The San Francisco call., 1904-07-17

before she tried to be a leading LADY,.
1t spoils you, this sense of safeness
that goes with the honesty graft. You
lose the quickness of the hunter and
the nerve of the hunted. And-worse
you lose your taste for the old risky
life. You grow proud and fat, and you
love every stick in the dear, quiet lit
tle place that's your home-your own
horne. You love it so that you'd be
ashamed to sneak round where it
could see you-you who'd always
walked upright before it with the step
Of the mistress; with nothing in the
world to be ashamed of: nothing to
prevent your staring each honest dish
pan IN the face.
And, Mag, you try-if you're me-to
1T Tom Dorgan in here-Tom Dorgan
in stripes and savage sulks still-all
these months-kept away from the
world, even the world behind bars!
Maggie, don't you wish Tom WAS a
ventriloquist or-or an acrobat Or
but this isn't what I had to tell you.
Do you know what society enter
tainer is, Miss Monahan? No? Well,
look at me. Yes, I'm one. Miss Nance
Olden, whose services are worth $50
a night-at least, they were one night.
Ginger brought me the note that made
me q society entertainer. II was from
a Mrs. Paul B. Gates, who had been
charmed by your clever impersona-
tiCns, Miss Olden, and write to know
if you have the leisure to entertain
some friends at my house on Thursday
of this week
Had 1 the leisure-well, rather, I
showed the note to Gray. just to make
her Jealous. ooh, yes, she goes on all
right in the act with Lord Harold
every night. Catch her letting me
wear those things of hers twiceD Well.
she just turned up her nose.
OF course, you won't accept?" she
said.
''Of course, l will
"Oh. 1 only thought you'd feel as
1 should about appearing before a lot
OF snobs, who'll treat you like a serv-
ant end"
Who'll do nothing of the sort and
who'll pay you well for it," put in
Obermuller. He had come up and
was reading the note I had handed to
him. You just say yes, Nance" he
went oil, after Gray had bounced off
to her dressing-room. 1T isn't such
bad graft and-and this is just be-
tween US two, mind-that little beg
gar, Tausig, has begun his tricks since
you turned his offer down. They can
make things hot for me, and if they
DO. it won't be so bad for you to go in
for this sort of thing-unless you go
over to the Trust
l shook my head.
We'll, this thing will be an ad for
you, besides-if the papers can be got
to notice it. They're coy with their
notices,N confound them, since Tausig
let them know that big Trust ads don't
appear in the same papers that boom
antitrust showsi"
How long are you going to stand
it, Mr.. O?''
Just as long as I can't help my
self; not minute longer"
There ought to be a way-some
way"
Yes, there ought, but there isn't.
They've got things down to a fine
point. and the fellow they don't fear
has got to fear them. I'll
put your number early tonight. so
that you can get off by nine. Good
luck, Nance"
At nine, then, behold Nancy OIden
in her white muslin dress Iong-sleeved
and high-necked, and just to her shoe
tops, with big white muslin sash
around her waist. Oh, she's no baby,
is Nance, but she looks like one in this
rig with her short hair-or rather, like
a schoolgirl; which makes the stunts
she does in mimicking the corkers of
the profession all the more surprising.
Were just a little party" said Mrs
Paul Gates, coming into the bedroom
where 1 was talking off my wraps
And I'm so glad you could come, for
my principal guest, Mr.. Latimer, is an
invalid, who used to love the theaters,
but hasn't been to one since his attack
mary years ago. L count on your CIV
ing him, in a way. a condensed history
in action of what is going on on the
stage"
told her would. But I didn't just
know what 1 was saying. Think of
Latimer there, Maggie, and think of
our last meetingi 1t made me tremble.
Not that 1 fancied for a moment he'd
DclidE IIle. he IIldl nelpS you
twice don't hurt you the third time
No, it wasn't that; it was only that 1
longed to do well-well before him,
so that
And then I found myself in an al
cove off the parlors separated from
them by heavy curtains. It was such
a pretty little red bower. Right be-
hind me was the red of the Turkish
drapery Of a cozy corner, and just as
1 took my place under the great chan
delier, the servants pulled the curtains
apart and the lights went out in the
parlors.
In that minute 1 got it, Mag-yes,
stage fright. Got it bad. I suppose it
was coming to me, but Lordy! 1 hadn't
ever known before what it w" L
could see the black of the mems
clothes in the long parlors in front of
me, and the white of the women's
necks and arms. There were soft ends
of talk trailing after the first silence.
and everything was so strange that I