The Sorrows of a Show Girl: A Story of the Great "White Way"McGaffey, Kenneth
General
The Sorrows of a Show Girl: A Story of the Great "White Way"
McGaffey, Kenneth
Theater -- Fiction
"But to get back to the big eat. The prima donna got too gay and when
they struck New York the home office got wise and she wouldn't stand a
cut in her salary, so they just naturally decorated her with the festive
bug and told her to take a whirl at vaudeville or something else real
mean. Say, when the news got out that she was to leave everybody was so
happy that even the chorus men went out and bought each other a beer.
What do you think of that? Well, anyway the mob got together after the
performance and decided to celebrate the event in fitting and proper
style by getting soused, and Alla kindly donated her new flat. Yes, the
Judge caught a sleeper on Wall Street and she was in strong with the cop
on the beat and the people on the floor below her had moved on account
of the noise. Selfish people. They didn't want to do anything all night
but sleep, and Alla complained that they were wearing out the steam pipe
by pounding on it.
"After the show the whole outfit cleaned all the makeup off except
behind the ears and took it on the lope for Alla's domicile. Me being
the guest of honor, I naturally kicked in late. Gee! everybody of any
importance was there, even some of the principals, and every other show
in town sent at least one representative. Say, the drum was so crowded
that some of the couples had to turn the fire escape into a
conservatory. They would crawl out there and bombard the neighborhood
with empty bottles, until the cop on the corner would rap and then for
some two or three minutes the block would be as silent as a tomb.
"Wilbur of course was there in his official capacity as press agent, to
not only add tone to the gathering, but to make sure that it reached the
night desk of all the papers, for if these society guys get a column and
a half they ought to be willing to slip us poor chorus dolls a couple of
sticks and keep it from under police news.
"I was there to see that Wilbur did not, under the influence of the
charming company, make any remarks that might be misconstrued by any of
the assembled gathering as a declaration of love. For them dolls are
always on the job and the only time they don't catch a live one is when
their hands are tied. Jealous? What! Me? Not so you can notice it, but I
ain't going to have anybody have anything on me, and while I caused no
scenes, I left the impression that I had Wilbur trained so that he would
roll over and play dead at the word of command. While these 'keep off
the grass' signs don't do much good, still they run a horrible bluff.
Did Wilbur get wise to this move on my part? Not on your life! If he
found out that I was, figuratively speaking, riding herd on him, he
would get chesty and all swelled up until it would be my painful duty to
lance him. I don't know yet whether Wilbur is a rhinestone Billie or a
Whisky amber Billie with a dash of bitters Billie, but I am On the Job
Betty, all right, all right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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