The Minstrel's Melody by Eleanora E. Tate

Author:Eleanora E. Tate
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497646612
Publisher: Open Road Media

CHAPTER 6

A CLOSE CALL

Orphelia’s heart pounded. “The Grand Extraordinaire”—which was what Madame Meritta’s Pitchfork Creek gala was entitled—was under way. Orphelia stood at the back of the tent. She swallowed nervously and adjusted the derby on her head again. She pulled at the cummerbund, the wide belt around her waist.

In a few minutes Othello, who would serve as Grand Master in place of Robert, would give her the signal. Then she was to run down the center aisle to the stage, hurry up the steps to the piano, and sing “Ballad of a Homeless Child.”

She wiped her face with the back of her hand and tried to calm herself. The tent was the biggest she’d ever seen or been in—bigger even than the one at Hannibal’s Emancipation Proclamation program. And the people! It seemed like a thousand folks, mostly Negro but many whites, too, had crammed into the tent. She bet they came from as far away as Clarksville, Little Paradise, and maybe even St. Louis! Her heart was beating faster than it ever had.

This would be Orphelia’s first and last chance to perform before a real audience. They had passed a tiny train station on their way into Pitchfork Creek. True to his word, Othello had dropped Reuben off there to give a message to the telegraph man for Orphelia’s parents. The note said that first thing in the morning, she would be carted back by train to Canton, where her parents were supposed to pick her up. The note also requested that they pay for the ticket.

By this time tomorrow she would probably be back in Calico Creek. For the rest of her life, she would be forced to play only on her pretend piano. Momma would rope her to the washtub, where she would wash clothes forever and die an old maid. Pearl would marry Cap, have ten children, and continue to tell lies, and Poppa would just smoke himself to death in the outhouse. She tried not to be mad at Poppa, but she was, a little.

Was doing this performance a mistake? What if I trip on these pants and fall flat on my face in front of everybody? What if I forget the words to the song? What if—

There! The signal! Othello had just swept his arms high into the air. The band struck up the opening bars of “Homeless Child.” Orphelia gulped and froze.

He raised his arms again, but she still couldn’t move. Have I had a heart attack and died standing on my feet?

Othello stepped closer to the edge of the stage. The music faded. “Ladies and gentlemen … Orville, our Musical Orphan Boy Prodigy, will capture your hearts with a most sorrowful, heart-wrenching song. Please prepare yourselves with handkerchiefs. Orville, my child, please come forward to the stage now! Please come forward now!”

At the sound of his voice, Orphelia came out of her trance. Perform with passion, she told herself. She doubled up her fists and rushed through the aisle between the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.