Evening star., 1911-08-12

signboard with the words Smiths
Hotel in green and gold letters.
Here we are said Jacobus. signing
as he looked at his mud-incrusted patent
feathers. THE whole crowds here. III
| show you to your room. and by the time
you've had wash If you want it. din
ner'll be ready. I guess you'll be ready
| for it. too,''
"What-dinner at haif-past twelve?'
asked Loveland
You bet. They'd like to give it to us
with our breakfast il they could, SO as to
| get the work out of the way. You'll find
troduce YOU. After dinner YOU can have
look through your part in The Dead
| Hand if you get through in time. every
body who's on in your scenes has call
at the theater for rehearsal That's for
| half-past one, sharp"
! Loveland made no comment on these
announcements. He walked into the hotel
| behind Jacobus, who. being manager of
the company. heavy lead and stage man.
! ager combined. naturally marched in
front of the insignificant Juvenile who
carried his wardrobe i'm his hand.
| There was a narrow, uncarpeted pas
| sage. with an uncarpeted and still mar
| rover stairway leading steeply up to
! nay, overdeveloped smell of dinner. which
could be all too easily divided into its
! component parts-corned beef and cab
| bage. with, perhaps. bodyGuard of on
| followed. but on the next story began to
mingle with suggestion of hot iron. coal
smoke and unopened windows.
'One more fight for YOU explained
commodation here. and Miss de Lisle. me
and my wife and the other ladies are on
this floor: gentlemen above"
! They continued to ascend. and the actor
| manager stopped before the first door at
the head of the second stairway, which
| led to the ton story of the hotel
| Here YOU are he said. and with
| light knock. which was a notification not
request. he flung the door open.
| On narrow bed visible from the thresh-
old young man. hardly more than a
| boy, was stretched. reading something
that looked like MSS. He glanced round.
but did not move on seeing Mr.. JacobuS
and stranger.
Il thought you said this was my room p
exclaimed LovelaITd, startled
$50 it is and there's your roommate.
Didn't know whether you'd be in. Ed. l
can introduce YOU to each other right
prompter and second villain. Mr. Perce-
val Gordon Of England. our new juvenile.
Now YOU know each other and 1 guess,
Eddy, you can put Mr. Gordon up to all
he needs to know.
This was worse than the Bat Hotel,
where each man who earned % cents
| could have his own cubicle. But, now.
Loveland was not paying his own way.
| The management was to do that and
feed him, too. AS he had but a quarter
| in the world, thrust upon him as loan
or gift by generous Bill. Loveland was
rot in a position to he critical. Here he
was, and here ne would have to stay till
he heard from home or something turned
up
| AS for hearing from home, he had be-
gun almost to despair. for his two cables
| had remained unanswered now these
many dreary days. STILL after an inter-
val of more waiting for telegram from
| MS mother, he had written to her and to
| Betty Marlborough, ashamed to take out
| siders into the deepest secrets of his hu-
| initiating adventures. But at best it
would be fortnight before Bill Willing
| could forward to some address yet to be
| given, letter from across the sea: and
| meanwhile Loveland was slave of ne
cessity-if not of Jack Jacobus.
Ihat gentleman. having acquitted him.
self of his duty to the juvenile lead. dis
4 appeared. banging the door. leaving the
old occupant and the new occupant of the
mean. bare room to make each other s
| acquaintance.
/ Mr.. Binney did not think 1t worth while
| TO get up. as the Juvenile lead was no
guest of his. but he raised himself on one
/ elbow. and observed Loveland with an
/ interest that might might not develop
/ into friendiness. He was thin, pale and
! delicate looking, but he had bright ewes
almost too bright for hea.th-and a firm
| chin.
| For moment Val resented the youth s
existence so keenly that he did not trust
! himself to speak; but brief reflection re-
minded him that after all he was the in
truder. short time ago he would have
| been intoerant of circumstances even
| less disagreeable, such as finding himself
| forced TO share cabin on shipboard or
a wagon-lit compartment after expecting
! TO travel alone. But much water had
| gone under the mill of his pride since
! then: and, besides. he had learned great
| ly to his own surprise. that kindly agree
| able human beings can be found in the
lowest classes and queerest circum-
| stances.
| Ed Binney looked as though he might
| have pleasant qualities. If approached in
the right way, SO with amazing self-re-
| straint Loveland refrained even from the
| mild insult of a dsgusted glance He
said, in his nice voice, that lie hoped Mr.
| Binney wouldn't mind his coming as he
really couldn't help himself. Whcreupon
as a girls. and replied that il ii weren't
| Mr.. Gordon it would be some ore Csc,
who might be worse. as it struck Mr.
| Binney that Mr.. Gordon would at least
be fond of washing himself
| To this Mr.. Gordon responded that there
| were few things he liked better, but 1t
| seemed as If there wouldn't be much op-
| portunity at Smiths Hotel. You had to
do II in sections, with washbowl, said
, MIR. Binney. but rever mind. you got there
Just the same. if YOU were in earnest
/, Then they both laughed, and Binney ex-
| claimed with evident "elief that he was
!. jolly glad Gordon WASH. the sort OF boy
| who put on airs. He'd been afraid az
| first sight that was the kind he was hut
now he guessed 1t was all the high collar
| The feeling was for low in Miss de
Lisle's company. yet he didn't know but
those stove-pipe ones had a sort of style
| abou. EN-.
Then he bounced off his tremulous cot
(which had a patchwork quilt somewhat
1 the worse for contact with his boots and
was the twin of another little iron fra med
he'd in a far corner) He showed his room
mate the ropes; in other words, whc h
| bureau drawers We're at the newcom-
er's disposition: where he had better keen
his tooth brush and so on. He confiaed
! TO Loveland the fact that he himself had
no. been long in the company. but had
| come from better one, which he would
now regret if the "one night" stands ha l
not been too much for his strength. IT
your lungs are always playing YOU tricks
you have TO put UP with transformers,
for at least they give you week stands,
and most of the hotels throw in fires
free" he explained. Il can see that
you've stepped down in the world a bit.
} too. so we ought to have fellow feein'
} FOR each other"
While Loveland made himself present