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 CHAPTER VIII.

FRANK ACCEPTS.

The following day Frank went down to the Thalia Theater at the
time appointed, and he found Manager Haley waiting for him in the
box office, as he had said he would be.
Merry was invited in, and he accepted the invitation. He was given
an introduction to the ticket seller, and then Haley asked him into a
little room adjoining the office.
“I’ve struck a man this morning to fill Storms’ place,” he said, “and
now, if we can make arrangements, the company will be all right
again.”
“Did the officers arrest Storms?” asked Frank.
“No. He got away, but he’s broke, and they’ll get him all right,
unless he counts the ties.”
“Counts the ties?”
“Yes; walks out of town on the railroad. I’m glad to be rid of him.
He made a good ‘Legree,’ but he was a quarrelsome fellow, always
kicking up a fuss. He made more trouble in the company than all the
others put together.”
The manager opened a little closet door and took out a bottle and
glasses. He placed a glass before Frank on the table that served as a
desk, and then shoved the bottle toward Merry.
“Help yourself,” he urged. “I’ll get some water for chasers.”
 “What is it?”
“Whisky—good whisky, too. Needn’t be afraid of it. Took particular
pains to get good stuff.”
“I do not care for any,” said Frank.
“Eh? Don’t? What’s the matter?”
“I never drink whisky.”
“Singular! Young man, good color, full of life. Can’t be you prefer
rum?”
“No, sir.”
“Brandy?”
“No. I do not drink.”
“Don’t drink? Why, you take something occasionally?”
“Never.”
“Is that so? What made you swear off? Going it pretty hard?”
“Didn’t swear off.”
“Didn’t?”
“No; I never took a drink of liquor in my life.”
Haley stared hard at Frank.
“If I were running a dime museum, I’d engage you as a freak,” he
said, in a manner that brought the color to Merry’s face. “You’ll
excuse me if I take a snifter. It’s my time for one.”
“Go ahead, sir,” bowed the youth.
So Haley poured out a brimming glass of the stuff and dashed it
off without a “chaser.”
“Ah!” he said, smacking his lips. “That’s all right. Better than we’ll
get when we get further west.”
 He put away bottles and glasses. Then, turning to Frank once
more, produced a cigar case, opened it and held it out.
“Have a weed?” he invited.
“Excuse me,” protested Frank.
“What? Oh, go ahead! Those are no two-fers; they’re straight
tens. Needn’t be afraid of them.”
“I’m not afraid of them.”
“Not? What’s the matter, then?”
“I do not smoke.”
The manager stared harder than before.
“Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t——Do you swear?”
“No, sir.”
“Then I’m afraid you won’t make a first-class property man. No
man can handle properties unless he swears.”
Frank laughed.
“I didn’t suppose it was absolutely necessary to swear in order to
do any kind of work successfully,” he said.
“Never knew a property man who didn’t swear. If you take the
place, you’ll learn to swear within a week.”
“Then it must be a position that provokes a man’s ill nature?”
“It is—riles him all up. Going to tell you just what it is before we
talk business. Then you’ll know what you are going up against.”
Then the manager sat down and told Merry all about the
requirements and duties of a first-class property man.
“You see, it won’t be no fat job,” said Haley. “I’d rather you’d
understand at the start, for you might get disgusted with it after a
short time if you went with us thinking you had a soft snap.”
“I am not looking for snaps,” declared Merry. “I expect to work.”
 “That’ll be all right. Some young chaps think traveling with a show
and acting is all play. Didn’t want you to start out with such a notion.
Gallup, who plays in the band, says you’re a wonder at anything you
attempt to do, and I’ve been making some inquiries about you in
town this morning. You did chop frost for a short time after getting a
job on the railroad, and that’s a fact. They say your rise was
phenomenal. But the strike knocked you out.”
“Yes; and now I must do something for a living. Doesn’t seem to
be any show for me to get a job railroading right away, so, if we
agree, I am willing to engage with you.”
They talked it over a long time, and finally came to terms. Frank
was not to receive much money at first, but Haley said he would do
better after he had learned all about his business.
Ephraim and Hans knew of Frank’s appointment with the manager,
and they were waiting for him outside the theater when he
appeared. Both made a dive for him.
“Did yeou do it?” asked Gallup, breathlessly.
“Yaw!” cried Hans, “did it do you?”
“I am going with the company, if that is what you want to know,”
said Frank.
“Glory!” shouted the Vermonter, catching his hand and wringing it.
“Py Chorch! dot vos pully!” gurgled Hans, getting hold of his other
hand and trying to pull his arm out of the socket.
