Excerpt: ... brown animal, upright on his hind legs, was dancing sideways along the road, keeping time to the lazy notes of his leader's voice. In front of the Hotel France they halted, and the bear danced round and round in a ring, his eyes rolling savagely, his head shaking from side to side in a bad-tempered way. Suddenly some one cried out: "It's Vanne Castine! It's Vanne!" People crowded nearer: there was a flurry of exclamations, and then Christine took a few steps forward where she could see the man's face, and as ...
Read More
Excerpt: ... brown animal, upright on his hind legs, was dancing sideways along the road, keeping time to the lazy notes of his leader's voice. In front of the Hotel France they halted, and the bear danced round and round in a ring, his eyes rolling savagely, his head shaking from side to side in a bad-tempered way. Suddenly some one cried out: "It's Vanne Castine! It's Vanne!" People crowded nearer: there was a flurry of exclamations, and then Christine took a few steps forward where she could see the man's face, and as swiftly drew back into the crowd, pale and distraite. The man watched her until she drew away behind a group, which was composed of Ferrol, her brother and her sister Sophie. He dropped no note of his song, and the bear kept jigging on. Children and elders threw coppers, which he picked up, with a little nod of his head, a malicious sort of smile on his lips. He kept a vigilant eye on the bear, however, and his pole was pointed constantly towards it. After about five minutes of this entertainment he moved along up the road. He spoke no word to anybody though there were some cries of greeting, but passed on, still singing the monotonous song, followed by a crowd of children. Presently he turned a corner, and was lost to sight. For a moment longer the lullaby floated across the garden and the green fields, then the cornet and the concertina began again, and Ferrol turned towards Christine. He had seen her paleness and her look of consternation, had observed the sulky, penetrating look of the bear-leader's eye, and he knew that he was stumbling upon a story. Her eye met his, then swiftly turned away. When her look came to his face again it was filled with defiant laughter, and a hot brilliancy showed where the paleness had been. "Will you dance with me?" Ferrol asked. "Dance with you here?" she responded incredulously. "Yes, just here," he said, with a dry little laugh, as he ran his arm round her waist and drew her out upon the green. "And who...
Read Less
Add this copy of The Pomp of the Lavilettes to cart. $121.89, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hialeah, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by IndyPublish.
