Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

10 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

The Dive from the Roof

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

flax ifciowxa The Dive from the Roof m FRANCIS Auihor of The Things t "The Dream tA Peace* &S. 15-6 one who met Katia in widdle- fcge would have guessed tfa&t she had ever been the heroine uy pasKiowate, tragic, or tomantic episodb. %Jm wnm, "whrn I knew ber, of suck m. nly atpgwara&ee a.;s became the mother of 4ar&?' nrehitta. Her hus- band assisted a g^v/^miapr itt the City-road; but he was more j>i -ww»s than most green- grocers' assista,iit,i. k wing 3a interest in the business, whicfe v-»okea forward to pur- chasing. lie was a' at&e&M Juui, who never smiled in public,. kii oS strong, athletic build. Katie—she was uot lit- Srendou in tbo&e days, but Mrs. lodgings in Gib.,on-ailitare-, fs/ingforo; aiifJ 1, for a period, occupied her drstwing-r<Mm» One of the -W.Rameuto £ wy mantelpiece was a plush-lr'ame*! portmit of Mrs. 2 Orridge ■in her youtb. 'As it ta» s wnnewiiat faded photograph, anfij as 1 hn*i reason to be in- quisitive, it waa aom0 (»a» I recog* nised that it wee At la»t, however, I did perceivw Hg Kkenewsv and realised that Mrs. Orridge- must hare been a vri-y good- looking gid-dark, and? with large, lustrous eyes. In facfy noW fhni; J cam* to think of it, she still had very fÂnflf though, ati. she had lost both her wq««t.iy arf her figure. my attention hnd never been specially drawn to* them. Nor should 2, J tfnppcwM!, ever have felt. the faintest interest it) M'Y latndlady's history, if it had not been for t11 conversa- tion of a fellow lodger, vho <cccnpi«d the din- ing-room, and with W&onr I mlcaxiontl)y smoked a sociable pí¡: and iwjik a sociable glass of whisky. He Sna-d known Mrs. Or- ridge as a girl, and jnMUinMiw the circum- stance to speak of her atr Katie. It was one night wheef Mm Orridge, being temporarily without a servant, had brought up the glasses, that he began to talk. Katie'« altered 31 gwxt deal," he said, gazing contemplatively at the photograph. "Evidently," I :<>aid "iinlem that likeness flattered her very grossly," I dt)u't iiiitik it ditl,' fee answered. :Not more than photographs generally flatter women. Men used t<» ran after Katie quite a lot, ¡¡"¡out fifteen TtMrft igi). lIe hesitated, con sitleriag apparently whether he would be guilty »>f any breach of confidence if lie- told use ibtt story which lie bad in his mind. He seemed to decide that k" *-Ollld not; for he went nn. after a pause: "I suppose yon remember the old Royal Emporium. They pulled it down some time ago to build a block of Onto and a WJtleyan chapel on the site; lini they used to givo rather decent shows t h,.(\ at one, time. I ought to know, for I had the rnn of the plaiv, being a clerk in the mwuager'# office." Of course I reuienibored. There could bo ffw Londoners of iny, tiianding who had not occasionally an #.renin £ at the. Boyal Emporium, lisi«uing to alusic, looking at performing dogs, promenading, ]>nrchasing I at absurd ipfiecv fwm the young women at the fancy italls. "Do yon remember the dive from the roof there? It jras the nwsjt scrwaatiOaal 'turn' they ever had." That also I rcTiu-m; for it had in- deed been a thrilliug. lilgb, up, in some recess in the roof; invisible -lo any one not standing innnediately underneath, a banging platiÓrm, reached by ladderit, was erected. A daring performer was there tied tip in a ha(-k. There was I call for silence; »nd then, in a stiilnosst in %hu*li you could bave heard a pin drop, it vvirf was heard ooimting "one—tw<»-—and the sack with. i-s human ame hurtling through the air, Yon it ti4riiitig soincr- aaults as it fell, and the fall ended in a tank of water. contrived in flie botfv of the Ilall. There was a resounding splash. The water was dashed over the clothe*, and into the faces of the .spectators; and then the diver emerged, tearing his way out of the sack, like Monte Cristo in Dumas' wtory. An at- tendant helped him to step out of the tank, •ad threw a cloak over him, and he dissip- feared, wliile the organist played, ''See the j HBnquering hero comes." "Yes, I remember it