The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-08-27

proved" and the big stage lhdI eoiie |
for the children at their homes ana
brought them back again after schooi'
probably dropped apart long ago.,
In this stage, each with lips close to
the others ear so as to be heard by her
above the rumbling of the wheels, yet
remain unheard by the others; IN the
school-room, where we sat at adjoining
desks; at home or on our Walks-ln
fact wherever we were togetner-we
conspired We thought it was the SIM
plest thing in the world to go on the
stage, that all you did was TO tel
manager you wanted to go on and on
YOU went. To our childish minds that
feared nothing, there was no dlttculty
in the matter at al. OF the years OF
training and struggle that an actress
goes through to achieve success. and
then only too often to fail, we knew
nothing. Children are the most de-
lightfully unconscious creatures IN the
world. otherwise the thought of what |
we planned never could have entered |
our little heads. We wanted to go on
the stage, and we simply determined to |
do it. In planning how, we made UP
| our minds that if we tried to make our
| debuts in San Francisco, irate parents
would in some way get wind OF II ana
| swoop down upon us behind the'Scenes
to bear US off to home, spank1ngs and
L BED, even DG1OlS TIC Nl1l tam WIN ~
| So we decided to run away and surprise
our parents by coming back-famous
FCould anything have been more deli
l ciously naive?
We took several weeks to put the
plan'in operation. We had heard there
was a theatre in San Jose, railroad
trip Of about an hour and a halt from
San Francisco, and this we concluded
would be a favorable spot for our "hrst
appearance on any stage" Nothing
would have delayed us from starting at
once-if we had had the money. Not
having it, we found out the price OF
two fares from San Francisco to San
lose, figured out the probable cost OF
night in a hotel there, and then began
to hoard our nickels and dimes. That
we should allow for the cost of a re-
. turn trip never occurred to us. We ex-
, pected, after reaching San Jose and
!, putting up at hotel, to visit the man.
/ ager of the theatre, state Our object, be
t welcomed by him with open arms to a
t hospitab1e stage, begin making money at
-, once, and in due time return to San
Francisco, there, heralded by fame, to
burst in upon our proud and delighted
parents. 1t was about the most curious
. combination of ambition and innocence
IL ever have heard of, ambition leading
rehensi5rs:"
t Providence must have been convinced
of our innocence to have allowed us, as
} it did, to emerge from Our escapade
wholly unframed, not at all frightened,
: and utterly amazed at the excitement
which we discovered Our disappearance
5 had caused
1 Our desks were the Headquarters of
= our enterprise. There we daily cast I'D
l our growing hoard OF small change.
r Moreover, as the small change became
: convertible into dollars, and it was pos
= s1ble to fix the date for our start, we
} began to smuggle in an extra pair or
two of stockings and other small articles
: OF apparel we thought we might need
, and that easily could be carried, or worn
over our other things. l know that on
! the fateful day when we walked out of
; the school, l had on three pairs of
stockings. When that day came we did
not wait for school to close, for we
knew that the stage would be there to
take us home. So we quietly walked
away at the luncheon hour. If we had
been longheaded schemers instead of
two foolish little girls, we could not
have planned it better At school they
thought we had gone home At home
they supposed us at school, and even
when the stage did not stop to leave
us after school, the natural conclusion
was that we had gone home together.
1t WAS not until the afternoon wore on
toward evening that it was found out
that neither was at the others house,
| and frightened inquirers discovered that
| we had left school early
! To reach the railroad station to take
the train for San Jose we two girls prac-
tlcally had to cross the city, but we got
| there without mishap. Before boarding |