Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-19

The press agent has to earn his salary
somehow. and that is the excuse for pub
fishing this story on the Bostonians.
The Bostonians are experiencing mis-
fortune at the commencement Of their tour.
Not on the score Of business. for the
Academy success has so far been equaled
on the road. The troubles were brought
about by the influx of knights Templar to
the city Of Dayton, o. When the seventy
odd members of the Bostonians' organiza-
ton arrived in Dayton about 3 p.
m, after a weary journey from Wheel
Ing w. Va, they found that 5000
strong Of. knights and their ladies fair had
possession of every room. closet. hallway
and bath room In the place. Shakedowns
had been improvised in every corner to
accommodate the Masonic conclave. Here
was a dilemma A performance Of ROBIN
Hood" in the evening with no place 70
sleep afterwards. Prayers, entreaties,
smiles and brides were Of no use; even the
prettiest chorus girl in the bunch, with
her most winning grimace, had no persuR-
sion with the hotel clerk. Everything
engaged for a month" was the reply. Miss
Van Studdiford threatened to resign right
away. Mr.. and Mrs. H. c.. Barnabee, laden
down with grips, took possession Of one of
the hotel elevators and refused to bulge.
Matters were very serious indeed. Dayton
was also crowded with visitors who had
secured whatever private accommodation
was available, so II was useless to appeal
to the hospitality of the citizens. At the
eleventh hour (there is always an eleventh
hour in cases of misfortune, and this hap
pened Just as the town clock was striking
IL and the curtain was f%alling), the man
ager Of the theater came to the rescue. He
suggested that every dressing room should
be cleared Of the trunk and cots installed
for the ladies. and that the stage should be
set with drawing room interior to keep off
the draughts, and fixed up as a dormitory
for the men. The telephone was set TO
work and various furniture dealers Of the
city were solicited for the requisite num-
Der OF cots, so that everybody was made
happy. The novelty Of the situation then
showed Itself to the company and good
humor took the place Of despair. W. H.
Macdonald was 50 delighted that after tx
ing up his cot he started out about mid
night TO get some oysters, but he forgot to
notify the Waterman OF the theater, and
here began another series OF troubles for
himself. When he rsturned to the stage
door he found the entire place IN darkness
and the theatsr locked. Every APPROACH
was bolted and barred. He knocked hard
enough to arouse the seventy odd sleepers,
but not one could help him. The watch
man had gone home after doing his duty.
to wit: seeing that the theater was secure
from housebreakers. There was no help
for II. Mr.. Macdonald had to find shelter
somewhere. 30 he started for the railway
depot with the intention Of doing until
train time IN the waiting room. He ar
rived just in time TO find a Western limited
express about to pull out. It's first stop
was Indianapolis. This was just the thing,
he thought, as the Bostonians played that
city on the next evening, so he engaged a
berth in q Pullman. Again, unfortunately,
he had a through ticket 10 Terre Haute.
the next stand where the company would
appear another evening. The ticket had
stopOver privileges. but he forgot to IN
form the Pullman conductor of this, and
having paid the through sleeper rate be
was not aroused until the train was a good
way beyond Indianapolis. However, Terre
Hsute is only a few hours journey from
the Indiana capital, and Mr.. Macdonald re-
turned in time to make his appearance as
Little John.