The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-07-17
Between
The Acts
A Dramatic Episode In a
Theater
By GEORGE L. GIBSON
by the Frank A. Munsey

Stanhope. who believed the worlt
was made for his particular benefit
and all the people who composed his
part of it were ministering spirits pu1
here for his convenience, was at thu
bottom Of the whole trouble and. if H.
mad but known, lost most by it.
Bun Stanhope never realized this
last fact and only chuckled fathead
eddy when he heard of the mess hi,
exhibition of monumental cheek Che
called it Il perfectly Legitimate reques,
as long as Trevis was going over t.
his CONS. anyway. had got his friend
ints.
Erevis was good natured-aIways
has been and always will be-but good
mature may be carried to extremes,
and Trevis was an extremist.
BESIDES. how is a girl to know that
"A man really cares the world and all
for her il he seems so willing to step
aside and allow a comparative stran.
ger to take his place by her side just
because she seems to fancy him for
the moment?
That's the way Marion Harper look
ed at it, and know, for she told my
sister-and what those two girls don't
tell each other isn't worth telling.
When Trevis came back from col,
iege Ohe one decent thing his close
listed uncle ever did for him was to
.+,j,n L;,, %n =, 80 nf h;c f,1it;on fnNS
during the four years. he brought
Stanhope with him.
They had chummed it during their
scholastic course, and now they got
modest rooms together. and each start.
ID to carve the figure of fortune out
Of his W particular bit Of timber.
Trevis' task was a hard one. His
timber was full of knots and weather
cracked. as you might say. StanhOpc
walked into the counting room of 4
friend Of his fathers and obtained q
good position at once.
Then Trey introduced him to Mar
ION.
Now. StanhOpe vas a big. handsome
fellow. an athlete OF note in his col
Iege-juSt the sort of Il man to attract
II girl like Marion. Trey was SO quiet
and modest that, although plenty OF
people liked him. they'd never have
ravcd over him in Il thousand years.
They just took him as a matter O,
course. unless for some sudden reason
they happened to stop and think Ovel
his stable qualities. Then they TOLD
themselves he was really one of the
very finest fellows they knew.
OF course Marion and he had never
really been engaged, for Trey wasn't
the sort of Il fellow to ask IA woman
to tie herself to him until he was es
tablished in some business and hat
obtained Il decent footing. But it ha(
been understood between them fOl
years, and everybody said that il
would be one Of those foreordaineG
marriages that you read about. but Sc
seldom manage to see in real life.
But it came pretty near not coming
of at ALL and there's a good deal OF
doubt in some quarters yet.
S%tanhope was introduced to Marion
at a little evening gathering at Ven
nables' studio. Two nights after hi
n,et her again ut a box party at thu
Gotham. The next afternoon they
were automobiiing through the park.
After that it was flowers and calls
and little dinners with Mrs. Harper a:
a c~haperon. She'd never been called OF
70 chaperOn Marion and Trey. The!
seemed too much like brother and sis
ter.
Oh. %StanhOpe was the sort of fel
low to carry a girl by storm. He mad,
Il regular San Juan Hill campaign Of it
I reckon Trevis was the most stag
sered Of all. But he was loyal t.
Marion and loyal to his chum.
Trev stood by him as firmly as ever
He didn't try to 60 back to the CIR
again. and Marion seemed to have
broken out Of the chrysalis into a veri
table butterfly Of society.
She was on the go every night ant
began to attract attention from quar-
tiers that We're no altogether safe. l
was whispered that Latell had jOine(
her train of admirers. and she certain
~ came to the Broughton that nigh
with him and her mother.
1t was a shock to some Of us.
She looked royal as she went dow
the aisle. We had just come ove from
Venables' and bought admission tick
cts and were standing behind the raj
on the orchestra floor as the curtain
went up on the first act.
And there Marion was sailing pas
us and down the center aisle. with he
mother trailing on behind. looking
little bewildered, and Latell in the real
with his mustache cooked at a mos
disagreeable angle.
reckon there are times in a girl
life wiaen even. her mother doesn't uI
derstand her, especially If the mothe
has always been a quiet. honey sol
of a woman like good Mrs. Harper.
She never had two strings to he
bow in her life. and as for three
Well!
The theater was ~crowded-it wa
when aurora vas having it's big ri
and the standees were packed in pre-