vruH." I replied. If I remember rightly, there was- sm accident, 11 aDd the Home oili the pnform-, ance." 4. "Yep," !'I/id the dining-rtxm lodger. "But they'd have hàd (». sfrtp ft itnyhow, whether the GoTcrnrnerit ift Ielt(Irp(1 or not." "Naturally. li mighr have been difficult to find anyone efsc ivilJl.ng to take the risk. Falling into a tank it » ipivlt a job that any (Ban can lake up juKt huppeoa to be out of work. I>uf wliftt on earth lias all this got to do wiili — "With the On-idges* 1 thotight you were 4going to ank that, Welt, Orridge was the j aaau." "You dCHJ't niparf, tep. say aof I do. Orridge \I!t flr., and Katie was the girl." "The girl? What girt There was no girl Concerned iii the performance, surely "In the performance, nvt Mot in the acci- dent. ve»." In the *f>-idrufT 1 f'fou"t. understand." "Xo, I don't suppose you (Ut. Thf rights of the story neter got iiifo the paper*. There were. plenty of m-w *j>»p**r people about; but they hadn't the "LYAP fo «>Iere two alId two together. Hut Orridge haow#, and Katie knows, and I kfmtty" "But what, had Mrs. Orridge," "YHat ims Katie doing there? Olt, I see I forgot to ti-Ii you. Katie, "am on(i uf I,Jio girls at the stalls. 1 saw a good deal (of because I had to do with the letting of the "talim- Arranging where they »ho»ldl wtand, and col- lecting the rent for them, and all that »ort of thing. "They^ were raoirtly pretty jdrli' at Royal Bmporium' stalls, you know* Men only buy thiugs from theui for fhe ntkf of talking:' to them, so it s a sort erf businens an ugly girl can t make uiueh^ of a liTing at; and, 'as .& ririe. she knows it, and bS19 ihe "f!1J. not to try. Anyhow, Katfo "a gemsraliy con- sidered the j>retn'e*t girl 111 t.he room, and lots of men were after, her. She was as good •a gold tc»--whic[( is more disn a good many of iiiem vrcrc; but, of course, the manners of the Royal Euiporjtim were not. exactly like those of a Mavfair drawing-room, and there's no doubt that Katie used to flirt with the man who mine to 1m. her match botes. Swman i'»iure being what it is. who wouldn't have sok:' ftishy-inatch-bo-ies if alio hadn't. "There was one young fellow iii particular Who was mad after her. lffq name wao Hot- ioway, but uo connection with the pills go far m I know. He wasn't a gentleman, though fes had a bit of money- He was a loslrer, asba'd been kicked out of decent berth in the City, and. he drank Jik<? » fisii. though Katie I alidti't know it at first, and <0 iu»d as a March JaM*, pr a iix-UT. He bsnighi one of liati 0.0 > H>atcb-&^xes every night of his life, and about twice a week he bought, a cigarette cuse too; I and then he used to take her round to the re- freabiseni-jroom to have an ice. or a glass of 1 wiae- ) "Kzii. didn"t care for him, I'm sure, but I an^poae. be thought she did. He was fool ikisi. anything, and she was too •weei-feropercd to snub anybody—especially a regular 'Customer for Hiateh-boies. So this young Holiowsjr was as pleased as Punch, And thought lie was making all the running, until Orridge came along with the high dive | *"OrrSage?" I repeated. "But surely that wage It the high diver's name." "His real name was Orridge right enough, though his professional name was Signor TMatvo!«' explained my interlocutor. "First he'd bema a aatlor, and then he'd been a CommL Garden porter; but he found high div- ing was better business than either of the otbem We ware paying him £4:0 a week for hia turn, and lie was worth it; but that's nothing to do with the story. tf As you may guess, all the Emporium girls were after him; but, as it happened, he'd nothing to say to any of them except Katie, and there it was a clear case. He wax over liaad and ears in love with her, and so was ahe with him; and, of course, she was frigh- I tened out of her life every time he came splashing into the tank, just in front of her ttftil. islie begged and prayed him to give it up; and he did all he knew to persuade her that it wasn't really dangerous." "But it was, it?" I ventured to ask. "Well, it would have been for you or me, but I don't knew tlmt U was for him. You new the trick of the thing was to dive into the water instead of flopping into it, and he could dive against any man in the world, lie couldn't see where he Wt", of ('ourse, being I shut up in the sack, but could calculate by the length of time that he'd been falling. Ha counted *<)!!