The Washburn leader., 1907-11-29

to the end of her days." he pronounced
| ponderously. what we want to do is
to force the issue-to show people
what she is really capable of. Well
hire theater, get good cast and put
On. say, Romeo and Juliet That will
| make the managers sit up and take no.
tice."
Very WE'LL" said Temple quietly.
Get the best company you can and
do the thing right"
Miriam. to whom Stanley had al
ready broached the proposition. stared
at her husband. Temple was multi
millionaire. but the ten or twelve thou
sand dollars that Stanley had declared
the experiment would cost was large
sum to venture on single matinee
Impulsively she sprang from her seat
and ran to kiss him.
Temple smiled gently. 1t was the
first voluntary kiss Miriam had given
him since her greeting at the station.
She did not realize in her absorption in
her work how little attention she paid
him.
scheme. Stanley went up to town. leav-
ing Miriam with her husband for
week. He wanted to be free to make
arrangements for the theater. and Mir
lam. in her intervals of study. found it
very pleasant to sit in the cool even
ings with her husband and watch the
boats glide by on the river far below
Not until Stanley had left had she no.
ticed how pleasant it was to be freed
from his eXuberant presence. She was
sorry when her tutor wired her to re-
turn to town.
For six weeks she was drilled in her
new part. Every line was gone over
carefully and the exact accent studied.
She began to loathe the lines. From
the companies playing in town and
from those players not under engage
ment Stanley had made up an excel
lent cast. He had intended engaging
cheaper people that his own share of
the money might be greater, but for
the first time John Temple took an in
terest in his wife's career and gave
personal supervision to the formation
of the supporting company.
Some few papers made half contemp-
tuous advance mention of the perform
ance, and the critics gleefully sharp
ened their pencils. but Miriam. uncon-
scious of everything but the play, did
not even see the half jesting illusions
to the new star.
Then came the matinee. Stanley had
seen to it that claque was present,
but in spite Of the uproarious applause
Miriam felt the insincerity of it all.
and this added to the depression al
ready induced by her knowledge of
how poorly she appeared beside these
we'll trained players.
At home among friends and ANA
teurs whom she outshone the knowl-
edge of superiority had buoyed her up
Now the veil was rudely torn from her
eyes. and she beheld her limitations
with the clearness of an outside OBJ
server To complete her lesson she
overheard Il conversation between two.
of the lesser members of the cast
STANLEY stands to clean up $4,000 off
this show alone, besides what he made
off his coaching lessons" said the first.
The other laughed.
II never saw man with such luck
ut catching suckers" he said. Il wish
had the trick. They tell me he's
made
Miriam's call came. and she lost the
rest. She lay upon Juliet's bier with
the words ringing in her ears. In
flash she saw it all. Stanley. playing
upon her love for the stage, had en-
couraged her in the belief that she
could make a great actress solely for
the sake of the money she would pay
him for his services as Il coach, and
Jack. her Jack. had been called
sucker
The odious word bit into her brain.
and it was with difficulty that she
took up her lines when her cue came.
The tomb scene was mercifully short.
She bowed and smiled to the perfume
tory applause as the curtain rose again.
Most of the audience was heading for
the entrance. The claque alone re-
mained faithful.
Stanley as the curtain fell turned to
offer his congratulations. but she
roughly pushed him aside. Temple
had come on to the stage. and she went
straight to him.
"Jack," she sobbed, take me away
from here. Take me home. don't
want to act. want just you, dear"
And Temple. writing a final check
for Stanley. laughed softly to himself.
His Investment in fame had yielded
:ipe returns, as he had foreseen.
The i'm In Africa