never does any man tell me to my teeth that I’m a liar, and afterward live to brag about it. He’ll meet me with pistols in hand, and one or the other of us will turn up his toes to the daisies. You’ve heard of Wild Bill.”
Barlow’s face paled. Wild Bill, the dead shot of the West, did have rather an unenviable reputation as a dead shot and a duelist ”

“ Barclay shrugged his shoulders.
"A dying woman——? I can grant you that much."
But even in the midst of his brutal self-assertiveness, a merciless flash of intuition showed him himself as they saw him. His power slipped through his fingers. He looked from Sigrid to Tristram, and knew their immeasurable indifference to all that he could threaten. They were not afraid—almost—they were glad. He could not penetrate their mood—he only felt it as an intolerable hurt—a frustration of that madly aching desire in him. ”