The Roswell Legacy by Frances Statham (parable of the sower read online .TXT) 📗

“Jonathan, I think I know where Nathan might be.”

“Where?”

“Here in Chicago, at the exposition. He was talking about it the night Cassie’s baby was born. Pinky had a railroad timetable for the Baltimore and Ohio and information on the fair. So I know they’re here. Only I don’t have any idea where two little boys could be staying by themselves.”

“If you’re that certain, I’ll wire your father, Ginna, and we’ll start combing the exposition grounds. But it will be like looking for the needle in the haystack.”

“I realize that. But we’ll have to try.”

“Of course, darling.”

The morning was cloudy, with a threatening chance of rain. But the weather did not deter Ginna from leaving as early as possible for Jackson Park. And on the way she and Jonathan discussed the exhibits that might capture a young boy’s fascination.

“The freak shows,” Jonathan suggested. “You heard David asking about the bearded lady.”

“Yes. And Nathan likes anything having to do with water and frogs.”

“Then we’ll watch the aquarium, too.”

“And Pinky is always hungry.”

Jonathan nodded. “Why don’t we keep to the Midway today? The Ferris wheel, the merry-go-round. In fact, it would be a good idea for us to ride the Ferris wheel the first thing since we can get a good view of the grounds from the top.”

For the entire morning, Ginna and Jonathan were as thorough as Pinkerton detectives, scouring the grounds for any sign of Nathan and Pinky. But they were not successful.

Unaware that anyone was looking for them, Nathan and Pinky had joined Nelly Rose’s troupe and were now enjoying their good fortune after being penniless. So while Souci showed the two boys how to eat Chinese food with chopsticks in the expensive restaurant, Ginna and Jonathan were watching the cotton-candy stand and the peanut vendor along the Midway.

At one point in the afternoon, their paths almost crossed. Nathan and Pinky disappeared through the exit of a tent show as Ginna and Jonathan approached and watched the people standing in line to purchase tickets for the very next show.

By late afternoon, a dejected Ginna turned to Jonathan. “I didn’t know it was going to be so hard to look for somebody in the crowds.”

A sympathetic Jonathan said, “Darling, you really have no proof that the boys are even here. But we’ll take one more ride on the Ferris wheel, to look over the grounds, and then I’m taking you home. You’re exhausted.”

“All right, Jonathan.”

Soaring high above the crowds milling about, the wheel suddenly stopped with Ginna and Jonathan in the topmost cage. “Looks as if we might be here for a while,” Jonathan commented, putting his arm around her. “Something seems to have happened to the motor.”

“I guess being at the top has its disadvantages, too.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t have to climb down. The mechanic will have it fixed soon.”

“Jonathan, look over there, where those women in the bright dresses are standing. The boy beside them looks like Nathan.”

“Aren’t those the pretties from New Orleans?”

“And that looks like Pinky. Over there. Oh, Jonathan, we’ve found them. They’re here, just as I knew they would be.”

“You’re sure?”

“Well, almost. Oh, why doesn’t this wheel start up again?”

An impatient Ginna leaned over, trying to keep the two boys in her sight. But then Jonathan reached out to restrain her. “Sit back, Ginna. You’re tipping the cage. I don’t want to lose you, too.”

“But they’re getting away. It looks as if they’re leaving the park.”

The music started up and the wheel began to move. Jonathan signaled that they wanted to get out, but the wheel continued its path, up and around, giving its occupants an extra ride to make up for the delay. By the time the wheel finally stopped and a frustrated Ginna touched ground again, the boys had completely disappeared.

“But if you recognized them, then we know they’re here, Ginna. That’s the important thing.”

“Tomorrow, Jonathan, I want to get to the park before it opens. And we can watch the gates as the people enter.”

“I was thinking we could check the places where those New Orleans women might be staying, too. If Nathan and Pinky confided in them, then we might be able to find them even before tomorrow.”

“But we don’t know the women’s names. And there’re so many hotels and boardinghouses.”

Jonathan laughed. “But very few of them cater to clientele of that sort. Let’s face it. How many New Orleans madams with a bevy of her girls can there be?”

That evening, from the corridor of the Hotel Moffatt, Souci tiptoed into the room she shared with Meara. And in the corner, where a pallet had been made for them, Nathan and Pinky were sound asleep.

“What’s going to happen to them tomorrow, Souci,” Meara whispered, “when we leave?”

“Why, they will go with us. One still has his ticket. So it will be easy to smuggle the other one past the conductor.”

“How?”

“Oh, Meara, you have so much to learn. There is an art to turning men’s heads. And conductors are particularly susceptible, especially if a skirt is lifted a little more than necessary. But leave it to me.”

A knock on the door startled Souci. “Yes? Who is it?”

“Me, Nelly Rose. Can I talk to you, Souci?”

Frantically, Souci signaled for Meara to camouflage the area where the two boys were sleeping. Meara quickly sat down on the edge of the pallet and became busy, spreading out the petticoats and crimping the ruffled lace on one of Souci’s dresses.

Souci opened the door. “Yes, madame?”

“There’s a fellow downstairs asking about those two little boys. Do you have any idea where they went after they left us?”

“Why, no, madame.”

“Maybe you’d better come downstairs and talk to him. But I’m warning you, Souci. If you made a date with this man behind my back, you’re going to be in trouble.”

“Mon Dieu, I take pity on two hungry little boys and then you accuse me of an assignation. I am innocent,” she averred.

“You weren’t so innocent in Washington, Souci.”

“That was different.”

Souci closed the