The Washington times., 1913-03-24

l QlSSatlSned Win something ABOUT tne
lighting of the scene. The manager was
standing in mid-stage. staring up at the
borders; a stout. and pompous figure,
tenacious to every detail of that public
self which he had striven so success
| fully to make unforgettably Individual;
a figure quantity incongruous in his i'm
| peccable morning coat and striped trou-
| sers and f1at-brimmed silk hat, perched
! well back on his head, with his malacca
| stick and lemon-colored gloves. and
| small and excessively glossy patent
leather shoes, posed against the SEM
blance of moonlit formal garden.
| Aside from him, the only other occu-
| pant of the stage was Sara Law. She
| sat on stone bench, with her profile to
the audience. her back to the right of
| the proscenium arch, so that she could
| not, without turning, have noticed the
| entrance of Ember and her husband.
A sly, slight. dearhlessly youthful fig
| nodded themselves fluently to her sweet
| and girilsh body, in posture of pensive
| n nedlatiop-she was nothing less than
| adorable. Whitaker could not take his
eyes from her for sheer wonder and de-
| light.
He was only vaguely conscious that
Max, at length satisfied, barked a word
10 that AFFECT to an unseen electrician
gesture indelibly associated with his
personality. then dragged a light. cane
! seated chair to the left of the prosce-
| mum and sat himself down.
| An ready?' he demanded in his sharp
and irritable voice.
| The woman on the marble seat nodded
tmperceptibly.
Go ahead" snapped the manager.
An actor advanced from the wings,
paused. and addressed the seated wom-
an. His lines were brief. She lifted
her head with startled air, listening.
ne ceased to speak. and her voice of
golden velvet filled the house with the
flowing beauty of its unforgettablv
sweet modulations.
Beyond the footIshts a handful Of
sophisticated and skeptical habitues of
the theaters forgot for the moment
their ingrained incredulity and thrilled
in sympathy with the wonderful rap
ture OF that voice of eternal youth
Whitaker himself. for the time, forgot
that he was the husband of this woman
ana her lover. She moved before his
vision in the guise OF some divine and
dlVinely unattainable creature a
dream-wor7an divorced utterly from
any semblance of reality
Ihat opening scene was one. perhaps.
unique in the history of the stage
Composed by Max in some mad Doet-
ical moment Of inspired pla gia rism, II
not only owned a poignant and On
thralling beauty Of imagery, but IL
moved with an almost Grecian certi-
tude. with a significance extraordi-
narily direct and devoid of cirCumlocu-
ton seeming to lay bare the living
tissue OF immortal drama.
But with the appearance of other
characters there came a change. The
rare atmosphere of the opening began
to dissipate perceptibly. The action
clouded and grew vague
The auditors began to feel the futter- ,,
ings of uncertainty in the air. Some
thing was failing to cross the foot
lights. The sweeping and assured ges-
ture of the accomplished playwright |
faltered: a clumsiness of construction I
was damningly exposed: faults of char
acteriZation multiplied depressngly.
Sara Law herself lost an indefinable /
proportion Of her rare and provoking !
charm-the strangeness of falling 10 |
hold her audience In an ineluctable |
grasp seemed at once 10 nettle and dis |
tress her.
Max himself seemed suddenly to wake |
to the amusing fact that there was |
something enormously an irremediably |
wrong. He began 10 halt the action to |
interrupt the scenes with advice and |
demands for repetition with eXasperat- ,
ing frequency. He found 1t impossible |
to be still. to retain his seat or control !
his rasping. irritable voice.
Subordinate characters on the stage |
act or overacted. And then-intolerablc |
climax'-of a suden somebody i'm the !
orchestra chairs laughed In outright !
dCrision in the middle of passage |
meant to he tenderlv emotional.
The voice Of Sara Law broke and fell
She stood trembling and arhast. Max.
without a word. turned on his heel and
swung out of sight into the wings. Four
other actors on the stage. aside from
Sara Law. hcsitated and drew together
in doubt and bewilderment. And then
abruptly. with no warning whatever.
the Illusion of gloom in the auditorium
and moonlight In the proscenium was
rent away by the glare of the full com
plement Of electric lights possessed by
the house.
4 thought later. while still all We're
blinking and gaspng with surprise. Max
strobe into Wow just behind the foot
lights Hating. he swept the array Of
auditors with an omirOus and tru"ulcnt
stare.
So quickly was this startling change
Consummated that Whitaker had no
MORE than time to rcaliZ" the rca3pcar-
ance "f the manager before he CaH@ht
his wrathfuI and VenOmous glance fixed
to his own hewiIdercd face. And some
thing in the light that fiickered wildly
behind MaX's Eyes T"minS.d him so
strongly Of a similar expression h" had
in the eyes Of Drummond the
night the latter had been captured by
Ember and Sum Fat. that he half roSe
from his seat in alarm.
simultaneously he saw Max spring to-
ward tho box, with n distorted and
snarlinG counlenance. He was tugging
AT something in his pocket. Il ap
pear ed in the shape of "A heavy pistol.
Whitaker had not grasped tn. zeal
import Of this when he was caught by
Ember aI.d tripped and sent sprawIing
on tho floor of the box. As this nap
pcncd he heard the Voice OF the ire
arm. sharp and viciOus-a single report
0CAI MEN1JOS /