Happy Days: Tom Taylor, The Boy Who Worried Blanco — page 11: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

r * » « f rT F< ox Othe adh ‘ ers RB 7 : ye chs eae TNs PSE UA | Fira! haga 7 fal rs, rae ON ates be - = P - 2a ; a ie be? ’ , ' Ls ; * ~*~ ’ iw 44 ave goo” Se 5! » r 2 F J : Pe P boy of 4 wre ; SE dal S 4 7 7 é —we “al i by OR ED et ale eae Te . e z esses | “yl me *» a8 wit - ‘ 4 7 <7 ~~ * ' 7 4 > o 1 , Se , ie er, yee ° q ‘4 & _-. «@ v , . + 4 AM « a ; ) “ ie eg the Peep o« * « - . a5 ; TF ae oe | ace ‘’ alta 4 t i. 4 < eee = + wos» ‘% Y WW < _ sae ~ “For my sake do asI request. I know y- .~ . it-is not best that you should meet your 5) enemy here,” interrupted the young girl. _ ~ And Horace suffered her to push him in- to the adjoining apartment. She closed Jat the door and went to the street portal. In ait, -- a moment Horace heard Carton’s voice -. Yaised in indignant protest. It was evi- _ dent that he insisted upan being received ’ by Ethel, and that she had forbidden him _ teenter the house. - — thel’s voice was pce high in excite- " ment, and Horace heard every word she ~ uttered as she said ; *_ “tell you I will not talk with you. I Snosv your true character at last, and I ™ thank Heaven the knowledge came in time. 4 rom this moment we are strangers, You ">= Miust never speak to me again. Now go, >» you villain !” ~~ > Foolish girl! Do you think you can get \ vidofmeinthis way? Someone has pois- >) oned your mind against me. You may have "~- heard from the boy actor, who tried to be "your sweetheart before I came upon the >> ~~ «scene. But you should not credit the words - of a thief,” retorted Carton. - _ Horace waited to hear no more, _ £@arried away by righteous indignation, »__ he rushed out of the apartment to which ~~ © he had retired at Ethel’s solicitation, and _* £°the next moment he was in the hall, where the young girl whom he so dearly loved was confronted by the scoundrel who had seught to brand him with a crime of which he was innocent. At that moment Carton made a start at _ Ethel, and seized her by the arm, exclaim- Seo > ing: a “You shall not leave me until you have Swe), heardall I have to say.” me Ethel uttered an alarmed cry, and strug- 'giled to free herself from Carton’s detain- ing ;zrasp. The next instant Horace grasped Carton a =? collar and hurled him away from thel, The fellow reeled, and would have fallen to the floor had he not come in contact with the wall. Horace placed himself before Ethel, and pointed at the door, saying: *Go, youcur! Get out of this house at once, and if you ever attempt to annoy this lady again, you will have to answer to me!’ _ “Answer to you,eh? Answer to you, “you pick-pocket! Ill answer to you now, i thrashing you within an inch of your jife!” roared Carton, who seemed much astonished at beholding the lad there, when he supposed he was in a cell at the ‘police station. it has been shown that the boy actor Was an athlete, and his success in stop- ping the runaway team of Bronson Lewis, the dramatist, proved that he knew how to use his strength fearlessly. “Merely smiling at Carton’s threat, Hor- laced himself in a fighting attitude, _ 8 the enraged actor came at him. - _- _- The lad knew that the art of boxing was ; aos an accomplishment universally popular ~~ among Englishmen, and he scarcely doubt- Ete ed that Carton knew something about the ' art of self-defense, Indeed, Carton pat up his fists in a way which served to show that he was at least _ familiar with the rudiments of the manly t. Ethel sprang between Horace and Car- ope the latter advanced at his boyish rival. _ ‘There was such a great disparity in their size, and Horace looked so frail and boyish beside the burly English actor that Ethel was terrified. Indeed, it seemed that the brave American youth had no chance of successfully resisting his.enemy. Carton was no doubt sure of this, for his dark face assumed an expression of brutal exultation, orling Ethel out of his way, he cried out: “Down upon your knees and beg my penton if you want me to leave a whole iv nein yourbody!” ~-* | ~_ “Coward! coward! ‘He is only a boy, > oes ‘and ce are a man of more than twice -his > size !" cried Ethel. _* ‘Never mind that, Ethel, dear, I think I ean give him as good as he sends. He’s a big, hulking loafer, I admit, but size don't ways count!” said Horace, with such so) assurance that Ethel began to take Tox Carton he seemed quite taken dently he thought threats and blus- yould go