Catoctin clarion., 1917-09-27
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:CRABBIN6 THE ACT

BY ARCHIE G. NEW.

uuesne, who was busily engaged In
charming the Monday matinee crowd,
to Forrest, the manager, who lurked
at his side.
'Humphl" !" grunted Forrest, but two
little lines in the corner Of his kindly
mouth attested the fact that he. too.
was charmed with this new act, and as
DuQuesne bowed himself Off the stage
after his last song, amid thunderous
volley of applause, Forrest, standing In
the wings, bade him take another"
which, in the parlance Of the mimic
world, has a manifold meaning, CHIEF
Of which is sincere appreciation Of the
act on the part Of the stage director.
Another new act on the Olympia's
bill was the "Venetian Models" a
group Of attractive little seraphs, and
among them as they waited in the
wings to follow DuQuesne In the
spotlight" was Rita Young.
'Great house!" he exclaimed, boy.
ishly enthusiastic. "Now 60 knock
'em dead, Miss Young" And she gave
a little musical laugh and made her
entrance with her fellow models.
Duquesne ten minutes later was ef-
facing the last vestige Of grease paint
and humming one Of the latest popu-
lar airs, when he stopped abruptly
and, crossing the room, leaned his ear
against the partition. He turned to
Jack Fuller, who shared his dressing
room, and pointed to the partition.
man. what a voice" he whispered
huskily. "Who Is it?"
"WhO has that room"
9TH models" replied Fuller.
Duquesne hurried into his street
clothes and, flinging his hat on his
head, he threw an absent 'au revoir"
to FULLER and went out on the stage.
Outside the models dressing room
door he paused for moment, undecid-
ed whether to wait and ask about the
voice or not, when the door opened
and Rita Young, dressed for the street,
met his startled gaze with frown.
"Shame on you, Mr.. Duquesne," she
rebuked him, her eyes twinkling never
theless. "Eavesdropping2 Listening
to girls gossip?"
"Er-nO," he stammered. "Some one
was singing Celeste Aida Who was
it?"
"Guess I'm the guilty one," she con-
fessed modestly. did 1t annoy you?"
Annoy me?" he echoed amazedly.
"It-charmed me. Why-why don't
you sing instead Of pose"
I'D like to-" she said slowly, "but
It's impossible"
"Nothing's impossible" protested
DuQuesne Optimistically. Then sud-
den resolution seized him. "See here.
let's cut Mrs. Gardens Monday night
beef pie and 60 over to the Hofbrau
for dinner. I'd like to have talk with
you"
Later, as dessert was served, Du-
quesne broached to her his proposition.
Why not join forces with him, he sug-
gested. There was big money in 1t.
"Its very tempting" she admitted,
toying with her fork. 'But can't con-
slider myself, Mr.. Duquesne. Two years
ago got my start with Mrs. Tomkins
She's been almost mother to me. She
worked hard to make me fit to go with
her act. My parents were both dead
and I was having an uphill time Of 1t
when she took me with her and kept
me all through the rehearsals. Now
she's getting too old to train any more.
1t would ruin her act"
$50 you wouldn't crab her act, eh"
Duquesne looked at her with deep ad-
. miration. "Well. little lady, you're all
wool and a yard wide."
For two weeks the venetian Mod
els" continued to follow DuQuesne on
the program, then one day, as Du-
quesne stood in the wings preparatory
to making his entrance, he looked
around for Rita, but in vain.
"Where's the models?" he inquired
of O'Brien.
"Bustedl" answered the electrician
succinctly. zone O. tn girls took sick
and Grabbed the act. Tomkins went up
in tn air and left town. Left tn bunch
up at Mrs. Gardens broke, guess"
After the show Duquesne, with con-
stantly increasing alarm, hurried back
to the boarding house, and learned
that the sick girl was Rita.
Pneumonia, I fear" vouchsafed
Mrs. Garden. "An' it's pretty tough
on her-without any money. I'm afraid
I'll have to send her to a public hos
pital."
Duquesne looked at her with horror.
II guess you WON'T" he retorted.
"Send for a trained nurse-at once.
Here's fifty. II you need more ask me
for it."
The weeks that followed had sorry
effect on Duquesne.
Somebody's grabbing this act" said
O'Brlen, watching him work.
Then suddenly he appeared at the
theater one day with Rita, and O'Brien
chuckled delightedly as they made
their entrance upon the stage-to.
gether.
"Gosh, but 1t seems good to see him
smile again." he remarked to Marty
Miller.
"That doctor sure did pull her
around all right. Look at the color he
put in her cheeks"
Huh, amt you visor" grunted
O'Brien, with a grin. ''It's doc that
put that color there, but not the kind
you're thinking about. 1t was a doc
tor Of divinity"
(Copvyistt. 1917, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndicate)
Loan soil weighs 76 to 90 pounds
O cubic foot when dry.
auIE nl0IIK lllAlINY or EEEn