The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-01-03


make the changes and write in any new
scenes or speeches they needed together
You can be John Ferguson as well as l.
and it's only to few people. You Know
you had a lot to do with the play, as 1t
is. You were such a help-won't you go
on with it?' Kerrigan slipped slowly
back into his deep chair and looked at
the flames and waited
Fielding sat with his arms tightly
folded across his breast and staring up
at portrait over the hearth. Then his
eyes turned to the bent figure lying in
the chair at his side. "All right, Kerry,
he said that's all right; I'll be the au-
thor-'John Ferguson-for a few weeks
Miss Carew shook her head. That's
all right" she said, and held out white
gloved hand II don't mind If the play
makes a hit-besides, I need the money"
Bronson hustled out of his swivel chair
and patted his star affectionately on the
back you're a good girl, Blanche he
said. and taking her arm started her
toward the door, you're good girl
Miss Carew stopped in the doorway and
smiled over her shoulder at the manager,
who had returned to his desk and was
putting great clouds of smoke from
freshly lit cigar. You got through that
a good deal better than you expected.
she called, didn't your"
"a good deal better" he said laughing,
"a good deal.'
Fielding had obtained a leave of alb
sence from his paper for three weeks
and during the morning and afternoon
hours he sat down in front at Bronson's
favorite theatre and watched the re-
hearsals of the play of which he was
supposed to be the author. For the most
part Fielding sat in the deserted orches-
ira, but sometimes he went back on the
stage and told some particular player
Just what a line or situation meant, and
often they sought him out and asked for
his advice But the girl who probably
needed his help the least, and yet to
whom he went and who came to him the
most often, was the girl who played
Millicent and who, as the character man
said. was going to "score, and score
good"
Even to the Impractical eye of Fielding
there was not much in common be-
tween this young girl, this Ruth Emery,
and her fellow players The ways OF the
stage folks were not her ways She
seemed to have acquired all the ambi-
ton and hope that had long since been
crushed out of their lives by years OF
hard toll and for which they had earned
SO little of honor or accomplishment.
'She's wonderful he said to Kerri-
gan one night after long day of re-
hearsing-"s quite wonderful! They
lust goes ON being 'Millicent.' I could
stand it all If you could only see her that
first night We go out to little place
around the corner every day now for
lunch together and she never talks OF
anything but the play"
Kerrigan smiled. "And the play
wright" he asked.
"Oh, you don't understand. Kerry.
really you don't. She doesn't care about
io1 1x
You know it's a great chance for a young
girl She's really helped me with sugges-
tons more than I have her.
us she-is she pretty?" said Kerrigan
"Pretty? She's a wonder-not like any
body you ever saw. She promised to bring
me some photographs tomorrow. ] knew
Won would want to see how she looked
so I'll bring them down tomorrow night.
And Miss Carew?"
"Fine-really splendid, but she's differ
ent, that's air.
"Good-nightr' Kerrigan said. Good
night, old man. was sure something
would make you forgive me for making
you a playwright. l didn't know 1t would
be Miss Emery but it's all right so long
as you're happy. Don't forget the photo
graphs
For Fielding those three weeks of re-
hearsals were three weeks of the most
intense excitement and of complete nap
piness he had never known.
Through it all there was always the
thought of the girl who had come into
his life with her clear, clean mind and
her fiower-lke beauty, and who had
dragged him out of the mental rut of in
difference and Incidence into which he
had gradually fallen. And with the pic
ture of the girl in his mind and the graft
tude in his heart for all he owed her.
there was always that other thouSht-the
thought that he was not the real John
Ferguson" that he was deceiving her. 1t
may have been a deception inspired by
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT had called it sac
rifice-but whatever Fielding had won
from the girl he had won under false col
ors, and he knew 1t and suffered for 1t.
The audience that filed the theatre on
the first night of THE Interpreter was.
, in all ways, worthy of Miss Carew's posi-
ton as an actress and the reputation of
the players with whom Bronson had sur
rounded her. At the end of the first act