< two, three' slowly. When he cams to three,' lie knew that he was close to the water, and made the movement to diva, and he always got through All right. That's how it was done but, of course, it isn't sur- prising that Katie didn't feel very happy about it. Every night of her life, when he came round to see her, she begged him not j to do it again; and at last he promised that I he'd gi-ye it up as soon as he'd aaved £f¡O() and another man had been trained to take his place. That made her a bit easier in her mxsd; but even so she didn't feel really com- fortable, and I suppose one couldn't expect bar to. I supposed not. 4"But- how," I asked, "about this other young man-Holloway I think you said his ftame was?" That's what I was coming to. He was socit a fool that it Was quite a time before he understood which way the wind was blowing. When he did, however, he was furiously jealons. He didn't dare say anything to Or- ridge. Orridge wasn't given to violence. He was always just that quiet, silent fellow that he is now and he never would have made a row if he could have helped it. But he was «trcaf enough to knock Holloway into the middle of next week if he was obliged to, and HolJowar knew it. All the row he made he made with Katie, and Katie didn't dare to teil, for fear of what Orridge might do. So Holloway continued to hang round, getting more and more savage, threatening to out his throat, or blow his brains out, and telling Katie she was driving him to drink and des- pair. '•Perhaps she had not far to drive him!U I suggested. CONat so far as the drink was concerned, certainly; but, still, one could notice the difference. Instead of drinking like a fish, he drank like a whole shoal of fishes. He looked ouch a maudlin, miserable object that I made up my mind to talk to him about it. I knew how the land lay, you see, and so, though I was only a young fellow, I talked to him like a father, getting him in a quiet corner of the refreshment room while he was stil.1 comparatively sober. He seemed quite manageable, though there was a wild look in bis eye that I didn't exactly like.. W)iat" got to do, old man,' I eaid, 4 is toO buck up, and pull yourself to- gether. When a girl shows that she doesn't care for you, the best plan istoihowthat you don't care for her; and the best, way of show- ing that you don't care for her is to get out of her way and keep out of it. There are plenty of pretty gij-ls about, and they're all J'uuh of a muchness. If I can get on with- out, worrying about Katie Brendon, why on fxurth can't you?' "A sound argument," I said; "but I ex- pect Mr. Holloway didn't see the force of it." "Well, no, he didn't. He said I had never tcown what it was to be in love, and, it Katie threw him over, he didn't care what fceeame of him, and a lot more nonsense of that sort; but I kept on talking to him all ilie marne, IRilt)l)loli, man,' 1 said. 'You've got money. You're not tied to London, are No, I suppose not,' he answered, go and tr#rel,' I said. 'You've neTer been farthejr than Margate in your life, I ex- peet," Oh, yet, I have,' he answered. I on took a day trip to Boulogne on the Mar- e., 474lot the use of that?' I said. What yon want 1# to go right, away. Go to South America; go to New Zealand; go to British Columbia; take a voyage round the world. That'U make a man of you. You'll pick op another girl on the way; and when joa come back, you'll wonder what. you ever raw in Katie. That was how 1 talked. It was thts right thing to say to him, wasn't it?" "Undoubtedly, But how did he take it?" "Better than I expected. He seemed quite increased, and said he'd think it over. If only I'd known of a boat starting for any- where that night, I do really think I could have got hita dp board of it. He did even get as far a« Mking for pamphlets in the offices of thfe steamship companies in Coek-, opur-ittreet. Only he always found some ex- cuse, at the last minute, for not booking his ponege I; and, in the meantime, he continued to bang round