The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-11-11
EX-TANK NO. IL
Tells a Tale of An Actor Man and
a Pug.
By Clarence L. Cullen.

whole plant with the pug.
Clarence said / TO the pug, not ex-
actly remembering his name. If your
date books not filled for next week or
but art of it's going to be condi-
tional. The top ham Of my show Is his
very night embarking upon one seeth-
ing, swirling drunk. While he is thus
being giddy with himself he loves prize
fighters, cab-drivers, piano-movers.
longshoremen and other low foreheads.
just like you. Got that?'
".All across the board replied the
pug, interestedly.
And so 1 want you to just acciden-
tally meet up with him tonight after the
show said 1. He'll take to you like a
pup to a root. 1 want you just to make
him learn to I We you, that's all. We're
going to show in this mans town for
another week. and then we're going
south. 1 can handle him when we get
South, but 1 can't do anything with him
here. / don't want you to let him get
out of your sight. Lush with him and
talk light with him and tell him the
sad, sad history Of your life in your
whole layout of languages, but deliver
him to me at the stage door every
night at z o'clock, and on the two ma
tinee days at l o'clock. in shape to 20
on and work for his share Of the gate.
l. " y SNAS " ~ -
him get or get with him, between work.
ing hours, but I've got to have him IN
his play-acting toys n ready for cur
tain-rise at each and every perform
ance. Catch that?
".AI tree ways replied the pug out
of one corner of his face.
".All right said 1. Here's a stack
of green's, which it's not stage money
or milk tickets or rain checks, either.
That's so you'll be able to keep your
n up with him. The conditional end
of it is this: If you produce him for
every performance and deliver him to
me in time to get him on the midnight
train for the South or next Saturday
night you get another pat hundred. Is
that your
u got de ker-tish already replied
the pug.
land if he gets wise to it that you're
sleuthing him. 1 went on, as he prob
ably will when o make him go light
on the red stuff for a couple Of hours
before each performance-well, don't
you care, Reggie. The point is that
he's not to get away from you. whether
he gets next or not. You can macerate
him to a pulp-but keep him. If you
find it necessary to scatter his face
around, that won't matter, either-the
makeup ii fix hat all right. But don't
lose him.
Say, Cap, de hunnered's in me kick
replied the pug, and his air of cont
dence was S o great that l felt he spoke
Alright.
"Oh, yes. it went through all right.
/ didn't butt in at any stage Of it after
Id made my little arrangement with
the m~iXed-aler, but just permitted
events to travel along on skids. My
leading man and the pug were insepa-
rable. 1t was not Until along toward
h.n
the pug told my mann that he ought to
switch to lemon and settler. in order TO
be able to jump into the ring for the
show, that the leading man began 10
scent the rodent. He bucked. He
wanted the high red ones right up to
the minute he was due at the theatre.
THE pug wouldn't stand for it. and
then my leading man dropped to the
scheme all of a sudden. He became
right naughty in his manner of address
ing my pug but it was no go. When
he walked up to the bar and demanded
the juice of the corn, the pug got him
around the shoulders and just carried
him up to his hotel room and locked
him in. Then the pug sat down on the
edge of the actorman's trunk and told
the leading man that. for a little brief
spell, he, the pug, was going to be 1t.
He told the Thespian just how far ne
could 80. He said that he wanted TO
be the play-actor's little brother for Il
fleeing space. The leading man scowl-
ed and stormed, but it was no use. Re
was unde the convoy of the pug when
he appeared at the stage door in good
time to dress for the Monday night
show. And, to bite this some, he WAS
under the pug's convoy. and measure
bly, sober, in time to array himself FOR
every performance during the balance
of the week.
He was very ugly, and he gave me
the glare every time he passed me, but
he was on hand. He turned up for the
Wednesday matinee with both Of his
lamps wearing the habiliments of woe.
He had bucked over the continuous
contiguity of the pug. IND the pug, IL
stead of arguing the matter, had given
him the pair of artistic Sinners, which.
of course, were concealed On the stage
all right by the makeup. During the
week the actor boy made innumerabie
ingenious efforts to side-step the pug,
but he never made any of EN- stick
until Saturday night.
I'll slap youse on de ~wishbone if
you try L do de phony wit me- the
pug would say to him when the actor
'ud get tearing mad and try to LOOK
rampageous, and then the ham 'uj
grind the tOp-dressing off his teeth and
rend his hirsute.
mere was q 1ONy look In my Leading
mans lamps during the progress of tbs
Saturday night show, but 1 didn't mind
that. I figured it that his work was roo
coarse to enable him to get away froII
his guardian. But il wasn't. He did
get away. He did a hurry stunt in CT
ting his street togs on when the curtain
fell on the last act, and III the c0nfu-
sion Of packing he made a sneak over
the stage and out to the street lhrougn
the front of the house, while the pug
was guarding the stage entrance.
Il was the first to get next TO his
absence, and when / told the pug of il,
with the added remark that ne was
about dished out OF that conditional
hundred, the mixed-aler's little red eyes
spat sparks, n he shook himself TO-
gether like a dog making the beach af-
ter a swim.
me oiled out o. me century, heyo'
said he. Say, OATS nix. see? It's nix,
Youse go on down to de deepo wit
youse's people. an I'll have de bahs
along in time FIR de vanished roller Z
I have t make t~eet'-picks of him.