The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1917-03-30
1 The I
DESTROYING
N ANGEL N
== By - II
LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE Il
CHAPTER xx-continued.

sat on a 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 no
ticed the entrance of Ember and her
husband. A shy, light, deathlcssly
youthful figure in pale and flowing
garments that nodded themselves flu
emily to her sweet and girlish body,
in q posture Oh penSive meditation:
she was nothing less than adorable.
Whitaker could not take his eyes from
her, for sheer wonder and delight.
He was only vaguely conscious that
Max. at length satisfied, barked word
to that effect to an unseen electrician
off to the left, and waving his hand
with gesture indelibly associated
with his personality, dragged q light
canc-seated chair to the left of the
proscenium and sat himself down.
GAIL ready?" he demanded in sharp
and irritable voice.
The woman on the marble step nod
ded imperceptibly.
'Gs ahead" snapped the manager.
An actor advanced from the wings,
paused and addressed the seated
woman. His lines were brief. She
lifted her head with startled air,
listening. He ceased to speak, and
her voice of golden velvet filled the
house with the flowing beauty of it's
unforgettably sweet modulations. Be-
yond the footlights handful of So
phisticated and skeptical habitues of
the theater 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 wom-
an and her lover; she moved before
his vision in the guise of some divine
creature, divinely unattafnable, a
dream woman divorced utterly from
any semblance of reality.
That opening scene was one perhaps
unique in the history of the stage.
Composed by Max in some mad, poet
ical moment of inspired plagiarism, it
not only owned poignant and en-
thralling beauty of imagery, but 1t
moved with an almost Grecian certi-
tude. with significance extraordina-
rily 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 pcrceptibly. The action
ctouded and grew vague. The auditors
began to feel the flutterings of uncer
tainty in the air. Something was fail
ing to cross the footlights. The sweep
ing and assured gesture of the accom-
plished playwright faltered: clumsy
bit of construction was damningly ex-
posed; faults of characterization null
tiplied depressingly. Sara Law her.
self lost an indefinable proportion of
her rare and provoking charm; the
strangeness Of failing to hold her au-
dience in an ineluctable grasp seemed
at once to nettle and distress her.
Max himself seemed suddenly to wake
to the amazing fact that there was
something enormously and irremedi-
ably wrong; he began with exasperating
frequency to halt the action, to inter-
rupt scenes with advice and demands
for repetition. He found it impossible
to be still, to keep his seat or control
his rasping, irritable voice. Subordi-
nate characters on the stage lost their
heads and either forgot to act or
Cveracted. And then-intOlerable eli
max of a sudden somebody in the
orchestra chairs laughed in outright
dcrision in the middle of passage
meant to be tenderly emotional.
The voice of Sara Law broke and
fell. She stood trembling and un-
strung. Max, without word, turned
on his heel and swung out of sight into
the wings. Four other actors on the
stage, aside froln Sara Law, hesitated
and drew together in doubt and be-
wilderment. And then, abruptly, with
no warning whatever, the illusion of
gloom in the auditorium and moonlight
in the poStScenium was rent away by
the glare of the full complement of
electric lights installed in the house.
A thought later. while still all were
blinking and gasping with surprise,
Max strobe into view just behind the
footlights. Hating, he swept the ar
ray of auditors with an ominous and
truculent stare.
So quickly Was this startling change
consummated that Whitaker had no
To fIo
pearance of the manager before he
caught his wrathful and venomous
glance fixed to his own bewildered
face. And something in the light that
fiickered wildly behind Max'S eyes re-
minded him SO strongly of similar
expression he had remarked in the
eyes of Drummond, the night the lat
ter had been captured by Ember and
Sum Fat, that in alarm he half rose
from his seat.
simultaneously he saw Max spring
toward the box, with a distorted and
snarling countenance. He was tug
ging ut something in his pocket. 1t
appeared in the shape of Il heavy
pistol.
Instantly Whitaker was caught and
tripped by Ember and sent sprawling
on the floor of the box. AS this hap
pened he heard the voice of the fire.
arm, sharp and vicious-a single re-
port.
Unhurt, he picked himself up in time
to catch a glimpse of Max, on the
stage. momentarily helpless in the en-
brace of desperate and frantic wom-
an who had caught his arms from be-
hind and presumably, had so defect
ed his aim. In the same breath EN-
Der, who had leaped to the railing
round the box, threw himself across
the footlights with the 1.-the certainty
of beast of prey and, seemingly In
as nnuy deft motions, knocked the