The Opelousas courier., 1897-07-31
FIELDS OF ADVENTURE,
THRILLING INCIDENTS AND DARING
. DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA.

a stage Carpenters Presence of Mine
AVerts a Probable T~ragedy-Two Mems
fierce Fight With a Couple of Sharks
!" FLORIDA Waters Saved by a Dog
l time of an emergency" re.
narA-an elderly man in O group Of
.alkers, II would rather have presence
OF mind than q gum"
i fancy the gun might do more
harm than good if there we're no pres
once OF mind with it," admitted an
other.
(which reminds me of a story cor
seborating the wisdom of the first
statement" said a third, who on an ap-
peal from the others. continued.
something like ten or a dozen years
ago. he said, Il was in O Western
Gown OF ten thousand people or so. and
It happened that a show was billed for
That night. Having nothing to do, and
got knowing anybody in town, I took
IN the show. It was a transforming
troupe of Thespians doing a repertoire
OF Observation-Disclosures, and the conse.
qtuence was they had nearly a full
house. Everything went along verv
nicely exceptth peculiar actions of the
leading man, who seemed to be drunk.
or getting that way very fast.
las no effort was made by the man.
agement to suppress him, the audience
after q while took hand and began to
hiss. This brought matters to a elm
ak at once, and with an oath the actor
stepped to the center of the stage, and
Whipping out Of his clothes a pair of
reyolvers, he announced to the audi
ence and the people on the stage in the
calmest and coolest manner possible
that the time had come when somebody
had got to die. but that he was not vet
decided who it should be-. Somebody
started at this, but he said that the.
first person who rose to go out would
be shot. Everybody in tho house
seemed to be paralyzed by the mans
GOODNESS and nobody moved. I know
l sat we'll down toward the front, and
would have given up my place willing
~ to anybody who asked for it, but
when I looked up at that cold face and
those two guns pointing down my way
l preferred to take chances on remain
ing as I was.
For at least % minute the actor
addressed himself to his trembling
audience, and then deliberately Sc
Letting a c~onspicuously white-haired
man in the very center of the house, he
commanded him to rise and be shot.
Otherwise he would shoot promiscu-
ouslyinto the crowd. At this point in
the proceedings, I an willing to state
without bias that I never was in the
midst Of so much suppressed excite
ment. For q second the house was as
still as death, and then as the white
haired began to twist about as if he
were going to obey the actors COM
mand, a woman shrieked, and as a half
dozen followed suit and tainted the
suddenly disappeared from the
nobody knew where, but he was
gone and the panic was averted, though
everybody made a break to get out as
fast as possible.
"The curtain went down quick then, |
and the manager, white and scared,
came out and announced that the actor
had gone crazy over the loss of his
wife, and that thanks to the presence
Of mind of the stag6hearpeeter, that
gentleman had hurried III the stage
and pulled the trap ons~nich, FORUM
ately, the crazy man Neod. fYae fall
had rendered him helpleEt uanh he was
then waiting at the stage esoor to be
away by the authoritiss.
(Which proves what TSsaid in the
first place." said the elderlJ-man with
an air of pride, and the proof was &C.
,e~pted. Star.