New-York tribune., 1919-10-12
Charles Meakins
By Virginia Tracy

Persons living in the twentieth CEN
tury whose sleep is badly broken by
horror Of the Darwinian theory may
now have their fears set at rest for
the small sum of sixty cents in the
evening and twenty-five cents in the
afternoon, paid into the box Office of
the Broadway Theatre for ticket to
"a Scream in the Night"
Science, says m Introductory sub
title, is the rebellion against God Of
arrogance of mind. Arrogance of
mind comes one night to" And then
upon the screen appears a villain in
the. arrogance Of evening dress and
high hat, following an innocent elderly
gentleman and shooting him in the
back. The victim staggers within
wrought iron gates and is clutched to
the bosom of his old friend, Senator
Newcastle, who carries him into the
house, where there is little evening
party going on, and ensconces him in
the library without summoning ser
want, doctor OR policeman. Nothing
whatever is done for the bullet wound;
the two elderly gentlemen merely cling
together in sort Of ladylike nervous
ness at the fact that there is q man
on the rampage. The Senator inquiries
with a quivcr:
"Was it-he ." The guest asscnts
days" Whcreupon the Senator goes
straight back 10 his little party.
Now, from all this quiverng awe and
secrecy we suppose that the Senator
and his friend are living down some
dark past out Of which the gunman in
evening clothes has fred. Not so. The
awe and secrecy are due purely to the
circumstance that the gunman in
evening dress is Prof. Silvio, cold
blooded monster of science" and
therefore, apparently, not to be trif1ed
turning him over to the police; if he
is after you, conceal yourself for few
days, when, you know, you are to go
exploring through that jungle in South
America where You have long suspected
that he has hidden your daughter
whom he stole from you fifteen years
~ have come to warn you that he
intends to use her, for his Great Ex-
pertinent"
Our sympathy wandcrs to the charms
Of new and most important character
who has lately Found his way into the
garden. This is C. large, wabhly paved,
Woolly One, ali dressed i'll fuzzy rugs,
who perhaps wouid be better describct!
as q Teddy Monk. His face, to be sure,
is rather more Ike AZ ]ynglsh sheep
dogs than a gorilla's, and though we
are fond OF monkeys we never have
/. happened to meet any of so fluffy and
so soft a texture. 1t is trNo that we
DONE quite care for his hama when it
comes thro~ ~gh TIC curtains and grabs
the butler by the hair ana smashcs
!; him on the hcad with . decantcr
: Tho butler doesn't lifc it either and
tries to warn the Senator, who replies
"You have been drinking! Leave the
, Toom!"
Therefore, We feel only that there
is justice in Heaven when the same
hand reaches through the same cur
! tains, grabbing the Senator by his hair
and he himself leaves the room pre-
unknown. The next we hear of him
, his dead body has been found in the
garden. mutiiated beyond recognition
! But VIC arc wise TO The phrase "beyond
recognition" and know that we shall
meet again.
, Better late than never, the hero now
, arrives upon the screen. He is Robert
Hunter, q young gentleman, who will
inherit the Senator's fortune IL the
senator's 3 NduEnIcr, p3EWh, IL never
produced from the South American
Jungle. SO Robert, being the hero
starts for the jungle to produce her
! Presumably he has an excellent sense
i, , Of location, since he walks straight
through the jungle to Darwa's very
, hidingplacc with so little doubt OF
! trouble that when he at length sees
/. the shine Of her snowy limbs as she
leaps from bough to bough in the
:, gloom Of the tree tops far above his
head ho feels not the slightest surprise
or at least Mr.. Ralph Kellard, who
interprets him, evinccs none.
Darwa is very pleasant to look at
swaying and flashing about In the
Jungle on her rope of moss, but n.
q, soon as she comes down to earth sht
shows US that her wildness is Of tha
C hop, skip and jump variety: she i.
: d thoroughly cheerful soul. hor mouth
: at sight of stranger, dropping oper
n with delight until that dread expert
n ment Of Professor Silvio's begins to tax,
+ place. For such, after ALL arc th'
Q poWers OF virtue that Roherts iournn,