The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-05-26

said earnestly.
A knock at the door.
! The call-boy stood with staring
eyes and hair on end.
Not a waltz" gasped Laura.
mo, miss, not quite replied the
The dresser was on his heels. She
! lifted her mistress train from the
ground and followed her out into the
wings.
The house was very quiet.
1T is going We'll" she thought.
Her lips moved softly in a little
prayer. She was unknown. No one
! had heard whether she was clever or
not There had been no previous
paragraphs to raise the faintest ex-
| pectation- There was no vulgar big
lettering of her name. The house
was there to see the play, for George
TempletOn was looked upon as the
interest among a few of the jaded
critics as to who Laura Hebden
might be.
New blood, of course" said one.
Always acceptable murmured
another.
We shall see." said a third.
Seems to me some one told me
Templeton's engaged to her" ex-
! claimed fourth, soto voce.
Lord help us!" whispered another.
What risk! She'll probably
damn the thing"
No one know that but for her the
/ play would never have been written;
that the man hidden behind a curtain
IN the stage box with eyes riveted
upon the door where she would enter
owed inspiration, everything that was
/ best in him, to the touch of her soft
fingers and the light of her dark eyes
When she entered there was no sp-
/ plause, no sound of greeting
She glided slowly and noiselessIy On
| to the stage, and the house looked in
wonder at her beauty, but expressed
itself in silence.
had
| lovers eyes; she needed no more than
that.
The act was nearly over when she
appeared.
At the lowering of the curtain some
applause had a hubbub of voices. Peo-
pie leaned over one another's stall
Critics knotted themselves in groups
was decidedly questionable.
We'll, what d'you think of her?''
asked one.
Early. days answered the other.
Fine eyes!'
What a voice!"
GRACEFUL
4 "H-n!"
Wait" suggested a cynic
People hustled to their places and
once more the house was still.
About half way through the act
some one coughed. Several angry
suggestive of determination. The
crime was not repeated.
At the end of the act the curtain had
to be raised a dozen times. The ex-
lcitement in the house was tremendous.
George Templeton walked on air to
the door of Laura's dressing room. On
being admitted he found her with face
flushed and shining eyes.
You are magnificent" he cried.
''Oh. no. she said softly, cit IS you
who are magnificent. I only echo you. -
And what an echoi'
She had been perfectly sincere, but
it hurt her, even then, that he did not
contradict her.
You must 60" she said quickly.
you know have tremendous
change here and there's not much
time. You may kiss me-"
The third act was the great act of
the play, and Laura's almost entirely.
She wore a long, sweeping dress, hav-
ing in it the dull, changing lights of
labsinthe 1t was a quiet, terrible scene.
There was no tearing a passion to tat
tiers. 1t was played almost all through
in whisper-at twilight
The hush in the house was awe
some.
At the end of the act it rose as it
had never risen-so said the Oldest
lplaygoers there-since the days of
Rachel. There had been silence
first when the curtain was lowered. a
silence more eloquent than any ap-
plause could be. Then the wild, pent
up excitement burst forth sinultan-
eously and lasted so long that when
it died people lay back exhausted in
their seats. The critics looked at one
another in astonishment.
"a great night" said one.
THE actress of the future" said
another.
"She has yet much to learn
''She has that which can never be
learned
And so on, and so on.
Laura hoped that George would
have come round to tell her what he
thought or to congratulate her. but
she was disappointed. She supposed
some one had prevented him. She