The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-31

| cakes-not such as they had on fete
| days at home, but, nevertheless, most
delicious-and when the evening shad-
ows heightened, and the young girl at
last Wear1ed, Giovanni understood that
the audience was over. She offered him
one of those crisp green bills which rep
resented almost a weeks work at the
crossing, but Giovanni, drawing himself
up proudly, declined it. Somehow the
| girl understood the motive of this re-
fuSaI and then with a quick, impulSiVe
movement she drew q pearl Stick-pin
from the sailor knot at her collar and
handed it to the boy. He kissed it in
extravagant Italian fashion, and bowed
low before her. The day was indeed
over.
The princess went out of town. The
little studio was closed. She came no
more to the crossing and the heat bis
tered the streets and burned into Clio
vanni's very heart. But the flag waved
mechanically and the memory of the
fete day came to him occasionally like a
breath of fresh air. Then came the day
of the fire in the great office building
a block away. And on that day it so
happened that the princess had come to
town to meet friends. She was crossing
the city in a hanson, reaching Clio
vannis corner simultaneously with the
arrival of the fire engines.
Giovanni was first to see that her
driver had lost control of his horse,
and that it was plunging straight to-
ward the excavation. The policeman
on the other side of the street was hav-
ing his own troubles. A slender, gray
clad figure seemed to rise suddenly
and leap out of the hanson. There
were curses from the driver and be-
wildering shouts all around him, but
somehow he caught it in his arms.
He felt himself going down, down,
down, and then-night.
They stood around his cot in the
hospital. the girl refusing to rest or
leave him for an instant. He might
wake-frst," she said with a catch
of her breath, land l must speak to
him.
Giovanni stirred. The princess saw
the movement first and bent over him.
In returning consciousness it seemed
to Giovanni as if he must have walked
up in heaven. Princess" he muir
INJURED, and the glow came into his
eyes again. Impulsively the girl bent
over and kissed him. '
He felt as if he were floating in the
air, but it was not because the prin-
cess had kissed him.. He remembered
the fall-the blow-and he looked in
quiringly from one to the other. His
grandmother burst into tears and
walls in her native tongue fell from
her lips. Giovanni turned from her
to the princess. The girls eyes were
dim with tears. Then it must be true,
and just as he was so happy-alas!
The sister, who spoke Italian, ex-
planned to him that the big, square
name on the long, slender piece of
paper taken from the book was the
father of the princess, and the little
slip of paper meant that the old
grandmother would no longer keep
boarders. but could go back to Naples
a rich woman as wealth counted
among their people The boy did not
seem to hear. He was looking into
the face of the princess There We're
tears in her beautiful eyes-because
he was dying.
They led the girl away. The old
grandmother, the piece of green
paper with it's wonderful characters
crumpled in her hand, knelt beside
the cot. The doctor, who had watched
the boys face in those last moments,
turned to the priest.
1.-THE gods were good to the boy
And the priest, who had also
watched the glow on the boys face,
and who knew many phases of the
Italian nature, crossed himself and
said:
''The great God is always good to
his children. Case, in San
Francisco Call.