The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-01-02

GOMEZ
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 his haxen
head the stem of his long Dutch pipe in his teeth,
and the bowl in his great right hand. he numbered
on from the safe Schneider shop. OF into the
sparkling night!
Once looseo from his moorings, through the long
balmy evenings OF May. Salvatore roamed hither
and thither, now aimlessly, dazed. seeing nothing
at all; and now watching life with genial eyes,
Evening by evening the tnkle and bang of the
battered old piano fioated steadily down the west
side OF Manhattan each night farther away from
the snug and respectable Schneider abode each
night farther down toward the teeming. scandalous
joyous quarter where lived the children of the
South.
One night in the middle of June, after a slow
and sasacious 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 for blocks and blocks
the pavement was black with surging mass; and
IN arches and long festoons tiny lights
were twinkling festive and fary-ike and out of it
all came the hum of voices thrilling with glad
ness that Salvatore rushed back his hat and stood
rooted foot to the spot.
Suddenly. from behind him, Comma came spin-
ming on feet light as air. tossing bending stamp
Ing and banging the old tambourine circing round
him and laughing unsteady out of her half-closed
eyes. In an instant. before he had time to escape
he found himself in circle of hundreds Of faces:
glad shouts of "Gemma Gcmma!" rang out from
the crowd; and with one fiery upward glance Gem
ma came spinning straight into his arms. jerked him
round with merry strickland Salvatore was
dancing!
Tumultuous cheers resounded From the street
all around from row 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 numbered laugh prodgious it tore the
air! With one hand clutching Gemma's youn.
arm. his bullying cheeks palptating 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
mrth!
And truly that festival night Before all
the crowd did he kiss Comma square on her blush
ing cheek When in rage, she sprang off in the
crowd. he chased her and caught her; selling the
handle of the piano, he turned it furiously round
and round; and in sonorous Italian he shouted,
Dance-dance-dance!" OFF she whirled and as
the crowd began roaring a 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, Comma sent home her
weary old father: the giant gripped the piano
shafts; and together, chucklng, 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 laziy drift down the street. turn the
corner, hasten his pace. and jog contentedy OF to
the appointed corner. Comma always waiting
alone; for her STOPPING old father. by the
work of the long, hot day, was only too glad to
rest at night. And in the powerful hands of its
1ovlal master the crazy old instrument crashed
forth its music though to proclaim that the
weary old world had had fresh birth and that
life was suddenly dazzling new.
Salvatore the vagabond beamed upon life Gem
ma the witch began teaching him how to pry into
its Secrets with slowly increasing intensity; she
forced his eyes open and held his gaze as though
she would burn the love of it all forever deep into
his soul.
Sometimes she danced and Salvatore watched
her, all unconsciously his hand on the grinder
would revolve faster and faster until gasping for
breath, the girl would stop and seize his arm And
them 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 OF Salvatore above all the streets bedam
of sounds, like huge advertisement announcing the
fun. 1t thickened the crowd, it doubled the PEN
MES; and when the wise Comma saw this she
taught him to bring 1t in at just the right
ments in perfect accord with her dances and songs.
So startling was 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
glad in his mother tongue seemed heralding forth
all the world the mirth and the loves and the throb
bling life OF the happy-go-lucky South.
But when at last the streets grew hushed, when
the nre escapes were filled with the seepers. 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 some irressti-
bic power, back to his neat and snowy couch and
sleep and the orderly business life the shop OF
his Teuton sire.
And here by day. week followed week over