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Show ON THE J0AI). I3xporionccs of an Indomltablo Advanco Agont. Jlnir nn I'lirurtiinato Cnniianr of Aclort htriisijlr.l uilli Ailiertlly Uncerlnln. Hit Tim! timet Hie Traral. InjC Trutipc When the bent of ono's Impulse is Irresistibly Ir-resistibly stngevvard It is u vvailo of timo nml eloquence to wnrn that portion por-tion ngalnht tlio heart-breaking unccr-tntntlci unccr-tntntlci of n tiigo career. It Is not ns-oertcd ns-oertcd that grief and disinter are Inovl-table Inovl-table results ot theatrical undertakings, undertak-ings, but they most assuredly arc tho lot of a largo majority of traveling companies. The following iincmbel-lislied iincmbel-lislied narrative of actual experience shows vvhnt tlinicultlcH are encountered by tho peripatetic actor! Two (.cnsoni ago, after a prolonged struggle for existence, n well-known roportolro company took a bnd header south In tlie hopo of retrieving Hhclr fortunes nml playing the season out It wns, however, but n case, of out of tho frying-pan Into the lire, ns the third week found lliem nt I.lttlo Koclt practl-onlly practl-onlly strapped. Money nnd credit wero ii.vlmuituil unit all advertising material wan uootl up. In this e.xtiemlty tho ngcut vttm Kivi u carto blauclio to ro ahead and il v. lint he could to keep tlio compmvy movimr. Arkansas was a atrnngor to lilm and he proceeded to In-tervlovv, In-tervlovv, In rnptd succession, tho theater thea-ter mniiliffers, railroad men, hotel pro-iirletots, pro-iirletots, bill posters, attuehei of theater thea-ter unit, so ou, In tho faint hope of digging dig-ging up u mascot llo finally K-ivc it up and settled on tho Very nnucnt lu i of Arltndclphla, vvlioro tn move i' n company from I.lttlo Hock. Tlio n innpcment secured enough money t , i.v . lilii there. Tho nost point ns t'i 'tain paper to bill with. An Intcnli v with tho lllho-Kinphor lllho-Kinphor nml Keueral fiielotmn of tho Cnpltoi tlicnter disclused the fact that lie had for years been in tho habit of snvlnu; a dozen or moro lithographs of pvory star who played, n tho theater. Mr. Aucnt'a pcrstinslvo tontfno easily won him to glvo up threo lltlioffraplm of each kind, mnhingn total ot about threo bundled. Gleefully retumlnf; to Ids nbot!.' the agent trimmed olT all printed mutter, both top and bottom, from tint lithographs and, with tho blessings and prayers of tlio wcll-nlgh stranded players, proceeded on Ills way to Arkudelplila, With the asalstaneo of a few stray and apparently lost inhabitants ot tho plucq, ho finally located tho "opera house." It was a nlghtl A very plain, cheap wooden structuro when built probably thirty ycais before time had lluiilt hardly with It, Covered with inoM, It leaned towards the great west nnd oonii'liovv suggested by its general nppeciniiKi' that U was holding Its breath in a last rally not to glvo up tho ship nnd collnpso entirely. Tho little, narrow entrance door leading to tlio stoop nnd primitive stcpi wiib locked, and the agent rushe.il Into tho thick of tho town pud finally located the murslinl. He was Informed that Mrs. lltunk owned tho "opera house" and lived out of town about two mile. After joining tho marshal nnd promising promis-ing lilm sovornl "comps" for his In-llueueo In-llueueo and as&lstanco In negotiating for tho ' ujiorii hoii3o" they started on foot to M-. 'c tlio owner a vehicle being; tint of tin- question, ns money was now to tho ngiiit but a memory. Arriving at tlio houto tho colored attendant uslierod 1 1. cm Into the parlor, where, nflor ulnmst an hour's wait, tho lady nppoored A three-cornered tnllt now ctunod, in tho lady would not do bust. iKviillii'ily, but through tho uiarkbal. I Tlio ay. i ' tallied to tho marshal, tho ; marshal i . the lady, nnd no on back to (hong, n After mi hoiir'n confab tlm I opera In i n was secured on tlie follow, lug oxti.-nioly liberal terms for thu , owner: l:.