She turned toward the lighted house. Through the windows nearest her
she could see Mamie, seated in the familiar chair, following with happy
and tender eyes the figure of Eugene, who was pacing up and down the
room. The town was deadly quiet: Ariel could hear the sound of
footsteps perhaps a block away. She went to the gate and gazed a long
time into the empty street, watching the yellow grains of light, sieved
through the maples from the arc lights on the corner, moving to and fro
in the deep shadow as the lamp swung slightly in the night air.
Somewhere, not far away, the peace was broken by the screams of a
"parlor organ," which honked and wailed in pious agonies (the intention
was hymnal), interminably protracting each spasm. Presently a woman's
voice outdid the organ, a voice which made vivid the picture of the
woman who owned it, and the ploughed forehead of her, above the
nose-glasses, when the "grace-notes" were proudly given birth. "Rescue
the Perishing" was the startlingly appropriate selection, rendered with
inconceivable lingering upon each syllable: "Roos-cyoo the
Poor-oosh-oong!" At unexpected intervals two male voices, evidently
belonging to men who had contracted the habit of holding tin in their
mouths, joined the lady in a thorough search for the Lost Chord.
That was the last of silence in Canaan for an hour or so. The organ
was merely inaugural: across the street a piano sounded; firm,
emphatic, determined, vocal competition with the instrument here also;
"Rock of Ages" the incentive. Another piano presently followed suit,
in a neighboring house: "Precious Jewels." More distant, a second
organ was heard; other pianos, other organs, took up other themes; and
as a wakeful puppy's barking will go over a village at night, stirring
first the nearer dogs to give voice, these in turn stimulating those
farther away to join, one passing the excitement on to another, until
hounds in farm-yards far beyond the town contribute to the
long-distance conversation, even so did "Rescue the Perishing" enliven
the greater part of Canaan.
It was this that made Ariel realize a thing of which hitherto she had
not been able to convince herself: that she was actually once more in
the town where she had spent her long-ago girlhood; now grown to seem
the girlhood of some other person. It was true: her foot was on her
native heath and her name was Ariel Tabor--the very name of the girl
who had shared the town's disapproval with Joe Louden! "Rescue the
Perishing" brought it all back to her; and she listened to these
sharply familiar rites of the Canaanite Sabbath evening with a shiver
of pain.
She turned from the gate to go into the house, heard Eugene's voice at
the door, and paused. He was saying good-night to Mamie.
"And please say 'au revoir' to Miss Tabor for me," he added, peering
out under his hand. "I don't know where she can have gone."
"Probably she came in and went to her room," said Mamie.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account