Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-08-08
er l 81 whom be Thought most yet8

tskSk k5t1tA VI ~ A11Aal l6 411NSb OIL
whom he least xpected to see.
The trapeze act came last, after his
other tents had been executed amid
The plaud its OF the elighted audience
Cool and clear headed he had started
for the flying leap when it fate
or chance his eyes, looking beyond
the trapeze at the multitude which he
was won't to say affected him d more
than if they had been SO many cabbage
/ heads, encpunte tered the gazeof palr Of
soft, brown eyes which he Ene
too well Half IN. terror at his dar-.
Singy, half ID puzzled effort to trace ii
faint resem lance, they were fixed full
on him with q magnetism which
drew his to them. III For one instant, the
blood snrged 1nadly to his brain, the
steady nerves trembled;; only an in slant,
but the harm was done. He struck
out bindly for the swinging bar, missed
it, and fell with sickening thud on the
stage below Strong men groaned and
turned their faces away shuddering;
women shrieked, and some tainted. The
two or three phys clans in the audience,
promptly made their way behind the
scenes, and for "a few nom ents all was
excitement and horror. Then the pro-
prietor of tile Gardens came forward
and announced that Signor Francesca
had met with serious but not danger
Gus accident, the band struck up
=. Marching Through Georgia, !" and the.
performance went on, while behind the
scenes, with his head in the lap Of a
kind-hearted ballet dancer, Frank Bev-
erly lay senseless. VIII Harris bent
over him anxi ously, his eyes wet with
manly tears. There was q slow lifting
of the closed eyelds, and the sufferer
said family. "Janiel" But she
sat in the audience all unconscious that
the injured gylnnast was the lover, Of
whom at that same moment, her head
and heart were full. Then recognize
ing his friend, "Don't let them know, !"
he murmured feebly, and tainted from
intense pain. Isl u.s.
That man should live after such an.
accident seemed impossible. Still, the
creed of the Moltammedan holds that
every man bears charmed Life until his
hour comes, Frank hour was not yet.
His skull was fractured and his leg
broken, but it CHANGED that the most
famous surgeon of the day WAS in the
audience, and was one of those who had
rushed indistinctively to help the even
ing's favorite. The sufferer was taken
to the hospital. and with infinite skill
the broken bones were set. Youth and
nature, assisted by q magnificent con-
stitution, did the rest. For DAYS he
was unable to see any one, and Will
Harris warded off Mr.. Venable's inquir-
les with all d reporters ingenuity.
When Frank recovered, a slight
lameness was the only trace left Of his
terrible accident, lameness which
ended the gymnast's career, but in no
way interfered with the journalists.
Eight months at the Grecian Gardens
haA allowing a premium for cash,
raisedmoney enough to pay off the
mortgage, and @ little later Frank was
promoted to a desk in the news-room
He and jamie were married and man
aged to live very comfortably in mod
est little home IN the suburbs Of the
city. ..
Signor Francesca has never been heard
of by the Beverlys and Venables ex-
cept as "the gymnast who fell the night
jamie was at the circus" But no earth
~ power can induce her ever to attend
such an exhibition, although she is full
of tender pity for the actors.
"Poor fellows?" she says, "unfortun-
ate victims to the depraved taste Of the
public, which, through their poverty,
tempts them to risk their lives