Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-01-25
IN A SECOND
BY Elizabeth Mccrackcn.

IC0ltu. ltNtt1 il1e tCN4sS 'kGAilliS 70 INK
uureServed seats of the second balcony
had not vet been opened. Seton smiled
slightly as he passed through The main
entrance and made his aAy 70 he
second balcony. He could scarcely DO
less than convict himself Of whilnsic-
ality in preparing to spend an entire
afternoon in viewing another persons
performance from an unreServed seat.
Seton's own parts We're usually siren
uous TO such a degree that he gave
but one matinee q week. He had not
often devoted his consequent leisure to
the matinee performances OF stars: but
latterly his leisure had become of lit
tie value. and he gave II freely TO the
pursuit OF ANY fancy which promised
~mornentary diversion.
Finding a seat in the fourth row. he
dropped into IL and took out a news
paper. but the light was SO dim that.
after ii moments straintng. he let the
paper fall to- the floor. He sighed some
what 7rnpatiently, n looked at his
watch.
Presently the audience began to as
selnble. singly and in small groups:
the lights increased In number, and the
members of the orchestra began tun-
Ing their instruments.
When the crowd poured into the sec
ond balcony he opened his yes n
watched with interest its struggle for
seats. The second balcony of q the
ater would seem to possess the power
to awaken, even In persons not usually
addicted to jostling and pushing. that
primitive instinct which would award
the best to him who first can seize 1t.
Seton looked at the crowd with curious
pleasure and wondered if i'm any other
part of the thealer such eager antic-
ipation could be found. He specialized
as to the reasons for the marked en-
IN tSinCS, of tho r,onfln ,rhn ,uN.I,AI
past him. never suspectine that the
faint bohcmianism of The second ball
cony has of itself an alluriug charm
and incites Independently y youthful
~nilarity utterly out of the question in
4 p%roscenium box.
No wonder they cali II q rush, lie
said aloud. To his surprise, his neigh
Dor ON the left. a middle-age woman,
with Il carewor face, replied:
No, it's not a WONDER she re-
marked. Such pushing never saw
and they call this a civilized country"
The pushing is part of the fun.' he
heard q girl back of him say, with a
laugh, to iler companion. Seton smiled
AT this revelation. He had been about
to conclude that the fun was the COM
pellsa;iVn for the pushing.
The fun WAS none the less large and
genuine. He had come to look at the
play from the standpoint OF the people
in the second balcony. but he found
himself looking at nothing so much as
the people themselves. They were SO
diverse: they ranged from newsboys to
college Instructors. from not very Well
bred schoolgirls to women who We're
even dlStin"tlNe IN appearance. and
they We're equally. if as diversc!y, in
terested in the performance.
Seton glanced from the Woman on his
left to hts neighbour on the right, who
WAS also - r,tl. Shn n,c t,ta,>t ,,,N
ON the performance; n Seton's glance
heightened almost into Il stare. Her
manner of looking at the play was un-
TX that of any other person whom he
had seen In the balcony. She was
seeking the causes of it's effects.
TO Seton. a member OF the profession,
this vas almost instantly apparent.
When the audience laughed, she did not
laugh, She knitted her brows and riv-
eted her attention the more colsely
upon the stage. When a scene MAS
interrupted by AN Involuntary outburst
of applause. she leaned forward i'm
more intense interest.
she is an acress or a playwright
she might be either Seton thought.
He glanced again at her.
Her utter absorption in the play and
the varying OF her expressions as she
watched II alone gave her n certain
beauty. In addition, her hair was soft
and dark. and she had Glue Irish eyes.
The distance from the line of her eyes
to the tilt of her chin WAS artistically
short. and her mouth had Il wistful
sweetness and charm which also sug-
gested AN Irish ancestry. She was
leaning forward, but Seton guessed
that her height vas above the average.
She looks more like an actress. than
a playwright he thought, as he con
templated her. she is almost beauti-
full; and she has a most professional
way of looking at a play. 1t did not
occur to him that she might indie
pendently and unprofessionaily have
possessed both beauty and that critical
appreciation which would presuppose Il
personal professional interest.
He looked at her very nearly as in
tenly as h looked at the stage. She
appeared 80 oblivious of anything but
the stage cat he forgot to be guarded;
looked at him, without allowing him
time to turn his head he was for an
instant confused. In the same instant
he observed that The curtain was de-
scending and that her attention had
naturally been taken from the stage.
There was no shade of annoyance in
her expression as She glanced at him.
To his surprise She started very slight
ly: II her face softened as She turned
it away from him. He supposed that
h had recognized him, and he was the
more convinced that she belonged to
the profession, for he was aware that
very few persons h had known him
only on the stage recognized him when
they saw him off it. He did not know
that the girl who saw an act Of Il play
with such quick and clear in%tentness
had as intently seen his face and had
been startled and owe by its drawn
and haggard lines.
She was younger than her p
ance and her keen intentness had sug-
gested to Seton. At the n of the next
act che turned and spoke to him. with
a cln~aalnn &. .al.-. AloH. L. ..l.-i