along way with a mere bey We Horace. ‘The latter’s blood was up now, and he aed cole _ meant to, if possible, give the English ras- > Se al some of the punishment which he rich- et y deserved, ~~ . Horace’s last taunting words served to » | ~~ ‘Wake Carton rush at him incautiously. He pt Struck at the lad’s head, “The youth duck- ~~ ed just as the boxing-master at the school ; i peeenasium had taught him to do, ~~ ~~ ‘Very neatly he avoided the heavy fist of _ his enemy, and in return he swung his | Wight fist full on the jaw of the big English- . an, __ Perhaps there was a good deal of luck in “* HAPPY DAYS ee it, but the lad’s blow landed fairly in the right place, and Carton crashed down upon the floor, pat he staggered to his feet in a mo- ment. Again he came at Horace fiercely, and in his rage he was as incautious as befor, Oncc more Horace evaded his rush, and rial Tage him with a heavy blow full in the ace, ) . Just then two young men, evidently me- chanics, and brawny young fellows at that, who were in their working clothes, came in at the front door, The new arrivals were the sons of the widowed lady with whom Ethel made her nome, Seeing them, the young girl cried out; “Oh, Jack! Oh, Tom! I'm so glad you've come! Won't Rit put this ruftian ony of the house?” and she indicated Car- on, Now, Jack and Tom knew Horace, and were friendly to him. **Cert, Miss Ethel. We'll bounce him in a minute,” said one of the yeung men, The succeeding moment Carton was seized by the two stout young American mechanics, and despite this struggles they rushed him to the door, and threw him into the street. As the discomfited actor flew through the door, he shouted savagely : ' ** Pll make you pay for this, Ethel May- nard, and as for the boy upstart [ll crush him! Tll ruin him before the footlights and behind the scenes |” The slamming of the door by one of the young mechanics, cut short any further Peete which Carton might have meant to utter, A little later Horace parted with Ethel and hastened to his home, where he found his mother anxiously awaiting his coming, though she heard nothing of his arrest, a CHAPTER VI. HORACE'S FALL FROM THE LADDER. HORACE was a thoughtful and consider- ate lad, and he knew his mother would be much worried if he told her of his recent troubles. She looked so happy over his home coming that he determined to say nothing to trouble her, So, instead of relating how he had been unjustly accused and arrested, he hastened to tell of his success at the first rehearsal of Bronson Lewis’ great melodrama in which he was soon to make his debut. Of course the fond mother was delighted with his report of how the rehearsal had gone off, and she kissed him, saying with. pardonable maternal pu : ‘‘Tam sure you will succeed, my brave boy.” Borage dreamed of triumphs on the stage that night, and the following morn- ing he awoke more determined than ever to merit success by hard study and atten- tion to the details of the arduous profession in which even natural genius does not attain eminence without much effort, Tony Tripton called at Horace’s home early in the day, and cone: they pro- ceeded to the police court at Jefferson Market. As they entered at the Sixth avenue por- tal of the court-room they saw Ralph Cars ton. The English actor glanced at them frown- ingly, but said nothing as he preceded them into the court-room. Horace’s case was soon called, and it was promptly disposed of, Tony Tripton produced his witness—the variety actor reviously alluded to—and he swore that e saw the fellow who was Carton’s com- anion at the cafe, place the pocket-book in Horace’s pocket, He was corroborated by other witnesses, and finally, when the fellow who had been arrested at sony 8 instance was placed upon the stand, he broke down and confessed. But it seemed that Carton must have bribed or intimidated him, for he said that he had picked Carton’s pocket, and then pur the stolen purse in Horace’s pocket cause he feared detection, and merely sought to save himself at the expense of the lad, Carton was cunning, and he said upon the stand that he now believed the truth had bcen told by the self-confessed thief, and with an air of virtuous magnanimity declared that he regretted the innocent ay had been unjustly accused. o the outcome of the brief trial was that Horace was promptly acquitted, but the lad and his friends regretted that Car- ton had managed to pose only as an honest accuser, The boy actor and his friends