The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-09-23
THE DANCERS.


T opened my window, leaned far out
and looked down on the misty, damp
dissolution. The river could family
see. black and cold. a barge swept
past one tall solitary figure was at
the helm. He stood alone on the danlS
hatboat. motionless. silhouetted against
the gray mist.
In the street beneath my window a
barrel organ began to play music hall
tune. Two children appeared and COM
menced dancing. They danced, and the
mud flew from under their feet, and the
rain midst wandered amid their rags
They danced, and the organ grinder
turned the handle Of his organ with fas-
chatting regularity.
When he had flushed his stock of
tunes, he wheeled his barrel Of sound
away. No one had given him anything,
but probably he did not think Of that
He went from street to street day by
day. ground forth his twelve tunes and
If pennies were thrown him he picked
them UP, and il pennies We're not
thrown him he forgot to expect to pick
them up.
He moved away, and the child with
the stockings followed him The child
without the stockings remained stand
ing in the mud I then threw her a
coin. She looked at it where it fell.
Then she looked up at me. She looked
at the coin again and picked it up and
W1pGQ II on A6I dress Inc street WIS
empty She and the gray rain mist
were alone. She stood in the mud, the
coin in her hand, and gazed at me-
beckoned her to come to me, but she
did not move. SO / went down and
brought her up to my room and placed
her in a chair before the IRE.
Are you hungry?''
She shook her head.
~ on are very Weti'
She shook her head
Are you fond of dancinEr
She nodded her head
Where do you liver
Where's your mother7''
lit cigarette. She drew nearer the
where are you going?''
ITO the pantomime-to dance
'sTermorrer''
What are you-a fairy2'
Nolan hevil speret."
who was the girl with you just now?"
Sister
Does. she dance the pantomines''
"What is she2s
Mother hevn speret."
What are you going to do when you
grsoeIy S. 1 nn2.'
She would not talk any more. but she
crouched before the FIRE. staring at the
We're hidden from me went to bed at II
and left her before the fire. still gazing
into the burning embers When I looked
for her in the morning she was gone.
Two months later I saw her in the pantO-
mime, She was an evil spirit Ihree years
large west end theater.
-Four years later stood looking out
from my window, and thought OF the
evening of seven years ago. Again there
We're the gray ram mist and the damp
the low, fiat barge. with the solitaire fig
ure at the helm. motionless. The waters
sang their mirthless, monOtonous song
The organ grinder ground forth his
twelve stock tunes. but the two children
did not dance in the mud. / stood looking
down the desOlate street. and saw a wo-
man walking slowly toward the river. She
my window and looked up I beckoned to
placed sfa chair IA ri before the IRE for her
1T was seven years agoF'
so you have danced2'
Yes, / have danced"
You have been successfulY
Then why
7 don't know. 7 danced. and then I
then sister died, and them
And then But IT'S finished now
Yes, it was silly to begin game here.
SO What did you come here for?'
Il remembered that night"
81 don't know"
She would not talk any more, but sat
and gazed into the red gold fire and saw
things there that were hidden from me.
At II o'clock I went to bed and left her
still dreaming before the red gold fire,
and the next morning she was gone.
opened my window and leaned far out
The sun was shining and heard the
birds singing amid the embanlment trees.
And the barge swept up the rive. re-
turning from its journey At the helm
thought ] saw two fgures-but it may
have been only fancy-a man and the fig-
ure Of something that ought to have been
a woman And I heard the waters sing
ing. not their chuckIing, monotonous
song but q new song. a mirthless, silent,
soundIess song like the song Of an evl
spirit
WILL MEET OCTOBER