The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-05-14


ant manager smiled benignly.
Then suddenly everything went
Hack. Desperately Elaine pulled
herself together. 1t was her last
chance.
But you promised me-Pve been
waiting hours. At least let me sec
tim-just one minute" The tears
were very close to her big brown
eyes.
The assistant manager hesitated.
We'll, it won't do a bit of good, you
lnow-just take up the governors
time. But as long as you've waited
SO long, you can see him a minute.
Take off your hat and leave it out
here"
Take off my hat?" gasped Elaine.
yes, the governor likes to see peo-
pie as they really are. Be quick as
you can, please"
Off came the hat her last glory,
and Elaine found herself following the
reluctant manager down the hall.
Then a door was thrown open and
Elaine was inside. Suddenly she re-
membered her nair. She had dressed
il very loosely that morning to fit
under theprecious hat, and the run in
the rain and the long waiting had
iocsened it still more. But the assist
ant manager did not wait. He opened
door, and as Elaine stepped across
the threshold the last hairpin came
out, and her hair fell about her shout
ders, a great, glittering gold, red mass.
Again the room went black. Moth
ing more in the world could possibly
happen to her. Then she saw her
shces-rather she saw the patch on
the shoes. 1t seemed to be rising off
the leather. She wondered vaguely
ii there would be hole in the stock
ms when the patch came off.
Afar off she saw a white-haired
haired gentleman looking at her; say
three other men looking at her; she
saw a stenographer taking notes.
Still she didn't move, just leaned
against the door. Vaguely she regret
ted all the luncheons she had gone
without to buy the hat, the scorned,
discarded hat. And then she began to
laugh. She steadied herself by the
doorknob and laughed; the tinkly,
silvery laugh that somehow she
couldn't stop.
she knew the men were staring at
her, were looking apprehensively at
each other. She saw Mr.. Reed try to
explain something to the white-haired
man, but he pushed him aside impati-
emily. The white-haired man was
staring at her.
Still she laughed. Then the tears
somehow got in between the laughs,
ana she couldn't stop them either.
Afar off she heard the white-haired
man speaking. She thought she must
lie going crazy. The great man was
| speaking.
ITS great, great! Even the dress
is perfect, patch and all, the shabbi-
less, everything. And the hair, the
wonderful red-gold hair. Reed, you
lave given me the surprise of my life.
So this was what you had up your
Sleeve"
Elaine's tears stopped. She leaned
weakly against the door, She saw
Robertson patting his bewildered as
sistant on the back. Then he spoke
tc her.
Give me that entrance right over
again, and let me see if you can do
it as well the second time"
Mechanically Elaine obeyed the
voice. She opened the door and went
cut almost blindly. The assistan;
manager rushed after her.
do you understand" he gasped.
You're to do it over again. Go in
and laugh and cry just as you die
before. You've stumbled into part
a great part-dress and ALL"
Slowly Elaines brain cleared. She
was to do that entrance over again
She was to act for the great Robert
son. She had gotten her chance
For moment she stood perfectly
still, trying to grasp it. So they had
thought that was good acting? That
blind ,unknowing hysteria! All right,
she would show them what she really
could do
The girl who entered the room this
time was an artist in full possession
of her faculties. Just as forlorn, just
as appealing as before, she was, yet
with her sixth sense of the actor at
work; the subtle something that holds
an audience spell-bound Blind, I'M
seeing, she leaned against the door.
Then came the laughter, tinkly, sill
very, with the hysteria slowly creep
ing in, and then the tears, the rack
ings, sobbing tears, until the little
audience was breathless.
1t was the great Robertson himself
who broke the spell.
You're a clever little girl, very
clever little girl he said. Now,