The Washington herald., 1907-03-16

i
her at the first rehearsal of "Flim-Flam
She was the serawniest, homeIiest girl in
the chorus when the girls lined UP for
| first inspection. and happened to land in
the middle of the lineup. Davis spotted
her. and called out before everybody in
the pleasant, merry little way he had.
THAT will do for yours, Little Bright
eyes Never mind about taking the cen
/ ter. Wen save the spot light when
you're around. The back row for yours %
Everybody turned TO take d good look
at Little Brighteyes before the back row
! swallowed her forever. She was about
/ thirty, a slim little woman with big gray
| eyes and dark hair II was a point OF
/ beauty in its own way. that hair. soft
and brown, and straight as Minnehaha' s
/ ever was. but she had tried TO Marcel it
into shape with home applied curling
/ iron TO make her look professional. and
/ it was a sight. But she took her medi-
cine bravely and even Davis recognized
the grit in her
II was her best asset in the after days,
that grit II carried her through all Of
/ Davis major and minor tantrums and
the teasing from the other girls She said
little, and worked hard, but the nick
name that Davis had given her that first
day stuck fast Even Jennie Reynolds,
the wardrobe woman, caught It, and when
she was handing out the costumes to the
girls she tossed a bunch across the room
and called out cheerfully:
Here you go. Brighteyes."
And Little Brighteyes just laughed
good-naturedly. although she had drawn
the least artistic clothes in the lot. It
didn't matter. when one was only the
fourth girl in the last row back. She
did as Davis had told her, and kept OUT
of the spot light.
That girls an old-timer." Davis re-
marked 20 Vida Lorne as the two stood
IN the first entrance the opening night
and watched the girls take a big encore
on the 'Rattlebang" song. There were
sixteen picked out from the little ones in
the crowd, and Brighteyes was one Of
them It was a jolly, swinging. drummer
boy chorus. and took the minute Il hit
the house. The girls were all in scarlet
and black, with snare drums. and Little
Brighteyes was beating hers for sure. no
make-believe. The rouge helped her lots.
and so did the red and black costume.
Her head was held high, just bit a-tilt
and her lips were parted in a smile.
Marshall, Nick Marshall that was the
manager, was beside Vida. He watched
the skinny little figure on the end
thoughtfully as the girls went off.
shes all right" he said. Put her on
to lead tomorrow night in that chorus.
Davis. and see how she goes. She's on
TO the ropes all right"
Vida leaned forward TO get a better
look
I've seen that girl somewhere. Nick"
she said. Look at her now with that
drum. And the way she steps. Who is
she?''
Little Brighteyes." laughed Davis,
shortly That's all she is now. anyway.
but she's an old-timer all right
Vida laughed, too, as Marshall walked
around with her 70 the big white auto
mobile in which she made her first en-
trance. The first act showed mountain
scene in country anywhere between
Italy and China. The beautiful Ameri-
all over Europe, and the prince Of the
country was in love with her. He had
followed the lead of the white automobile
all over the map. and finally had induced
the girl to pay visit 10 his own land
She feared possible banditti. He assured
her the red and black drummer BOYS and
the army behind them could protect her
And all the time, Of course, he merely
wanted TO get her over the border, abduct
her. shut her up In the castle steep for
tress tAct ID, and starve her into marry
ing him, and filling his stingy little treas
ury with boobies of American coin. II
was a rehash, but Il went with a bang.
Even before Vida's entrance, the thing
was sure success, and Marshall was
solidly joyous.
BE careful and don't lose your head
when yoG take that run" he said. as he /
stood beside the auto, while Vida was 4