The Monticellonian., 1919-03-28
CHAPTER X@Continued.

Miss Kemble went forward to Daphne and took her hand and petted it and said: "Pm so glad to see you. She won't object to your playing her parts, I'm sure."
 Mrs. Vining, who had played all manner of roles for half a century, and was now established as q famous player of hateful old grandes danes, chose to mother her.
 Mir Reben had come down from his office to make up his own mind. He smiled with a kind of challenging cor diality and murmured: "So our little business woman is going to open the shop. Well. all you've got to do is to deliver the goods and I'll buy 'em at your own price"
 Patterson rapped on the kitchen table that stood on the apron of the stage under naked bunch of light of giaring brilliance
 Places. please, for the entrance. Ready? All right, Eldon l''
 The noble matinee idol put his hat on the table, walked on, sat down on divan composed of two broken chairs and read an imaginary news paper.
 Patterson said "Doorbell : Buzz-z.'
 A well-dressed young man, whom Daphne recognized as the elderly but Ter, walked across and opened an imaginary door between two chairs. This was the cue for Miss Kemble's famous How do you do?"
 Everybody waited and watched for the newcomer to make her debut in the new world. Then was d silence. Daphne stood with heels screwed to the floor and tongue glued to the roof of her mouth.
 "All right. Miss Kip" said Patterson with ominous patience. "Come on. come on, pleaset
 Another silence, then Daphne laughed and choked. I'm awfully stu pid. I've forgotten the line
 Patterson gnashed his unlighted ci- gar and growled: "Howjado How jado!'
 'tOh, yesf Thank you. I'm so sorryi" said Daphne, and walked on at the wrong side of the chairs.
 Everybody shuddered to realize that she had entered through a solid wall. This miracle was ignored. but there was no ignoring the peculiarly inelo- Quent note she struck when she bowed to the butler and stammered:
 How are you?"
 sigh went through the vast pro found and void of the empty theater. Instinct told even the echoes that Daphne did not belong and never could belong. Patterson groaned, tragically.
 'Not to the butler, please Don't say How are you?' to the butler. Don't say How are you?' to anybody, please. Script says 'Howjado? Say 'Howjado?' to MT Eldon there. Say Howjado' to MT. Eldon there.''
 ''How do you do?" said Daphne, lowing to Eldon and speaking with a soullessness of squeezed doll.
 Eldon rose, folded up his imaginary paper, and came forward with pity ing desire to help her He hoped that the scared little Kip woman would win through the sume bitter trials to the same perilous and always endangered success. But he had fear
 He delivered her his line with be- nevolent gentleness. He waited, then gave her her line with exquisite tact
 
 said to her:
 Don't be afraid; you're all right" ,"
 He gave her the line again and she parroted it after him. She leaped then to speech several minutes far ther on. He drew her back to the cue
 Pardon me- but think have q line before that"
 The rehearsal blundered on. It was not Daphne's fright that disturbed the rest. It was her complete failure to suggest the character, or any char acter.
 But Patterson found nothing to amuse him, and Reben tasted that dust and ashes of disappointment with which theatrical managers are so familiar when they bite on the Dead sea fruit of beauty without dra- matic talent.
 Miss Kemble tried to help. She asked Daphne to step aside and watch while she went through the scene. But she was so unnerved that she forgot her own lines and had to refer to the manuscript, while Eldon waited in acute distress and Daphne, looking on said "Oh, see. I think l understand it now" Then she forgot it all again at the repetition. Somehow the re hearsal was worried through to the end and Patterson dismissed the com pany with sarcastic thanks. Then he went to Reben to demand a substi- tute.
 Daphne went home. dreading her