Work and Win #07: Fred Fearnot as Actor — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

eS p , sel \ . oe) oS eee ee eee 7) a ~ so puzzled before in his life. LO FRED FEARNOT AS AN ACTOR. Re, 2 ee ee ee ‘Neither can I,’’ returned Fred; and then he The clerk consulted a time-table and reported that turned the key to open the door and examine the lock | one would leave at 12:30. on the outside, which seemed to be all right; but they ‘©What size place is it ?’’ Terry asked. were both badly puzzled. ‘‘Oh, it’s quite a little village of some twenty-five Fred spent a half hour trying to solve the problem | hundred or three thousand inhabitants.” and then decided to return to his bed, but not until} “Thank you,” said Terry, who at once returned to he had moved 1t up against the door to prevent a repe- | the reading room, where Fred was still writing. tition of the mystery. ‘Say, old man, we passed right through the place in coming up here from Dubuque. It’s a little town of about three thousand inhabitants, some forty or fifty. miles south of here, and the train leaves at 12:30, so we can take it in, if you say so.”’ < All right,’’ returned Fred, ‘‘ we’ll take it in.”’ After an early dinner they paid their bill and hur. ried to the station, and they bought tickets for Hom, erville, where they landed an hour and a half later, and put up at the best hotel in the place. They saw posters on dead walls and fences, and pictures of the two blonde actresses in the windows of stores. .“*Guess they haven’t got here yet,’’ remarked The next morning he examined the lock again, but could gather no light whatever. He reported it to the proprietor of the house, stating that he was never ‘Oh, that’s easy enough,’’ laughed the proprietor. *““Some burglar had a pair of slender nippers, which he inserted in the lock on the outside, caught the key and turned it, soas to unlock the door. ‘Then when he passed out he probably relocked it so as to shut off pursuit till he could get out of sight.” Well, by George! How simple it is when a man finds out a thing,’’ he laughed. ‘‘lt shows that one man can’t know everything.”’ «‘ Why in thunder didn’t you blaze away at the fel- low and give him a bullet ?’’ the proprietor asked. *‘T did think of it; i thought that Terry and I would be able to catch him without killing him. As it is he slipped away as slick as a piece of wet soap, but he didn’t get anything. Luckily for us we hung our coats and vests up on the hooks, leaving our trou- sers on the chair; else we might have lost our watches.”’ _ After breakfast they strolled into the reading room, where they intended to write letters home, and there Terry picked up a paper from a country town and, in glancing over it, saw the announcement that Ham- mond’s Theatrical Company, from New York, were to play the next night. He looked at the date of the paper and saw that it was dated the day before. “Say, Fred, just look at this, will you ?”’ and he | here to-night 2?” handed him the paper and pointed to the article he ‘“No,’’ answered Fred, ‘‘ but we know some of the had just read. people init. What time are they to be here 2?” “By George !”’ exclaimed Fred. ‘‘That’s the com- *‘T don’t know, sir.’’’ . pany we met on the train coming out from New York.”’ “You don’t know where they played last night ?” “Right you are, and they play there to-night.”’ ““No,”’ and the janitor shook his head. “Where is the place???’ Fred asked, looking up at He was one of those plodding kind of fellows who the top of the paper. seldom read the papers, and knew nothing beyond his ‘‘Hanged if I know,” said Terry, ‘‘ but the name | own range of hearing and sight. of the place is Homerville.”’ ‘‘ How many times are they to show here 2”? Fred “Well, let’s find out where Homervyille is, and if | asked. we can get there, let’s take it in.’’ “Only to-night, sir.’’ ‘for if they have, they must have stopped at some other house.”’ their way through the main street to a building which was dignified with the name of the ‘‘ Homer- ville Opera House.” There they found the janitor Sweeping it out, and they stepped inside to take a look at it. “Say, this isn’t bad, old man,’’ remarked Fred. “It’s really a cozy little theater, and will seat some six or seven hundred people.”’ “‘Quite a nice place,’’ assented Terry. ‘‘I hope they’ll have a full house.”’ By and by the janitor came up to them with an in- quiring look on his face, and asked : “Do you belong to the company that’s to show 22 place is;’? and with that Terry went out to the main office of the hotel and inquired of the clerk where Homerville was. from the railroad station, with the entire company packed inside of it. “Oh, it’s on the line of the road between here and Dubuque,’’ replied the clerk, ‘‘some forty or fifty miles from the city.”’ “Any train going out there from here to-day ?”’ “Oh, yes; some two or three trains will pass through there.”’ : “Ou, my !’’ exclaimed on | t ‘““When does the next one leave ?”’ : Nellie Traynor, ‘if there comicbooks. co wre h 6. hU6S ae ee Ue, Se ee eee @aueees 40k * es —___— CHAPTER V. HOW FRED BECAME AN ACTOR, | “All right, I’7ll go and ask the clerk where the “Where do they go from here ?”’ Fred, as he looked over the register at the hotel, — “All right; we’ll wait for them,’’ said Terry, after - which the two strolled out into the town and made © That the janitor didn’t know, and so the two strolled out of the place and made their way back to the hotel. — When they reached there the hotel omnibus drove up | : ; -