The Scarlet Tent
A Deadly Carnival Attraction
In her yellow painted, wooden booth, measuring exactly ten feet by eight, Marlene wound her phonograph and placed the scratched record on the turntable. Only when the music began would she start to take off her clothes slowly and seductively.
Outside her scarlet tent, a large crowd of the good people of Tryckette, Alabama, wandered around the delights being offered by The Amazing Desalles Travelling Curiosity Show. Children darted excitedly to see the two-headed donkey and the bearded, female midget, while the adults, at a more sedate pace because of the heat, sauntered wherever their fancy took them.
Mr Jean Desalles, the second generation owner, carefully estimated the size of the crowd then mentally calculated the potential gate receipts for the day. He smiled briefly, pleased with the sum and took a long draw on his cigar.
“Not bad,” he thought and then raised his white, straw boater as a particularly attractive young lady passed.
But one individual, not yet entered into Mr Desalles calculations, was just paying her forty cents at the entry turnstile. Her face had a permanent, dour expression, and she was determined not to be lured into enjoying herself in any way whatsoever.
