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"Not alone broader ones shall bear them company." A pause. "After to-morrow shall we go?" "Afoot, Philidor as before." And then. "Poor Clarissa!" He laughed. "You shall have her." She started up in delight. "You mean that you ?" "Clarissa is languishing in a stable in Paris>" She spoke of Cleofonte and the Signora. "We must find them, too, Philidor. And Stella I promised her.
To Philidor his companion seemed already weary. But when he suggested that perhaps they had better take to the road again she shook her head. "No, no. I've reached the soul of things felt the pulse-beats of humanity. I delight with Cleofonte, suffer with Stella. I'm learning to live, that's all." "I thought you looked a little tired," he said gently.
"I shall not question your wisdom or your sense of responsibility to me or to yourself. But I think I understand at last what you would have of me. Whatever you wish, of course, I shall do without question. I was alone in Normandy or with someone else, if you like. It was my Vagabondia not yours. There was no Philidor no Yvonne no Cleofonte or Stella no roses of Pre Gugou no roses in my heart.
They would see what they would see. He, Cleofonte Fabiani, would snap heavy chains about his chest. He would put a great stone on his stomach, and, while he supported himself on his feet and hands, Luigi would break the stone with a sledge hammer. He, Cleofonte Fabiani, would lift her far above his head, tossing her to Luigi, who would catch her upon his shoulders.
After a while even Cleofonte grew weary of his own voice, his head fell upon his breast, and he sank prone and slept. Markham sat for a long while, his back against the bole of a tree, pipe in mouth, gazing into the embers of the fire. He had brought the tarpaulin which covered the donkey's pack, and Cleofonte had provided him with a blanket, but he seemed to have no desire to sleep.
Cleofonte had invited Hermia to sit with him upon the seat of the wagon, but she had refused and taken her place by Markham's side behind Clarissa, who, quite peacefully, followed in the trail of Tomasso, the bear. In this order the procession moved forward into the golden wake of the morning. Hermia was in a high humor joyous, sparkling, satirical by turns.
By sunset the paintings were finished and fastened in place, and when Cleofonte lit the torches upon either side of the entrance gate, the folk who were passing stopped in wonder to gaze. There were to be no performances to-night, Cleofonte explained, the company was weary; but to-morrow ! He pause and the magnificence with which his huge fist tapped his deep chest were eloquence itself.
The cap, the earrings, the mole upon his cheek everything was as like as possible. Si, Monsieur Philidor was a great artist a very great artist. He, Cleofonte Fabiani, said so. But when Philidor took the sketch from his pad and presented it to Cleofonte with his compliments, the athlete's delight knew no bounds.
When it was clearly to be seen that the decision was unalterable, Cleofonte jingled his bag of coppers and sighed, Luigi scowled at vacancy and Stella unreservedly wept. "We could have made two thousand francs," muttered Cleofonte. "More than that," said Luigi the silent, "three thousand." "There will be no longer pleasure in the dcarcasse when the music ceases to play," sobbed Stella.
Six great acts of skill and strength, any one of which is worth the price of admission! Entrez, Mesdames, and see the fight between Signor Cleofonte, the strongest man in the world, and the savage bear captured from the forests of Siberia!
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