The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-19
Our Daily $bcrt Story

 sun to make up, although the curtain was due to rise in ten minutes. Pos sibly the comedian was i'll. Steve | thought, and he opened the door and stepped inside.
 1 What 'smatter?" Kingsberry asked in thick tone. His voice and a flask on the makeup table. half full of the liquor that gave sickish odor to the room, told the story.
 i Aren't you going ong Steve asked | almost breathlesslv. fs "Gon! kingsberry looked up sleep. | fly. What suse? Papers snay I'm no good. Papars shay can't act tall Have some shing?"> He made a half helpless gesture toward the flask. At that instant wild temptation shot through steve's mind The idea was so desperately bold that it fright l ened him, and he looked the door so that he might think moment without danger of interruption. Why could heI not play the part? It was certain that | kingsberry could not go on, and there was no understudy yet. If he should go away and say nothing the audience | would be dismissed and the failure of | the play would probably be complete. If he should attempt to play it and 1 bungled what would they do to him? | They could not discharge him. He | | he pleased the audience and saved the piece? At this thought his confidence | rose and he resolved to run the, risk. He took his watch from his pocket | and laid in on the table, noticing that he had eight minutes Then he tore i oR his clothes with furious haste and threw them into corner. Kingsberry closed his eyes and snored. quickly he donned the comic garments that ' n fk aI | the actors makeup box, he sat down before the mirror and began to apply | the paint. The colors were cold and slow to work, so he warmed them against the electric lamp in his haste The minutes flew as he worked and just as he gave the last touch to his eyebrows knock sounded on the door and he heard the shrill sum- mons of the call boy, "AlI down for the first act. please. The mirror sat- | isfied him that he looked almost ex- actiy like the EngIishman and now his only fear was that he, might be found out before the play began. | There was a very noticeable differ. ence between his voice and Kingsber- rvs, and he knew that he must, if possible, avoid conversation while awaiting the time for his first en- trance. which would occur about ten minutes after rise of the curtain. Seeing a copy of Kingsberry's part on the table, he picked it up and took 1t with him as he left the room and locked the door on the drunken actor. | On the stage Bulger was i1urrying about, grouping the chorus and giving sharp orders in an undertone, while, from the other side of the curtain came the closing bars of the overture. Steve stalked boldly across the green carpeted stage and seating himself in corner, began ostensibly to scan his part. He heard someone say that the house was filling and at that mo- ment MT Blum appeared. followed by his partner.
 | MT kingsberry," began Mir. Blum,
 we hope for something better from you tonight. You must try"
 "Ch, come, come, Abe" broke in MT. Cohen, don't unnerve the man just be- Tore he goes on. I know he'll do his best The two moved away. to steYe's great relief. without compe1l- ing him to speak, and he appeared to bury himself agaip, in his book
 The curtain roseI During the open- ing chorus Steve's heart throbbed fas- ter and faster, and, in spite of himself he grew nervous. He looked at the lines before him, but he could not see them. The awful fear of failure tor | tured him, and he wished he were dead. He stood and stretched him. self and clencho1 his hands to combat the feeling of weakness that kept creeping over him. He peered out be- tween the wings at the chorus girls | and among them he saw the sweet face of Alice Leslie, who had encour- | aged him. who believed in him. She had said that he had talent and q future in store for him. This was his opportunity to justify her belief He would prove that she was right He would act as he had dreamed that he l could act--not for himself, not for what 1t might profit him, not for what the critics might write of him-but for her sake. for sweet, kind Alice Leslie. His fear vanished and he | thought only of his work, and of ner. Then came his cue and the music for his entrance and in an instant he stood in a great glare of white light. How cheerful 1t was! It seamed so pleas ant that he looked around and smiled, and someone in the audience laughed. One critic 'said the smile was infec- tious- At any rate the laugnter kept on and the laughter and appIaSse and | the great white eyes of the calciums made him feel like one in a dream, and somehow he forgot to be afraid. He acted as he had often acted alone III ms attlc room, and the audience roared. It seemed so funny that the players laughed too. and the ice was broken. From the moment Steve heard the first hearty laugh he knew that he had conquered.
 Behind the scenes 1t was realized that something out of the ordinary was going on. and q door was hastily broken open and a drunken man bun- | died into a cab and driven away. When the curtain fell at the end of the act amid & long continued round Of applause, MT. Bulger rushed to the center of the stage and peered eager ly into the long comedians painted face.
 Well I'll be d--d. if it aint the Jonah!' was all he said.
 But Cohen and Blum said some oth- CT and more pleasant things as they placed their signatures under Steve's on contract the next mornng One l newspaper said: 'Messrs. Cohen and | Blum very shrewdly substituted Ste phen Willowby for MT. Kingsberry in the leading role when they saw that the latter's work did not please MT. Willowby is an eccentrict comedian of excellent ability whom the firm very recently discovered
 | What Alice Leslie said is not re- corded, but it is certain that she said something that pleased Steve more than all the rest.
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