Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-08-21

she found herself retained, body and
soul, exactly as Galbraith himself
was. They'd bought all her ideas, all
her energy, all her time, except a
few scant hours for sleep and few
snatched minutes for meals.
She gave her employers, up to the
time when the piece opened at the
| Globe, at conservative calculation
| about five times their moneys worth
Even If she hadn't been in the com.
pany, she'd have found something like
two days work in every twenty-four
hours, just in the wardrobe room
There wasn't single costume outside
Roses own twelve that didn't have to
be remodeled more or less.
On top of all that, the really ter.
rible grind of rehearsals began
property rehearsals, curiously discon.
certing at first; scenery rehearsals
that caused the stage to seem small
and cluttered up, and, last and ghast-
lest, dress rehearsal, which began
at seven o'clock one night and lasted
| till four the next morning.
If you had seen them that morning,
utterly tagged out, unsustaineG by
single CLEAN of hope, you'd have
said 1t was impossible that they
should give any sort of perform
ance that night--let alone a good one
But by eight O'Clock, when the over.
ture was called, you wouldn't have
known them for the same people.
There was the feeling on the edge of
this first performance, that they were
now on their own.
The appearance, back on the stage
Of John GalDraith in evening dress
just as the call of the first act brought
them trooping from their dressing
rooms, intensified this sensation. He
was going to be, tonight, simply one OF
the audience.
Rose herself was completely domi
mated by the new spirit. Her nerves
slack, frayed, numb an hour ago
had sprung miraculously into tune
She not only didn't feel tired. II
seemed she never could feel tired
again.
1t wasn't until along in the third
act that the audience became, for her
anything but a colloid mass-some.
thing that you squeezed and thumped
and worked as you did clay, to get II
into a properly plastic condition OF
receptivity, so that the jokes, the
songs, the dances, even the spindline
little shafts of romance. that you shot
out into it, could be felt to dig in and
take hold.
But along in the third act, as she
came down to the footlights with the
rest of the seXtette in their Gall
Alone" number, one face detached it.
self suddenly from the pasty gray
surface of those that spread over the
auditorium; became human-individu.
al-and intensely familiar; became
the face. Enthusiastically, of Jimmy Wal.
lace!
1t is probable that of all the ar.
dience, only two men saw that any.
thing had happened, so brief was the
frozen instant while she stood trans.
fixed. One of them was John Gal.
braith, In the back row, and he let his
breath go out again in relief almost in
the act of catching 1t. He guessed
well enough what had happened. But
it was all right. She was going on as
if nothing had happened.
The other man was Jimmy Wallace
himself. He released, too. little sigh
of relief when he saw her off in her
stride again after that momentary
falter. But he hardly looked at the
stage after that; stared absently at
his program instead, and presently
availed himself of the dramatic crit
les license and left the theater.
AS for Rose herself, in her conscious
thoughts she didn't recognize the hope
already beating unanimously In her
veins, that he would tell Rodney-that
perhaps even before she got back to
her dismal little room, Rodney, pacing
his. would know.
1t was so irrational a hope-so un-
expected and so well disguised-that
she mistook it for fear. But fear never
made ones heart glow like that.
That's where all her thoughts were
when John Galbraith halted her on
the way from the dressing room after
the performance was over,
Il know you're tired" he said
5rusQuely. But ] fancied you'd be
tireder in the morning, and have TO
leave for New York on the fast train.
So. you see, ii was now or never"
Strangely enough. that got her. She
stared at him almost in CONSERVATION.
do you mean you are going away?"
she asked. Tomorrow"
"0f course" he said, rather sharply.
I've nothing more to stay around here
for" He added, as she still seemed
not to have got n through her head /:
MY contract with Goldsmith and
Block ended tonight. with the opening
performance"
''0f course" she said in depreciation
of her stupidity. And yet it's always
seemed that the show was you; just
something that you made go. 1t
doesn't seem possible that it could
keep on going with you not there"
The sincerity of that made it really
fine compliment-just the sort of COM
pliment he'd appreciate. But-the old
perYersity again-the very freedom
with which she said it spoiled it for
him.
Il may be missed" he said-it was
more of a growl, really-"but / sha'n't
be regretted. There's always a sort
of 'Hallelujah chorus set up by the
company when they realize Tn gone"
Il shall regret it very much" said
Rose. The words would have set his
blood on fire If she'd just faltered over
them. But She didn't She was hone.