the Emporium, with that wild look in his eye," j '"What was hp doing there?" ) uDrinkiog Oft, of the time. But that (live, Irons the roof tyweinated him. Every night of bis life he came to see it, watched till, it was I over, and thentJlunk 11 w ny to the refresh- ment-room. To anyone who knew the facts, it was clear enough.wlmt w;vs in his mind. It looked a dangerous, show; there always seemed to be the off-chance of an accident; he was waitilig for the accident to happen," j "If it bidu't been for that, you think he'd bare started for his voyage round the world?" "I haven't a doubt of it. In fact, I taxed j Sim with it, and he owned up.. Then I u ki | him how the trick was done—about the count- ing one, two, three,' you know and how much less dangerous it watlmll it seemed to be; aud that seemed to impress him too. elll- peeially when I offered to bet him any reason- able iyin that Orridge wouldn't come to an* hasrsa b the few D»YN tijat remained beri-.re his engagement ended and the new man too" ? his place. In that cas\ he said, 4 1 reaiir will go. W!ot: I asked, wish ins h- m*"M sure. 'WeUt this is he said. I can't do anything before Vloiul but I'll go up to Cockspur-street- the first ihiog on Mon- day, and buy my ticket.' J. -nipped him 011 the back, and stood him *dvitik to kc-eo him up to the scratch; for he to men 11 what he said; and I fuli^ 1 • he'd have done it, if it hadn't been lor what happened ,,a the Sunday." "On the Sunday? But tlio Emporium never uieecl to be open on Sundays." "'No, but on Sundays, Orridge used to drive Katie out somewhere into the country in a dog-cart. On this particular Sunday he drove her to the Star and Garter at Eieh- mond; and, as it happened, young Holloway 1 went down there too, and saw them, and somehow or other there was a row between the two men. It couldn't have been Katie's! fault, for she never was the sort of girl that wants men to fight about her and it^couldu'h j have been Orridge's fault, for he was an easy- going creature, who wanted nothing except to be left to make love to Katie in peace. Only I daresay they made love rather publicly iii those days, and Holloway, of course, had been drinking something stronger than lemonade, and plenty of it. He wouldn't have had the pluck to say or do anything otherwise; but, as it was, he went up to them, and picked a quarrel. There was a bit of a scuffle — you would hardly call it a ti<viit-. Orridge didn't hurt Holloway any moi-j than lie was obliged, but he couldn't help hurting him a Jinle, In fact, he hit out at him, and cut his lip; and before Holloway could fly at him again, the attendants had separated them, and Hol- loway was led away to wash his face, swear- ing horribly, and vowing vengeance. Never mind about the language, which isn't fit to re- peat. It was tha threats that frightened Katie. "'I'll be eren with you. I'll make you pay for this. I'll have your life for it. Katie. "'I'll be even with you. I'll make you pay for this. I'll have your life for it: "Katie was terrified, aud it was all that ¡i Orridge could do to keep her quiet on ths drive home. Gracious!' he sivid. 'What is there to be afraid of. A little whipper-snapper like that! I've let him down as gently as I eoidd, but I could crack' him like a nut if I wanted to.' "That, of course, was true enough; but Katie was hardly re-assured. No doubt she had seen the wiid look in young Holloway'a eves, and had a vague idea that he might do 4 something desperate —she didn't exactly know what.. klivli ow she said, 'I'm so glad 'ou're going to give lip the diving. Which is the last i]iightr' don't know for certain," Orridge told her. It depends upon when the'new man is ready. But I think it will be next Saturday at the laftest." "'I wish it was Saturday now,' aid I Katie. 