St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-05-23
that he had been drinking hard. and

missed Is straight, and ended by throw
ing his rife across the stage. Then
he essayeu to shoot backwards at a
target by looking through mirror
and missed again. This seemed to en-.
rage him beyond bounds, and he kept
up shooting at the thing until the man
ager had to whistle tc him from the
wings, while the audience gave him
the laugh. Then the woman did he1
turn, and hit everything before her
and the audience, seeing low matters
stood, gave her three straight encores
That aroused his jealousy and put q
point on his hate, and, nerying HIM
self, he walked out, grabbed up gun,
and emptied it at flying target in
truly wonderful manner. I was in
hopes that that would end the bust
ness, and that the woman would not
let him finish with the knife-act, fol
he was really in no condition, but she
seemed to either not fear him, or to
fear him worse off the stage than on
it, and she promptly placed herself
before the board while he gathered
an armful of knives and walked down
front and snarled at the house.
l noticed behind her, In the right
wing, Calbert was standing, his head
partly bowed and his eyes bent on
her as if he would look right through
her. I saw him look at the man in
front, and then his fingers clutched
into fist and the veins ON their
backs stood out, as when a fellow
gets ready to punch somebody lick.
As Athene gripped his first knife by
the point, whirled it around his head
and threw it into the air, saw him
watch it hurtle past, like cat
watches a mouse, afraid to breathe.
Athene had turned and bowed to
the audience, his thin lips curling
back over his white teeth like a
VOLTS who had just shown Lis skill in
playing with his victim. Once more
he turned and cast knife, and this
time I caught my breath, for 1 saw
that it was aimed at the head and
would hit very close. It pinned a
curl to the board and l. saw a shud-
der 60 through her form as if she,
too, had expected it TO be her last,
but still she stood up and looked
without seeing far into the flies over
my head.
As Athene turned to bow the Sec
ond time heard a rustic and looked
across. Calbert had stepped out,
grabbed a pistol and stepped back.
No one saw him, or seemed to notice
it, and do not believe that Athene
knew he was posted where he was,
for when he turned for his third
cast 1 am sure that from the CLEAN
in his eyes he was not thinking. of
anyone or anything but just the plot
in his dirty brain. His lips were
grinning, and I heard him softly
curse as he aimed a knife at the
woman before him. All at once it
flashed over me what he intended
doing. I don't know how it was, but
I felt I knew as well as if he had told
me. He was drunk. His hand was
shaky. He had proven it by his in
ability to shoot. He had gotten
drunk for purpose.
Across the way 1 could see Calbert
half crouching with the pistol raised
in his hand. Evidently he had no.
ticed it, and caught myself wonder
ing if he would shoot the man be-
fore it was too late. He seemed
about to do it, when, with final
maudlin giggle, the thing whizzed
o~1 OF of rnAno<nl
light for one instant in midair,
grabbed the scene against which ]
was leaning-and then there was q
terrific report, followed by rattle,
and the knife fell broken at my feet!
Calbert with his gun had done it
neck he had fired, and some Fate had
guided his bullet! The woman must
have known it, for she had tainted
and lay Imply against the board and
I saw Calbert's face through a cloud
Of revolver smoke. Out in front, his
arm still raised, Athene stood en-
tranced, while from every run be.
tween the scenes the shifters and
company were peering and the audi
ence had jumped upon its feet. The
horror of it was in everybody's face.
and every heart had stood still. One
moment more and their would have
been a bedlam and the performance
would have been ruined, had not Cal.
bert had the presence of mind to save
the situation.
With his gun still in his hand, he
walked down front, smiled in his
most winning fashion, bowed,
stepped to the side of the aston
ished Athene, gripped him firmly by
the wrist, bowed again to the audi
ence, whispered to the other to do
the same, and gradually backed into
the wings as if it had all been a pre-
meditated affair, and he mad been
waiting for the shot! Wonderful!
Oh, but the effect was immense.
never saw a finale so thrilling. For
a second or two the house could not
get over it's scare, and they did not
catch on, but when they did they
sank back to their places with sigh
of relief that we could hear behind
The scenes. Someone laughed and
then the applause broke out in per-
feet storm. Athene wanted to go out
and take it, but the manager calmly
eripped him without word and held
him back while Calbert went on.
After it was all over we revived the
woman and made up purse for her
and sent her away-back to her par.
ents, 1 think it was, she went; but
the little devil himself, we had to
turn adrift from the simple fact that
we had no evidence to hold him. It
killed his show business, however,
and I heard later that he got stuck