-ut, Including light, heat and one at'igi- tiMUtaut, twenty dollars, payable to tho marshal before thu curtain r. e. This wns exclusive of all llicnses.u lilch nmounted statu, county and lo n, including collection fce to i l.rlitncn .lolUira and twenty-five cents, !.!. pn , Mo beforo the curtain went up lit:'. h'uwenrv, the agent returned tutorn . mldjishoil intotliuono printing oflleu ivh. to, U) hU further hlndruno; nod dlr.i.i.. , ha found tho editor and his I c ntii. . i ,r, oonsbitliig of onu person-. thotUxi1 btialiy engaged In working J the ban I reae running off the weekly edition 1 hu promise of threo dollars, payabli-1 lure tho curtain rose, stopped ' the prci- - uid tho editor, tho devil, mid j the lg' i'1 got their bends together In ikrteing i stunning date-line which, nftef ni.iiiy triuls, they succeeded In setting iii nml ruuntiig olT. It an- nouneed a grund production of "Our fhwa'l.. tho Minn company of twenty nrUata I ' .ying that week at the Capitol Capi-tol tbe.n. i , l.lllle Uock. A hnlf-columu loettl f"" mod from tho agent's pen, tlmexllt.. obligingly setting It up nud, I. r ilng ii pitent medtcino nd. out of too for n in proas, ho Inserted It In I Its i.loini :,it ran It In the remainder of j tho dlii. o I Ills i1 i lluo,s secured, tho agent hustled i . In-, bolul und, with the aid of u 1" . .d bpj.tle of mucilage, attached at-tached I . ilutoji to the lithographs, and then, supplying himself with atlcV crs, tacks and a small hammer, ho proceeded pro-ceeded to lithograph tho town "out of sight " Never, even when Itarnum advertised ad-vertised tho placo for I,ltllo Ilock, had Arkadclphia been so extensively or richly billed. Tho main street looked like n rninbow a rather straight rainbow rain-bow but still about tho only thing It resembled. Darkness had now set In, nnd the very tired ngent sought his couch. At seven o'clock next morning lie was again nt work, as bo still had a do?en thrcc-shccU and four big stands of paper In his possession and, as It was root hog or dlo In Arkadclphia with hit attraction, ho determined to put It all up. lly tho Issuing of two moro 'comps' ho secured one side of tho leading drug store the side being built of clapboards, clap-boards, very old and warped. No billposter bill-poster was to bo had nnd the agent, after much explanation, made, a bargain bar-gain with tho one restaurant man of the town to mnko flour paste at tho rate of two lilts per pall payable in tickets fll their full value. No suitable brush was to bo found nnd an old broom wns finally pressed Into service. Next two small boys wero lrircd on a promise, of ii ticket apiece nnd, mounting a step-ladder, step-ladder, the lndcfatlgablo agent bespattered bespat-tered himself from head to foot In putting put-ting up the paper. It wos hard work, and, beforo night, his bnck was nearly broken. Ho had the doubtful honor, however, of being followed nbout by nearly the cntlro colored population of tho town, who gaped in admiring wonder won-der nt thu gaudily-colored paper nnd tho agent's Ingenuity lit utilizing the old broom. Tho pnper up, the reserved scat sale was arranged nnd tho town "dodgered" with smnll bills. This brought oa another night. Tho next morning was passed by tho agent in bed, as ho was nlmost paralyzed with weariness. Arising Aris-ing at noon ho proceeded to talk shop the only method now left him tn further excite the populace. He talked all afternoon, rapidly and Incessantly, to anyone nnd everyone who would listen to him, until, nt night, ho ran across the leader of the town band, with whom be mndo a dicker to have tho band piny In front ot the ope-rn ope-rn honso lu consideration of their be lug admitted free and ono extra tloket apiece. Tlio following day at noon tho company wns duo, and nt eleven o'clock the ngent reached the depot, a mllo out ot town, and, seated In tho midst of a wilderness wil-derness of cotton bales, waited. Ily tho time tho traliAvas due his thoughts-were suicidal, ns, after mentally summing up tho company's expenses In the town nnd comparing tho sum with the probable prob-able business, ho could sec nothing but overwhelming disaster for tho doomed players. On'thc other hand rosa the uncertainty ot their coming, as ho had left them playing to very small houses, and tho chances