The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1925-07-02

Exit the
Leading Lady


greatest success of her career Maurice
Arlington complained of having de-
veloped a raging toothache.
1T is quite impossible for me to
turn out" he interjected between his
spasms of pain. 81 should be simply
miserable if / went. But you'll get on
without me all right know"
A shadow of disappointment crossed
Eleanor Arlington's face. Against her
inclination she had read her husbands
mind, and this was the reading. The
toothache he was suffering from was
not acute, and would probably yield
at once to the slightest treatment
when he was ready to adopt it. He
was brooding over the pain with secret
satisfaction, because it furnished an
excuse for his absence this evening
from the scene of her possible tri
umph.
When she was dressed for the the
atre, Eleanor went to the chemist her
self and got the tootha,che remedy.
She could have. deputed a servant, but
there were still ten minutes to spare
before the motor was due, and some
thing told her that Maurice might APP
preciate the act more when he knew
that she had gone herself.
Nothing else that you require, Mrs.
Arlington asked the chemist.
mo, thank you. Oh, yes, while I
am here, I'd better-have you some
thing that will poison mice efficiently
and without pain? band of them
have begun to infest my dressing room
at the theatre"
She left the shop with two bottles
in her hand, and sought again her
husbands room.
Hello. Nell! Thought you had
gone.
'Did you? and without your good
wishes for the night. There, we
mustn't grow sentimental. Sentiment
talism's played out Well, here's the
bottle of toothache mixture. You pour
a tablespoonful of it, if l remember
rightly, into a similar quantity of
water, and swallow it."
Swallow it, Ell? You're quite sure
about that?"
"Oh, perfectly There's a little
laudanum in it-not enough to hurt
you, you know and it soothes all the
nerves. There's the motor screeching.
must fly Don't wait for me. 1t may
be past midnight if there are many
recalls"
Recalls! Her last words to him, and
it rang irritably in his ears. Did not
his wife live for recalls?
Of course in any other woman it
would not have mattered. but Eleanor
was his wife. He had married her with
the intention of weaving her from the
stage Her solemn warning given
before marriage was impossible,
he had laugLingly dlsregarded. Let
the claims of ministering to his
needs, the needs of a possible heir,
and of answering the calls of society
to which marriage with him would in
troduce her, make themselves felt, and
all dramatic considerations would go
by the board.
She had tremendously disappointed
J him
He was proud of his courage in re-
fusing to countenance to-nights APP
pearance by his presence. True, it
might have been more courageous had
he omitted all mention of toothache
and assigned his indisposition to it's
major cause, but, as it was, he had
done brave thing in absenting him
self.
The play was said, in advance para
Tanqueray, and to Guido that play in
sincerity and power. Personally he
hated to be made to think in a theatre.
in her dressing room at the World
Theatre sat Eleanor Arlington, ready
to play her part. The orchestra was
tuning UP, in another minute the over
ture was timed to commence. She
felt little nervous tonight.
She turned to her dresser.
as there an illustrated paper about.
Minnie anything to beguile the
timer"
II don't see, maudln--
''Ah, give me that bottle! No, not
the scent bottle. The one wrapped in
paper l brought in with me. It's
an exterminator for mice, warranted
4 to take instant effect."
I'm glad of that. madam"
"Now run and get me small chunk
of bread, Minnie, no matter if it's
stale as long as it's crumb I'll set
bait for these gentry whilst I'm wait
dng. 1t will save time afterwards"
The dresser went out.
Eleanor slipped off her gloves, she
4 had to make her entry in outdoor
dress. She smiled to herself as she
reached for the bottle, broke the seal
which the chemist had made, an be
gan taking off the paper. On the eve
OF critical moment in her career
she was busying herself laying poison
for mice. Yet the trivial occupation
gave infinite relief, and she knew that
the great ones of the earth would moi