The Mystery of the LocksHowe, E. W. (Edgar Watson)
General
The Mystery of the Locks
Howe, E. W. (Edgar Watson)
City and town life -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Mystery fiction; Nebraska -- Fiction
"And your music--you play like one possessed," he said finally, talking
to the wind, probably, for he was not looking at the girl. "Every
sentiment my heart has ever known you have expressed in chords. Had I
not known differently, I should have thought you were familiar with my
history and permitted the organ to tell it whenever we met. What a voice
the old box has, and what versatility; for its power in representing
angels is only equalled by its power to represent devils. There is a
song with which I have become familiar from hearing you play the air; it
is a sermon which appealed to me as nothing ever did before. Before I
knew the words, I felt sure that they were promises of mercy and
forgiveness; and when I found them, I thought I must have been familiar
with them all my life; they were exactly what I had imagined. To look at
your cold, passionless face now, no one would suspect your wonderful
genius. You look innocent enough, but I do not wonder that you are
regarded as a greater attraction than the minister. I have been told
that you can kill the sermon, when you want to, by freezing the audience
before it commences, and I believe it. I have no doubt that you take
pride in controlling with your deft fingers the poor folks who worship
under the steeple which mounts up below us. I only wonder that you do
not cause them to cheer, and swing their hats, for they say that you can
move them to tears at will."
"I never feel like cheering myself," she answered, "and I suppose that
is why the organ never does. But I very often feel sad, because I am so
commonplace, and because there is so little in the future for me. If I
play so coldly at times that even the minister is affected, it is
because I am indifferent, and forget, and not because I intend it."
"If you are commonplace," Allan Dorris replied, "you have abundant
company; for the world is full of common people. We are all creatures of
such common mould that I wonder we do not tire of our ugly forms. Out of
every hundred thousand there is a genius, who neglects all the virtues
of the common folks, and is hateful save as a genius. For his one good
quality he has a hundred bad ones; but he is not held to strict account,
like the rest of us, for genius is so rare that we encourage it, no
matter what the cost. But I have heard that these great people are
monstrosities, and thoroughly wretched. I would rather be a king in one
honest heart, than a sight for thousands. But this is not running away
from you, as I promised, and if I remain here longer I shall lose the
power. My path is down the hill; yours is up."
He lifted his hat to her, and walked away; but she called to him,--
"I am going down the hill, too, and I will accompany you."
He waited until she came up, and they walked away together.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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