Evening Star Newspaper, June 21, 1931, Page 78

b, s e ——— TILLY LLOGAN A First-Run Story _..By__ Cosmo Hamilton I / SHOULDN'T' be surprised,” sald Mrs. Logan, “if we're going to be amused.” There was a glezm in Lilly’s eyes. It had in it more of the interest of a visitor who goes to a seacoast pavilion tieater to pass an evening away. It was a gleam in which there were, excitement, determination and extreme anxiety. And as she turned to the lightad ctzge with its piano and numerous chairs che tightened her hands upon two rolled-up songs whizh she hid be- meath her coat. “If it doesn't rain and the dancing’s good, the funny man is funny, and the girl who sings the love congs knows how to sing, it will be pleasant here, I think. Don’t you?” To which Lilly, who hadn’t heard her, said, “Yes, mother, quite.” “My deer, you look like a person who has been chosen to put dynamite bencath an enemy’s gate—the leader of a forlorn hope, or something of the sort.” “Who knows? Perhaps I am.” “you're very odd, my dear.” B ©Odd? Was it odd that this girl's waking hours were filled with desperate schemes .whereby. she might place her only parent out of penury? "She did face an enemy's gates. _ She. was. the, lader of a forlorn hope. -And this wes the hour and the place in° which she had made up her mind to show whether she was fit for the task. s = A SUDDEN laugh rang out, a high-pitched < voice said, “Ah!”_ A middle-aged man in shabby clothes possessed himself of the piano and played with confidence. ‘Whereupon the “Coronets” came on. Three girls in- pretty frocks, three men in dinner-jackets, with col- ored lapels and cuffs. Of the latter one was cjean and fat, another pert and thin; but it was upon the roguish, clever, India-rubber face of the third man that all eyes were fixed. He was known to the crowd as Mark and in his familiar impertinence there was fomething contagiously gay. * But all Lilly’s senses were focused on the gate and when suddenly she saw two tall, stout men buy their tickets and enter, the blood rushed into her cheeks and her hands went tight on those songs. She had seen these men on the terrace of their hotel and ever since "- that moment had been “willing” them to * come. . . . 'The first part of the program - was a very merry affair. The songs were ex- tremely catchy and the. dancing excellent. - Mark outdid himself. Then came the finale which was neatly carried out.and followed -by loud applause. o “Ladies and gentlemen,” said the planist in * & round fat voice, “there will now be ‘an in- : terval of five minutes for the purpose of én- . abling our friend Mark to smoke a°cigarette.” He laughed before the audience laughed, and ° as he turned to leavé the stage Lilly sprang to her feet. Without a word to her mother - she hurried up the steps to the platform and grasped the pianist’s arm. “wWill you be so kind as to play these songs for me?” The expression of amazement that came into his face spread over the faces of all the people in front. “But. . . .” “Oh, please,” she said. *]s this a—joke, or what?” *No,” said Lilly with a catch in her voice, “4t’s very far from a joke. I beg that you will lay.” e The pianist shrugged his shoulders, took the music and seated himself again. The questions and speculations among the audience died away as they saw “this extraordinary girl” - walk down to the footlights and stand there facing them. = ILLY was as white as her name. She said, “Ladies and gentlemen, for two weeks I have been trying unsuccessfully to sing to a manager who is among you tonight. I have got to earn my living and he can give me work . if he thinks that my voice is good. Will you, ip this interval, be the judge of this?” There was a faint and astonished applause. People who had risen sat down again. Two . tall men looked at each other and laughed. The pianist commenced to play. The song was . “Annie Laurie,” and out upon the still night . broke a high voice. So simply and so sincerely was that old song sung that for a moment at the end of it there was not a single sound, but * the applause came thunderously when Lilly moved to the stairs. Whereupon with a touch ,of gallantry and unexpected grace, Mark sprang forward, took her hand and led her back to the stage. “Go on,” he said to the pianist. song, quick. Give the girl a chance.” The audience, amused and delighted at this unusual scene, enjoyed another treat. ‘“Where