St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-26

their strategic defensive positions un-
til that horrid beast was back in his
cage. 1t took all the men In the COM
pany to get Billy back, for he enjoy
ed his liberty. and, when finally cap
tured after tumultous chase, resented
It's curtailment by setting his sharp
teeth In the thumb Of the man who
finally seized him after he had leaped
the banks Of the river Nile and fallen
into the surging current, as represent
ed by one pail OF water useful In DASH
ing up spray.
For Billys mate, however, was re-
served the hit of the season. Being an
unusually clever and sly specimen of
her clever and SLY race. Madge learned
the trick of achieving freedom by push
which had been fenced off from Billy's
because they got into habit of quar-
reling and biting each others whts-
kers off While she wandered about
Danieps dressing room Billy would
rage up and down behind his bars,
shrieking and squaking in jealous rage
because he couldn't get out too. In her
little Jaunts about the apartment the
truant experimental with everything
there was that her sharp little teeth
could gnaw. Once she got hold of a
wig and enjoyed the scalp immensely
until she got to thick growth of hair
which almost choked her to death.
The red paint appealed to her sense
or the aesthetic to such an extent that
she not only gummed up her Whiskers,
but also made herself very Ill with
1t; so much so that when she came on
the stage. that night. instead of scam
perlng about she laid herself down on
her back and feebfy paved the air,
hlling her owner with dreadful sus-
picions that some Of the chorus girls
had been feeding poison to mis- pets.
On the following day, however, Madge
was all right again, and celebrated her
recovery by devouring with great relish
a pot of grease. Soon her owner
learned to keep destructible material
out of her way. 1t would have been
easy to fix the cage so that the rat
couldn't get out; but Daniels kept put
ting it off and putting it off, and now
cure his hungry pet with combina-
ton lock and a steel cross bar. This
is why he mourns:
Having a bill to pay to man out
er one night last week just before the
performance. 1t came In the form of a
$50 bill. Daniels went to his dressing
room and laid the bill on the shelf
near his makeup materials. While he
was making up there came a. knock on
the door, and the stage manager called
"Wtu you come out here for a. minute
and see if this tree is fixed all right for
you to climb?''
YES, I'll be right there" replied Dan
iels, and grabbing for necessary pin
he upset some grease paint on the $50
bill. Revilfng his i'll luck, he ran out
to consult with the stage manager.
The consultation took longer than
he expected, and while he was gone the
call boy came to bring a message to
him. AS no one answered his knock
at the dressing room door, the boy
opened the door and peeped in. AS he
closed it again the actor returned, so
the boy gave him the message and
went away. Then Daniels went into
his room and found that his $50 bill
was gone.
At the moment there was no time for
investigation. Telling the stage mana
ger to keep an eye on the call boy lest
he should get away the star went on
with the play, but at the conclusion he
| sent out for Court Officer Barney Con-
molly, of the Jefferson market squad,
who was in the rear of the, house, and
had the call boy arrested for stealing
the bill. In vain did the boy protest
his innocence with tears; another
member Of the company besides Dan
| iels had seen him coming from the
room, and Treasurer Mcdonald was
there to state that the bill had been
handed to Daniels that evening. The
boy insisted that it must have been
blown from the shelf or that some
body else had taken it, and begged to
be allowed to search the dressing
room, so Officer Connolly and TEniels
took him in there. The first thing the
actor noticed was that Madge's cage
was open, and, as he looked around,
there was a. scurrying, a swish OF
gray, and the little animal was back
in her home and fell to nibbling at a
little wad in the corner. The wad was
green. With misgivings at his heart
To iaIc, inly ya1 = 1, HI
ger. Slowly he unrolled it and spread
it out. 1t was small piece, but on ii
were a number, the letters ''ty'' and
under them liars" and a few little
scrolls and other words; plenty enough
to leave no doubt of what it was
Madge had got out of her cage while
her master was away, had been at
tracted by the grease smeared on the
bill, and had eaten about three-auar-
terS of 1t, taking the rest to her cage
for further feeding.
DO you want me to arrest the rat?''
| asked Officer Connolly.
For a minute Daniels looked at the
remains of the bill, then at Madge
the destroyer. Probably Madge never
was nearer a sudden and violent death
than then, but her owner reconsid-
cred.
"I suppose I'm out fifty" he said to
the call boy. "Will you take five and
an apology and keep mum about this?''
Cert said the boy; "but I thought
I was railroaded sure"
Apology and money were promptly
given, but the story leaked out, and
was soon the common property of the
theater, so that even the chorus girls
said 'Rats" and giggled when the
stars back was turned. 1t wasn't
enough for Daniels to be the proud
possessor of a 5000 rat; he wanted his
money back, and he consulted Aleck
Mcdonald, the man On the door, about
it.
Don't you think if I sent what's left
of the bill to the United States treas
ury they'd give me s50?'' he asked.
''The law is that more than two
thirds of a bill Is redeemable for full
value" replied Mcdonald; but I tell
you what you do. You send that quar-
ter of the bill and three-quarters of
the rat, and If the treasury people be-
lieve your story about tiff, 1 say
you may get your money"
ha Sf1't tried if Vlt