The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-07-31
{ YOUNG MANS DARING, ~


patient masculine voice in response to a
knock at the door,
tits me-" replied a youth who had
been pounding ceaseiessly for some mo-
meRts. TITS me, the call boy" he re-
pested. with great indifference to gram
mar.
well, what do you want this time Of
the morning7 II Isn't nine O'Clock yet"
They're going to have rehearsal this
morning. Miss Fay was taken very
sick and can't play tonight. There's a
new one got 20 be rehearsed."
"Oh, ye godsl' murmured Harold
Thorne; =" "A new one 10 play Phillls, OF
all parts. All right. III be there; much
obliged he called to the ever-patlent
boy,
As Harold ThoTne dressed himself he
wondered who had been found 20 take
Miss Fay's part. mo one can play
Phillis as she does" he reelected, 'and
heaven only knows how We will get
through. It's just my luck, too, after
weeks OF hard travel TO have this hap
pen in New York, where want to make
a good impression, and can't do moth
ing alone. Herbert's and Phillis' parts
are so interviewer. or course, thing
like this has TO occur here instead OF on
the road" was his irritating Thought.
The very way Harold carried his stick
when he stepped out of his room attlred
for the street, portrayed his nationality
and one who took him for young Brit
fisher come over to this country TO seek
his fortune would not have been much
mistaken. Instead OF mining or ranch
ing, as do the majority of English
youths, who come TO the states 10 earn
their living, he sought his fortune be-
fore the footllghts, With q true love for
his art, he found the life far from hard,
and his ambition to return to London
after his lnurels had been won spurred
him on to untlrlng work and study. He
had quickly risen to the leading part in
the rather mediocre company in which
he had started, and he wished TO make
a "hit" so that when the season was
over he could with less difficulty find an
opening in one OF the great stock com
panies.
Harold looked about lnauiringly as he
stepped upon the dimly lighted stage,
where the actors were assembled. The
new leading lady wasn't visible and the
only strange face he observed was that
OF an unusually pretty young girl, who
had evidently been brought by some
friend IN the company for q glimpse Of
behind the scenes"
Ready for the first act" called the
stage manager, and Harold was sur
prised 20 see. when the stage was clear
ed, that the little school girl remained.
utlFu ~ ha
thought; "whoever brought her should
be more careful; che will be beautifully
embarrassed when that brute OF a stage
manager yells to her to come on He
made a movement toward her, with this
kind intention OF warning her tina. the
rehearsal was about to begin and that
the leading lady would want the stage
to herself. when he was astonished to
hear her repeat in trembling, fright
ened voice, the opening words OF Phil
lis.
Could It be possible that this pretty
child had been chosen to play Phlllls?
The manager must be insane! The act
proceeded and the girl became more
nervous as each new character appear
ed until when Harold came on she
greeted him with choked voice and
fearful eyes, instead OF the gay nip
pancy assigned to the part. He was an
cry and roared out his lines in q tone
that made her forget hers, and in place
of answering In the light bSdinage that
she should have her big, childish, blue
eyes filled with tears and she looked at
him appealingly.
please forgive me: I'll do better this
evening" Harold tried IN answer with
some show OF polite enc0uragementbu but
his words sounded brusque owing 60 the
rage he felt at things In general and at
the manager in particular for having no
understudy ready.
The rehearsal dragged on and when
ut last II was over and the new leading
lady had retired to her dressing room TO
study her part, having been advised to
do SO, In no gentle manner, by the stage
manager. Harold strobe OF to get his
luncheon In anything but q pleasant
mood. He expected all sorts OF dlreful
things to happen during the evening
performance and by tho time the call
boy summoned him to go on that night
he had worked himself into a state Of
nervousness almost rivaling that Of the
debutante in the morning.
"PhliliH made up very WE'LL" he
thought, as he made his entrance, but
he knew too well how she would act.
he advanced. repeating his lines in a
jerky fashion and reconstructing the
sentence so that the cue was lost. Phil
lis, however, saved him any embarrass-
ment which might have ensued from
his awkwardness by an extempore word
or two that threw the play back into its
regular grooves Harold was annoyed
at his carelessness and felt nggrieved
that the object OF his scom should have
set him right. He pulled himself to-
gether and threw his whole being into
the part as he had never done before.
The new Philis, inspired by the foot
lights, the audience, or, maybe. Harold
himself. played her part with n grace
and abandon that surprised oil those
who had witnessed the painful rehear-
sol, and when the curtain went down on
the last act. there was a round Of ap-
plause that TO Harod's ears was sweet
or than the sweetest music.
on the way TO his dressing room.
Thorne passed the young girl who had
acquitted herself 30 well. He npologlzed
for his lapse In the first act. and would
have added his congratulations had she
not acknowledged his apology with such
a slight uplifting of her eyebrows as 70
chill his impulse.
The next morning the papers spoke
in highest praise OF the opening per-
Torrance Of "a Young Mans Dating"
md to Harold Thorne was given the
greatest credit for the success Of the
play. though most OF the notices spoke
o. the clever company which assisted
him, and mentioned more particularly,
Miss Margaret Spencer, who. owing
10 the sudden illness Of Miss Ellen Fay,
played the part Of Phlllls, which she did