Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-12-24
Copyright, 1924, by James l.. Ford1


ihree weeks before the holidays, and
Che outlook for merry Christmas was
Il gloomy one, at least SO far as the
members Of the stock company of the
Jointly theater were concerned. Salary
day had como and gone, and as vet tho
Snost had shown no disposition to walk,
and 1t was because Of the nonappearance
OF that most welcome specter of stage
land that the rumor had started and was
rapidly gaining ground that Messrs
Hustle and Hardup, proprietors and man.
ayers of the Jollity theater, were Sin a
hCie again."
The piece which occupied the boards
had proved u fiat failure, and receipts
at the box Office had fallen in conse-
Quencc to 4 plane never before reached
i'll the history of the house. Moreover,
no new play had as yet been put in re-
hearsal, and an atmosphere of unmis-
taxable gloom and apprehension per-
vaded the region behind the footlights
and weighed heavily on the spirits of
every one there, from Pearl Livingstone,
the talented emotional actress who play
cd the leading female parts, down to lit
tie Kitty Sullivan, who was only years
Old and was in the depths Of DESPAIR be-
cause for fully three weeks she had been
ont OF the bill In short, every member
OF the company was in condition of
mingled uncertainty and curiosity in re-
gard to tho future Of the playhouse and
the projects of its managers, who as vet
mad given no sign Of their intentions
ard had, in fact, been invisible to the
members OF their artistic staff ever since
the last Aay Oh which salaries became
due.
IN this particular night, which hap
pened to be one Of storm and rain, two
or three of the principal actors had
gathered together for serious tall,
about the situation, when Tom, the
programme boy, appeared suddenly be-
lore them i'll an almost breathless con-
dltion ard exclaimed: "Mr Freelance
rs back from Chicago. He's in the office
with Mr.. Hustle. They've got both
doors locked"
Mr.. Freelance!' cried Miss Living
stone. her face lighting up with joy,
precisely as it does i'll her scene in the
second act where her lover comes back
from India, or rather as it did light ND
Ill that scene before tho business became
so bad. "Are you sure it was Mr.. Free
LARGE, Tommy"
"Sure!' rejoined Tom. with emphasis.
II seen him mesef when he come in. ="
Then, Tom, you be sure and see
him when he comes out and tell him
that am particularly anxious to see
him back here as soon as the curtain
gees down on the second act. Here's q
quarter for you, Tom, and yoa d better
keep it as curiosity, for it's getting to
be very rare sort of bird in the Jo;-
hty theater preserves.
THANK you, num-" said Tom as he
pocketed the coin. with a grin
Il fancy see CLEAN of light ON the
distant horizon" remarked the vener-
able Mr.. Borders in a tone similar to
that which he assumes in the great
melodrama called 1.-The Ocean Blue. -
IN the scene i'll which he is discovered
sitting on raft in midocean on the
lookout for passing sail. ''Jn the
meantime" he added, 81 think we had
better wait and hear what Billy has to
say before we take any further action
IN the matter
Up TO that moment they had taken
no action whatever, but the phrase
sounded well, and so Mr. Borders en-
ployed it.
Now, Mr.. William Frcelance. called
by his intimates Billy. was ard is TODAY
one Of the best known figures in the
theatrical affairs of the town, and. as
every member Of the stock compauy
knew. he had on moro than one previous
occasion come to the rescne of his old
friends, Messrs. Hustle ard Hardup,
and that. too. when they were in even
more deplo-able financial straits than
they were 4. the present moment.
II was his reputation as a mascot fully
as much rs his remarkable talents which
caused the whole avant scene to brighten
up at the news of his presence in the
thcater. fnr rlayfolk are VIGOROUSLY su-
perstitious and have IN rnbounded and
childlike faith III the efficacy IF mascot
rs well as jp the destructive qualities of
a Jonah.
Just as the curtain fell on the second
act Nr. freelance appeared behind the
scenes and received the rapturous greet
ings of the company. Then Miss Liv-
ingstine toS,il him hy the arm. detached,
hin froE, cha little group which sur
rounded him, lei him gently but firmly
into her dressing room. placed him on
Der zinc trunk and standing before him