“Say, we’ll jest have haydoogins of fun!” declared the Yankee
youth.
“You pet my life!” fluttered the Dutch youth.
Frank went home and found little Nell there, anxiously awaiting his
return.
“What is it?” she asked, immediately on his appearance.
“I am engaged,” answered Merry.
 A deep cloud came over her face, and she slowly turned away. He
hastened to her side.
“You know, I must do something for a living, Nellie,” he quickly
said. “I cannot remain idle.”
“I know,” she nodded, chokingly.
“I have been idle too long. Last night I did not sleep. I was
thinking of Elsie. I must earn money; I must find her. I feel that she
needs my aid.”
“But, Frank, you will not be able to find her if you are traveling
over the country with a show.”
“I shall be earning something. When spring comes, I shall go in
search of her.”
“Oh, but it will be so lonely when you are gone!”
Her face dropped in her hands, and she gave a choking sob. He
had his arm about her in a moment.
“It is not fated that we shall be together always, Nellie,” he said. “I
have been with you some time, and fortune has turned in your favor
during that time. You were blind when I first saw you; now you can
see. You have a snug little business which will grow, and you will
prosper and be happy.”
Her face was hidden by her hands, and she made no reply.
“Don’t do that way, Nellie!” he implored, gently. “We shall meet
again—some time.”
“Some time!” she sobbed. “When?”
“I can’t tell that.”
She turned quickly, reached up and put her arms about his neck,
burying her face on his breast, where she wept, while he vainly tried
to comfort her.
“Nellie, Nellie, don’t!” he pleaded, his own voice husky. “I can’t
bear this! Please don’t—for my sake!”
 “For your sake!” she murmured. “For your sake, Frank, I’ll try not
to cry. You have been so good to us. Oh, I shall miss you so much!
Heaven bless and keep you, Frank! Heaven guide you to Elsie! May
you prosper—may you always be happy! I shall pray for you every
night!”
“And I shall pray for you, dear little friend,” he said, in his sincere,
manly way. “I will write to you often.”
Then they sat down together, hand in hand, and talked of the
future.
 CHAPTER IX.

FRANK’S UNPLEASANT DISCOVERY.

A week later Frank had become pretty familiar with his duties.
Besides being “manager of properties,” he was the prompter, and he
found plenty of work.
He took hold of the new work readily, and Barnaby Haley soon
became satisfied that he had made no mistake in engaging him.
The company was “on the road,” playing one-night stands, having
abandoned the larger cities.
It was a case of hustle day after day. The moment the show was
over at night everything had to be picked up and packed for the
morning train.
Frank soon became familiar with all the stuff, so that he knew just
where everything belonged, and this enabled him to do the packing
swiftly.
A certain amount of special scenery was carried for the piece, and
that was the most difficult to handle.
As soon as Merry had taken care of the properties, he was
expected to lend his aid in getting the scenery ready for shipment,
and thus it came about that he seldom got to bed before one or two
o’clock in the morning.
Then it was necessary for him to be up early to see that
everything got off right, and, immediately on arriving at a
destination, he had to attend to the getting of the baggage to the
theater.
Arriving at the theater, he was required to have the trunks placed
in the proper dressing rooms, the people who played the leading
parts always being allotted by the stage-manager to the most
convenient, commodious and handy rooms.
Sometimes the assignment of dressing rooms caused no small
amount of ill feeling, but Frank tried to keep things as pleasant as
possible.
He soon showed he was not afraid of work, for which reason a
large amount of work it was not his duty to perform was thrust upon
him.
But he started in at this business, as he had at railroading, to
learn everything possible about it in the shortest possible time. Thus
it came about that, having assisted in the work of making the stage
ready, in one week’s time there was not a scene of the play that he
could not set properly.
It was not long before the stage-manager discovered this, and he
began to take a still greater interest in Frank.
“Say,” he broke out one night, as Frank was assisting in the setting
of the stage, “what are you trying to do?”
“Helping,” was the laconic answer.
“Yes, but you are helping differently from any novice I ever saw
before. You take hold as if you were trying to do all there is to be
done.”
“I want to do my part.”
“You want to do more than that, and I fancy you know it, for you
are no fool. What’s the object?”
“If I’m going to follow this business any length of time, I am going
to know all I can about it.”
 “So that’s it! Well, that’s all right as far as it goes, but you will get
tired of it. Fellow who is willing to do his work and everybody else’s
work is pretty sure to get crowded. Better let up on it.”
“Thank you. I don’t believe anybody will crowd me.”
