Evening star., 1918-06-09
he very thought Of it tied her into =

tNe very thought OF II tied hef into
knot.
After the matinee she did not go
back to the boarding house. She told
her fellow swallows that she had a
date out" Krug heard of 1t and jeal-
ousy tormented him as hunger tor
ize no longer. He searched for her.
but his wanderings did not come
across hers, and he found no chance
TO speak to her alone.
When she got back to the stage door
her feet were heavy. but her head was
light. Outside q cigar store. near the
alley leading to the stage door, there
stood a weighing machine. Silver did
not know that these whimsical de-
vices vary not only from one another,
knew was that the same solemn dial
that yesterday registered her weight
as one hundred and fifteen pounds,
now, after night and day and fast
ing and pilgrimage, proclaimed her
weight at one hundred and seventeen.
She crept down the black alley of
despair and her knees were hardly
able to hoist her to her dressing
room: her fingers hardly managed to
doff her street clothes and don her
plumage. She toppled down the stairs
just in time for her turn. and she was
so pale that krug forbore to trouble
her as he snapped the hook on her
belt.
The curtain rose and the piano
roared and the swallows began to
sing and dance. Silver strove to do
her part. but the floor writhed and
the walls wiggled and the audience
eddied. She heard the other swallows
upbraiding her. She felt that the au-
ing her sobriety. To be accused of
that! Her desperate little mind fought
with the mutinous. unpaid and unfed
troops of her nerves and fought in
vain.
The audience was openly ridiculing
her, and a few women were whoop-
ing and rocking with laughter. Bruni
was charging back from the front OF
the house, when the audience sud
denly hushed it's noise. Silver col
lapsed; her joints gave way say one one by by
outspread on the stage. pitiful,
broken winged bird.
The other swallows stared, then
moved to her aid. But just at that
moment the cue arrived for their
flight. The men at the wires had seen
nothing of what happened and they
bent to their task. The advancing
swallows felt themselves dragged
backward irresistibly, then up they
went into. the air
And Silver was lifted too. Still
aswoon and all limp. she was gather
ed up like lay figure and carried
high, hanging doubled downward
from the waist. her head against her
knees and her hands Tapping against
her feet.
The stage manager rang the curtain
down just as Bruni reached the scene.
He was Mortified at the interruption
to his sacred rites, but his heart
melted at the sight of Silver. Always
a Snowman first, he ordered the rest
of his flock to stand by TO continue
and, taking Silver in his arms as she
was lowered to the stage. unlocked
the wire from her belt. Her weight
amazed him and he staggered under
it to the wings. groaning:
"Per lamor di dio; my swallow is a
= goose"
He turned her over to Krug, who
rushed to his assistance; then he made
haste to the footlights to explain to
the audience that the swallow was all
jontlmen need not be alarmed. He
backed of into the curtain wire and
bowed himself slowly through mar
row crevice. The curtain went up and
. the engagement extraordinary went
on.
She woke to see Krug staring down
at her with more tenderness than she
had thought him capable of. She ex-
pected no consideration at all from
Mr. Bruni, whose show she had spoil
ed. But he was all a-fiutter and prof
fered her a flask of brandy.
Silver pushed 1t away. She was
afraid of liquor and she dreaded the
thought of its effect on her wits after
her prolonged starvation. Eruni did
not urge the point. but advised her to
go home as soon as she could change
her clothes.
She made haste to get away from
the theater before the other swallows
came off the stage to lombard her
with questions. AS she undressed and
redressed. her hunger came back over
her in gusts of emotional intensity.
She could have gnawed the soap. The
rabbits foot in her makeup box
tempted her.
She darted down the stairs and out
of the stage door as the swallows
hoped from the stage. Krug caught
up with her and took her well filled
sleeve. He suspected the cause of her
distress; his first word was an ire
sistible plea:
'I-ooky year. kiddo. what you need
amt no medicine or no booze. Plain
food and lots of it is what you want.
Am 1 hep?"
yep" she sighed. And he steered
her into restaurant over whose door
hung one electric word. a cleaning
imperative ''E A T." X
And she ate. Between the exorbi-
tant demands of her irate stomach
and the tactful insinuations of her
extravagante suitor her wisdom had
the minority vote.
krug did not seek to lure Silver
with cocktails or liquors. He did not
hint at that ultimate East Side
rrodigality known as Opening wine"
He did not offer jewels or fine clothes
or life OF ease.
He offered her a life of work and
PLENTY of food. He piled her with
subtle soup, with fat pork chops and
fried nOfafopS with mora NJ fba