Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-09-22
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A DARK DEED
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Bv ETA w. PIERCE

around me, seeking Nan and finding
her not. And this was but the begin
ming of weeks and months and years
Of the same absorbing search, the
same sickening disappointment
Time did not console me for Mans
loss. Nothing came to take her place
in my life, and all the miseries of Har-
mony Alley increased tenfold after
her departure. Brawls multiplied.
people cursed louder on the rickety
stairs. Granny Scrag drank more gin,
and my battles with Pietro and the
other small fry of the place grew and
grew in violence. I had hated the al
ley always; after the loss Of Nan
loathed and abhorred it.
One year, and another, and then an
other, went by, and there was no
change in my wretched life. lived
on with Granny Scrag in the attic;
kicked and beaten about at her drunk
en- caprices, freezing in winter, broil-
ing in summer, hungry and miserable
and exasperated always. And all the
while was still pursuing my fruitless
search for Nan. In those long three
years l never once went forth to my
daily task of begging in the streets
without thinking Of her-without star
ing into shops frequented by fine peo-
pie, and into carriage windows and up
and down highways and byways. l
was always-always watching for
Nan. Was she dead or alive? I ask
ed myself-was she happy? Did she
suffer hunger now, and cold, and, oh!
had she forgotten Polly? In the third
year my desire to find her was even
stronger than in the first-it did not
abate one job with the advance Of
time-on the contrary, it grew in in
tensity, and became a fever in my
starved body and restless soul. And
at the end Of the third year the hope
of my heart was realized-I saw Nan,
my lost sister, once more.
I shall never forget the day. The
sun was shining brightly over the
great city; the streets were full of
people, coming and going on what 1
felt must be happy errands. The or
gan grinder, with Pietro and the mon
key, had gone blithely off to trudge
green country roads; the old apple
woman at the corner stand was sing
ing to herself as I passed and rubbing
kn oh nf har fn
ruby red. 1 seemed to myself, while
limping along the pavement, to be the
only wretched thing in the light of
the good day. The worm will turn at
last That morning had for the first
time refused to go to the grog-shop
for granny's gin, and stubbornly per-
sisted in the refusal. The result was
that the old woman. had kicked me
down the attic stairs, and every limb
of my lean body was still smarting
and aching from the fall. l had no
heart to beg. More than ever missed
the little feet that used to patter be-
side mine, the tiny hand 1 had been
to hold as l went about
my hateful business.
Come back, Nan, come back!"
kept saying to myself; ''let me see you
just a minute, then I'll be satisfied"
And this is how the cry of my heart
was answered.
l had reached the better part of the
city, and was standing before a con-
fectioners window, gazing at the
display of sweetmeats there
in, a hungry-eyed, bare-footed beg
gar, in tatters and dirt, when two
young fellows. one a mere STRIPPING.
brushed by me on the pavement, and
he-the younger-turned about as if
struck by something odd in my ap-
pearance, and looked hard at me with
a pair Of jolly yet compassionate blue
eyes.
Poor little wretch" said he; do
you want some of the stuff in there
taffy and lollipop, you know?"
YES" 1 answered.
He plunged one hand into his pock-
ct, but drew it forth empty.
Come along, Dick" cried his COM
panion, with a laugh; I'VE shall be
late at the hospital, and then your un-
Gle will growl. You have no money
you never have any"
"True!" answered he who had been
Jove!, l never saw such piteous
face"
The other person produced the mon
ey, but with a protesting air.
"A quarter! What extravaganza!
Better keep your loose change to buy
medical works, especially treatises on
idiocy. Who but Dick Vandine would
be taken in by a piteous face on a
street Arab? It's part of her trade.
You were born to be imposed upon,
Dick, and, as l foresee, by womankind
in particular"
With a good -natured laugh, Dick
Vandine dropped the money in my
hand.
There, my DEAR" he said, lightly.
Il plunged into the maelstrOm of debt
for your sake. Take it and be happy!
What is your name?"
Polly"
Polly what?"
There's no more to it,"
Indeed! How brief and unsatis-
factory! Where do you live?"
For Heavens sake come along,
Dick" cried his companion; did
anybody ever see such an absurd fel-
low"
That was the last / heard, for at
that instant my sharp eyes fell upon
carriage there in the great, crowded
street, a very elegant carriage, that
was slowly making it's way past the
very spot where l stood.
1t was the kind that people call a
landau. Wealth and Importance spoke
in every turn of the wheels. The
horses that drew it were satin smooth
animals in shining harness. The
coachman wore a stiff, pUmpOus look.
Inside the carriage, among splendid
robes and cushions, sat a lady and Il
child