Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1915-08-13

second scene shows the man and wife
together on one side of high wall
the stage; It IL the garden
wall separating their court from tho
The man, being an acrobat,
climbs up to the top 30 skillfully that
the dog lying below on the other side
hears nothing until . skin full Of liquid
bursts ON one Of the pointed studs Of
his collar. q big stone drops at the
same instant on his head and stuns
him. he opens his mouth and gags for
breath with which to bark, sucks In
the chloroform and succumbs.
THE man gives signal to the wom-
an; she climbs to his side. together
they drop over into the court; the man
in his dog.slin suit unsnaps the Great
Danes chain, and attaches 1t to .
duplicate collar about his own neck.
"He has no sooner attached the
chain and dropped to all tours when
the sharp click Of key In the front
gate announces the approach Of the
Waterman on his regular fifteen-minute
round. The woman darts to rear win
dow they have examined from their
room with . glass and found to be Q
weak point, guarded only by the dog.
and she works quietly while her hus-
band leaps forth boldly. snaps at the
Waterman, initiates the dogs bark ex.
actly. and RACES back and forth angrily
in the moonlight to convince the
Waterman that all IL we'll and the
house perfectly protected. He had
practiced the part for weeks. you see.
and was letter-perfect in 1t. I saw the
sketch when 1t was produced in Lon
don, and could not tell him from tho
real dog. This scene occurs at that
fearful moment, the darkness before
dawn; the Waterman notes that the
dog Is q bit aercer than usual, and
draws q deep sigh of relief O. he
reaches the gate. The stage 10 dark
ened and the audience hushed.
Before the Waterman makes his
next round the trick IL done. The
nervy, desperate woman has chloro-
formed the miser and rified his mat
tress. The real dog 10 fast reviving
from the effects Of the chloroform. The
whole thing has been nicely timed.
and the pair just disappear over the
wall with their booty in q black apron
like that in the corner there. when the
dog, whose collar has been reattached
to the chain by the man when through
with his little impersonation, leaps out
and barks at the Waterman, who 10
just arriving on his rounds. The ami
NAL, maddened on his recovery. lunges
at the Waterman. and banks 80 furious
ly that the noise brings the old miser
out Of his stupor; the dog leaps in the
air and breaks his chain az the miser
throws up his window to cry for help.
As grand finale the dog is shot Just
before he leaps on the Waterman, thus
giving tangible proof that the animal
had been on guard all the time. and
covering up the real entrance and exit
Of the burglars. Then the curtain goes
down amid great applause"
There was dead silence as Christie.
pher Poe finished and stood up, his
eyes darting beneath their bushy
brows from one to the other Of the
Twirley Twins.
I'm afraid you've missed the six
fifty" he said in hesitant tone. II
thought you'd let me into the room to
sort Of prove an alibi IL you needed one
Il mean in skipping your board bill
or some other crime you may have
committed-so accommodatingly set
my watch back half an hour to cover
the minutes during which the crime
might have been committed. I knew
you would both be relieved to near mo
announce that It was only five-thirty."
Neither spoke. Suddenly Mrs. Twir.
ley swung around and demanded:
well. how the devil did they prove
tho crime on the team in your precious
sketch?"
"oh. there wasn't any crime at all.
The couple reconsidered their action.
decided they could make more money
on the stage with the sketch, and re-.
peating the crime in acrobatic panto-
mime every night for Eve or six years
at fifty dollars night with perfect
security Of lhysical and mental free.
dom. So In . little third scene In the
sketch they called messenger boy,
and sent him round to the miser With
two suit-cases packed with his money.
That pleased the audience and
Mrs.. Twirley stared at him a.
though he were unreal. and threw her
hands 10 hee. head in q frenzy. scream.
ing:
"How in heaven did you ferret out
all this. you-you weasel3"
i've got . room looking out into
tho Dubois court myself" smiled Poe.
turning toward her frankly, now that
she had given in. Its Just next door.
I've heard Dickie bark In imitation Of
Alert to entertain the landlady. I'VE
seen you both examining that Dubois
window with the telescope. I was
more or less prepared. and being some
what Of q night-prowler myself, I iust
happened around with q skeleton key
or two and gathered . bit Of material
for a-vaudeville sketch. can get
You booked either way you like, 1t
Billy Ryan'D Vaudeville agency or tha