SHORT STORY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1013, 31 December 1910, Page 6

SHORT STORY.

BOUM-BOUM. A TALE BY, JULES CLARETIE. '.The child, deadly pale, was lying stretched out in his little white bed, and his eyes, grown' big from the fever, gazed fixedly in front of him, with that strange look of dying people,, who seem already to seo things invisible to others. • ■At the head of tho bed the mother, biting lief fingers to keep from- crying, anxiously followed the progress of the disease upon the thin face of the poor little creature. • The father, a good workman, forced back into his red eyes the tears which burnt his eyelids. The sun .rose, clear and sweet, on a beautiful J\me*morning, and the. early light filled the room on the Rue.des Abbesses, where little Francois, the child of Jacques and. Mario Legrand, lay dying. He was seven years old, and only three weeks ago he had been fair and rosy,.gay as a sparrow. _ But a fever had attacked him. v One evening he cairtehome from school with an aching head and hands its hot as fire. And while he was there in bed, he sometimes said in his delirium, as*, lie looked at his carefully polished shoesi "which his mother had placed in a - corner : "You can throw away little Francoises shoes, for. he '.will never . wear them

again. rLittle Francois will..never go back to school—-never, never Then tho father said, "Be quiet!" and tho mother buried her blond head in tho pillow so that little Francois should not know that she "was-crying. • '•> That, night the child had not been delirious, but for two days past he . had made, the doctor, very anxious by a sort of strange* prostration, which seemed like a givmg-up of. everything, as if, at seven years old, the sick child had already grown weary of-life.- He was tired, silent, sorrowful,: turning his head., upon the pillow,' not wanting to take * anyTvithout • a : smile upon his poor shrivelled lips/ and his haggard eyes still searching, seeing ono knew . not what, very far off. . When they wanted him to take his'medicine or some soup he utterly refused.' - fVrrS° something, Francois V No, I'want nothing!" ! doctor .said: ,''He must .be .rouesd I out of this state.. His torpor, alarms me. J -You are his father and mother/and you ! know your own'-'child perfectly./ You i something to bring back the , life to this little body; and to recall to l, 1S spirit which' is hovering in mi • And leffc them, n. mus ' : find something!' .Yes, surely fpe Sood - people knew all about. their little Francois. They. : knew 1 how he enjoyed plundering, tho hedges: on Sunday, and coming back to Paris loaded with nawtnorn blossoms, and seated upon his father s shoulders. They knew how he 1 loved to go to the Champs Elysees to see Punch and Judy. . Jacrnes Legrand had bought paper toys tor . the. little one,' gilded ■ soldiers, queer Chinese figures. .; Now he cut them, put. tthem on the child's bed,, made them dance .before his eyes,..and tried to make him laugh, though his own heart was full of grief.. ■ . . > • ■■ • .

"See, Francois!. .; That, is a broken bridge, and. there-, is a General. Don't you .remember?. ,You saw a General one day in the Bois'de Boulogne.' If you'take your medicine. Til buy-you a bigger one, ' with a cloth Uniform and gold epaulets. ieli_me >x do-you want the General?" No!".the child- answered, in his dull, feverish' voice. '. • • Do you -want a pistol, some marbles, a cross-Iriw?"v.i "No," repeated .the little' voice, clear and almost-cruel. .'.And'tto all thai they said to him, to all their offers of balloons and /jumping-jacks, there came the same monotonous answer, "No, no, no!" while i the unhappy, parents looked at v each other ■ what do,you really want,, my little 'Francois?"/his mother<iasked. "Let us see, there sUreljf)'must v, (be something which you would, like to have., Tell me, tell your own mamma!" ' laid'her .cheek upon the sick boy's pillow, and .whispered this into his ear as though it. were'a secret. ~ Then the; child,, in a strange tone, sitting up in bed;.;and stretching out his eager hand toward something invisible; answered-all at 1 once in a voice-whichwas earnest, beseeching, * imperative: "I want Boum-boum!" "Boum-boum!" . , .Poor Marie turned her frightened'face her husband. What was the ; little boy saying? .Was this another attack of delirium? !• ■ She did what he'meant, and she _ was brightened by • these strange words which : the'child kept .repeating, as if, not. having dared_ until-'then to 'give any. expression to his dream, he clung to it. with, an'.obstinacy ' lothing could change. "Yes. Boum-boum! Boum-bonm! 1 want Boum-b'oum!" 1 The mother seized her husband's hand, and. said,. "Oh, Jacques, what does he mean? He has lost his mind!" But the father's rough face had an expression which was almost happv, although bewildered; .the smile of a condemned man who has caught a glimpse of the possibility of freedom. .Boum-boum! 'How well he remembered tlie Easter. Monday/when he had, taken Francois to, tlie matinee' at the'circus. He still seemed to hear the boy's shouts of delight, his-bursts of laughter when the clown,-all covered with gold spangles, and wearing a glittering butter/lv on the back of his. costume, frisked . across thcring. tripped up a rider, stood upon his head in the sand,, or, threw the felt hats high up in; the air, skilfully catching "them on Ins head/where they formed a pyramid. And at every trick, at 'every ■joke, his broad mouth uttered the same cry, like a merry refrain, repeated the same word:.. , "Boum-boum!" -And whenever ii'e appeared the .whole audience cried-Bravo! and the little boy langhted joyfully.' It was this Boumboum, the gi-eat clown, whom Francois wanted to see,, and ..whom he could not see, because, he-lay there, without- any strength, on his white bed.