“All right; do as you like. I’m willing you should as long as you
don’t attempt to get in front of me.”
This was said with a laugh, but Merriwell caught the significance
of the words.
“Don’t be afraid, Mr. Havener,” he said. “I am not seeking
anybody’s chance in this company.”
Frank had become acquainted with the different members of the
company, and the personality of each interested him.
Arthur Sargent, the new man, who filled the place of Errol Storms,
playing “Simon Legree,” was a man quite unlike Storms. He was a
jolly, good-natured fellow off the stage, always joking and telling
stories. But he did make a fierce “Legree,” and he was detested and
hissed by the small boy in the gallery quite as much as Storms had
been.
Cassie Lee, the “leading Topsy,” for there were two “Topsys” in the
play, interested Frank more than anybody else. Off the stage, she
was a thin, frail, sad-faced little girl, with a hollow, hacking cough.
On the stage, she was a supple, bright-eyed, lively, vivacious
creature, dancing and singing, as if she had not a care in the world.
Cassie’s father, old Dan Lee, played small parts, making many
changes. In fact, his skill at making quick changes was something
marvelous, and it was astonishing how many different parts he could
fill.
It was said that old Dan knew every line in the piece, and could
play any male part. Some even insisted that the old man in his
palmy days had played “Little Eva,” but Dan himself denied the
accusation.
 Old Dan’s one failing was his strong liking for liquor. But for
Cassie’s watchful eyes, he would have been “loaded” the greater
part of the time, and lost his engagement a dozen times a month.
Cassie could handle him unless he was crazed by liquor, and he was
humble and pliant in her hands.
But there were stories that on occasions old Dan took too much
and became like a maniac. Then even Cassie could do nothing with
him, and it was said that he had once beaten her so severely while
madly intoxicated that she had been taken to the hospital, where
she remained six weeks.
It was said that through her father’s ill-treatment and neglect
Cassie’s health had been broken down.
Frank wondered at the change that came over her every night just
before she went onto the stage. She suddenly seemed to become
quite a different creature. The lackluster departed from her eyes, her
step became elastic and buoyant, and even her voice seemed to
change.
All this was a mystery to Merry at first, but, one night, when she
sent him to her dressing room for some article she had forgotten, he
made a discovery that enlightened and horrified him.
A small needle syringe lay on the shelf beside the square mirror.
“Morphine!” gasped Frank. “That is the secret of the change!”
Little Cassie was a morphine fiend!
The knowledge preyed on Frank’s mind. He pitied the girl, and
longed to do something for her, but he knew that when the dreaded
habit had once fairly fastened itself on a victim that person was
almost surely doomed.
Frank was very considerate with Cassie. He showed her many
favors, and he never minded her freaks and whims when she was in
a bad humor. As a result, after a time, the girl began to take a great
interest in Frank.
 “Look here, Merriwell,” she said, one night as she was “laying on”
the burnt cork, “I cotton to you. You are the right stuff, but you
never ought to be in this business.”
“What business?”
“Show.”
“Why?” asked Frank, surprised.
“’Cause you ain’t the same grade as the rest of us. That’s plain
enough.”
“I don’t think I quite understand you. Am I not good enough to
become an actor, if I wish?”
Cassie laughed unmusically.
“That’s the matter with yer,” she declared. “You’re too good. This
kind of a life will ruin you.”
“I guess not.”
“I guess yes, and I know what I’m talking about. I hate to see a
nice young man like you spoiled.”
“Don’t let that worry you.”
“You think I’m jollying you, but I ain’t. I mean what I say.
Common actors are poor associates for such a fellow as you are. You
don’t drink, smoke or swear now, but, if you stick to the road, I’ll bet
a month’s salary you are doing all three within a year.”
“I will not take your bet, for it would be robbing you, Miss Lee.”
“Don’t you believe yourself. I’d win. I know, for I’ve seen what it
all leads to.”
“I don’t suppose you mean to say the life depraves everybody who
follows it?”
“No, not that; but it’s a hard strain on a fellow. This knocking
around just kills a person’s conscience. You’re the kind that’ll be a
soft thing for every bum who wants to hit you up for a fiver. You will
think they all mean to pay when they can, but by the time you have
been beat right and left you’ll begin to get onto the game, and think
you may just as well play it in order to get even. That’s what hurts.
Borrow a five, and fail to pay it once, and you’ve got your start on
the wrong road. The keen edge is taken off your conscience, and,
before long, it gets pretty dull. Oh, I know what I’m givin’ yer!”
“Well, well!” exclaimed Frank, surprised. “Never thought I’d hear
you preaching, Miss Lee.”
