The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-01-06
Finished With Pointed Ends.

kick or a blow convinces him to the con-
trary.
l had two -resses-neithe one really fit
for the occasion. But l put on the better
one. braided my mass of hair into the then
proper chatelaine braids. and found coDs-
fort in them and. encouragement In a fresh,
well-ftting pair Of gloves. At half-pasc 10
o'clock l entered the underground green
room. Two young men were there before
me. ] slightly bent my head and one re-
sponded doubtfully. but the other. with the
blindness Of stone in his eyes. bowed not at
all. / sat down In a corner-the stranger
always seeks a corner. Can that he an in
stinct. a survival from the time when II
tribe fell upon the stranger. and. with the
aid Of clubs, informed him OF their strength
and power? anyway, as I have said. | sat
In a corner. There was the carpet, the
great mirror, the cushioned bench runni lG
clear around the room. and that was all
oh, no. on the wall. Of course. there hung
that shallow glass-covered frame, or cabi-
net. called variously the call-board,' the
"call-case." or even the "call-box." II Is
the official voice Of the manager-when tine
"call-case' commands. all obey.
That day / glanced at tilt was empty.
The first call and cast of the season would
be put up presently. | wondered how many
disappointments II would hold for me. Then
there was a rustic of skirts. a tapping OF
heels, a young woman =ay,y dressed rushed
In. a smile all ready ~for-oh,-she nodded
briefly 10 The young men. then she saw me
she looked full at me. The puppy-dug
trust arose in me: | WAS d stranger: she was
going 10 bow. perhaps smile, oh. how
thankful ] an that I was stopped In time,
before I betrayed that belief in her. Her
face hardened. her eyes leisurely scorched
up and down my poor linen gown. then she
turned frowningly TO the glass. patted her
hustle into shape and lounced out again.
! felt as though ! had received a blow.
Then voices. loudly laughing male voices.
approached. and three men cane I'm. hold
ing their hats and hopping their faces.
They "bah-Joved' a good deal. and one.
big ard noisy. with a young face topped
with perfect b1ldnezs. bowed to me cour-
teously: the others did not see me.
Where. I thought. was the manager all
this time? Then more laughter and back
came my founcy young woman and two Of
her kind with her. pretty. finely dressed,
badly bred women. followed by one whom
] knew Instantly. one ] had heard much CT.
one to whom i had a letter of Introduction
! have IT still. by the way. She was gray
even then. plain OF feature. but sweet OF
voice and very gentle of manner. I fitted
my head higher. OF course she would rot
know me from sole-leather. but she would
gee that ! was a stranger and forlornly
alone. Besides. she was already secure in
her position in the company-she was its
oldest member. and therefore. in "a certain
measure. she was the tostess. As my mere
presence In the greenroom showed that /
was a professional OF some sort Of quality.
both authority and kindness would prompt
her to a bow. q smile, perhaps a pleasant
word. ! looked hungrily at her: her bright.
small eyes met mine. swept swiftly oyer
me-and then she slowly turned her black
silk back upon me. tho stranger in her gate.
As I swallowed hard ct the lump Mrs. Gil
bert's gentle Indifference had brought to
my throat. my old sense Of fun came up-
permost. and I said to myself: mo morning
is lost In which one learns something. and
nave discovered that covering a club
neatly in velvet improves its appearance
without In the least detracting from the
force Of its blow"
And then the passage ~resounded with