Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1893-02-09


slept with the quiet of death, though
Camilla grew restless and muttered II
her dreams, while two scarlet spoti
glowed upon her cheeks like wind
flowers upon Tuscan slope
And around the corner In low
dive a drunken, sodden creature,
whom Nature had crowned with the
royalty Of motherhood, sang with
some tipsy sailors.
Nature is fine satirist and enjoys
well bit Of joke. That her jokes
are cruel is our misfortune.
And so the child slept
A few days later Pasquale loss his
kitten, StealthV cunning Of eye, he
sought her everywhere and said moth
ing There was a strange weight In
his breast, and at night when he lay
in his corner behind the kegs he was
lonely. For Camilla was late now al
ways Once it was we'll on in the
gray Of the morning before she came.
She threw herself heavily beside Pas
quale and fell asleep at once, breath
ing heavily.
PasQuale raised himself softly and
leaned over her for minute There
was an Odor about her breath which
made him think of his mother And
he noticed that she wore a very gay
neckerchief Of silk which was alto
gether new Then he thought again
Of his kitten, and his heart grew like
lead, while looking up he saw that
the stars had gone and that it was
already day
That day he wandered around the cor
ner into Keg Alley. He felt a strange
desire to find his mother. He had
heard-he had seen--the mother Of
the little Irish girl fold her arms
about her and press her to her breast
with sort of animal mother instinct.
She had beat her an hour later, but
she had kissed her first, and would
kiss her again. And PasQuale had
lost his kitten and wanted his
Down IN the alley IIc paused hest
tatingly before a door, AS he did so
it was opened suddenly, and man
a young man-threw an inert small
mass Of something living against an
opposite brick wall, with q curse.
And In the room he saw an unkempt |
woman sitting with redden eyes. She
was laughing, and sho was his
And then the y closed |
with a bang.
Pasquale knew what it was which
the man had thrown out, and he
knew what the black, ugly drops were
upon the bricks and why the little
heap Of fur, after a long shudder, lay
10 still.
PasQuale was only I, but he knew
the classics Of crime and death.
He held his hand before his face
md fled,
He never quite knew how he passed
hat day,
Children know agony-who doubts
t?
At night he stole back to the same
,lace,
He saw there was a light In the one
window of the den. Just outside
wo Cinnamon were haggling over
he price Of very dead fish. A
hadow on the shawl which was
pinned over the square Of glass sug-
,ested Camilla, He knew then that
he kitten had followed her. Just
where it had fallen in the morning
e found it. He turned it over care
ully Its under side had hattened.
t had in few hours become a has
elief of life. Its little red tongue
rotuded, and its eyes cleaned glass
Iy PasqGale had torn outone sleeve
( his shirt; in that he wrapped it,
t was approaching midnight when
&c finally buried it. As he came out
nto the Bend with a cowed, bowed
cad he heard the new hand organ
out the old tune.
"Love-a-not," SAID Pasquale to
imself.
And then suddenly he found that
c was hungry. Watching his OPP
he soon managed to steal
morsel of dried fish and some
ananas. Sitting behind his rampant :
empty beer kegs he ate them, and
nally fell asleep. That night the
bbon of sky blazed out in stars and
lded into empty gray, but Camilla
id not come at all.
Time swallowed up the weeks. BY
ny Pasquale wandered about, played /
the gutter swOre, fought and s
we'd the life of the gamin Of the I
end. Sometimes he saw Camilla,
nd wondered little that she found
} much to laugh at. However, it
Few to be sweeter than the sweetest :
ling In life to have her give him a :
lstY kiss, or even to scOld him. She !
as all he had now, and since his ,
items death he had never wished !
} see his mother,
AS for the man who haG killed it, I
had seen him once lay his hand ,
1 Camilla's shoulder; and such a r
)od Of miserable rage had inundated 6
is being as had rendered him help ,
IS for hours. He could only lie, and r
loke, and gr0an, hiding behind a de- /
rted shed. 9
Oh, to kill him! '
10 see his black blood drin drin IN