'I shan't breathe freely till then.' "Not that she had any real premonition of ) what was going to happen: but she had heard the old story of the performer on the j flying trapeze who .came to grief, bec-tiilio some jealous' rival h id tampered with the rope; and she had it in her mind that per- haps Holloway might tamper with Orridge's platform in the same way, sawing half through some of the planks, so that it might » give way when lie stepped on to it,. But Or- ridge found out what «he was thinking of, and laughed at the notion. Wkv, he'd be run m as a suspicious' character if he even came near the things, he assured Katie. "It was true. and iii) flioitglit of that kind had even entered young- Holloway's head. But he was nursing his anger all the same, and thinking out ) plan of aveug-ing hirn-elf. "For days lie never came near -the Em- porium, and I quite thought he'd done as he promised me, and booked his passage to Aus- tralia. On the Saturday evening, however, 1 saw him again. His eyes looked wilder than ever, and he'd evidently been drinking hard. I marked him down, meaning to have a talk with him later, but for the moment I was too busy to do move than nod to him. I saw, however, that he went up to talk to Katie it her stall, and that Katie asked him to go avray; and then he went off to the bar to have a drink. "1 was on the point of following him, but something prevented me. A messenger came to me from the manager, and I had to go up to his room. It was a thousand pities. If only I'd had ,6.(, minutes conversation with Holloway then, the thing that happened wouldn't have occurred. I knew — and I should have been sure to tell him — but no m att er. I mustn't anticipate. "The manager kept me about half an hour. When I. got back into the Hall it was about five minutes to ten—the time when Orridge's tijrn came on. The place was crowded, as it always was at that hour. The attendants uncovered the tank, and rigged up a railing, and pressd the spectators back behind it. I looked round involuntarily to see if young Holloway wan anywhere near, and I saw that he was standing a little way out of the crush, close behind Katie's stall, which had beea covered up with tarpaulin, so that the water might not be splashed over it. He still had that wild lo-ol- in his eyes which had frightened Katie; and he was craning his neck to gaze up at the roof, where the sack was being drawn over the head of the diver as he stood upon his hanging platform, "Then' came the call for silence, and all the talking and even the shuttling of feet stopped. We heard the voice from far abova us loudly counting, 'one—two—three.' We saw the man in the sack rhythmically sway- ing his body in preparation for liis>* plunge. And then "Yea, then, just as he was letting himself go-itist as it was too late for him to stop ltimself-I happened to turn my head, and there I saw young Holloway put his hands to his mouth and yell like a madman in the midst of the expectant hush: stop, man! Wait a minute!' "You can guess what happened then. The dirar had been startled, and his dive waa queered. He was not diving at all, but had just lost his balance and fallen. It was no use for him now to count his 'one two ~three' in the sack. He never knew how Mear he was to the water, but he flopped into it anyhow. There wa» a splash, and then a thud, and when they lifted the body out-" "Good God!" I interrupted. "You don't mean to tell me that Orridge-- "It wasn't, Orridge after all. It was the understudy. For some reason or other he'd come on a night sooner than had been in- tended, and Holloway had murdered the wrong man by mistake. Katie and I were the only two persons in the Hall who knew." "And Ilollowi.v-" I asked. "He was running for his life, and the crowd were after him. They caught him be- fore he got to the door, aud you may guess it was only a batte red remnant of him that the police rescued and carried off to the police* station. I believe he's in Broadmoor now. But that, at. any rate, is the true story of the last high dire at the Royal Emporium. The Coroner's jury, of course, brought in a ridaf about dangerous exhihitions" but thore was hardly any need of that. The Em- porium might have advertised for another direr for a long time before it would haro found one; and Orridge, at any rate, waa never likely to want to perform the feat again, oven if Katie would have let hiat.

, OLD FORKS, bPOONS AND PLATES.

IMADE OF BREAD CRUMBS.

WHENCE WE IGET TINNED FOOD.

RAINBOW SUPEHBLTTIONS.

A TOWN IN MINIATURE.

MEN IN THE MAJORITY.

A DAINTY DISH

Advertising

j A CIANT TOOTHACHE.