The Monticellonian., 1919-04-04
CHAPTER XII.

All this while Daphne was kept in readiness to take Miss Kembles part in case the illness of her child should result in death and in the further ease that she should be unable to finish her performances With the theatrical season in such bad estate and most of Reben's companies and theaters losing money heavily. Sheila Kembte was his one certain dependence. He called her his breadwinner
 Miss Kemble's baby passed the cr- sis and recovered And then the mother worn out with the double strain, caught little chill that became T binding, choking cold. She went through the Saturday matinee in a whisper, but the night performance was beyond her.
 And now at last Daphne's chance ar rived. The Saturday night house was enormous in spite of the heat. There were enough people there to make fourteen hundred dollars-twenty-6 i've hundred for the day.
 Daphne, trudging to the theater for her usual stupid rebuff, walked into this crisis of her life
 Reben himself knocked at her dress ing room door where Miss Winsor was helping her with her makeup He implored her to be calm. and he was so tremulous that he stuttered. He told her that if she made good he would let her play the part till Miss Kemhle got well. He would pay her hand some bonus. He would put her out at the head of number two company next season.
 Patterson came at last and ordered him off the stage. Reben obeyed him. Then Patterson talked to her. He told her that there was no reason to fear the house. A Saturday night audience was always easy. IL wanted it's mon- ey's worth! It would help 10 get it.
 T see" said Daphne I'm not afraid of the audience.
 .Then what on earth are you afraid of?n
 I'm afraid of mel
 Patterson laughed scornfulIy. "Oh. you You're going to score knock out. You're going to make a big hit !"
 Yes" said Daphne, "so you've al ways told me-
 The curtain rose Miss WinSpr and the young man skipped onto their job the butler stalked; Eldon entered and made his exit. Mrs. Vining spread her skirts and sailed on, then Eldon
  came.
 She was startled a little as Batter son nudged her forward. She went to the door and opened it on her new career to make her public debut with the all-important How q you do?" She saw before her the drawing room in a weird light. Beyond it was a fiercely radiant fog and beyond that an agglomeration of faces-the mass of tomato cans that she was not going to be afraid of
 And she was not afraid. She was curious to study them. She was eager to remember her lines. And she re- membered them. Then cues came more or less far apart and each evoked from her mind the appropriate answer. She made never a slip, and yet she began to realize that Mr. Eldon seemed un- happy.
 At length she realized that the audi ence was strangely quiet. sense of yaulty emptiness oppressed her. She went on with her lines. She under stood at last that she was getting no laughs, She was not provoking those punctuating roars that Sheila Kemble brought forth. The audience had evi- dently had a hard week.
 She decided that she must be play ing too quietly; sine quickened her tempo and threw more vivacity into her manner. She moved briskly about the scene, to Eldon's bewiderment. He seemed unable to find her.
 She went through to the bitter end and spoke every line. But the audi enee was not with her for moment. She used all her intellect to find the secret of it's pleasure, but she could not surprise it. She tried harder and harder, acted with the intense devo- ton of wrestling bout, but she could not score a point.
 The company looked worried and