wero that they could not raise money enough to leave Little Jtock. However, to Ids unspeakable relief, tho train finally pulled In with two members of tho organization sm luting him through tlio windows. Ills doleful misgivings were partly realized vvhen but eight members of the conn pany stepped off the train. They e.f plained that "Our Hoys" could bo done Vlth eight pcoplo and, as a clincher, they added that no more ot tho coinpu. py could have come anyway, as getting the eight there bad been n pinch. Pro. feeding up to and striking tlio main Street the company wero greeted by the cxtenslvo nnd gaudy billing the most novel their eyes ever rested upon. Mantel), Man-tel), Davenport, Barrett, Rose Cogblan, JtcCultough, "Alvin Joslin," Julia Marlowe, Mar-lowe, Sothcrn, Annlo Ward Tiffany, ficnnlan, Mnry Anderson, O'Neill, ICeene, Itobson, Rhea, .Sully, and a host pf others equally well known, stared them In tho f.ico from every point of vantage all to rfppear In "Our Hoys" that evening. The salo nt seven o'clock; amounted to six dollars, jttul n half wttlt prices at fifty cents nnd one dollar, J'roccedlng, after an enrly supper, to the temple of last resort, tlio company arranged the stage nnd assisted tho Pooli-Uah of tho theater to light up. This was a simple nflalr, as foot-lights, sido-llghts and nil other lights consisted ot tallow candles. Tho manager nnd agent took their stand nt tho head of) thn ancient stairway, nnd awaited the E bile's pleasure, Two rickety chairs d an old dry-goods box comprised thu x office. Tho discordant tooting of tho band without distracted any sad or npprclicnslvo thoughts thoy might have entertained as to thu lininedlato future, nnd nt 8:15 p. in. forty-four dollars hat) accumulated just nbout enough to square all debts of tlio agent's contracting contract-ing In tho town outside ot board bills and return trip to Little Rock. As they were obliged to go ahead tho manager disappeared back upon tho stago and preceded tho entertainment by appearing appear-ing In front of thu curtain and dlplcn matlcally explaining how It happened that twenty artists were billed and but eight would nppenr. After thoroughly mystifying and muddling tho audlcncn lie retired, made up and "Our Hoys'' wns presented. Arriving nt tha hotel ntter tho performance per-formance ;i council of war was held. Their total cash consisted ot not quite seven i'u'1 t -this total lielng made up from tlio. i i.l jl.t Hk.-'.cl Oiunuv :.n I tint few dollats l-ematiiliigof the door receipts re-ceipts of tho night. They bad, uftcr breakfast next morning, when they hoped to leave for Little Hock, nn eight dollar board bill tu meet. Then came, the dltllculty of railroad fares. Not much, to bo sure, but thuy had It not, At this gloomy hour the agent, suddenly sudden-ly recovering from a brovvu study, darted from the room and shortly returned re-turned bringing with him the marshal, to whom, In thu presence of the entire company, ho uppealed lu u long and affecting af-fecting speech relating to their pecuniary pecu-niary standing. Tho marshal never weakened until tho agent pathetically referred to tlio ladles of tho company, three In number! when ho produced one-half of tho rent monoy ten dollars- and gave It to tho agent on behalf of the company, good-naturedly good-naturedly tindci taking to scu thu matter explained to tho owner. Next morning ut nbout 10:30 o'clock tho company, utter paying nil Indebtedness, departed for Little Hoek, where their talo of woe was soon told to tho remulndor of thu now stranded players. A week passed und the town knew them no moro, "Iusldo pockets" were delved Into, and this took uwny the ladles nud about one. third of the men tho first day somo going homo and others to tho various dramatic agencies In New York und .Chicago, A half dozen moro kept lln wires hot In appeals to friends and iel-atlves, iel-atlves, und In a couplo of days ono-half tho others had disappeared, lly pawn. Ing jewelry nil but threo of thu com-pany com-pany managed to get away. What bo-camu bo-camu of tho three? They may be thsra yet. Detroit Free Press. |