Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-06-27

49, ~ guy was
sadly in need of a shave. and there MAS
Il haggard look about his eyes which
bespoke hard lines of fate. \ hair cut
would have altered his appearance
greatly. and would have lone him no
material harm. His long. fur-caped
and fur-cuifed oNercoat was faded and
t~hreadbare. and WAS kept closely but
toned. for the reason. IL may be sup
posed. THAI his under coat Was still less
prepossessing To the eye. His shoes
which once had been patent leather
We're cracked and scanned. but polished.
HIS hat MAS not quite new%in fact
there was y bare dent i'm the back
ground which. carefully as the nap had
been brushed. could not be concealed.
but the rim WAS soiled and bent.
But notwithstanding Mr.. Treadwell's
seedN appearance. and the fact that
he was almost Il counterpart OF many
another stranded acton who has
haunted the Rialto in years past. there
Was something about him which inn
pressed ONE faNorably and held the at
tention.
Treadwell came into my office one
afternoon. looking more secdy than
usual. but graVer more austere. and
more majestic.
II have just been insuittd." he said
in suppressed tragic tones AS he sat
down i'm the easy chair by the fire.
NO trouble, | hope" ! said. by way
of encouraging him to continue i'm ex-
PLANTATION.
Well. no: though I should have pre-
ferred to have struck the dog down. 1t
WAS Conrad the manager of the Metro
politaE theater. where IL crowd ut gig
CLING fools are amused nightly. You
cannot imagine what the the despicablr
%scoundrel said TO me. .Treadwell,' he
said, i'm that patroniZing way OF his.
you don't seem To be playing i'm much
luck of late. Hang ii man.. %slapping
me on the back with disgusting
familiarity. haven't YOU found out that
tragedy is dead and buried: Heaven
help you sir. The people don't want
III and they won't have it. You would
stal'Ve ten times over while you were
convincing them that you We're a sec
ond Irving. The rattle headed public
wants screaming farce-thal's what it
wants. That's what it's willing to shell
out it's silver sheckels for. and that's
what We mus, give it we want to make
the best of the situation. Now. I'll tell
you I'll do-Ill give you ten
pounds Il week To join my Willy Wally'
company at the metropolitan. and APP
pear just AS you are without one bit
of makeup. Your duty will he to go
ON and act your natural self. Why.
man, AS the busted t%ragedian YOU
would have the whole town holding it's
sides. You don't appreciate what 81
frightful guy YOU are. You mustn't
even Stl II SiitNc You KNOW. want
you just us Nou are. You don't say no.
There's a good thing i'm 1T for you, old
man, and it's the only sensible thing
to do"
What did you say" asked.
amused. but Disgusting the fact.
Say" Numbered Treldwell. with a
magnificent gesture. II told him to go
and boil himself, ! WAS angered as l
never WAS before. Burlesque myself.
eh? ! wanted to crush him to the
earth! 4 may starve. sir, yes %s,arve.
| said but I will not pollute myself
and desecrate my noble art, by ac-
cepting such a diabolical proposition az
this of yours. You are a craven insult
er, sir And With that ] turned on my
heel and left him
The offer VAS very ill-advised.'
commented, but perhaps he meant
Well. You can afford To he charitable.
Mr.. Treadwell."
II soothed his rufiied feelings as best
l could, and presently he asked me To
%olnp him up the street to Cnai-
mer's theater. where there was to be a
benefit performance that afternoon.
ON very good t:tlent-wort see
ing he added Sententiollsly.
II have always been more or less "A
bohemian. and the idea of walking W.
the Strand In company with Gilbert
T~readWell had no embarrassment for
me. Furthermore, ! understood my OBJ
legations. and we pushed in the we'll
known yellow doors and then pushed
them out again before we turned into
the foyer of the playhouse.
who is the beneficiary?" asked
when we had gained our seats.
zone of the modest little women that
ever lived" he answered warmly. IA
mona Darling. You know of her, OF
course. She was rarely talented, but
sickness and desertion by the MAJ,
whom she loved have reduced her TO
absolute poverty"
Yes. | remember Ramona Darling.
In her pallny days when She was al; The
height of her popularity. l Thought her
the most chic and cunning actress on
the stage
I felt almost a personal gratitude to
those sympathetic artists who had vol
unteered to give their time and talents
toward the benevolent project OF re-
lieving her distress.
The entertainment was made up OF
a medley of songs dances and portions
of acts from plays which were nj The
time running al the different theaters in
the city. and. altogether. was clever
and interesting. But the tickle.
thoughtless public. unfortunately. had
not shown the interest In Ramona
Darling's case which IL was expected 1t
would. and az a result, the audience was
not only small but WAS composed in ii
greater part of .'deadIieads,' like
TreadWell and myself.
Just before the curtain went down on
the final scene Mr.. Chalmers. the man
ager of the thetter and the organizer
of the benefit. appeared ON the stage.
II am very sorry to say" he an
benefit amount to Il triilc less tla
EGO. And this sum. 1 fear. will be
required to pay the expenses Of d flu
neral. l have just heard that Ramona