The Topeka state journal., 1919-07-11
EVENING STORY
A Side-ShOw Romance.
BY JANE OSBORN.

the background of jazz music that
came from the veranda beyond, and
the buzzing of voices of the crowds
that she could indistinctly see outlined
thru the canvas that hid her from
the rest of the men and women, girls
and boys who had assembled on the
Woodmere lawn for the fete that was
to raise enough money to tide over
one of the local charities thru the
summer.
This way to have your fortune
told" went on the persistent young
barker" greatest gypsy in the
world. Come and have your fortune
told. Learn your past and know your
future. This way, ladies and gentle
men"
Then another higher pitched boy
ish voice-the voice of the barker for
rival attraction.
This way to see the wild animals!
Greatest menagerie in the world!
Largest alligator in captivity. Fiercest
bear in the world! Eats 'em alive!
Hugs 'em to death! This way. this
way Best snow on the grounds"
And then the incessant This way
to have your fortune told. Greatest
gypsy in the world. Cross her palm
with silver and she'll tell you your
fortune"
And still Maia sat within her close
little tent, none too comfortable be-
meath the heavy load of chains and
tawdry jewelry that embellished her
costume. Moreover her hair was
hanging loosely on her shoulders and
the mask across her face was oppres-
sive. But worst of all, she was sitting
there in her tent wasting her time and
the vocal energy of her willing young
aid with the megaphone outside with
out having the satisfaction of taking
| in any money
She wondered what she would tell
I ~ >
didn't seem exactly easy. Still, it was
all in the days work, and if Mrs.
| Stanley Barton chose to keep her on
at a graduate nurses salary to idle
her time away in this fashion, why
! it really wasn't going to disturb Maia.
/ For Maia had not been back from
| her long months of Red Cross duty
in France many weeks. and even a
respite such as this from the more
| trying sort of nursing was bringing
welcome relief to overwrought nerves.
| She had gone to Woodmere to take
| charge of Bobby Barton's strained
knee, but the ten-year-old Bobby had
recovered rapidly.
| Meantime Alicia Barton had flatly
refused to sit in the stuffy tent tell
ing fortunes, tho she had been
promised by her mother to the COM
mittee and duly advertised as one of
| the "side shows" AS a last-minute
substitute Maia, about to return to
| town, had been urged to stay a little
longer for the purpose of taking
Alicia's place. And Alicia had gone
sailing and Maia had been put into
the gypsy costume specially made for
Alicia, and Mrs. Barton was sure if
Maia kept her mask on no one would
know the difference.
| Meanwhile Bobby Barton, entirely
recovered as to his strained knee and
| more than enthusiastic over the one
who had brought comfort and diver
sion to his irksome days of GONZALES
/ cence, was continuing to bark out
| side her tent.
AS minutes passed and no shadow
| darlzened the entrance of her tent
I Maia was aware of a slight disap-
pointment. Then she heard her
barker:
Greatest attraction on the grounds.
Hey. why doesn't some one come and
get their fortune told?" Apparently
Bobby, too, was becoming discour-
aged.
Then thru her mask Maia was aware
that some one was rapidly making for
| the tent entrance. She felt an unex-
J pected sense of confusion-stage
| fright, It seemed-and she shuffled
her fortune cards nervously. She had
gone into the operating room duty
often with far less nervousness than
this.
There was a fumbling at the tent
flap, a sidewise shuffling of the feet
and then a dark face was thrust IN
quiringly in. 1t wasn't an unkipd face
nor an especially ferocious one, and
its expression was one more of inquisi-
tiveness than anything else, but still
one doesn't encounter even gentle
brown bears every day and 1t was with
difficulty that Maia changed shrill
scream of terror into a terrified "Oh.
please somebody do something. The
bear!'
But somebody and a good many
somebodies had done something.
Bobby had seen the vanishing black
legs of Bruno, dropped his megaphone
and had seized the trailing rope.
Hey, you menagerie people, your
bears loose" he called to the group
of tents across the path, and before
Maia had time to think just what
was the wisest course of action when
meeting a bear single-handed, the
menagerie'' people had come, four or
five of them, and had dragged of
their entirely harmless and spiritless
beast who had prowled off in an un-
guarded moment.
But every one in that part of the
Woodmere lawn had heard the &C M
motion, and like wildfire spread the
. information that a ferocious bear
had broken into Alicia Barton's tent
that there had been a narrow escape
that one of the young men from the
mena gerie tent had performed the
: rescue and that on the whole the al
fair had been very thrilling.
That seemed to turn the tide to-
ward the Gypsys tent. For now they
came eagerly, they stood on line out
side, and the eager Bobby was more
: occupied now in timing the appli'
cants to see that no one stayed more
than FIVE minutes than in shouting
thru his megaphone. And Maia, be-
tween those five-mintte interviews
/ noticed that the tambouTine in winch
! she put the silver with which hel
palm was crossed WAS getting to look
very tempting. and some Of the ''sil-
yer" was really paper.
She rather regretted that Alicis
Barton would have all the credit, fol
as yet her mask had not been re
moved and she had heard more thar
one remark from outside that Alicis
certainly looked charming in gyps1
costume.