Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-04-10

izing moment The silence was posi-
lively painful. One might have heard q
pin drop. The small bell was heard
again. Mr.. Loveioy tapped his desk,
and the curtain slowly rose-in solemn
silencel Mr.. Loyejoy began beating the
time slowly, and had even accomplished
a few strokes before he realized the fact.
Turning round to ascertain the mean
ing of this extraordinary circumstance,
his surprise and bewilderment may well
be imagined at seeing the two trombone
players hard at work, distending their
cheeks to their utmost capacity, ner-
yously manipulating their instruments
and producing not sound And the
next unaccountable thing was they
never took their eyes off one another.
Mr.. Lovejoy was transfxed with amaze
ment.
"This is very strange" thought Mr..
Whites. 81 wonder when that fellow
is going to beginl' r.
The little bell tingled again and again.
Mr.. Russell stepped upon the stage with
some amount OF dignity and left it with
out any, under the impression that he
was trife too 500. The stage man.
ager, a gentleman of excitable tempera-
ment and much addicted to the use OF
passionate language, who played one OF
the principal parts in the piece, rushed
from his room, discharged on the spot
an. inoffensive "super" who, unfort-
unately, happened to cross his path
went, half-a-dozen at a time, down the
score of rickety stairs, at the imminent
hazard Of breaking his neck, and, APP
pearing at the little door under the
stage, that led into the orchestra, de-
manded in unmeasured terms what the
very bad words Mr.. Aovejoy meant
by such conduct, and why the-eXcess-
ively-rude observation didn't go on?
Mr.. Lovejoy was too astounded to make
reply. He could only point. in silent
wonder, to the two trombones.
There they sat putting and blowing
vigorously, but with no result. The
stage-manager gesticulated violently and
nearly had fit. The audience, unable
to comprehend what was going on be-
fore their eyes, Missed loudly; and,
finally, the curtain fell. Then Mr..
Lovejoy gave vent to his feelings. He
leaped from his seat and rushed toward
Mr. Whites, who, painting with ex-
haustion after his unaccustOmed eXer-
tons, was wiping the perspiration from
his face, wondering what on earth was
going to happen next. No sooner, how
ever, did he perceive the angry conduc-
tor advancing toward him than, with an
intuitive perception that something I'M
pleasant was about to occur, he made q
precipitate rush through the little door
and sought safety under the stage, hotly
pursued by Mr.. Lovejoy, who oppor-
timely came across the foreign gentle
man quietly sneaking away, and fell
upon him tooth and nail. The foreign
gentleman, being choleric, knocked Mr..
Lovejoy down. Mr.. Lovejoy, being by
no means deficient in pluck, regained
the perpendicular and-in the language
Of the ring-let the foreign gentleman
"have it" The individual next seized
the astonished Whites and endeavored
to drag him before Mr.. Lovejoy, in or
der that he might undergo condign pun
ishment, when the foreign gentleman
slipped; they both fell, and the two
trombone-players mysteriously disap-
peared.
They had fallen down an unused well
under the stage, Mr.. Whites under
most. There being but very little water
they we're soon extricated, and, fortu
nately, no bones were broken.
The two gentlemen-after a rather ex-
citing interview with the stage manager
were, shortly afterward, permitted to
take their departure.
Mr.. OLeary, next day, was duly in
formed of the disaster, and lost his stu
alton. The same fate befel the unfort-
innate Puffier, who, it appeared upon
inquiry, was really laboring under some
severe indisposition that threatened to
confne him to his bed; and, being nat
urally unwilling to lose his salary, he
provided substitute, like Mr.. Whites,
utterly unable to play, and to whom he
gave, in effect, instructions almost iden-
teal with those given to our hero by
Mr.. OLeary.
: Mr.. Whiffles returned to the home Of
his ancestors sadder and a wiser man.
He has never been in theater since, and
never thinks, without shudder, Of his
terrible adventure connected with the
Two Trombones. iigGyr .r