The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-02-08

,Jf/R show than his self-respect |
J as a white man and citi- |
zen would allow him to bear cheer.
fully. Aud for that reason he sulked
. Mt table when the manage and
. the staff Of the Bowcry palace of
Illusions and Turkish Beauty Show"
4 sat down together in their eating
room to a luncheon OF breaf and sau-
sages. 1t was the midday intermis-
. sion. Below stairs, the barrel organ
z was dumb. The wicket of the ticket
Office was empty of its vision of bella
donna eyes aud cornstarch shoulders.
The hall of illusions--of incandescent
. lights ana bewildering mirrors-was
dark and deserted. Aud the curtains
in the last compartment of the exhibit
ton parted Imply on ~ vacant stage
where two ancients in flaxen wigs had
& been posing against the shabby hang
Z ing of Turkish harem.
Here in the eating room, the com
pany was gathered about q greasy
/, pine table that stood between the
q cooking stove and the sink. A feeble
light, filtering through the dirty win
( dows upon the bare arms aud bare
& shoulders of the women. showed
v suspicious difference in color between
X the rough arm that had not been
& powdered and the tender white OF the
4 neck that had. The lad who tortured
& the agonized organ down stair0 chewed
A rhythmically on tough crust of bread,
Y his head still turning tunes, his eyes
3 set in the vacant stare of an animal
at feed A young girl beside him,
q with smudged face and untidy hair,
choked on her sausage, and "Snipey,"
the counterfeit Mexican for whom she
Y posed as the human target in the
great dag6er-throwing "stunt" of the
f free performance, rallied her with a
facetious "Think yeh' d been swaliowin'
swords"
The ticket-ofiice beauty, who was
= the managers wife, grinned at this
wit, and the scrawny beauties in the
tawny wigs lifted their pencilled eye
brows appreciatively-but with care.
The manageable was the "barker" "
y aud the official ''bouncer" in one
muscular person directed the eyes of
h the company to she sulking Filipino
\ with O wink aud nod. "Think he'd
been swallowing insults. he chuckled.
A "Agninaldo," as they called him,
N pretended not to hear, hum-ed over
S his plate and glowering at q knot in
q the table. He had covered his paint
"A ed nudity with an overcoat and an
H underskirt. He had pulled off his
rusty wig, and taken out the ring OF
Y bone that lad been pinched into his
y nostrils. But around his eyes were
still two circles of yellow ochre. His
v color was red brick dust to within an
q inch of his fiat black hair, aud there
4 it turned skin white. When he ate
his sausage, he drew back his painted
H lips and took tho food carefully be,
tween his teeth. The grimace set his
& face for savage snarl
"Eats human hesh," the manager
quoted at it, and laughed again con
v temptuously.
The ticket-office exhibit drew her
8 eyes over her husband slowly, and
swung a glance down the table at the
Filipino. "Aguinaldo" was staring al
his tormentor dumbly.
sLooks as il he'd like to eat me
don't he?" tho latter whispered loudly
Y to the table. They either laughed oil
they did not. The organist did no
\ because he was thinking OF nothing
& SsSnipey" laughed to curry favor witt
I the management, and tie two womer
!. laughed because they understood thu
y game that was being played ant
\ Knocked at it. They knew tina
4 "Aguinaldo" did not dare to face al
open rupture for foar he should fnt
& himself on the street. There was
y note in their cackling that was chal
4 ienge to the manager.
"Any time he likes to try chaw a
me. I'm game" he clustered.
There was no answer.
X .'I amt heard ihat Filipinos ar,
4 much on the fight" ''iSnipey
laughed.
"Aguiualdo" picked up his over
coat, and slouched away to his sleep
lug room, pattering down the hal
with bare feet. The organ grinder
A who shared the room. followed him
"Aguinaldo," in his room, cast OF
a tho shirt he wore, and appeared in
a pair of knickerbockers from whicl
the legs had been amputated high oil
4 the thigh. He had only a coat o
brown stain to protect the bulk of hi
4 body from the chill air. II won
stand it much longer" he said to him
self and the boy. >''I'd sooner be
sandwich man again The imitation
4 bear-skin which he hooked about hi
hips did nothing 10 warm or con
sole him. He put on the over
E coat again, and coughed tentatively
"A man nights we'll be in iail as coope
n mp in splintery packin' case. AL
that fool pokin' fun at him"
y He picked up the wig of red-blac
hair. and fitted it tightly to his scalp
n no tightly that il pinched his skull a
il in vice, and pulled his eyebrow
4 high on his forehead. Then the bon
ring found sore spot in his nostrilf
He looked at himself in the glass. II
n had hot itch of revolt in his blood
she revolt OF an irritated skin agains
4 the discomfort OF a hair shirt--au
4 hs shook his fist savagely at his re
flaction in the mirror. Then he wer
" into the back of the shop whic
served TO house the exhibition, an
A from the wreck OF a discarded peer
show drew out a flask. II woul
&aan mt the cold IL aleo kent 4