The wasted cheeks and wasted forms of frail humanity, as seen last
night in the jaundiced light that was reflected by the crimson-shaded
lamps and curtains of Stingaree Gulch, visibly affected the gifted
English authoress. They carried to Mrs. Glyn an affirmative answer to
the question, so often propounded recently, whether it is against
public morality to make a heroine in "Three Weeks" of a pleasure-palled
victim of the upper set. It was made plain to Mrs. Glyn that her
heroine differed from the Stingaree Gulch kind only in that her cheeks
were less faded than her character.
That's the kind of Laura Jean Libby comment on Mrs. Glyn's tour of
Stingaree Gulch that one of the Rawhide correspondents wired to a
"yellow," with a view to pleasing the editor and to insuring positive
acceptance of his copy.
Later in the night a fire-alarm was rung in. The local fire-department
responded in Wild-Western fashion. The conflagration, which was started
for Mrs. Glyn's sole benefit, advanced with the rapidity of a tidal
wave. It brought to the scene a mixed throng of the riffraff of the
camp. The tumult of voices rose loud and clear. The fire embraced all
of the deserted shacks and waste lumber at the foothills of one of the
mines. The liberal use of kerosene and a favoring wind caused a fierce
blaze. It spouted showers of sparks into the darkness and gleamed like
a beacon to desert wayfarers. The fierce yells of the firemen rang far
and wide. Of a sudden a wild-haired individual thrust himself out of
the crowd and sprang through the door of a blazing shack. He
disappeared within the flames. Three feet past the door was a secret
passage leading to shelter in the tunnel of an adjoining mine. Mrs.
Glyn, of course, did not know this. She acclaimed the act as one of
daring heroism.
Water in the camp was scarce, so there was a resort to barreled beer
and dynamite. Soon the flames of the devouring fire were extinguished.
Again the newspapers throughout the land contained stories, which were
telegraphed from the spot, regarding the remarkable experiences of the
much-discussed authoress of "Three Weeks" in the new, great, gold camp
of Rawhide. The press agent was in his glory.
"AL" MILLER'S SIEGE
Elinor Glyn's experiences in Rawhide were by no means the most
interesting that newspaper readers of the United States were privileged
to read during the course of the press-agenting of the camp.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account