Evening star., 1923-09-02


That not being in the lines Meehan
air't got no answer. I motion toward
the book intending for him to read
the name off it, but before he gets
a chance to grab off the title Goldie
cuts in again.
"Oh do tell me- she pulls and
looks over Dukes shoulder. ITS the
first reader, amt it?"
"Uh-huh," mummbles that flat-tire
without thinking. The audience
don't see nothing funny rightaway
but when Meehan goes on with his
regular Tines about how cuckoo he is
about Shakespeare and other swell
literaturos the gang out in front gets
the idea he's a comedian and acts ac-
cording. The laughs ball the kid up
some more and he and me Is about
ready to take the count when the
talky-talk end of the act finishes and
gets through the bag-punching and
the rest of the blah- -blah all right
and draws enough of a hand to go
ahead with his spiel about how he
won the championship.
When Goldie comes off I grabs her
by the arm and let's off steam.
whats the idea of grabbing the
act?" 1 helps at her.
Whats your idea of acting the
crab?" che comes back. Didn't the
stuff go over big?"
Them lines amt in the piece"
says I.
Sure, they amt" answered Goldie
calm, II seen the comeons out in front
was cold so 1 thought I'd pull a new
stunt on them. Every team does that
once in a WHILE
Well ] cuts in, Dukes got
enough trouble getting by with the
regular stuff. Stick to the lines. kid.
Duke amt no actor. he's a fighter"
II sneers," comes back Goldie, "and
listen, amt the only one"
Somebody in the audience has let
loose a hiss. Duke, who's near the
end Of his spiel, stops and me and
what's what. Again they is a hiss.
Meehan's mad enough to bite himself.
/ Then he steps up front and yells:
"If the dirty dog that done that'll
come up here I'll bust his face in.
Come on. you yeller rat, and bring
all your friends along"
Nobody don't accept the invite and
the audience starts cheering for Duke
That's an idea" says Goldie, kinda
to herself.
Listen. here" says the Lark baby,
at the hotel. whats the matter
with working that stunt into the act
regular"
What stunt?" I asks. The first
reader?"
NO" she explains. "4he kissing
business. Well have someone at
every show and let Duke pull the
same lines he worked of tonight. The
acts needed a real snappy blow-off
all the time and now that we got it,
let's use it,
rs that the idea you was speaking
Of back in the theater?" injuries.
That's part of it,"answers Goldie.
EOR whiles things is much better
L and Goldie treats the boy real
pleasant and that baby turns hisself
outside in to make hay while the
irons hot
Besides the kissing trick which goes
big, Goldie thinks up some other
stunts which helps with the laughs.
Goldberg is got all kinda condolences
in the gal and writes me to let her
go as far as she likes in changing
the act around
The further west we gets the more
razzing we draws from the news
papers about not fighting. Dixen
come from California or one of them
places on the Pacific Slop and out in
that section they is used to talking
free
While we is towering the country
the exchamp gets himself a match
with Gunpointer Shannon. an English
biffer. and punches that baby cold in
less than round. which. of course,
gives the sporting writers a new
bunch of harpoons to heave at us.
But the box office amt hurt none.
The knocking makes the kissing stunt
sound real natural, and we is sitting
sweet and pretty. when all Of sud-
den the train stops and we is in El
Paso. which means "the pass" and we
do-out.
The afternoon show goes by in
great shape, bat when we goes back
to the hotel there is a telegram wait
ing for me from Biddy Gallagher,
reading:
"Will you take twenty thousand,
win, lose. draw, Decoration Day?"
I shows the wire to Meehan and
he's keen to take Dixon on the price,
but I just gives him the laughs.
When he talks twice that loud,
kid" says I. well begin to tell him
what we want"
Duke don't argue and I sends this
answer to Biddy:
debt to art not yet all paid"
Goldie amt around for dinner. She
drifts in about half an hour before
show time and I tells her about the
offer We gets from Gallagher.
Take it," she says.
"And bust up the show?" I asks.
Tired Of it?"
|. mo, I amt" she comes back, "but
I gotta huncl we is about through"
ION account of the newspaper razz-
ing?" I inquiries.
THAT and other things" Goldie an
swers. 'If you don't take it you'll be