The Alaska citizen., 1910-12-26
George Randolph Chester
HG GS scG SGGGS
In Saturday Evening Post,

yited. we are all ze good friends; oui?"
 It appeared that Monsieur Noire came in all politeness, yet with rigid intention, to inquire about missing piece of music from the score Of Les Huguenots. and Madam Nillen- auye. in pOlitgness, and yet with much indignation. assured him that she did not have it: whereupOn Mon sieur Noire. with all politeness but cold insistence. demanded that she look for it; whCreupon Madam Nll- lenauve. though once more protesting that she had it not, in all politeness and yet with considerable of as perity. declared that she would not se arch for it; whereupon Monsieur Noire. observing the piece Cf music ill question peeping out from be- meath a conglomerate pile of news papers. clothing and toilet articles, laid his hands upon il and departed.
 Madam Villenauye, entirely unruf- fled now that il was all over, but still chatting away with great yolu- bility about the crime of Carmen, finished her dressing and bade Bobby hook the back of her waist, and by sheer calmness and certainty of in tention forced him to accompany her over to rehearsal.
 Whatever annoyance he might have felt over this was lost in his amusement when he reached the theater in finding Biff Bates upon the stage waiting for him; and Bif, while waiting. was quite eXcusably willing the time away with Miss McGinnis.
 You see. Young Fitz lives here" Riff brazenly explained, and l run up to see him about that exhibition night I'm going to have at the gym. I'm going 10 have him go on with Kid Jefreys."
 "Biff." said Bobby warmly, "I want 10 congratulate you on your business enterprise. Have you seen Young Fitz yet?"
 Well, no," confessed Bif. T just got here about an hour ago. I didn't know your hotel, but it was a cinch from the bills to tell where the show was. so I came right around to the theater to see you first"
 Exactly" admitted Bobby. Do you expect to see Young Fitz?'
 Well, maybe, if get time," said Biff with a sheepish grin. Just now I'm going out for a drive with Miss McGinnis."
 "Carayaggio," corrected that young lady with q laugh.
 "McGinnis for mine" declared Biff. By the way. Bobby. 1 saw y. a haF,ra laft nd she gaYe me this letter for you. Certain party is as cheerful as a chunk of lead about your trip Bob by. but she makes the sWelest bluff ever saw that shes tickled to death with it."
 With this yengeful shot in retal- iation for his excuse about Young Fitz having been doubted, he sailed away with The Caravaggio, who, though required to report at the re- hearsal was not in the cast for that night and was readily excused from further attendance. Since Bob- by had received a very pleasant let ter from Agnes when he got up that morning he opened this missive with a touch Of curiosity added to the thrill with which he always took in his hands any missive, no matter how trivial, from her It was but brief note calling attention to the enclosed newspaper clipping and wishing him success in his new venture. The clipping was a fam boyant article describing the decis- ion of the city council to install magnificent new ten-milliCn-dollar water works system, and the person. ally interesting item in it, ringed around with pencil mark, was that Silas Trimmer had been appointed by Mayor Garland as president of he Water-works commission.
 It was not news that could alter his fortunes in any way so far as he could see, but it did remind him, with strange whipping of his con science, that, after a', his place was back home, and that his proper em- ployment should be the looking af- ter his home interests; for Silas Trimmer was the man who, in his first venture after his fathers death had euchred him out of his fathers store and had caused him to lose an enormous amount of money in big real estate venture. Moreover, the whole political system with which Trimmer was now allied had delib- erately forced Bobby to the wall after he had purchased a well es- tablished electric light company For the first time he began to have a dim realization that a mans place was among his enemies, where he could watch them.
 VII.
 It had become byno means strange to Bobby, even before the company took the road" that some one of the principals should attach them selves to him in all his possible go- ings and cOmings, for each and every one of them had some complaint to make about all the others. They wanted readjustments of cast, bet ter parts to sing, better dressing rooms, better hotel quarters, better everything than the others had, and with the unhappy and excited Mon- sieur Noire he shared this intending strife. At first he saw it all in a humorous light, but. by and by, he came to period of ennui and tried to rebel. This period gave him more trouble than the other, so within short time he lapsed into an apathetic complaint receptacle and dreamed no more of walking or riding to and from the hotel with out one of these impulsive children of art, who seethed perpetually in selfprodded artificial emotions, at tached tO him If it seemed ctranoa