The morning call., 1893-03-18

The FORM Turns at Last.
stairs and ran to the flies. "WaHa-walla-
wallaH which represents the indignant,
ominons mutter Of surly, rousng mob.
w alla-walla WallaP' growing in volume
and intensity OF rage. Woe 10 the villain
on the, stage! The IeOple at last were
coming
Get in line there" whispered the cap
tain, sharply. Take the lead, Plumer.
Now keep your wits bout you. and speak
out so they can hear you In the back OF the
house. Hush -
From the front, in a loud and thrilling
and TO US significant tone came the words,
Highway robbery means transportation
for lifel"
"on you co." Kissed the captain. That's
the cue"
"WaHa-walla." Ont went Plumer with
Harris after him and next. The orchestra
crashed nobly as we entered. The audi
ence. which had been wrought to a condi-
ton bordering on frenzy by the unfortunate
turn things had taken in tire play. cheered
us to the echo. The villain was stopped in
his wrongdOing and fed precipitously, so
lmpetuous was our onslaught.
As FAR as l was concerned, things were
very different from what l had expected
mere WeTe no symptoms of stage.fright.
| had thought to look out over a sea Of
faces aud c0olly pick out odd characters in
the pit. and enjoy their appreciation of the
play. Instead | saw before me blazing
circle of fo0tlights, ana no face beyond II
could be distinguished.
For the moment l was completely dazed 4:
then Harris tugged at my arm aud [ yelled,
"Hi-i-i" with the others, and rushed for
ward laying heavy hands on Mr.. Brophy as
the curtain began to fall. l scOwled fiercely
ana raised threatening hand, maintaining
that position until the curtain struck the
floor
Then corps of scene-shifters and me-
chanlcs rushed in ami took possession Of
The stage, and We, wbilom the popuIace,"
rushed TO our dressing-room for a lightning
change into cOnyicts.
Once In the little room upstairs each
super felt sense of relief from the over
looking eve OF Mr.. Garden and began TO
assert himself.
He would demand of the man nearest
what be had done with those convicts'
trousers, or who had been iooling with his
cap.
No one received or seemed to expect any
reply to such ratings. They were all too
busy for that. Black muslin leggins were
hastily drawn over loose gray trousers A
blouse OF gray WOODEN stuff and cap to
match completed the costume. There was
much crying out for pins and string to per-
feet the III, but at ength everything was in
readiness and the cOnYicts crowded down.
stairs.
The curtain was stlll down. We were
hurried on to the stage and assigned posi-
tions in the rear, TO make uD kind of fill
ing in as il were. A few of 1.-THE populace"
were not in our gray garb, but had bios
somed out as soldiers aud were deployed to
Poor Little Joe.
Il was the beginning of the second act.
and the scene was plsced at Port Bradford
Prison. a whiDping-pOst had been erected
on the stage.
Ye gods but this was to be a great scene.
Rru0don nn raiffIaou
himself, and Joe, poor little Joe, was about
10 be whipped to death. How we fellow
convicts loved little Joe. Ii would be hard
to see him so abused.
Our regard for Joe was the more real
from the fact that In this instance he was
not boy at all, bat remarkably pretty
grill The makeup was eOmplste. PiuLEer
explained 10 me in an aside that it took a
girl after all to execute the artistic, soul
wrlD cling walls that were about to becom
tit expressions OF little Joe's unhappy por-
ton.
II was with sense OF grim satisfaction
thai l assured myself it would not take Joe
at all by surprise She knew that she was
TO be beaten to death and that she would
say, just before her departure. IN winsume,
broken tones. "Gooddy, Pl meet you in
heaven, il they'll let me in"
Thus the conVicts fortified themselves
against the supreme event.
Everything was ready On the stage The
shutters and wOrkmeD concealed themselves
behind the flies. The manager. with drawn
sword, awaited the rise of the curtain, and
then there was commotion. The victim
of baTbaTic injustice was not to be found
Poor little Joe had not come on. Where
was sbe?l
"Confound it," said the manager, or words
to that effect.
He tossed his sword about in a manner
not mentioned in the average military
manual aud strobe back in the wings. A
sudden rafting Of Little Joe's door and we
heard voice cry:
"Say, break the door down; I've gone and
locked myself in"
This was promptly done and Joe was
hustled TO the whipplDg-pOst, and as the
curtain rose Grififths brought the lash down
with snap.
Joe's back was toward the house. AS
Grifiths continued to fog he would occa-
sionally inquire in whisper:
IAN hurting you?"
mo" Joe would say; "let' Ter CO."
So Joe was whipped to death and expired
in an artistic way. The clergy spoke few
appropriate words. and we convicts, with
caps in hand and marks Of grief on our
faces, followed the stretcher around the
stage and out Into the flies.
During the Interval that elapsed before
our third appearance the great characters of
the play sat about. chatting and smoking.
Some scrutiniZed the audience through a
said the bill was a pronounced success. The
hero had an easy chair TO himself and
putfed on cigar with evident relish. The
villain, If / remember rightly, used cigar
cites. as being in keeping with the char
acter.
The ladies' discussed their costumes, and
inferred they hardly correspondent with
their types OF beauty, and that it was a
wonder il they looked well at all from the
parquet.
ut is not every color that lights UP
well2" they said, with much other heavy
conversation.
Time flies quickly in the flies.
''Scoot," says Ceptain Hammond; and we
sailed forth again, crossing the stage with
the conventional swinging lockstep. We
passed out at the other side, almost imme-
diate]y returning at the sound of great
dynamite explosion. and In the confusion
grappled with the guards. took their guns
away and stood ready TO run them through
That was the coup Of the drama. Il
was thrilling situation. The curtain rose