Work and Win #07: Fred Fearnot as Actor — page 5: what you’re looking at

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

ee eS. ee ny xt See ere, ae , FRED FEARNOT i . 4 — — He got it off pretty well, and everybody in the car listened with rapt attention. When he finished they applauded him vociferously. ** Why in thunder don’t you throw some humor into that thing ?’’ Fred asked. *'There’s no humor in it,’’ replied the cynic. ‘It’s one of the grandest efforts of the great bard.”’ **Oh, you don’t know a thing about the great bard,”’ returned Fred. “If you read him between the lines, you'll find more fun in him than in any other writer.”’ “Yes; but there is no fun in Hamlet,’’ returned the cynic. “The deuce there isn’t! Just let me show you,”’ and with that Fred stood up onthe seat and repeated the lines of the Soliloquy, which he had recited a hun- dred times at school several years before. His ac- cent, gestures and slight transposition of sentences, turned the masterpiece into a screaming farce. The cynic gazed and listened till his eyes fairly bulged. “Great Scott!’ exclaimed the manager. ‘*That’s enough to make Shakespeare turn over in his coffin.” **There’s where you’re way off,?’ returned Fred, *‘for the great bard has often visited me in my dreams, patted me on my back, and told me I was the only chap that understood him.”’’ ** Well, you’ve given us the funny side of it. Now, let us have the serious side,’? whereupon Fred re- peated the lines again, giving an exquisite rendition of the weird sarcasm of the great Dane, that made. the cynical thespian green with envy. oe ee: “Say, young man,” exclaimed the manager, **what’s your specialty ?”’ ; «Looking out for No. 1,”’ said Fred. «*Got that down fine, eh ?”’ ‘You bet I have !”’ ““ Well, see here.. If you happen to be in any town where we are performing, just come up and ask for me, and you can have free seats, both of you.”’ “Thank you,”’ replied Terry, ‘ I'll do so.”’ After awhile Terry got up to get a drink of water, and one of the actresses took his seat by the side of Fred. When he returned, Fred told him to keep ‘away; that one girl was worth a dozen boys any time. «“That’s so,’’ laughed Terry, dropping into an- other seat. ‘‘I’d like to have a girl alongside of me myself.”’ ‘© All right,’”? laughed the other blonde; ‘‘ here’s one,’ and she took the seat alongside of him. The one alongside of Fred told him her name was Nellie Traynor, and that the one with Terry was named Elsie Warner, whilst a little brunette a few seats in front of them was Gussie Silvers. The two boys chatted pleasantly with the girls until near mid- night, after which they sang several more songs, some of which were extremely, sentimental, which pleased the girls very much indeed. AS AN ACTOR. from the farther end of the car, through his ventrilo- quial powers. The half-drunken thespian arose from his seat, went to the end of the car to look for the fellow who was guying him. The stove, by which the car was heated was there, and the voice seemed to come from the inside of it, notwithstanding the fact that it was almost red-hot. ‘Oh, you’re in the stove, are you?”’ «“Yes,’’ came the voice, ‘‘it’s very comfortable in here. Come in.’’ The fellow stood there, gazed at the stove, rubbed his eyes, and looked the picture of unfeigned aston- ishment. ‘“What’s the matter with you?’ the voice from the stove asked. ‘* Guess I’ve got ’em,”’ he replied, and with that he returned to his seat, where he curled up for a nap, and nothing that the others could say or do could draw a word from him. The others, of course, knew at once that Fred was a ventriloquist, and roared with laughter at the trick that had been played the cynic. f CHAPTER II. FRED AND THE WESTERN LAWYER. THE next morning, when the train stopped at a breakfast house, Fred and Terry escorted the two girls into the eating room and treated them to a sumptuous breakfast, after which they returned to the car, and the train whirled on westward, at the rate of forty miles an hour. At noon the company had to leave the trainata — thriving little Ohio town, where they were to perform that night. The two girls tried to persuade Fred and Terry to stop over till the next day. ‘‘T would like to,’”’ said Fred to Nellie Traynor, “ but lam on a business trip for my father, whose last words to me were ‘ business before pleasure, my boy.’ So we must push on and attend to business first. When we have done so, we’ll probably hunt you up, take front seats at the performance and lead in the applause.”’ “Oh, we girls prefer bouquets to applause,’’ laughed the blonde. “Yes, I know,” he replied ; ‘‘ but at this season of the year bouquets are much more expensive than ap- plause, and besides it’s far more sensible to throw a sealskin sacque at a girl on the stage, than a bunch of | flowers that will fade in three days.” “Oh, my! Whata level head you’ve got!’’ she laughed. ‘‘I must really give you my exact meas- ures for a sealskin sacque.”’ ‘Don’t do it,’? laughed Fred, ‘“‘for I’d have to count the cross ties all the way back to New York.” When they reached the town where the company were to leave the train, the members shook hands By that time the cynic was pretty well loaded, and , with Fred and Terry and said they were sorry to part Fred proceeded to have fun with him, by jollying him | from them. Conn Ghbooksnco 6 f=" <n « ~~ yeah ave ae gy ale a ily Apt aca ==) a aioed = ee EL (ing gk, ak rg x <a Nig ha ry gy eas