The Benson signal., 1918-02-02
know that it was the highest encO-
MUM he was capable of.
CHAPTER XVII.
Rose Keeps the Path.

SAW UdF OI mUS1C except WndC SLOOU
on the piano rack, nor a written word
of the lyrics she was supposed to sing.
Rose couldn't sing very much. She
had rather timorous, throaty little
| contralto that contrasted oddly with
| the fine, free thrill of her speaking
voice. But nobody had asked her
whether she could sing at all. She
picked up the tune quickly enough by
ear, but the words she was always
little uncertain about.
She finally questioned one of her
colleagues in the chorus about this
haphazardness, and was told that back
at the beginning Of things, they had
had their voices tried by the musical
director. They had never had any
music to sing from; there had been
half a dozen mimeograph copies Of
the words to the songs, which the
| girls had put their heads together
over, and more or less learned. What
had become of this dope the girl
didn't know.
She was a pale-haired girl, whom
Rose thought she had heard addressed
| as Larson.
Rose made a surprising discovery
when, with friendly pat on the sofa
beside her, for an invitation to sit
down, the girl began answering her
question. She was a real beauty. Only
you had to look twice at her to per-
ceive that this was so; and what she
lacked was just the unanalyzable quail
ity that makes one look twice.
81 don't know what you should wor-
ry about any of that stuff for" she
said. "How you sing or what you sing
don't make much difference"
Rose admitted that it didn't seem
to. "But you see," she said (she
hadn't had a human soul to talk to
for more than a week, and she had to
make friend Of somebody, "you see
I've just got to keep this job. And
if every little helps, as they say, per-
haps that would"
The girl looked at her oddly, almost
suspiciously, as if for moment she
doubted whether Rose had spoken in
good faith. "YOu've got as good a
chance Of losing your job," she said,
'as Galbraith has Of losing his. Dave
tells me Galbraith's going to put you
with us in the Sextette."
| Dave was the thick pianist, whom
Rose had found in the highest degree
obnoxious. His announcement was en-
titled to consideration, even though it
couldn't be banked upon. There were
three mediums and three big girls in
the sextette (Edna Larson was one Of
the mediums, and so needn't fear re-
placement by Rose, who was a big
girl). Besides appearing in two num-
bers as a background to one of the
principals, they had one all to them
selves, O fact which constituted them
a sort of super-chorus.
But the intimation that Rose was to
be promoted to this select inner cir
Gle, didn't, as it first came to her,
give her any pleasure. Somehow, as
Larson told her about it, she could
fairly see the knowing, greasy grin
that would have been Dawes comment
on this prophecy. And, in the same
flash, she interpreted the Larson girls
look, half incredulous, half satirical.
81 haven't heard anything about be-
ing put in the sextette," she said quick
ly, "and I don't believe I will be-"
swell, I don't know why not" There
was a new warmth in the mediums
voice. Rose had won victory here,
and she knew it. "You've got the
looks and the shape; you can dance
better than any of the big girls, or us
mediums, either. And if he doesn't
put that big Benedict lemon into the
back line where she belongs, and give
you her place in the sextette, it will be
because he's afraid Of her drag"
Rose forebore to inquire into the
nature Of the Benedict girls drag.
Whatever it may have been, John
Galbraith was evidently not afraid of
it, because as he dismissed that very
rehearsal, calling the rest of the
chorus for twelve the following morn
ing, and the sextette for eleven, he
told Rose to report at the earlier hour.
The chorus was probably unanimous,
in it's view of this promotion. When
Grant came back and ate her humble
pie in vain, and later, when Benedict
was relegated to a place in the back
line, the natural explanation was that
Galbraith was crazy about the new
girl. The only way she had Of refut-
ing the assumption would be by max
ing good so intensely that they'd
be compelled to see that her promo
ton had been inevitable.
1t was in this spirit, with blazing
cheeks and eyes, that she attacked
the next mornings rehearsal. At its
end Galbraith said to her: you're do
ing very we'll indeed, Dane. IL could
have caught you ten years ago could
have made a dancer of you."
1t was a very real, unqualified COM
pliment, and as such Rose understood
it. Because, BY o dancer, he meant