The evening world. Newspaper, December 10, 1921, Page 13

ve ri . BOSS *aaetar, Ke PIE mee a fee so” tt po ste d a. He TWO SECTIONS. Va © << TOCKTON was saying “Yes,” or “To be sure, to be sure!’ to everything Frobert said.It was the easiest way to silence the man; he had learned, in the nightmare of the last two weeks, that you always agreed with Frobert sooner or later, and that doing so sooner involved less wear and tear upon the nerves, He didn't know, exactly, what it was he was promising—the scenario of a new play, he thought, to be delivered in New York within a month. Well, it was all right; he knew New York. The town contained hiding places where Frobert couldn’t find him. It wasn’t like Chicago. ‘This was Thursday; Stockton had been in Chicago only since Sunday, and hadn't been outside the Loop, except when he was in his hotel, which was on the Lake Front. He couldn't elude Frobert in Chicago. But he was willing to wager real money that it would be different when be was at home. He gave heed, as Frobert talked, to the inflections of his manager’s voice, and made acquiescent noises when the need for them developed. And all the time he was edging his way across the lobby toward the entrance and keep- ing an affectionate eye upon the bell- boy who was charged with the care of his bags. “Yes,” he said. “Yes. Oh, to be sure --to be sure. Taxi—better get in—get started—don’t want to miss that train, you know’—— “Yeh—that's right,’ sald Frobert. “But I don’t see why you can't wait over and go with me to-morrow. Then we could talk about this—now—new play all the way”—— Panic took hold of Stockton, because he had forgotten what excuse he had given Frobert for having to go back that day, He knew he'd go mad if he had to spend twenty hours on a train with him. But he could only stare at him blankly. Frobert came to his res- cue. ‘‘Wire that man you've got an ap- pointment with’—— “Can't—positively can't—matter of vital importance—can’t explain—an- other man’s confidence—you under- stand’’—— He got away, As the taxi bore him swiftly toward the station, under ele- vated railways, through the smoky grime of the Loop, he regarded Chicago for the first time with a certain affec- tion, No doubt the city was better than his notion of it, he reflected char- itably. Certainly it couldn’t be worse. He couldn’t see why he had to come to Chicago, in the first place. This play that, he was told, had made so sensa- tional a success on Monday night that it was sure to run a year on Broadway, wasn't his play. It gave him cold shiv- ers every time he saw it, An occa- sional familiar line made him jump, as at the sight of a ghost. He had hideous memories of the last two weeks; fantasies of rehearsals at grotesque hours; of frantic journey- ings in the middle of the night; of Midwestern cities that all looked alike as he remembered them; of theatres, gaunt and stark, the skeletons of wings and flies revealed indecently; of tired, worn actors yawning through their parts;'of assured predictions of a dismal fiasco. Im the beginning be bad tried to SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1921. WOLFF “Illustrated by WILL B. JOHNSTONE He Was Famous, but Girl Shy—Fell in Love and Didn’t Know It—But the Most Delicious stand upon his rights under his con- tract when changes were demanded. But wills superior to his own had beaten him down; in the end he had become meek and chastened, He had listened, awed, to harsh. commands that for some reason had been couched in the form of suggestions, Finally he had turned into a glorified stenogra- pher, half human, half machine—a sort of walking dictaphone, At the crack of Frobert’s whip he had set himself to rewriting scenes, fattening this part, emasculating that one. “LET'S DANCE IN,” SAID PEGGY. Then actors had waylaid him and given him cigars; he had smoked one or two of these, although he loathed them. They had favored him with confidential advice, the fruit of long It was a singular thing that they all knew that the play's one chance for success depended upon making the parts they played more vital, But Stockton’s chief nightmare for the rest of his nights upon earth, he was sure, would grow out of beautiful actresses, using the appeal of their sex, instead of cigars, but to the same experience, SECTION TWO. THE FIRST REEL By WILLIAM ALMON Twist in This Unusual Romance Comes When Peggy’s Aunt, Whose World Was Bounded by New York Society, Tried to Reverse ‘“ Cinderella.’’ end. .He was a shy man, a bashful man, He didn't care so much, after all, about his play. He was too tired, He was tired, body and soul. Write an- other play? Not if he knew it! Sup- pose Frobert did have an option? Un- doubtedly he had made promises. But he didn’t have to keep them. He had flashes of an entirely dispassionate in- terest in his situation. It was almost as though he were contemplating an- other man, Something stirred in what had, until two weeks or so ago, been “QUICK—BEFORE THE FLOOR GETS CROWDED”