That evening Jacques Legrand brought the child a jointed clown; covercd with spangles, which he had !>uuqht. "very dearly, at a toy-shop. It had cost him his wages for several days' work. - But he would have given much more to bring back ? smile to'those pale lips. The child looked for a moment at the toy glittering,on the white sheets, then said sadly: "This is hot Boum-boum! I want to see Boum-boum' ' All. if Jacques could, only have wrapped him up in the bed-clothes, carried him off to • the circus, and said to him, "See, there he is!" • Jacques, did .better'than that. He went to the, circus, asked for the clown's address, and timidly, with legs trembling from anxiety, he went up the steps which* led to: t'lio: 'artist's .apartment at Montmartre. 'What he was'doing seemed .very rash; yet, after nil. the actors often went to the houses', of rich people to sing or to recite, monologues. Perhaps the clown would be willing to come to say Good day to Francois. And then he wondered, how Boum-boum would l-eeeive him. But this was not Boum-boum! It was M. Moreno, a'cliarining man who greeted Jacques in his boautiful home,- full- of rare books aiul choice paintings. .Jacques looked at him. no't able to recognise the : clown, and-' stoSd . helplessly twirling his fingers, while the other man patiently waited* Then tho father made his excuses. He had come .to ask a most astonishing thing. It was all about the poor, little one. A pretty little boy, Monsieur,-.and. so intelligent! . Always at the.head'pf his classes at school —except at arithmetic, which lie couid not understand. A dreamer, 'Monsieur, yes, a dreamer; and the proof of it is that lie wants-to sce-yoij. that he thinks of no one but', you,, and, that ymi are before him. liko.a star which; he longs to have, and at which ho is always 'gazing. When he' had finished, Jacques was pale, and the big drops stood upon Ms forehead. He dared' not look at the clown, who stood with his eyes fixed upon the workman. What would Boum-boum say? Would he send him off rouehly, would ho take him for a erazv man 5 "Where do you live?" Boum-boum asked. .. ' "Oh, "quite near—in the Rue des Abbesses!" "All right," ; said the clown. "Does your boy want to see Boum-bonm s He shall see him!" When the door opened Jacques Legratd called joyfully to'his son: •

"Francois, bo happy, my boy!. Her? is Boum-boum V' A gleam of joy lighted the child's face, ■tie raised' 'himself upon his" mother's arm, aud turned his head toward the two men who were coming to his bedside. He looted earnestly for a moment at the gentleman in the frock coat, smiling/so gaily at him; and whom ho did not know. But when they told him that this was JSoum-bouni, he slowly and sadly let hia nead tall hack upon the pillow, and his eyes became fixed again, his. beautiful, large .blue eyes, .which looked beyotd tho walls of the little room, still search-1 lug, parching so anxiously for Bournboum s make-up, his tinsel, spangles, anu butterflies, even as a lover pursues nis dream. No," the child 6aid, and his voioa was no longer dull, but sorrowful, "No, nn. ls no ' Boum-boum!" . : Ihe clown,_ standing near the little bed, ■. gazed upon the boy's face with an 'earnest look, very serious and infinitely tender. . ? ? he ??> glanced at the.anxious' * a nd fisid, with a smile: . bonm!" S quite rißht! -This is not Boui. And .he went away.' ?■ p ihtlll , n « Ter see him! I shall nera see Boum-boum again!" said the child. ' since t> ,v ? s not halt an tour • snddenW # OWn had door was S V lr °w open, and there .stood. the real Boum-boum, m his black. SDanrihead^« Wlth M he li ? le yellow tult 011 his. ped his..thin hands, and cried "Bravo p.and exclaimed with all Jiis old gaiety: Th^n a ,'<. p i. }is 110 f!l is time! Good-day,- BonmWhen the doctor' came back that 'dav found seated on the - foot of little Frtjicois s bed a white-faced clown who ■Win™ Wk and laugh again, and who said, as he stirred a St«r SM afc tK6 > ttom °f a cup of "You know, if you don't drink this' a^mdre!" QUm W<m ' t - Mme ' the child drank. ( Isn't it good?" "'■•■ - : ''%W d! .jthanks, Boum-bottml* . said the. clown, "don't ba mv mi'm V reall 7 seems'to;me that es e .° one him as much as your prescnptions!" lmirt l r w ?nd mother were weeping/ but this time it was from joy. little iYancois wais on his ■ legs again, every day a carriage stonne'd : H 170rkffl an's door, at Hontmartre, and a man got put of it. wrapped nn/ ' S ' • e ''collar turned up ' and underneath it he wore the circus and his merry face. was pow-, T,1 Wllat r0 1 °T e Jon. Monsieur?" said Jacques Legrand to the great clown feUime. WCnt ° nt of doors for th «. ' The clown stretched out his big hands' a gentle Th™ 7 l t l ie . o!as P of V°ur Hands!" little .to