Work and Win #07: Fred Fearnot as Actor — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

FRED FEARNOT AS AN ACTOR. manager, whom they told they would accept his offer, but would sign no contract, except by the week. «<Oh, well,’’ said the manager, ‘‘I would like you to stick to me throughout the trip, for we’re out for a couple of months or more.” «Well, we can tell you more about that after we’ve tried it for a week. I’ll be frank with you, and tell you that we never sang or played on the stage in our lives, except at social entertainments.”’ ‘Oh, that’s all right. Just keep that to your- selves. You both have splendid voices, and I think your singing will catch the crowd. Nellie and Elsie are pretty good singers themselves, but the men are simply execrable.’’ Both Gale and Innes came in while the manager was talking with them. «See here, boys,’’ said Hammond, “ I’ve engaged Fearnot and Olcott to help us out to-night with their singing.” . “Good! Good!’ exclaimed both Gale and Innes. ‘Just the thing we want,’ and they shook hands with Fred and Terry as though they were really glad to have them in the company. ‘What pieces are you going to sing ?”’ Gale asked. “Oh, I don’t know. Any old thing will do, I guess —the Ten Commandments, or The Prodigal Son.”’’ “Well, you want to look out for dead cats and stale eggs,’ suggested Innes, ‘“‘for the people in these country towns cut up pretty rough sometimes.”’’ «© Oh, that’s all right,’”’ laughed Fred. ‘If I see anything like that coming, [ll skip.”’ When they returned to the hotel Fred and Terry proceeded to arrange a programme of songs they would sing, and when they came down at supper time found the girls of the company quite elated over the news of their joining them. They went down to the Opera House in a body, and prepared to dotheir part when the time came for them to go on. The play was a really attractive one, based upon a story of the. American Revolution, in which a British officer was engaged in a plot to force the daughter of an American patriot to marry him in order to save the life of her lover, who was a prisoner in his hands. There was a great deal of patriotic declamation in the play, that aroused a great deal of applause and en- thusiasm in the audience. There was a funny char- acter in it, who provoked a good deal of laughter, and a heroic young patriot who played the part of a spy for the purpose of rescuing the young patriot who was the lover of the girl, whom the British offi- cer was trying to force to marry him. In one of the scenes there was a picture of an old well on a farm, with the old sweep that drew the bucket up or down, such as were used in Colonial days, before ropes and windlasses came into general use. An interview be- tween the British officer and the Yankee girl was to take place at the old well. After the interview, which was an extremely pathetic one, made so by the girl’s pleading for the life of her lover, Fred and Terry were to go on dressed YSIS NSN SIRE Tr RS ES EE VE SN SSA a a a as a couple of rustics, and there, in the moonlight, sing the song of ‘‘ The Old Oaken Bucket.”’ As soon as the officer and the girl had separated Fred went on the ‘stage, looking about him like one who was fearful of being seen, and for several min- utes kept the audience watching him with the deep- est interest. He crept all over the stage, peeping into every nook and corner, after which he gave the signal that brought Terry on. They labored with the long sweep for two or three minutes, drawing a bucket of water from the well, and when they had quenched their thirst they both expressed their appre-_ ciation of the cool draught, speaking in low tones, as if fearful of being overheard, yet every word of which was heard in the audience. «The time was,’’ said Fred, speaking to Terry, ‘‘when we could come to this old well and quench our thirst at any hour inthe day without fear or trembling, but since the hated redcoats have come we can drink here only at night, and in the daytime at the brook like the beasts.”’ ““Yes,’’ replied Terry, ‘‘ but it won’t always be so. When the Continentals come we will sweep them from the face of the earth, and bury them deeper than the bottom of this old well.”’ “So we will,’ returned Fred, ‘‘and face down- wards at that! And now, friend, let’s have the old song again we have so often sung here ; sing low lest we be overheard,’’ and with that, stand- ing there in the moonlight by the old well, they sang the song of “The\Old Oaken Bucket ”’ in such low, sweet strains that it touched every heart in the crowded house. At the end of the first verse they were greeted with a storm of applause such as had never been heard be- tween these four walls before. They started on the second verse, and had sung but one line, when" they both suddenly stopped; Fred sprang forward, grasped Terry by the arm, and said: ‘Hush! Keep still! I hear something !’’ and then they listened, and the quiet was so profound that the dropping of a pin might have been heard. Then came clear and distinct the hooting of an owl in the woods back of them, for it was a farm scene, with the woods in the background. Then was heard the cry of the whippoorwill, followed by the howl of a wolf, and later the yowl of a wildcat, after which the owl and the whippoorwill again chimed in. ‘““They’re not redcoats, friend,’’ said Fred to Terry ; ‘even the wildcat and the wolf are better than they, so we will sing again.’’ Then they struck up the song again, in the same low, soft strain, full of melody, such as that audience had never heard before. When they finished the audience rose to its feet, stamped, clapped and cheered until they sang the Song over again. Then they crept away into the woods and the lights were turned up again. As they passed behind the scenes, the mana ger grasped both of them by the peo ce saying : “That was the finest pre OMe IcBOOkS.co " SETTFARTHNCATTT BAD YDW but we must. ’ ~ : ,