Evening star., 1911-08-12
CHAPTER XXXI.-Continued.

CHAPTER XXXI.-Continued.
Jack Jacobus was himself. it seemed,
leading man for Miss Lille de Lsie. the
Little Human Flower: heavy Lead he
| called it. but to the heavy lead apparent
~ belonged all the really good parts in
the company's repertoire. Their produc-
/ tions struck Loveland as being wonder
fully good for strolling troupe. playing
week by week in extremely small towns,
| but Jacohus laughed when he remarked
| that it must be expensive to obtain the
rights of such popular pieces as Sidney
! Cremer's, for instance. and to put them
on the stage properly.
| "Properly.'' he echoed. grinning. We'll,
that depends. Folks here amt perticular
| about scenery. They don't travel. and
| don't have no chance to see anything
| better than we give 'em. l guess l may
as well let you into the secrets OF the
| prison-house. for you're one of us now.
| and you'll soon find out for yourself.
| ANYHOW, what we are. for good and bad.
| We carry six men in our show, counting
me and YOU and there amt many pieces
| we put on, except Sidney Cremers come
!, dies, where there's less than dozen or
! fifteen male characters. sometimes more.
Il
| even me-the leading man. because
amt proud and needs must when some
| body drives-manages to do two or three
| small parts besides his own. 1t takes 1t
out Of US. but it's all in the nights work
What characters we can't double we leave
| out. Same with the women. We carry
four of them, counting Lille herself, and
| they earn their money. You see. we must
bill popular pieces. melodramas and come
! dies mostly. or we shouldn't get no
i chooSo nlaVS With few
1 characters to please lazy actors. AS for
/ the rights to productivity, we don't trou-
| BILE ourselves about them. any more than
We do about the pasts OF our 1uverlle
| leading gentlemen. 1t simply don't run
/ to it. What we want we take. Good
motto in this life. eh? There are fellows
| make their livin' by writin down the
words and biz of successful plays II
| shorthand, copyin' 'em out at home. ana
+, then sellin 'em on the sly to poor but
honest show folks like US who must live
| but can't afford luxuries. It's quite an
!! industry Pirates. the Puritans call our
! sort. but 1t don't kill us-or our business.
| And as we always work only the smallest
| towns, which the stage papers don
| touch II amt as risky as you'd think.
though once in a way the police do shove
! their roses I'm where nobody wants them.
and ] confess I'm bit scared about Sid
ney Cremer's new piece, which were just
| putin up. Say. you re lookin kind o
/, sick. hope you amt one Of the Purftans,
are you? Don't they have shows of our
| sort i'm your country?
| Loveland said he really didn't know:
| but as he hastened to add he was not a
F! puritan. and. anyhow, Mr.. Jacobus' busi-
ness was his own, that gentleman did
not feel called upon to translate into words
the thoughts his eyes had begun TO ex-
| press.
! Mr.. Perceval Gordon. IT appeared, was
expected to play seven parts. at the least
(, during the season. and must be letter
| perfect I'm the first one by that very
| night. 1t was, however. but a small role;
that Of an old man. who conveniently ex-
| pired at the end Of the first act in great
| agony. II was. the manager explained
! a fat acting part though there weren't
many lines to speak: and-yes. certainly,
| a Juvenile lead was occasionally expected
to play old men or. indeed, to do any
| thing he was asked to do; and an anna
teur like MIR Gordon might think him.
self jolly lucky to get varied experience
| under such stage MANAGEMENT as ne
| would find in the Human Flowers com
| pany This particular piece. melodrana
called The Dead Hand" had beel chosen
for the closing night of the engagement
| at Modunk because the part for the juve-
| nile lead wasn't too long or difficult t
| get up in with one rehearsal, whict
| they would have after noon: ana, indeed
| the dead hand was to be that of Mr.
Gosdon himself. He would appear as a
ghost near the end of the last act, and
wave the said hand behind gauze. with
| strong limelight turned upon 1t: which
! was the scene which made the part sso
fat Also. incidentally. at a ball. he
would be asked to walk on as young
| gentleman of fashion. Could he waltz
Good. Then he should have Mrs. Jaco.
bus for his partner. as she liked decent
dancer i'm that scene, where she had ex-
perienced considerable trouble with awk
| ward brutes who stepped on her party
tdress. Mrs Jacobus-known profession
ally as Miss Thora Moon. washer hus
band went on to state-Miss de I,isle's
leading lady. who played adventuresses
villainesses and important parts of that
ilk. 10 the Human Flowers soubrettes
and ingenues.
| My wife had some money-when
| married her.. he mentioned, with an in
Prospective look. accompanied by fain,
/ sigh. Thus Ioveland was enabled &c
guess how il was that Mr.. Jacobus might
have been induced to forget his early
penchant for Miss de Lisle Bills little
GAL
A bitter wind was blowing. but exercise
kept Loveland warm, and he did not envy
Jacobus the overcoat, which the actor
was obliged to hold together with one
cold. red hand tas several buttons were
missing). while he frantically seized the
brm OF his silk hat with the other. each
time they turned corner. at last they
came into the town of Modunk, whici
consisted Of one long business thorough
fare, named, OF course. Main street, anc
various other avenues sacred to the home
branching off from il at right angles ant
regular intervals
Main street was paved with red brick
and most of the residence streets were
content with coating of tar. or else thes
wallowed in their native mud. The shops
or stores" as Jacobus called them, ap
pea-ed depressingly unattractive to Love
lard. though they were not inferior tc
those in villages of the same size in Eng
land or Scotland Millinery, dry goods
and groceries were sold in the same estab
Iishments, and seemed TO the uninitia.ec
eye 10 be hopelessly mixed in some of tlt
show windows Most of the privat,
houses were built of wood. painted white
brown, gray or pale green They hat
outside shutters 10 tine windows, SUCH al
I.ovelard associated with southern
France and stood surrounded With nea
. little Yards fenced off from each othe
and publicity by painted or wiitewashet
raiings. There were, however. a fes
more pretentious houses, rising from
among less important reigh hbors, with tn
air Of being mansions They We're o
brick or stone, but Loveland liked the lit
tie frame houses best, and was hoping h
might be lodged In one of them. whel
. Jacobus stopped in Main street, in from
of an ugly new Building constructed o
wood and brick. There was kind o
, 'veranda, above which appeared q lars