The Opelousas courier., 1904-07-16

DISPENSATION
OF
PROVIDENCE.


There was a buzz of excitement il
.he porch outside the drill hall.
mot the Mortimer Leslie?" asked
; girl.
Eyes; isn't it ripping Of him?" said
Fall youth, Juggling at his embryo mus
ache.
ooh, but I'm frightened" said anoth
,r girl. 1T was bad enough to thinl
If r~ehearsing before any professional
out Mortimer Leslie! I shall die o.
terror"
IT'S jolly good of him, commenced
he treasurer of the Langside Amateur
Dramatic club. "a professional WoulG
have cost me no end, and of coyTse
Leslie doesn't want asfeas<afsS rather
friendly with Paterson, and as he's
spending a weekend there he offered
10 come and give us some hints to-
night"
How do You feel, Miss Forrest?'
asked the girl who had said she was
frightened. 40
Everyone locked curiously at the girl
addressed, who had been standing very
quietly in the background. She was
/ comparative stranger to most OF
them, on a long visit, for her health's
4ake, to a friend in the neighborhood.
The girl who had originally been cast
Tor the leading lady's part "a Look
md a Leap" had just had an accident
i n the hunting field, and Miss Forrest,
enthusiastically recommended by her
friend, had been asked to fill her place.
"I?" she said, smiling family. "Oh,
1'm-trying not to be frightened"
The stage manager, excited and a lit
tie irritable, flung open the door sud
denly.
Come in! Come in!" he urged.
"Leslie's not going to eat you"
Thus encouraged the party flocked
into the room, Kate Forrest dropping
behind and entering last.
"Mr. Leslie-Miss Forrest"
She looked up serenely, and met his
startled, eager eyes. No answering
flicker of recognition stirred in her
own, and he flushed hotly. She did not
mean to know him. Bowling slightly,
she passed on, and Joined the group
round the fire.
A crowd of bitter-sweet memories
rushed upon him-and upon her. The
quaint village of Brittany where they
had met nine months ago; the long,
hot days on the beach; the acquaint-
anc,e, ripening fast-so dangerously
fast-into friendship, and something
more; and then the sudden, sharp end
ing of it all, the foolish, unnecessary
quarrel. It had seemed such a small
thing-to her, who knew the reason;
such a large thing-to him, who did
not. Only that they could not meet o
write for six months. After that.
But there had been no after that. He
had refused, with unreasoning vehem-
ence, to hear of it. And that was all.
He had gone out of her life, she out of
his. And now-she was to be coached
by him for some wretched amateur the
atricals. Oh! it was intolerable. She
sighed impatiently.
First act, please" It was his Voice,
and the murmur of conversation ceased
suddenly.
He explained, altered, corrected Wig
orously for half an hour, and then
came her cue.
Let yourself go a little more,
please" he requested, after her first
few lines.
She flushed and hesitated.
Don't wait. Cue again, please"
She smiled suddenly, and did his bid
ding.
"No, that's not quite right yet" he in
terrupted. did you," he asked sud-
denly; "see Margaret Ellison in the
part when this was in town."
eyes," she admitted.
stThen-can't you remember?-I
didn't see her myself, but you must be
able to remember a little how she took
the part?"
She considered. yes, | think I do
but" She stopped.
Every well, them" he said, briskly,
ignoring her unfinished sentence, "once
more, please. And you, Mr.. Kelly
the self-conscious juvenile lead started
much slower, please, and try not
to talk about love in the tone you
would use for discussing the weather"
The young man looked offended.
"If you could forgive" he re-
peated, sulkily, and striving after the
desired intensity.
The great actor strobe across the
floor.
mo, no; that won't do at all. Allow
He waved the self-conscious young
man aside, and motioned to him to
watch.
Then suddenly he realized what he
was going to do. The words that he
had to say to her-as an actor-were
the words he had longed for nine
months to say to her-as a nan Ii
he said them-as a man-would she
IF you could forgive he said,
and his voice trembled with passionate
e~ntreaty.
"Jove! What IN a%ctor!," murmured
the electrified stage manager.
Doesn't he do it gloriously?' He
the whisper at his elbow, and
breathlessly. Would she, too,
think he was doing it gloriously? Or
would she understand?
Her eyes sought his for an instant in
loubt. Then, with the quick, sympa-
hectic intuition which had first drawn