“Don’t call me Miss Lee! Don’t like it. I’m just plain Cassie, or Cass,
to all the boys.”
“All right, I’ll call you Cassie, then.”
“Do. Don’t tell the other fellers I lectured yer. They’d say I’s
getting soft. I don’t want Havener to know I take enough interest in
you to say anything like I did to yer.”
“Don’t want Havener to know it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Well—because—you see him and me are—are—pretty friendly.”
She blurted out the last two words, as if they cost her a great
effort.
“Why,” said Frank, “I never noticed.”
“Course you didn’t. We’re keeping it quiet, for Havener’s got a
wife.”
Then, seeing the look that came over Frank’s face, Cassie
hastened to explain:
“They ain’t lived together or ever heard from each other for four
years, and Havener’s going to get a divorce as soon as he can for
desertion. We couldn’t help gittin’ struck on each other, but I don’t
want pop to know it till Havener is free to marry me. That’s why
we’re keeping shady. But Storms was onto it.”
 “Storms.”
“Yep. Feller you kept from knocking the head offen Havener.”
“Oh! He——”
“Was jealous.”
“Ah! Then that——”
“That was his real reason for cracking Ross that way, though the
others didn’t know it. He wanted me to marry him.”
“Storms did?”
“Sure thing.”
“And you refused?”
“I should guess yes! Roscoe Havener suits me. Him and I’ll get
along all right, and I’m glad Errol Storms is out of the comp’ny. I was
afraid of him.”
“Then I——”
“Done me a good turn—yes. It was a good thing when you
jumped on that night and nipped Storms. I was down in my dressin’
room when I heard Havener holler, and I knew something was
wrong, for that cry was too real. I ran upstairs and got into the
wings just in time to see you and Storms have it. Then I came nigh
giving the whole thing away by getting sloppy over Ross, but I
pulled myself up just in time, and nobody got onto the real reason
why that business happened. I don’t know why I told you, ’less it
was ’cause I have been dying to tell somebody about it, and I reckon
you’ll keep your mouth shut.”
“You may be sure I’ll not give you away, Miss—Cassie.”
“All right; but I’ve got something to tell you, too.”
“Something more?”
“Yes.”
“About——”
 “You.”
“About me?”
“Sure thing.”
“What is it?”
“You want to look out not to let Ross get an idea you take any
particular interest in me.”
“Why?”
“He’s jealous of you now.”
“Jealous of me?”
“Yes.”
“Why—why should he be?”
“Well, there ain’t no real reason, but he don’t know. You’ve always
been trying to do me favors, and his eyes are sharp. He liked you at
first, but now he is beginning to growl to me. Says you are trying to
know too much. Says you’re fresh. Quizzes me about what I think of
you, and all that. I can read him, and I know he’s jealous, so look
out.”
“I am sure I thank you for the warning,” said Frank, embarrassed.
“Oh, that’s all right. He’ll get over it.”
“Aren’t you afraid of a jealous man?”
“No; I like him all the better for it. If you was some chaps, I’d
pretend to like you pretty well, just to see how much he’d stand; but
I don’t know what he’d do, and I don’t want to get you into trouble.
He has a pull with Haley, and he might get you fired. I shouldn’t like
that.”
Cassie had a frank way of speaking out that was decidedly
embarrassing, but she did not seem to imagine that she had said
something about which other girls would have hesitated to speak.
 This revelation opened Frank’s eyes to a great extent. He
understood thoroughly the real cause of the trouble between Storms
and Havener, and also why the latter’s manner toward him had
changed within a day or two.
“I must be careful,” Merry decided.
After this talk with Cassie, Frank liked her and pitied her more
than ever. He wondered if Havener knew anything of the terrible
habit that had fastened itself on the girl, and if he would marry her
just the same should he discover it.
Havener’s first venture in marriage had not proved a success, and
his second one might result disastrously unless Cassie could be
cured of her liking for the fatal drug.
Although Merry felt certain the girl used morphine, sometimes he
would long to find that it was all a mistake.
One night, however, it was all settled in his mind.
Some of the theaters on the road contained but a few small, dirty
dressing rooms, so that it was necessary for a number of persons to
dress together in the same room.
Cassie was put in with two other girls at one place. She did not
“kick,” for she was used to everything on the road.
But she was not given much chance to be by herself.
Just as the curtain was going up on the first act, Frank was sent
down to the dressing room to get something for one of the girls.
The door was just a bit ajar, and Merry bolted in quickly.
There was an exclamation of consternation, echoed by Frank.