left the court-room in triumph, and as they gained the street Tony Tripton said to the lad in earnest tones: **'You have beaten Carten this time, but if [am any judge of character he is a vin- dictive and revengeful man, and hereafter you must be upon your guard against him constantly, for I doubt not he will attempt to do you further injury.” Horace assured the old actor that he would not neglect his warning, and they soon parted, But before they separated where their SER ease ways diverged, Horace’s friend said : ** Rehearsal is called for two o’clock this afternoon. Do not fail to attend, and be prompt.” Horace assented, and before two o’clock he was in the ‘*‘ green room” of the Avenue Theater, In this play house the green room, which was really merely a wide ~assage between the actors’ dressing-rooms under and at the rear of the spacious stage, was provid- ed with a number of chairs and large, con- venient mirrors, in which the artists could take a finn] look at themselves before going on the stage. The green room was the meeting place and waiting-room of the Avenue Compa- ny, and there they assembled between the acts, waiting to be called tothe stage oy the call-boy, whose duty it was to an- nounce each act before the curtain rose, The story of Horace’s arrest and Carton’s part in it had become known to the theat- rical company through the gossip of Tony Tripton and the vivacious Sallie Sailor be- fore Horace arrived at the theater that day. When he entered the green room most of the company had already arrived and were waiting the stage manager’s sum- mons to the stage, But Carton had not yet put inan appear- ance when Horace came into the green room, At once he found himself in the position of a hero among the kind-hearted thes- pians. Sallie Sailor pounced upon him in hér impulsive wey, and shook him by both hands, Tony Tripton and the others gathered about him, and he was greeted with all sorts of compliments and friendly assur- ances, In the midst of this Carton came in, and without a word of greeting to any one, and showing a frowning face upon all present, he stalked to his dressing-room, entered and slammed the door, No one had spoken to Carton,and when he found himself alone in the dressing- room he muttered, savagely: **So these American actors mean to os- tracize me it seems. They are all on the boy’s side, but he shall find in spite of that, that Ralph Carton is a bad man to antagonize. I won’t give up the girl yet, and I'll be true to my determination to ruin the boy actor, But, confound him, he has talent, and he'll make a hit in his part the first night of the public produc- tion of the new drama, unless I can pre- vent it. How can I do that?” Carton began to pace up and down the dressing-room which was, by the way, the best one in the theater, such as is usually given to the leading actor. The brows of the actor became cdntract- edand he seemed to think deeply, but at length his brow cleared, and he seemed to have hit upon some plan against Horace which gave him much satisfaction. Striking his fist upon the dressing table, he muttered : ‘‘T have it, and I'll do it. Horace Bran- don shall not appear on the night of the first public production of the new drama! No, he shall disappoint the manager and the public. And I mean that the result shall be his prompt discharge from the company.” A few moments later the shrill voice of the call-boy sounded in the green room, as he piped out: ‘‘Ladies and gentlemen, all ap for the first act,” Carton then proceeded to the stage, There the other members of the company were standing about with the type-written parts of the new drama in their hands, and the stage manager was seated ata small table, at the right first entrance with the book of the play before him. Very different looked the spacious stage, and the auditorium that was dimly light- ed, from the same scene at night under the brilliant lights, and with the fine scen- ery fully displayed by the footlights, The romance and illusions of the stage seemed all to be banished, and the very acy looking men and women who oc- cupied it, dressed in the street costumes, could not by any stretch of the imagina- tion be associated with the brilliant and richly costumed personages who became the creatures of the dramatist’s romantic creations when the audience witnessed the real production of the play. In front the vast rows of orchestra and parquette, with the spacieus balconies above, seemed only a dark