Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1897-01-28
CRATER xIfT-tContinn~d9

CHAPTER AffE-fCJuthnur1-B
Tie three daughters. s~afegualtied. il
may be, by n somewhat niggarily al
lowanee from I1anac Nature 81 coed
looks. and by the ~wIEAering finger OF
Father Time, were HONEST young We
Rsca enough, and hard-worklng. too.
whenever they got a change. And, by
degrees. ZaBa came TO look forward 10
seeing them at tea-tine, rs n RELIEF
frusn the giny mnIotcpy OF her exist
cucv. Occasionally they were acconipa-
ried by their fntber, q talkative old
gentleman. with il~exhaustible stores OF
theatrical fnecdutes to draw upon.
Upon such occasion the cenyersa-
ton turned upon the daughters pres
pccfs or securing an engagement in an
approaching Alhaiahra ballet. of which
they Were by no means san=uine.
"Ahi l remember the time" broke liz
the old man. when \ could have put
y0n al fhere-~aye, and u d0zen more,
Tor the matter Of that. In the front row
ut doublc salary. IN those days the pub.
lie wanted dancers, trained 10 the blsi-
ness By proper masters. Now all that
is changed, and managers are satisfied
with hopping Statues. ~ long rs they
have pretty faces and know how TO
pad well. So that they secure a couple
of reasonably good artists for the pas
seuis. they care nothing what they til
the stage with. 80 long as it's pretty
and cheap
THAT may all be true enough, dad"
remarked the eldest of the trio. but
one has 10 take the stage us one finds
IT,"
"Umph-" growled her father. "If you
girls had possessed the talent to do
justice TO my teachings. you'd have
starred long enough ago, instead of
figuring In the ruck, on a beggarly pit
lance. What do you think, Miss Cliff
ford?.
81 know nothing Of these things" an
swered cara. Il have never even seen
q ballet, though / have often seen
dancing-girls perform In India. In
deed. / once took great pains TO learn
some Of their dances, for my own
amusement
.Indeedir exclaimed the old man, his
eyes lighting up with professional en-
thusiasnl, as they rested upon the
speakers rare beauty OF feature aud
grace of figure. II can almost find 1t
IN me 70 wish that you had to choose
A1ItiI- ac u pro- tSAlJI.
..Perhaps | shall" replied Zana, with
q faint little smile. II must do some
thing as soon as ] am strong enough to
leave my kind hostess here. and | think
] could do that, perhaps. better than
anything else"
Out OF this seemingly trivial 0ny
station sprang results fraueht with mo
mentous issues TO Zana's destiny. Her
words sank deep into the mind OF the
old ballet-master, who, at first, dimly,
and then more clearly. foresaw reason
able prospects OF turning them to good
account. His trained eye told him that
this dark-eyed, oliye-skinncd girl was a
boru danseuse, II ever Nature created
one: and she had. moreover, the addi-
ti0naI attraction Of exceptional person
al beauty. Why should not he. IIeary
MOntmorency. act as guide, philosopher
and friend In the matter of bringing
her outg Success would mean q large
fortune for her. and a modest compe-
renee. az least, Tor himself. Who better
yersed than he In the wiles and devil
:Dus ways Of managers aud impresai los?
Miss Clifford, he finally convinced him
self. should he a star OF the first mag
nifude. and be would 5e her business
agent
AT first Zana was at a loss to nc
count for the sudden frequency OF the
old mans visits. and his careless refer
ences TO the delights and emolumenfs
OF a successful stage career. But he
did not keep her long In the dark as to
his motives.
II have had a lifelong experience in
the profession" he told her. when ne
deemed the moment for p~iain-spcaking
had arrived. "and l am not likely to be
mistaken. You should make an enor-
mous hit as a d~anseuse, and On Oriental
1avor TO your dancing would be q nov
city. SuIne special training would, OF
course. lie neccs< airy, Involving SEINE
hard work on your part. But your sue
cess liz certain. And. II you will let me
act as your agent. l will serve you
faithfully and we'll"
Zana naturally asked for time to