Cassie was there. The sleeve of her left arm was thrust back,
showing white above the line of black at her wrist. She was in the
very act of using the little syringe.
The tiny instrument dropped from her fingers, and she staggered
back a step.
 “Merriwell!” she gasped.
Frank started to turn away, then hastily explained why he had
come to the room. His manner told her he had seen and understood.
“Look here!” she hoarsely said, springing forward and clutching
him by the arm; “I want you to promise me something.”
“What?”
“That you’ll keep mum.”
“I will.”
“Sure thing?”
“You can trust me.”
“You won’t tell Havener?”
“No.”
“Don’t you do it on your life! I’m going to stop it—some time. I
want to see you after the play to-night. I want to talk to you. I’ll tell
you all about it. Go on, now.”
He secured the article he was after, and she pushed him out of the
room, closing and fastening the door behind him.
Then the little syringe was recharged and used.
 CHAPTER X.

THE JEALOUS STAGE-MANAGER.

There was now no doubt in Frank’s mind; he knew Cassie used

the drug, and his heart was full of pity for her.
That night, after the play was over, Cassie lingered in the dressing
room, slowly picking up her things. The other girls were ready to
leave, and they called for her to hurry up.
“Oh, go on,” she said. “I’ll be along pretty soon. Don’t wait for
me.”
So they started for their hotel, leaving her there.
Frank was at work getting the properties together and packing
them in one of the dressing rooms, while Havener was above on the
stage, looking after the special scenery.
Cassie found Frank and came in on him.
“Look here,” she said, in a dull, dejected way, “I’ve got a few
things I want to say to you.”
Frank was uneasy, but he stopped working, saying, respectfully:
“All right, Cassie; I’ll listen.”
“If you blow on me, I’m done for.”
“Now don’t be afraid that I will blow. What put such a notion into
your head?”
“Well, I don’t know but you’d be doing the right thing if you did.”
 “Why?”
“Oh, because it might not be right for any man to hitch up with a
girl like me. If Havener knew——”
“Do you think he’d go back on you?”
“Can’t tell. His other wife drank like a fish, and he quit her. That
ain’t so bad as what I do.”
“But you, Cassie—how in the world did you ever contract such a
habit?”
“Got it in the hospital.”
“Oh, that is how?”
“Yes,” she faltered, as if she found it difficult to choose her words.
“You know—I—was hurt. I went to the hospital. They had to inject
morphine to keep down the pain. When I came out I kept on using it
once in a while. After a time I used it oftener, and now——”
“Now——”
“I can’t seem to shake it. I’ve tried, but it’s no use.”
She said this sadly, dejectedly, and Frank’s heart was stirred by a
great sympathy.
“Are you sure?”
“Well, I’m going to break it off some time—I will if I die!” she
declared, fiercely. “I have sworn it! It’s the only thing left for me,
and I must do it.”
“Now you are talking right.”
“Oh, I ain’t a fool, Frank Merriwell! I know well enough what I’ve
got to do. The thing is to do it. One night I tried to play ‘Topsy’
without using it, but I was so dull and dead that Haley gave me a
great call down. It puts life into me, it braces me up long enough to
play the part. If I don’t do it, I’ll lose my engagement.”
“Better lose your engagement than your health—your life.”
 “But I can’t afford to lay off now,” said Cassie, desperately. “I must
go through till the end of the season. Then I’m going to a sanitarium
somewhere and get rid of this business—get cured. I’ll do it! All I
want is for you to keep still.”
“You can trust me,” assured Merry. “You may be sure I’ll keep still.”
“Don’t tell Havener.”
“No.”
A man came quickly into the room. It was Havener himself, and
his scowling face showed he had overheard something.
Cassie gave a gasp of terror.
The stage-manager glared at them both.
“What’s this secret between you that you are going to keep from
me?” he demanded.
Neither answered.
“Speak!” cried Havener, furiously. “It’s no use trying to keep the
thing hidden, for I am dead on.”
Cassie looked at Frank appealingly.
“Now don’t take a lot of time to think up something to say,”
snarled the angry man. “It won’t go down with me! I’ve seen how
things were going for some time.”
Then he whirled madly on the girl.
“So you’re stuck on him because he’s young and smart! Well, you
may make a fool of yourself! He’ll throw you over after a time. You
have made a fool of me already! Oh, I’d like to——”
His clinched fist was drawn back, and he seemed on the point of
striking her.
“Stop!”
Frank leaped forward and caught the man’s wrist.
 With a howl, Havener turned and struck at Merry.
