The Bingham County news. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1918-1930, 1921-04-29
Reunited By
the Stage
By LULU N
g, 1921. Western Newspape Union.)

homeward he had stopped and founo
himself gazing with passing interest
at the poster representing Victoria
Green in 1.-THE Romance"
Then he bought a ticket and went
in, in bitter mood, in order to sheer.
He had devoted five years Of his
life to play writing, and every eHort
had come back to him with the barest
Formally of a reply. So he had aban-
doned that field to reap a fair success
as a story writer.
Yet when Victoria Green came on
and captivated the attention of the au-
dience, when the plain, simple story
gradually began to make Its way into
the hearts Of the audience, when sobs
punctuated the silence Stone found
himself gripped. enthralled, by the
writer's power, but it was not until
the second act was half over thai he
half leaped out of his seat and then
subsidized, very white, very determined,
and sick with the sudden upwelling of
memory. For this was his play, ana
in it he had told the story of his W
tragedy.
1t was a common enough story
that of the separation of the lovers, Ii
had happened to him three years be-
fore, when his fiancee, Julia Arnold,
and he had had their quarrel. But
both were proud and both were young;
and so the little quarrel had become
a big one, and finally he had left her
in anger, to find when he was ready
to ask forgiveness that she hau gone
away. He had found no trace Of her
since that day, though he had sought
far and wide. Once she had had lit
erary aspirations, too; he had hoped
to heal Of her in some of the maya
zine offices, but she had disappeared
completely from the knowledge of all
who had known her.
He watched the development of the
drama, the tragedy that set forth,
word by word, line by line, IN indeli-
BILE picture that revived each single
memory and scared him to the heart.
1t was his! 1t was he who had writ
ten this and offered it to a manager
the year before, hoping that in the
LAul Stu6C REORGANIZATION OuAitt VONA>s
read his own hopes and dreams; that
she would see 1t and remember their
love and come back to him. And the
play, rejected everywhere, had vet
been held long enough to enable some
manager to make a copy Of it and
steal it and have it produced.
There was no mistaking that. Skill
%r11, oc a. 6nA hoon nhon~od md rn
written, though every word had beer
put through the crucible Of the man
ayers mind, yet the play had emerged
the same. It was his plot! 1t wa!
his play! And he would have justice
Suddenly, at the height Of the sec
ond act, when the most tense still
ness brooded over the darkened thea
ter, Stone was impelled to glance
across the aisle. A woman sat there
watching him, upon her mouth TIN
faintest vestige of a smile. But ther'
might have been tears in her eyes
in Julia's eyes.
1t was Julia. He knew her immedi
ately. She had changed but little
though lines Of suffering had CONF
about her mouth and her face wal
; more earnest, more mature, but no
| less beautiful. Stone ros in his seat
"Sit down! Silence!" called SOM
one angrily behind him. h
He would 60 to her after the ac
was over. He wanted her as he has
never wanted her before. For he
sake he would lay aside the last YES
l tige of his pride, for her sake h
would confess his folly; and for hi
own sake he would beg for the glOr.
e of her love.
He could not see her face through
the misty curtain that floated befor'
his own. He put his hand to his eye
and was surprised to find it wet. H'
looked again. He could not see he
now.
The curtain fell the lights went up
But Julia was not there
= He looked up. Julia was standing
e before the curtain, and her bow wa
to the crowd; but her eyes were OF
2 his.
Then suddenly Stone understood
e She was the author; she had succeed
ed where he had failed, and she hat
put all the sorrow and suffering o
t both of them into the story. And evel
h as he watched her she vas gone, an
he stood still in the aisle among tn
d moving crowds.
!, The second seat was empty. Ston
o slipped into 1t, and presently he say
her coming down the aisle toward him
. Her head was very high, her cheek
afame with happiness. And she ga
down at his side.
"Julia {" he whispered, hardly dal
ing to look into her eyes. 1T wa
you'll"
"Yes," he heard her answer family
/. "Julia, I have sought you all thi
time. Why didn't you let me know
; Why couldn't you forgiven"
"But I have forgiven long ago." sh