are you going, my pretty maid,” was sung * with charm, a coyness and a sense of char- acter so delightful and so new that. they shouted their approval and stamped their feet on the boards. Lilly howed and bowed and “The other Vil | | 1" }‘hh h M h’..’j},kj | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 21, 19317 > %/ Ve i ] it it | The taller of the two men came up and stood smiling down at her. waved her gratitude, and then, trembling in every limb, returned to her seat in front. “Den’t cav a single word, mother, or I shall have to cry.” The tzalher of the two men came up, and stood smiling down at her. ““Have you really been to a voice trial, or is this just . . .” “I've been to eight,” said Lilly, “and finally I was told thrat my wilice is hopelessly bad.” “Hopelessiy bad! . . . Come and see me on Monday. Make it half-past twelve. That is, if you care to forgive the idiot . . .” “Care!” AIN had fallen on July and August to the ruin of them both. It was a disastrous and depressing time for® Mark and the troupe. They had been driven into the locsl theater, which not only spoiled the al fresco element which appealed to the crowd, but had played to empty seats with bankruptcy in view. Mark was out of optimtism and near suicide.: “Are they sick of ys, ? Have we come’ too Bunny . often to this place? Am I no longer funny or is it simply rain?” And Bunny said, “It’s rain.” “But you'd think that would dsive ‘em in! No, there’s something wrong with us. And yet I thought the show last night was as good as ever it was.” 4 “Even better,” sald Bunny, “and somehow o other I feel that we’'ve reached the end of this. . There's something in the air . . .” With an unconscious touch of drama he cut his sentence short. With a look of growing amazement he saw a long, wide strip of printed paper on the other side of the street. It was pasted on the wall. Mark saw it, too. And this is how it ran: “Tonight and every night this week, Lilly Logan will sing two songs for the ‘Coronets’ in the Palace-by-the Sea.” “Lilly Invan! . Lilly Logan!” Snatchi>¥ his hat and umbrella, Buhny rushed into the street. Mark saw him run- ning like a madman through the rain. Guess- ing that he was making his way to the man- ager's lodgings, at the other end of the town, he followed on the balls of his feet. That mar- velous and unauthorized announcement was everywhere to be seen. Lilly Logan, Lilly Logan. It wa3 a name to conjure with. It had filled a Londori theater for nearly two years. They arrived together, breathless, and made their way to the sitting room of the He sald, “What's the meaning of this? Is it a frightful joke? Lilly Logan—why, she’d want Bicycle Pioneers Inspired Road W ork Continued from Seventh Page men such geese about bicycles because they stuck so close to them and seemed to think of nothing else. I can understand it now be- cause I am just as true to my tricycle as any bicyclist ever was to his wheel.’ “‘It is mock modesty,” continued the lady, ‘that prevents many ladies from riding the trieycle. sacrifices her dignity when she gets upon a tricycle. I am sufe I lose no dignity when I ride my tricycle. Why, there is infinitely more dignity about a lady on a tricycle than a lady on horseback. If you don't believe it you watch the next lady you see taking a horseback ride. When a lady talks against tricycling either she is not able to get one or she cannot “pull”’ “‘How about the dress?’ ® “‘Well, I wear a skirt a little longer than an ordinary skirt. Some ladies, however, prefer short skirts. The ladies of the club have been discussing the question of a uniform, but they are ladies, you know, and have not de- cided the matter yet. It is proposed to adopt the uniform of the Cycling Tourists’ Club of England. That consists of a kilted skirt, a short cutaway coat and a half-beaver hat.’ “‘No,’ said the lady, anticipating the mnext question, ‘the ladies do not wear any. starched underclothing. Such clothing would impede the feet, of course. They wear dark trousers and the uniform is sensible and- fitted for the purpose for which it was intended. There is no superfluous clothing. It is well to have a dress especially for riding, for it is apt to become greasy from the machine. Some ladies here the other day insisted on riding in light checked gingham dresses because they thought Some of them say that a woman - it would be «cool. Of course, before the run was over THe dresses ‘were spotted and soiled. There are ladies who do not like to put off all superfluous clothing for, you know, it shows how slender they are. One lady insisted on going out the first time she rode with her bustle on. Of course, when the run was over the bustle was all out of shape and out of place, and she had to hurry into the house to fix it before she could appear on the street. “ ‘Ladies now do their shopping on tricycles. I would advise every lady to try it, they have no idea of the pleasure and health they could get out of one. “‘Good-by,’ amti as the captain gave the signal- the platoon of ladies wheeled away in the gloom, their course being marked by a row of dancing, gliding lights that twinkled in the distance like stars.” Washington’s earliest bicycle track was around Logan Circle, where the first race took place on high wheels June 29, 1880—of course, with the permission of the District Commis- sioners. Later the track on Analostan Island was as was the quarter-mile track at Athletic Park, Ninth and S streets northwest, where . the circus also held forth for years. Subsequently Columbia Field was used, and then, in 1896, the new International Athletic Park on the Conduit road near the District Line. was opened and became for several years very popular. Later a track was built in what was called the Colosseum at Fourteenth and A streets northeast, but the life of this track, which was a bowl-shaped affair, was not very long, and from this time on the bicycle racer had to resort to road racing or to the use of the Benning or some other horse track. a colossal salary to sing two songs a night*™ He, too, had seen the bills, Bunny imitated a rabbit all about the room. “I said our luck had changed. Didn’t I—didn’t I now?” The manager went on. “It can’t be a joke. It can’t be. If it is it's a cruel one and will kill us stone dead. People will swarm to see Lilly and if she doesn’t turn up—boys, I don’t believe it's true.” . . . Never in the history of the “Coronets” had such a house been drawn. Every seat and every inch of standing room had been sold by 7 o'clock. It was marvelous. ‘But where was Lilly Logan? There was no sign of her. ND when the last item of the first half of the program had come.to an end and the pianist went down to the footlights as usual to announce the short interval for Mark’s ciga- rette, there was still no Lilly Logan. Was it a frightful joke? Mark ‘and the perspiring troupe were in a very chaos of nerves. The pianist and the manager mutually held their heads. Even the usually uninterested -stage hands suffered from high blood pressure as they hung about the rang through- the house, led by a party of * undergraduates who were standing at the back. There was a movement in the front row of seats. A girl with a thick white veil squeezed the hand of a languid lady who smiled and nodded back. “We—want—Lilly—Logan! —Logan!” ‘The girl leaned forward and said something to a young man who stared and looked sur- prised. But he rose and placed his chair step- wise against the edge of the stage. The audi- ence saw a slim figure mount the chair and the platform, produce two songs from beneath her coat and hand them to the pianist, who was too weak to leave the stage. She caught thé eyes of the troupe—all their heads were at the dgor—and kissed her hand to them. Mark’s triumphant voice rang out across the silent hall. “Lilly Logan, Lilly Logan,” and there was a sob at the end of it. She turned and raised her veil. And the crowd raised the roof. Such a burst of cheer- ing had neyer been heard in that place. A little hand was raised, and into the sudden silence a voice in which there was deep feelifig went into the hall like a bell. “Ladies and gentlemen; one evening, one fine evening two years ago, I put dynamite beneath the gates of the enemy, hopeless and forlorn. I mean that I mounted the platform of the ‘Coronets’ and during the interval sang ®wo songs. I did so being desperate because I couldn't get a chance. They gave me a chance, with the result that I was heard by Mr. Led- wards, engaged to sing in ‘The Rainbow,’ and there I've been ever since. Now, because of the weather, the ‘Coronets’ need a chance and by the grace of God I can pay my debt to them, with your kind support.” 3 ‘We—want—Lilly voice. Gratitude is the fairest blossom that springs from the soul. 7/ 3 (Copyright. 1931.)