Quick as he was, Frank dodged the blow. Then he grappled with
the stage-manager, strong as that person was, ran him up against
the partition, and held him there, helpless.
“Listen a moment, Mr. Havener,” he said, with remarkable
calmness; “you are making a blithering idiot of yourself.”
“Don’t lie——”
“I am not lying. There is no affair between Miss Lee and myself.”
“The secret——”
“I shall keep. All the same, you have no reason in the world to be
jealous. I swear it. If you will permit, I’ll gladly be your friend and
Miss Lee’s.”
“Let me go!”
“Not so soon.”
“Please don’t hurt him, Merriwell!” entreated Cassie, anxiously.
Those words made Havener squirm. He felt the disgrace of being
handled thus easily by a beardless youth. At the same time, he was
filled with admiration and astonishment because of Frank’s strength.
“I’ll not injure him,” promised Frank; “but he must come to his
senses before I let him go. He must promise not to act like a fool.”
“Let go,” said Havener. “I was a fool to get stuck on the girl! Said
I’d never let another one fool me after my first mistake, but a man
don’t know much when it comes to women.”
“You will make a fool of yourself if you break with Miss Lee
because you think there is anything between us, that’s sure.”
“What was the secret?”
“Perhaps she will tell you some day. If you care for her, you must
believe in her and trust her. If you cannot trust her now, it will be a
good thing for her to break with you right here.”
 Somehow those words seemed to take the excitement out of the
stage-manager. He looked at Frank, and then his eyes wandered to
the face of the girl.
“You must believe him, Ross,” she said. “He is right. If you can’t
trust me now, you never will, and we shall be miserable, instead of
happy.”
“He knows——”
“Everything. I have told him.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because I had to tell somebody! You are a man, and you can
keep still, but a woman just has to talk.”
“I guess that’s right.”
“He is ready to help us, instead of trying to make trouble between
us.”
“That’s right,” nodded Frank.
“Let me go,” urged Havener. “Let me think it over. Perhaps I have
been foolish. I don’t know. I’ll have to have time to think about it.”
Frank released him, saying:
“All right, but don’t get daffy about it. Believe me—believe Miss
Lee. All will be well in the end, I hope.”
“You were talking together in a confidential way,” said the stage-
manager, “and I heard her ask you not to tell me about something.
That was enough to make any man suspicious.”
“Perhaps so; but you had better forget it.” Frank went about his
work, leaving Cassie talking earnestly with Havener.
It was evident to Merry that she finally satisfied him that his
jealousy was groundless, for he stooped and kissed her suddenly.
In Frank’s heart, however, was a deep and heavy pain, caused by
the knowledge of the unfortunate girl’s terrible secret.
 CHAPTER XI.

TWO “ANGELS.”

The “All-Star Combination” struck bad business and a run of all-

around hard luck. The “ghost” did not “walk,” and distrust,
dissension and rebellion arose. Barnaby Haley had all he could do to
hold the company together. He did so, hoping that the “streak”
would pass and good business would come.
The part of the country through which they were playing had been
surfeited with “Uncle Tom,” and the people were tired of the old
piece, so they refused to be aroused and inveigled into giving up
their hard-earned money, for all of the glaring paper, the donkey, the
“fierce bloodhounds,” and the “gold band.”
One night there was a “council of war” among the members of the
company, and demands were made on Haley. He could not meet the
demands, and the entire company threatened to “quit.”
The following morning several members of the company were
missing, and the show was forced to go on without them, or
suspend.
That night old Dan Lee filled more parts than he had ever before
attempted on one occasion.
In order to get through with the piece, it was necessary for almost
every actor to “fake,” and Frank was obliged to fill in by assuming a
small part. He did it very well, saving the piece from complete
disaster, although the thin audience went away far from satisfied.
 When the next town was reached, it was found that their
reputation had reached there in advance of them.
“We’ll be lucky if we take ten dollars to-night,” declared Havener,
after discovering the true state of affairs.
Then one of the actresses “struck,” adding to the complications. It
seemed doubtful if they could play that night at all, but, as a last,
dying gasp, they resolved to make a bluff at it.
The actress had been required each night to ascend into the flies
as the spirit of “Little Eva” after the death scene, and it was
necessary for some other person to take her place.
That night it was arranged that Hans should dress in the flowing
white robes, and be hoisted into the flies when the proper time
came. The stage would be in semidarkness, and it was hoped that
the audience would not catch on.
This struck Frank as very ludicrous. Merry believed the dissolution
of the company must come on the following day, and so he was
ready to play any sort of a practical joke. He resolved to have some
sport at the Dutch lad’s expense.