empty vault and the fine decorations of the walls and ceilings were veiled in obscurity. The shadowy forms of the scrub women at work in the body of the theater looked vague and unreal, and the whole atmos- phere of the play house was dull and de- pressing, The rehearsal began at once, and the act- ors read their parts, and went through the action or business of the play, as it fis des- ignated in the profession, The action in the second act demanded that Llorace should run up a frail ladder, lift alittle girl out of the window of a burning house, and carry her down the ladder to safety. Carton’s part demanded that he should be absent from the stage during this excit- ing scene, and some time before it, Leav- ing the stage before Horace’s time came to ascend the ladder, the English actor crept behind the scenes, where stood the ladder. A stage carpenter's chest stood open beside it. Carton’s evil face proves as he seized a saw and, using it softly, almost severed the ladder at its middle place. Shortly ufter that the ladder was putinplaceonthe | stage, and no one noticed that it had been® > tampered with, When he received the proper cue, Horace started torun up the ladder and Carton, standing in the wings watched him, believ- ing that the ladder would soon come crash- ing down upon the ctage, and that the boy he hated would be killed, or severely in- jured by a fall from a considerable height, All unsuspicious of his danger the bay actor simply mounted higher and higher, But suddenly the frail support gave way, and fell crashing down upon the stage. (TO BE CONTINUED, } > e~ o—=>¢ IF YOU WANT ANY WAR-SHIP BUT-= TONS SEE CRAND OFFER ON [6th PACE, 68 —— (This story commenced in No, 196.) THE NINE IN BLUE: The Boy Champions of the Diamond Field. By P. T. RAYMOND, of “The Little Boss,” “* Tom and the Tiger,” “‘* That Boy Bob,” “The Boy Contractor,” “A Sawdust Prince,” etc., etc, Author CHAPTER XIII. THE BATTLE OF THE PITOHERS, THE rush of the mob was irresistible, It es the police and the two Nines completely away, andthe wildest excite- ment ever seen on a baseball fleld ensued, The police vainly tried to restore order. The pitcher for the Crickets quickly disappear- ed and sought shelter outside the inclosure, Hal Myrick, however, rallied the members of his Nine close by the benches and ordered them to defend themselves with their bats, lt seemed, however, that the anger of the mob was not directed against them. They were angry with the Crickets’ pitch- er, as the majerity of them had bet little sums on the game, believing that he would pitch the Nine in Blue out with the great- est ease. When he failed to do so, and was oe batted all over the field, some of them declared that he had been bought off, and they believed it. ‘* Where is he? Where is he?” they yell- * a over the field, ‘“*Let me get at m |” The mob kept possession of the field for at least a quarter of an hour, by which time most of the yelling had ceased, The umpire mounted on one of the benches and calied out to the mob in a good-natur- ed sort of way: ‘*Now, boys, you’ve had your fun, get off the field now and let the game go on !” ‘* Not with that pitcher !” yelled a strong- lunged man in the crowd, “I've nothing to do with that,” said the umpire, ‘‘ Just get off the field and let the oo put in a substitute pitcher if they wish,” The crowd, however, showed no disposi- tion to abandon the field, and the umpire called upon the police to clear it.” : ‘“Stand back now, men; get out of the way,” commanded the sergeant in charge of thejsquadron of police, ‘‘ or we'll bat your heads for balls !” The crowd dispersed, leaving the field clear again for the two Nines, ‘‘Now,” said the umpire, looking at his watch and then at the Long Island City Nine, “‘ what are you fellows going to do for a pitcher?” . “Give us five minutes, umpire,” sung out the captain of the Crickets, “and we'll find a substitute,” Just then somebody in the crowd called to the captain, who went over to see what he wanted. He held a whispered conver- sation with the man_for abouta minute, who finally beckoned to another back in the crowd, who Saga joined him, After a few words with the stranger the captain of the Crickets returned with him to the field. The members of his Nine gathered around him and held a whispered consul- tation lasting about another minute, after which he reported to the umpire, saying: ‘““We are ready to play,” and the new- comer entered the box, where he was NIC