Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-06-27
CHAPTER VII.

Lola had been carried to her own
dressing room, which was near the stage.
She lay on couch, coverlet thrown
over her, for she was, of course, in the
tights and short trunks of the trapezist.
Her face was ashen white, her eyes
closed. She was quite unconscious, and
seemed hardly to breathe. A couple of
dressers stood near; frightened knot
OF artlsts-sOme IN stage dress and
makeup, some half-dressed, Others still
IN street attire-were gathered round,
whispering together-all awe-struck IN
the presence of calamity, though perhaps
not one had good word for Lola ten
minutes ago. The doctor ordered them
all away, and went up to the couch.
lnglesant stood near, silent. looking down
on the lvld features, the poor shattered
form, with emotions no heart but his
own could dream of. The doctors exam
nation was necessarily somewhat super
| nclal; he could not move the unhappy
creature; but he shook his head gravely.
Not the slightest hope" he said. "The
wonder is she was not killed on the spot.
Has she any rclativesf"
lie locked to two men who stood near
the stage and acting managers. They
knew of no one, they said, connected with
her. 1nglesant made no sign. The stage
manager described the accident. Lola
vas doing one of her famous and most
daring feats-she failed 10 catch the bar,
and fell.
Someone said she was very much ex
cited" Inglesant here said. He looked
at one of the dressers.
so she was, sir" the woman replied.
81 noticed that when she come, and she
drank so much champagne, says to my
friend here, / says-I hope Al be all
right but you dursn't say q word to
Nadmerzell, sir-she'd take you up that
short"
Poor thing!" said the doctor pitying.
ly; but he knew nothing of the other
tragedy which lay behind this one. The
doctor fetched by the commissionaire
now appeared, and his opinion, after ex.
animation, conceded with that of his
brother practitioner. There was nothing
to be done at present more than had
been already done. 1t was almost impos-
sible the patient could recover. She
could not be moved yet; so all possible
provision was made for her comfort and
proper attendance in the dressing room.
The hall was now empty. The perform
ance had, of course, been stopped, and
| the people poured out into the street al
most IN silence, awestruck by the horror
of the dreadful accident which they had
seen.
Lola was now left in the hands of one
of the doctors, and a trained nurse who
had been sent for. 1nglesant remained in
an adjoining room. He gave no explana-
ton of his desire to be on the spot, and
no one asked any questions. Some sort
of claim was assumed in the case of a
woman of Lola's profession What he
felt and thought in those hours he could
never have clearly defined, Death soft
ems the harshest facts, the most bitter
memories, and so there must needs be a
touch of gentleness in his thoughts of
the hapless creature who lay yonder with
all her life crushed out of her in the
prime of womanhood.
| But, even now, a sense of relief, of
freedom, was creeping into his heart. 1t
could not be otherwise. Even death
and death so sudden and SO terrible
could not obhterate the tragedy of life
which stood between the living and the
dying. The horror of the shame and
degradation to which he was chained was
in the mans heart still, if overshadowed
lieved he loved. Her existence was his
curse; even her death was nm added
memento of the evil that was in her, for
it came at the moment when she intend
ed to wreck his whole future. 1t was
an almost direct consequence of that re-
solve, for Inglesant alone could divine
the cause of the mental excitement which
others had noticed That excitement I'M
steadied her nerves, and the wine she
drank Unconstitutional perhaps she
hoped to diminish-the mischief From
hint dropped by the dresser, and partly
from what she did not say, Inglesant
suspected that Lola had been for some
time in the habit of taking over much
of wine-a fatal habit for an acrobat.
The pity of it all-the great pity of it
was the strongest feeling in the mans
heart tonight. He could not grieve-
that was impossible! He could not
more dreadful still-wish it undone; but,
oh! the pity of such life and such
death!
TO BE CONTINUED.
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