Ellsworth American., 1903-06-03
oTOFOTuTossO 80 osNo%ONONc
EFFECT
OF THIRTY
SIDES
BY Richard Kann
eOp'ridht. 1902. by the S. S. Mcclure Company
O%O.&o&o1o..o

FO*Otro%Ot os' OF. ! OF O%O9Os.os.o 4,
Harrington had gone up spasmodical-
iy from small parts to leads. While he
was playing in stock ON the way up he
mad written play. OF course the pla v
was never produced. And about that
tlme harrington began to come down.
LIS coming down had not been spas-
modie. 1t had been certain and sure
as fate. He seemed, however. able to
hold a position as stage door keeper,
he could be scared into coming around
on time for successive weeks by the
threat that he would be assigned to the
billposter's forces.
And he was only thirty-fve. Some.
times when he became very bad he
would humble something about "Elea-
nor" But mumblings about Eleanor
didn't excuse his condition to Buscoe.
who believed that there was no reason
on earth good enough to keep a man
away from the theater later than 7.3O
and no trouble great enough to need an
extended stay along q bar rail to drown
1t.
So Harrington, with all his bril-
liancy, all his artistic training and his
wonderful mind that could absorb thir-
ty sides in night, got finally to be a
back door keeper. 1t was only because
he never attempted to excuse his con-
duct that Buscoe kept him at all. He
was merely penitent after one of his
periodical attacks.
And Harrington was the back door
keeper when the company moved into
New York for run. He stood, book in
hand, checking the company as it ar
rived for a rehearsal day before the
opening. Harrington got the note, with
a doctors certificate inclosed, telling
( that Temple. the leading man. had
brain fever. He turned pale as he read
it. He was that kind Of a back door
keeper.
Buscoe didn't turn pale, but every
one who heard what he said a minute
later did.
''Send boy to the manager" he Or
dered. TELL him Temple can't possibly
go on tomorrow night. Tell him that
unless he wants me to use bad under
study We'll have to postpone the open.
ing"
Harrington came over to him. 81
haven't sent the boy yet" he said.
You know l can get up in that part
by tomorrow night. Maybe they
wouldn't know Temple wasn't play
ing it. If you'll let me- He looked
wistfully at Buscoe.
you could, you know" said Bus
coe kindly, but it's too important.
They've been banking on this New
York opening. A set OF good notices
will carry them the rest of the sea-
son, and I'd rather postpone than take
any chances"
Harrington went mechanically back
to the door. Buscoe held the company
until he heard from headquarters.
use the understudy," said the note.
"Can't possibly postpone"
Buscoe walked over to the call board.
Company called for all day rehears-
al at s o'clock tomorrow" he wrote.
"Now, Harrington" he said kindly,
you take this part to my hotel and
begin on it. If you're letter perfect by
tomorrow morning, you go on in Tenn
pies place. At o'clock this after
noon I'll come over. Wen work on it
all night"
The hotel people wondered next
morning what had been going on in
40" during the night. Two men had
left at 7:30 in the morning with bar
bill of So for black coffee 1t had gone
up regularly every thirty minutes
since O'clock Around on the walls
were pinned strips of paper with mean
ingless sentences written upon them.
They took them down and read them
curiously. They seemed 10 be pas
sages chosen broadcast from book.
They would have understood if they
had known that the process of cram
ming thirty sides of typewriter man
uscript into the brain of a man means
that the brain must be stimulated with
something and that strong coffee is
the only harmless thing that will do 1t.
They didn't know that a mans brain
sometimes refuses to memorize past
certain amount. but that 1t will receive
impressions of things seen. That was
why some of the speeches Harring-
ton couldn't get, although they were
repeated TO him endlessly. were writ
ten on strips of paper. pinned on the
walls and stared at him through the
night until they sank into his mind.
Buscoe had been cruelty insistent,
but his methods had won out. Har-
rington, haggard and brain weary,
went through the 8 o'clock rehearsal
with but few bitches. Then Buscoe
ran them through again and dismissed
them at 12:30 with orders to report at
4 for dress rehearsal He dragged
Harrington back to the hotel and again
sent him over the part, this time with
the business included.
He went on that night almost crazed.