Marion Marlowe's Triumph, or, In Spite of Her Enemies — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

+ we fe : MY QUEEN. ey Marlowe, and seal . Almost as she spoke Marion Marlowe uddered. Her question had reminded her pe horrible episode in her life, and for a me ent she found it difficult to answer. 3 Pe don’t believe I should care for that,” she began, and then hesitated. “Why not 3 _ conquer this aversion to going ‘behind the "sce nes’ and be done with it?” she thought. For Marion had been “behind the scenes” acly. For one whole week she had sung n an opera company in the city, and the tra cedies that had been crowded into that rief engagement were still fresh in her Ms emory. Hardly a day had passed that she Reet had not been reminded of them, and each = time she experienced that same thrill of hor- | ror that had just passed over her. But since then she had been having her I would be delighted to take Pia iA ‘ts a ; alt 4 + b Tas * a Fe a = ae voice cultivated for the opera, so, as a life Se 4 behind, the scenes was almost inevitable, she # ack new it would be well to conquer her morbid ‘. night, ” she said, after brief thought; “that is, if you are sure that it will not incon- venience yen any. I should hate to be a nui- ‘sance in your dressing-room,” she added. never be thaty” “Nonsense! You could en 1. i) al said the actress, sweetly. “And so you. will ~eome—when? To-night, Miss Marlowe?” “Do you want me so-soon?” asked Marion, “Well, then, I shall be os to go with you, as I have no engagements.” Vera Villette smiled and nodded as $he left ee, ~ the room. mS aa > 2m ~ laughing. ~~ It was the first move in the game which she had planned against Marion. — “She will go,” she whispered, as she rushed SF into Nona Nelson’s room, a little later. “The - little simpleton is going to the theatre with . this evening, and she’s ell to stay in my _dressing-room while I am ‘on.’ It’s the first _ card I have played, but I already see myself a winner.” 7 Nona Nelson sat up in bed and stared at her a moment. “You are an awfully clever woman,” “Rd Gordon don’t know she said, admiringly ; who he is trifling with, Vera.” , said the ) ‘He should not have insulted me, Spanish girl, fiercely; “he said that girl was not only far more beautiful than we girls, but that she also had the advantage of being a lady.” “The meanest thing he could say,” wa “and to think that Hugh Dean should actually have repeated it.” Nona’s answer ; “T’ll show him what she is; Just wait,” “Our time is coming! But There’s another little thing to be attended to this morning. Did whispered Vera. T must go, Nona! you know that Mr. Temple had discharged Flo Stanley ?” Nona Nelson sat straight up now and stared even harder. “Do you mean that?” she almost gasped. “Oh, what made him do it?” “Tt’s Lemadrid, of course!- ous of Stanley. The manager liked her, and that settled it, as usual.” “Poor Lemadrid has made a bitter enemy,” said Nona, slowly ; “and, do you know, I can’t help being sorry for her, Vera! She's in love with the manager, and*I believe he loathes her !” “The more reason why she should do ex- as she did,” “Imagine being loathed by one’s @x-lover, and submitting to it meekly!” actly said Vera, scornfully. The black eyes snapped like live coals now, and the Spanish girl shrugged her shoulders with an expressive motion. “Why, upon her friend, “if any woman were to come betweeh me’ and the man J] loved I would never stop until [ crushed her!’ y 9 ° : Nona,’ she hissed, turning fiercely She darted out of the room as she said the last word,. while Nona Nelson stared after her and actually shivered. She was Jeal-’ EO) JOO AMC SS (C(O)