Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-30
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turned and were going back by the way they had
come!
This happened five nights.
And then one evening slowly the huge bulk of
Salvatore reared from the stoop and with his
black felt hat tipped carelessy back on his haxen
head, the stem of his long Dutch pipe in his teeth
and the bowl in his great right hand, he numbered
OF from the safe Schneider shop, of into the
sparkling night!
Once looseo from his moorings through the long
balmy evenings of May Salvatore roamed h1ther
and thither amlessy, dazed, seeing nothing
at all; and watching life with genial eyes.
Evening by evening the tinkle and bang of the
battered old piano foated steadily down the west
side of Manhattan, each night farther away from
the snug and respectable Schneider abode, each
night farther down toward the teemng, scandalous,
joyous quarter where lived the children of the
South
One night in the middle Of June, after a slow
and sagacious detour he found the piano waiting
Just at the head of long, dark street which he
had never entered before So narrow 1t was that
the tenement roofs seemed meeting above in the
distance; below in the canyon blocks and blocks
the pavement was black with a surgng mass; and
in arches and long festoons tiny lights by thousands
twinkling festive and fairy-ke; and out of 1t
all came the hum of voices so thrilling with glad
ness that Salvatore Tushed back his hat and stood
rooted foot to the spot.
Suddenly, from behind him, Gemma came spin
ming feet light as air, tossing bending and stamp
ing and banging the old tambourine crcling round
him and laughing unsteady out of her half-closed
eyes. In instant, before he had time to escape,
he found himself in circle of hundreds of faces;
glad shouts of "Gemma Gemma!" rang out from
the crowd; and with fiery upward glance Gem
spinning straight into his arms, jerked him
round with a merry strickland Salvatore was
dancingl
Tumultuous cheers resounded From the street
all around, from upon of windows above,
the eyes Of his countrymen flashed into his And
with his whole great soul fiery furnace, he gam
boiled and pranced and swung his arms; while high
above all the shouting and dominating it all, there
suddenly thundered laugh so prodgious it tore the
air! With one hand clutching Gemma's young
arm. his bulging cheeks papitating with glee the
demeanor of Schneider forever lost and the soul
of Italy bursting out in his eyes, Salvatore shook
with the sheer Joy of life and fairly beloved his
mfrthi
And truly that festival night. Before all
the crowd did he kiss Gemma square on her blush
ing cheek. When in a rage she sprang off in the
crowd he chased her and caught her; seizing the
handle OF tho piano, he turned it furiousy round
and round; and in sonorous Italian he shouted,
nce--dance-dance!" OFF she whrled, and
the crowd began roaring ballad in time to her
dancing, Salvatore joined in, catching words here
and there and laughing between. And when at
last the band music was over, Gemma sent home her
weary old father; the giant grpped the plano
shafts and together, chuckling, laughing jabber-
ing fast and low, those two went wandering of in
the night.
After that, every evening for weeks Salvatore
would sluggshly rise from the Schneider home
doorstep and lazily drift down the street turn the
hasten his pace and jog contentedly off to
the appointed Gemma always waiting
alone; for her STOPPING old father, by the
work of the long, hot day, only too glad to
rest at night. And in the powerful hands of its
jovial master the crazy old instrument crashed
forth its music though to proclaim that the
weary old world had had fresh birth and that
life suddenly dazzling
Salvatore the vagabond beamed upon life. Gem
the witch began teaching him how to pry into
its secrets with a slowly increasing intensity; she
forced his eyes open and held his gaze as though
she would burn the love of 1t all forever deep into
his soul.
Sometimes as she danced and Salvatore watched
her, all unconsciously his hand the grinder
would revolve faster and faster until gasping for
breath, the girl would stop and seize his arm. And
then, quite forgetting the faces around they would
look at each other and laugh till the tears rolled
down their glistening cheeks.
Through the midsummer nights the believing
laugh or salvatore rose ABOVE all the SLreeLS
of sounds, like huge advertisement announcing the
fun. It thickened the crowd, it doubled the PEN
nies and when the wise Gemma saw this, she
taught him to bring it in at just the right mo-
ments in perfect accord with her dances and songs.
So startling the effect and captivating to
the simple Italians that little by little he added
rough jokes of his own, loud indignant remarks,
pathetic roars of appeal to bystanders. And the
great voice OF the jovial monster ringing free and
haraI forth IN
all the world the mirth and the loves and the throb-
bing life of the happy-go-ucky South.
But when at last the streets grew hushed, when
the fire escapes were filed with the sleepers the
moon sank over the tenement roofs. and the stars
grew dim in the misty skies, then Salvatore would
go slowly back as though drawn by irresisti-
BILE power, back to his neat and snowy couch and
sleep and the orderly business life in the shop of
his Teuton sire.
Q And here by day, week followed week, over
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