The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1893-09-09
DOROTHY'S UNDERSTUDY.
Low Size Solved the Riddle, of barry
Mnrkhnm's Life

ner which used to ruffle the manager
SO afterwards, she had come walking
INTO the office leading a smaller and
iii'ch more untidy little girl that her
sell by one grimy hand.
Here's my undcrstudy. Mr.. Phil
| lips, announced the little actress and
her names Katherine" And, though
'he manager had stormed good deal
anu DECLARED he would not stand it.
Do'cthy's word had stood. and Rather
,ile became her veritiple shadow.
where the small actress had found her
no one ever discovered. but, Judging
from the ragged little frock which
scarcely covered her plump body, and
me dust-iilled ctlrlS. it must have been
III some alley, far removed from the
fashionable quarter of the city But
| between Dorthy herself and her foster
mother and dresser, they soon turned
me smaller child into clean, sweet.
DlS-eyed girl. Inside of week she
khew every one in the company, in
clidihg the pets of the women: inside
OF month she could go through her
lines in "Faunt!eroy'' with the best of
them, and with an astonishing grace
and ease. Undoubtedly the little rag
hufnn either possessed talent herself
or else had inherited 1t from her rela-
yves; and, having shown her talent,
sHe dropped into the company as natu-
rally ms If she had been acting since
she Wore long dresses.
when Barry Markham, that elegant
piise young man who condcscended to
grace the stage with his distinguished
pNAsence-thesc We're the comedians
sarcastic words concerning him-ioined
the fauntleroy company. every woman
III mat aggregation said in her inner
neart she would bring him to her feet:
ior n.'ued to a most enchanting manner
ma bearing, there was an air of de
ucious mystery about him which was
rcaiiy quite irresistible. No one knew
my thlhg definite OF him, though the
Oh woman whispered once or twice 10
10 me leading lady that She knew he
must be real swell. ,rlnG.n.. AWAY
from something: and the advance man.
VINO dropped back once n week to have
game of poker with the first heavy,
was half-sure he had seen him through
lhe window mt an "upper-tcn" rcccp-
non but ms WIS mere guessing. the
facts We're only these: He never
smiled; he never goSsiped with the
nthers; he dressed well. but tastcfully-
something the others did not: he PLAYED
me earl rs If his life depended upon
ms success: and he took life very, very
seriously. The one thin. which made
hin seem real and tangible 10 the other
men was that he drank Il good deal
hiEht drinking, too-though he never
got too much; but although he asked
'hcm to JOIN him, whenever they hap
peheu IN the same place. IL was with
me AR of IA baron paying for the wine
Tor his tenants. All in all, he was n
charming handsome and thoroughly
delightful mystery.
Until he saw katherine the first time.
Ihen he became a veritablc puzzle. He
met her one afternoon MS he was SUM.
pling along the abominnbly dark and
hoisomc alley leading 10 the stage door.
ahu' Tor II moment. the tail. serious
motor stood staring down at the little
sirl us II he had seen IL ghost To he
sure she was anything but ghostly,
Deiiis quite as plump and rosy ms when
Dorothy had brought her into com
plhy; ana the yellow hair hair, which
needed no addition when she went
on, tumblcd about her pretty face In
per yeF T,n, fraei tys 10
nntil 1t occurred 10 him that he was
little lady, who was waiting so patient
ly with the swcctly childish smile upon
her sunny face which made every one
her friend. might want 10 20 on. With
hoarse 81 beg your pardon he took
on his hat grnvcly and stepped aside
She looked up at him quite as gravely
and said: THANK you. sir" as she
passed. After which he wandered
down street toward his hotel. and went
by three saloons without stopping in
one. Which undoubtedly proved the
disturbed condition of Mr. Barry Mark
hams mind
From that day forth he was Il differ
rnt man. He drank less. he talked
more; he took TO haunting back alleys
and streets-after he had learned Kath-
crimes very limited history-and he con-
vcrscd with all the inhabitants of these
unsavory portions of the city who had
reached the middle mile-post of life.
Every day saw him doing the Sums"
as the others said: but. from his drawn,
sad face when he returned from his
trips, it was evidently not for the pleas
urc he found there. If what he learned
there made him sad. however, he made
up for it when he came back. for once
near the little girl who had Interested
him so, he forgot his troubles. what
ever they We're. and warmed his cold
heart in the sunshine of her happy
smiles. And it would have taken II
cold and hard heart. indeed, to with
stand the straightforward coniiding lit
tie ways with which katherine went 10
him Nothing could frighten or disturb
her seemingly: nothing seemed bad or
unpleasant to her pure heart; and once
her faith was grounded in her new
'riend which was soon the case, nothing
Oh earth could have uprooted her con
viction that he was the best and kind
Est man In the world. Before he had
been with the company two weeks.
she had given him her full faith and
love; and. in turn she had crept into
his heart and filed it so thoroughly that
all the combined charms of the ladies
Of the company could not have usurped
u corner of it IA fact that they soon
became aware Of The calm. sclf-pos-
scssed Markham loved little Katherine
us If she were his only daughter.
"She reminds him of some one said
the Advance. one evening during the
performance. when he had returned
from trip with the road-company
which Mr.. Phillips sent out the first of
the season. land it is either that his
lady-love married some other fell06
and this Is the child. or else his sister
ran away and went on the stage and de-
serted her youngster. That is my opin-
ion, understands: I never could have
got anything out of him. Never saw
srch a close-mouthed man in my life: