Frank had become acquainted with the different members of the company, and the personality of each interested him.

Arthur Sargent, the new man, who filled the place of Errol Storms, playing “Simon Legree,” was a man quite unlike Storms. He was a jolly, good-natured fellow off the stage, always joking and telling stories. But he did make a fierce “Legree,” and he was detested and hissed by the small boy in the gallery quite as much as Storms had been.

Cassie Lee, the “leading Topsy,” for there were two “Topsys” in the play, interested Frank more than anybody else. Off the stage, she was a thin, frail, sad-faced little girl, with a hollow, hacking cough. On the stage, she was a supple, bright-eyed, lively, vivacious creature, dancing and singing, as if she had not a care in the world.

Cassie’s father, old Dan Lee, played small parts, making many changes. In fact, his skill at making quick changes was something marvelous, and it was astonishing how many different parts he could fill.

It was said that old Dan knew every line in the piece, and could play any male part. Some even insisted that the old man in his palmy days had played “Little Eva,” but Dan himself denied the accusation.

Old Dan’s one failing was his strong liking for liquor. But for Cassie’s watchful eyes, he would have been “loaded” the greater part of the time, and lost his engagement a dozen times a month. Cassie could handle him unless he was crazed by liquor, and he was humble and pliant in her hands.

But there were stories that on occasions old Dan took too much and became like a maniac. Then even Cassie could do nothing with him, and it was said that he had once beaten her so severely while madly intoxicated that she had been taken to the hospital, where she remained six weeks.

It was said that through her father’s ill-treatment and neglect Cassie’s health had been broken down.

Frank wondered at the change that came over her every night just before she went onto the stage. She suddenly seemed to become quite a different creature. The lackluster departed from her eyes, her step became elastic and buoyant, and even her voice seemed to change.

All this was a mystery to Merry at first, but, one night, when she sent him to her dressing room for some article she had forgotten, he made a discovery that enlightened and horrified him.

A small needle syringe lay 

 Prev. P 38/152 next