Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-09
CHAPTER {.
is Il the Ghost?


performance TO mark their retirement
Suddenly the dressing-room OF La
Sorelu one OF the principal dancers,
was invaded by half-a-dozen young
ladies OF the ballet. They rushed in
amid great confusion, some giving
vent TO forced laughter, others to
cries OF terror. Sorelli, who wished
to be alone for a moment to run
through" the speech which she was TO
make to the resigning managers,
locked around angrily az the mad and
tUmultuous crowd. II was little
Jammes who gave the explanation in
q trembling voice:
TITS the ghost!" And she locked
the door
Have you seen him?"
AS plainly as see you now!" said
little Jammes.
Thereupon little CRY added:
III that's the ghost, he's very
ugly"
"oh. yes!" cried the chorus OF bal
le.-girls.
And they all began TO talk togeth,.
err The ghost had appeared TO them
in the shape OF a gentleman in dress
clothes, who had suddenly stood be-
fore them in the passage. He seemed
10 have come straight through the
wall
For several months there had been
nothing discussed at the opera but
this ghost in dress-clothes who staIked
about the building, from top TO bot
tom, like a shadow, who spoke TO no
body. and who vanished as soon as
he was seen. The dress-suit had a
popularity OF it's own. 1t covered
skeleton. At least, so the ballet-girls
said
The idea of the skeleton came from
the description of the ghost given by
Joseph Buquet, the chief scene-shifter.
He had run up against the ghost on
the little staircase. by the footlights,
which leads 10 the cellars"
He is extraordinarily thin and his
sdress-coat hangs on a skeleton frame.
His eyes are so deep that you can
hardly see the fixed pupils. His nose
is so little worth talking about that
you can't see II side-face; and the
absence OF that nose is a horrible
thing TO look at"
This chief scene-shifter was a seri-
Gus, ,ober, steady man, very slow at
imagining things. And then, one after
the other, there came a series of in-
cidents so curious that the shrewdest
people began to feel uneasy.
For instance. a fireman is a brave
fellow! Well. the fireman. who had
gone to make round OF inspection in
the cellars and who had ventured a
little farther than usual, suddenly re-
appeared on the stage, pale, trem bling
and practically tainted in the arms
OF the mother OF Jammes. And why?
Because he had seen coming toward
him, AZ the level OF his head, but with
out body attached TO IT, a head OF
fire!
The fireman's name was Pampin.
p To return 10 the evening in Ques-
ton.
Sorelli. stealthily. with the tip OF
her pink right thumb-nsil, made a st.
Andrews cross on the wooden ring
which adorned the fourth finger OF
her left hand. She said to the little
ballet-girls:
-. Come. children, pull yourselves to-
gether! l dare say no one has ever
seen the ghost"
Gabriel saw him, tool" said
Jammes. "Only yesterday"
Gabriel. the chorus-master?"
why, yes, didn't you know? Ca.
briel was in the stage managers OF.
fee. Suddenly the door opened and
the Persian entered. You know the
Persian has the evil eye"
oh. yes" answered the little bal.
let-girls in chorus.
And you know how superstitious
Gabriel is continued Jsmmes. How.
ever. he Is always polite. Well. the
moment the Persian appeared in the
doorway. Gabriel gave one jump from
his chair 10 the lock OF the cupboard
so as 10 touch front He rushed out
fof the once like a mailman, slipped
-on the staircase and came down the
whole of the FIRST flight on his back
] was just passing with mother. We
picked him up. Then he told US he
had seen the ghost behind the Per
sian. the ghost with the deaths head
Just like Joseph 3uquets descrip
toni"
silence followed. II was broken
by little CRY.
Joseph Buquet would do better &c
hold his tongue. Mother says the
ghost doesn't like being talked about
And why does your mother say
sog"
"Because-because-n
This reticence exssperated the curl
osity Of the young ladies, who crowd
ed round little CRY. begging her TO
explain herself
y swore not TO tell" gasped Meg
But they left her no peace until
Meg began:
well, it's because OF the private
box It's Box Five, you know, the
box on the grand tier. next to the
ktage-box, on the left. Mother has