Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1917-10-06

lent, Looking at His Son.
Il have to live, naturally" she re-
piled. "Sincc I've got my voice back
l feel sure l can turn that to account
l should like to go to Seattle first and
look around. 1t can be supposed l
have gone visiting until one or the other
OF us takes n decisive legal step"
: That's simple enough" he returned
after minutes reflection. "Well, IL
1t has to be, for Gods sake let's get 1t
over within
And now 1t was over with. Fyfe re-
marked once thnt with them luckily It
was not question Of money. But for
Stella 1t was indeed an economic prob
lem. When she left Roaring lake her
private account contained over $4,000
Her last net III Vancouver was to re-
deposit that to her husbands credit
Only so did she feel that she could go
rreo or oil obligation, clean handed,
without stultifying herself In her own
eyes. She had treasured as n keepsake
tho only money she had ever earned In
her life, her brothers. check for 500
tho wages of that sordid period In the
WYNN hohoS. holic IL IlO"-CZiO CuD1-
tai. She hadn't sold herself for that
She had given honest value, double and
treble, In the sweat Of her brow. She
was here now, IN Il five dollar q week
housekeeping room, foot loose, free as
the wind. That was Fyfc's last word to
her. He had come with her to Seattle
and waited patiently ut hotel until
sho had found place to live. Then he
mad gone away without protest.
well, Stella" he had said, IT guess
this Is the end of our experiment. In
Six months-under tho state law-you
can be legally free by technicality
SO far us I'm concerned, you're free rs
the wind right now. Good luck to YOU"
Ho turned away with smile on his
lips. smile that his eyes belicd, and
she watched him walk to the corner
through the same sort Of driving rain
that now pelted In gray lines against
her window.
She shook herself impaticntly out Of
that retrospect. 1t was done. Life, as
her brother had prophcsied, was no kid
glove affair. Tho future was her chief
concern now, not tho past. Meantime
como to Seattle on blind impulse She
knew OF singing teacher there whose
reputation was more than local, vocal
authority whose word carried weight
far beyond Puget sound. First che
meant to sec him, get an impartial es-
Innate Of the value Of her voice, Of the
training she would need. Through him
she hoped to get In touch with some
outlet for tho only talent she possessed.
And She had received more encourage
ment than she dared hope. He listened
to her sing, then tested tho range and
flexibility Of her voice.
"Amazing," he said frankly. "You
have rare natural endowment. If
you have the determination and tho
sense OF dramatic values that musical
discipline will give you, you should go
far. You should find your place In
opera"
THAT'S my ambition" Stella answer
ed. "But TINT requires time and train
Ing. And that means money. have
to earn IT.
The upshot of that conversation was
an appointment to meet the manager
VA - PiotSl'hS "llo "uHlSt Il
singer. Stella looked ut her watch now
and rose to go. Money, always money,
IL one waited to get anywhere, she re-
Elected cynically. No wonder men strug-
gled desperately for that token Of
power.
She reached the Charteris theater,
and doorman gave her access to the
dim interior. There was q light in the
operators cage high ut the rear, an
other shaded glow at the piano, where
young man with hair brushed sleekly
back chcwed gum necessarily while no
practiced picture accomplishments. The
place looked desolatc. with Its empty
seats, its bald stage front with the
empty picture screen. Stella sat down
to wait for the manager. He came In
q few minutes. His manner was very
curt, businesslike. He wanted her to
sing popular song Il bit from Verdi
opera, Gounod's AVE Maria" 80 that
he could get line on what she could
do. He appeared to be n pesslmist In
regard to singers.
Take the stage right there" he IN
structed, lust rs II the spot were OH
you. Now, then"
1t wasn't heartcning process to
stand there facing the gum chewing
pianist, and the managers cigar glow
Ing redly five rows back, and the silent
cmptinesses beyond-much like singing
Into the mouth Of gloomy cave. 1t
was more or less critical moment for
Stella. but she was keenly aware that
she had to make good In small way
before she could grasp the greater op-
portunity, so she did her best, and her
best was no mediocre performance.
She had never sung III place designed
to show off or to show up singers
quality. She was even bit aston
ished herself.
She elected to sing the Ave Maria"
first. Her voice went pealng to the
doomed ceiling as sweet rs a silver
bell, resonant rs trumpet. When thu
last note died away there was mo-