To the astonishment of everybody, the theater filled surprisingly
with spectators. Barnaby Haley rubbed his hands together with
satisfaction and congratulated himself.
But the audience was there for sport, and they began almost as
soon as the curtain went up to guy the players. As the play
progressed, this “jollying” became more and more offensive and
hard to bear.
Frank decided that, before the play was over, the audience would
break out all together.
When the death scene came, Hans Dunnerwurst, arrayed in white
robes, with wings attached to his shoulders, was crouching behind
the couch on which “Little Eva” was supposed to be gasping her last.
 Frank had arranged the tackle that was to hoist Hans, and he was
waiting eagerly for the climax that was to come.
It came.
The footlights refused to grow dim, although a desperate attempt
was made to lower them, and there was a hitch in the play.
At last, thoroughly desperate, Havener gave the signal for the men
at the windlass to hoist away.
Something white rose swiftly into the air over the couch.
The “spirit of Little Eva” was ascending.
But such a spirit!
The hook of the tackle was attached to the seat of the Dutch lad’s
trousers, so that he was held limply “amidships,” while his flowing
robes had fallen away in such a manner that his clothing was
exposed beneath.
Probably never before in the history of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” on the
stage had such a “spirit” ascended before the eyes of a staring,
astounded audience.
“Hell-up!” howled Hans, kicking and squawking, as he sailed
toward the flies. “Come und safe me pefore you vos a deat man!”
Then there was a hitch, for the windlass refused to work, and
there the struggling Dutch lad hung in full view of the now laughing
spectators.
Missiles began to whizz through the air.
Spat!—a stale egg struck Hans behind the ear.
Whizz—plunk!
A small cabbage sent him spinning round and round like a top.
“Nail him!”
“Soak him!”
 “Give it to him!”
“Hooray!”
The audience was in an uproar, and it seemed as if every person
there had brought something to throw.
“Hel-lup!” bellowed the unfortunate lad. “I vos peing kilt alretty
yet!”
With the band, Ephraim Gallup roared with laughter. He knew a
practical joke had been perpetrated, and somehow it had the flavor
of Frank Merriwell’s old-time larks, so he was immensely amused.
As Hans stopped revolving for a moment, he shook his fist at
Ephraim, gurgling:
“Vait, vait! Uf I aind’t kilt pefore I die, I vill got efen mit you! You
vos a——”
Swat!—a rotten apple struck him fairly in the mouth, stopping his
flow of speech.
“This is the funniest show I ever seen!” shouted a man in the
audience. “Ain’t I glad I come!”
Some boys began to sing “I Want to Be an Angel.”
Then the windlass began to work again, and the pelted youth was
drawn up out of sight, just as Havener succeeded in arousing the
curtain boy to let the curtain down.
It was not necessary to finish the play. The audience did not
expect it, and the theater was emptied.
Hans Dunnerwurst was so angry that he couldn’t talk.
Havener did not have much to say, for he decided that it would be
a waste of words, for the company was pretty sure to disband on
the following day.
That night the stage-manager accompanied Cassie Lee when she
left the theater. It was dark on the side street, and a man sprang on
them almost as soon as they came out by the stage entrance.
 “Now I’ve caught ye together!” snarled a familiar voice. “I’ll finish
you both this time!”
“Storms!” screamed the girl.
“Yes, Storms!” grated the man. “Take that!”
“That” was a bullet from a revolver aimed straight at Cassie.
But the bullet did not touch her.
Frank Merriwell had followed them from the building, and he
leaped on their assailant, bearing Storms to the ground.
The revolver was discharged again, and Frank felt the powder
singe his wrist.
Then Havener came to Frank’s aid, and, between them, they
disarmed and captured the ruffian, beating him into a stunned
condition with the butt of his own revolver.
That night Storms lay in the town’s “cooler,” and on the following
day he was tried for murderous assault and held for the grand jury.
Havener and Cassie promised to appear against him.
The stage-manager went to Frank, like a man, and said:
“Merriwell, I don’t know what the secret is between you and
Cassie, and I don’t want to know till you get ready to tell me, but I
want to ask your pardon for making a fool of myself over it.”
“That’s all right,” assured Frank. “I had forgotten it.”
“I hadn’t. I could hate you even if you did save my life, but since
you saved Cassie’s, I can hate you no longer. I believe Storms’ first
shot would have killed her.”
“Perhaps so.”
“You bore him down just in time. Keep the secret, and be my
friend.”
He held out his hand, which Frank grasped.
