Humorous stories; Washington (State) -- Fiction; Western stories
So mother comes forward with her streaming face and they're all ready
to act when the grouch halts things and barks at the boy that he ain't
standing right. He goes up and shows him how to stand more shamefully.
But the tears on mother's face have dripped away and have to be renewed.
She was a nice, kind-appearing mother all right, but I noticed she looked
peeved when this delay happened. Vida explains that glycerine don't
damage the eyes really, but it makes 'em smart a lot, and this actress,
Miss St. Clair, has a right to feel mad over having to put in some more.
But she does it, though with low muttering when the grouch calls "All
right, Miss St. Clair!" and is coming forward to act with this here
second batch of tears when the grouch stops it with another barking fit.
He barks at the policeman this time. He says the policeman must do more
acting.
"You know you have a boy of your own," says he, "and how you'd hate to
have him arrested for this crime, but you're also remembering that law
is law and you're sworn to uphold it. Try to get that now. All ready,
Miss St. Clair--we're waiting for you, Miss St. Clair!"
I'd watched this actress the second time her tears was spoiled and her
expression didn't fit a loving mother's face one bit. Her breath come as
in scenes of tense emotion, but she hotly muttered something that made
me think I must of misunderstood her, because no lady actress would say
it, let alone a kind old mother. However, she backs off and for the third
time has this medicine dropper worked on her smarting eyes. Once more
she comes forward with streaming eyes of motherly love, and I'm darned
if this grouch don't hold things up again.
This time he's barking about a leather sofa against the far wall of the
humble home. He says it's an office sofa and where in something is the
red plush one that belongs to the set? He's barking dangerously at
everyone round him when all at once he's choked off something grand by
the weeping mother that has lost her third set of tears. She was wiping
glycerine off her face and saying things to the grouch that must of give
him a cold chill for a minute. I'm sometimes accused of doing things with
language myself, but never in my life have I talked so interestingly--at
least not before ladies. Not that I blamed her.
Everyone kept still with horror till she run down; it seems it's a fierce
crime in that art to give a director what's coming to him. The policeman
and the erring son was so scared they just stood there acting their
parts and the grouch was frozen with his mouth half open. Probably he
hadn't believed it at first. Then all at once he smiled the loveliest
smile you ever seen on a human face and says in chilled tones: "That
will be all, Miss St. Clair! We will trouble you no further in this
production." His words sounded like cracking up a hunk of ice for the
cocktail shaker. Miss St. Clair then throws up her arms and rushes off,
shrieking to the limit of a bully voice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account