 “All right,” said Merry; “I am glad to be your friend. As for the
secret, some day Cassie will tell you that herself. We may part here,
but I wish you good fortune.”
“Part?” said Havener. “I hope not. Haley has struck an angel.”
“A what?”
“An angel—a chap with money who will back the show. We are
going to reorganize and go on.”
“Hurrah!” cried Frank. “That is good news!”
 CHAPTER XII.

FRANK IS GIVEN A PART.

A few weeks later Frank was startled by a request to take a part

himself owing to the illness of one of the actors. The request came
from the stage-manager of the “Empire Theater Comedy Company,”
which was, in fact, the reorganized “All-Star Combination,” formerly
on the road playing a “modernized version” of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
This play was now simply one of the numerous pieces in the
repertory of the reorganized company, the donkey and the
bloodhounds being relegated to the background for the time being,
although the famous “Gold Band” was retained in all its glory.
Barnaby Haley believed in the efficacy of a band of music to draw
spectators in small cities and country towns. He rated it next to
“paper” in the general run, and even better in some cases.
As for “paper,” three of the pieces in the repertory were “old
stand-bys,” and “stock paper” could be obtained for them from any
of the big eastern theatrical printing houses.
Haley had retained his grip on the management of the company,
although obliged to take in a partner. The partner was the “angel”
who saved the company from going to pieces. His name was Zenas
Hawkins, a man with theatrical ambitions, who had “money to burn.”
Haley was helping him burn it.
Haley realized that “Uncle Tom” had been done to death through
the section of the country he was in, and so the reorganized
company prepared to put on several other pieces.
 Some of those plays they could obtain legitimately. Others were
secured from a certain company of “pirates,” located in Chicago, who
boasted that they could supply any dramas on the American or
English stage.
These plays were secured by the “pirates” with the assistance of
expert shorthand writers, who were hired to attend them and take
down the lines as spoken by the different actors. From these
shorthand notes typewritten manuscript copies of the plays were
made, and sold for sums ranging from five to twenty-five dollars, to
such unscrupulous managers as cared to purchase and use them.
Of course, this traffic in stolen property was unlawful. The
manager who purchased and produced the play was committing a
crime, but, until recently, the penalty was simply a fine, usually
insignificant when exacted, and the manager could jump on to some
other part of the country and go right ahead playing the piece. In
nine cases out of ten he would not have money enough to pay the
fine, and it cost the rightful owners of the piece more trouble and
money to prosecute him than they could afford, as such prosecution
seldom or never interfered more than temporarily with the pirating
of the play.
Under the amended copyright law of 1895, however, any manager
unlawfully presenting a play is liable to a fine of not less than one
hundred dollars for the first performance and fifty dollars for each
subsequent performance; and offenders who fail to pay the fines
imposed may be imprisoned upon order of the court.
This revised law has, in a measure, stopped the pirating of plays,
although the fact that the rascally concern in Chicago is still doing
business is evidence that there are unscrupulous managers in the
country who are willing to take desperate chances in order to play in
remote and unfrequented towns the popular dramas of the day.
Barnaby Haley had decided to take such chances, for he had
obtained three plays in manuscript from the Chicago thieves. The
titles of these plays, however, he had changed, to reduce the liability
of detection, and he had resolved to be very careful where he
presented them.
Of course, there was no paper for these pieces, but the
advertising for the other plays was good enough to attract attention
at the start, and the stolen plays would be presented to wind up full
week engagements, where a change of bill was required nightly.
Haley had induced Hawkins to “put up” for one “full stand” of
printed advertising, made especially for them, and that was “pretty
good stuff.”
In the selection of a name for the organization, the crafty and
astute Mr. Haley had remembered that there was an “Empire
Theater Stock Company,” the fame of which had spread extensively.
By calling his aggregation the “Empire Theater Comedy Company”
he fancied many people might be deceived into believing it the
organization of a similar name, which was handled and controlled by
a wonderfully successful theatrical manager.
Roscoe Havener, the former stage-manager, had been retained in
his old capacity, for he was a good man and knew his business.
The company had played three days in a town where they were
billed to remain for a week, when, one afternoon just before
rehearsal, Havener sought Frank Merriwell and requested him to
take the place of Mr. Lawrence, who was dangerously ill.
They were on the stage, which was set for the first act of the play
to be given that night.
Several of the other members of the company, attired for a dress
rehearsal, were present and heard what was said.
One of them, a young man, Douglas Dunton, who played the
scheming villain of the piece, listened with great interest.
Leslie Lawrence, the actor who was ill, had been cast for the
leading character of the play, a part Dunton had coveted.
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